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The Faith to Go Where God Sends: Trusting God in Uncertainty · Fostering Faith

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  Welcome back to Fostering Faith. We are so glad
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  that you guys tuned in this week. And if you
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  are new to Fostering Faith, welcome to Fostering
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  Faith. We are here as a podcast that does not
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  have it all figured out, but we are fostering
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  our faith and we are walking through this in
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  the community. And if you are a return listener
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  with the Back home this week, and we are going
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  to close out January today. And so our closing
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  series and our final episode for January is,
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  might be the most defining one of the month.
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  We are going to be talking. We have talked about
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  holy habits, we have talked about discipline,
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  we have talked about praying bold prayers, but
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  today we're going to be stepping into something
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  that pulls it all together. Today we're going
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  to be talking about the faith to go where God
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  sends. Because here's reality, we can build a
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  habit and you can grow discipline and you can
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  pray bold prayers, but at some point God is going
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  to ask you to go, to step out, to move, to obey.
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  Just trust Him beyond what you can see. And there's
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  always a moment where your faith will require
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  your feet to move. And I want to start this with
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  this episode with one of the most familiar stories
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  in Scripture, Abraham. In Genesis 12, God tells
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  Abraham to leave his country, leave his family,
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  go to the land that God would show him. Not a
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  land Abraham had already toured, not a No map
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  laid out with directions, not a five -year plan.
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  God just said, go, and I will show you on the
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  way. Can you imagine God telling you, let's say,
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  let you live in Washington, and you feel that
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  God has called you to move to Florida. He did
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  not tell you where. He said, pack up your family
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  and go. And with biblical counsel, you guys have
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  agreed that this is in alignment of what God
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  says to do. And so you just pack up your family,
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  you tell your wife, you tell your husband, hey,
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  I don't know where we're going. I just know that
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  we're supposed to go to Florida. And we're going
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  to trust God along the way. Would that not be
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  a wild ride? But we have people that have done
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  it in scripture and it worked out. And so we
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  have Abraham who obeyed. And this is what the
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  faith looks like. Faith is not the absence of
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  fear. Faith is the obedience in the presence
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  of uncertainty. Faith does not mean that you
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  have to have all the details. Faith means that
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  you trust the one who does. If you want God to
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  use you this year, if you want God to stretch
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  you, to grow you, to strengthen you, to move
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  you into the territory, if you're going to require
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  a willingness to grow, even whenever you don't
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  know the outcome, some of the greatest things
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  God will do in your life will begin with a simple
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  yes. Now, let me tell you something that we do
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  not hear, I don't think, often enough. God does
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  not obligate to bless the places he did not send
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  you. And so many times I love listening to Joyce
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  Meyers and she tells a story about how she was
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  trying to be like her neighbor and her neighbor
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  was like growing these tomatoes and so late she
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  tried everything that her neighbor didn't have
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  to sew and she did not do well with sewing. She
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  wanted to be a gardener, she was trying to be
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  a housewife, trying to be like this all these
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  things and she just was not cut out to be. And
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  so her neighbor was growing these tomatoes. And,
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  like, her tomatoes were, like, flourishing. They
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  were just, like, delicious. They were huge. They
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  were red. They were, like, all the things. And
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  her tomatoes, like, were horrible. Like, they
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  sucked. They had bugs. They had the worms. Like,
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  and she was just like, God, I'm trying to be
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  a better housewife. He's like, I didn't call
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  you to do that. So I don't have to bless what
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  I didn't tell you that you were doing on your
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  own. So he, and so I just always find that I
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  always, she's just taught me a lot. I just, I
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  really feel like that. And then if you've ever
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  listened to her, And then you listen to the sermon
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  on about me being a shopping cart, wooden saw
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  in the cart. Like you can't walk by it now. Like
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  you just can't walk by a cart and it not be in
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  its like right place. And so that has always
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  stuck with me. So obedience and just those little
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  things. My daughter and I, my daughter, I was
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  doing something the other day and I was, I walked
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  intentionally past the cart. And because she
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  has seen me stop so many times, she was like,
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  Mom, you don't have to stop and get that cart.
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  I was like, no, I'm just going to call it. I
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  was just waiting to see how long it took you
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  to. see that I walked past and she was like so
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  she sees she knows and that's the thing too is
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  that like people you think that they're not paying
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  attention to you but they really are they're
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  paying attention to your words they're paying
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  attention to how you act they're paying attention
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  to how you respond they're paying attention to
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  things that you don't do what you do like all
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  these things people really do pay attention and
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  it's just It's great to see people from afar
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  that you've counseled and they actually listen.
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  And then it's like you can see people not listen
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  and do what they want and that's up to them.
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  So anyway, sidetrack. So now let me tell you
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  something that I think is so purposeful. And
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  so if God does not have to bless you where he
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  did not send you, he will bless obedience. God
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  blesses alignment. God blesses surrender. The
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  safest place you will ever be is in God's will.
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  But sometimes the safest place that you feel
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  is like in the scariest place because God will
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  often call you out of your comfort into purpose.
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  Comfort never produces calling. Calling grows
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  in the unknown. So today I want you to give you
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  three things that happen whenever you have faith
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  to go where God sends you. Number one. When you
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  go, God reveals. We want God to reveal before
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  we go. We want confirmation, clarity, timelines,
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  took lists, reassurance, and detailed directions.
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  But scripture shows us something very different.
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  God reveals in motion. When the priest stepped
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  into the Jordan, the water parted. When Peter
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  stepped out of the boat, he walked on water.
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  And when Abraham stepped out of his land, God
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  revealed the next step. When Philip ran up this
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  chariot, The Ethiopian was ready to hear the
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  gospel. When Moses reined the staff, the Red
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  Sea opened. Notice the pattern. God moves whenever
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  we move. Obedience opens clarity. You might be
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  waiting for God to speak, but God is wanting
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  and waiting for you to take the first step. Number
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  two, when you go, faith grows. Faith is like
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  a muscle. It only grows whenever you use it.
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  Some of you have been asking God to grow stronger
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  in your faith, but you keep avoiding situations
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  that require faith. You cannot grow in faith
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  while living in a total comfort. And so if you're
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  at the gym and you start with one -pound weights
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  and do one -pound weights for a year, are you
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  gonna see growth initially? Yeah. What happens
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  if you would go to the five pound to the seven
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  and a half to the ten to the 15 to the 20? Progressive
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  load. So over time as you get more comfortable
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  walking with God what you started off praying
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  before as a newly born Christian and as you have
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  been walking with God for 20 years you have a
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  track record you know his obedience you know
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  his faithfulness you know that he's never left
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  you you know that he's never abandoned you you
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  know that he's not gonna put desires on your
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  heart that is not good for you And so you get
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  stronger and you get stronger and your prayers
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  get bolder and your prayers get bolder. And so
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  whenever you go, your faith grows. And just like
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  that muscle, like you're tearing in the gym.
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  Faith is like a muscle. It grows whenever you
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  use it. Some of us, you never step out until
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  God will strengthen what you're willing to stretch.
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  And so every step of obedience builds confidence.
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  Every moment of surrender builds trust. Every
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  place God leads you becomes And another testimony
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  that God says, you were faithful, and he is still
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  faithful here. If you want to go deeper in faith
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  this year, follow God into the unfamiliar places.
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  Your faith will grow in places where your control
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  ends. Let him lead. And we were studying in scripture
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  this week, and that's just even just in Matthew
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  16, you know, him talking about how you have
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  to die to yourself. You can't be in control.
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  He has to lead. He has to lead us. And so three,
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  when you go, God goes with you. And this is the
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  part that should encourage us. You never obey
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  alone. You never step out alone. You never walk
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  onto the unknown. God does not send you where
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  he will not sustain you. Joshua, excuse me. One
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  nine. God says, be strong and courageous. Do
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  not fear. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord
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  your God is with you wherever you go. Not sometimes,
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  not occasionally, wherever. God's presence is
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  not tied to your comfort. It is tied to your
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  obedience. If he sends you, he will strengthen
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  you. If he calls you, He will equip you. If He
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  leads you, He will cover you. If He directs you,
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  He will provide for you. Now, let me talk directly
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  to your heart for a moment. There is something
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  God is calling you to this year. You already
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  may know what it is. It may be something exciting.
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  It may be something scary. It may be something
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  that's uncertain. But you feel it in your spirit.
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  You feel like you know what it is. And you sense
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  a tug. You sense a pull. You sense that God is
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  preparing you for something new. Maybe He is
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  calling you to leave. Maybe He's calling you
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  to step away from something that is draining
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  you. Maybe He's calling you to heal, to serve,
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  to surrender a habit of pattern. Maybe He's calling
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  you to speak up. Maybe He's calling you to forgive.
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  Maybe he's calling you to trust him in the area
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  that you have held on tightly for years. Whatever
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  it is, I want you to hear this clearly. Your
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  I, your yes, is going to unlock something in
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  your life. Your obedience will not be wasted.
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  And your surrender will not be ignored. God honors
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  obedience every single time. And so here's your
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  final January challenge. this week. Ask God one
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  question with certainty. God, where are you sending
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  me this year? Then listen. Write it down. Pray
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  over it. And when the moment comes, say yes.
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  Because the greatest faith decision in your life
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  will be made in comfort. It will always be made
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  in the trust. Your year will look completely
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  different if you choose obedience over convenience.
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  Emma, let me close with this. January was our
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  foundation month. This entire month, God has
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  been preparing you and me not just for to feel
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  spiritual, but to live spiritual, to live disciplined,
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  to live prayerfully, to live obedient, to live
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  bold, to live surrendered. You are not just building
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  holy habits. You're building a holy And I believe
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  this year is going to be marked by boldness,
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  clarity, courage, because you are choosing to
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  go where God sends you. And we would love to
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  pray for you this week. Dear Heavenly Father,
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  thank you so much for these listeners. Thank
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  you so much for allowing us this time as we have
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  built you as a foundation as the months go on
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  this year. Thank you so much that whenever we
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  go that you reveal. Thank you so much that whenever
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  we go, our faith grows. Thank you so much that
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  whenever... We go, we know that you are with
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  us. Thank you that you've never left us. Thank
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  you that you've never forsaken us. Thank you
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  that we know that you are a good father. Thank
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  you that we are allowed to just be in your presence
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  this month. Thank you for everything that you've
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  done. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. We hope this
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  message encouraged you, blessed you, and we believe
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  that this year is going to be a great year. If
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  this message inspired you, if this message encouraged
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  you, Go back and do it with a friend. Do the
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  challenges with somebody else because it's accountability
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  partners and allowing yourself to be vulnerable
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  with the people that are in your community. Thank
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  you for finishing January with me. Next month,
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  we are going to step into February and we're
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  going to be talking about relationships and friendships
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  and kingdom love is what is going to be so good
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  about February because it is the love month.
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  And so we hope to see you guys back next week.
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  We love you guys. Have an amazing week. Bye.