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Dare to Believe: Noah's Toolbox of Hope · Wow God

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  Well, at this time, Iris and I were actually going to be out of town this week,
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  and we already had Alicia scheduled. And I said, we're going to just keep you
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  because we had to cancel our meetings in Colorado.
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  And so I'm just going to turn it over to Alicia. Alicia, would you come?
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  Let's welcome Alicia. She comes today, brings us the word today.
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  Amen. Well, I, again, I'm honored to be able to minister again here at Epicenter.
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  And there has been so much confirmation on this word that I feel led to preach
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  this morning. And the first confirmation came through Pastor's Message last week.
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  Another confirmation, like so many confirmations throughout the week,
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  I've gained through this. And then last night, I gained another confirmation.
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  So I'm like, okay, God, here it goes.
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  So let's just jump into it. I have two main scriptures that we're going to read
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  this morning, and then we'll pray and get into the word.
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  I'll tell you the first two so you could look it up. It's in Romans chapter
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  15, verse 13, and then you could mark that, and then Hebrews chapter 11.
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  So Romans 15, verse 13, it says, May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace
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  as you trust him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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  Now, jumping into Hebrews chapter 11, we will read in verse 7.
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  It says, By faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen in holy fear,
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  built an ark to save his family.
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  By his faith, he condemned the world and became heir of righteousness.
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  Righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
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  Lord, we thank you for the reading of your word.
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  And God, we just honor you this morning. And I just pray that your sweet Holy
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  Spirit would come and flow through this message. May this message come straight
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  from your throne room, God.
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  May the words I say and the words I speak, and God, let it just be
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  truly and purely from you, God, I set aside myself, and I pray that you would
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  open our hearts, our minds, our souls, and spirits just to receive all that
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  you have in store this morning.
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  In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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  Amen. Last week, Pastor preached on Don't Stop Now.
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  And he gave us five people that we could read in the Bible who were persistent
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  in their faith. They were persistent in pursuing the Lord.
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  And one of those people that we're going to talk about this morning is Noah.
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  And I found it so cool that yesterday, out of the blue, we had a big old rainstorm
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  hit Kingfisher and throughout Oklahoma.
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  And lo and behold, right after the rainstorm, and we got a big old rainbow that
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  came about. And I was like, okay, God, that's all the confirmation I need.
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  What else is there?
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  But we're going to talk about Noah. And Noah, oh man, Noah is,
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  he found favor where no one else on the earth at that time had favor.
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  Noah found favor in the Lord. And we read that in the beginning of the Bible
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  in Genesis chapter, well, quite a few chapters in Genesis, and he found favor in the Lord.
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  Now, whenever he found favor in the Lord.
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  The Lord came to him and was like, okay, Noah, this is what I'm about to do to the earth.
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  And this is what I want you to do. This is what I need you to do.
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  I love how the Bible says that the Lord commanded Noah to do these things, to build an ark.
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  The Lord was so detailed on all that he was telling Noah to do.
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  He told him to build an ark.
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  He told him to put in these animals. and take your family in there and this
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  is what's going to happen the lord was very clear on what he would he wanted noah to do,
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  and i love just how loyal noah was,
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  because he didn't question he was like okay because you read that,
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  the what the lord told him to do and he goes in and said the bible says that
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  noah did it and the next thing god did was he told him to exactly whenever he
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  finished building the ark. Sorry, my Bible keeps moving around.
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  Whenever he finished building the ark, he explained how the animals were going
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  to get on and what kind of animals were going to be on.
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  The clean animals and the unclean animals were going to be on and just more
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  details of what's about to happen. And God did it.
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  God told Noah to take his family, go on the ark.
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  And whenever that happened, and I'm just kind of just going through the story
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  right now, Whenever they all went on the ark, all the animals and all his family
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  was on the ark, the Lord closed them in.
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  So no one else could come onto the ark because no one else was welcome because
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  of the horrific lifestyles that they were living.
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  The Lord closed them in. Then the flood came.
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  The flood came and wiped away everything living on the earth.
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  And then it dried up and we began again. And God made a covenant with Noah through the rainbow.
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  Now, that's just a brief summary of what we read in Noah's time of how he was
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  loyal and obedient to the Lord.
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  Now, I want to take a moment and just, I want you to take a moment and just
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  think about the things, the dreams, the prophetic words that the Lord has spoken.
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  To you in the course of your life.
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  Just think about it for a minute. The promises he's promised you.
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  Some of these things might not have come to pass yet, but this message I feel
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  like I am told to preach this morning through the Holy Spirit,
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  is to bring you hope because the Lord has not forgotten you.
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  He has not forgotten those dreams and the purpose that you were placed on this
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  life or on this world for.
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  You were created for a purpose.
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  And it's so easy to be distracted because, I mean, if you look at it,
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  Noah, whenever the Lord spoke to him, I guarantee word got around what Noah
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  was doing and everyone was like, okay, Noah's building an ark.
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  There's supposed to be rain but what is rain we don't know what rain is because
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  rain hasn't ever hit the earth like like just you know all the all the crazy
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  things happening and sometimes that's how you feel in your own life of whenever
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  god gives you these dreams and these words
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  and how we speak life over it and you're and everyone around you is like are
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  you sure it's gonna happen,
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  do you think it's really going to happen and you're like i know it's going to
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  happen because the lord told me it's going to happen and i'm going to see it
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  come to pass in jesus name.
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  Now, something that we struggle with as a human is that we become very selfish.
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  And we become selfish and self-centered. And we think it's okay to take things
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  into our own hands sometimes and try to, I don't want to, I guess,
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  manipulate things and make things happen in a way that you think it's going to happen.
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  And then you find yourself humbled by the Lord and you're like,
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  okay, I'm sorry, God, that's not what you're intended to do.
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  That's not intent. This is not your intention. And God, I humble myself before you.
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  And there was a quote that I heard earlier a few weeks ago that just really,
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  honestly, I forgot to wear my steel toe boots that day. And my toes were stepped
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  on whenever I heard this word. And it said.
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  Are you more concerned about the Lord disappointing you? Are you more concerned
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  about the Lord disappointing you or you disappointing the Lord?
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  Are you more disappointed?
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  Basically, all that's saying is, where is your heart at? Are you so caught up
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  in a selfish mentality that you think you could do it all? You think you know it all?
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  Or are you fully trusting the Lord?
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  In in the bible in hebrews what we just read that noah was faithful and he was righteous and he,
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  he he kept his focus on the lord is what we read and we could read about that
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  with so many other people in the bible and throughout history that their focus was on the lord,
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  and even during the building time there's a process i know i'm trying i feel
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  a little scattered here, but it's all going to tie together.
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  And there's a process in the building.
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  There was a process in building the ark.
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  I feel like Noah.
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  Noah had a toolbox. I brought me a toolbox this morning and it's a little bit
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  heavier than what I thought. So let me see.
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  Okay. It's not as bad, but Noah, I guarantee he had a toolbox and God was like, go get your toolbox.
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  And I want you to make some space on the land.
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  I want you to flatten it out and make room for the ark that I'm telling you to build.
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  Go pull out your toolbox, get your hammer, get the nails and get to work because
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  I spoke it and this is going to happen. And I'm going to use you to fulfill my word.
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  And I feel like this is what the Lord has been telling, wants me to remind you
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  guys that you have a toolbox,
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  and the Lord specifically filled the toolbox with utensils and tools and hardware
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  and all the nails and everything that you need.
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  To work on what he has called you to do.
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  Now, you may feel like you don't understand the tools that he has been giving you.
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  And this is where I say, I pray that you would just ask the Lord,
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  where is your heart in this?
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  I don't understand the tools that you've given me. Lord, where is your heart
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  in this? Show me how I could use this to further your kingdom.
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  And just as Noah, he made room and he built.
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  He was obedient and he built. And I encourage you this morning to be obedient and to build.
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  And it might not be an ark, a physical ark like Noah.
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  I don't know what it is that the Lord is telling you to build in your life for
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  his kingdom, whether it's here in this church or here in your own personal life.
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  I don't know what the Lord has placed on your heart, the dream that and the
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  prophetic words that the Lord has spoken to you and has promised you.
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  But get the toolbox out and start building because it's time.
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  You don't want to let this moment pass you by. because if you let this moment,
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  imagine what would have happened if Noah let that pass him by.
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  He would have been taken up in the flood.
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  Can you imagine what that would have been like? I don't even want to imagine
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  what that would have been like if Noah wasn't chosen because he was obedient.
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  If he was obedient, if Noah was obedient and he was loyal to the Lord,
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  it shows and proves that we're capable of being loyal and obedient to the Lord.
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  No matter what we're facing, whether it's something very, very small or something
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  so big in your life, whatever, in every area, we're able to be loyal and obedient to the Lord.
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  And I love, love, love how the book of Psalms and the book of Proverbs repeatedly
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  tells us to trust in the Lord.
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  My hope is in you, Lord. My trust is in you.
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  I set aside my selfish desires and I open my eyes to see you,
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  God, right in the middle of where I'm at.
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  And through the book of Noah, whenever they're on the ark and the rain has kind
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  of let up and he sends out, first he sends out a raven to see if there's any dry land.
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  There was no dry land. It took a little bit of time and then he sent out a dove.
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  There was no dry land. And finally he sent out a dove again and the dove came
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  back with an olive branch.
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  And I feel that olive branch with that dove was his glimmer of hope that in
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  the middle of everything that he was in, there's hope.
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  So whatever you're facing right now, there is hope and you just have to open your eyes to see it.
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  I feel like there's times whenever God will just get, I call them little God winks.
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  And I guess that is glimmers of hopes, but God will come in and remind you that
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  he is there, that he has not forgotten you.
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  And this is the word that I feel like I'm to give, that he has not forgotten
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  you in the middle of where you're at right now.
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  He has not forgotten you in the dreams. He has not forgotten you.
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  Whenever we place our hope and our trust in the Lord, our eyes move away from
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  selfish ambition and we move forward and walk in obedience with the Lord.
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  There's a quote that pastor said last week. It says, Faith builds before you can see.
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  Faith builds before you can see.
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  See, I don't know.
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  Whenever our hope is in the Lord and our faith is in the Lord,
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  we see something big and extravagant that us humans cannot do.
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  Whenever you place your hope and trust in a human, you're setting yourself up for failure.
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  I'm just saying it blunt and very honest. You're setting yourself up for failure.
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  If you place your hope and trust in yourself, you're setting yourself up for failure.
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  Our hope and our trust when placed in the Lord will give us our strength,
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  will renew our strength, make us soar on wings like eagles.
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  Like it says in the book of Isaiah, whenever our hope and trust is placed in
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  the Lord, our faith is renewed, our hope is renewed, and we can soar on higher
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  levels than ever before.
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  So don't stop doing what you're doing. Don't stop pursuing the Lord.
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  Pursue Him with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and all
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  your spirit, and watch what God will do.
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  Watch what God will do through you because God,
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  He can do things that are far greater than what we can do as mere humans.
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  Nothing is impossible whenever you place your hope and faith in the Lord.
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  We serve a God that makes the impossible possible.
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  And I really love how Pastor spoke this morning during Ties and Offering,
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  where there was a part he said, dare to believe.
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  And I found that very, very timely because I want to encourage,
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  this is what I kind of want to,
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  not kind of, this is what I want to encourage you guys with this morning is
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  to dare to believe that God is able.
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  Dare to believe that God is able. And the second dare I have for you is I dare you to hope.
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  I dare you to hope. Hope in the Lord because there is nothing impossible.
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  Dare to believe and dare to hope that God is going to make those dreams come to pass.
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  Whenever we call it forth every Sunday, whenever at the end of service,
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  we call forth people from all over, from the north, south, east,
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  and west by way of the altar.
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  I dare you to hope. I dare you to believe that this place is going to be packed
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  out with three full Sunday morning services, with people lined up and down the
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  sidewalk. We have people sitting over in Crest waiting for us to open up the doors for church.
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  Dare to believe, dare to hope.
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  Because nothing is impossible with God. Nothing is impossible with God.
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  Whenever he says something, he's going to do it. He sticks to his word.
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  He doesn't change his word. He sticks to his word. And whenever he has,
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  he places a covenant, just like he did with Noah. He placed that covenant with
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  him, with the rainbow, the sign of the rainbow.
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  He does not let up and he does not remove it.
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  Be faithful and keep walking. Go out to your tool shed.
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  Pull out the utensils and get to work. It's go time.
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  It's go time. And again, I know this is not the longest word you've ever heard
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  before, but I feel like this was something that the Lord wanted me to share
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  with you guys because it's go time.
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  It's time to put on those work gloves.
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  Get out your car, Hart, because it's go time.
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  Because the Lord is coming soon. And there are people out there who are waiting for you.
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  Who are waiting for you because you might be the only Jesus in their life.
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  You might be the only church that they go to, the only person that they see,
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  Jesus shining their light through. You might be the person.
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  And it's go time. Go out to the shed.
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  Go pick up the tools and get to work. It's go time.
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  If you would stand with me this morning, as we move into altar calls time,
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  I want you to think about the quote that I said earlier, and that really this
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  is just a check in your heart.
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  And trust me, I had to do this preparing for the sermon time and time again.
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  Are you more worried about the Lord disappointing you or you disappointing the Lord?
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  He has called you by name and he has set you on this earth for a purpose.
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  Let me tell you today that whenever you place your hope in the Lord,
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  you will find strength and you will find peace and you will find love and you'll
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  realize that nothing is about you. It's simply about the Lord.
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  And I'm going to open up the altars. And if you're saying, that's me, I need to set aside.
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  This is a big altar call here. I'm going to set aside my pride,
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  my selfish ambition, and I choose you, Lord.
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  I'm all in. And if that's you, I invite you here to the front and I wanna pray over you this morning.
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  Maybe God has placed a dream on your heart,
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  and you're ready and you're like, God, I'm all in.
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  He sees you this morning. He hears your heart this morning.
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  Hi, I'm Jamie Crawford, Lead Pastor of Epicenter Church in Oklahoma City,
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  Worldwide Evangelist with Breakthrough Ministries, and Lead Host of Wow God Podcast.
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  Our ministries are actively reaching lives across all 50 states in every region
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  of the world with the transformative power of the gospel.
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  You're invited to worship with us this Sunday at 10.35 a.m.
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  At Epicenter Church 11122 North Rockwell Avenue, Suite 17, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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  That's Epicenter Church 11122 North Rockwell Avenue, Suite 17,
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  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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  Can't make it in person? Stay connected with us online.
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  Through our websites, EpicenterChurchOK.com, BreakthroughEvangelism.com.
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  the message of hope and breakthrough through Jesus Christ.
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  Partner with us and let's make an eternal impact together.