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The Fruit of the Spirit: Joy · Fostering Faith

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Hey guys, welcome back to fostering faith and
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we are gonna be in this Sequence of episodes
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about the fruit of the spirit. And so last week
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we dived into Love and this week we are going
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to to be diving in to joy And so I wanted to
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do this episode today because I feel like I was
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lacking joy Because it was cold and rainy and
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I did not get to go outside and look at the stars
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it was raining and cold and I really had just
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a hard day at work and just been going through
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a lot of things just internally and just working
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through a lot of things and I was just like man
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I just I you know like just the joy the joy of
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the Lord is and so all day today I would just
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like the joy of my Lord is my strength the joy
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of the Lord the joy of the Lord and you know
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just kind of going through different verses that
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had the word joy in it because I just felt ick.
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And so I just kind of want to join in with this.
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What is joy? And so biblical joy is a deep, cheerful,
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anchored presence of God rather than circumstances
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or fleeting emotions, unlike happiness, which
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often depends on events or outcomes. Biblical
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joy is described as an attitude or way of experiencing
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life rooted in faith and hope and certainly in
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God's love and promises. And then you have the
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scripture that distinguishes between biblical
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joy and worldly happiness by emphasizing its
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source, God, Himself, not materialistic blessings
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or favorable situations. Joy is considered through
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the Spirit in Galatians 5 and we have that in
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22 through 23. produced as believers engage in
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God's presence and the beauty of Christ through
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faith. This means that true joy persists even
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in suffering, trials, or loss because it arises
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during the relationship with God. In the Old
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Testament, joy is often associated with encounters
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with God during festivals and worship, highlighting
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the communal celebration of worship. and then
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you have in the new testament joy is closely
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tied to the announcement and acceptance of the
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gospel in the believer's response to god's faithfulness
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even in the midst of hardship and persecution
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and so joy is a spiritual discipline a choice
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to focus on god's goodness and promise regardless
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of the presence of reality and it's sustained
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by the holy spirit who helps us deliver and believe
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and see god's glory in jesus's love by producing
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genuine joy, not from the outside, but from within.
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And joy celebrates redemption, hope for the future,
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and steady trust that God's love is permanent,
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even when pain is present. And the Bible teaches
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that Christians can always rejoice because the
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source of joy, Christ, never changes. And it
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is available at all times. And so biblical joy,
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flows from understanding and experiencing God's
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character, faithfulness, and salvation offered
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through Jesus Christ. It transcends both suffering
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and celebration, calling believers to remain
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cheerful, hopeful, and thankful regardless of
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their circumstances. And so we hope that you
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stay tuned into this episode as we are going
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to be walking through the fruits of the spirit
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And I just I like a series. I like knowing that
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i'm going to come back next week and look at
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um And know what i'm going to get into and so
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last week we talked about love and so we're going
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to be walking through the fruits of the spirit
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And if you are new to this channel, hi, my name
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is tracy. I will be your host today Welcome back
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to fostering faith and last week we kicked off
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a series of fruit of the spirit by talking about
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love. And listen, love had me just fired up.
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And so today we're going to be diving into the
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second fruit, which is joy. And so I'm not talking
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about the kind of Instagram joy that depends
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on good lighting and a perfect coffee foam. I
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mean, a deep, unshakable, Holy Spirit produced
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joy that survives the Monday that I just had.
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There were medical reports that we've been getting,
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the high school drama and the middle school drama.
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The kind of joy that shows up even when life
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doesn't. And let's be honest, happiness is easy.
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Joy is holy. Happiness fades when moments end.
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Joy sticks around when everything falls apart.
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And we have Galatians 5, 22 -23 that says, But
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the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
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patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
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and self -control. Did you get that? Joy isn't
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something that you chase. It's something the
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spirit produces in you. And we have hara, which
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comes from haris, meaning grace in Greek. And
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I may have butchered that, but I tried really
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hard on that. So literally joy is grace recognized.
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It's the happiness. And it happens whenever your
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heart suddenly realizes, wow, God's been good
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to me even when life hasn't. that's why Paul
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says in Philippians 4 for rejoice in the Lord
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always again, I say rejoice and That verse will
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always be forever ingrained in my brain. I have
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a wonderful Older saint and she is just on fire
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for Christ and his inner in her mid 80s and she
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is just a wonderful person you cannot be around
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this woman and Not just smile and just she exudes
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Jesus I mean, it's just wonderful and she was
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talking to me one day and she clapped her hands
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and just said, you know rejoice in the Lord always
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rejoice I get I say again rejoice and I mean
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she just has Such joy. I mean is she just a wonderful
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wonderful human But we also have to think of
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where you know, Paul wrote that He wrote that
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in prison Not on a beach vacation, not after
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he got a million followers, not after he made
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reels that, you know, made him famous. Joy doesn't
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need a good view. Joy doesn't need a follower.
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It needs a good God. And so, joy begins with
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God. And here's what I love about Zephaniah 3,
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17. It says, the Lord your God is in your midst,
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a mighty one who saves. He will rejoice over
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you with gladness. He is quite you by His love.
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And He will exalt you over with a loud singing.
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Did you hear that? God rejoices. That means joy
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didn't start with us. It started with Him. Joy
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is part of God's nature. He's not moody. We're
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emotionally unpredictable. He delights in his
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creation. In theologian, Herman Beneke said,
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the joy of the Lord is self -delight of his perfect
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being and his works. In other words, God's joy
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flows from who he is. And when the Holy Spirit
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lives in us, his joy starts to flow through us.
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Joy isn't a personality. It's participation in
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the divine life. That's why Nehemiah could say
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the joy of the Lord is my strength It's not our
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joy that keeps us it says and the joy of Jesus
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and so let's talk about Jesus because is anyone
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model joy it is him and so John 15 11 says Jesus
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said these things I have spoken to you so that
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my joy may be in you and that your joy is Maybe
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made full Notice the order he said his joy in
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us Makes ours full that means joy Doesn't come
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from our circumstances It comes from connection
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and in context John 15 is About the vine and
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the branches and Jesus says abide in me and in
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Greek those words Mino means to remain, to stay,
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to dwell. So joy is the natural result of staying
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connected in Christ. And so John 15, four through
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five says, remain in me and I will remain in
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you for I am the branch that cannot produce fruit
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if it is not severed from the vine and you cannot
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be fruitful unless you remain in me. Five, yes.
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I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those
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who remain in me will produce much fruit. Apart
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from me, you can do nothing. And if you skip
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down to nine, I have loved you even as the Father
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has loved me. Remain in my love." And so, whenever
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you're disconnected from the vine, you don't
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just lose energy. You lose your joy. And that's
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why some people feel spiritually burned out.
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They're doing ministry disconnected from intimacy.
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And I mean, we are often, we should have people
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in our lives to be like, hey, are you connected
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to the vine? When was the last time that you
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sat with Jesus? Sitting on his feet, sitting
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at the root and just getting filled up. Hebrews
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12 .2 says, for the joy set before him, he endured
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the cross. Pause right there. The verse changes
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everything. Joy carried Jesus through the cross.
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Not comfort. Not popularity. Joy. And so that
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Greek term there, because of the joy, means he
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saw beyond the suffering to the salvation it
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would bring. And that's why biblical joy always
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includes hope. It looks forward. So even whenever
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it hurts, remember, the same joy that carried
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Jesus through suffering is the joy the Spirit
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puts inside of you. And so the fruits. Joy is
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evident in life. And so Galatians 5 isn't about
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personality traits. It's about proof of life.
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The fruit of the Spirit is evidence that the
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Spirit is really in control. And Douglas Moo,
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a commentary on Galatians, says that the fruit
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is not something believers manufacture. It's
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something the fruit cultivates as we walk with
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him. So when Paul lists joy second, it's not
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random. Love expresses itself through joy. And
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you have Romans 14, 17. The back says up, for
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the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking,
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but righteousness and peace. and joy in the Holy
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Spirit. That means joy isn't optional. It's a
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kingdom marker. Its righteousness shows our standing,
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and the peace shows our stability. Then joy shows
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up in spiritual vitality. And here's the truth.
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The absence of joy doesn't mean the absence of
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salvation, but it usually means the absence of
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surrender. Because the Holy Spirit produces joy
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when He's free to rule. And so joy versus happiness.
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So let's clear it up. And so let's be real for
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a second. We live in a culture that confuses
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joy with happiness like they're twins and they're
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not. Happiness is external. It depends on what's
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happening while joy is internal. It depends on
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what's indwelling. Happiness says, I feel good
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because something's good. Joy says, I feel secure
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because God is good. Even if nothing else is
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Jesus never promised happiness He promised joy
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in John 16 22 it says you will have sorrow now
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But I will see you again and your hearts will
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rejoice and no one will take your joy from you
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Did you catch that Joy that cannot be taken You
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can use a job You can lose your friends Lose
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your plan, but you cannot lose the joy that's
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rooted in Christ unless you hand it over. And
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so what steals joy? Let's name some thieves because
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you can't protect what you can't identify. One.
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Comparison. And so looking sideways when you
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should be looking upward. Two. Thinking God needs
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your help running the universe. He doesn't. I've
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offered my advice, and he says, I got this. Let
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me take care of it. Three, complacency. Forgetting
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what God already did. Four, complaining. You
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can't praise and pout at the same time. Five,
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circumstances. allowing what's happening around
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you to define what's happening within you. Psalm
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51 12, restore to me the joy of our salvation.
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David didn't lose salvation. He lost joy. Why?
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Because sin always steals it. Joy can't coexist
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with rebellion. It dries up whenever we're resisting
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the Holy Spirit that it produces. And so what
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are we going to be doing in the time where we
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are in just lack of joy? What are we going to
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be doing in the times where we need God's help
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and we don't feel like he's there? And so what
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are we going to be doing whenever we are just
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sitting here idly and just thinking like everyone
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just stole my joy? It's just I don't have anything
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to do. I don't know what to do, you know, and
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it is Just so obvious that we are not connected
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with the vine. We're not sitting at his feet.
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We're not studying We don't have that relationship.
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We don't have anything because we're not connected
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to The vine and so whenever we are allowing ourselves
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to Not be connected how can we stay in the fruit
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of the spirit and so as we are gonna go into
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these next episodes as far as The next fruits
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of the spirit if these messages are encouraging
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you make sure that you write a comment make sure
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that you are allowing other people to Walk through
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this and maybe use it as a small group. Maybe
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use it as a Intro to a conversation, you know,
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let's dive into this as a community and so whenever
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we are allowing God to speak in our lives, making
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sure that we're sharing what God is working through
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us. And so let's just go back. And so the joy
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begins with God. And so you can't have joy without
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the owner of it. And then you have the joy of
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Jesus. And we can't forget the fruit of the spirit
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because joy is evident in that life. And we work
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through the joy versus happiness. And what steals
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our joy? Comparison. control, and circumstances.
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And then we have joy and suffering. Here's where
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joy gets tested. In James 1, 2 through 4, it
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says, consider it to all joy, my brothers and
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sisters, whenever you encounter various trials,
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knowing that the testing of your faith can produce
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endurance. The word consider means to choose
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to see it this way. Joy isn't pretending. Pain
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isn't real. It's choosing to see the purpose
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behind it. In Romans 5, 3 -5, it says that we
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exalt in tribulations because tribulations produce
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perseverance, character, and hope. Peter writes
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in 1 Peter 1, 6 -8, it says, greatly rejoice
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through now we suffer grief because the tested
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faith will result in praise when Jesus is revealed.
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The early church in Acts 5 -41 that says the
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apostles rejoiced when they were counted worthy
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to suffer for his name. That's not insanity.
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That's a spirit -born perspective. An eternal
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joy. Hope for the future. In Romans 8 -18, I
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consider that suffering in the present time are
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not worthy to be compared with the glory that
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will be revealed to us. Joy looks forward. It's
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eschatological, a fancy word, meaning to point
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to the end of a big finish. Revelation 21 .4
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says, there is no more tears mourning for pain.
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Every bit of joy you feel now is just a preview
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of eternity. And that's why we can sing through
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sorrow, because joy sees the finish line. And
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so how do we cultivate joy every day? One, stay
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grateful. Gratitude multiplies joy. Psalm 103
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says, bless the Lord, own my soul and forget
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none of his benefits. Write down what God has
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done and reread it whenever you forget. Two,
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stay connected. Joy is communal. Acts 2 .46 says
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that the believers ate together with glad and
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sincere hearts. Isolation kills joy. Fellowship
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feeds it. And we've talked about it time and
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time again, community is so important. Three,
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stay grounded. Let scripture root you. Jeremiah
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15, 16 says, your word becomes... Let me try
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that again. Jeremiah 15, 16 says, your words
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became... for me a joy and a delight in my heart.
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You have to stay rooted. You have to stay grounded
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in scripture. You have to write it on your heart
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because the enemy will seek, kill, and destroy
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you and he will twist that scripture. Please
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know that he knows that scripture probably better
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than you do. That's why it's so important just
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to sit with the word. Stay generous. Joy flows
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through open hands. 2nd Corinthians 9 -7 says,
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God loves a cheerful giver. The Greek word here,
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hilarious, where we get hilarious, giving should
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make you smile. Five, stay repentant. Joy returns
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fastest to the humble. Repentance isn't a lecture,
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it's a reset. Joy as a witness. And so Philippians
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4, 4, 7 says, rejoice in the Lord always. Again,
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I say rejoice. Let your gentle spirit be known
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to all the people. The Lord is near. And like
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we talked about in the very beginning, where
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did Paul write that? In prison. Chains could
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not choke his joy because joy isn't chained to
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comfort. People notice whenever you still have
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peace when you shouldn't. Joy evangelizes without
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words. And maybe you're listening today and you're
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thinking Tracy this all sounds great, but I don't
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feel joy And that's okay fillings aren't fruit
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fruit grows with time and sunshine and Sometimes
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the seeds still are underground and God's watering
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them with tears with pain Psalms 35 says Weeping
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may last for a night But a shout of joy is coming
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in the morning. Morning always comes. The sun's
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gonna come up. And with his grace and mercy,
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we get to see that. So each morning this week,
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before you touch your phone, whisper this, God,
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thank you that your joy is my strength today.
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And watch how that resets your whole day. Gratitude
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invites joy. And joy fuels strength. And strength
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carries peace. And so love plants seeds. Joy
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is the bloom. And when the world gets darker,
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joy shines brighter. The world doesn't need more
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cheerful Christians pretending everything is
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fine. It needs joyful believers anchored in someone
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who actually is. So wherever you go this week,
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school, work, practice, hospital rooms, Carry
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joy like a perfume Leave a trace of it wherever
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you walk in Romans 15 13 says Now may the Lord
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of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing
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So that you will abound in hope by the power
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of the Holy Spirit And that's my prayer for you
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And so let's close in prayer dear Heavenly Father.
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Thank you so much for these gifts of joy not
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shallow not short -term but the kind that holds
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on steady when life gets shaky. Fill every listener
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today with joy of their salvation. Restore what
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has been stolen. Teach us to abide in you so
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we deeply know what joy feels like. And it becomes
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a natural response. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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Well, we hope this message blessed you. Thank
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you so much for spending time with me today.
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Next week, we're going to be diving into peace,
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the calm that does not make sense because change
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is going to come. But that peace completely changes
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everything. And so until then, we hope you guys
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have an amazing week. We love you. Have a great
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week. Bye.