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60. Counting Blessings When It Feels Like Nothing Worked (with Steady Okurame) · Gen Truth | Conquering Adulting through faith in Jesus

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  Hey friend, welcome to Gen Truth Podcast show.
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  My name is Daniel Pemko.
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  I am loved by God.
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  I am called and gifted by God to teach His Word.
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  Would you be kind to allow me to speak into your life as we journey through the setbacks,
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  the opportunities and the mysteries we encounter as young adults?
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  I will be exploring timeless truths in God's Word that would strengthen us through our
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  adulting journey.
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  If you're ready, I'm ready, grab your earpiece and let's go forward as we talk.
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  First Thessalonians 5, 18, in everything, give thanks to God for this is the will of
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  God in Christ Jesus for you.
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  But let's be honest, it can be hard.
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  How do you remain thankful when you don't get the miracle?
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  How do you remain thankful when you don't get that breakthrough?
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  It then has to be a deliberate act to intentionally focus your mind on gratitude.
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  Hello everyone.
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  My name is Stadio Kuromet and I'm the minister of hope.
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  I want to first of all say thank you to my brother Daniel for having me here and also
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  for the work you're doing with your platform.
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  It's quite inspiring.
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  It's been a blessing to me, my family and a lot of people out there.
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  So thank you and God bless you.
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  Anyways, today we're going to be talking about something that has been on my mind for quite
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  some time.
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  You know, as we approach the end of 2025, I know a lot of us have prayers that haven't
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  been answered, expectations that haven't been met.
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  And I always say at the end of the year, it's usually a time of reflection, you know, reflecting
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  on the things that have happened and prayerfully prepare for the next year.
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  But often what then happens is you see people feeling bad towards the end of the year, you
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  know, even falling into depression because there's a number of things that they thought
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  would happen in their life that hasn't happened.
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  You know, and I always say to people that one of the ways the devil tries to steal your
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  joy is by keeping you focused on the things you haven't accomplished.
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  You know, my dad said to me one time, the greatest embarrassment you could give the
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  devil is to be happy in the midst of trouble.
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  Oh, trust me.
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  When he said this, my face went like, what are you saying?
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  Why should I be happy in the midst of trouble?
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  Then he went further.
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  He then said, he said, because when you are happy, it means you are not focused on the
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  trouble.
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  Then you can find a way out.
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  Oh, I said, preach, preach, preach to me, son.
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  And this is, this is true because think of the average man, the average person, he or
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  she can have 99 miracles and still be miserable when they don't get the last one.
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  And I don't think that's God's plan.
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  You know, I want you to think about this critically.
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  You can get a breakthrough this month and in a few hours you're feeling miserable, you're
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  feeling angry, you're just annoyed because something didn't happen.
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  So the devil always has a way of pointing our focus on what hasn't happened and making
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  us forget all of the blessings, all of the breakthroughs, all of the good things that
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  God has provided for us.
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  You know, the Bible said in first Thessalonians 5, 18, in everything, give thanks to God
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  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
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  And let's be honest, it can be hard.
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  How do you remain thankful when you don't get the miracle?
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  How do you remain thankful when you don't get that breakthrough?
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  It then has to be a deliberate act to intentionally focus your mind on gratitude.
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  So let's quit playing religion and tell ourselves the truth.
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  Being a Christian doesn't exempt you from the troubles of life, but here's our confidence
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  that even in the midst of the trouble, God is with us.
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  So we give thanks, not because of the things we see around us, but because the Bible said
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  in everything, give thanks to God.
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  And also we know that all things work together for good, for those who love God.
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  My God, I'm preaching to you tonight and I apologize if I'm coming too strong, but I'm
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  really passionate about this.
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  You know, look at the life of David, look at David in 1 Samuel 30.
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  The Bible says that David returned from battle and found that his city was burned.
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  His family has been taken away and his men were so angry, they were ready to stone him.
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  And this is such a perfect time to go all out, get angry with God.
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  You know, how can the man after your heart go through so much pain?
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  But David didn't do that.
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  The Bible said he cried with his men and yes, it's okay to cry.
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  But guess what?
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  David didn't end there.
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  It went further to say that David strengthened himself in the Lord.
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  And then he asked the Lord, should I pursue, will I overtake and will I recover all?
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  And the word of the Lord came back and said, pursue, for you should surely overtake and
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  with no doubt you will recover all.
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  My God, can I just take a minute to pause and speak to someone hearing the sound of
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  my voice, someone feeling discouraged.
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  I speak strength to your body right now in the name of Jesus.
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  So that devil is a liar.
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  What the enemy meant for evil, God has turned it around for your good.
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  Get up, encourage yourself like David.
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  The Bible said he encouraged himself in the Lord.
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  Why am I saying this?
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  We're coming to the end of 2025 and it's so easy for the devil to point your attention
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  to all of the things that haven't happened in this year.
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  And guess what?
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  That's going to lead to depression.
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  That's going to lead to you being sad, you know, but listen, if you can deliberately
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  put your attention on all that God has done.
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  You know, my dad once said to me, if we take a pen and a paper and intentionally write
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  all that God has done for us over a period of time, every man, every woman will look
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  back and say, indeed, God is good.
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  God is good.
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  And that that's that's what led to my last song that I released a couple of months ago.
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  God is good.
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  When you count all your blessings, you take a look around, you will see that God is good.
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  Hey friend, if you've been listening to Gentry Podcast for even one episode or two, it is
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  time to subscribe and it is time to spread the good news.
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  How about you reach out to someone and tell them about the podcast, share an episode with
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  them, and let's get as many people as possible on this journey, which is amazing.
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  And thank you for listening week in, week out.
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  I appreciate it.
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  Who would have thought that David, David would become a king?
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  Who would have thought that David would become a king?
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  Who would have thought that Joseph, the man who was sold into slavery and landed into
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  prison would have become a prime minister?
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  No man would have thought about it, but yet it happened.
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  Look at him when he was in the prison, you know, he was in the prison, but yet he was
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  using his gift.
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  Some of you are so discouraged that you don't even want to continue with life, but God gives
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  you direction while you use your gift and while you walk in your purpose.
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  Maybe Joseph would have died in that prison if he didn't use his gift.
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  I'm speaking to you today.
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  I'll say this again, be vigilant.
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  We're coming to the end of the year.
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  It's so easy for the devil to sneak in and start to tell you lies.
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  But if you focus your heart on gratitude, you know, I'm thankful for life.
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  We just don't thank God for what he's done.
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  We also thank him for who he is.
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  I want you to spend some time at the end of the year, praying and thinking, God, I'm not
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  where I want to be, but I'm not where I used to be.
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  I'm right where God wants me to be.
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  Glory.
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  Father, thank you.
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  Thank you.
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  Thank you.
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  You know, a couple of years ago, I came into this country and about a year after, around
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  2018, I lost everything.
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  Lucky for me, while I left Nigeria, I came here with enough money to buy a car.
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  So I had a car and I had, I think it was $40 or $50 to my name, nothing else, literally
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  sleeping in my car for three months.
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  It was so hard for me to get a job.
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  It was like everyone around me was getting a job, but I couldn't get a job.
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  I was so depressed.
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  I was so depressed, but in that period, it's thanksgiving and the heart of gratitude that
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  brought me out of that place, brought me out of that place.
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  I look at my life today and I'm so grateful for how far God has taken me.
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  Trust me, ladies and gentlemen, there is power when we decide to be grateful to God.
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  There's so much power because God loves you unconditionally.
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  The man who decided to die for you, even when he didn't know you, come and think about what
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  he can do for you.
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  There's nothing that God wouldn't do for you.
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  You are passionately loved by God.
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  So what you need to set your mind, not on the problem, but on the fact that the one
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  who called you has a better plan for you.
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  And let me just say this, your current situation doesn't determine your future.
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  Your future is determined by the decisions you make in line with the call of God upon
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  your life.
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  When Jeremiah chapter one and verse five, God's speaking to Jeremiah, he said, before
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  I formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you and I ordained you as a prophet to the
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  nations.
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  And if we know God's character through scriptures, it's consistent.
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  So it means that if God knew Jeremiah, God knows me and God knows you even before you
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  were born.
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  But here's the thing, if you read through Jeremiah, and I beg you, when you have time,
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  go through Jeremiah, it's a very, very insightful and very funny scripture.
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  You know, Jeremiah was chosen, he was called, he was appointed before he was born, and yet
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  he faced rejection, faced attacks, you know, he was lonely at some point, got depressed.
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  If you read Jeremiah 20, and then around 14, he was going to quit, you know.
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  So I want you to understand that the calling of God doesn't exempt you from trouble.
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  But as Christians, our confidence is in the one who has called us.
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  And that's why Psalms 34, in verse 19, will say, many are the afflictions of the righteous,
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  but the Lord delivers him from them all.
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  Trust me, there is no successful person that doesn't have a story.
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  There's a story behind, you know, I once heard Bishop T.J.
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  Shakespeare talk about this in one of his books, On Purpose, where he said, once we
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  meet people, we admire the gifts, we admire the success, and we're often blown away by
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  where they are, but people rarely stop to ask how they got there.
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  And you know, because the society only shows you the arrival and not the journey.
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  You know, social media celebrates suits, polished looks, smooth voices, stage moments, but behind
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  all of that, there were nights where, you know, they had sleepless nights, there were
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  days where they had no money, there were seasons when people told them no over and over again.
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  There were moments where hope felt completely gone, you know, but they kept going, they
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  developed resilience, they learned how to push through distractions, disappointments,
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  and delays.
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  They understood that, how did he put it, he said, in your purpose, a no doesn't always
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  mean you're on the wrong path, oh Jesus, Bishop.
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  In your purpose, a no doesn't always mean you're on your own path.
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  Sometimes it just means you haven't found the right people.
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  You must build, I'm saying, I'm telling you, for real, you must build resolve inside you.
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  Learn how to ignore distractions, overcome setbacks, and keep believing in what God has
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  placed inside of you.
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  You don't know where you are right now, that devil is a liar.
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  Speaking to you because I can't wait to hear your testimony, I can't wait to hear the exploits
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  you're about to do.
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  Don't allow your condition at the moment put you down.
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  Encourage yourself in the Lord, get up, get up, get up.
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  You've got so much potential inside of you, it's too late to give up now, it's too late.
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  Don't allow what you face or what you see to deter you from what God is doing in your
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  life, that devil is a liar.
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  I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait.
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  I want to thank my brother once more for bringing me here, but I want to say this, learn.
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  It's something you have to consciously do, to put your gaze on the positive things of
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  life.
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  You know, the fact that Jesus is on your boat doesn't mean the storm would not arise, but
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  guess what?
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  When it does, he's there to calm it down.
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  God bless you.
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  And like I said, I can't wait to hear your testimony.
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  But before I go, I just want us to just worship with a song briefly, if that's okay.
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  It's a song I really, really love, and I just want to sing that to you, and let's just worship
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  together in gratitude for what God has done throughout the year.
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  I love you, Lord, for your mercies never fails me.
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  All my days have been held in your hands.
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  From the moment that I wake up, till I lay my head, Lord, have mercy of the goodness
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  of God.
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  Oh, all my life you have been faithful.
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  Yes, you have.
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  All my life you have been so, so good.
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  With every breath that I am able, Lord, have mercy of the goodness.
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  Come on, let's lift our voices.
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  Say, all my life you have been faithful.
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  Yes, you have been faithful.
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  All my life you have been so, so good to me.
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  Yes, with every breath that I am able, I will sing to you.
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  I will sing.
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  Yes, I will sing.
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  I will sing of the goodness.
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  Come on, sing.
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  I will sing.
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  Oh, I will sing of the goodness.
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  Can you lift your voices and sing?
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  I will sing of the goodness of God.
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  Yes, yes, yes, I will sing of the goodness of God.
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  Thank you, Jesus.
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  Thank you, Jesus.
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  Thank you, Jesus.
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  God bless you.