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Transcript

Beyond Your Ability Joel Osteen · A Better Tomorrow

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: God gave Nehemiah a dream to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: They had been down for many years. People were living
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  Speaker 1: there unprotected. Nehemiah was a thousand miles away working as
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  Speaker 1: a cupbearer.
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  Speaker 2: For the king.
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  Speaker 1: He wasn't a builder. He worked in the kitchen. He
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  Speaker 1: didn't have the resources, the funds, the crew, the experience.
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  Speaker 1: All the odds were against him. Looked like an impossible situation.
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  Speaker 1: He Many times God will ask you to do things
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  Speaker 1: that seem beyond your own ability. He'll put dreams in
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  Speaker 1: your heart that seem too big. You don't have the experience,
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  Speaker 1: the talent, the connections. If we look at it only
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  Speaker 1: in our ability, then we'll talk ourselves out of it.
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  Speaker 1: But God wouldn't ask you to do it if he
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  Speaker 1: hadn't already lined up what you need.
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  Speaker 2: It looks difficult.
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  Speaker 1: You don't see how it can happen, but if you'll
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  Speaker 1: take steps of faith, you'll discover God has already gone
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  Speaker 1: before you. It's going to be easier than you think.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not saying there won't be obstacles, people trying to
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  Speaker 1: stop you and times that you can feel overwhelmed, but
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  Speaker 1: God is not going to.
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  Speaker 2: Leave you there.
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  Speaker 1: There would be these moments of favor where God makes
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  Speaker 1: things happen that you couldn't make happen. Like changing that
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  Speaker 1: council member's mind, favor that catapults you into your destiny,
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  Speaker 1: favor that opens doors you can't open, favor that causes
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  Speaker 1: your business.
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  Speaker 2: To take off.
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  Speaker 1: Nehemiah could have thought of all the reasons why he
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  Speaker 1: couldn't rebuild the wall.
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  Speaker 2: God, this is too hard. What you're asking me to
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  Speaker 2: do is not reasonable. It's not practical.
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  Speaker 1: But deep down, Nehemiah understood this principle, that the God
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  Speaker 1: who asks you to do difficult things is the same
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  Speaker 1: God that goes before you and makes the.
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  Speaker 2: Crooked places straight. It's a test. If you play it
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  Speaker 2: safe and think, I can't do it, Joel. The Anakites
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  Speaker 2: are too big.
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  Speaker 1: The dream too great, the opposition too strong, then it
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  Speaker 1: will be too hard. The problem is you never saw
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  Speaker 1: what God was up to. If you don't take the risk,
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  Speaker 1: you'll never see how God was going to step in
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  Speaker 1: and make it easier than you thought. All the odds
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  Speaker 1: were against Nehemiah. Thoughts telling him he didn't have a chance.
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  Speaker 1: This was not possible, but Nehemiah chose to believe. God
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  Speaker 1: is looking for some Nehemiahs, for some people who won't
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  Speaker 1: get talked out of their dreams, people that are not
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  Speaker 1: moved by how big the challenge is, people that don't dread,
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  Speaker 1: like it is too hard, too much, too long, too great, I.
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  Speaker 2: Can't do it. No, be a Nehemiah.
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  Speaker 1: The reason God's asking you to do something that's beyond
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  Speaker 1: your ability is he's about to show you his favor
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  Speaker 1: like you've never seen.
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  Speaker 2: It looks hard, but if you'll take that.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Step of faith, you'll discover God has gone before you.
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  Speaker 1: He's going to cause things to fall into place. It's
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  Speaker 1: going to be easier than you think. Nehemiah chapter 1,
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  Speaker 1: he prayed, God, grant me success as I go to
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  Speaker 1: the king and ask for a favor.
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  Speaker 2: Put it in his heart to help me.
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  Speaker 1: Nehemiah prayed a bold prayer. God, I'm going to go
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  Speaker 1: to the king. I'm going to ask him to be
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  Speaker 1: good to me, but I need a favor, God.
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  Speaker 2: Put it in his heart to help me.
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  Speaker 1: What a great prayer. God, put it in people's heart
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  Speaker 1: to help us. God, cause us to stand out.
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  Speaker 2: God, cause people to want to be good to us. Well, y'all,
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  Speaker 2: that's kind of selfish.
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  Speaker 1: Listen, if you're going to reach your destiny, if you're
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  Speaker 1: going to accomplish your God-given dreams, if you're going to
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  Speaker 1: go places no one in your family has gone, you
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  Speaker 1: have to have a boldness. You can't be weak, intimidated,
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  Speaker 1: this is too much.
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  Speaker 2: You have to ask big, pray big, believe big.
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  Speaker 1: You're going to need other people to open doors, other
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  Speaker 1: people to fund your.
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  Speaker 2: Dream, other people to use their influence to push you forward.
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  Speaker 1: Have you ever prayed, God put it in people's hearts
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  Speaker 1: to help me, put it in people's hearts to show
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  Speaker 1: me favor?
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  Speaker 2: Nehemiah went to the king. The scripture says, the.
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  Speaker 1: First thing the king said was, Nehemiah, how can I
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  Speaker 1: help you? When God puts a big dream in your heart,
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  Speaker 1: he's already lined up the people to say, how can
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  Speaker 1: I help you? How can I be good to you?
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  Speaker 1: Where can I show you favor? Nehemiah asked the king
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  Speaker 1: for permission to take time off to go rebuild the walls.
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  Speaker 2: There was no reason for the king to agree. The
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  Speaker 2: walls being down didn't affect him.
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  Speaker 1: But for some reason, the king said, fine, Nehemiah, you
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  Speaker 1: can go. Nehemiah said, thank you, but I need another favor.
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  Speaker 1: I don't have any materials. I don't have the funds.
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  Speaker 1: I need stones, rocks, mortars, supplies. Now he's asking the
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  Speaker 1: king to fund his dreams. You would think the king
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  Speaker 1: would say, excuse me, this is your project. I'm giving
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  Speaker 1: you the time off. Don't expect me to pay for it.
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  Speaker 1: But once again, the king said, yes, I'll give you
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  Speaker 1: the supplies. God has already lined up the provision you need.
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  Speaker 1: I've heard it said what God orders, he pays for.
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  Speaker 1: You may not see how you could ever have the funds,
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  Speaker 1: how you could start the business, build that orphanage, move
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  Speaker 1: into a nicer neighborhood, but You know God put that
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  Speaker 1: promise in your heart, but when you look at what
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  Speaker 1: you have, your resources.
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  Speaker 2: There's no way. The good news is it's not just
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  Speaker 2: up to you.
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  Speaker 1: Like Nehemiah, God has people that will fund what he promised.
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  Speaker 1: He controls the universe. He knows how to get to
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  Speaker 1: you what you need. Not natural, but supernatural increase. Contracts
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  Speaker 1: coming to you, ideas, opportunities, people tracking you down.
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  Speaker 2: You have to do like Nehemiah.
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  Speaker 1: Lord, I believe you're going to cause people to be
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  Speaker 1: good to me. You're going to open the windows of heaven,
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  Speaker 1: pour out resources to bring to pass what you promise.
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  Speaker 1: It has to go beyond the natural because if you
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  Speaker 1: just focus on what you have, you won't see a way.
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  Speaker 1: God puts dreams in our heart that are bigger than
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  Speaker 1: what we can afford. This is where faith has to
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  Speaker 1: kick in. This is where you have to pray bold
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  Speaker 1: prayers and believe for uncommon resources out of the ordinary
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  Speaker 1: increase so you can rebuild the walls, so you.
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  Speaker 2: Can accomplish what God put in your heart.
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  Speaker 1: Nehemiah said, King, one last thing. I need protection as
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  Speaker 1: I travel to Jerusalem. The scripture says the king granted
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  Speaker 1: Nehemiah all his requests because the gracious hand of God
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  Speaker 1: was on his life. He went and rebuilt the walls
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  Speaker 1: in 52 days, record time. If Nehemiah were standing here today,
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  Speaker 1: he would tell you, when you're facing a big obstacle,
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  Speaker 1: a big dream, may look impossible, you don't have the resources,
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  Speaker 1: thoughts are telling you it'll never work out, let me
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  Speaker 1: encourage you, it's going to be.
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  Speaker 2: Easier than you think. People will be there to help you.
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  Speaker 2: The funds will show up.
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  Speaker 1: The good breaks will come. You have an advantage. You're
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  Speaker 1: not doing life by yourself. Like Nehemiah, the gracious hand
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  Speaker 1: of God is on your life. How are you going
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  Speaker 1: to beat the cancer?
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  Speaker 2: The gracious hand of God. How are you going to
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  Speaker 2: overcome the loss? The gracious hand of God. How are
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  Speaker 2: you going to accomplish that dream? The gracious hand of God.
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  Speaker 1: There is favor on your life that will cause you
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  Speaker 1: to go.
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  Speaker 2: Where you can't go on your own.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not saying that on the way to our destiny
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  Speaker 1: that there won't be challenges. There won't be setbacks and
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  Speaker 1: things you don't understand. But if you stay in faith,
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  Speaker 1: you're going to come in to these moments of favor
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  Speaker 1: where God suddenly opens a door, causes people to be
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  Speaker 1: good to you, turns the medical report around. It's not
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  Speaker 1: going to be a constant struggle. You're going to say
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  Speaker 1: like Nehemiah, it was easier than I thought. Well, Joel,
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  Speaker 1: what if I believe this and it doesn't get easier?
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  Speaker 1: What if you believe it and it does? You have
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  Speaker 1: to release your faith. I can tell you if you're
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  Speaker 1: dreading things, convinced that the struggle is permanent, going to
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  Speaker 1: be so hard to accomplish my dream, hard to raise
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  Speaker 1: my child, hard to get well, your own thinking is
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  Speaker 1: limiting your life. Get in agreement with God. He's going
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  Speaker 1: before you right now making crooked places straight.
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  Speaker 2: You're about to see things begin to fall into place.
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  Speaker 2: The right people show up. The right doors open.
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  Speaker 1: The resources, things that you used to struggle with are
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  Speaker 1: not going to be a struggle anymore.
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  Speaker 2: You don't have to make it happen. You just have
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  Speaker 2: to believe.
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  Speaker 1: Father, thank you that your gracious hand is upon my life,
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  Speaker 1: that I'm coming into these moments of favor, that what
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  Speaker 1: I'm facing is.
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  Speaker 2: Going to be easier than it looks.
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  Speaker 1: During World War II, an American fighter pilot was flying
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  Speaker 1: a mission over the Pacific Ocean when he ran out
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  Speaker 1: of fuel. He had to land on an island controlled
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  Speaker 1: by the Japanese. He and his men knew they would
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  Speaker 1: soon be captured and taken as prisoners. With their planes
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  Speaker 1: sitting on the beach, no fuel, they had all given up.
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  Speaker 1: All that is except one man. It just so happened
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  Speaker 1: this bomber was.
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  Speaker 2: Carrying a chaplain.
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  Speaker 1: He believed that God could make a way where he
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  Speaker 1: didn't see a way. He began to pray, ask God
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  Speaker 1: to protect them, give them favor, help them to get
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  Speaker 1: back to their base.
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  Speaker 2: The other men thought he was kind of far out.
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  Speaker 2: They were on a deserted island, no boat, no food.
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  Speaker 1: Just a matter of time before they would be found.
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  Speaker 1: Early the next morning, one of the men couldn't sleep.
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  Speaker 1: He decided to go to the beach and take a walk.
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  Speaker 1: He looked out in the waves and saw something strange
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  Speaker 1: bobbing up and down. There was this large canister, about
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  Speaker 1: five feet tall, three feet wide. He went over and
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  Speaker 1: looked closer. The words were written on it, aviation fuel.
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  Speaker 1: He couldn't believe it. He shouted to the other airmen.
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  Speaker 1: They came, pulled it out of the water. They rushed
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  Speaker 1: to their plane, poured the fuel in it. In a
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  Speaker 1: few minutes, they were in the air on their way
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  Speaker 1: to their camp, not far away. Their lives were spared. Later,
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  Speaker 1: it was discovered that the canister was one of hundreds
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  Speaker 1: that were on a big cargo barge headed to the
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  Speaker 1: air base. On the way, the barge was destroyed by
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  Speaker 1: the enemy forces. All the other canisters had been lost,
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  Speaker 1: but this one floated over 1,000 miles past 25 other islands.
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  Speaker 1: Just so happened to wash up on this island right
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  Speaker 1: where the plane had.
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  Speaker 2: Run out of fuel.
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  Speaker 1: It just so happened the soldier went out early that
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  Speaker 1: morning and saw it. seemed like an impossible situation, deserted
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  Speaker 1: island on the enemy's territory, no airport, no gas stations,
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  Speaker 1: but God never runs out of options.
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  Speaker 2: He had the solution before you had the problem.
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  Speaker 1: That canister had been floating in that direction months before
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  Speaker 1: the plane ever.
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  Speaker 2: Run out of fuel.
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  Speaker 1: It could have sunk, gotten lost, washed up on another island,
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  Speaker 1: but what God has ordained for you is going to
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  Speaker 1: find you.
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  Speaker 2: It's going to show up at the right time.
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  Speaker 1: God already has the healing in route, the promotion in route,
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  Speaker 1: the freedom in route, the abundance is in route, the
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  Speaker 1: right people are in route. May seem like you could
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  Speaker 1: never get out of your situation, but never accomplished that dream,
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  Speaker 1: you don't know what God is up to. You don't
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  Speaker 1: know what's already en route. It's not going to be
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  Speaker 1: as difficult as you think. It's not going to take.
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  Speaker 2: As long as it looks.
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  Speaker 1: God is going before you, making crooked places straight. If
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  Speaker 1: you could see what He has coming, how He's going
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  Speaker 1: to turn the trouble around, restore what you've lost, thrust
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  Speaker 1: you to a new level, you wouldn't be discouraged. You
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  Speaker 1: wouldn't complain. You would thank Him for His goodness. It
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: may look complicated, may seem stressful. You don't see how
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  Speaker 1: the odds are against you.
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  Speaker 2: You could live worried. You have to keep reminding.
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  Speaker 1: Yourself it's going to be easier than you think. God
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  Speaker 1: is in control. He's fighting your battles. His plans for
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  Speaker 1: you are for good. He's bigger than the sickness, greater
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  Speaker 1: than the trouble, more powerful than what's trying to stop you.
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  Speaker 2: In the scripture, Gideon and his.
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  Speaker 1: 300 men were facing an army of 120,000. Gideon was
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  Speaker 1: already afraid, intimidated. God finally convinced him to lead the
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  Speaker 1: people of Israel against the Midianites. I can hear him saying, God,
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  Speaker 1: this is impossible.
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  Speaker 2: We're so outnumbered. How do you expect me to defeat
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  Speaker 2: these people?
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  Speaker 1: God puts you in situations that are way over your head.
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  Speaker 1: Number one, to see if you'll trust him. And number two,
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  Speaker 1: so he can show out in your life. God said
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  Speaker 1: in Judges 6, Gideon, you will defeat the Midianites as
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  Speaker 1: if you were fighting one man. God was saying, Gideon,
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  Speaker 1: I know you're facing 120,000 men.
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  Speaker 2: I know you're outnumbered. I didn't put you in this
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  Speaker 2: situation by accident.
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  Speaker 1: Trust me, I'm going before you. I'm going to make
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  Speaker 1: the crooked places straight. It's going to be easier than
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  Speaker 1: you think. Gideon and his men blew their horns and shouted.
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  Speaker 1: The enemy got confused and ended up destroying each other.
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  Speaker 1: Gideon didn't even have to fight. They never even broke
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  Speaker 1: a sweat. There's something called a no sweat anointing. That's
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  Speaker 1: when you don't have to make it happen. You don't
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  Speaker 1: have to strive, work, manipulate. You just stay in faith
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  Speaker 1: and God does it for you. God will change the
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: council member's mind. God will cause the king to give
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  Speaker 1: you the resources. God will bring the canister of fuel
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  Speaker 1: to you. You may be up against a challenge that's
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  Speaker 1: much bigger. Like Gideon, you feel outnumbered.
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  Speaker 2: The sickness seems stronger. The addiction seems permanent. People against
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  Speaker 2: you are more powerful.
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  Speaker 1: God is saying to you what he said to Gideon.
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  Speaker 1: You're going to defeat it like you're fighting one man.
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  Speaker 1: It's going to be easier than you think. God is
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  Speaker 1: going to do things out of the ordinary, uncommon, unusual.
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  Speaker 2: You couldn't make it happen.
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  Speaker 1: It's God going before you, making the crooked places straight,
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  Speaker 1: defeating giants, bringing promotion, favor, victory. Now, let faith rise
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  Speaker 1: up today.
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  Speaker 2: Sure, we're going to have challenges.
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  Speaker 1: There are going to be seasons we have to endure, outlast,
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  Speaker 1: stand strong. But what I want you to see is
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: there are also moments of favor where God's going to
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  Speaker 1: step in and.
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  Speaker 2: Make it easier than it looks.
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  Speaker 1: Don't go through life dreading, worried, stressed out.
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  Speaker 2: You're not doing life on your own. The gracious hand
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  Speaker 2: of God is upon you.