Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20251207 - 2026 GREATER, Little by Little - Philippians 2:12-13

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#20251207 - 2026 GREATER, Little by Little - Philippians 2:12-13 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
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Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co.
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To learn more about the many resources available through
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Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services,
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visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free
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Calvary Church app. Now.
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Here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
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Amen. Amen.
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Take your Bibles, open them to two places.
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Would you? I want you to open the Exodus
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chapter 23 and Philippians chapter 2, this Exodus chapter
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23, Philippians Chapter 2. And I've entitled our Bible
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study Greater Little by Little. Greater Little by little.
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And as we head into a new year, it's important to remember.
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Grasp this. Write it down.
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It may be the banner of your year.
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It may be the banner of how you walked in today.
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But grasp this, especially as we move into a new year, as you
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have something fresh before you, something to anticipate.
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Remember this. God knows what He's doing with
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your life. God knows what He's doing with
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your life. He knows the why and the how,
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the what and the wind and whatever God allows and brings
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into our lives. However He leads and guides you,
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He knows what He's doing with you and me.
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I was reminded of Jeremiah chapter 29 and verse 11.
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So encouraging when I think of how God knows what He's doing,
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where He says, I know the thoughts that I think toward
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you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil to give you a
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future and a hope. Then you'll call upon me and go
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and pray to me and I will listen to you.
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And some of your translations says, I know the plans that I
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have for you. God knows and heading into a new
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year, God is with you. You're not alone.
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He wants to encourage us to take this year as it comes and to use
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it for his glory, to shift our thinking right now, to begin to
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think differently. You know, God is always wanting
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us to change the way we think. He wants us to exchange our
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ideas for his ideas. He wants us if we're believing a
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lie or, or taking, he wants us to lay the lie down and believe
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the truth. As we're being conformed more
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and more unchanged into the image of Christ, we have the
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mind of Christ. He's really wanting us to shift
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our thinking. And if you want to see a
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different year, I mean, if you want to see something different,
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you're going to have to think differently.
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You're going to have to shift your thinking.
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You're going to have to lay down that, that that which is holding
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you back in your thought life. You're going to have to take
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every thought into captivity to the obedience of Jesus Christ.
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So as we're planning and preparing and even dreaming and
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just thinking about God, what do you want to do in my life?
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How will you use me? And you're, you're just thinking
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that God can do exceedingly abundantly above all that you
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can think or ask, you want to remember that God wants to do
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something new in this new year. And anytime I do a a new year
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Bible study, I'm always, I always like to land on Joshua
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chapter 3. We're not going to use it very
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much here, but I want to read it to you because it's a good
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reminder for all of us as we look forward to a new year.
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In Joshua chapter 3, verse 4, Joshua is now after Moses,
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leading the children of Israel into the promised land.
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Finally, it's the next generation.
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They're going to take what God has promised them, and He tells
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them to leave some space. As you're following the ark of
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the covenant, make sure you can see it, and as you see it, do
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not come near it. He says that you may know the
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way which you must go. The ark of the covenant
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represented the presence of God. Keep your eyes on the Lord, Make
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here you see him follow that box, make sure there's a
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distance. Don't lose sight of it.
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Keep your eye on it. And then he says, because you
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haven't passed this way before and anything that God has for
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us, we have to acknowledge we haven't passed this way before.
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This is a great mistake that we make because we think with all
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of our experience and everything that we've gone through.
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Well, you know, new year, new thing.
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I've done this before, been there, done that, got the D
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shirt. I know no, no, no, anything
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that's up ahead, you haven't passed that way before.
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Everything that's up ahead, I haven't passed that way before.
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Now I may have some some similarities.
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There may be some experience, but then we've memorized,
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haven't we not? Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 5
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and six. Trust in the Lord with all your
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heart. Lean not on your own
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understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways
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and He'll direct your paths. It's one of my favorite verses
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in the Bible for steps of faith, for moving forward, for facing
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something new for us as a church, for for we here at
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Calvary, we're going to be celebrating our 26th anniversary
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as a church the day after Christmas.
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We started our Sunday morning services December 26th, 1999,
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and I was thinking when we were praying about moving out here
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and we're praying about moving anywhere, that we're narrowing
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it down to a few different places.
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And then when God finally narrowed it down to Aurora, He
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didn't tell us what was going to happen when we got here.
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He didn't lay out well, here's the next 25 years of what you're
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going to experience, Ed. He didn't, He couldn't.
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How could I have taken that all at once?
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How could I have received all of that at once?
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Now looking back and seeing all the things that God has done,
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and that's just the things we've seen, not the things that we
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haven't seen. God doesn't drop into our lives,
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the story of our lives in totality.
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He gives it to us in pieces. I mean, I know a lot of us, we
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would love to know what the next 10 years will bring.
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I mean, personally, I would like to know.
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I'd love to know what the next 10 years.
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But I know me like many of you, if something bad is going to
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happen in the next 10 years, I'll just worry about it until
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it comes. I'll miss all the days up to it
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and I'll just think about that day.
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Or if something's good going to happen in eight years, then I'm
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going to set my whole life up to experience that one kid.
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What day is it today? How long is it going to be?
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I won't live in a day by day faith relationship with God.
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I'll live by the events that He said it's going to happen.
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God doesn't give us the whole story because He wants us to.
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Looking to Him day by day, He doesn't tell us how things are
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going to turn out. He doesn't show us the end from
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the beginning in relationship to our own personal lives.
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He's not telling us right now what 2026 is going to be or how
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is He going to work things out. Which brings us to Exodus 23 and
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a very important part of our time as we prepare for the new
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year today, when the children of Israel were heading into the
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Promised Land from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.
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It was a very exciting time. It was also a very intimidating
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time. It was a radical life change for
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them. They had cried out for a
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deliverer year after year after year.
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God gave them the deliverer and he delivered in a miraculous,
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mighty way. Now they're leaving everything
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that they have known for generations into the unknown,
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into a life that they yet to. We, we read the Bible and we
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kind of know what they went. They don't know anything.
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They're living life just like you are today.
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They don't know what the future holds for them.
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They can't read a book and say, oh, I know how it's going to go
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and I know what's going to happen here.
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I know we're going to want. They don't have that.
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They're going into the unknown and God is with them, speaking
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to them and God tells them when they go into the promised lines,
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it's going to be a long process. It's not going to happen
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overnight. They won't get the land all at
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once. Which brings us to this verse in
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verse 28, chapter 23 of Exodus verse 28, where God tells them,
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I will send Hornets before you, which will drive out the Hivite,
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the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.
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I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the
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land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too
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numerous for you. And here's the phrase Little by
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little I will drive them out from before you until you have
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increased and you inherit the land.
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What is it that I want you to remember heading into the new
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year? God knows what He's doing with
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your life. He knows what He's doing with
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your life. He knows the how and the why and
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the when and the what. I hear his voice speaking
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through Moses to the people. And he says, I'm not going to
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do, I'm going to do this, but I'm not going to do it this way.
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I'm going to do this, but it's going to happen like this.
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Yes, you're going to face the enemies and I'm going to deal
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with them, but it's not going to happen in a year, but rather
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it's going to happen little by little.
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There's a timing. Not only the process, but the
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process happens over time. But there's even a greater truth
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here, more important than the process and more important than
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the timing, that you can't miss when you're reading the Bible.
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We get caught up in the processes, in the hows and the
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winds. We get caught up in that.
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But there's something in someone that you need to be caught up
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even more, and that's this. God is the one doing it.
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Don't ever forget that. God is the one doing it.
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This is the Lord's doing. When you read the verbs again,
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he says, I will send. I will not drive them out.
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Little by little. I will drive.
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I will drive them out until you've increased.
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When I see what is happening, I'm going to give you more, but
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I'm not going to give it to you all at once.
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God says to them then and to us now in the 21st century, I'm
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going to do the work that I want to do in your life.
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Little by little, little by little.
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God's will done. God's way will never lack God's
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supply. He's going to do what he wants
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to do when he wants to do it. Even more important is that he's
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in work in US, every single one of us, right now.
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And as we look to a new year or a new month or a new week, or
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even today, a new day, we must look to God first.
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Circumstances, they get so big and so hard and so challenging.
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That's all we see. And you look at difficult
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circumstances long enough and you'll just be bummed out
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because from your perspective and your resources and all that,
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you know, there's no way out. There's no way around this.
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And the cry of our heart is no longer how and when.
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It's why God why, and even God knows the whys of the
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circumstances and situations that have come into your life,
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why you're facing so many Hivites and Canaanites and
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Hittites. You go pastor, I've never met
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any of them. Oh, you have by type and picture
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the Hittites, all the Ites in the lands were the enemies of
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God. They were planted in the land
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and not willing to give it up. And you think as an illustration
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in your own life, the promises of God and the future in your
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life, it's filled with enemies, both people, but also yourself,
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the Hittites, the the Canaanites.
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These also can be a picture of the flesh.
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The children of Israel just left Egypt a picture of the flesh and
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the world system and they're heading into the promised land.
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And guess who's there? Not the Egyptians, but more
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problems. And God says I'll take care of
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the problems, but you have to look to me.
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I'm the one sending you, I'm the one driving you.
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And we have to look to God first.
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And that is where I think most of us, if not all of us, make
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the big mistake. We look to the enemy and then
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try to do it ourselves. We measure everything up.
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We try to figure it out. The enemy constantly bombarding
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us. We fail to look to the Lord.
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We fail to look to His string. I mean, if you're not careful,
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if things aren't happening in the way you want, you might even
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become mad at God and see God as an adversary.
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God says I'm going to drive the adversaries out, but you're not
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able to enjoy the work of God because you see Him as an
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adversary. When God is on your side, He
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knows the thoughts that He thinks towards you.
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They're not evil. The evil you and I experienced
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in this world, the source is sin.
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Whether it's our sin, someone else's sin, just the culture,
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that's Antichrist. God is not your adversary, He's
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your friend. By faith in Christ Jesus.
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I'm not going to even call you servants anymore.
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You're my friends. You're my friend.
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Daily our flesh is being dealt with and driven out as we look
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to the Lord as the New Year comes upon us in the next few,
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we don't have to wait for the new year, but as it comes upon
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us, I want you to think and meditate on this word greater.
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We'll get into it more and more in our studies, but God has
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something greater. We look to the Lord for what He
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is doing, the greater work of His Spirit.
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Which brings us to this beautiful passage in
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Philippians. Would you turn there with me?
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Philippians Chapter 2 Philippians chapter 2.
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There's so much greater awaiting you, greater victories, greater
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progress, greater peace, greater provision, greater faith.
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You're going to see in the series of our studies of just
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how much God has for you in the future and how important it is
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for you and me to look to him and not our ourselves.
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And this is where Paul is writing to the church in
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Philippi In verse 12. He says, therefore, my beloved,
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as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now
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much more in my absence. Again, much more is another,
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another derivative of greater, much more in my absence.
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Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is
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God who works in you both to will and to do for his good
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pleasure. Therefore, you see that word in
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verse 12. Therefore, it's a connecting
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word. It's a word of conclusion.
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When you see, therefore, you can back up a little bit from the
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word and see what the author wrote beforehand to bring you to
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this conclusion. So this word actually connects
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us back to the beginning of chapter 2, because this is a
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paragraph that's dropped in the middle of a chapter that's
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dropped in the middle of a book. And there is a, the, the Holy
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Spirit as he's inspiring, as God is inspiring the writing of the
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Bible, There is great order and understanding that God gives.
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He's not the author of confusion.
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There's clarity. So when you see the word,
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therefore you come back and go, ah, verse 5, verse 5, notice
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what he says. Let this mind be in you, which
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was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did
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not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
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of no reputation. Taking the form of a servant,
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and coming in the likeness of men, and being found verse 8IN
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appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to
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the point of death, even the death of the cross.
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Therefore God has highly exalted him and given him the name that
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is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should
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bow of those in heaven and those on earth, those under the earth,
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and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
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Lord to the glory of God the Father.
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Therefore, therefore, we're connecting this next truth with
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the great example Jesus has given us.
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Jesus walked in and lived in obedience, always did what the
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Father's will was, and since he was humble and since his name is
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exalted above every other name, and since God's will is for you
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and I to let this mind be in US, Paul says, therefore my beloved,
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because of the example of Jesus and what he showed us, I want
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you to remember your obedience in the past and I want you to
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continue in obedience in the presence.
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Obedience is key. Truly, as you move forward in a
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new year, it's going to be little by little in obedience.
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Disobedience will not get you where you want to go.
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It will hinder and stunt your spiritual growth.
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And I'm Speaking of the type of disobedience where you know that
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you're disobedient. Not the little stumbles and
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falls that we have at times, but this Wheeling resistance to the
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work of the Holy Spirit in your life.
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Paul says, I want you to remember, let this mind that you
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see in Christ, let it be in you it already is by the Holy
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Spirit, but let it be in you that you have.
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I know you guys know obedience, but you need to continue in
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obedience. And for me, the coming year is
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filled with opportunities to obey in all the planning and all
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the preparing and all the positioning and all the
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readiness for what God has in the future as you abide in Him
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by His abounding grace. He is working in you, through
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you in beautiful ways. It's God's work through your
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obedience. Isn't that what Jesus said?
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Jesus said if you love me, you will what?
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Keep my commandments. Now, I don't know how you're
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going to approach the new year. It's good to talk about it
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before it comes because all those resolutions and new
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commitments, it's always a good thing.
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Like it's, it's a beautiful thing and it doesn't really
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matter to me what kind of word you use.
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You got new commitments, new resolutions, new directions in
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life. One of them is going to be
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choosing to read through the Bible.
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I hope you choose to read through the Bible.
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We've got a plan up on EU Version app where you can follow
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along. It'll give you a notification
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and you can read along. Our reading plan goes through
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the Old Testament, wants the New Testament twice in 365 days.
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I hope reading through the whole Bible will be a part of your
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life. And I know it'll be challenging
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at times and you might get behind, but you can catch up and
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come along with us and you'll read through the Bible.
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You'll probably get a new devotional.
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I hope you get a devotional book downstairs and just do your
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daily devotions with a pastor that gives you an entry with the
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scripture and a thought that you can pray over.
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And we have great devotions downstairs.
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But I also hope if you've never done this or that you have I, I
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hope you do it again. And that is just spend time in
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the Gospels, following, reading, listening to Jesus.
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I don't believe that the Gospels are more important than the rest
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of the Bible. The Bible says of itself that
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it's all inspired of God and profitable.
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I believe that, however, Jesus came very uniquely.
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In his life, God and human flesh and had a short amount of time
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just three years of ministry in in humanity, teaching and loving
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and caring. And then in the Bible, what is
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reserved for us in the red letters, you might notice in the
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red letters are the words of Jesus.
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And I would love to hear the church spending time with Jesus,
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just following him. Like this year, I did this
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myself, just spinning on top of everything that I do in my
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devotional life. I was just spending time in the
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Gospels and two things kept coming up over and over again.
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I kept meditating on them. And I've meant you know them
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because I've mentioned them a few times in Bible studies.
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Birds and flowers. Birds and flowers.
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Because the teachings of Jesus stopped me one morning when I
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read and I sensed that he was telling me.
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Ed, look at the flowers. Look how beautiful they are.
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They're more beautiful than even the clothes that Solomon wore.
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Yeah, very beautiful. Well, Ed, are you a much more
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value than the flowers? Yeah.
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Then stop worrying. OK, Lord, thanks for that.
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I want to stop worrying, but the flowers remind me that I worry
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way too much. And for those of you that might
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deal with anxiety and worry, you know what it does?
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It crowds out faith. It's very hard to trust God and
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worry about the future at the same time.
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And then the birds. The birds.
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The birds. They think they own my
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neighborhood, own my house. How can I not think of the
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birds? The birds, they're always there.
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I mean, they're gone now because of the winter, but they'll be
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back. Trust me.
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But I look at the birds, Ed. Look at the birds.
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Yeah, I see them. They're not worried about
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anything. Paying no paying mortgages or
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worried about insurance or not. They're not worried about
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nothing. Yeah, I see them because I
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provide for them. And, Ed, aren't you more
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valuable than the birds? Yes, Lord, I am.
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Then why are you worrying? Wow, Lord, that's a different
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discussion. No, look at the birds.
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Look at the birds. Because I'm going to take care
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of you, Ed, and I'm going to take care of that situation.
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I'm going to look at the birds and the flowers.
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You know, the Lord has something for you too, and I'm looking
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forward to what next thing. Lately it's been new wineskins
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and new wine. Is that passage I've been really
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meditating on. God wants to do something new
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and I need to be ready for it. I need to not approach it like I
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always have, but I need to be ready for what the Lord wants to
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do in my life. I've been thinking about that.
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So I hope you add extra time just following and listening to
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Jesus as He taught in the 1st century.
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You'll find that in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, those
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first four books of the New Testament.
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And you'll have to have a conscious decision like I'm
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following Jesus and I'm listening to him like I'm with
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him. And those of you that going to
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Israel with us, you'll be able to be in places where Jesus
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taught. You'll have the visual actually
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of being on the Sea of Galilee or being on a boat in the sea or
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being up on the Mount of Beatitudes or overlooking on the
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Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem, like you'll be,
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you'll have these images in your mind where you're like, OK, I
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want to hear from the Lord. It says here that obedience is
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important and out of obedience you work out verse 12, your own
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salvation with fear and trembling.
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You work out at the words. The phrase sounds just like it
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does today. If you're going to work out, you
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know it's going to be painful. Your muscles are going to ache,
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the cardio is going to make you ache.
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Like when you work out, you are growing and deepening your
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muscles and your body. It's going to be hard, it's
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going to hurt, it brings pain. But this is the will of God
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moving forward as He works in your life.
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Little by little, you and I respond by working out our
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salvation. Mark that word work out, out,
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work out, it doesn't say. And the word in the original
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language means exactly what they translated in the English.
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It's out. He doesn't say work for your
24:18
salvation. He doesn't say that as you are
24:23
working, you're working on your salvation or working through
24:27
your salvation. It says working out.
24:30
It's a mining term, actually. It's as if you own the mine
24:35
that's filled with precious jewels and you're going in and
24:39
you're working it out and taking what's already yours.
24:42
You're not creating it. You work out your own salvation.
24:47
Mark that word. Not only out, but own work out
24:50
your own salvation. Why is that important?
24:55
Well, each of you have your own individual personal relationship
24:58
with Jesus, your own personality, your own
25:02
background, something that God is doing in you uniquely.
25:06
Now I know as a church, we're moving forward as a church.
25:08
So collectively we're the church.
25:10
This is a small part of the large body of Christ that God is
25:14
working through us, and it's amazing what He will do with
25:16
just a building on a little corner in Aurora.
25:19
It's amazing. But what's more amazing is the
25:22
work that He's doing in you personally, your own salvation.
25:26
I'm sure you've met people. I meet them all the time,
25:29
unfortunately, where they're so caught up in something else,
25:33
someone else, everything is going on.
25:35
And I always think if you would just spend that kind of amount
25:37
of time on your own life, you'd be amazing.
25:42
It would know you never be stopped.
25:44
But instead you're over here, you're over here, you're over
25:47
here. Do you know the Bible actually
25:48
says stop being a busy body? Did you know that?
25:52
Well, thanks pastor, for encouraging me today.
25:54
It is encouragement. Live your own life and work out
25:58
your own salvation. Take care of yourself.
26:01
Do what God has called you to do.
26:03
If you just spend the time that you spend on other people's
26:06
lives and all the problems in the world and all the oh, oh,
26:10
oh, no, no, no. How about you work out what's
26:14
your Bible say? Your own salvation, your own
26:18
salvation. God's doing something in you.
26:20
He knows the thoughts that he thinks towards you, not just
26:24
collectively us as a church, but individually in our own lives.
26:31
Paul speaking to believers here, men and women with special
26:35
talents and callings and gifts. When you concentrate on your own
26:39
life, your own walk, your own situation, you know what we'll
26:43
do. You'll keep your eyes fixed and
26:45
focused on your the prize that is set before you.
26:51
Collectively, God will use us greatly.
26:55
Salvation requires exercise, a strengthening and a building
27:00
upon it. Obedience is what God uses to
27:05
strengthen us. Disobedience puts us backwards
27:09
and He is supremely interested in our obedience.
27:14
Obedience. What we're many today in the
27:16
body of Christ are looking for this new thing and that new
27:19
thing. And what's going to let me give
27:21
you an old thing that will put you ahead from any other thing
27:25
that you ever find that somebody says is new.
27:29
And that's this. This is the pathway to victory.
27:32
This is the pathway to joy. This is the pathway to peace.
27:36
This is the pathway to just about everything you truly want
27:39
in your heart. You ready obedience, read the
27:43
Bible and do what it says. Don't try to explain it away
27:48
with some fancy theology and well, you know this and no, no,
27:51
just just do it. I'll give you, I'll give you a
27:55
real easy example because we're talking about working our
27:58
salvation and God's work in US and we're looking to the future
28:01
and, and some of you today are just so unhappy with your life.
28:07
You're so dissatisfied, and there might be some real reasons
28:11
behind that. Maybe a recent breakup or a
28:13
financial challenge or foster care system you've been and out
28:17
of. I mean, on and on.
28:18
There's a lot of good reasons. I'm certainly not minimizing the
28:22
fact that we have tough lives and difficult things happen to
28:26
us. But to respond with a
28:28
dissatisfaction that leads to the sin of complaining and
28:33
murmuring, not something different.
28:36
You go, Edwards, let's say that's a sin.
28:38
Glad that you asked. You're already there.
28:40
Philippians, chapter 2, verse 14, do all things without
28:46
murmuring and disputing. Or it could also be translated
28:50
grumbling and complaining. So complaining kind of speaks of
28:54
the outside, grumbling speaks on the inside.
28:59
And I'm sorry you're dissatisfied right now and that
29:01
it's hard. And the new year could be
29:03
something great and grand for you.
29:06
But whatever God has, what are we learning?
29:09
God knows what He's doing with your life.
29:12
He knows the how, the why, the when, the what.
29:14
God knows. And don't complain about your
29:18
present situation. That's disobedient.
29:22
Don't complain and grumble. Find yourself in a place of
29:27
surrender and obedience. Remember, therefore, my beloved,
29:32
look to Jesus, His humility, His obedience, His service, His
29:40
name. It's above all names.
29:44
But you see, it's not just working out our own salvation
29:47
with fear and trembling, a healthy reverence and respect
29:51
and honor for the holiness and the righteousness of God, but
29:55
more importantly, is not our working out, it's His work.
30:00
You see this all throughout the Bible.
30:02
There's a lot of action on our part, for sure.
30:05
That's our life, our response. But remember, God is always the
30:08
initiator. We're the responders.
30:12
God is the initiator. He so loved the world that he
30:15
gave his only begotten Son. And who are we?
30:17
Those that responded faced our faith in Jesus.
30:21
And this blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed us.
30:23
We have eternal life. Why?
30:25
God initiated that in the beginning.
30:29
Ed Oh, that's not how the Bible reads in the beginning.
30:34
God, your name's not there either.
30:35
You're laughing at me, but your name's not there either.
30:38
Everything doesn't start and end with you either.
30:40
It starts with God at the end of Revelation.
30:42
It ends with God and everything in between.
30:46
We might get caught up all obedience and disobedience and
30:49
difficult. OK, But there's a greater
30:52
there's a greater initiator that's in your life and mine.
30:56
And I love this in verse 13. It is God who works in you.
31:01
It's God that works in you. God is at work in you, He is
31:05
working in you. What he has begun, He will be
31:08
faithful to complete. Paul already said in Philippians
31:10
1. David understood this when he
31:13
wrote in the Psalms. God will perfect that which
31:16
concerns me. God is working as you're working
31:20
out. You're only working out what God
31:23
has worked in and what a beautiful thing that is.
31:28
Isn't it true? Sometimes I think we just forget
31:32
it's God. We forget that it's God.
31:36
We so easily forget that he's working, that he's working in
31:40
you. Another person I get to meet a
31:42
lot. Even last night I had someone
31:43
come up and I love to be able to say this, but we're talking
31:48
about life and, and there's a season right now.
31:50
It's just so hard and so difficult and they just feel
31:53
like they're not making any progress.
31:55
But I know how they walked into the door and I know where
31:58
they've been for the last five or ten years, and I love the
32:01
privilege of going. I know it's hard right now, bro,
32:04
and I know you hit a speed bump, but don't you know how far
32:07
you've come? Remember how you walk?
32:11
Remember the miry clay? Remember the pit that you were
32:14
in? Remember what you were wrestling
32:16
with? You're not wrestling with that
32:17
anymore. God gave you victory.
32:19
Yeah, but Pastor, I'm wrestling with this now.
32:21
I know. Because God will take you from
32:23
glory to glory, strength to strength, and victory to
32:27
victory. It's not just one victory today.
32:29
It's like, oh man, I overcame this temptation.
32:32
Fantastic. It's going to prep you for the
32:34
next one because there's another one coming and you go from
32:38
strength to strength, victory to victory.
32:41
And just today that might be the word for you.
32:44
I know it's hard and I know you've taken 3 steps forward and
32:47
five back. I get it.
32:49
But look how far you've come. Look how far you've come.
32:54
Not only is God working in you, but He highlights two ways.
32:58
I want you to note this. There are two things right now
33:01
God is working in your life. Notice them in verse 13, to will
33:06
and to do. To will and to do.
33:10
And that word works. In verse 13 is the Greek word
33:13
energy. O, it's where we get our word
33:15
energy through the Holy Spirit. God is energizing and enabling
33:21
and empowering you and me to accomplish all that He has.
33:26
He first gives us the desires and then the power.
33:31
Right now, as I'm speaking, God is working in you to achieve
33:35
things in your life. All the load and all the
33:38
pressure is off of your shoulders.
33:40
We learned that through our study for 26 studies and nine
33:44
months we were in the book of Galatians.
33:46
We learned that it's Jesus finished work.
33:50
Adding anything to salvation doesn't have the grace of God.
33:54
It's not salvation anymore. You and I, we have the privilege
33:57
of responding to the work of God in our lives.
34:01
We don't always know God's will, and perhaps we don't always do
34:04
it, but we can take courage that God is going to show us as He
34:09
works in US. And all the pains and all the
34:12
setbacks and all the sufferings in this world come because of
34:18
sin. So don't beat yourself up for
34:22
not living up to some standard because you see yourself falling
34:25
short. God made you to enjoy fellowship
34:28
with Him and he's working in you giving you new desires.
34:32
Imagine that new desires. Our missionary of the week, the
34:35
Olcho us they're serving faithfully for many, many years
34:39
in Hawaii. Isn't wouldn't that be a great
34:41
gig like send me to Hawaii, Lord send me.
34:44
I would love to serve there. Send me to Hawaii.
34:47
They're in Hawaii enjoying fruitful doing a great thing and
34:51
then all of a sudden they have a desire to go to Peru.
34:55
Now, who in their right mind in Hawaii would have a desire to
34:59
leave Hawaii and go to Peru? The Ochoas did.
35:03
Why? Because God put that desire in
35:05
their heart. They left paradise, man, it's
35:11
beautiful there and wonderful. And the weather, the weather,
35:15
the weather, unbelievable. And as they're serving the Lord,
35:20
God puts a new desire in their heart that they pursue.
35:24
I know no other reason why someone living in Hawaii would
35:27
go to Peru to serve there, except that the Lord gave them
35:30
that desire and they responded to it.
35:34
And now we as a church support them in their new ministry in
35:37
Peru. And who knows, maybe they're
35:38
praying in Peru and God gives them a new desire.
35:40
But it came from him. It came from him.
35:45
I think of in the church today just a few of the desires that
35:47
perhaps God has changed. You don't even realize it yet.
35:49
I mean, some of you listening to me, maybe once you wanted to be
35:53
a millionaire, like that was your solution in life.
35:56
I'm going to make a lot of money and that's going to give me
35:59
peace. That's going to give me freedom.
36:00
And it doesn't have to be a millionaire.
36:01
It could be any amount of money that you perceive will give you
36:04
the kind of freedom and peace that you're looking for.
36:06
But then your desires changed and no longer do you want to be
36:11
a millionaire, but rather you desire to have money and to use.
36:16
Maybe you're very good at business and you're, you're
36:18
going to start businesses and you're going to make money, but
36:20
not for yourself, but for the Kingdom of God.
36:24
Now, where would that come from? I mean, where you go from a
36:26
place where I'm going to make a lot of money, I'm going to take
36:28
care of my family, do everything I want to do and I travel and
36:31
do. Where did that come from?
36:32
Now, Hey God, any dollar that I make, it belongs to you.
36:35
It came from the Lord. That's a desire from God or for
36:40
some of you from a very young age, all you've ever wanted to
36:44
be as a teacher. That's all you've ever wanted to
36:46
be as a teacher. And you just think, I just want
36:48
to help kids. I want to teach them the ABC's.
36:51
I want them to have a teacher that you they can trust.
36:53
I had a great teacher in my life.
36:55
I want to emulate that teacher. But then in the Lord, your
36:58
desire changed, and now not only do you want to be a teacher and
37:02
help kids along the way in their AB CS, but as a believer, you
37:05
now see yourself as an ambassador of Jesus Christ,
37:09
using your teaching as a vehicle to show kids the way of
37:14
salvation. You're an ambassador at a public
37:17
school system. You're an ambassador at
37:19
Christian School. I mean, I think some of you,
37:21
you're homeschooling today and you never in a bajillion years
37:26
ever saw yourself as homeschooling.
37:28
But guess what? You got a desire.
37:32
The Lord gave you a desire, and you are living out in obedience,
37:37
in the power of the Holy Spirit. That's a testimony in our home
37:43
that is something neither Maria and I ever foresaw her doing
37:48
primarily and me doing alongside of her homeschooling our kids.
37:51
But we homeschooled them all the way into college and it was
37:55
like, whoa, that was not easy. But God gave me a heart for my
38:01
kids. See, when I got saved, we were
38:05
teenage parents. And although I could say I like
38:09
my son, my heart turned as a believer to take care of my
38:14
family. I mean, I had a moral
38:16
obligation, I kind of felt, but the Lord gave me do new desires.
38:20
I think of all the desires here, maybe one maybe.
38:23
And it might be still with you, you guys.
38:25
I want to be famous, pastor. I want to be famous.
38:27
I want to be an influencer and maybe some money's tied to that.
38:30
But in the Lord now, you don't want to be famous just for
38:34
yourself. You have the attitude now.
38:37
If I'm ever famous, I'm going to use it for the gospel.
38:41
I want to use this talent OR this gift, this ability put
38:43
videos together. I think a Nate, another
38:46
missionary that we support in Myanmar right now, he was a very
38:51
famous, successful MMA fighter and he used that Ave. of what he
38:56
trained. He's still using it today in
38:59
MMA, But while he was a champion, he used that platform
39:02
for the gospel. And now he's still using that
39:05
training kids discipline and helping them get through trials
39:09
in Myanmar. Unbelievable what God will do.
39:12
If you'll pay attention, you'll start seeing the new desires God
39:15
has put in your heart, even some desires that are way beyond you.
39:19
Like you, you have a desire to then go that will never happen.
39:23
I don't think that could like you might think of Peru and like
39:25
man, maybe God might like he gave me a desire to go to.
39:27
I could that would never happen. But God's, the Bible says that
39:32
God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you
39:36
can think or ask. Which brings us to the second
39:39
thing God's doing in you. He's not only giving you new
39:41
desires to will, but he also is working in you to do to do so
39:49
some of you view missions and Peru or somebody go, I would, I,
39:51
I, I don't, I don't ever think God would give me that desire
39:55
or, and God will give you that desire if that's his.
39:58
And, and the other side of that though, is, you know, if God
40:01
ever gave me that desire, I could not do it.
40:04
That's a great place to be, by the way, because there's truth
40:07
to that. You couldn't do it on your own
40:09
string. You couldn't.
40:12
It would be impossible. But God is working in you.
40:15
He's enabling you. And energizing you and literally
40:19
giving you spiritual power that you don't currently have.
40:22
New desires, new wants, new wishes, new power through the
40:27
Holy Spirit to do. Why?
40:31
Why is all this happening? He says in verse 13.
40:34
So that your life might please the Lord.
40:36
It's for His good pleasure, and that's why this new year is
40:41
going to require you to change your thinking because there's
40:43
some things you're holding onto and thinking that aren't
40:45
pleasing to the Lord, and you need to change your mind about
40:50
them and adapt yourself to the new desires God is giving you to
40:56
be open to that. I think of a new desire that's
40:59
so important. Maybe 2026 for some of you will
41:03
be the year of sobriety. The year of sobriety.
41:06
That's a new desire. God has given you doesn't want
41:09
you to be drunk. He doesn't want you under the
41:11
influence. He wants you sober minded.
41:15
That's a new thought. You're going to have to exchange
41:18
that fleshly habit in you when times get tough or you just want
41:22
to check out. You know, it's been a hard day
41:24
or a hard week. You just want to pull the bottle
41:26
or the six pack or the case or you want to smoke the joint and
41:30
all of that that is holding you back.
41:33
God has given you a new desire. I want you sober, I want you
41:36
sober. I want your mind, I want your
41:38
body, I want you clear headed. I want you to follow me and obey
41:42
me. And in the obedience I'm working
41:44
in you. I gave you the new desire, but I
41:46
can't do it. I can't do it God, I can't do
41:48
it. And God says, what do you mean
41:49
you can't do it? I'm giving you the strength to
41:52
do it day by day, moment by moment.
41:54
I'm giving you that strength if you will just obey me.
41:59
Just obey me day by day, abiding in Christ, his abounding grace,
42:05
pouring on you say, OK, pastor, while I'm working out my own
42:10
salvation, I know God's working. What can I do practically?
42:14
Like what's some practical things that I can do?
42:17
Turn over to Psalm 37. Let me give you 12 of them.
42:21
If you were looking. Let me give you 12 things you
42:23
can spend some time thinking about for the new year.
42:26
You don't have to wait for the new year, of course, as we start
42:28
a little early, but consider these.
42:31
You might even find more than 12 in this short section, but these
42:35
are these are I I wrote them down as I went through this text
42:39
years ago and following along with what David is writing, he
42:45
gives some real good direction of what it looks like to work
42:48
out your own salvation, what it looks like to respond to the new
42:51
desires, what it looks like as you, God is working in you and
42:54
you're responding in obedience. Here's some things to consider
42:57
in verse 3. He says in Psalm 37, verse
43:01
three, trust in the Lord and do good.
43:04
You can do that. Dwell in the land and feed on
43:08
His faithfulness. That's good.
43:10
Delight yourself also in the Lord, and notice He shall give
43:14
you the desires of your heart. Not only will He give you new
43:17
desires, but the desires He's given you.
43:19
He'll give you what you want, when you're want.
43:22
When what you want matches what God wants, you get it.
43:28
That's so cool. When your desires are God's
43:30
desires, that's where answered prayer comes together.
43:36
His desires, yours is so cool. You can do that.
43:39
Verse 5 Commit your way to the Lord.
43:42
Trust also in Him, and he shall bring it to pass.
43:47
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and
43:51
your justice as the noonday. Have you been wrong?
43:55
Difficulty with other people. Listen, justice is right around
43:59
the corner, just like the noonday.
44:01
Justice is coming, but you have to rest and be patient for
44:05
seven, Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.
44:09
Now in my Bible, there's a little space next to that.
44:12
You may not have that space. You can use your margins, but
44:14
you should write this down because this is what it's
44:16
saying. Another way of saying this, when
44:18
it says to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.
44:21
Here's another way of thinking of this.
44:22
Don't take matters into your own hands or don't try to help God
44:28
out or you go past our run out of space.
44:32
Keep going down the line. Write it down in your notes.
44:34
You should be taking notes. It's very helpful as you're
44:37
writing down with the Holy Spirit's telling you through the
44:39
Bible study. Don't take things into your own
44:41
hands. Don't don't be in a position
44:44
where you're trying to help God out a little bit.
44:46
And here's a third way of thinking about it.
44:49
When you're trying, when you're faced with a situation and a
44:52
challenge, you try to figure it out.
44:54
You don't need to figure it out. Just rest in the Lord, trust him
44:59
moment by moment. He says in verse 7, then don't
45:02
fret. Or that's another word for
45:03
saying don't worry, don't worry. And then what did Jesus say
45:08
about worrying? Shall I remind you flowers and
45:11
birds, the whole chapters about worry?
45:16
Trust me. It seems as if every page on the
45:19
Scriptures God is saying trust me, trust me, trust me, trust
45:24
me. Look what I did in the children
45:26
of Israel. Trust me.
45:27
Yeah, but it's happening so slowly, pastor, little by
45:30
little. Trust me.
45:32
It's so hard. I know.
45:35
It's so hard. And it's so hard.
45:37
God says, so you'll look to me. I mean, as you see this, don't
45:41
fret because of him who prospers in the way.
45:43
Another way of looking at verse 7 there, don't fret because of
45:46
him who prospers in the way. Stop looking at Him who's
45:48
prospering in his way. Get your eyes off the
45:51
circumstances and the people and get him back on the Lord.
45:54
He says in verse in verse 8, cease from anger and forsake
45:58
wrath. Maybe this is the year that God
46:00
deals with your anger. You finally deal with death blow
46:04
to your outbursts of wrath. You stop making excuses for it.
46:08
You stop intimidating people in your home, you start screaming,
46:11
You stop screaming and yelling and just using anger as a way to
46:15
keep people at arm's length, and you trust the Lord with your
46:18
emotions. Maybe that's it.
46:19
Cease from anger. I mean, this is a pretty direct
46:22
command, isn't it? Stop your anger.
46:25
To which you go, what? I don't know, I can't do that.
46:27
Now you have the desire to stop from anger.
46:29
What comes with the desire, the power to will and to do, to will
46:35
and to do. You can look at these this year.
46:39
Cease from anger, forsake wrath. Don't fret, it only causes harm.
46:44
Which brings us back to Exodus. Would you go back to Exodus 23?
46:49
It brings us back to this episode in the children of
46:54
Israel's that are coming out of Egypt into the Promised Land.
46:58
The instructions actually don't start in verse 28, they start in
47:02
verse 20. And you'll notice in verse 20 of
47:05
Exodus 23 it says, behold, I sent an Angel before you to keep
47:10
you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have
47:13
prepared. Isn't that great?
47:15
God is always preparing us for the place He has prepared for
47:19
us. He's always prepared like the
47:21
land that you're heading into the year that God is going to
47:23
give us. If he gives us a whole year, the
47:25
year he gives us, he's already prepared the year for us.
47:29
We don't know, but God had God is already prepared because he's
47:32
preparing us for what he has prepared for us.
47:35
Notice he says in verse 21, beware of him the Angel and obey
47:39
his voice. Do not provoke him for he will
47:42
not pardon your transgressions for my name is in him.
47:45
But if you indeed obey his voice and do all that I speak, then I
47:49
will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your
47:53
adversaries. Now we don't have time to
47:54
develop this, but this Angel you notice capital A in the new King
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James verse 21 him his verse 22 his all capitalized because this
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is a pre Incarnate appearance of Jesus or what many scholars
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would call a Christophany. God is sending the eternal Son
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of the God the Father is sending his eternal Son before the
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children so that they might follow him.
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Listen to him. And he says in verse 23 For my
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Angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites and
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the Hittites and the parasites and the Canaanites and the
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Hivites and the Jebusites and I will cut them off again if we
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did this study alone. It's interesting that God will
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lead you straight at your enemy, just straight at it, not avoid
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it, just straight at it and I'll give you the victory.
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He says, I'll take care of them. And you, Verse 24, shall not bow
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down to their gods. Don't serve them, don't do
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according to their works, but you shall utterly overthrow them
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and completely breakdown their sacred Pagan pillars.
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So you shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your
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bread and your water. I'll take sickness away from the
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midst of you. That's what obedience brings,
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the blessing of God. No one shall suffer miscarriage
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or be barren in your land. I will fulfill the number of
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your days. I'll send my fear before you.
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Verse 27, I'll cause confusion among all the people to whom you
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come, and I'll make all your enemies turn their backs on you.
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Now I did not count them, but I'm sure at least 10 times.
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God says this, what I'm going to do, this, what I'm going to do,
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this, what I'm going to do, this what I'm going to do.
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When you look to him, the enemies aren't going to be a
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problem. Your health isn't going to be a
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problem because everything is under the will of God.
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And then he says, verse 28, I'll send Hornets before you.
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You'll drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, the Hittite.
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Those Hornets will take care of them.
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Verse 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year,
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lest the lamb become desolate and the beast of the field
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become too numerous for you. And what's the word of God as we
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head into a new season? Greater, but little by little,
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because He knows what He's doing with your life.
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He knows the how and the why and the what and the when.
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And although there's a lot of activity in the Bible and a lot
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that was being worked out in our lives, it is God who works in
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you both to will and to do, and you can trust them.
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Amen. Amen.
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Father, thank you for your word today.
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May it speak directly to our hearts as we examine the our
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lives in light of your word. And may you have full, full
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preeminence in our lives today, in Jesus name, Amen.
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We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study
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delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church for
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prayer. Call us at 87730 grace that's
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877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
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integrity or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
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online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
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Church app. Be blessed as you worship Jesus
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this week.