Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 628 | Stake Your Claim in Jesus

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628 | Stake Your Claim in Jesus · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries.
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  Where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus like the woman at the
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  well in John chapter four.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life. Whether you are listening
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  in our app, in your favorite podcasting app, or on our website at watwm.org,
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  we invite you to sit down with us as we look to the scriptures to learn more
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  about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  In this episode of the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast,
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  join Kim Miller and Erika Close in a conversation as we walk with Jesus.
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  In today's conversation, we're chatting about what life looks like when we live
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  a life that has staked its claim on Jesus.
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  Well, hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us in this week's podcast of
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  Woman at the Well Ministries, this Wednesday's podcast.
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  My name is Erika Close, and I'm here with Kim Miller. Hello,
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  and thank you guys for joining us today.
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  I'm so excited about today's message about God sustaining us.
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  I'm excited about that. Absolutely. So if you're listening, and hopefully you
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  listened to Monday's podcast, Monday's podcast was 627,
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  and Kimmy preached on God's sustaining power and His sustaining faith,
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  and she came out of Psalms 55, 22, which said, cast thy burden upon the Lord
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  and he shall sustain thee.
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  He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
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  And I absolutely encourage you to hop back to the previous podcast to this and take a listen there.
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  But I wanted to take a little bit of time today to just talk about some of the
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  points that you brought up in that podcast.
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  And you made an important point really early on in that message where you talked
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  about how we need to stake our claim on Jesus.
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  And I've been called a history nerd before, and that's not a surprise to anybody,
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  but I was watching a TV show, and it was a documentary, and it was talking literally
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  about the settling of the American West
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  and about how people would stake their claim on land.
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  And so when you talked about that, about staking our claim on Jesus—.
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  All I could think was just how much promise there is in that.
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  Like when you staked your claim on a piece of land, it held the promise of future,
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  right? And a place where your family was going to be in a place where you were
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  going to live and a place that would be in your family, you know,
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  down through the generations.
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  That was a powerful, powerful moment.
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  And when you were staking your claim, oftentimes in some of those situations, that land was free.
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  You just had to stake your claim upon it.
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  And so you talked about staking our claim in our Savior.
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  And I wondered if you could just talk about that just a little bit.
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  And then you had some follow-up questions that actually came out of the podcast.
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  But when you said that, are you staking your claim in our Savior?
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  What were you thinking about?
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  I think in our deepest, darkest moments, in the times that we are feeling the
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  most pressure around us.
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  However we're choosing to get
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  out of that mess is where we really are placing our faith and our trust.
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  And so when I made the statement, where are you staking your claim?
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  I was asking, what are you trusting in?
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  To deliver you at this moment.
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  And if we're honest with ourselves, a lot of times what we're trusting is our own abilities,
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  either our own intellect, our own skills, even our own experiences and how things
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  happened similar to whatever we're going through now and what worked and what didn't work.
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  And from a worldly point of view, looking at what worked and what didn't work
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  makes a whole lot of sense, but that's not what God is ever asking his child to do.
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  What he's asking is, in every moment of every day, regardless if it's a similar
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  situation or not, we are to come to him and ask him, what do you want me to do?
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  What am I supposed to do? We're supposed to go to him with complete faith,
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  Lord, this is my problem.
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  I give it to you.
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  Please take care of it and notify me if you need something from me.
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  I love that, notify me. I mean, that's what he's asking. But that's not how
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  we do it. Even those of us who are trying with all their heart to give something
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  to, we're checking in moment by moment. What are you doing?
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  Well, maybe I should do it. Lord, do you want me to call? Lord,
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  do you want me to email? Lord, do you want me to text?
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  That's not what we need to do. We literally need to be on a need-to-know basis.
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  And we only need to know what he needs for us to do, and he will gladly tell us.
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  That's complete surrender and trust. And the scripture tells us that he exalts
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  us in due time when we do that. And too often.
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  We don't reach our potential in Christ because we circumvent the process.
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  He has explained to us that if we humble ourselves, therefore,
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  under the mighty hand of God, that he will exalt us when?
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  In due time. The right time. In due time.
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  And then he tells us to cast our care. But in other words, listen,
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  you trust in me, give me what you've got.
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  I'll sustain you and you won't be moved. Thank you.
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  So what I'm thinking of when I ask where you're staking your claim is,
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  where do you think is your best opportunity to get out of your situation with the best results?
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  And for the child of God, 100% of the time, it must be Jesus.
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  Amen. You asked some follow-up questions in Monday's podcast when you talked
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  about staking your claim, and you said, you know, essentially,
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  if you're not staking your claim on Jesus, where are you staking your claim?
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  Where are you putting your faith?
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  And who are you actually relying on? And I think those are all just really good
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  questions when we find ourselves in a situation, even if we just go with that last one.
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  You look at a situation and say, are you relying on you, yourself,
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  at this moment? Or are you relying on God?
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  I think something interesting also happens when we are in a situation that we
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  haven't chosen to be in, is we panic.
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  Yeah. And we want out of the situation immediately.
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  And there are some situations we need to be in in order for him to produce in
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  us what's lacking that we need for the next phase of our service to him or our life to him.
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  Growing is painful. Yes, so true.
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  And if we never face difficult situations.
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  Then that means we're not moving to another level,
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  because we've already managed to understand this level and how what we need
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  and we have the measure of faith that we need but as children of God who serve,
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  a mighty God who gave everything he had for us.
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  We want to give all that we are to Him.
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  And somehow or another, in the midst of my sticky situations or my painful circumstances,
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  I'll never think about or thank you for helping me get through this.
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  Because I know you're molding me and making me for something bigger and better for you.
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  And that it's my good and your honor that you were working out through this.
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  And so, Lord, I don't like the circumstance I'm in, but help me be willing to
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  grow closer to you so that you can use me to do more.
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  And, Lord, I know you're going to take me through this mess.
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  Help me not try to get out of the mess before I have steeped long enough,
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  to be changed and transformed for who you want me to be we're like a good tea
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  I knew yeah I really like that teabag analogy right nobody likes weak tea and you can stay in too long.
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  That's what sin will do to you Yep. They take you further than you want to go,
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  keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.
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  And if you leave the teabag in there, what you're left with is bitterness,
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  right? And something that's not useful. Yep.
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  There's a just right, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
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  There's a moment where it's just right. And the only way that we can fulfill that,
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  is to take our hands off of it and say, here I am, Lord, not just send me,
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  but here I am, Lord, do with me what you need to do so that you can send me.
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  Amen. I really like that.
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  So in the podcast on Monday, when you were talking in the middle of the podcast
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  about God sustaining us, which, you know, you talked, that was the whole theme
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  of the message, but there was a point there when you were really talking about it.
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  And you talked about how the devil himself is going to do everything he can,
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  to not allow that to happen, right? To keep us going in the other direction.
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  And you said that the devil would be putting thoughts in our heads that were
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  contrary to the truth that God is and will sustain us.
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  And I wanted to just talk for a moment about what types of things the devil
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  would be saying to us in those moments, because I know that in those moments, for me.
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  He's going to appeal to my ability to take care of myself.
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  And he's going to appeal to me saying, you know, okay, you know,
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  what are the six steps that it's going to take to get out of this situation?
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  Or something like that. He's going to say something to me that is going to really,
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  really, really point me to relying on myself or figuring something out?
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  First of all, I think you have to.
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  Figure out exactly who God is to you.
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  There are mysteries of God we won't know, but Hebrews 11.6, I believe,
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  says, but without faith, it is impossible to please him.
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  And you must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
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  The part of that I want us to cling to is that you must believe that he is.
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  Not just that he exists, but you got to believe in who he is.
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  And so often, we have a shallow relationship, which makes for a loose connection to him.
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  And we have a really light understanding of his character because we are malnourished on his word.
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  And when you find yourself with a loose connection, malnourished,
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  not enough faith, you are a prime target for the devil because we're told that
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  he walketh about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
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  And I made mention in that message that the devil comes at you with things that
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  are contrary to who God is.
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  The devil only has one playbook, and it is the antithesis of Scripture.
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  So if what he says does not align with Scripture, then you know it's a lie and
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  it's not of God, and so you let it go.
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  And everywhere that you read about faith in Scripture, you're told to deny yourself.
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  So if the devil is saying you yourself can take care of this.
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  Right. If he's giving you your six things that you need to do,
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  then goodness gracious, you've got a roadmap for, hey, don't do that.
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  It's the more subtle things that we're going to take most of us down because
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  we don't realize that we are taking things out of his hands.
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  Because so many people, I hear this frequently, and I have a friend who's a,
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  wonderful man of God who says he doesn't pray for himself,
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  because he's supposed to be praying for everybody else. It's kind of like the airplane thing.
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  You know, put the mask on first so that you can take care of someone else.
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  Because if you're not in right standing with God, if you have sin in your life,
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  if your faith is not strong, your prayers are not getting past the ceiling.
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  He will not hear the prayers of those that have iniquity in their hearts.
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  Psalmist David is clear about that.
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  And that boy knew it. He was all over the place. But he was a man after God's own heart.
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  And so one of the things that the devil will come with is a sense of your greatness.
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  And we all know ourselves. So if the devil's puffing you up to the point that
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  you're pretty sure you really, that's not who you are, That's a pretty clear
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  sign, too, because he always shows his hand.
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  The devil will also try to devour what you know to be true about your relationship.
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  It is a covenant that God has made with you through Jesus, his son.
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  There's no easy way out of it, and God's not going to break the covenant.
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  And scripture after scripture tells us that nothing will separate us from the
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  love of God, no matter what we do.
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  And one of the greatest lies that is so effective from the devil to people is
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  that you've sinned too far for God to get you.
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  You've sinned too badly. You've waited too long. There is nothing about that that is truth.
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  But what he does is he uses a whole different process and mechanism for you
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  to start feeling that way.
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  He keeps you busy and distracted so you don't have time to get in the Word.
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  You're not choosing to pray.
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  And that's when you become malnourished. That's when you become weak.
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  Listen, I have strange blood sugar issues. If I don't eat at certain times,
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  I'll faint like a fainting goat.
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  And my spirit needs even more nourishment.
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  I need to be at the foot of the cross. I need to pray without ceasing.
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  I need to abstain from all appearance of evil.
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  I need to study to show myself approved. I need to communicate with the King of kings.
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  I need to know who he is. And that requires denying other things and spending time in his word.
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  So if what he's saying to you is contrary for the word, then you know it's a lie and it's not of God.
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  And if you find yourself spinning your wheels instead of feasting at the table
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  of the Lord, then you know he's got you because he's keeping you weak and malnourished.
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  So the things he says either line up or they don't. There's no gray areas.
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  I love that about the Lord because I don't like gray areas. No,
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  you're very black and white. Very much.
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  You know, one of the things that I think is so important to highlight in what
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  you just said, I mean, you talked about devouring, right?
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  And that the devil's coming after us to devour us.
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  You know, so often when we think of that, when I think of a roaring lion devouring,
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  I think of, you know, video of a lion actually, like, eating something,
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  you know, on the savannas in Africa.
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  And I think what's important for our listeners to know is he's not going to
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  come and literally tear us limb from limb.
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  He comes exactly as you just said. And he entices you with good stuff.
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  He comes and he comes. It's interesting because the serpent by,
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  you know, having Eve linger.
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  Devoured Eve. All she had to do was stop talking to Eve. Right.
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  And he effectively devoured her, but, you know, we don't see devouring in the
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  same way, but that's what he did. Yeah. He consumed her truth.
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  And she spent more time with him than she did with the Lord.
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  And consuming her truth made her then believe a lie.
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  We have to guard our heart.
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  And make sure, like you just spoke about a minute ago, that we don't have a loose connection.
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  Because it's not him. Draw an eye unto me and I will draw an eye unto you.
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  If we're far away from him, it's not him. He's not moved.
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  Or we're malnourished. And I think the word malnourished, I think,
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  is a really effective way to describe when we're out of his word.
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  Because it describes the results. When you're malnourished, you're weak.
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  You're not at your best. You don't think well. you're puny, you're sickly,
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  and you definitely don't have energy and effort.
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  And you don't have enough of—you wouldn't have what you needed to fight.
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  One of my favorite verses in Scripture is Ephesians 3.20, Now unto him that
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  is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according
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  to the power that worketh in us.
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  That power is Jesus Christ, and we control Jesus.
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  How much power we have. It's like we control our connection.
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  We control the connection. We control how much power we have because we control
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  how much of us we allow him to have. Right.
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  He can either fill us or not.
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  You know, I think we've probably already answered this, but the last thing that
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  I wanted to talk about in today's podcast was just this idea of centering down on Jesus.
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  You've actually mentioned it a few times in our last few podcasts.
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  It's because I'm very much fascinated by it. It is a practice that the Quakers,
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  have in their religious practices.
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  And I had a friend who practiced it and called it that.
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  And then recently I was at a church and heard a message where that person referred
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  to. But centering down is boiling everything down in your life and focusing on Jesus.
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  And the Quakers, and I don't know all about this practice, but part of it is they just become quiet.
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  And all they're thinking about and meditating upon is Jesus and who he is.
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  And it's this, be still and know that I'm my God, out of Psalm 46. 610.
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  And they're just holding this position where they're not sitting there quietly
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  thinking about what they're going to have for lunch or when they're going to
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  the store or their next vacation or balancing their checkbook.
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  They are sitting there quietly thinking about the Lord, centering down.
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  I kind of use it a little modified. To me, centering down is removing everything away.
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  Where you are at the fundamental foundation of who you are, where you're going,
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  and what is important to you.
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  And when you center down so that you strip away all of those,
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  you know, artificial stuff, the materialistic things, what is at your core?
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  And you'll know what is at your core, because that's the thing you will not
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  give up and that you defend with everything you have.
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  Everything else has a price, but your core values, your core of who you are, has to be Jesus.
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  And when it is Jesus, you're going to live the abundant life He's promised,
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  because you have all you need and all you want.
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  Centering down is putting the main thing, the main thing in my world. Amen.
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  Well, I want to thank you all for listening today. And I hope that you all are
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  staking your claim in Jesus.
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  And if you're not, I hope you figure out where you are staking your claim and
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  who or what you're relying on so that you can make a change as the Lord has
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  called you to make a change.
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  And I hope that you have a strong connection to Jesus and not a loose connection.
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  And I hope that you're well-nourished on his word and not malnourished.
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  And as Kimmy just described, I hope that you can center down on Jesus.
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  But I think what's most important here is that if we're not any of these things,
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  we have that promise in 1 John 1, 9 that if we confess our sins,
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  He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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  If we don't have.
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  A strong connection, or we're malnourished, or we haven't staked our claim on
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  Jesus, or we're not centered on Jesus, that's sin in our lives.
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  But He forgives us of our sins. But we also have the promise that if we draw
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  nigh to God, He will draw nigh to us, and He will come near as we take a step near to Him.
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  So I hope that as we talked about all of this today, talking about staking our
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  claim on Jesus, I hope you leave
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  this program knowing that if you have not staked your claim on Jesus,
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  He is there and willing and ready to receive you and to receive you back to
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  Him so that you can ensure that you have staked your claim in the right place.
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  Thank you for listening today. Again, we invite you back to Monday's podcast, 627, God sustains you.
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  And as we leave today, we hope that you know that you are loved, that Jesus loves you.
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  Thank you for joining us for today's podcast. You can find quotes and scripture
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  references from this episode in the show notes.
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  We pray today's message has been a blessing. If it has, please consider leaving
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  a rating or review on your podcast platform.
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  Your feedback helps others discover the truth of God's Word.
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  You can connect with Woman at the Well Ministries through our app at watwm.org
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  and on Facebook and Instagram.
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  While you're there, learn more about Bible Bits, Kim's daily devotional delivered
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  Monday through Friday by text message, and the Bible Bit Podcast.
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  Thank you for your prayers and support. Remember, Jesus loves you. You are loved.
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  She's a happy girl.