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642 | Creating A Pattern With Your Life that Leads Others To 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 well in John chapter 4.
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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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It is a commandment in Scripture to show a pattern of good works.
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Be very sure your life is a pattern that others are following,
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perhaps not exactly, but as a foundation for their lives.
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We have a responsibility to live our lives in such a way that the pattern of
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our lives that they're following will lead them to Jesus.
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Join us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries as Kim takes us on a
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journey through the Scriptures, encouraging each of us to look closely at the
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pattern we have created with our lives.
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Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries. Let's pray.
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Our kind and most gracious, dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we come to you,
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thankful for your presence in our life, overjoyed by the plan that you have
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for each of us, and grateful that you never leave us or forsake us.
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Lord, I ask that you would just be in our midst as we listen to your words unfold in our hearing.
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And I pray, Lord, that you would touch hearts, change lives,
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and that we would be transformed more into what you'd have us to be because
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of the time we've spent with you and in your word.
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Lord, I ask that you would remove me from this message as far as the east is from the west.
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And Lord, that as the words come through these lips of clay,
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that they would be anointed, ordained, and given by you.
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Lord, help us to create a pattern with our lives that leads others to you.
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In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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Scripture gives us in Matthew 5, verse 16, a commission.
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And that commission is that we're to be a light to the world.
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In fact, what it says is, Let your light so shine before men that you may see,
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your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
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Matthew 5.16 speaks to our lives.
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It says that we are to live a life that shines His light to the world that those
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that are following us would see our good works and our good works would lead them to him.
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Today, as we look through Scripture, understanding the commission that God has
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given us to lead others to Him,
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we're going to take a good look at the pattern that our life creates for others.
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It's the pattern that our life demonstrates to those that are watching,
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and I assure you that someone is watching your life, many someones,
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and your life is either leading them toward the Lord or it's leading them away from the Lord.
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It is not a neutral stance.
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And scripture tells us in Titus 2, 7 through 8, these words,
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in all things, showing thyself a pattern of good works,
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in doctrine, showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned,
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that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
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Now, you are not responsible for what people say about you that aren't true,
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but you are absolutely positively responsible for what you do with your life,
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for the truth that your life speaks.
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And let me remind you, as I remind myself, that the truth we speak can either
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be about who God is in our lives,
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or the truth that we are living a lie because we speak about one thing and live something else.
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Scripture commands us to show a pattern of good works.
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It wasn't all that long ago. There was a popular song made popular by Steve
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Green and written by John Moore that was, Find Us Faithful.
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The chorus of that song goes, Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.
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May the fire of our devotion light their way.
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May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe.
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And the lives we live inspire them to obey.
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Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.
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This song, Find Us Faithful, is a testament to a life well-lived following Titus 2, 7-8.
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A person who is showing a pattern of good works will be faithful in all areas of their life.
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Not just the areas that show up in church, but the areas that show up
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in the trustee board meeting, the areas that show up in the deacon board meeting,
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the areas that show up in the recreational and fellowship activities that happen
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outside of the sanctuary.
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It'll show up, this pattern of good works, at the office.
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It'll show up when your employer is paying you for 40 hours of work and you're
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giving him at least that much.
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It'll show up when your business dealings are honest and your integrity is unquestioned.
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It'll show up when you are merciful and gracious to those that are around you.
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It'll show up with a life that is committed to responding God's way in every
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circumstance and at all times.
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A pattern of good works follows after the example that Jesus showed us.
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What is a pattern? It's a model used as a guide to make something.
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It's a regular way in which something happens.
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It's a trend where you can just see and begin to understand what the results will be.
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That's the value of a pattern. A pattern shows us that when you follow a pattern,
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you can see exactly how something is going to happen.
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You can see how to do something. You can understand if you follow this pattern,
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you'll get expected results.
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And if you choose the correct pattern, you'll get the results that you want.
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It's so important that you understand choosing the right pattern matters.
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When I first started quilting.
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I didn't even know how to start a sewing machine, so I don't really suggest
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that anyone quilts the way that I did or starts quilting the way that I did.
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But I do know that by quilting, I learned a whole lot about the value of patterns.
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I spent much time looking at them, looking at patterns for what quilt I wanted to make.
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I looked at patterns in fabric to see if they would match or line up with other
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patterns so that when the finished product was laid across the bed,
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it would have a pleasing look.
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I looked at patterns for sewing and even patterns for how to cut.
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And I found a lot of comfort and meaning in patterns. I avoided patterns that
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seemed too difficult for my inexperienced skill level.
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I clung to patterns that I could see results quickly, that would line up with
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the finished product so that I would know early on,
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if I had messed something up,
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so that I wouldn't ruin the whole project.
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That's the gift of a pattern because following a pattern allows you to quickly
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see when you're deviating off course.
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It gives you plenty of time to get back on. It assists in laying down your moves
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in a logical, planned order so that others can follow and choose to receive those same results.
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This is why choosing the right pattern matters.
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Because we have to choose the pattern that when we follow it,
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will produce the results that we want, the results that we need,
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and the ones that meet our expectations.
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See, this is where people go awry when they're thinking about the patterns of their life.
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They seem to want to go to heaven, but they've chosen a pattern in their life
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that avoids that possibility.
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They're choosing to go their own way. They're choosing to put their faith in anything but God.
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They're living for themselves and not for others.
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That's a faulty pattern. Thank you.
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Then there are those who are choosing to look like they have chosen the right pattern.
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They show up on church at least once a week or a couple times a month.
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They know the speak that you should say to look like you're following the pattern.
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But when it gets down to it and when the rubber meets the road,
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they are choosing themselves.
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They are choosing to ignore the commandments of God.
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They are choosing a pattern that will not get them the expected end of a home
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not made with hands eternal into the heavens.
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But Jesus wrote, these things I have written unto you, little children,
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that you may know and believe.
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So you and I, we have an opportunity to choose a pattern in our lives that's
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going to get us the expected end.
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How do I know that? Because the scriptures tells me from Genesis to Revelations.
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In Jeremiah 29, 11, he tells us that I know the plans that I have to you,
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plans to prosper you and to give you an expected end.
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This pattern of following scripture from Genesis to Revelations will give us an expected end.
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It will create for us a personal, intimate relationship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
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We're laying down a pattern with our lives. The question is,
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what kind of pattern are we creating?
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Are you creating a pattern that's going to give you the abundant life that God
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promises you in John 10, verse 10?
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Or are you living the kind of life that's a pattern that when that day comes
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and you stand in judgment and all of us shall give account of ourselves before
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God, and when He looks at you, He doesn't see the blood applied on your life.
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Therefore, he doesn't find your name written in the Lamb's book of life,
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and therefore he does not see your sins are forgiven, because you've chosen
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a pattern of your life to resist God's presence,
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to choose something else other than placing your faith fully in him,
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because everybody who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved,
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according to Romans 10, 13.
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That doesn't mean saying his name in vain.
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That doesn't mean calling His name loosely. That means calling upon Him to be
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the Savior of your life, to cleanse you from all unrighteousness,
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to be your guide, your Lord, your all in all, and to place all your faith in Him, denying yourself,
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and picking up your cross.
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Those are the ones that are forgiven. You don't want to choose a pattern that
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gets you in that day that he says, depart from me.
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I never knew you, you workers of iniquity.
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Today, as I was contemplating this message and listening to what the Holy Spirit
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was saying to me in my heart, I discovered a truth that I probably should have
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understood my whole life.
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But at this day, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, I remembered who I was.
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As God reminded me that he said daily.
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Pick up your cross and follow me. You've heard me say that and quote that and
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preach dozens of messages around it.
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But you've never heard me say this because today I learned it.
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Everything was finished on the cross.
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Salvation was created on the cross.
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And when Jesus says, pick up your cross, he means all the things I've ever spoken.
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He means to give up self and to follow after him.
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He means to realize in this world you'll have tribulation and trouble,
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but be of good cheer for I've overcome the world.
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But what I learned today in that still small voice of the Holy Spirit living
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within me, what I learned today was this.
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Of course we have to pick up the cross because the cross is where victory was won.
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The cross is where the sins were paid.
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And when we carry the cross with us, that's Jesus Christ in us.
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And that is the victory that allows us to create a pattern that gets us from
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here to heaven perfectly through the blood of Jesus Christ.
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I don't carry the cross just for the trouble and the tribulation.
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I carry the cross for the victory and the jubilation.
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Jesus loves me, this I know, and with him, there is nothing that I can't do.
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When I tuck myself in the grace of Jesus, when I cover myself in the love of God.
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And when I walk in the strength of the Holy Trinity, I am creating a pattern of victory.
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Some of our lives are a pattern of loss,
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we look like one of those heart monitors up and down up and down up and down
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well that's amazing if it goes up and down in a nice little rhythm and that's your heart,
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but my friend that's not amazing when that's your walk.
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We are to create a pattern of good works. We're laying that pattern down with
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our lives. What does your life say?
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In Titus 2, 7, and 8, again, it reads, In all things, showing thyself a pattern of good works.
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In doctrine, showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech,
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that cannot be condemned.
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That he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
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In 1 Peter 1, 16, he says, be ye holy, for I am holy.
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In 1 Peter 2.9, he says that he created a peculiar people that ye should show
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forth the praises of him who hath called you.
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These are the things that God is telling us.
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We've been commissioned to be the light of the world. It matters how you live.
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People are watching, and we may be the only Bible that some people ever read.
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We've got to live it right.
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We call ourselves Christians. We must live Christ-like.
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We're told in 1 Peter 2.12 these words, don't let your good works be evil spoken of.
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Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles, that whereas they speak
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evil against you as evildoers, they may feel condemned by your good works,
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which they shall behold, they may glorify God in the day of visitation.
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1 Peter 2.12 is telling us, let our works in Christ Jesus,
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let our works modeling the pattern that God gave us as our example in Jesus,
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let our works convict others.
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Let the Holy Spirit in us Shine God's light out of us so that people feel a
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need to have what you have.
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Don't break them. Don't use the Bible as a brick to knock them over the head. Use your life.
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As an advertisement for what they can have and what they will want in Jesus.
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Doesn't mean that your life will not be without trouble. It means you'll never walk alone.
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And God will supply all of your needs. And he'll give you the strength to do
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what he's called you to do.
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Philippians 4.13 and 4.19 explain that to us.
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God has given us an example for how we're to walk through this life.
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I don't know about you, but I am horrible with directions.
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I mean, I can get lost using Siri and Google and any other map you give me.
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I have to follow step by step.
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My friend and ministry partner, she likes to look at the view that shows you
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the roads and all that junk. Those are ancillary, unnecessary distractions for me.
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I need the list that says turn right and 2.2 miles.
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I wish it would say turn right and 2.2 miles beside the McDonald's.
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That would make it easier for me.
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But my point is, is I need step-by-step directions to get to most any place
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I need to go that I've not been before.
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I've never been to heaven.
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And I submit to you, none of you have either. But all of us,
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if we fully understood it, would want it, because I have not seen and ear have
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not heard what lies in store for them that love the Lord.
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And this scripture we are given, the greatest love letter ever written from
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Genesis to Revelations is our roadmap.
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And in it, we are told in John 1, 14, and the word was made flesh and dwelt
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among us and we beheld his glory,
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the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
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What we read in this word is Jesus incarnate.
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The Word was made flesh. The Scripture came to life and dwelled among us, 100% God and 100% man.
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And he gave himself that you and I might live forever, a pattern of good works, wouldn't you say?
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In Acts chapter 10, verse 38, he said that he went about doing good.
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In psalm 119 verse 105 he gives us this thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my past.
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This scripture is alive and real, and he lives in you in the form of the Holy Spirit.
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Jesus himself is speaking to you as you read the words of Holy Scripture.
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You can fully know God because you can fully know Jesus, because Jesus reveals
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himself from Genesis to Revelations, and he said, I am God.
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We have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit,
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and we need all three of them, and they're all one.
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And when we get Jesus, we get it all. When you have Jesus, there's nothing else you need.
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He provides it for you.
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And we live in this earth with blessings and comforts. Daily,
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he loads us with blessings because he loves his children.
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But when it comes down to it, what you need is Jesus.
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Whatever is wrong in your life, Jesus will make it right.
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And he's the example we were given to fulfill the commission we were given to
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leave a pattern of good works that lead people from earth to heaven through jesus his son,
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you are his witnesses many of you may be trying to figure out who you are and
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what you are let me tell you who you are you're a child of the most high god if you know him a savior
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let me tell you what your purpose is Isaiah 43.10 says, Ye are my witnesses,
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saith the Lord, and my servant, whom I have chosen,
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that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he.
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Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
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You are his witnesses.
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And to a lost and dying world, Christian, you're telling them this is who God is.
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When you demonstrate your life in front of them.
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Because when you call yourself a Christian, they assume you are Christ-like.
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So your ways must be like His. And He has given us a very direct commandment
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and commission to shine our light into the world,
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just like I said before, so that our good deeds would glorify our Father and
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others would come to know Him.
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You're His witnesses.
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And Ephesians 2 says, For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works.
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Which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
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This pattern that you're creating in your life for others to follow is a result,
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of the transformation that happens in your life,
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according to 2 Corinthians 5.17, where we are made new creatures in Christ Jesus
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and old things are passed away.
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This workmanship where the renewing of our mind separates us from the desire
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and the want-tos of this world because we choose the pattern of Jesus.
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We walk in the ways of Jesus by choice. And if you love me, you'll keep my commandments, he says.
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Friends, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
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And he has given me a purpose.
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To win the lost for him.
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To introduce everybody I know and everybody I meet and in every opportunity
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bring Jesus in the conversation.
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I'm choosing a pattern of good works through the empowerment of Jesus Christ in me.
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Because I choose heaven as my eternal home.
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And the pattern to get to heaven is only one.
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He says in John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life,
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and no man cometh unto the Father but by me.
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There are tons of different quilt patterns, but only one would get me the Bargello heart.
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There were other Bargellos, but only one would get me the Bargello heart.
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And I had to follow that, step by step by step by step.
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And in the end, across my bed, I laid a Bargello heart,
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cut the way it was supposed to, because I followed the directions,
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sewed together because I followed the directions,
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created from several bolts of fabric to one Bargello heart because I followed
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the pattern that would give me the results,
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that I desired.
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Friend, listen to me closely.
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Results that you desire at the end of your life will be to go to heaven.
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You may scoff at it now. You may not believe a word that I'm saying,
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but scripture says that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess
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that Jesus Christ is Lord.
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But those who do not confess that he is Lord on this side of eternity will spend
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eternity in hell that was never meant for them.
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And an eternal damnation, pain, and suffering.
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Not because Jesus sends you there, but because you've chosen that pattern,
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and it will surely give you that result.
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But Jesus has provided a way. God has given you a way to get from here to heaven for eternity.
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And John 3.16 plainly explains it.
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For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,
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that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
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The pattern of our life matters.
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Choose wisely how you live your life.
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In fact, it's been attributed to, widely attributed to, Francis of Assisi. these words.
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Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.
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I know for a fact that before you cross into eternity.
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You're not only going to want to know Jesus as your Savior.
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You're going to want everybody you know to want to know.
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And the life you live is what's going to demonstrate what's important to you.
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And your life is going to be a pattern that somebody or many somebody chooses.
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And there'll be a moment in time, as I spoke about before, or
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that before you're cast into eternity, into the lake of fire,
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where the pattern of following the devil and your own ways and fleshly desires will always end up in,
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there'll be a moment when you will confess who God is.
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And you'll wish you could do it all differently.
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But today is the day, and now is the accepted time.
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And 1 John 1.9 says if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive
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us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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One repentant prayer will course correct.
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That's the greatness of a pattern because it shows us quickly where we're going off course.
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And Jesus is gracious and he will forgive us.
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As we come to a close, maybe you do know Jesus as Savior and you haven't understood what.
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Value of your life. Maybe you don't see yourself as a pattern.
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Maybe you don't think you have anything in you that anyone would follow.
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That's a lie from the devil.
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And so I have to believe that you who know Christ want everyone to know him.
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And I'm going to read in your hearing, I rarely do anything like this,
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but I'm going to read in your hearing this story about the parable of the child.
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And I want you to think about it, about the people in your lives.
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Maybe they're not children. Perhaps they're not your children.
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I have no children in my life that I have born or adopted, but I have children in my life.
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I have people in all phases of my life that I know that if I purposely committed
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in my heart, I could influence them towards Jesus, and I could have an impact for the kingdom.
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It's going to require that I choose that, and you too, my friend,
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must choose to reflect the light of Jesus.
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Listen as I read, and may it open your eyes and your heart to know it matters how you live.
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The parable of the child.
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A young school teacher had a dream that an angel appeared to him and said,
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you will be given a child who will grow up to become a world leader.
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How will you prepare her so that she will realize her intelligence,
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grow in confidence, develop both her assertiveness and sensitivity,
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be open-minded yet strong in character?
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In short, what kind of education will you provide that she can become one of
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the world's truly great leaders?
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The young teacher awoke in a cold sweat. It had never occurred to him before
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any one of his present or future students could be any person described in his dream.
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Was he preparing them to rise to any position to which they may aspire?
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He thought, how might my teaching change if I knew that one of my students were that person?
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He gradually began to formulate a plan in his mind.
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The student would need experience as well as instruction. She would need to
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know how to solve problems of various kinds.
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She would need to grow in character as well as knowledge. She would need self-assurance
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as well as the ability to listen well and work well with others.
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She would need to understand and appreciate the past, yet feel optimistic about the future.
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She would need to know the value of lifelong learning in order to keep a curious and active mind.
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She would need to grow an understanding of others and become a student of the Spirit.
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She would need to set high standards for herself and learn self-discipline,
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yet she would also need love and encouragement that she might be filled with love and goodness.
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His teaching changed.
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Every young person who walked through his classroom became, for him,
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a future would-be leader.
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He saw each one not as they were, but as they could be.
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He expected the best from his students, yes, tempered it with compassion.
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He taught each one as if the future of the world depended on his instruction.
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Does this sound familiar?
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God does this for all of us.
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After many years, a woman he knew rose to a position of world prominence.
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He realized that she must surely have been the girl described in his dream.
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Only she was not one of his students, but rather his daughter.
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All of the various teachers in her life, her father was the best.
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I've heard it said that children are living messages we send to a time and place we will never see.
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But this isn't simply a parable about an unnamed school teacher.
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It's a parable about you and me, whether or not we are parents or even teachers.
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And the story, our story, actually begins like this.
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You will be given a child who will grow up and become saved or unsaved, godly or ungodly.
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You finish the sentence.
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Maybe, if not, a world leader but a superb father,
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an excellent example, a gifted healer with God's words, an innovative problem
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solver who can go to the throne quickly, an inspiring artist who will sing the praises of heaven,
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perhaps just a general philanthropist who gives Jesus away with every step, every word.
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And the song of your heart.
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Where and how you will encounter this child is unknown.
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But believe that his or her future may depend upon influence only you can provide,
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and something remarkable will happen.
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For no child, no man, no boy, no woman, no girl will ever be ordinary to you again.
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And you will never live the same. Remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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You for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for quotes
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from today's podcast and scripture references.
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We pray today has been a blessing and we encourage you to reach out to us through
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our app, our website, or our Facebook page.
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You can find our app by searching for Woman at the Well Ministries in your app
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store or through our website at watwm.org.
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We're on Facebook at facebook.com slash watwm.
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If you visit our website, you'll be able to subscribe to Bible Bits,
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a daily devotion written by Kim and delivered Monday through Friday by text message.
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Woman at the Well Ministries is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving
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our Heavenly Father, and it is through your loving and generous support that
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our ministry continues to bless others.
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To learn how to partner with Woman at the Well Ministries, please visit our website.
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Thank you to the Gospel Group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
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We greatly appreciate your prayers. We are praying daily for our listeners.
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Remember that God loves you. You are loved.