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THE QUIET WORK GOD IS DOING IN YOU · THIS IS THE LIFE PODCAST

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  Speaker 1: Good morning. Thank you so much for joining us today
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  Speaker 1: on our podcast. As we get ready for this morning's devotion,
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  Speaker 1: it comes to us out of Mark chapter 4, verse
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  Speaker 1: 26 and 27. I've been kind of thinking about this
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  Speaker 1: for a while, about the Christian walk in general and
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  Speaker 1: how sometimes we can kind of get real anxious about
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  Speaker 1: growth and those kind of things. And the Lord really
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  Speaker 1: teaches us through His Holy Word that It is very
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  Speaker 1: important that we wait on Him, that we seek His face,
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  Speaker 1: that we take time to rest and all of those things.
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  Speaker 1: But there are times when we just want to get
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  Speaker 1: in such a rush to grow and to know and
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  Speaker 1: to do these things. And that's very important in the
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  Speaker 1: Christian walk. But sometimes we need to just kind of
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  Speaker 1: step back and take a look at what the Word
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  Speaker 1: of God says about that. Mark chapter 4, verse 26
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  Speaker 1: and 27, as I said, the Lord says this, So
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  Speaker 1: is the kingdom of God. As if a man should
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  Speaker 1: cast seed into the ground. And should sleep and rise
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  Speaker 1: night and day. And the seed should spring and grow up.
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  Speaker 1: He knoweth not how. I love that last part. See
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  Speaker 1: when a seed is first planted the ground looks very
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  Speaker 1: much the same as it did before. Day after day
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  Speaker 1: you may pass by and see no sign of any
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  Speaker 1: kind of growth or anything happening. Yet beneath the surface.
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  Speaker 1: That seed is beginning to grow. And what happens is, see,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus uses this picture to describe the kingdom of God
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  Speaker 1: and the growth of a believer. Because the man planted
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  Speaker 1: the seed, he then went about the rhythm of an
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  Speaker 1: ordinary life. He slept, he'd get up, do whatever he
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  Speaker 1: had to do that day, go back to sleep, rise again.
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  Speaker 1: And growth came, though he could not see how it
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  Speaker 1: was happening. He just saw the effects of it later on.
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  Speaker 1: And what happens is we often struggle with what we
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  Speaker 1: cannot see. We've covered that several times here on this podcast.
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  Speaker 1: We struggle with what we cannot see and what we
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  Speaker 1: cannot understand. See, we pray, we read God's Word, we
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  Speaker 1: try to follow Him, but we wonder why it always
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  Speaker 1: seems like nothing's really changing or it's not changing fast
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  Speaker 1: enough for us. And maybe the same worry you carried
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  Speaker 1: last month is still hanging around this month. And you
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  Speaker 1: begin to think that you would be further along in
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  Speaker 1: your growth by now and be able to handle that.
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  Speaker 1: But I want you to pause this morning for just
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  Speaker 1: a moment. I want you to look a little closer
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  Speaker 1: at your life. Perhaps a conversation that once would have
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  Speaker 1: ended in anger now ends in peace because you're willing
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  Speaker 1: to listen more now. Maybe you're a little quicker to
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  Speaker 1: pray for people or pray when fear arises in your life.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe you have begun to admit When you need help.
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  Speaker 1: And maybe you found the courage to forgive someone that
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  Speaker 1: you thought you would never forgive. See, these are changes
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  Speaker 1: that seem small in your life. But they matter. See,
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  Speaker 1: God dropped this thought in my spirit yesterday as I
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  Speaker 1: was thinking about something. And I thought it was worth pondering.
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  Speaker 1: And now I think it's worth sharing with you this morning.
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  Speaker 1: Here's the thought that he gave me. After the blaze
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  Speaker 1: has died down, does the flame remain? You may think,
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  Speaker 1: what does that mean, Brother Eddie? After the blaze has
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  Speaker 1: died down, does the flame remain? Well, let me explain
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  Speaker 1: how the Holy Spirit explained that to me. The early
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  Speaker 1: days of a believer, their walk with God can be
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  Speaker 1: filled with a lot of excitement. Everything feels new, and
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  Speaker 1: we say they are on fire for the Lord, right?
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  Speaker 1: But as time passes, that first blaze often settles down
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  Speaker 1: and life brings ordinary days, hard days and seasons. We
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  Speaker 1: do not feel the same excitement. I believe we can
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  Speaker 1: all be honest about that. That is when the foundation matters.
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  Speaker 1: I want you to think about starting a fire. That's
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  Speaker 1: when the foundation matters. See, if the flame is nurtured
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  Speaker 1: only by other people's approval, the flame will not last.
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  Speaker 1: If it is fueled by the desire to be recognized
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  Speaker 1: by other people as you being godly, it won't last. Why?
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  Speaker 1: Because it's false fire. But when we build our lives
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  Speaker 1: on Jesus and keep returning to him through prayer, his word,
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  Speaker 1: and obedience, then that flame will remain. It may burn
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  Speaker 1: more quietly at times than it did at first, but
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  Speaker 1: it's still giving life and still creating growth. And that's
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  Speaker 1: what I want you to understand this morning is, is
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  Speaker 1: that the flame is what matters, not these sudden bursts
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  Speaker 1: of excitement and blazing up and all that. It's that steady,
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  Speaker 1: day-by-day light that shines through your life and helps you grow.
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  Speaker 1: God's work in us is not always something that we
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  Speaker 1: can measure from day to day or from the next
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  Speaker 1: moment to the next. Wisdom is developed as we return
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  Speaker 1: to Him with our questions, with our desire, with our patience. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: with our patience. It's part of who we are. Our
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  Speaker 1: part is to keep tending to what He has given
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  Speaker 1: us and to make room for His Holy Word. So today,
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  Speaker 1: what I want you to do is I just want
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  Speaker 1: you to take a step back in your life. I
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  Speaker 1: want you to look at your life. Even if you
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  Speaker 1: happen to say, Lord, I just don't feel like I'm
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  Speaker 1: as on fire as I used to be. Well, rekindle
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  Speaker 1: that flame. But if that flame is built on the
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  Speaker 1: foundation of Jesus Christ, it's still there. And you're still growing.
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  Speaker 1: Even though you may not feel like you are, you're
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  Speaker 1: still growing. So do something today that puts you in
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  Speaker 1: a position to be a light for the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 1: And you'll see He's still there. He's still using you.
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  Speaker 1: And you still matter to Him. Today you be safe.
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  Speaker 1: You be strong and you be blessed. And Lord's will,
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  Speaker 1: we'll see you back here again tomorrow. And until then,
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  Speaker 1: I sure hope you have a great day.