Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 320 | Your Environment Matters - Lessons from Nature on Faith and Friendship

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320 | Your Environment Matters - Lessons from Nature on Faith and Friendship · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  Music.
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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.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  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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  Living her life for Christ, she's a happy girl.
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  Music.
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  She's a happy girl.
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  Today, as we walk through the scriptures, closely looking at what God has for
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  each of us, I'm reminded that of all of God's creations, He chose to create us in His image.
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  Wonderfully and perfectly made in the image of God, yet we don't serve Him or
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  praise Him like many of His other their creations.
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  Every day and every moment, we are made aware of God's presence.
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  Daily, His creations are teaching us meaningful and valuable lessons.
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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, revealing the importance of our environment.
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  Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries.
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  You know, I've often thought in my lifetime how how the scripture tells us that
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  even the rocks will cry out and praise him.
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  And I've often thought how I just didn't want to be outdone by a rock.
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  I didn't want to let something that has no soul, cannot sing,
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  I have been redeemed, really is kind of dull and just there.
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  Praise the Lord more than I do.
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  And as I begin to think about how, you know, rocks do what they're supposed
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  to do, and my goodness, we call gems rocks, and so they are beautiful and glistening
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  things that are in it, coal with enough pressure turns into diamonds.
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  We see tremendous things in God's creation.
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  But I don't want God's creation to sing his praises better than I do.
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  And so as I begin to think about that, I'm reminded that the sunshine shouts
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  of his amazing protection over us as we we made it safely through the nights.
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  We were made in the image of God, yet we just don't dream of his goodness and
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  his greatness like his other lesser creations.
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  The birds sing continuously, reminding us that God has his eye even on the tiniest
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  sparrow, and he provides for for their every need, we're told in Matthew 6, 26.
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  The winds, they move at the will and pleasure of God, cooling our face and brushing
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  our hair back, reminding us that though we cannot see him with our natural eyes, that he is there.
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  The waves move back and forth in rhythm, stopping where God has drawn the line in the sand.
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  All of these truths remind us that even the powerful winds and the The waves obey his voice.
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  Hear that in Matthew 8, 27.
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  But there are other very interesting, amazing things in nature that we know
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  and see that just speaks of the greatness of God.
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  One of those things is the eagle.
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  When a storm comes, the eagle rises above the storm. And when the eagle sees
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  the storm approaching, it sets its wings to the wind.
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  The wind picks it up and lifts it above the storm.
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  What a lesson. We as Christians face many storms. storms and we need to employ
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  our faith and rise above the storms of life and rest in the presence of God's love and peace.
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  We need to set our faith and sights on God and things above and allow him to
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  pick us up and carry us through our storm.
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  The eagle does it instinctively. We need to set our heart and our mind and purpose
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  to letting God lift us above the things of the world.
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  But perhaps the thing that I find most incredible, or at least right now as
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  I'm thinking, is the lesson we learn from the shark.
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  It's one of the most sought-after aquarium fish for a tank.
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  Aquarium enthusiasts will do anything they can to get shark in their tank.
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  It is majestic and it's It's powerful.
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  And so from the standpoint of its beauty and its power, it's easy to see why
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  so many people would want to have a shark in their home aquarium.
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  It's the main attraction when you go to a park that has aquariums or to a national aquarium.
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  But you have to ask yourself, what about their size?
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  They grow upwards of eight feet, some ten. you see hammerheads with long protrusions from their face.
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  How could that be in a home-sized aquarium?
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  How could you ever keep one?
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  And it live. The answer lies in how the shark responds to its environment.
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  A shark only grows to the length its environment will support.
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  Now, let's look at that for a minute because this is the same case with Christians.
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  Christians only grow spiritually to the extent their environment fosters and allows them to do so.
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  So, if you surround yourself with ungodly people and live with ungodly habits,
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  you're not going to grow to be a strong, vivacious, effective, vibrant Christian.
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  You simply will not reach your potential in Christ.
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  But if you're diligent with whom you surround yourself with,
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  and you're careful to follow God's commandments,
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  including his commandment in 2 Timothy 2.15 that says, study to show thyself
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  approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
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  but rightly dividing the word of truth.
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  If you're diligent to keep those commandments and have those habits and practices
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  in your life and surround you with others that do, you will grow spiritually.
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  You will be large and powerful. You will be the light that God God asks you
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  to be in Matthew 5, 14, and 16, which says, let your light so shine before men
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  that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
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  You will be a majestic Christian full of the fruits of the Spirit that were
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  talked about in Galatians 5, 22, and 23.
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  The Lord will be evident in your life, life and your love for him will be demonstrated
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  in all that you say and do.
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  But perhaps the best way to look at the effects that we have from our environment
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  or the impact that our environment has upon us is to take a close look at Mark chapter 2,
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  beginning in verse 2 and concluding in verse 11. And I'm going to read that in your hearing.
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  It's a familiar story for some, and it's an important story for all.
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  Here is how it goes. And straightway many were gathered together in so much
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  that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door.
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  And he preached the word unto them.
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  And they came unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was born of four.
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  And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was.
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  And when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
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  When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy,
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  Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
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  But there were certain of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their heart,
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  Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies?
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  Who can forgive sins but God only?
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  And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned with
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  themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
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  I believe many people think of many things for all the wrong reasons instead
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  of just glorifying and edifying what God has to say.
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  Picking up again in verse 9, he says, Whether is it easier to say to the sick
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  of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?
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  But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins,
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  he says to the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed
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  and go thy way into the house.
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  What I want to bring to your attention in Mark chapter 2.
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  Is verse 5, when Jesus saw their faith.
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  These are the four men who brought their friend with a palsy to the Lord.
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  When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy,
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  Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
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  And he was made whole. When we look at Mark chapter 2 and verses 2 through 11.
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  In this account, we see that there are four friends who sacrificially love their mutual friend.
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  And this friend of theirs has the palsy, and he's unable to walk to see Jesus
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  to receive the healing that God has for those who believe.
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  But this man with palsy had friends who believed that Jesus would heal him if
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  they could just get their friend to him.
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  In fact, his four friends, their belief was so strong that they would not let
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  anything stop them. him.
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  No matter what they had to do, they were going to get their friend in front
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  of Jesus because they knew he was his answer.
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  So they took a journey carrying this man, all four of them, carrying their friend to where Jesus was.
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  But when they got there, they found that there wasn't any more room for them.
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  There was no place. They couldn't get in. The crowd was too big.
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  The crowd that had gathered to hear Jesus had completely filled all the spaces.
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  And for most people, once they got there and they had done all that work to
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  carry their friend, that would have been enough to stop them. But see, this friend.
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  He had friends who loved him.
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  But more importantly, I believe he had friends that knew what the power of Jesus
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  would do if you had it unleashed in your life.
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  This man with the palsy had at least four friends who knew who God was, who understood.
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  What Jesus could do in your life if you would open up your heart and allow him
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  in, if you would listen to his commandments and obey them.
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  If you would purpose in your heart to love him above all things,
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  these four friends knew what would happen.
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  And so even though they had carried him the distance, it wasn't going to stop
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  when they couldn't get in because they understood.
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  All they had to do was get their friend whom they loved in front of Jesus,
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  and he would no longer be suffering from the effects of having palsy.
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  And so when they realized they couldn't get in, these
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  friends who were not only faithful to their friend with the positive they were
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  faithful they were full of faith in Jesus and they knew what he could do so
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  for this reason they tore a hole in the roof where Jesus was preaching and lowered
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  the man right in front of Jesus,
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  right in front of him their faith was so strong in the wonder-working power
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  of Jesus that they They just had to get their friend to Jesus to receive the
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  healing they knew he would give.
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  By faith, they knew their friend
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  would be made whole through the wonder-working power of Jesus Christ.
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  And they were right. Their faith, according to Mark 2 and verse 5,
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  is why their friend was made whole.
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  Jesus healed their friend completely, and it all began with the faith of their friends.
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  They believed in God enough to carry their friend when he couldn't carry himself.
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  They loved their friend enough to take him to Jesus, where he would receive the help he needed.
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  Are you that kind of friend? Are you laying your friends at the feet of Jesus in prayer?
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  Are you soaking them in the word with your conversations?
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  Is your life a living testimony of the transforming power of Jesus Christ?
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  The man with palsy was taken to Jesus by his friends, and because of that,
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  he received healing because his friends wasn't going to let him miss Jesus.
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  Are you that dedicated? hated? Are you that sold out for Christ?
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  Do you love your friends that much?
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  What kind of friend are you? Do you assist your friends by giving them Jesus
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  and pushing them toward him?
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  Or does your face lack and being around you kind of pulls them away?
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  Do your friends edify you and lift you up up like we're told in Romans 15 too?
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  Are you willing to carry someone to Jesus until they can carry themselves?
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  These four friends in Mark chapter 2 were, and they show each of us the kind
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  of friend that we are supposed to be.
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  We live in a world that tears down. We live in a world that degrades.
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  We live in a world that destroys. We live in a world of destruction.
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  But we have the love of Jesus in us. We have Jesus Christ dwelling in us in
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  the form of the Holy Spirit.
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  We have the light of God in us. We can't be like the world. We have to be different
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  than the world, and we need to love people as Christ loved us.
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  And in doing so, we must give these people Jesus, and we must bring them to
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  Jesus with whatever it takes.
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  Just as a shark grows only as big as his surroundings allow him to do so, so also do we.
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  Be careful who you're hanging out with.
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  Go to them and bring them to where you are, but don't go to them and let them keep you where they are.
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  When we surround ourselves with godly people, people who worship and praise
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  God, people who know him intimately and are obedient to God's word, we grow spiritually.
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  You can't help it. It rubs off on you.
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  Are the friends you have the ones that you are talking scripture with?
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  Are you sharing Bible bits? Are you sharing verses? Are you praying with them?
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  Are you a praying friend, not only for them, but with them?
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  Our surroundings impact our spiritual life. They either motivate it and inspire
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  us to be more for God and to reach our potential in Christ, or they hold us
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  back and pull us away and stun our growth.
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  It's important that you surround yourself with godly people who can have the
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  faith to carry you when yours is weak,
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  who can pray you through when you can't find the words, who can lay you in front
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  of the throne of God on your behalf, praying for his mercy, his grace,
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  and his blessings on you.
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  You need to seek to have those kind of people. You need to seek to be that kind of friend.
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  You want people around you who care for your soul and pray earnestly for you.
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  It's God's most precious creation.
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  We got to learn to praise him. And nature shows us exactly how it's done.
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  We must learn lessons from his creation to help us live a fruitful and peaceful life in Jesus.
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  We must learn from the shark and carefully maintain godly environments.
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  Proverbs 3, 5, and 7, we are told, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart,
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  and lean not unto thine own understanding.
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  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
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  Be not wise in thine own eyes. Fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
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  Friends you've got to trust and believe
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  listen learn and live you got to pay attention to what's around you you got
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  to pay attention to what you allow inside of you and you must purposely demonstrate
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  the light of Jesus that is within you surround yourself with friends who have a faithful witness.
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  Enjoy the presence of the Lord in all of your encounters, and let God be the
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  firm foundation all your relationships are built upon.
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  Learn from the shark and grow big, because your environment is what it should be.
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  Remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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  Music.
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  Joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for quotes from
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  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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  Thank you to the gospel group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
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  Remember that God loves you, you.
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  Music.