Latest / TAKEN TV Podcasts / Joel Osteen Podcast - Be the Authentic You | Joel Osteen

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Joel Osteen Podcast - Be the Authentic You | Joel Osteen · TAKEN TV Podcasts

0:01
Speaker 1: I hope you and your family are having a great summer.
0:03
Speaker 1: Victoria and I are praying for you, believing for God's
0:06
Speaker 1: very best in your life, and it's always my pleasure
0:09
Speaker 1: to be able to share a message with you. I
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Speaker 1: hope you're encouraged and inspired today. Well, God bless you.
0:15
Speaker 1: It's great to be with you today, and I hope
0:18
Speaker 1: you'll stay connected with us during the week through our
0:20
Speaker 1: daily podcast, our YouTube channel, social media, and you can
0:24
Speaker 1: come visit us in person. We'd love to have you
0:27
Speaker 1: be a part of one of our services. but I
0:29
Speaker 1: like to start with something funny and don't be offended.
0:32
Speaker 1: It's just a joke, but I heard about these three people,
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Speaker 1: a Russian, an American, and a blonde. They were talking together.
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Speaker 1: The Russian proudly said, we were the first ones in space.
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Speaker 1: The American said, well, we were the first ones on
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Speaker 1: the moon. The blonde said, that's nothing. We're going to
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Speaker 1: be the first ones on the sun. The American, the Russian,
0:52
Speaker 1: they laugh. You can't go to the sun. It's too hot.
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Speaker 1: You'd be burned up. The blonde said, we know that.
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Speaker 1: We're not that dumb. We're going to go at night.
1:02
Speaker 1: All right, y'all. I'm married to a beautiful, smart, intelligent blonde,
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Speaker 1: but I'm going to need a ride home. But here
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Speaker 1: we go, y'all. This is my Bible. I am what
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Speaker 1: it says I am. I have what it says I have.
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Speaker 1: I can do what it says I can do. Today,
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Speaker 1: I will be taught the word of God. I boldly
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Speaker 1: confess my mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I
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Speaker 1: will never be the same in Jesus name. God bless you.
1:32
Speaker 1: I want to talk to you today about being the
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Speaker 1: authentic you. It's easy to go through life trying to
1:39
Speaker 1: protect our image and always look good and impress people.
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Speaker 1: We can't let them see our flaws, our shortcomings, or
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Speaker 1: they may think less of us. So we live with
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Speaker 1: this pressure to perform, to pretend, and to wear a mask.
1:55
Speaker 1: But the people we're trying to impress, the ones that
1:58
Speaker 1: look like they have it all together, they have issues too.
2:02
Speaker 1: Everyone is struggling with something. And the scripture says God's
2:06
Speaker 1: power shows up greatest in our weaknesses, not in our strengths,
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Speaker 1: not in the areas we excel, but in our struggles,
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Speaker 1: our flaws, the things we're trying to hide. God is
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Speaker 1: not looking for the fake you, the pretend you, the
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Speaker 1: cover up you. He's looking for the real you, the
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Speaker 1: you that's not perfect, the you that can get jealous, angry, afraid,
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Speaker 1: the you that doesn't always feel worthy or good enough.
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Speaker 1: When you get honest with yourself and you don't try
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Speaker 1: to camouflage your struggles, live wearing masks to keep up
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Speaker 1: your image, that's when God will step in and help
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Speaker 1: you to change. Instead of hiding what we're struggling with,
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Speaker 1: when we go to God and admit our dependence on him, say, God,
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Speaker 1: I need you. I don't like being this way. I'm afraid,
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Speaker 1: I'm angry, or I don't feel like I'm good enough.
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Speaker 1: Help me to change. It's not a weakness to admit
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Speaker 1: you don't have it all together. It's a strength. When
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Speaker 1: you take off the mask and you're open before God,
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Speaker 1: He doesn't fault you. That's when His power shows up
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Speaker 1: to change you. When Jesus saw Peter out fishing, He
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Speaker 1: called him to be His first disciple. He said, from
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Speaker 1: now on, you're going to fish for men. Peter fell
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Speaker 1: on his knees and said, Lord, go away from me.
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Speaker 1: I'm not worthy. I'm a sinful man. He was saying, Lord,
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Speaker 1: I have flaws. I'm hot-tempered. I use bad language. I'm impatient.
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Speaker 1: He didn't try to cover up who he was, protect
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Speaker 1: his image. He was honest. He was vulnerable. Jesus didn't say, thanks, Peter.
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Speaker 1: I didn't realize how messed up you were. I chose
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Speaker 1: the wrong man. No, after Peter told him all his
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Speaker 1: flaws and weaknesses, Jesus said later, Peter, you are a
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Speaker 1: rock and upon you, I will build my church. He
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Speaker 1: was saying, Peter, I know everything about you, the good,
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Speaker 1: the bad, the ugly. And because you're open, because you're vulnerable,
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Speaker 1: not wearing a mask, I'm going to make you into
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Speaker 1: something more than you've ever imagined. God is not faulting
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Speaker 1: you for having weaknesses, areas that you struggle in. It
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Speaker 1: can be pride, jealousy, compromising. He knows what you're dealing with.
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Speaker 1: He didn't choose you because you have it all together.
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Speaker 1: He chose you because of what you can become. God
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Speaker 1: would rather work with someone like Peter that's open and
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Speaker 1: honest than someone that tries to hide and pretend and
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Speaker 1: wear a mask. See, Jesus could have gone to the
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Speaker 1: temple and chosen one of the Pharisees, the religious leaders,
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Speaker 1: to become disciples. They looked the part. They worked in
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Speaker 1: the temple. They wore long robes and prayed in public
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Speaker 1: every day. They taught in the synagogue. You know why
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Speaker 1: he didn't choose them? They wore masks. They were pretenders.
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Speaker 1: They acted one way, nice, holy, kind, but on the inside,
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Speaker 1: it was a different story. They didn't care about people.
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Speaker 1: They cared about how they were going to be seen.
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Speaker 1: They were arrogant, harsh, putting rules on people that they
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Speaker 1: couldn't keep. Jesus had strong words for them. He said
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Speaker 1: in Matthew 23, you are like whitewashed tombs. You look
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Speaker 1: great on the outside, but on the inside, you're full
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Speaker 1: of dead men's bones. He was saying, you're a fake.
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Speaker 1: You're a pretender. You go around wearing masks, acting one way,
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Speaker 1: but your motives are wrong. He called them hypocrites because
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Speaker 1: they were two-faced, projecting one thing when in reality, they
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Speaker 1: were just the opposite. It's significant. Jesus didn't call Peter
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Speaker 1: a hypocrite. Why? Peter admitted he was a sinner, unworthy,
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Speaker 1: not making good choices. He didn't try to hide it.
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Speaker 1: He was open. The problem with the Pharisees wasn't that
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Speaker 1: they had issues. They were dealing with pride and wrong motives.
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Speaker 1: We all have some kind of issue. The problem was
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Speaker 1: they acted like they had it all together. They put
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Speaker 1: on masks to pretend and cover up the issues they
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Speaker 1: were dealing with. This temptation comes to us all to
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Speaker 1: be a Pharisee. I got to protect my image and
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Speaker 1: make sure I look good. Nobody sees my weaknesses. We
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Speaker 1: have to wear this mask for our friends and This
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Speaker 1: mask at work and mask for relatives, a mask at
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Speaker 1: the gym. Some people are professional pretenders. They got a
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Speaker 1: mask for every situation. But it's a lot of pressure
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Speaker 1: to be fake, have to camouflage and perform so we'll
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Speaker 1: be well thought of and invited into their group. If
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Speaker 1: people can't accept you for who you are, then you
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Speaker 1: don't need them. If you have to perform perfectly and
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Speaker 1: be pressured into being something you're not, do yourself a favor,
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Speaker 1: take off that mask. Quit being a lesser version of
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Speaker 1: who you are and be the authentic you. If they
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Speaker 1: can't handle it, they fault you because you're not perfect,
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Speaker 1: then move on with your life. Your time is too
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Speaker 1: valuable to be a fake you, a pretend you, a
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Speaker 1: you that has to play up to people or you'll
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Speaker 1: be looked down on. Take the pressure off. They may
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Speaker 1: act like a Pharisee, like they have it all together,
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Speaker 1: but they have issues too. None of us are a
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Speaker 1: finished product. The Apostle Paul wrote over half of the
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Speaker 1: books in the New Testament. He was a brilliant scholar,
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Speaker 1: trained at the highest levels, spoke five languages, came from
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Speaker 1: an influential family. He could have told us all his strengths,
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Speaker 1: how accomplished he was, how smart. But he said in
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Speaker 1: Romans 7, the good I know I should do, I
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Speaker 1: don't do it. But the bad I don't want to do,
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Speaker 1: I keep doing it. He said in Philippians, I'm still
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Speaker 1: not all that I should be. He wasn't ashamed to
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Speaker 1: admit that he still had flaws. He still didn't perform
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Speaker 1: perfectly all the time. He could have easily put on
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Speaker 1: a mask and just let us see his greatness. Man,
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Speaker 1: I've written books of the Bible. I've changed history. Yes,
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Speaker 1: I got it all together. Admitting your shortcomings isn't weak,
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Speaker 1: it's strength. You're showing God that you're depending on him.
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Speaker 1: When you try to handle it all on your own
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Speaker 1: and you put different masks to cover up what you're
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Speaker 1: dealing with, God will step back. His power doesn't show
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Speaker 1: up as much in our strengths, but in our weaknesses.
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Speaker 1: The mistake we can make is we try to hide
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Speaker 1: the weakness. We can't be vulnerable. People may think less
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Speaker 1: of us. We have to protect our image. No, you
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Speaker 1: have to take your image off the throne. Your image
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Speaker 1: is not going to get you to your destiny. Having
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Speaker 1: people like you, being well thought of is not going
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Speaker 1: to move you to your purpose. Paul was more accomplished
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Speaker 1: than anyone, but he was vulnerable enough to say, I
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Speaker 1: still don't have it all together. I'm still depending on
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Speaker 1: God's grace and mercy and favor. That's why God could
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Speaker 1: use him in such a great way. There's power in
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Speaker 1: being the real you not the fake you, the pretend you,
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Speaker 1: the Pharisee you. That's a trap to keep you from
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Speaker 1: seeing the favor of God in a greater way. A
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Speaker 1: friend of mine is a pastor and years ago he
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Speaker 1: was on drugs and had problems with alcohol and he
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Speaker 1: was very angry would have these violent outbursts where he
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Speaker 1: couldn't control his temper he came from a broken family
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Speaker 1: his father was the same way and he hated everything
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Speaker 1: about his dad but the son turned out just like
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Speaker 1: him looked like he would live in a defeated addicted
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Speaker 1: life in his 20s God stepped in and supernaturally freed
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Speaker 1: him turned his life around He became a minister, was
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Speaker 1: pastoring his church, telling his story, helping so many people.
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Speaker 1: The problem was he still had these anger issues. He
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Speaker 1: was free from the drugs, free from the alcohol, but
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Speaker 1: the smallest thing would set him off. He would explode.
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Speaker 1: Not something normal. He'd get a little upset. These were
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Speaker 1: violent outbreaks where he'd harm people and throw things, be
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Speaker 1: out of control. When he calmed down, he was so ashamed, embarrassed.
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Speaker 1: He didn't want to be that way. He knew it
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Speaker 1: was ruining his marriage, damaging his children, but he felt trapped.
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Speaker 1: He was a pastor. He was supposed to have it
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Speaker 1: all together. People looked up to him. He said, I
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Speaker 1: can't tell anyone. What will people think? It'll ruin my reputation.
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Speaker 1: I could lose my church. So he did what many
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Speaker 1: of us do. He hid it. He put on a
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Speaker 1: mask and acted like everything was okay. Of course, his family,
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Speaker 1: his children, they knew the truth. Looked like they were
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Speaker 1: a model family, but behind closed doors, there was chaos.
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Speaker 1: What's significant was he was a good man. He was
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Speaker 1: crying out for help, but he wouldn't take his image
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Speaker 1: off the throne. His ego and how he looked kept
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Speaker 1: him from telling anyone. The scripture talks about how the
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Speaker 1: enemy lives in darkness. Anything we keep in the dark
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Speaker 1: is in the enemy's territory. As long as it's hidden,
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Speaker 1: he has authority in that area. The darkness, covered up,
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Speaker 1: that's his domain. But 1 John 1 says, if you
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Speaker 1: walk in the light as God is in the light,
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Speaker 1: then the blood of his son Jesus purifies us from
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Speaker 1: all sin. When you bring into the light what you're
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Speaker 1: struggling with, you come into God's territory. In the light,
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Speaker 1: when you're open and honest, forces of darkness cannot hold
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Speaker 1: you back. That's why the enemy works so hard with shame, guilt,
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Speaker 1: what people will think, how our image is going to
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Speaker 1: be affected. He'll whisper, you got to hide that struggle, man.
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Speaker 1: Don't let people see your weaknesses. Pretend you're okay. Act
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Speaker 1: like you have it all together. Those are tricks to
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Speaker 1: try to keep you from coming into the light. In
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Speaker 1: the light, there's freedom. In the light, there's deliverance. There's wholeness.
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Speaker 1: There's victory. The enemy will tell you just the opposite. No,
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Speaker 1: you'll be looked down on. You'll be ashamed. In the light,
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Speaker 1: there is no condemnation. There is mercy for mistakes. There
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Speaker 1: is forgiveness. There are new beginnings. No more covering it up.
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Speaker 1: Get out of the enemy's domain and come over into
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Speaker 1: God's territory. One time, David made a mistake. He committed
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Speaker 1: adultery and had the lady's husband killed. For one year,
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Speaker 1: he hid it. He was so ashamed. He covered it up,
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Speaker 1: wouldn't tell anyone. For that year, David was sick. He
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Speaker 1: was weak, not able to go out and fight battles
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Speaker 1: and He was going to keep it hidden, but the
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Speaker 1: prophet Nathan confronted him. He said, David, I know what
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Speaker 1: you've done, and it's not right. Well, David was smart
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Speaker 1: enough to take off the mask, to quit pretending. He
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Speaker 1: said in Psalm 51, God, I acknowledge my transgressions. He
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Speaker 1: was saying, I'm not hiding it anymore. Not going to
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Speaker 1: keep covering it up. I'm going to bring it into
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Speaker 1: the light. It's not natural, I know, to admit our
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Speaker 1: struggles and bring them to God. We're not proud of it.
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Speaker 1: We know we should do better, but God already knows
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Speaker 1: what you struggle with. It's not a surprise to him.
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Speaker 1: Whether it's mistakes, failures, pride, jealousy, when you come to him,
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Speaker 1: there is no condemnation. People may judge you, but God
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Speaker 1: forgives you. He restores you. He gives you another chance.
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Speaker 1: In the story of the prodigal son, he left home,
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Speaker 1: wasted all of his inheritance, partying, living wild, making bad choices.
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Speaker 1: He ended up living in a hog pen, having to
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Speaker 1: eat the hog food to survive. Finally decided to go
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Speaker 1: back home. The father was at the end of the
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Speaker 1: driveway watching for him. He ran and hugged his son
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Speaker 1: and kissed him. Well, the son started apologizing. Dad, I'm
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Speaker 1: so sorry for all the trouble. I don't deserve to
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Speaker 1: be in this family. The father stopped him and didn't
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Speaker 1: let him finish his apology. This father never brought up
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Speaker 1: the son's past. He never addressed his mistake. Why were
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Speaker 1: you so immature? You've ruined our family name. This father
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Speaker 1: represents God. We think when we bring it into the light, man,
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Speaker 1: we're gonna get berated, chewed out, but God doesn't bring
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Speaker 1: up your past. He's not looking back. He's going to
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Speaker 1: help you to move forward. But here's the whole key.
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Speaker 1: God can't heal what we don't reveal. If you keep
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Speaker 1: it in the dark, you're going to stay stuck. David said,
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Speaker 1: God requires truth in the inner parts, in the parts
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Speaker 1: no one can see. Not the image, not what we're protecting,
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Speaker 1: not wearing the mask, but what's behind the mask, the
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Speaker 1: real you. the authentic you, the you that has weaknesses,
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Speaker 1: the you that struggles in areas. If you'll bring that
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Speaker 1: into the light, God can restore you and free you
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Speaker 1: and help you to overcome. When I say the light,
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Speaker 1: I don't mean you got to go out and announce
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Speaker 1: it to everybody, but between you and God, be honest. God,
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Speaker 1: I'm struggling with my temper. God, I'm jealous of this
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Speaker 1: jerk at work. I mean, this person at work. God,
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Speaker 1: I don't feel good about myself. Or God, help me
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Speaker 1: to not watch things that I know are dragging me down.
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Speaker 1: That's truth in the inner parts. That's what God responds to.
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Speaker 1: There's no shame in asking for help, but there is
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Speaker 1: shame in covering it up, hiding, wearing a mask. That's
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Speaker 1: a heavy weight that's going to drag you down. This
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Speaker 1: pastor's wife kept telling him he couldn't keep living this way.
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Speaker 1: pretending everything was okay. She encouraged him to get help.
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Speaker 1: But again, he said, I know I should, but I'm
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Speaker 1: supposed to be the example. What are people going to think?
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Speaker 1: Sometimes we're more concerned about our image than we are
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Speaker 1: in getting well. The people you're worried are going to
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Speaker 1: think less of you. If you knew their struggles, you
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Speaker 1: wouldn't worry about it. Everyone's dealing with something. One day
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Speaker 1: he got his courage up and he met with some
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Speaker 1: pastor friends and They took him in and encouraged him,
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Speaker 1: got in a support group, surrounded himself with people that
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Speaker 1: loved him and challenged him. Today, he's completely free. He's
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Speaker 1: been pastoring for 20 years, the most kind, gracious person
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Speaker 1: you could ever meet. But here's my point. He would
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Speaker 1: still be dealing with that anger if he'd not been
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Speaker 1: willing to take off his mask. He kept pretending, acting
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Speaker 1: like everything was fine. He wouldn't still be married. He
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Speaker 1: wouldn't still have his church. God's power shows up greatest
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Speaker 1: in our weaknesses, but you have to invite him into
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Speaker 1: your weakness. You can't hide it and have his power.
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Speaker 1: You can't wear a mask and expect God to free you.
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Speaker 1: Paul said in 2 Corinthians, we see God's glory with
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Speaker 1: unveiled faces. Are you missing God's glory because your face
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Speaker 1: is veiled? There's a mask. Are you not seeing favor
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Speaker 1: and breakthroughs because you're hiding something. You're embarrassed by it.
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Speaker 1: It's easy to keep it covered. God already knows about it.
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Speaker 1: It's okay to go to him with an unveiled face.
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Speaker 1: Be honest with God. That's when you're going to see
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Speaker 1: his mercy, his favor. He knows how to heal, how
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Speaker 1: to restore, how to make it new again. Like with
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Speaker 1: the prodigal, he's not going to bring up the past.
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Speaker 1: He's not going to condemn you. He's going to free
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Speaker 1: you and set you on a path to victory. There
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Speaker 1: was a man in the scripture named Zacchaeus. He was
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Speaker 1: a tax collector and they were known for being dishonest
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Speaker 1: and cheating people and nobody liked him. He was the
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Speaker 1: chief tax collector. He was in charge of all the
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Speaker 1: dishonest people. Well, he heard that Jesus was coming through
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Speaker 1: town and he wanted to see him. Streets were filled
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Speaker 1: with people, so crowded. The problem was Zacchaeus was short.
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Speaker 1: He was small in stature. The average man's height in
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Speaker 1: that day was five foot, five inches tall. Scholars say
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Speaker 1: that Zacchaeus was probably four feet, six inches tall. About
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Speaker 1: my brother Paul's height. It's interesting, it's interesting that the
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Speaker 1: scripture tells us he was short. It has a deeper
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Speaker 1: meaning than just his height, but in life he came
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Speaker 1: up short. He had wealth, position, influence, but he was dishonest.
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Speaker 1: He was looked down on, didn't feel good about himself.
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Speaker 1: And in some way, we're all short. We can have
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Speaker 1: a good marriage, a good job, but we struggle with
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Speaker 1: our self-esteem. As a parent, we can come up short,
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Speaker 1: feel guilty. We're not raising our child as good as
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Speaker 1: we should. People that are arrogant, they're short, trying to
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Speaker 1: cover their insecurities. The scripture says we've all fallen short
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Speaker 1: of the glory of God. What do we do when
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Speaker 1: we're short? Zacchaeus, he climbed up in a tree to
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Speaker 1: make up for his lack of height. Now he was
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Speaker 1: back to having an impressive position. He had the best
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Speaker 1: view in the place. From that vantage, nobody could tell
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Speaker 1: he was short. He is up there feeling good, waiting
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Speaker 1: for Jesus. About that time, Jesus came walking by. Hundreds
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Speaker 1: of people on the street, everybody hollering, waving, trying to
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Speaker 1: get his attention. Suddenly Jesus stopped, looked up in the
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Speaker 1: tree and said, Zacchaeus, he froze. Thought, did he just
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Speaker 1: call my name? Zacchaeus had never met Jesus. He wasn't
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Speaker 1: a religious person. He hadn't lived an upstanding life. He
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Speaker 1: was a cheater, a deceiver, a con man. But notice
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Speaker 1: Jesus knew his name. No matter where you are, no
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Speaker 1: matter what you've done, God still knows you. He's calling
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Speaker 1: your name today. He still has a plan and purpose
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Speaker 1: so you can become who he's created you to be.
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Speaker 1: Because Jesus could have said, hey man up there in
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Speaker 1: the tree, hey sir, hey fella, but he called him Zacchaeus.
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Speaker 1: The name Zacchaeus means pure one. Jesus looked at this
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Speaker 1: man known for being dishonest and on purpose called him
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Speaker 1: pure one. The whole crowd was standing there in amazement
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Speaker 1: thinking he just called him pure, but God doesn't call
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Speaker 1: you who you are. He calls you who you can become. Zacchaeus,
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Speaker 1: he's up there in the tree to make up for
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Speaker 1: his shortness. He's up there looking impressive again, got the
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Speaker 1: upper hand, keeping up his image. Now even Jesus calls
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Speaker 1: him by name. He's feeling good. Then Jesus said, Zacchaeus,
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Speaker 1: come down out of that tree. I want to go
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Speaker 1: to your house and have dinner. He's both excited and terrified.
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Speaker 1: If he comes down from the tree, everyone will see
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Speaker 1: how short he is. The tree is making up for
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Speaker 1: his lack of height. Something that he can hide his
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Speaker 1: weakness in. As long as he's in the tree, he
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Speaker 1: looks important. Nobody can see the real Zacchaeus up there.
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Speaker 1: But God is not going to bless the pretend version
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Speaker 1: of you. He's not going to favor the fake version.
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Speaker 1: Jesus said, in effect, Zacchaeus, I want to turn things around.
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Speaker 1: I want to free you from those bad habits. But
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Speaker 1: as long as you're in the tree, pretending everything looks okay,
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Speaker 1: covering the real issues, I can't help you. But if
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Speaker 1: you'll come down from that tree, if you'll be okay
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Speaker 1: with being short, then I'll make up for your shortness.
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Speaker 1: I'll heal you. I'll free you. Anything we have to
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Speaker 1: have to make up for our shortness is our tree.
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Speaker 1: I got to work hard, get my 14th degree to
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Speaker 1: prove that I'm valuable. That's a tree. I got to
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Speaker 1: look impressive to make up for my insecurity. A tree.
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Speaker 1: God is saying to us what he said to Zacchaeus.
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Speaker 1: If you'll come down from that tree, if you'll quit pretending, hiding,
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Speaker 1: wearing masks and get it in the light, then I'll
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Speaker 1: change anything that's holding you back. There's great power waiting
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Speaker 1: for you. Great favor, great deliverance, but it shows up
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Speaker 1: in the weakness. When you're willing to get honest, come
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Speaker 1: down from that tree, God will step in and do
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Speaker 1: what you can't do. He's not gonna find fault. Zacchaeus
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Speaker 1: was a cheater. He deceived people. One version said he
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Speaker 1: was scum, yet Jesus called him pure. There is no
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Speaker 1: condemnation when you come to our God. Come down out
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Speaker 1: of that tree. The pride, the insecurity, the struggle, you
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Speaker 1: can't tell anyone about, you can tell God. You don't
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Speaker 1: have to live wearing a mask, covering things up. You
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Speaker 1: can be real. There's power in authenticity. Zacchaeus was up
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Speaker 1: there torn between two worlds. If I come down, if
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Speaker 1: I'm honest, I quit pretending. What will people think? The
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Speaker 1: enemy was whispering, Zacchaeus, you better stay up here. You're
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Speaker 1: going to look bad. It's going to ruin your image.
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Speaker 1: You may lose some business. God will never ask you
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Speaker 1: to do something and not give you the power to
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Speaker 1: do it. Zacchaeus dug down deep and said, all right,
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Speaker 1: I'm coming down. Got to Jesus and admitted that he
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Speaker 1: had done wrong. He said, I've cheated people, but from
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Speaker 1: now on, I'm gonna pay them back four times what
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Speaker 1: I've taken. Got it out in the open. Like Peter,
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Speaker 1: when he said, I'm a sinner, I've made mistakes. When
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Speaker 1: you come into the light, there's freedom. There's breakthroughs. Jesus
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Speaker 1: looked at him and says, Zacchaeus, today salvation has come
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Speaker 1: to your home. That day he was changed, forgiven. He
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Speaker 1: left a new man. Is there a tree you're in
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Speaker 1: today to make up for what you don't have, hide
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Speaker 1: your shortcomings? As long as you're in that tree, your
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Speaker 1: image is good, you look impressive, nobody will see your shortness.
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Speaker 1: What I'm saying is it's okay to be short. We're
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Speaker 1: all short in some way, but the people that don't
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Speaker 1: let their shortness stop them are the people that come
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Speaker 1: down from the tree and come into the light. The
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Speaker 1: people that take off the mask, that don't try to
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Speaker 1: hide things, but go to God with unveiled faces. That's
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Speaker 1: when you'll see the glory of God. His strength shows
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Speaker 1: up the greatest in our weakness. The enemy would love
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Speaker 1: for us to go through life hiding what we're struggling with.
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Speaker 1: Don't fall into that trap. There is power to break
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Speaker 1: any addiction, power to free you from compromise, power like
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Speaker 1: Peter to turn you into a rock that will impact
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Speaker 1: your family line. I'm asking you to be the authentic you,
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Speaker 1: not the fake you, not the pretend you. Get rid
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Speaker 1: of those masks and stay in the light. If you'll
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Speaker 1: do this, I believe and declare like Zacchaeus, today salvation
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Speaker 1: is coming to your home. Deliverance, freedom, healing, breakthroughs, the
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Speaker 1: fullness of your destiny in Jesus' name. And if you
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Speaker 1: receive it, can you say amen? I'd like to give
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Speaker 1: you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life.
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Speaker 1: Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus, I
26:29
Speaker 1: repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make
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Speaker 1: you my Lord and Savior. If you prayed that simple prayer,
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Speaker 1: we believe you got born again. We'd love to send
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Speaker 1: you some free information on your new walk with the Lord.
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Speaker 1: You can go to the website or check out the
26:45
Speaker 1: number on the screen. But I hope you get into
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Speaker 1: a good Bible-based church and keep God first place. The
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Speaker 1: scripture says, write the vision and make it plain to see.
27:03
Speaker 1: There's something powerful about writing down what you're believing for.
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Speaker 1: That's why I'd love to send you my new I
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Speaker 1: Believe Planner. It's a place to write down your dreams,
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Speaker 1: your prayers, and the promises you're standing on. What stays
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Speaker 1: before your eyes has a way of staying in your heart.
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Speaker 1: Every time you see what you've written, let it be
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Speaker 1: a reminder to thank God that it's already at work
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Speaker 1: behind the scenes, even when you can't see it. As
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Speaker 1: you keep your faith in front of you day after day,
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Speaker 1: you'll be encouraged, your expectation will grow, and you'll begin
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Speaker 1: to see God bring those dreams to pass.
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Speaker 2: The I Believe Planner is a beautiful new resource designed
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Speaker 2: to help you believe God for more in your health,
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Speaker 2: your family, your future. Inside, you'll find a weekly I
27:48
Speaker 2: Believe Declaration to frame your mindset and shift the atmosphere
27:52
Speaker 2: with God's Word. daily planning, to-dos, and prayer prompts, and
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Speaker 2: space to reflect and record God's faithfulness in your life.
28:01
Speaker 2: Each month brings a fresh scripture and theme, plus a
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Speaker 2: QR code linking to an exclusive message from Joel. to
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Speaker 2: keep you encouraged all year long. This 15-month planner will
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Speaker 2: inspire you for the rest of this year and set
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Speaker 2: you on a course for breakthrough throughout 2027. It's yours
28:19
Speaker 2: as a thank you for your gift to the ministry today.
28:21
Speaker 2: Be sure to request your copy of The I Believe Planner,
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Speaker 2: available this month by visiting us at joelosteen.com or call 888-567-JOEL.
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Speaker 1: Don't just carry your dreams in your heart. Put them
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Speaker 1: on paper. And as you read them each day, keep
28:39
Speaker 1: thanking God that he's working. Victoria and I are praying
28:42
Speaker 1: for you and your family every day. Thanks so much
28:45
Speaker 1: for your prayer and support. Your generosity helps us take
28:49
Speaker 1: this message of hope to people around the world. A
28:52
Speaker 1: special thank you to our Champion of Hope partners for
28:55
Speaker 1: all you do to make the ministry possible. Until we
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Speaker 1: meet again, may the Lord keep you and bless you.
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Speaker 2: Be sure to request your copy of The I Believe Planner,
29:05
Speaker 2: available this month by visiting us at joelostein.com or call 888-567-JOEL.
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Speaker 2: With an additional gift, you can also receive the I
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Speaker 2: Believe in His Word collection, featuring the Passion Translation New
29:20
Speaker 2: Testament Reader's Edition, alongside the I Believe Planner, so you
29:24
Speaker 2: can carry God's Word with you every single day, right
29:28
Speaker 2: alongside the promises you're standing on. Don't wait until 2027
29:32
Speaker 2: to believe God for more. This is your moment. You
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Speaker 2: can request these inspiring resources by calling 888-922-8000. or logging
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Speaker 2: on to joelosteen.com today call or click anytime 24 hours
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Speaker 2: a day