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When Your Heart Needs Peace - Max Lucado Daily Sermons · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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  Speaker 1: It's so easy to love this wonderful church. And one
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  Speaker 1: of the many reasons that it is easy to love
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  Speaker 1: Gateway is your passion for the nations. How you care
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  Speaker 1: and always have cared about people around the world. As
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  Speaker 1: testimony to that, if you'll allow me to give a
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  Speaker 1: welcome to what is a hefty delegation of Brazilians in
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  Speaker 1: this room, could all the Brazilians please stand up speA
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  Speaker 1: can't paid poor favour. Thank you very much. I don't
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  Speaker 1: know if you knew this, but my precious wife Dinlon
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  Speaker 1: and I served as missionaries in Rhodation Arrow from nineteen
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  Speaker 1: eighty three to nineteen eighty eight, so we still left
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  Speaker 1: a part of our hearts in Brazil. So session being
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  Speaker 1: vendos totters will, says Kay Delsia. I've been soy, it's
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  Speaker 1: almost weak of felice the terrible, says a kik on Oscoo.
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  Speaker 1: And we send a blessing to all the campuses wherever
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  Speaker 1: you are, to all people wherever you are who may
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  Speaker 1: be tuning in. And just a moment, my wife Dinlon
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  Speaker 1: is going to offer a prayer blessing for our message.
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  Speaker 1: But I have to reflect back on an event that
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  Speaker 1: took place the last time that I was here and
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  Speaker 1: the fire alarm went off. I'm trying to process it. Still,
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  Speaker 1: were you here? The lights flashed, the alarm went off,
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  Speaker 1: And maybe I was preaching a good sermon too, I
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  Speaker 1: mean I was. I was about to land that plane.
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  Speaker 1: I was only two or three minutes from wrapping that up,
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  Speaker 1: and then all of a sudden, the lights flashed, the
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  Speaker 1: alarm went off, and out of nowhere comes this voice.
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  Speaker 1: Evacuate the building, Evacuate the building, Evacuate the building. And
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  Speaker 1: you all got up and left. Those of you on
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  Speaker 1: other campuses, consider yourselves blessed. We were under attack. I
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  Speaker 1: didn't know how to interpret Is this Gateway's hint? You
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  Speaker 1: didn't like my jokes? I preached too long, you disagreed
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  Speaker 1: with something I said. Maybe you thought I was on fire.
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  Speaker 1: I didn't know how to interpret it. So I'm still
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  Speaker 1: kind of processing it. And the next day. The following day,
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  Speaker 1: I preached at our church in San Antonio, and I
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  Speaker 1: was still kind of shook up because someone's cell phone
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  Speaker 1: went off in the middle of my sermon and I
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  Speaker 1: nearly came out of my shoes. So if you could
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  Speaker 1: please make sure your devices are turned off because I
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  Speaker 1: have PTSD and I'm still working it through. I'm so
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  Speaker 1: thankful that my wife Danlon could be here and I've
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  Speaker 1: asked her to offer a prayer blessing poor Max.
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  Speaker 2: It's good to be with you tonight. And as I
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  Speaker 2: was asking the Lord for you this week, he gave
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  Speaker 2: me several verses that I'll be praying over you, into you,
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  Speaker 2: for you, over me, into me, for me, because his
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  Speaker 2: word is alive and active, and we want that in
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  Speaker 2: us and we want protected by his word. But a
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  Speaker 2: verse came to me that I just want to remind you.
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  Speaker 2: You probably all know it, but I want you. I
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  Speaker 2: want to remind you that it's true. And it seems
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  Speaker 2: like worship just like really spoke it out. But there's
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  Speaker 2: no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus for
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  Speaker 2: the law of the spirit of life has set you
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  Speaker 2: free from the law of sin and death. And so
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  Speaker 2: that's your filter.
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  Speaker 3: That's your filter in your head.
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  Speaker 2: When a thought comes into your head, if it leads
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  Speaker 2: you to condemnation, that is not of Jesus, that is
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  Speaker 2: of the enemy, so you can tell it to go
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  Speaker 2: to the foot of the cross and be judged by Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: So that's how we move, that's how we think with
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  Speaker 2: Jesus and receive his blessing. But can I just on
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  Speaker 2: just a small note ask. I don't know if you've
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  Speaker 2: been asked, but I want you to pray for your
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  Speaker 2: elders and their wives, and I want you to pray
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  Speaker 2: for the staff. Any staff member you know, would you
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  Speaker 2: just take their name into your heart and they be
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  Speaker 2: your person that you pray for every day or at
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  Speaker 2: least every week, because they carry a big burden right
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  Speaker 2: now and they need you to come alongside and help
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  Speaker 2: carry that burden. Right That's what Jesus said, we do
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  Speaker 2: for one another, that's why we're in here. So I
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  Speaker 2: want to encourage you to do that. And if you
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  Speaker 2: don't know names, go online and find names of staff
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  Speaker 2: members or ministry leaders. And I know you'll do that,
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  Speaker 2: and I know the church will be blessed.
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  Speaker 3: So let's talk to Jesus. Jesus, we bow before you
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  Speaker 3: in this moment.
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  Speaker 4: You truly are the name above all names, and we
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  Speaker 4: know Jesus, as much in this world breaks your heart,
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  Speaker 4: and we know that you are near to the broken hearted,
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  Speaker 4: that you don't turn your back away, that you draw near.
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  Speaker 4: That you have provision, you have your presence, you have
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  Speaker 4: your word. God.
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  Speaker 2: So we just ask that you fill us with your
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  Speaker 2: mercy and grace and understanding as our hearts prepare to
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  Speaker 2: hear your alive word today. We want to walk in
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  Speaker 2: your authority and not our own. We want to have
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  Speaker 2: your understanding and not our own. We want your will
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  Speaker 2: to be done on earth as it is in Heaven,
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  Speaker 2: and our lives and our relationships, in our neighborhoods, and
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  Speaker 2: in our thinking. That we would keep our thoughts continually
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  Speaker 2: fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable,
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  Speaker 2: beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. That
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  Speaker 2: we would fasten our thoughts on every glorious work of God,
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  Speaker 2: praising Him always. And as we praise you, King Jesus,
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  Speaker 2: all the lies we have believed, all the offenses we
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  Speaker 2: have taken on, all the fear we have absorbed, will
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  Speaker 2: lose power over our hearts and your mighty name, Jesus.
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  Speaker 2: Let us say his name together, Church, Jesus, Jesus, you
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  Speaker 2: are a King of kings and Lord of lords, Almighty God,
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  Speaker 2: wonderful counselor everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Lord, we recommit
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  Speaker 2: our affections to you and confess that we have leaned
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  Speaker 2: on our own understanding. But we thank you for your
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  Speaker 2: blood that cleanses Us twenty four seven, so that we
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  Speaker 2: walk in total and complete forgiveness.
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  Speaker 3: And the God of.
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  Speaker 2: Peace will swiftly crush Satan under your feet, and the
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  Speaker 2: wonderful favor of our Lord Jesus Christ will surround you.
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  Speaker 2: Church at Gateway. Thank you, Lord, and your name Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: We pray Amen, so the title of this weekend's message.
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  Speaker 1: When your heart needs peace. Sometimes God calms the storm
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  Speaker 1: he did for Moses. You'll remember that Pharaoh fumed behind him,
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  Speaker 1: and the waves of the Red Sea foamed in front
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  Speaker 1: of him, and two million ex slaves surrounded him. And
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  Speaker 1: we do not know, oh, if Moses raised his staff
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  Speaker 1: out of frustration with the moment or inspiration at the moment.
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  Speaker 1: But he did raise his staff, and when he did,
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  Speaker 1: the Red Sea opened, and the Israelites crossed over on
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  Speaker 1: dry land and put Egypt in the rear view mirrors.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes God calms the storm he did for Daniel. The
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  Speaker 1: prophet was invited to the lion's den for dinner, except
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  Speaker 1: in this case he was the et not the eater,
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  Speaker 1: But he prayed before his meal, and God answered the
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  Speaker 1: prayer in the form of lion lockjaw. Sometimes God calms
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  Speaker 1: the storm. He did for Paul. And how were they
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  Speaker 1: to know that it was against the law to preach
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  Speaker 1: in the region of Philippi. Officials took them into a dungeon.
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  Speaker 1: The execution was scheduled, and as far as they knew,
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  Speaker 1: it was just a matter of moments before they would
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  Speaker 1: go from singing to God in prison to singing to
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  Speaker 1: God in person. But God had other plans, and he
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  Speaker 1: opened the cell door, and he opened the jailer's heart,
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  Speaker 1: and the duo walked out, and the jailer was baptized,
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  Speaker 1: and the storm passed. Sometimes God calms the storm. Sometimes
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  Speaker 1: he excises the malignant cancer. Sometimes he transfers the cranky boss.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes he replenishes the diminishing funds. Sometimes the breath of
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  Speaker 1: Heaven blows, the clouds scatter, and the dark sky becomes
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  Speaker 1: in an instant a radiant blue. Sometimes he calms the storm,
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  Speaker 1: but other times he chooses to calm the child, and
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  Speaker 1: rather than quiet the tempest, he steals the sailor, and
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  Speaker 1: rather than remove the disease, he removes the fear, and
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  Speaker 1: rather than lift the debt, he lifts the doubt. The
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  Speaker 1: storm still bruis, but the child no longer fears. The
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  Speaker 1: child trusts. He may even snooze. That's what Jesus did. Remember.
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  Speaker 1: Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the
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  Speaker 1: lake with his disciples, and suddenly a fierce storm struck
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  Speaker 1: the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus
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  Speaker 1: was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: save us. We're going to drown. And Jesus responded, why
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  Speaker 1: are you afraid? You have so little faith? And he
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  Speaker 1: got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, and
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  Speaker 1: suddenly there was a great calm. What you find more
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  Speaker 1: amazing that Jesus calmed the storm or that he slept
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  Speaker 1: through it? How does one sleep through a storm? The
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  Speaker 1: boat bounced like a ping pong ball, and waves washed
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  Speaker 1: across the fishing boat. The disciples screamed and thunder roared,
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  Speaker 1: and Jesus snored. The boat became his bassinet. Could you
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  Speaker 1: use such peace? Odds are you could? There's a pandemic
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  Speaker 1: of anxiety out there, forty three percent of us to
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  Speaker 1: the forty three percent of US adults feel more anxious
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  Speaker 1: this year in twenty twenty four than they did in
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty three. It's easy to see why we feel
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  Speaker 1: encircled by troubles, wild weather patterns, hurricanes, eruption in the Mideast,
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  Speaker 1: Putin is on the prowl Ai is going to eat
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  Speaker 1: our brains, Iran is going to destroy the world, and
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  Speaker 1: then there's something about an election around the corner. Gen
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  Speaker 1: Z is especially troubled. One third of college students report
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  Speaker 1: feeling anxious always or most of the time. One third
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  Speaker 1: report feeling anxious at least half of the time. That
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  Speaker 1: leaves only thirty three percent of our college aged students
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  Speaker 1: who live with a prevailing sense of peace anxieties everywhere.
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  Speaker 1: Fellow walked into the door of a room of a
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  Speaker 1: psychiatrist and he said, can you help me? Doctor? He said,
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  Speaker 1: some nights I dream I'm a pup tent. Some nights
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  Speaker 1: I dream I'm a tpee. What does that mean? The
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  Speaker 1: doctor said, that's easy. You're two tents. Rough crowd, rough crowd.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe you're two tents. Thanks to our angst, we sleep less,
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  Speaker 1: we argue more, we digest poorly, and we ache everywhere.
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  Speaker 1: Peace it seems got the last train out of dodge,
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  Speaker 1: and it's hard to find. We could use some, maybe
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  Speaker 1: you could use some. Perhaps that explains why this passage,
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  Speaker 1: this weekend's passage is so treasured. The apostle Paul wrote,
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  Speaker 1: be full of joy in the Lord always. Again, I
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  Speaker 1: will say, be full of joy. Let everyone see that
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  Speaker 1: you're gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon. Do
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  Speaker 1: not worry about anything but pray and ask God for
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  Speaker 1: everything you need, always giving thanks. And God's peace, which
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  Speaker 1: is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your
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  Speaker 1: hearts and minds in Christ Jesus Philippians four four through seven.
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  Speaker 1: According to Kindall the reading device, this is the most
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  Speaker 1: underlined scripture in the Bible. Apparently the whole world could
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  Speaker 1: use a little more peace. Chances are you or someone
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  Speaker 1: you know is battling with an undertow a fret. God
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  Speaker 1: will help you. God will help you. Now. His help
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  Speaker 1: may include some targeted assistance through the help of a
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  Speaker 1: counselor or a therapist or medication, and if so, that's okay.
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  Speaker 1: It most certainly includes Paul's prescription for the troubled heart.
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  Speaker 1: I find at least three admonitions. First of all, Paul
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  Speaker 1: urges us to trust God. Trust God. He says, be
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  Speaker 1: full of joy in the Lord always again, or I
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  Speaker 1: will say again, be full of joy. Easier said than done, right,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, how can you be full of joy when
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  Speaker 1: you got when you've got bills to pay and kids
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  Speaker 1: to raise and deadlines to me? Well, the answer is
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  Speaker 1: found in three words, in the Lord. Be full of
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  Speaker 1: joy in the Lord. If you believe that you face
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  Speaker 1: your problems alone, dear friend, you will never discover a
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  Speaker 1: deep and lasting peace. If you think it's up to
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  Speaker 1: you to face and solve all your problems, you will
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  Speaker 1: never know a deep and lasting piece. On the other hand,
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  Speaker 1: if you believe that you face your challenges in the Lord,
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  Speaker 1: in the presence of the Lord, in the name of
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  Speaker 1: the Lord, in the power of the Lord, in the
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  Speaker 1: protection of the Lord, you can be full of joy
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  Speaker 1: because you live in the Lord. In the late nineteen seventies,
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  Speaker 1: Steven Spielberg produced a movie called Jaws. It related a
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  Speaker 1: fictional story of a monster shark that made meal out
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  Speaker 1: of swimmers on the New England coast. Its iconic scene
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  Speaker 1: involved a crusty boat captain, a police chief, and a scientist,
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  Speaker 1: and they set off on the boat captain's fishing boat
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  Speaker 1: in search of the shark. No one had ever seen
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  Speaker 1: the shark before, and when these three men did, they
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  Speaker 1: nearly fell over in fright. The police chief delivered one
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  Speaker 1: of the most famous lines in cinema history. He turned
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  Speaker 1: to the captain and said, you're going to need a
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  Speaker 1: bigger boat. The vessel was no match for the threat.
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  Speaker 1: Suppose these three men had been riding on a larger ship.
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  Speaker 1: Suppose they were standing on the deck of the Sea
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  Speaker 1: Wise Giant. It's the largest oil taker tanker ever built,
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  Speaker 1: eight stories tall, over four football fields in linked it
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  Speaker 1: weighs five hundred and sixty four thousand tons. Now, if
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  Speaker 1: these three men had seen that same shark from the
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  Speaker 1: deck of the Sea Wise, do you suppose their reaction
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  Speaker 1: would have been different. They would have noticed the shark,
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  Speaker 1: They would have talked about the shark. They might have
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  Speaker 1: taken pictures of the shark. But would they have feared
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  Speaker 1: the shark. No, because they were safe in a large vessel. Life.
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  Speaker 1: It's full of sharks, the sea of our lives, it's
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  Speaker 1: full of fear. But if you're in the Lord, if
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  Speaker 1: you're in the Lord, they cannot get you. They cannot
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  Speaker 1: have you. They might try to frighten you, but they
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  Speaker 1: cannot consume you. Please hear me, dear friend. If you
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  Speaker 1: are in Christ, then you are.
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  Speaker 5: On the uss Jesus Christ, and you are safe.
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  Speaker 1: You're safe because you are in His plan. You are
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  Speaker 1: in his grace, you are in his heart, you are
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  Speaker 1: in his family, you are in the Lord. So if
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  Speaker 1: peace has slipped, revisit your vessel. Remind yourself and remind
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  Speaker 1: the evil one. No, no, no, I am in the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Are you in native peace? Just trust God and tell God.
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  Speaker 1: Tell God. This is Paul's next big point. He says,
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  Speaker 1: pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks.
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  Speaker 1: Satan hates to see you pray. Satan hates to see
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  Speaker 1: you pray. He does not scatter when you listen to
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  Speaker 1: a sermon, and demons do not backpedal when you perform
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  Speaker 1: acts of benevolence. The principalities of hell are not flustered
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  Speaker 1: when you open a Christian book, unless it's a Locado book.
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  Speaker 1: But the walls of hell shake with you when you,
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  Speaker 1: with sincere heart and humble spirit bow yourself before the
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  Speaker 1: King of Kings and say, our Father, who are in
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  Speaker 1: heaven Satan knows the power of prayer, and he's aware
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  Speaker 1: of these promises. Near to God, and God will come
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  Speaker 1: near to you. Or when a believing person prays, great
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  Speaker 1: things happen. Or the Lord is close to everyone who
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  Speaker 1: prays to him, to all who truly pray to him.
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  Speaker 1: Do you long for peace? Will tell God? Tell him
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  Speaker 1: what's on your heart, what's on your mind, what's on
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  Speaker 1: your calendar? Talk to God, tell him. My first anxiety
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  Speaker 1: attack occurred when I was five years old. The memory
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  Speaker 1: surprisingly sharp. I was riding up and down on the
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  Speaker 1: sidewalk in front of our house when I realized I
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  Speaker 1: had lost the keys to my tricycle. My older sister,
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  Speaker 1: who was college age at the time, had made keys
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  Speaker 1: for me to you. She took a rubber band and
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  Speaker 1: she hung a few bobby pims and handed the rubber
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  Speaker 1: band and the bobby pins to me and said, here
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  Speaker 1: are keys to your tricycle. I thought it was great,
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  Speaker 1: but then I lost them. I searched with such furor,
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  Speaker 1: I cried with such volume that she heard me from
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  Speaker 1: inside the house, and she came outside to help me.
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  Speaker 1: And when I saw her, I did the most wonderful thing.
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  Speaker 1: I told her I said Jackie, I've lost the keys.
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  Speaker 1: Shouldn't I tell her? She made them, she created them,
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  Speaker 1: she gave them to me. Didn't it make sense that
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  Speaker 1: I tell her what had happened? And when I cried
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  Speaker 1: out to her, she did the most wonderful thing. She
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  Speaker 1: reached down to me. She said, Max, it's okay, it's
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  Speaker 1: going to be all right. I'll make you some more.
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  Speaker 1: And I trusted her. Why well, because she was in
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  Speaker 1: charge of the keys. Your heavenly father is in charge
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  Speaker 1: of this world. He is your heavenly father runs this universe.
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  Speaker 1: God raised Christ from death and set him on a
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  Speaker 1: throne in deep Heaven, in charge of running the universe,
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  Speaker 1: everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power
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  Speaker 1: exempt from his rule, and not just for the time being,
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  Speaker 1: but forever. He is in charge of it all, has
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  Speaker 1: the final word on everything. Christ runs the show. A
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  Speaker 1: meteor just streaked through a distant galaxy, and Christ caused
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  Speaker 1: it to do so. A giraffe just took its first
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  Speaker 1: breath in the congo, and Jesus knows exactly how many
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  Speaker 1: she will take in her life. The migration of Belugas
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  Speaker 1: through the oceans, Jesus dictates their itinerary. He has authority
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  Speaker 1: over the world, and he has authority over your life.
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  Speaker 1: Your date of birth, that was his idea, Your date
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  Speaker 1: of death, he already knows it. Your mood swings, your
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  Speaker 1: sleep patterns, your eating habits, your salary, your traffic commute,
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  Speaker 1: that arthritis in your joint. Christ is in charge. He's
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  Speaker 1: never surprised. He's even in charge of presidential elections. And
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  Speaker 1: the one who sits on the throne now will still
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  Speaker 1: be sitting on the throne then, regardless of who occupies
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  Speaker 1: the oval office. He has never ever, ever uttered the
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  Speaker 1: phrase Now, how did that happen? Jesus is the command
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  Speaker 1: center of the universe. Not even a sparrow worth only
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  Speaker 1: half a penny can fall to the ground without your
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  Speaker 1: father knowing it. He called a coin out of the
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  Speaker 1: mouth of a fish. He stopped the waves with one word.
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  Speaker 1: He spoke, and a tree became barren. He spoke again,
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  Speaker 1: and a basket became a banquet. Economy, meteorology, biology, All
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  Speaker 1: things have been handed over to me by my father.
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  Speaker 1: Your greatest problem, dear friend, is nothing but a rubber
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  Speaker 1: band and some bobby pins to him. And what is
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  Speaker 1: impossible for man is possible with God. Now. Satan does
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  Speaker 1: not want you to believe this. Satan does not want
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  Speaker 1: you to believe this. He wants you to think that
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  Speaker 1: the world is spinning out of control. He wants you
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  Speaker 1: to think that your life is spinning out of control.
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  Speaker 1: And you have to interrupt those thoughts the moment they appear.
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  Speaker 1: You've got to pluck them up, throw them out, and
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  Speaker 1: replant thoughts of faith. You uproot and replant. You uproot
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  Speaker 1: those thoughts of fear, and you replant them with words
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  Speaker 1: of faith. You've got to talk to yourself. You have to.
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  Speaker 1: You've got to take every thought captive. Do not let
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  Speaker 1: those anxious thoughts have a moment inside your mind. You
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  Speaker 1: dismiss them quickly. This is how Christ brings peace. You
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  Speaker 1: uproot thoughts of fear, replant them with thoughts of faith.
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  Speaker 1: You can do this. Just tell God, Tell God, be
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  Speaker 1: quick to pray, be slow to worry. Take your fretful
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  Speaker 1: thoughts to Jesus. And the sooner you pray, the sooner
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  Speaker 1: peace will come. So trust God, Tell God, and one more,
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  Speaker 1: thank God, Thank God again. The apostle says, do this,
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  Speaker 1: always giving thanks, always give thanks. Really, even when the
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  Speaker 1: babies make a mess, and the boss makes the mends,
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  Speaker 1: and the spouse makes no sense even when it's manna
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  Speaker 1: for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That was the question of
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  Speaker 1: the is Israelites. Did you know that the most famous
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  Speaker 1: grumblers in history were the Jews who wandered in the wilderness.
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  Speaker 1: Look up the word complain and the Hebrew dictionary, and
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  Speaker 1: there you will see a picture of an Israelite waving
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  Speaker 1: a mana wafer at Moses, saying Manna again. They were
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  Speaker 1: experts in worry and grumbling. Listen to this sour chorus.
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  Speaker 1: The people grumbled against Moses. The whole community grumbled against Moses.
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  Speaker 1: They grumbled against Moses. The Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
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  Speaker 1: The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The
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  Speaker 1: Israelites were world class grumblers. They had a d in complaining.
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  Speaker 1: They were like a husband who always complained about his breakfast.
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  Speaker 1: The eggs were never right, the toast was always too crisp,
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  Speaker 1: or the coffee was too cold. One morning, his wife
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  Speaker 1: determined to do her very best. He wanted one egg
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  Speaker 1: scrambled and one egg fried. She served him the eggs,
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  Speaker 1: one fried and one scrambles. Still he grumbled, you fried
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  Speaker 1: the wrong egg. The Israelites did the same. They belly
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  Speaker 1: ached about the heat of the desert, the monotony of
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  Speaker 1: the manna, and the scarcity of the water. Send us
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  Speaker 1: back to Egypt, they once said. Now we read of
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  Speaker 1: this complaining, we shake our heads. Let me get this straight.
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  Speaker 1: You were slaves in Egypt, and God set you free.
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  Speaker 1: He toppled the dynasty like a kid topples tinker toys.
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  Speaker 1: He opened the Red Sea as casually as opening a book.
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  Speaker 1: You witnessed miracle after miracle, fed by God, led by God,
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  Speaker 1: you left Egypt with all the loot and headed toward
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  Speaker 1: the Promised Land. And still you grumble. How could they
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  Speaker 1: grumble so much? Well, apparently they're thinking the same about us. Now.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not sure you're going to believe this, But Moses
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  Speaker 1: contacted me. Yeah, I heard from him this week. As
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  Speaker 1: I was working on this sermon, a curious email came
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  Speaker 1: my way from Moses at Mount Sinai dot Com. I
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  Speaker 1: thought I would read it to you. Dear Max, I've
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  Speaker 1: been watching you prepare your lesson. You're not the first
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  Speaker 1: preacher to discuss the grumbling Israelites, But let me point
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  Speaker 1: out they weren't the last to grumble. I've heard a
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  Speaker 1: bit from your folks as well. Traffic is slow, you grumble,
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  Speaker 1: speed limit is slow. You grumble you have too many taxes,
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  Speaker 1: too few flights, too many classes, and too few places
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  Speaker 1: to eat. Why you even grumble at the way the
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  Speaker 1: Israelites grumbled? So let me get this straight. You were
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  Speaker 1: slaves to sin, but God sets you free. He toppled
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  Speaker 1: the dynasty of the devil like a kid topples tinker toys.
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  Speaker 1: He opened the grave of Jesus as casually as you'd
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  Speaker 1: open a book. You witness miracle after miracle. You're fed
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  Speaker 1: by the manner of God's word, led by the fire
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  Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit. You are loaded with spiritual gifts.
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  Speaker 1: On your way to the promise to land, you grumble.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think you would have survived the desert. Patriarchically,
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  Speaker 1: Moses ps, I'm requesting an expansion of the Ten Commandments
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  Speaker 1: to eleven. The new one would read thou shalt not grumble.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know if the motion will pass the first ten.
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  Speaker 1: After all, we're written in stone. You know, we cannot
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  Speaker 1: Can you believe I got that email? We cannot dear friend,
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  Speaker 1: we cannot at once be anxious and thankful. We cannot.
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  Speaker 1: It just doesn't work. Your heart refuses to allow anxiety
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  Speaker 1: and gratitude to enter at the same time, and gratitude
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  Speaker 1: will always win the day. If you want the surest
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  Speaker 1: way to deal with anxiety, just make a list of
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  Speaker 1: your blessings. Choose gratitude. Sometimes God calms the storm, but
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  Speaker 1: sometimes he just calms the child. He's calming our friend,
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  Speaker 1: Bill Lovelace. Bill is a beloved parachurch minister who lives
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  Speaker 1: in the San Antonio area and serves worldwide. He was
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  Speaker 1: recently diagnosed with cancer, both of the pancreas as well
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  Speaker 1: as the liver. The news has not taken him down,
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  Speaker 1: just the opposite. In a letter to friends of his
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  Speaker 1: ministry that went out just less than ten days ago,
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  Speaker 1: he stated, immediately upon hearing this diagnosis, I walked into
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  Speaker 1: a new realm of God's presence, his love, and his grace.
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  Speaker 1: The things I have been teaching have become a living, breathing,
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  Speaker 1: three D reality like I have never experienced. The Lord
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  Speaker 1: and I have been a NonStop communion, and every day
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  Speaker 1: his presence, love, mercy, and comfort continue to fill my soul.
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  Speaker 1: I truly can't put into words what the Lord is revealing,
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  Speaker 1: but I have never experienced such a deep awareness of
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  Speaker 1: his presence. Will God take Bill's storm? We don't know,
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  Speaker 1: but we know he has calmed this child. He's calling Susannah.
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  Speaker 1: She buried her husband just a few weeks ago. She's
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  Speaker 1: already sent me two messages of gratitude, one for the
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  Speaker 1: scripture I texted her, the other for the flowers that
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  Speaker 1: we scent. She's a widow at forty with two middle schoolers,
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  Speaker 1: and yet she is thankful. That's her long. The future
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  Speaker 1: is uncertain, but she writes, I can already see good
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  Speaker 1: come out of this. God didn't keep her out of
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  Speaker 1: the storm, but he calmed her inside it. No storm
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  Speaker 1: ever hit harder than the one that raged through Gasimone's garden,
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  Speaker 1: and no prayer was ever prayed with more passion than
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  Speaker 1: the one prayed by Jesus on the eve of his crucifixion.
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  Speaker 1: Can you calm this storm? He asks? God did for Moses,
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  Speaker 1: God did for Daniel, God would do for Paul and Silas.
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  Speaker 1: Could he not do for his own son? Of course
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  Speaker 1: he could, but he chose not to because the cross
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  Speaker 1: was part of God's plan. God did not calm the storm,
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: but our precious Father calmed his son, and Jesus march
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  Speaker 1: to Calvary in peace. A heaven sent illogical stare death
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  Speaker 1: in the face with a smile. Peace, you can find peace.
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  Speaker 1: Frist promises it enough peace to cause a carpenter to
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  Speaker 1: snooze in a typhoon. So just trust God, tell God,
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  Speaker 1: thank God, and you will find a peace that passes
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  Speaker 1: all understanding. Amen, thank you Lord for this promise, for
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: the blessing, for the goodness. And let peace settle upon
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  Speaker 1: this wonderful church, all campuses, all people, and let peace
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  Speaker 1: settle upon this fragile planet. We offer this prayer in
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: Jesus name, the Prince of Peace, and all God's people
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  Speaker 1: said