Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 317 | Be of Good Courage: Embracing God’s Promise

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317 | Be of Good Courage: Embracing God’s Promise · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  Music.
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  Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries,
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  where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus like the woman at the
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  well in John chapter four.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org,
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  we invite you to sit down with us as we look to the scriptures to learn more
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  about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Living her life for Christ, she's a happy girl.
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  Music.
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  She's a happy girl.
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  Today as we journey through the scriptures gleaning the truth from god's holy
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  word we're going to examine god's command to be of good courage joshua 1 9 says
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  have not i commanded thee be strong and of a good courage.
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  Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
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  Join Kim in this podcast of Women at the Well Ministries as Kim reveals several
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  truths in Joshua 1.9 that God is giving every believer.
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  These truths are given to us so that every born-again believer might live the
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  abundant life God promises us in John 10.10.
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  Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries.
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  As we begin to take a look at Joshua 1.9, which Erica read in your hearing,
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  and I'm going to read again in just a moment, I want you to realize something.
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  As we look at what Joshua is being told.
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  He's being told this by God because Joshua has been chosen to succeed Moses.
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  And that's a huge ask. That's a lot for Joshua to take in.
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  And God is letting Joshua know that he's with him and that he's never going to leave him.
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  And that because of his presence with him, He says this in Joshua 1:9.
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  Because God is with Joshua, Joshua has everything he needs.
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  And God is reminding Joshua of the things he's told him, of what the results are when God is with us.
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  Now, I want you to pay close attention to the difference between God coming
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  alongside Joshua and Joshua coming alongside God.
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  Where God is, there is going to be protection and blessing and reward and peace and joy and comfort.
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  And God has a plan for us. We're told that in Jeremiah 29:11.
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  There's a plan for us to prosper us and to give us a hope.
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  But if we're not where God wants us to be, if we're not living as God can bless
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  us, then we're not going to experience the presence of God.
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  God does not change his plans of how we should live and what we should be doing
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  based on what we want or what we think is right.
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  God is King of kings and Lord of lords.
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  All things were put
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  under his feet and therefore he is supreme he's omnipotent he's omniscient he
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  is God and we must align our lives and align our steps with Jesus and the commandments of God.
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  And then his presence goes before us and is with us.
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  God is telling Joshua the plan for his life.
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  And he's letting Joshua know when you follow my commandments,
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  there's no need for you to be afraid.
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  You need to feel strong and confident. You need to have good cheer and good courage.
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  You don't need to be frustrated or confused.
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  Simply follow. Now, as we begin to look at Joshua 1:9, these are the five things
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  that I think we learn from that verse.
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  First, the truth we learn is that we learn that the Lord is always with us.
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  When we are following the Word of God, when we are in his will.
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  We are in the center of where God wants us to be. He's with us.
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  And when we step out in the horse weeds, he never leaves us nor forsakes us,
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  according to Hebrews 13, 5.
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  But we are no longer on the protected course that gets us to the intended,
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  joyful, abundant life that God has promised us.
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  No, we have taken the paintbrush from his hands, and we are painting our own picture,
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  and the picture we paint will never be as good as the picture God painted for
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  us and has intended for us to live in and through our lives.
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  But sometimes that's a hard lesson to learn. And sometimes we do go left or right of what he wants.
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  But 1 John 1, 9 tells us if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive
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  us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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  The truth is God will let you go on the way you insist to go,
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  but it will never be what God has intended you to do.
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  And if you don't walk in the ways that God has planned for you,
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  you will never live the abundant life he has for you.
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  But immediately, when you confess, he forgives. When you repent, he forgives.
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  And he moves you along this path of righteousness, of abundance, of joy, and of peace.
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  And Joshua 1:9 allows us to see what God has spoken to Joshua,
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  and he's no respecter of persons.
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  So the second truth we learn is that we are to be strong because the Lord is always with us.
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  The third we learn is that we are to be courageous because the Lord is always with us.
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  The fourth truth is we are not to be afraid because the Lord is always with us.
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  And the last truth of Joshua 1:9 that we learn is that we are not to be distressed.
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  Because the Lord is always with us.
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  Having the Lord's presence in our life, it's a game changer.
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  And I bring to your remembrance the account in Scripture where God uses the
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  potter and the artisan who makes the pottery as a beautiful picture of God.
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  God is our creator. gator and he never throws the clay away just as a potter
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  never throws the clay away but,
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  molds and puts pressure here and pressure there and smooths out and and does
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  what needs to be done and and and the piece of clay is completely yielded to
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  the direction of the potter's hand,
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  and in doing so this beautiful masterpiece is what is the finished product and
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  i believe Joshua 1:9 is giving us a picture of God speaking to Joshua about,
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  here's what it's like to be in my presence.
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  Here's what it's like to follow my commandments. Here's what it's like when
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  you do what I ask you to do.
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  And I'm the potter and you're the clay, and I will make sure that your finished product is beautiful.
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  When we begin to look at these five things, these five truths that are being
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  told to Joshua in Joshua 1:9, it has to remind us of that verse that I spoke
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  of earlier when we were talking about that he said,
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  I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.
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  He opens that verse of Hebrews 13:5 with, let your conversation be without covetousness
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  and be content with such things as you have, for I will never leave thee nor
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  forsake thee. In fact, he's saying, don't covet someone else's life.
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  Don't covet someone else's belongings.
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  Don't want what someone else has, but be joyous and content and peaceful and
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  enthusiastically happy with that which I've given you because you have my presence.
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  That alone is more than enough.
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  See, God is reminding Joshua he's more than enough. He's telling Joshua,
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  you can do the job because I've equipped you to do it.
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  The writer of Hebrews is telling us that, much like he told Joshua,
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  that all of our circumstances in our life, we must embrace, and we've got to
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  step out and walk boldly through, and we can't let it dictate our mood or our
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  attitude, and we must always remember that we're not alone.
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  God has the situation.
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  And God has you. And whatever he's called you to do, whatever circumstance he's
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  asking you to walk through,
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  whatever obstacle that he's allowed to come into your life through nail scarred
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  hands, they've been sifted through those hands. And he said, I'm with you.
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  This is what I want in your life because I have an expected end for this event.
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  And I'm going to mold you and make you much like the potter molds and makes
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  the clay into this beautiful piece.
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  God has a plan. Don't ever lose that understanding in Jeremiah 29:11 when he says that.
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  There's a plan for you to prosper you to give you a hope and an expected end
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  and he thinks about you and the thoughts are good.
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  He has set you up to succeed and he maintains his presence in your life.
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  Just as God spoke to Joshua, he's speaking to each one of us,
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  and he's telling us that he's with us, that we don't need to worry about the
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  circumstances in our life,
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  that we must remember that everything comes into our life because God has said it's okay.
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  We have to realize that we don't need to get in a hurry,
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  and God doesn't need our suggestions, and we don't need to take the paintbrush
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  out of God's hand, but we need to align our lives and our heart and our mind with Jesus.
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  We need to walk in step with him. And when we do, we will be where we're supposed to be.
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  We'll be doing what we're supposed to do. And we will have everything we're supposed to have.
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  And we will live in the abundant life that we are promised in John chapter 10.
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  See, there's something to be said for Proverbs 3:5-7.
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  and Joshua is being
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  told in this verse in Joshua 1:
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  9 what God is telling him are those
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  five truths and they all are summed up with the Lord
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  is always with him therefore he will be okay he will be victorious and so when
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  we look at Proverbs 3:5 through 7 it says this trust in the Lord with all thine
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  heart and lean not into thine own understanding.
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  In all thy ways acknowledge him and
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  he shall direct thy paths be not wise in thine own eyes fear the Lord and depart
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  from evil when we purpose in our heart and our minds to follow after the Lord
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  because we trust fully in him.
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  And when we choose to acknowledge his presence in our life and to get his advice
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  and his counsel, basically to get his guidance and his direction,
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  and then we choose to purpose in our heart to follow that guidance and that.
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  Leadership and that direction,
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  it is then that we are victorious.
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  And the Bible says in Romans that that we are more than conquerors.
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  He tells us that his grace is sufficient.
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  He tells us he'll supply all of our needs according to his riches and glory.
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  He explains to us that he will give us the strength to do that which he's asked us to do.
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  But it all begins with trusting in him and all of the things that God places
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  in his holy word from Genesis to Revelations to teach us how to trust, to give us faith,
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  to allow us to know what his expectations are, to encourage us and demonstrate
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  how we are to pray and to ask him for all things.
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  When we understand that he wasn't kidding in Jeremiah 33, when he said,
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  Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.
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  He tells us, call unto me, I'll tell you what you need to know.
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  Now, I know there is a consequence to failing to obey, and I'm fully aware that
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  when we don't employ Proverbs 3:5 through 7,
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  and we do things our own way.
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  And we lean on our own understanding, that we can get ourselves in a mess.
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  I alluded to that early in the beginning of this message.
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  And when we sin, we bring negative consequences into our life.
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  That's Galatians 6, 7. Be not deceived.
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  God is not mocked. For whatsoever we sow, that shall we also reap.
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  But I am more than confident that even when I'm stepping left or right of what he wants me to do.
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  He is monitoring, controlling, and mitigating the obstacles in my life.
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  Now, I can go beyond his will.
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  I can go through his commandments. I can go over top of his directions and reap
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  negative consequences.
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  But I believe even when I do that, he is with me and he's trying to help me,
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  but he's made it plain and he's made it clear that if we follow and trust in
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  him and obey the words that he said and understand the value of what he told Joshua,
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  that he is going to keep us in a perfect relationship with him.
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  It only requires that we We trust and obey.
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  So whether or not you like the plan isn't the question.
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  The question is, is the plan of God and is this where he's leading or not?
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  Because make no mistake, we live in the world and the devil's running around
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  and he's the prince of the power of the air.
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  And he's trying to kill, steal, and destroy each and every one of us.
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  And so in 1 Peter 5, 8, we are warned to be sober, be vigilant,
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  because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
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  seeking whom he may devour.
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  And sometimes you're right, as we spoke a second ago, we do make obstacles and
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  troubles of our own making.
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  But regardless of whether it's a problem you've made,
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  or it's part of God's divine plan for you to mold you and make you in what he
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  would have you to be, the trial, the problem, the obstacle, whatever it is you're facing,
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  it is your job, your responsibility to surrender it to him, to confess it,
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  to lay it at his feet, to invite his presence in order to mitigate and give
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  you the solution to restore your peace and joy of your salvation.
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  See, as I said before, all things are under his feet, and nothing is greater.
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  Nothing is more powerful. Nothing that can hurt us can come into our lives or
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  intervene into our lives without first having been allowed to by God and his son, Jesus.
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  He's monitoring and watching and managing all that's happening.
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  He's still God, whether you acknowledge him or not.
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  Our lives are watched and protected and guided by the almighty God and his son,
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  Jesus. Jesus, the devil's no match for that protection.
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  Our God and the one true living God loves us.
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  And there is simply nothing the devil can do to defeat you.
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  You have to give him the victory because 1 John 4:4 says, greater is he that
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  is in you than he that is in the world.
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  The Holy Spirit inside of you, the third part of the Trinity is more powerful
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  than anything the devil can give you.
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  So if you're feeling defeat, it's because you've lost your focus.
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  This is what's happening in
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  Joshua 1.9. God is reminding Joshua who God is and that God is with him.
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  Maybe today you just need a little reminder of who God is and that he's with you.
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  If you're feeling defeated, it's because that focus is not in the right place.
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  You believed a lie, and you're no longer abiding under the shadow of the Almighty
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  that we talk about in Psalms 91.
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  You've stepped away from him either in neglect or disobedience,
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  but one step towards him is all it takes to get back in fellowship.
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  You've taken your eyes off of Jesus and you've started monitoring the storm
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  and looking around at the storm instead of being laser focused on Jesus and
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  telling the storm just how big your God is.
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  And today you need to start doing that.
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  You are praying to the Lord and you can talk to him about the storm,
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  but don't let the storm be the main event.
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  Let God's intervention, intervention his power
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  his love his mercy his grace
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  be the main story of your events you gotta live in faith walk in faith talk
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  in faith demonstrate your faith walk proudly in the calling god has upon you
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  know that god's thinking about you and has a perfect plan for you.
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  You got to believe he's thinking good things for you. No one will ever love you like Jesus.
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  Scripture says, greater love hath no man than this, than a man would lay down
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  his life for his friends.
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  So regardless of what you're walking through, remember what it means to have
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  Jesus and God in your life.
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  If you're a born again believer, you're not alone because he will never leave you or forsake you.
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  And he has an expectation of
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  what this trial or obstacle or event that has found its way in your life.
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  He has an expectation for what this will do for you.
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  And if you submit yourself under the mighty hand of God, he will exalt you in
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  due time, according to 1 Peter 5:6. His work will complete you.
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  You're not walking alone. You didn't haphazardly have this event happen.
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  God is in control, and he's still protecting.
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  He's still watching, and he's absolutely still monitoring because he never sleeps
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  nor slumbers, and his eyes are always watching over you. So don't be afraid.
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  Don't be distressed. Don't be intimidated, but be courageous regardless of the
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  battle you're facing because the battle isn't yours.
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  It belongs to the Lord, and he has carefully faithfully, picked it out,
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  and purposely created you so that this obstacle will not take you down,
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  is not bigger than you, and certainly not more powerful than the God in you,
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  but will be an instrument to bless him,
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  honor him, and give him glory.
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  Perhaps to bless others, but definitely to help make you into who he intends you to be.
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  So fight like David and say, thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear
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  and with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts.
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  In 1 Samuel 17, 45, David says, I come to you in the name of the Lord.
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  We can do that because of the five lessons we learn in Joshua 1:9 and because
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  we realize in Hebrews 13:5 that we too are never alone and that God is with
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  us so we can be courageous and we don't have to be afraid and there's no need
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  to have distress and his presence is always with us.
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  We have the opportunity to live in peace because the one who monitors us,
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  who guides us, who guards us, who loves us, who protects us,
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  who watches over us, is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
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  And he will deliver you out of every situation if only you trust in him and
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  if only you believe in him.
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  He'll deliver you from the mouths of lions like he did Daniel.
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  He'll deliver you from seemingly impossible situations like he did the three
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  Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that were thrown into the fiery furnace.
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  God will deliver you.
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  Scripture tells us in Jeremiah 20, 13, and ye shall seek me and find me when
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  ye shall search for me with all your heart.
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  In Revelations 3.20, he's standing at our heart's door and he's knocking and asking you to open up.
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  Oh, my friend, we don't need to be afraid. We need to be of good courage.
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  We need to be strong.
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  We need to walk in the confidence of Almighty God because the battle's not ours. it belongs to the Lord.
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  And regardless of the situation, God will deliver you.
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  And in 2 Peter 2.9, he reemphasizes that when he says, the Lord knows how to deliver the godly.
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  Friends, your situation may seem hopeless to you, but hope has a name, and his name is Jesus.
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  And if you are a born-again believer, he lives within you, and he's ever-present
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  in the life of a godly, righteous believer.
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  Remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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  Music.
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  Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
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  quotes from today's podcast and scripture references.
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  We pray today has been a blessing and we encourage you to reach out to us through
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  Woman at the Well Ministries is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving
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  our Heavenly Father, and it is through your loving and generous support that
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  our ministry continues to bless others.
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  To learn how to partner with Woman at the Well Ministries, please visit our website.
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  Thank you to the gospel group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
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  We greatly appreciate your prayers. We are praying daily for our listeners.
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  Remember that God loves you.
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  Music.