Transcript

Unseen · Fostering Faith

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Welcome back to Fostering Faith. Hey friends,
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I am Tracy and I'll be your host today for this
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episode of Fostering Faith. And I will let you
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know that I am tired. I'm exhausted. We have
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been busy and I am seeing so many people in clinic.
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We're getting ready to head to North Carolina
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for our friend's wedding. And so we're just.
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Trying to get everything done before we leave
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for a short little mini vacay to celebrate our
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friends and so I'll be real honest. I mean this
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episode I think is gonna hit home for a lot of
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people, but I'll be real honest. I Didn't want
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to do it We are having kind of the battle of
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teenagers and responsibility and living in integrity
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and I am really trying to teach her if you say
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that you're gonna do something that you do it.
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and not because you're a foster but because as
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Christians we should live a life of integrity
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because it is a biblical principle that we really
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I feel like we have to instill in our kids and
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as a commitment I feel like as a mom I really
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try to show up if I say that I'm gonna do something
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I do it like I live a life in integrity like
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if I say I'm gonna do something then I'm gonna
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show up, I'm gonna do it. And so like we have
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said that we are gonna do this podcast every
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week and so therefore we show up every week.
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Whenever she had came back from the podcast or
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from her church camps, she was gonna do it. And
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then everything kind of gets in the way as we
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do in parenthood. We say that we're gonna do
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something, we say that we're gonna show up and
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then something gets in the way and something
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gets in the way. And so just as a little side
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note, are we living? an integrist life. Are you
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telling your kids that you're going to do something
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and then you don't show up? Are you telling your
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friends that you're going to do something and
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then you don't show up? Are you telling your
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co -workers or your boss, hey, I'm going to do
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this project and I'm going to have it do by whatever
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and you don't do it, you don't show up. And so
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I just kind of want to do like a heart check.
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Are we living kind of this integrist life, even
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just in our faith? I mean, so we're saying that
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we are Christians, that we are followers of Christ.
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But then we're going out and doing app exact
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opposite of what scripture Tells us to do and
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so just as a little heart check Are we living
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a life of integrity? And so just kind of look
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at the areas of your in your life Are we teaching
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our kids how to live an integrist life? Are we
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teaching them how to do the exact opposite? And
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show up whenever we want tell them people that
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we're going to do things and then back out at
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the last minute Are we doing things that are?
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We know it is not right, but yet we just keep
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doing them and so just to try to teach these
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kids and If you say that you're gonna do something
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you do it and I think that also to hold you accountable
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because you're not gonna overbook yourself and
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do things that you don't necessarily want to
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do because You want to show up you want to show
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up with a glad heart you want to show up? Because
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you want to be there and so if you say that you're
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gonna be there or show up or do something Then
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you do it So that was just on my heart and so
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I just wanted to kind of share that with you
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But let's get into the episode and so the episode
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is called unseen but unstoppable Living for what
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really lasts and so hey fans welcome back to
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fostering faith I'm so glad that you were here
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because we're about to dig into something that
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could absolutely change How you live how you
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pray? How you walk out your faith and so let
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me start with a question What if the most important
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things about you are the things that no one else
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has ever seen? Because we live in a world that
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is obsessed with what is visible. Achievements,
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status, all the letters behind your name, social
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media highlights, and reels, likes, followers.
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But in God's kingdom, he flips it upside down.
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And today we're gonna be talking about what it
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means to live for the unseen but unstoppable
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to build a life that heaven celebrates even when
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the world doesn't even notice so grab your coffee
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your bible and let's go deep and so the world
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is obsessed with things that are seen and let's
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be honest our culture is addicted to visibility
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we want likes we want recognition we want someone
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to say you're crushing it like oh my gosh like
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you're doing amazing But here's the problem with
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living for what seen it's temporary It's fragile
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and it will never Satisfy and so Jesus warned
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us about this in Matthew 6 one It says be careful
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not to practice your righteousness in front of
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others to be seen by others by them If you do
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you will have no reward from your father in heaven
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That verse hits hard because I think about it
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all In all the time. I think about it all the
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ways I've created people's approval whether it's
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in Ministry parenting or even like the little
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likes and sharing, you know something on social
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media and hoping for a comment as we've done
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this Podcast, you know, you want people to like
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it. You want people to share it you want people's
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approval in a kind of undertone and way But here's
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a kicker whenever you live for the applause of
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people you'll lose your reward in heaven and
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so is it that we are looking for the approval
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of man are we looking to glorify God and everything
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that we do and So I mean to me that's just kind
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of a gut check. Hey am I doing this to bring
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myself glory or am I doing this to bring? Glory
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to God and so the weight of glory Paul writes
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in 2nd Corinthians 4 17 through 18 it says for
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our light and momentary troubles are Achieving
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for us eternal glory that far outweighs them
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all we Fix our eyes not on what is seen but as
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what is unseen since what is seen is temporary,
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but what is unseen is eternal So let that sit
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for a second the word glory here D -O -X -A in
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Greek means weight, heaviness, significance.
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And so Paul is saying your unseen obedience,
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your unseen sacrifice, your unseen prayers, they
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are building eternal weight of glory that you
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can't even imagine. You feel like you're overlooked
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right now? You feel unseen in your job, in your
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marriage, in your ministry, but he sees what
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goes on behind closed doors. And I often, often
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have to remind myself of that so much because
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it's like, how am I doing this for my glory that
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I get benefit? Is it because I want to be seen
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because I want to be noticed or is it because
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I really want people to see the love of Christ
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in me? And so are we giving to be seen? Are we
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giving to be noticed? Are we serving to be noticed?
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Are we volunteering to be noticed? Are we doing
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all of these little acts to be noticed by people
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or to get kingdom approval? And it's never about
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works. And so that's what we have to realize
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is that we can do the 50 million things, but
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we know that he doesn't have favoritism and we
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know by Scripture that it's not by works that
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we are saved it is by his grace and mercy by
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the the blood that was shed on the cross is the
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only reason that we are saved because we miss
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the mark every day and Here comes the day when
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every unseen act of faith Will be revealed and
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you will hear the words that we all have longed
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to hear Well done good and faithful servant.
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And so when the unseen is hard, and let's be
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real, living for the unseen is hard. It sometimes
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sounds ridiculous because it doesn't come with
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instant gratification. People may not understand
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your choices. And sometimes you're sowing seeds
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and you feel like there's no harvest in sight.
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But isn't that exactly what Jesus modeled? Let's
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think about it. He healed people and told them,
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do not tell anybody. He prayed all night in solitude.
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He washed feet when he could have been demanding
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crowns. And so Jesus was laser focused on pleasing
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the father and not the crowd. And so practical
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ways to live for the unseen. Okay, so how do
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we do this? How do we shift our chasing the visible?
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to building invisible. One, check your motive.
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Check your motive. Ask yourself, am I doing this
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for the applause of heaven or for the applause
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of people? And if it's not about stopping what
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you're doing, it's about shifting why you're
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doing it. Check your heart. Two, embrace the
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hidden seasons. And maybe God has you hidden
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in a season right now, and it's not punishment,
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but it's preparation. And you see this all the
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time. Post every day, post every day, post every
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day, post every day, but no one's seeing it,
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no one's seeing it. You get 200 views, 300 views,
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one view, two views, 500 views, you know, like
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all the things. And you're just like, okay, so
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why am I doing this? Why am I pouring my heart
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out? Why am I studying the scripture? Why am
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I trying to share it? And no one is watching
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it. And just like a seed in the ground, You're
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growing even if no one sees it and I really think
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like there's a like a bamboo tree and like it
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grows for years and years and years and it grows
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like this great root structure and then all of
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a sudden it like shoots up out of nowhere like
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after years and years of establishing roots and
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So maybe he's trying to establish that root system
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And we know by our armor of God that we have
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the shoes. And in those shoes back in those Roman
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times, they had nails in them. They had spikes
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in them so we could stand firm. And so if we
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are in a season of hiding and he's growing us,
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he's maturing us, he's pruning all this stuff
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off of us, maybe he's getting you well -rooted
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to be able to shoot up like a bamboo. Three.
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Do something unseen this week pray for someone
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in secret Serve in a way that no one knows Give
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quietly without posting it or announcing it Matthew
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6 for says when the father who sees what is done
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in secret. He will reward you Because he knows
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that you're not doing it to be seen. He knows
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that you're doing it not to be noticed He knows
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that you are not doing it to get the applause
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of people and often times you give in secret
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and it's I think it says too in scripture about
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don't let the right hand know what the left hand
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is doing and maybe that's taken out of context
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but I always like to think of that in a sense
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of Joe does not need to know that I gave. Joe
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just needs to know that he is loved, he is seen
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and there's There's no need because I don't need
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his applause. I don't need that but I just need
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to know that or he needs to know that he was
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seen that he is loved and that's all that should
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matter and It's about God's blessings. And so
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like whether you're paying for someone's funeral
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whether you are Slipping a waitress, you know
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a great You know thing and just slipping off
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or you see someone that is on social media is
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having a really hard time Just dropping off You
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know a bag of money or you know dedicating if
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you don't have money to give it's about making
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It's in seeing like they need meals and so you
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go and just deliver meals ring the doorbell and
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then you leave They don't have to know who you
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are. They don't have to do anything They just
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need to know that they are seen and that they
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are loved and so would you be willing to do?
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Sacrificial things without being noticed and
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so the internal perspective Let's zoom out a
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little bit. In a hundred years, no one will care
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how many followers you had. In a thousand years,
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nobody will care about the car you drove or the
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house that you lived in. But in eternity, every
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quiet act of faith, every hidden sacrifice, even
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the small yes to God will matter forever. So,
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live unseen, build quietly, but obey faithfully.
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Because the unseen is unstoppable. And so if
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this episode stirred something in your heart,
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share it with a friend. And maybe don't even
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tell them you shared it. Let's be the people
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who are impressed by temporary things, but building
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lives that echo eternity. We would love to pray
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for you this week. Dear Heavenly Father, thank
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you so much for these listeners. Thank you so
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much that we are living for kingdom standards
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and not earthly standards. Thank you that we
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look for you and that we bring glory to you in
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everything that we do. Thank you that you are
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changing us. Thank you for seasons and the waiting.
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Thank you that you are getting us to have deeper
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roots. Thank you that you are making a way whenever
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we did not see a way. Thank you that you know
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our heart. Thank you that we... Look to you for
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guidance and suggestions. Thank you for all that
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you do and Jesus knew I pray Amen Thanks so much
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for joining me on fostering faith and remember
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heaven sees you keep building even when no one's
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clapping Because the father's reward will be
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worth it. And so until next time we love you
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guys have an amazing week