Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 571| What Does It Mean To Live In Perfect Peace

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571| What Does It Mean To Live In Perfect Peace · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  She's a happy girl. Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman.
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  At the Well Ministries, where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus
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  like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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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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  As children of God, we have the opportunity to live our lives in perfect peace.
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  We're told in Scripture that we are not to worry. We are told that when we focus
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  on the Lord, we will have perfect peace.
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  And Jesus Himself tells us that the peace He gives us is ours for the choosing.
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  The world didn't give it to us, and the world can't take it away.
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  Join us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries as Kim takes us on a
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  journey through the scriptures, revealing what it means to have God's perfect
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  peace and to live our lives covered by His grace, mercy,
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  love, joy, and peace.
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  Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries.
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  I believe if you would take a poll and ask people what it is in their lives
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  they would want the most, it would all come down to something that directly
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  or indirectly spoke as they wanted peace.
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  They either wanted financial peace and maybe they said they would like to have more money.
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  They might want to be loved and cared for and they would say that,
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  but they're coming down to the point that they want the peace in the relationships.
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  They want joy out of the relationships.
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  They want harmony. And harmony is what God gives us.
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  In Isaiah chapter 26 and verse 3, we read these words, Thou wilt keep him in
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  perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.
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  That's a verse that you hear from Women at the Well Ministries often.
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  It's probably one that you may go to often because it's comforting.
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  And there's a truth and a recipe in there. And that truth and that recipe is
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  that when we are focused on the Lord.
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  We're going to have peace because we're trusting in him and who he is.
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  And I want to spend the next few moments chatting with you about what it means
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  to live in perfect peace.
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  So if you're asking for or seeking peace in your life, I want you to check your focus.
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  When we are fully focusing on
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  Jesus Christ, then we are understanding in a real deep way who Christ is.
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  And we are mentally focusing on what Christ does.
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  And who Christ is, is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
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  Who Christ is, is the one that provides all of our needs.
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  Who Christ is, is the one that never leaves us or forsakes us.
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  Who Christ is, is the owner of all things and that all things are under his feet.
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  Who Christ is, is the Savior who bought our salvation before we even knew we had a need.
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  Who Christ is, is our all and all.
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  What Christ does is all things needed to provide for us to live the life of
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  abundant joy he's promised us in John 10.10.
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  Who Christ is and what Christ does are things that enable us when we think upon
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  them to know that we are safe in the arms of God.
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  That we have a plan for our lives that God has created and orchestrated and it's a good one.
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  When we understand who God is and what God does, we understand that the best
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  is yet to come, and he has that covered as well.
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  In my father's house are many mansions, he tells us, and he tells us that he
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  goes away to prepare a place for us, that where he is we may be also.
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  In John 14, he explains to us that if our name is written in the Lamb's book of life,
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  Life will spend eternity in heaven, and he tells us that our name gets written
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  in the land's book of life because we believe in the only begotten Son,
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  and because his blood on Calvary washes away all sins for everyone who believes.
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  What Christ does provides joy, peace,
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  grace, and the future for each and every one who will receive it.
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  So as we begin to look at what does it mean to live in peace.
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  We have to look at what does it mean to trust in God.
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  Trust is defined by fully relying upon something or putting confidence in something.
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  Confidence means you believe it'll do what it says it'll do.
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  It'll do what it's supposed to do.
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  Putting confidence in Jesus means you believe he is who he says he is and that
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  he will do what he says he will do.
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  And we know what he says he will do by reading the word of God from Genesis
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  to Revelations, the greatest love letter ever written.
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  And in John chapter 1 and verse 14, we are told that the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
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  So we know what God will do because we know what Jesus will do.
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  And scripture says, if you know Jesus, you fully know God. And so we know what
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  God is capable of. We know what God will do.
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  We know what Jesus can do. And we know what Jesus is doing because we have those
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  promises from Genesis to Revelations.
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  And we can know him, truly know him.
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  In fact, he said, these things I have written that you may know and believe.
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  So the first thing we need to do if we are seeking peace is to look at where
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  we are placing our focus, where we're putting our trust, what we have confidence in.
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  In Romans chapter 14, verse 23, he says this, And he that doubteth is damned.
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  Because he eateth not of faith, for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
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  I think if the average believer would take a look at this verse that says,
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  whatever is done without faith is sin, they might spend some time shoring up their faith.
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  All of us from time to time need to shore up our faith.
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  All of us need to daily reflect upon where we're putting our faith,
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  what we're putting our faith in,
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  and how we're really living our life demonstrating where we put our faith.
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  Because you can tell me all day long that Jesus is the number one person in
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  your life, that Jesus is who you go to for your help.
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  But if in every circumstance in which you need assistance, or every circumstance
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  in which there is a problem or an issue, you are seeking your own intellect.
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  You are seeking your own resources, first and foremost, before ever coming to God.
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  I tell you, you're lying to yourself and to whomever else you're speaking,
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  because who we go to in difficult times,
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  what we do in difficult times, speaks to the heart of our life,
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  and it reveals the truth about what we think and who we trust.
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  Now, when we speak to the Lord, he very well may give us answers.
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  We may be the one carrying out the work that he's telling us to do to get us
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  out of the issue or the problem.
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  But who do you really go to and believe is rescuing you? Who do you believe is doing that?
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  Are you working day and night, every day of the week, and any time you possibly
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  can to put money in the bank because you think that a large bank account is
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  going to solve your problems?
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  I've got news for you. For the most part, a large bank account isn't even going
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  to solve your financial problems because you'll spend more money.
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  It's usually not the lack of money that most people have that cause financial
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  issues. It's how they manage the money they have.
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  It's a truth that most people have the same amount of money in their pocket
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  to spend when they make a little bit of money as they do when they make a lot
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  of money because they've already just spent it.
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  This lesson today is about living in perfect peace.
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  It's not about financial peace or financial security, but I will tell you this,
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  that when you let the Lord manage your money, when you let the Lord manage your
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  finances, when you ask the Lord about your purchases, not just big ones, but all of them.
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  He's interested in everything in your life.
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  And when you begin to just go to him about all things, all things change for the better.
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  We can't be self-reliant, and we have to be honest with ourselves about whether we are.
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  Exercise is an amazing thing. It's very helpful. The Bible says,
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  though, that too much exercise, profit us little.
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  So we need to realize that there are things that we can do, things that we should
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  do, things that God wants us to do, and we need to do them.
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  Exercises is included in that, but exercise can't be your God. It can't be your answer.
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  It is the means by which God's answer in your life will get you what he has
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  intended for you to have.
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  We have to be careful who and what
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  we serve we need to be
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  more diligent i need to be diligent about how i fuel my body because god has
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  a plan for my body so he knows what i need he knows what i don't need and i
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  need to be more diligent about seeking his advice and his will for what i should
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  put in it that's what i need to work on.
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  But it goes back to the same thing. I have to realize that in all facets of
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  my life, if I want peace with God, I've got to be living the way God wants me to live.
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  And in order to do that, I have to have the trust and the confidence in him
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  to ask him how to lead in every area of my life.
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  Seven out of ten is good, but we need to do ten out of ten.
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  95 out of 100 is amazing but in
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  a hundred percent of our life he needs to be
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  consulted and then we need to be obedient and
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  we need to be diligent and purpose in our heart and our soul to follow what
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  he says because in my case i guarantee you that there isn't a hundred percent
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  of the time that what I want and what I think lines up with what he wants for
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  me and what he has asked me to do.
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  And so when we begin to think about how we could possibly live in perfect peace,
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  the first thing we have to understand is we got to put our trust and our confidence in God.
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  There's an evidence of where we put our trust. There's an evidence of trusting in God.
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  In Matthew 6, 10, he says this, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
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  Do you know what he's telling us? He's telling us that when we have perfect
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  trust in him, when we have perfect peace in our lives, because we're living
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  in the harmony with the will of God for our lives, we are embracing it.
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  Like, we're not just doing it because we're told to do it.
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  We believe that what he says is not only best for us, it's simply best.
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  There's a difference between doing something because you're told to do it or
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  because you're obligated to do it, and in doing something because you want to
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  do it and because you believe it is correct.
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  You know that's true. And I think so often part of our issues where we're not
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  living in peace is, I'm doing what I think God wants me to do, but I don't like it.
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  Well, praise the Lord, you're doing it.
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  But you're not going to have the harmony and the peace that God has for you
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  until you get on board with putting your faith and your trust fully in him.
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  Because when you do, then you know what he says. There's no question.
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  It's the best thing to do. It's the best for you.
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  You know he has your best interests at heart. You understand fully that he is
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  in control, and as such...
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  You love it because you yourself want what's best for you.
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  The dissonance you feel between doing what God asked you to do and what you
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  want to do is because you're not completely bought in that what he's asking you to do is best for you.
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  Because when you do, what you want to do changes to what he wants you to do.
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  We have to place our faith and our confidence in him with no doubting.
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  Because when we doubt, we are sinning.
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  Jesus showed us what it looked like to be in full obedience and confidence that
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  the task he was asking him to do was one he didn't want to do,
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  but he embraced that it was one he should do.
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  Because it was the right thing.
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  In Matthew chapter 26, we read about Jesus going to the garden of Gethsemane.
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  In Matthew 26, 42, he says he went away again in a second time and prayed,
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  saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
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  Jesus understood fully what was awaiting him on the cross. that matters so much
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  to me because he didn't just end up on the cross and then finally figure out
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  what this was costing him.
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  He knew well before he ever walked those steps to Golgotha what the cross was going to cost him.
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  And he did it willingly.
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  He asked the Father, if there's another way, let it there be. But the Father said no.
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  And Jesus embraced him.
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  The task. His will was changed from not his desires, but to that of the Father.
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  And you say, well, how do you know that? Because he stayed on the cross.
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  He stayed on the cross, shedding every drop of his blood.
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  When at any time, he could have called a legion of angels to take him down.
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  He could have smote the people guarding him.
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  He could have done whatever he needed to do to keep the piercing of the sword
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  from going into his side.
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  But he endured the cross because of the love he has for me and for you.
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  And there was no other way we were going to have that home not made with hands
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  eternal into the heavens we spoke about in John 14.
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  No other way we were going to live eternity with Jesus
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  Christ and God and the Holy Spirit in
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  a place not made with hands in heaven if God did not provide a way and he chose
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  the way to be Jesus because it was only Jesus's blood that could wash away our
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  sins and therefore Jesus stayed on the cross because of his love for you and me.
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  See, there's an evidence in where we place our trust.
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  If Jesus had not fully trusted that God's plan was necessary and correct,
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  he would have never carried it through.
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  But because he loved us and he knew that that was the only way we were going
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  to have our sins washed away, there wasn't another plan.
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  There wasn't a better way. Because he knew this, he embraced it.
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  And I submit to you that we as children of God have been given the truth in his word.
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  Scripture says the truth will make you free. Free indeed.
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  The truth is Jesus Christ. He says, I am the way, the truth,
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  and the life, and no man cometh unto me but by the Father.
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  We must accept the word of God and live it completely and fully the way God is asking us to do so,
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  in order for us to reveal to those around us that we have our faith and our
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  confidence fully and squarely and completely placed in Jesus.
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  Our life needs to be a living testimony, just like Jesus's was when he said,
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  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done as it is in heaven.
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  Just like when he said, Oh, my father, if this cup may not pass away from me,
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  except I drink it, thy will be done.
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  We don't need to go kicking and screaming. He laid his life down because he
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  embraced the task the Father had given him.
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  My question to you is, have you embraced the task the Father has given you?
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  Are you trying to fake it till you make it? God sees you and knows you and knows
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  the intents of your heart.
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  Are you modifying what it gave you because you think your way is a little bit
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  better and it's close enough?
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  Thy will be done.
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  That's what confidence and trust in Jesus Christ looks like.
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  Not, hey, I think it's a good idea and a good suggestion, but here, let's do it this way.
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  Thy will be done. Is that the kind of faith and trust you have in God?
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  When you look at him and keep your mind focused on him,
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  do you understand who he is and what he does to the extent that you can fully
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  place your trust in him and thereby receive the peace of God that comes from fully trusting in him?
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  Or do you worry about your future and your needs?
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  When you begin to worry about your future and your needs, you can be sure your
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  confidence and your trust in Jesus is waning and needs a little shoring up.
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  Because when you fully trust, regardless of the circumstances,
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  regardless of what's going on around you, you can have the same peace that you've
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  always had because you're sitting in the cleft of the rock of Jesus Christ and his hand,
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  which no man can pluck you from according to john 10 28 and you can live in
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  the peace of knowing he's got you,
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  in proverbs chapter 3 verses 5 6 and 7 he says that we are to trust in the lord
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  with all thine heart and to lean not unto thine own understanding in all thy
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  ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths be not wise in thine own
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  eyes fear the lord and depart from evil fear the lord Know that he is God.
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  Know that his plans are good plans. Know that he has the right, the understanding.
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  He's the only one in the equation of you and him that knows what happened behind
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  you and what's happening in front of you and everything that is around you.
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  He's the only one with the data to make the decision and the only one capable
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  of navigating the course your feet are set on.
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  You honestly can't make a choice other than to follow him and do what is best for you.
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  So when it gets down to the nitty-gritty of the situation, what is best for you is just to believe.
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  And then you are fully held, protected, helped, and hidden in Jesus Christ.
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  But you got to depart from evil or you won't be focusing on who God is.
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  You have to fear him with irreverence, or you won't understand that what he
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  says is the truth, and nothing but the truth.
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  It doesn't need any fixing. It doesn't need any reshaping.
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  It doesn't need to be said with a spin on it.
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  No, his word is truth.
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  His rule is truth. truth his
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  directions are truth his way
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  is the truth in the life if you want to live life as it is intended in the abundance
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  that god has for you in the abundance of his peace his joy his grace and his
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  mercy depart from evil and keep your eyes on him.
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  Understand that He is God and that He will do what He says He will do.
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  When our trust is shored up because our eyes are focused on Him,
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  remember we're out of Isaiah 26.3, Thou will keep Him in perfect peace,
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  whose mind is stayed on Thee because He trusteth in Thee.
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  Such simple words, a little difficult to accomplish because it requires unwavering faith.
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  It requires complete trust.
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  But when we do that, when Paul acknowledges in Philippians 4,
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  6, and 7, the truth about who God is, he says this.
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  Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
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  let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God,
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  which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
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  When we fully trust, we're not worried about anything.
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  Let come what may, I'm safe in the arms of God.
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  Let come what may, they've been sifted through his nail-scarred hands,
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  and I am confident that he has chosen to let them in my path.
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  Let come what may, I don't get what's happening, but he is in control.
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  He does know what he's let in my path, and he has a way for me to escape,
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  and he's going to fight my battle for me. I'm okay, let come what may.
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  Let come what may. I don't like how it feels, but it's okay.
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  I'm surrounded by the armor of cod.
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  It may sting, but it won't kill. Let come what may.
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  Let come what may it's depleting
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  my resources but that's
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  okay because the one who fills my resources never runs dry in philippians 4
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  19 he says but my god shall supply all of your need according to his riches
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  in glory by Christ Jesus.
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  As I stated before, he owns it all. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and the hills thereon.
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  He owns everything.
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  And those of you who have given your heart and your life to Jesus Christ,
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  he bought you with a price.
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  Created you in himself unto good works.
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  To be zealous of good works, you are his workmanship created in him.
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  And when you keep your mind focused on Him and place your trust fully and completely in Him,
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  you can stand as the Apostle Paul did and say, I can do all things through Christ,
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  which strengtheneth me.
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  What does it mean to live in perfect peace?
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  It means to live in harmony with the Word of God, in step with Jesus Christ
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  and loyal and faithful to the one true living God.
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  In Isaiah 26.3, he says, Thou will keep him in perfect peace,
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  whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.
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  Remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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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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  our app, our website, or our Facebook page.
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  You can find our app by searching for Woman at the Well Ministries in your app
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  store or through our website at watwm.org.
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  you'll be able to subscribe to Bible Bits, a daily devotion written by Kim and
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  delivered Monday through Friday by text message.
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  Woman at the Well Ministries is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving our Heavenly Father.
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  And it is through your loving and generous support that 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.