Latest / Voice of Rick warren / The Light of Jesus for Your Darkest Days with Pastor Rick Warren

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The Light of Jesus for Your Darkest Days with Pastor Rick Warren · Voice of Rick warren

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Speaker 1: Merry Christmas, everybody. You know, since 2020 was such a
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Speaker 1: difficult year with so many difficult problems, this Christmas, I
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Speaker 1: want us to look at the theme of the light
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Speaker 1: of Jesus for your darkest days. We certainly had a
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Speaker 1: lot of dark days in 2020, but one of the
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Speaker 1: things that I love about the Christmas season is all
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Speaker 1: the Christmas lights. You know, in the Northern hemisphere, Christmas
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Speaker 1: comes at the darkest time of the year for about
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Speaker 1: half of the world. In fact, on Monday, it'll be
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Speaker 1: the winter solstice for the Northern hemisphere, which means it's
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Speaker 1: the shortest day and the longest night. And Christmas lights
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Speaker 1: up the world in the darkest part of the year
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Speaker 1: for the northern hemisphere. First, it starts in the stores.
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Speaker 1: They put up their lights, and the cities put up
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Speaker 1: their lights. Then our homes put up their lights. But,
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Speaker 1: you know, I noticed this year that many homes beat
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Speaker 1: the stores because we were all in a hurry to
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Speaker 1: start celebrating at the end of this difficult year. Our
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Speaker 1: street goes all out every year since four of our
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Speaker 1: families are Saddleback families. I thought I'd show you what
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Speaker 1: our street looks like. Now, also this year, Saddleback created
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Speaker 1: a drive-through experience called The Light of the World. And
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Speaker 1: I wanna thank all of you, 4,000 of you volunteers
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Speaker 1: who put that production together. And by the time it's finished,
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Speaker 1: about 75,000 people will have seen The Light of the
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Speaker 1: World extravaganza during Christmas and during December month here at
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Speaker 1: Saddleback Church. Now, did you know that light is a
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Speaker 1: major theme of the Bible? That's why we're gonna look
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Speaker 1: at a lot of Bible verses today. Light played a
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Speaker 1: major role in the first Christmas. The Bible tells us
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Speaker 1: the angels lit up the sky with a bright light
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Speaker 1: and they put on a dazzling light show for the shepherds.
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Speaker 1: The Bible tells us the wise men were led to
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Speaker 1: Jesus by an unusually bright star. Christmas is the celebration
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Speaker 1: of God's light entering the world. Now, Why is that important?
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Speaker 1: Because the Bible tells us to expect dark days in
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Speaker 1: our lives. Let me read you a verse from Ecclesiastes 11,
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Speaker 1: verse eight. It says this, people should enjoy every day
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Speaker 1: of their lives, no matter how long they live, but
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Speaker 1: they should remember that there will be many dark days.
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Speaker 1: The Bible tells us that in life, we will go
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Speaker 1: through many dark days. Now, what are dark days? Well,
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Speaker 1: there are any days where you're feeling negative emotions. There
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Speaker 1: are dark days of confusion when you don't know which
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Speaker 1: way to turn. You doubt which way you're going. There
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Speaker 1: are dark days of conflict when you're having relational conflicts
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Speaker 1: of people. There are dark days of disappointment when things
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Speaker 1: didn't turn out the way you wanted. There are dark
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Speaker 1: days of loss. There are dark days of loneliness when
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Speaker 1: you're feeling all alone. There are dark days of grief
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Speaker 1: when we've experienced the loss of a loved one or
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Speaker 1: a job or something. There are dark days of stress
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Speaker 1: and anxiety and fear. There are dark days of heartbreak,
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Speaker 1: dark days of depression, dark days even of despair. You know,
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Speaker 1: Isaiah predicted dark days in his book. In Isaiah chapter six,
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Speaker 1: verse 21 and 22, he says this, talking about these
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Speaker 1: dark days. People will wander aimlessly, distressed and hungry for
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Speaker 1: what they don't have. Does that sound like today? In
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Speaker 1: deep frustration, they'll become enraged and they'll shake their fist
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Speaker 1: at leaders and even at God. And everywhere they look,
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Speaker 1: they'll see trouble and darkness and despair, and they'll have
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Speaker 1: to live in dark days. That was a prediction that
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Speaker 1: Isaiah meant many, many years ago, but he also predicted
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Speaker 1: the coming of Jesus to earth at Christmas. And in
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Speaker 1: Isaiah 9, verse two, he says this, the people who
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Speaker 1: walk in darkness, they will see a great light, a
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Speaker 1: light that will shine on all who have been living
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Speaker 1: in the shadow of death. How do we have the
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Speaker 1: light of Christ in our darkest days? The antidote to
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Speaker 1: your darkest days is to turn to God's light. The
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Speaker 1: Bible is filled with references to the effect of God's
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Speaker 1: light in our lives. First off, it says that God's character,
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Speaker 1: God's character is a source of all light in the universe.
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Speaker 1: Without God, there would be no light. Without God, there
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Speaker 1: would be no universe. 1 John 1, 5 says, God
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Speaker 1: is light. So it says, it's his nature. All light
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Speaker 1: comes from God. God is light and in him, there
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Speaker 1: is no darkness at all. This is the message Jesus
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Speaker 1: has given us to announce, 1 John 1, 5. The
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Speaker 1: Bible tells us that God's very first act in creation,
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Speaker 1: when he created the universe, the first thing he did
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Speaker 1: was create light. Genesis 1, 1 to 4. In the beginning,
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Speaker 1: God created the heavens and the earth, and God said,
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Speaker 1: let there be light. And there was light. And God
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Speaker 1: saw that the light was good, and he separated the
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Speaker 1: light from the darkness. God is light, the first act
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Speaker 1: of creation is light, and at the first Christmas 2020
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Speaker 1: years ago, God came to earth as Jesus to give
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Speaker 1: us more light. Light about himself, light about life, light
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Speaker 1: about death, light about eternity, love, forgiveness, salvation, and much,
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Speaker 1: much more. John 12, 46, Jesus says this, I have
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Speaker 1: come as a light. I have come as a light
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Speaker 1: to shine in this dark world so that all who
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Speaker 1: put their trust in me will no longer wander in darkness.
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Speaker 1: So you know what I did this week? I restudied,
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Speaker 1: I got out the physics books and stuff and I
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Speaker 1: restudied all of the properties and all of the effects
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Speaker 1: of light. The properties of light to see the parallels
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Speaker 1: of what God's world created, he created in his world,
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Speaker 1: and what it teaches us about God himself. Now, what
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Speaker 1: do we know about light? Well, let me just give
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Speaker 1: you a quick overview. Light is an electromagnetic wave, and
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Speaker 1: it's commonly classified in seven kinds of different ways, from
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Speaker 1: large to small. And they all travel at the same speed,
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Speaker 1: the speed of light. There are radio waves, There are microwaves,
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Speaker 1: there are infrared waves, there's visible light, then there's ultraviolet light,
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Speaker 1: there are X-rays, and there are gamma rays. And I
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Speaker 1: learned this week how different wavelengths of life interact differently
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Speaker 1: with matter. And there are actually spiritual parallels to how
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Speaker 1: light interacts in different ways. Now we all know that
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Speaker 1: light is illuminating, but we often ignore the other effects
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Speaker 1: of life. of light, such as light can be purifying,
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Speaker 1: light can be healing, light can be warming, light can
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Speaker 1: even be transforming. So this Christmas, I wanna ask the question,
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Speaker 1: how does the light of Jesus, when he says, I'm
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Speaker 1: the light of the world, how does the light of
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Speaker 1: Jesus help you in your darkest days? Well, let me
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Speaker 1: just suggest four ways, all right? four different ways. Now,
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Speaker 1: a first effect of light is this, light can illuminate.
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Speaker 1: Light can illuminate. Ephesians 5.13 says, light makes all things
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Speaker 1: easy to see. Now, I don't have to belabor this
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Speaker 1: point because you use this principle every time you flip
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Speaker 1: a light switch. Why in the world do you turn
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Speaker 1: on lights? To see better. And you can always see
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Speaker 1: more in the light than you can in the dark.
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Speaker 1: And the brighter the light, the better you can see.
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Speaker 1: Light illuminates. I mean, this is not a big deal.
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Speaker 1: You know this. Light exposes, light uncovers, light clarifies. You
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Speaker 1: ever shine the light under your bed, you see stuff
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Speaker 1: there you didn't know was there. Light gives you a
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Speaker 1: perspective completely different than when you're in the dark. If
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Speaker 1: you've ever had surgery, you know that surgeons always want
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Speaker 1: the brightest lights in that operating room. so they can
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Speaker 1: see every little detail. They don't wanna miss a thing.
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Speaker 1: I mean, no surgeon has ever said, hey, let's turn
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Speaker 1: these lights down for a different mood in this surgery.
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Speaker 1: Let's make it like a bar lounge. No, no, they
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Speaker 1: want it as bright as possible so they can see
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Speaker 1: as much as possible. If I asked you to go
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Speaker 1: on a night hike with me to climb Mount Saddleback,
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Speaker 1: how would you wanna do it? Would you A, wanna
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Speaker 1: do it with completely in the dark? Or B, would
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Speaker 1: you like to use a weak, dim flashlight that only
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Speaker 1: shines about a foot out? Or C, would you like
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Speaker 1: to use a Costco maxi power lantern that you can
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Speaker 1: see everything on the trail for 400 yards? Well, obviously,
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Speaker 1: for clarity and for illumination, you'd wanna use the brightest
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Speaker 1: light you could get. It'd make the journey easier. Now listen,
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Speaker 1: the same is true for life. To make the journey easier,
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Speaker 1: You need more light in your life. The light of
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Speaker 1: Jesus who says, I'm the light of the world. The
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Speaker 1: same is true for clarity. You need the brightest light
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Speaker 1: you can get. So where do you find the best
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Speaker 1: light for life? John 8, 12, Jesus said, I am
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Speaker 1: the light of the world. And if you follow me,
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Speaker 1: you won't be stumbling through the darkness for living light
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Speaker 1: will flood your path, okay? During dark days, trusting Christ
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Speaker 1: will help me see things more clearly. So I want
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Speaker 1: you to write this down. Number one, in dark days,
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Speaker 1: I need the light of Jesus when I can't see
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Speaker 1: the way forward. When I can't see the way forward.
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Speaker 1: When I'm confused, when I'm undecided, when I don't know
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Speaker 1: what's best, when I can't figure out what to do next,
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Speaker 1: when everything looks black and I can't see which way
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Speaker 1: to go, I need the light of Christ in my life. Now,
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Speaker 1: I know that the common answer in the world when
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Speaker 1: you're confused is this, trust yourself. Trust your gut, follow
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Speaker 1: your instincts. But anybody who's tried that knows that at best,
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Speaker 1: you're only right about 50% of the time. Your light
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Speaker 1: is weak. Your perspective is small. It's like using one
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Speaker 1: of those little wimpy pen lights you put on your
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Speaker 1: key chain. They don't illuminate anything. And as a result,
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Speaker 1: you've made a lot of bad decisions in life. Instead,
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Speaker 1: here's what the Bible says to do. Isaiah 50 verse 10.
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Speaker 1: For anyone who doesn't know where you're going, anyone groping
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Speaker 1: in the dark, here's what to do. Trust in God, yes,
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Speaker 1: lean on God. Don't trust your own light, trust the
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Speaker 1: light of the Lord. And you say, okay, Rick, I
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Speaker 1: would love to have God's perspective on my problems. I'd
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Speaker 1: love to have his help, his light on my challenges
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Speaker 1: and my choices and my future. But how do I
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Speaker 1: discover God's viewpoint? How can I see what God sees
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Speaker 1: in my life? How do I get God's light on
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Speaker 1: the things that matter to me? And the answer is this,
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Speaker 1: get into this book, the Bible. You need to read it.
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Speaker 1: You need to study it because God's will is always
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Speaker 1: found in God's word. Saturate your mind with the Bible.
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Speaker 1: Psalm 119, 105 says this, Your words are a flashlight
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Speaker 1: to light the path ahead of me and keep me
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Speaker 1: from stumbling. You know, if you hear the farm noise
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Speaker 1: out here, don't let it bother you, because it doesn't
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Speaker 1: bother me. They're working on stuff. They're cutting down some
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Speaker 1: stuff and tearing up some stuff. But you know what?
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Speaker 1: I'm always amazed at how many people are always waiting
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Speaker 1: around for God to give them a sign in the
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Speaker 1: air instead of just reading the directions that he's already
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Speaker 1: given us. Stop looking for a vision in the sky
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Speaker 1: and start looking for a verse in the Bible. That's
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Speaker 1: where you're gonna find the light. You're gonna continue to
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Speaker 1: stumble around in dark days if you spend more time
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Speaker 1: listening to negative news in the media than you spend
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Speaker 1: in time reading God's word. Psalm 19 verse eight says this,
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Speaker 1: God's instructions are always right and they point the way
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Speaker 1: to happiness. His commands shine brightly and they light up
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Speaker 1: the right way to go. If you wanna go the
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Speaker 1: right way in 2021, you gotta get in this book.
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Speaker 1: Colossians 3.15 says, the peace that Christ gives you will
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Speaker 1: guide you in the decisions you make. Now, I wanna
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Speaker 1: show you on this first principle of how light illuminates.
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Speaker 1: It shows us where to go when we're in the dark,
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Speaker 1: when we're confused. Let me show you an amazing promise
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Speaker 1: of guidance that God gives to you if you let
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Speaker 1: the words of Jesus in this book guide your journey.
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Speaker 1: It's Isaiah 42, verse 16 in the message. It says this,
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Speaker 1: God says, listen, I'll take the hand of those who
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Speaker 1: don't know the way, who can't see where they're going,
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Speaker 1: that's in darkness. I'll be a personal guide to them,
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Speaker 1: directing them through the unknown country. I'll be right there
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Speaker 1: to show them what roads to take. This is God talking.
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Speaker 1: I'll make sure they don't fall into the ditch. These
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Speaker 1: are the things I'll be doing for them, sticking with them,
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Speaker 1: not leaving them for a minute. Isn't that an amazing
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Speaker 1: promise from God? God says, I will be your personal guide.
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Speaker 1: If you'll let me light up your life, you won't
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Speaker 1: be stumbling around in the dark. So let me ask
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Speaker 1: you a very personal question at Christmas as we end
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Speaker 1: this difficult year of 2020 and look toward 2021. Where
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Speaker 1: right now do you feel you're in the dark? Just,
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Speaker 1: I want you to think about that. What is confusing
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Speaker 1: to you in your life? What needs to be clarified?
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Speaker 1: Where do you need God's light to shine and give
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Speaker 1: you direction? Well, it's completely available to you and it's free,
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Speaker 1: but you have to ask for it. You may have
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Speaker 1: to ask. Now you may be a little worried about
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Speaker 1: what's happening, what's gonna happen next in your life. You know,
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Speaker 1: nobody predicted 2020 and nobody can really predict what 2021
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Speaker 1: is gonna be like. Well, let me give you a
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Speaker 1: Bible verse that you might wanna make your daily prayer.
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Speaker 1: Psalm 23, verse four, David prayed, even though I go
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Speaker 1: through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid. I
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Speaker 1: will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me.
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Speaker 1: So the first benefit of filling your life with God's
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Speaker 1: light Everything gets a lot clearer. You don't have as
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Speaker 1: much confusion. You'll have a bigger perspective on life. You'll
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Speaker 1: see things the way God sees them. And that's called wisdom. Why?
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Speaker 1: Because light illuminates. Now let me give you a second
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Speaker 1: effect of light. Light not only illuminates, light can disinfect.
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Speaker 1: Did you know that? Yeah, did you know that? Light
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Speaker 1: is a great disinfectant. It can kill germs. It can
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Speaker 1: purify water. Light can cleanse and sanitize a lot of stuff.
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Speaker 1: You know, during our peace teams visiting all around the
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Speaker 1: world in rural villages, when we teach good health practices
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Speaker 1: in developing nations, one of the things we teach is
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Speaker 1: the importance of hanging out your bed sheets to dry
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Speaker 1: in the sun to sanitize them. Light has a disinfecting impact.
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Speaker 1: This week, I read an article about how New York
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Speaker 1: City officials have built a water disinfection facility using ultraviolet
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Speaker 1: light to destroy germs and disinfect its drinking water, which
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Speaker 1: is brought in from about 100 miles away. And instead
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Speaker 1: of using chlorine, which most of us use, which has
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Speaker 1: some downsides to it, they're now using the sun's power
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Speaker 1: to disinfect and sanitize their water. using light rays, they
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Speaker 1: disinfect 2.4 billion gallons of water every day. Now in
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Speaker 1: a similar way, getting the light of God in your
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Speaker 1: life can disinfect and sanitize and purify and cleanse harmful
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Speaker 1: bad stuff out of your life. The harmful words, the
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Speaker 1: harmful thoughts, the harmful actions that make you spiritually and
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Speaker 1: emotionally and sometimes physically sick. Here's what the Bible says.
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Speaker 1: First John chapter one, verse six to nine. If we
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Speaker 1: claim to have a relationship with God, but we continue
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Speaker 1: living in darkness, then we lie and we aren't following
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Speaker 1: the truth. But if we live in the light as
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Speaker 1: God is in the light, then we can have real
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Speaker 1: fellowship with each other. And the blood of Jesus, God's
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Speaker 1: son purifies us. That's cleanses, sanitizes us. disinfects. God's son's
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Speaker 1: blood purifies us from all sin. And if we claim
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Speaker 1: to be without sin, we're just fooling ourselves and refusing
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Speaker 1: to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins
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Speaker 1: to him, God is faithful and just, and he will
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Speaker 1: forgive and cleanse us from every wrong. So I want
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Speaker 1: you to write this down. Number two, in dark days,
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Speaker 1: I need the light of Jesus when I want a
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Speaker 1: clean start. when I want a clean start. You know,
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Speaker 1: I could not count the number of times that people
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Speaker 1: have said to me confidentially, you know, Rick, I've made
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Speaker 1: so many mistakes in my life. I really need a
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Speaker 1: fresh start. We should just clean the slate, wipe it
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Speaker 1: all off and begin again. I'm so tired of carrying
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Speaker 1: a heavy load of emotional baggage from all my poor decisions.
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Speaker 1: So many people today are going through dark days. because
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Speaker 1: they're carrying a load, a secret load of guilt and
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Speaker 1: shame and regret. They may look successful on the outside,
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Speaker 1: but they're tortured by their secrets. Is there a way
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Speaker 1: to wipe the slate clean? Is there a way to
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Speaker 1: get a fresh start? Yes, it's called being born again.
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Speaker 1: That doesn't mean you turn over a new leaf and
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Speaker 1: try harder. It means you get a brand new life,
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Speaker 1: not a new leaf, a new life. Everything is forgiven
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Speaker 1: and forgotten. Everything is cleansed by the light of Christ.
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Speaker 1: And then the darkness is lifted in your light. 1
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Speaker 1: Samuel 22, 29 says this, you Lord are my light.
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Speaker 1: and you dispel my darkness. The darkness of guilt, the
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Speaker 1: darkness of regret, the darkness of shame, the darkness of
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Speaker 1: I wish I could have done it differently. He says,
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Speaker 1: you dispel my darkness when you are my light. Ephesians 5, 8,
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Speaker 1: and 9 describes what it means to be completely cleansed
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Speaker 1: and forgiven of your sin and born again. Here's what
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Speaker 1: it says. In your past, your life was full of darkness,
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Speaker 1: but now you're full of light in the Lord. And
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Speaker 1: now you can live like children of light. And God's
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Speaker 1: light brings every kind of goodness and right living and truth.
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Speaker 1: So here's my question for you this Christmas. What secret
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Speaker 1: regret or guilt or shame in your life needs to
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Speaker 1: be cleansed and disinfected by exposure to the light of Christ?
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Speaker 1: I want you to think about that, okay? Think about that.
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Speaker 1: What needs to be cleansed with the light of Christ
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Speaker 1: in my life? Let's move on to the next benefit
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Speaker 1: of having God's light in your life. You said light illuminates.
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Speaker 1: and I could see what I couldn't see before. Light disinfects,
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Speaker 1: it cleans up the mess and the germs and the
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Speaker 1: sin in my life. Third effect of light is this,
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Speaker 1: light can heal things. Did you know that? Light can
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Speaker 1: heal things. Scientists are discovering more and more about the
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Speaker 1: healing properties and the healing powers of light. In medicine,
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Speaker 1: light is now being used in all kinds of therapeutic ways.
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Speaker 1: We use them from lasers, which we use in surgeries
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Speaker 1: and wounds and all kinds of different levels of infrared
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Speaker 1: to light therapy for depression. One of the most common
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Speaker 1: uses of light found in dermatology because of its ability
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Speaker 1: to fight bacteria. Blue light is routinely now used in
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Speaker 1: doctor's offices to treat acne and red light is being
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Speaker 1: used to treat wrinkles and light stimulates the mitochondria in
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Speaker 1: your skin. Of course, for over a hundred years, doctors
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Speaker 1: have placed patients in beds out on sunny balconies as
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Speaker 1: part of their recovery. But we're now just learning how
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Speaker 1: different wavelengths of light have different healing and pain relieving properties. Now,
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Speaker 1: when you think about it, I mean, literally, when you
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Speaker 1: think about it, if everything God created is good, when
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Speaker 1: it's used in the way God intended, then that makes sense.
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Speaker 1: I mean, in the physical realm, water is good for
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Speaker 1: you in the right dose. Air is certainly good for
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Speaker 1: you in the right dose. And light is good for
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Speaker 1: you in the right dose. All of these are essential
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Speaker 1: to your physical health. But what about your emotional health
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Speaker 1: and your spiritual health? What about your emotional wounds and
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Speaker 1: mental illnesses and spiritual sicknesses that afflict all of us
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Speaker 1: in a broken world? Well, the parallels apply here too.
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Speaker 1: I want you to write this third thing down. In
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Speaker 1: dark days, I need the light of Jesus when I'm
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Speaker 1: wounded and in pain. When I'm wounded and in pain.
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Speaker 1: Emotional pain, spiritual pain, physical pain, relational pain. When I
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Speaker 1: feel discouraged or disappointed or depressed or in despair, the
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Speaker 1: antidote is turn to the light of Jesus. in those
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Speaker 1: dark days. Let me show you some verses from the Bible.
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Speaker 1: Psalm 69, 29 says, I am wounded and in pain,
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Speaker 1: so rescue me, O God, by your saving power. Psalm 103,
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Speaker 1: he forgives all my sins and he heals me. Sometimes
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Speaker 1: people feel they have to like prove to God that
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Speaker 1: they deserve to be healed. I've gotta go fast. and
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Speaker 1: pray for days to be healed. But God says, no, no,
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Speaker 1: just show compassion to other people the way I do.
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Speaker 1: Look at this verse, Isaiah 59, verse 68. Instead of fasting,
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Speaker 1: he says, here's what I want you to do. I
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Speaker 1: want you to break the chains of injustice, I want
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Speaker 1: you to stop all the unfairness, the oppressed. I want
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Speaker 1: you to share your food with the hungry and shelter
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Speaker 1: the homeless. And when anybody needs clothes, clothe them and
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Speaker 1: don't refuse to help even your own relatives. And if
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Speaker 1: you do these things, here's what he says. My light
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Speaker 1: will shine on you like the morning sun and your
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Speaker 1: own healing will quickly appear. So many people today in
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Speaker 1: their dark days feel trapped. trapped by thoughts, trapped by compulsions,
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Speaker 1: trapped by fears, trapped by anxieties, trapped by secret addictions.
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Speaker 1: Where do we find the freedom from that kind of darkness?
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Speaker 1: Colossians 1, 12 and 13 says this, your father has
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Speaker 1: made you able to share all that he's prepared for
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Speaker 1: his people in the kingdom of light. That's the kingdom
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Speaker 1: of God, the kingdom of light, for he has freed
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Speaker 1: us from the power of darkness. The light of Jesus
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Speaker 1: can free us from our darkest emotions and thoughts. So
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Speaker 1: here's my question here for this third point. What needs
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Speaker 1: healing in your life? What needs healing in your life?
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Speaker 1: What needs to be exposed to the light of Christ?
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Speaker 1: Because light illuminates, shows me when I'm confused, Light disinfects,
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Speaker 1: it takes care of all the junk in my past
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Speaker 1: and light heals. Let me give you just one more
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Speaker 1: property of light. The fourth effect of light is this.
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Speaker 1: Light grows things. Light grows things. Light is life for
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Speaker 1: anything living, okay? It's the key to life. Every plant
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Speaker 1: grows by photosynthesis. which is dependent upon light. No light,
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Speaker 1: no growth. No light, no power. You can't live without life. Now,
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Speaker 1: I'll tell you personally, as a vegetable gardener, I can
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Speaker 1: tell you that the more hours of light you have,
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Speaker 1: the bigger your crops will grow. I can also tell
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Speaker 1: you that many crops won't even grow in wintertime with
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Speaker 1: shorter days. You know, I have a thing that I've
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Speaker 1: kept used for 25, 30 years. You know what this is?
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Speaker 1: It looks like just a light bulb, but it's a
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Speaker 1: special kind of light bulb. It's a grow light. It
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Speaker 1: emits a certain kind of light that causes plants and
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Speaker 1: trees to grow. And you use it in areas where
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Speaker 1: there isn't enough light for plants to survive. I actually
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Speaker 1: use these grow lights on young redwood trees that I
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Speaker 1: planted on the shady side of my house until they
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Speaker 1: got tall enough to get sunlight on their own. And
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Speaker 1: today those trees are about 40 feet tall. You know,
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Speaker 1: in many ways, church services, like the one we're in
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Speaker 1: right now, they're a growth light for your spirit. They
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Speaker 1: help you grow in dark days when the sun is hidden,
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Speaker 1: when you can't see the light. Now, again, the same
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Speaker 1: physical effect of light is true in the spiritual realm.
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Speaker 1: So write this down. Number four, in dark days, I
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Speaker 1: need the light of Jesus to change me for the better.
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Speaker 1: I need the light of Jesus to change me for
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Speaker 1: the better. You know, I've often said there are two
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Speaker 1: ways that we change, when we see the light and
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Speaker 1: when we feel the heat. One of those ways is
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Speaker 1: far less painful. If we would just change when we
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Speaker 1: see the light, then we wouldn't have to change when
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Speaker 1: we feel the heat. Ephesians 1, 17 and 18 says,
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Speaker 1: I'm asking God to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding
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Speaker 1: so that you will grow. That's the grow light. so
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Speaker 1: that you will grow in your knowledge of God. And
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Speaker 1: I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light,
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Speaker 1: the light of God. That's gonna help you grow when
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Speaker 1: your life's flooded with light so that you can understand
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Speaker 1: the wonderful future God has promised to those he called.
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Speaker 1: In the Bible, light and life go hand in hand.
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Speaker 1: Psalm 36 verse nine, you Lord are the giver of
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Speaker 1: life and your light lets us enjoy life. Did you
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Speaker 1: know that verse? Your light lets us enjoy life. God
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Speaker 1: says life is meant to be enjoyed, not merely endured.
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Speaker 1: But the key is living in God's light. The more
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Speaker 1: you live in God's light, the more you'll enjoy life.
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Speaker 1: That's why Jesus said this, John 8, 12, I'm the
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Speaker 1: light of the world and if you follow me, you
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Speaker 1: won't be stumbling through the darkness because you'll have the
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Speaker 1: light that leads to life. We all know Jesus said
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Speaker 1: in John 10, 10, I came to give life, life
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Speaker 1: in all its fullness. The second Corinthians chapter four says,
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Speaker 1: the same God who once said, let there be light
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Speaker 1: in creation, let there be light in the darkness has
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Speaker 1: now made his light to shine in our hearts. It
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Speaker 1: is the brightness of God's glory that we see shining
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Speaker 1: in the face of Jesus Christ. See all of these verses,
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Speaker 1: why does God talk so much about light in the Bible?
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Speaker 1: Because God is light. And the light is the light
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Speaker 1: of love and the light of God's life. 1 John 2, 8,
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Speaker 1: the darkness in our lives disappears and the new light
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Speaker 1: of Christ shines again. in. So here's the Christmas question
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Speaker 1: this year. Here's my question for you at Christmas. Are
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Speaker 1: you ready to exchange your darkness and the dark days
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Speaker 1: you're going through for God's light? This is what Christmas
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Speaker 1: is all about. Jesus came to light up your life.
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Speaker 1: By the way, when Jesus came at Christmas, he didn't
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Speaker 1: start with his birth. He's always existed because he's God.
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Speaker 1: John chapter one tells us this, first five verses, before
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Speaker 1: anything else existed, there was Christ with God. He didn't
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Speaker 1: come alive simply at Christmas. He'd been in existence for eternity.
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Speaker 1: He has always been alive and he is himself God.
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Speaker 1: He created everything. Eternal life is in him and this
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Speaker 1: life gives light to all mankind. His life is the
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Speaker 1: light that shines through the darkness and the darkness can
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Speaker 1: never extinguish it. You see, when you try to live
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Speaker 1: your life without God, you live it in the dark.
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Speaker 1: That's why things don't make sense to you because you
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Speaker 1: don't have the illumination. It's why you're burdened down with
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Speaker 1: negative emotions. It's why you're not healed of the brokenness
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Speaker 1: in your life. And it's why you stop growing. You know,
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Speaker 1: this Christmas, it's time to turn on the light. It's
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Speaker 1: time to flip the switch. It's time to let the
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Speaker 1: light of Christ into your life, not just for your
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Speaker 1: dark days, but for all your days. It's time to
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Speaker 1: exchange your darkness for his life, light. I would like
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Speaker 1: to pray with you. Would you bow your heads and
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Speaker 1: pray a simple prayer like this? Say, dear God, I've
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Speaker 1: had many dark days in my life, but I need
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Speaker 1: your light in my life. I need your light to
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Speaker 1: heal me. I need your light to guide me. I
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Speaker 1: need your light to comfort me, to warm me. I
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Speaker 1: need your light to help me grow. And so as
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Speaker 1: much as I know how Jesus Christ, I open my life.
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Speaker 1: to the light of your love. And this Christmas, I
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Speaker 1: wanna accept you as God's Christmas gift to me. I
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Speaker 1: wanna learn to follow you and trust you. And I
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Speaker 1: humbly ask you to accept me into your family by grace,
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Speaker 1: not because I deserve it, but because I put my
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Speaker 1: faith in your love and in your light. I pray
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Speaker 1: this and ask this humbly in your name, amen.