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When You Need A Fresh Start with Pastor Rick Warren (1) · Voice of Rick warren

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Speaker 1: Hi, everybody. Before we look at God's word today, I'd
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Speaker 1: like to speak to all of our Southern California Saddleback
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Speaker 1: campuses about the COVID-19 pandemic going on here. As you
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Speaker 1: all know, we'd hoped that in this new year, it
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Speaker 1: would be over. Well, it's not over. Instead, the infection
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Speaker 1: rate in America is the worst it's ever been. And
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Speaker 1: California is leading the list of having the most infections.
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Speaker 1: And our five Southern California counties are leading California. with
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Speaker 1: the worst rates of infection. Now, of course, the big
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Speaker 1: question on everybody's mind is when are we gonna get
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Speaker 1: to be able to have worship services in person again?
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Speaker 1: And the answer still is as soon as it is safe.
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Speaker 1: I really miss you guys. And it is so frustrating
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Speaker 1: to me as I'm sure it is to you. But
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Speaker 1: let's just look at the facts, not how we feel,
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Speaker 1: but the facts. although some people still deny that this
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Speaker 1: pandemic is serious, they need to talk to the families
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Speaker 1: of the 393,000 Americans who've died so far. That's almost 400,000 deaths.
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Speaker 1: And although we have the good news of vaccine arriving,
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Speaker 1: tens of thousands more will die before everybody can be vaccinated.
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Speaker 1: So let me put this in perspective. In all of
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Speaker 1: World War II, 405,000 Americans died. That's all in World
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Speaker 1: War II. That means we're only 12,000 deaths away from
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Speaker 1: having more Americans die from COVID-19 than died in all
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Speaker 1: of World War II. And we will pass that sad
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Speaker 1: marker sometime this next week. Now this pandemic may not
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Speaker 1: make you sick, but it's killing millions. Do you remember
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Speaker 1: when we first passed the rate of 1,000 deaths a day?
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Speaker 1: to COVID, I reminded you that 3000 people died on
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Speaker 1: 9-11 crisis and that this past year we were having
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Speaker 1: a 9-11 every three days. But then the rate jumped
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Speaker 1: to 2000 deaths a day and then to 3000 deaths
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Speaker 1: a day in November. And now in January, COVID has
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Speaker 1: been killing Americans at a faster rate than any other
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Speaker 1: time in 2020. In fact, deaths are 217% higher than
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Speaker 1: they were in the fall. Now, I haven't seen today's report,
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Speaker 1: but a couple of days ago, 4,327 Americans died of
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Speaker 1: COVID on a single day, 4,329. Now, I've said this before,
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Speaker 1: but I think it's worth repeating. I'm not willing to
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Speaker 1: gamble your health and the health of our members simply
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Speaker 1: because I'm frustrated and impatient. I love you and I
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Speaker 1: love all of our members and I'm called by God
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Speaker 1: to protect you and to protect them as a good shepherd.
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Speaker 1: I'm just not willing to be responsible for the death
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Speaker 1: of a single one of our members. I'd rather resign
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Speaker 1: than be responsible for the death of a Saddleback member.
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Speaker 1: So if anybody is upset or angry with me about
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Speaker 1: my caution, I just have a simple question for them.
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Speaker 1: Are you willing to be responsible before God for the
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Speaker 1: death of any brothers and sisters in our church family?
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Speaker 1: Are you willing to be responsible for it? I'm sure
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Speaker 1: you're not. Now, I'm gonna write you more about this
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Speaker 1: next week, but let's just pray that we all just
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Speaker 1: keep loving and keep being patient because God is in control.
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Speaker 1: God's not worried about his church. You don't need to
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Speaker 1: worry about it either. Now, I'd also like to thank
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Speaker 1: all of you for your wonderful letters and notes of
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Speaker 1: support and encouragement because they mean the world to me.
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Speaker 1: This past year was incredibly difficult and you really are
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Speaker 1: an amazing group of people. I can't tell you enough
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Speaker 1: how much I love you, how much I pray for
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Speaker 1: you and how much I thank God for you every day.
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Speaker 1: And to the thousands of you new Saddleback people who
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Speaker 1: have joined us this past year, you know our attendance
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Speaker 1: actually doubled in worship online. Those thousands of you who've
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Speaker 1: joined us while we've been gathering online, we welcome you
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Speaker 1: and we thank God for you. And we promise to
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Speaker 1: love you in our family. We're not a perfect church,
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Speaker 1: but I will tell you this. I seriously doubt that
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Speaker 1: you'll ever find a more loving church, a more flexible church,
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Speaker 1: a church more willing to tackle big problems in faith,
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Speaker 1: or a more compassionate church. Thousands of you are serving
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Speaker 1: the community during COVID-19. Now, one of the emails that
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Speaker 1: passed on me last week had a line in it
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Speaker 1: at the end that really caught my attention and it's
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Speaker 1: what I wanna talk about today. It ended by saying,
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Speaker 1: Pastor Rick, I don't know how I would have made
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Speaker 1: it through the chaos this last year without our weekend
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Speaker 1: services online. They have been a lifesaver in this storm,
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Speaker 1: an anchor of hope. So thanks to all of our
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Speaker 1: leaders and elders for protecting us and thinking of us first.
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Speaker 1: With all the craziness out there, I'm grateful for solid
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Speaker 1: Bible teaching. that calms my anxious heart. And then she
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Speaker 1: said this, I'm glad we made it through 2020 together,
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Speaker 1: but I'm hoping to get a fresh start this new year.
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Speaker 1: You know, I've thought about that last phrase over and
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Speaker 1: over in my mind this week. I think it speaks
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Speaker 1: for many of us. I'm hoping to get a fresh
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Speaker 1: start in this new year. So today, as I share
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Speaker 1: part two of the series, The Awesome Power of Vision,
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Speaker 1: I want us to look at what God tells us
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Speaker 1: to do whenever we need a fresh start. Now, both
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Speaker 1: the Old Testament and the New Testament in the Bible
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Speaker 1: are filled with examples of God giving people a fresh
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Speaker 1: start because God is the God of second chances. He's
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Speaker 1: the God of new beginnings. He's the God of starting over.
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Speaker 1: He's the God of beginning again. He's the God who
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Speaker 1: specializes in giving people fresh starts. Now, when we look
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Speaker 1: at this theme, in scripture, the theme of fresh starts.
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Speaker 1: I particularly like to use the message translation of the
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Speaker 1: Bible because when other translations use the phrase made new,
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Speaker 1: the message always translate that as fresh start. It's the
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Speaker 1: same thing. So let me just show you a few examples.
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Speaker 1: Here's the first one, Zechariah 10.6 from the message. God says,
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Speaker 1: I'll save the people of Joseph I know their pain
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Speaker 1: and I'll make them as good as new. They'll get
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Speaker 1: a fresh start as if nothing ever happened. Why? Because
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Speaker 1: I am their God and I'll do what needs to
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Speaker 1: be done for them. What an incredible promise. Aren't you
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Speaker 1: glad that God knows and cares about all the pain
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Speaker 1: you go through? He felt everything you went through this
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Speaker 1: past year. And aren't you glad that no matter what
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Speaker 1: happens in your life, he can make everything as good
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Speaker 1: as new? And aren't you glad that God says, I'll
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Speaker 1: do what needs to be done to give you a
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Speaker 1: fresh start? You almost can't count the number of times
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Speaker 1: in the Bible that God gave his people, Israel, a
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Speaker 1: fresh start after they messed up. Let me show you
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Speaker 1: another example. Hosea 14.5 in the message where God says,
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Speaker 1: I will make a fresh start with Israel. They will
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Speaker 1: burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring. After
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Speaker 1: a season of cold and darkness, he says, they're gonna
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Speaker 1: blossom with new beauty like spring flowers. That's what I'm
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Speaker 1: praying for our church as we end COVID-19. Now you
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Speaker 1: may be thinking, well, that's great for Israel, but what
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Speaker 1: about me? Well, Psalm 145, 14 says this in the message.
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Speaker 1: It says, God gives a hand to those who are
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Speaker 1: down on their luck and he gives a fresh start
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Speaker 1: to those who are ready to quit. Have you felt
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Speaker 1: like giving up? Have you felt like quitting? You felt
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Speaker 1: like throwing in the towel? Then you picked a good
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Speaker 1: day to worship with Saddleback because that's what we're gonna
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Speaker 1: talk about today. It is always too soon to quit.
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Speaker 1: You know, this coming Monday, we're gonna observe Martin Luther
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Speaker 1: King Day and Dr. King is best remembered for his famous,
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Speaker 1: I have a dream speech. But what made King so
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Speaker 1: great was that he courageously went after that dream. He
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Speaker 1: didn't just dream it, he started going after it. So
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Speaker 1: what dream has God given you? When are you gonna
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Speaker 1: get started on it? You say, well, one of these days.
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Speaker 1: One of these days is none of these days. God's
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Speaker 1: word gives us the simple steps for getting started on
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Speaker 1: a fresh start. So just for fun, you know what
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Speaker 1: I did? I put these steps in a simple acrostic, S-T-A-R-T.
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Speaker 1: You go, oh, come on, Rick. Yeah, I did. I
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Speaker 1: put them in an acrostic start. So let's get started
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Speaker 1: on your fresh start. Now, here's the first step. In
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Speaker 1: a new year and a fresh start, the first step
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Speaker 1: is always this, S, stop making excuses for not starting.
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Speaker 1: Stop making excuses for not starting. Have you ever been
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Speaker 1: around somebody who makes excuses for everything? You've probably noticed
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Speaker 1: that people who are good at making excuses are rarely
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Speaker 1: good at anything else. The biggest barrier to my success
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Speaker 1: and your success are my own excuses, your own excuses.
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Speaker 1: You remember that down. The biggest barriers to my success
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Speaker 1: are my own excuses. Now let me show you what
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Speaker 1: God says about four common excuses. You've heard these, you've
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Speaker 1: probably given all four of them. Excuse number one, for
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Speaker 1: not starting. I don't have what it takes. I don't
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Speaker 1: have what it takes to go after the dream. You know,
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Speaker 1: in the Bible, Moses and Jeremiah and a lot of
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Speaker 1: other people tried to use this excuse on God when
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Speaker 1: he had an assignment for them. But my favorite example
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Speaker 1: of it, of I don't have what it takes is Gideon.
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Speaker 1: God told a young man named Gideon, Gideon, I wanna
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Speaker 1: use you to liberate my people from the enemy that's
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Speaker 1: oppressing them. And Judges chapter six, verse 15 and 16
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Speaker 1: tells us how Gideon responded. It says this, Then Gideon
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Speaker 1: started making excuses. God says, I'm gonna use you. Gideon said, moi?
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Speaker 1: Not me, Lord. He said, Gideon started making excuses. He said,
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Speaker 1: but Lord, how can I save the nation of Israel?
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Speaker 1: I belong to Manasseh, the smallest tribe. And my family
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Speaker 1: is the weakest and poorest family in that tribe. And
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Speaker 1: I'm the youngest and least important person in my family. Okay,
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Speaker 1: he's going, God, you got the wrong guy. But the
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Speaker 1: Lord replied, I will be with you. Now, here's the
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Speaker 1: answer to your insecurity when you say, I don't have
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Speaker 1: what it takes. You're not gonna do this by yourself.
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Speaker 1: God says, I'm going to be with you. And if
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Speaker 1: I'm with you, that means you can rely on my power,
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Speaker 1: you can rely on my presence, You can rely on
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Speaker 1: my promises. You can rely on my protection. There's nothing
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Speaker 1: to worry about. One plus God is a majority. Let
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Speaker 1: me give you a second common excuse that a lot
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Speaker 1: of people use for not taking a fresh start. And
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Speaker 1: it's this, I have failed in the past. Yeah, well,
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Speaker 1: welcome to the human race. Everybody's failed. You are a product.
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Speaker 1: Listen to me. You are a product of your past,
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Speaker 1: but you're not a prisoner of your past. You're a product.
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Speaker 1: You're shaped by your past, but you're not a prisoner
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Speaker 1: of your past. You have a choice. You're not a
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Speaker 1: victim unless you choose to be. Now, I know without
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Speaker 1: a doubt that in your past, other people have hurt
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Speaker 1: you and other people have harmed you. Maybe even other
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Speaker 1: people have scarred you, but nobody can ruin your life
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Speaker 1: except you. Your past is past. It's over. It's water
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Speaker 1: under the bridge. It doesn't have to control you anymore.
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Speaker 1: And by the way, did you know that God is
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Speaker 1: far more interested in your future than your past? In
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Speaker 1: Isaiah 43, 18 and 19, the EV version says this.
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Speaker 1: The Lord says this, do not cling to the events
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Speaker 1: of the past. Hmm. And he says, do not dwell
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Speaker 1: on what happened long ago. Hmm. He says, watch for
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Speaker 1: the new thing I'm gonna do. It's happening already. Just
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Speaker 1: look and you can see it starting now. You say, well, okay,
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Speaker 1: but what about all my failures in my past? Well,
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Speaker 1: God just says, just admit your mistakes and confess your
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Speaker 1: sins and move on. Proverbs 28, 13 says this, a
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Speaker 1: man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful.
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Speaker 1: But if he confesses and forsakes them, He gets another chance.
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Speaker 1: That's fresh start. And here's the third common excuse for
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Speaker 1: not starting right now on your dream. There are things
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Speaker 1: I can't control. Well, duh, of course there are things
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Speaker 1: you can't control. In fact, most of the things in
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Speaker 1: life are beyond your control. You can't control the weather.
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Speaker 1: You can't control the economy. You can't control other people.
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Speaker 1: You can't control how long this pandemic will last and
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Speaker 1: a million other factors. And what's worse, and I really
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Speaker 1: hate to tell you this, but you'll never be able
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Speaker 1: to control them. You have to live your life for
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Speaker 1: God and do whatever he's called you to do in
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Speaker 1: the middle of uncontrollable circumstances and problems. So what do
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Speaker 1: you do? What do you do? You control the controllables
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Speaker 1: and trust God for the rest. Control the controllables and
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Speaker 1: trust God for the rest. I've told you that before.
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Speaker 1: So what can you control? You can control your attitudes.
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Speaker 1: You can control your reactions. You can control how much
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Speaker 1: you choose to trust God. That's your choice. These are
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Speaker 1: the things that are your choice. You know, over the
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Speaker 1: past year, I've talked to a lot of people who've
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Speaker 1: put everything on hold in their life during the pandemic.
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Speaker 1: They act like they're in limbo. So they do nothing.
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Speaker 1: They're just waiting. And they're the ones getting the most frustrated. Yes,
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Speaker 1: of course, we can't do everything we'd like to do
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Speaker 1: right now, but that doesn't mean we can't do something.
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Speaker 1: It doesn't mean we just coast passively and waste these
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Speaker 1: days during the pandemic. While our church has been unable
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Speaker 1: to meet for worship, we've actually been more active and
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Speaker 1: more effective and more successful in our other four purposes
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Speaker 1: of our church. Our church has five purposes. If worship
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Speaker 1: is curtailed right now, we can do the other four,
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Speaker 1: and we have been. We're not just sitting around. For instance,
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Speaker 1: in just one of our purposes, ministry and feeding people,
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Speaker 1: over 13,000 of you have been volunteering, feeding over a
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Speaker 1: half a million people. And yes, we couldn't have, for instance, 60,000
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Speaker 1: people at our normal Christmas services. So you know what
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Speaker 1: we did instead? We didn't do nothing. Instead, we turned
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Speaker 1: over a thousand volunteers into staffers of our Light of
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Speaker 1: the World through Christmas drive-through. And we impacted double the
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Speaker 1: number of people. Over 130,000 people came to Christmas at
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Speaker 1: Saddleback this year in a pandemic. Limitations are just opportunities
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Speaker 1: for creativity. You know what happened? It ended up being
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Speaker 1: that 2020 was our church's greatest year. for starting small groups,
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Speaker 1: for launching ministries in the community, for reaching more non-believers
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Speaker 1: than we've ever reached before last year, and for developing disciples. Why?
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Speaker 1: Because the church is far more than just a worship service.
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Speaker 1: It's family, and it goes all day, every day of
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Speaker 1: the week. And even our worship service attendance doubled online.
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Speaker 1: Proverbs 24, verse 10 says this, don't give up and
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Speaker 1: act helpless in times of trouble. Don't give up and
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Speaker 1: act helpless in time. You need to write that one
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Speaker 1: down on a card and put it on your refrigerator. Now,
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Speaker 1: during these times, have you stopped trying? Have you stopped trying?
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Speaker 1: You know, during trying times, you gotta keep trying. Yes,
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Speaker 1: there's a lot of trouble in the world right now,
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Speaker 1: but you're not helpless. You know what I've noticed? I've
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Speaker 1: noticed that the people during the pandemic who are complaining
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Speaker 1: the most are the ones not serving others. They're just complaining.
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Speaker 1: because their wants aren't being met. And here's a fourth
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Speaker 1: common excuse for not starting now, not doing something now,
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Speaker 1: even though you can't do everything. I don't know what
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Speaker 1: the future holds. Well, of course you don't. Again, you're right,
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Speaker 1: but you're never gonna know what the future holds. And
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Speaker 1: Ecclesiastes 11.4 says this, New Living Translation, if you wait
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Speaker 1: for perfect conditions, you'll never get anything done. So... The
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Speaker 1: first thing you do, if you want a fresh start
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Speaker 1: in a new year, you stop making excuses for not starting. Now,
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Speaker 1: the next word is T. Take stock of what I have.
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Speaker 1: Take stock of what I have. That's the second step
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Speaker 1: in moving ahead and getting a fresh start. Take stock
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Speaker 1: in what I have. What I mean is you list
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Speaker 1: and you evaluate what you've got to work with. Do
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Speaker 1: a personal inventory. You say, how do I do that? Well,
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Speaker 1: let me give you three questions, okay? You might write
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Speaker 1: these down. Three questions to ask yourself in making a
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Speaker 1: fresh start this year, in taking stock by doing a
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Speaker 1: personal inventory. Okay, here's the three questions. Write these down.
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Speaker 1: Number one, what are my assets? What are my assets? Now,
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Speaker 1: you look at your own God-given shape. We talk about
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Speaker 1: that in class 301. your spiritual gifts, your heart, your abilities,
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Speaker 1: your personality, your experiences. You look at your physical assets,
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Speaker 1: your educational assets, your financial assets. And of course, remember
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Speaker 1: your spiritual assets as a child of God. Colossians 2.10
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Speaker 1: says this in the Living Bible. You have everything when
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Speaker 1: you have Christ. That's a lot of assets. You have
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Speaker 1: everything when you have Christ and you're filled with God
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Speaker 1: through your union with Christ. He's the highest ruler with
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Speaker 1: authority over every other power. Now that's an asset. It
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Speaker 1: means you don't have to know the key men if
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Speaker 1: you know the man who holds the keys, okay? Because
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Speaker 1: he has authority over everything else. So you ask, what
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Speaker 1: are my assets? Number two, ask, what have I learned?
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Speaker 1: Go back, what have you learned from this last year?
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Speaker 1: Sit down and write down some lessons that you extracted
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Speaker 1: about life, about yourself, about family, about God, whatever, about
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Speaker 1: your career. Write down the lessons that you extracted. That's
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Speaker 1: a thing to get you in the fresh start. Galatians 3,
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Speaker 1: 4 says this. You have experienced many things. Were all
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Speaker 1: those experiences wasted? I hope not. Don't waste your experiences. Now,
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Speaker 1: you want to especially pay attention to your painful experiences
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Speaker 1: because God never wants you to waste a hurt. Don't
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Speaker 1: waste the pain. Don't waste the hurt. Quit having a
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Speaker 1: pity party. Poor me, life is unfair. Things aren't going
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Speaker 1: the way I want them to go. And instead, learn
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Speaker 1: from your pain. Write down the lessons. Also learn from
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Speaker 1: your mistakes. Stop rehearsing them. Stop regretting them. Start learning
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Speaker 1: from them. Why? Because innovation is always built on failure.
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Speaker 1: It's how we learn. It's how we learn what doesn't work.
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Speaker 1: So whenever you have a mistake or you have a failure,
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Speaker 1: Don't call it a failure, call it an education. Some
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Speaker 1: of us are highly educated, okay? Now, you also can
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Speaker 1: review what you learned through Bible teaching, like what I'm
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Speaker 1: doing right now. 2 Timothy 3.14 says this, you should
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Speaker 1: continue following the teachings you learned. You know they're true
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Speaker 1: because you trust those who taught you. So what are
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Speaker 1: my assets? What have I learned? Here's a third question
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Speaker 1: to ask in, in taking stock. Who could help me?
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Speaker 1: Who else could help me in my fresh start? Proverbs 15, 22,
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Speaker 1: get all the advice you can and you'll succeed. Without it,
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Speaker 1: you're going to fail. One of the most common reasons
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Speaker 1: people fail to reach their dream is ego, arrogance, pride, hubris.
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Speaker 1: They're too proud to ask for advice. They think, I
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Speaker 1: can figure this out by myself. I got a dream,
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Speaker 1: I'll figure it out by myself. The Bible says pride
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Speaker 1: leads to destruction. It also says that God gives grace
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Speaker 1: to the humble. Why? Because the humble are teachable. You're
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Speaker 1: never gonna get anywhere. You're never gonna have a fresh
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Speaker 1: start if you act like you've already arrived. So I
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Speaker 1: wanna encourage you, you might just near recruit a personal
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Speaker 1: brain trust of advisors to help you with your dream. Okay,
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Speaker 1: stop making excuses, take stock of your life. Number three,
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Speaker 1: the A in start is act in faith. I've told
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Speaker 1: you before that God is not moved by our complaints,
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Speaker 1: but he is moved by our faith. And in Matthew
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Speaker 1: 9 29, it says, according to your faith, it will
22:55
Speaker 1: be done to you. So you say, okay, Rick, how
23:00
Speaker 1: do I know if I'm acting in faith? You know
23:05
Speaker 1: you're acting in faith when you attempt to do something
23:08
Speaker 1: that you know you couldn't do in your own power.
23:11
Speaker 1: You know you're acting in faith when you're attempting to
23:13
Speaker 1: do something that scares you. It will scare you. It
23:16
Speaker 1: will force you to rely on God. Now, maybe you've
23:22
Speaker 1: never realized that goal setting is actually an act of faith.
23:27
Speaker 1: When you set a goal, it's saying, God, with your help,
23:31
Speaker 1: I'm expecting to accomplish this specific task task by this
23:36
Speaker 1: specific date. And that kind of goal is a statement
23:40
Speaker 1: of faith. And God honors faith. Most people never set
23:45
Speaker 1: goals for their life. Less than 1% of people set
23:48
Speaker 1: goals for their life. Why? Because of the fear of
23:50
Speaker 1: failure and a lack of faith. That's the reason most
23:54
Speaker 1: people never set any goals for their life. Now, you
23:57
Speaker 1: may ask, okay, how can I set goals when I
24:02
Speaker 1: don't know how long this pandemic is gonna last? It's
24:06
Speaker 1: a legitimate question. How can I set goals for this
24:10
Speaker 1: new year when I don't know how long the pandemic
24:12
Speaker 1: is gonna last? Well, you can do two things. First,
24:15
Speaker 1: you can do what's called scenario goal setting. Scenario goal
24:21
Speaker 1: setting and scenario planning means that you set up multiple
24:25
Speaker 1: goals and plans depending on what scenario happens. And it's like, okay,
24:31
Speaker 1: I will do this and I will, by this date,
24:36
Speaker 1: if this happens. But on the other hand, I will
24:39
Speaker 1: do that by that date if that happens. That's called
24:43
Speaker 1: scenario planning. You can do that. You can have different scenarios.
24:47
Speaker 1: If this happens, I'll do this. And if that happens,
24:49
Speaker 1: I'll do that. That's scenario goal setting. Proverbs 16, nine
24:54
Speaker 1: says this. We should make our plans counting on God
24:58
Speaker 1: to direct us. That's in the living Bible. So that's
25:01
Speaker 1: one of the ways you can do it, not knowing
25:03
Speaker 1: when the pandemic's gonna end. Second, you can focus, listen,
25:07
Speaker 1: on character goals rather than activity goals. Yeah, you can
25:12
Speaker 1: focus on activity goals if you know the future, you don't,
25:16
Speaker 1: but you can focus on character goals anytime. In other words,
25:21
Speaker 1: you can set goals on what you wanna be, what
25:25
Speaker 1: you wanna be goals instead of what you wanna do goals.
25:30
Speaker 1: You can ask yourself right now, what kind of person
25:32
Speaker 1: do I wanna be by the end of this year?
25:36
Speaker 1: How do you wanna be different? How do you wanna
25:38
Speaker 1: be more like Christ? What weakness is it that you
25:42
Speaker 1: wanna work on in your life? You've got complete control
25:45
Speaker 1: over that. It doesn't matter how long the pandemic lasts.
25:47
Speaker 1: What kind of character do you wanna have? What are
25:50
Speaker 1: your character goals? And by the way, God is more
25:54
Speaker 1: interested in what you become than what you do. God
25:59
Speaker 1: is far more interested in your character than in your conduct. Why?
26:03
Speaker 1: Because you're not taking your career to heaven, but you
26:06
Speaker 1: are taking your character. Hebrews 11, six says this, without faith,
26:11
Speaker 1: it is impossible to please God. That's why the third
26:15
Speaker 1: step in a fresh start is you have to act
26:17
Speaker 1: in faith. My question to you is this, what faith
26:21
Speaker 1: goals for this next year will you set this next week?
26:27
Speaker 1: That's your homework. What faith goals will I set for
26:30
Speaker 1: this next year, this next week? Now we go to
26:34
Speaker 1: the fourth biblical step to a fresh start. That's the
26:38
Speaker 1: R in start and it's this, refocus my mind. If
26:42
Speaker 1: I want a fresh start in life, I have to
26:45
Speaker 1: do the first three things and then I have to
26:47
Speaker 1: refocus my mind. If you wanna change your life, you
26:52
Speaker 1: gotta change the way you think first. Changing your thoughts
26:56
Speaker 1: is the key to a fresh start in any area,
27:01
Speaker 1: in a hobby, in a career, in a relationship, in
27:04
Speaker 1: a marriage, in parenting. Changing your thought is the key
27:10
Speaker 1: to a fresh start in any area. Let me show
27:13
Speaker 1: you some verses. Ephesians 4, 23 in the Amplified says this,
27:17
Speaker 1: be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind. That's
27:23
Speaker 1: changing your mind. Change the way you think. Be constantly
27:27
Speaker 1: renewed in the spirit of your mind, having a fresh
27:30
Speaker 1: mental attitude and a fresh spiritual attitude. So what is
27:35
Speaker 1: a renewed mind? A renewed mind means you have fresh
27:39
Speaker 1: thoughts and you have fresh attitudes. Frankly, some of your
27:42
Speaker 1: attitudes suck, so do mine. Some of your thoughts are wrong,
27:46
Speaker 1: so do mine. So how do I refocus my mind? Well, sorry,
27:52
Speaker 1: but that's an entire seminar But let me give you
27:56
Speaker 1: a couple tips, write these down. Listen more to God's
28:00
Speaker 1: word than the world. That's one of the ways you
28:04
Speaker 1: renew your mind. Listen more to God's word than the world.
28:09
Speaker 1: Psalm 1, 1 to 3 says this, happy are those
28:12
Speaker 1: who are always meditating on God's word. They're like trees
28:15
Speaker 1: along the river that do not dry up. They succeed
28:19
Speaker 1: in everything they do. Would you like that to be
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Speaker 1: true your life this next year? Meditate on God's word
28:25
Speaker 1: every day. Think about God's word. And then here's a
28:29
Speaker 1: second tip. Think about what I think about. You say,
28:34
Speaker 1: what do you mean by that? Think about what I
28:37
Speaker 1: think about. I'm saying, when you think about what you
28:40
Speaker 1: think about, you don't automatically accept every thought you have.
28:46
Speaker 1: You challenge them. When you have a thought, You challenge it.
28:51
Speaker 1: You think about what you're thinking about and go, do
28:54
Speaker 1: I wanna think about this? You say, do I want
28:57
Speaker 1: this thought? You say, when you have a thought, you
29:00
Speaker 1: ask yourself first, is this really true? I can't tell
29:04
Speaker 1: you how much that question will change your life. When
29:07
Speaker 1: you get a thought, you need to ask yourself, is
29:09
Speaker 1: this really true? Well, I am so this and that
29:12
Speaker 1: and that. You're playing old tapes. If you'll just ask
29:16
Speaker 1: the question, is this really true? It'll change your life.
29:19
Speaker 1: Is this helpful? That's another question to ask. Is this helpful?
29:24
Speaker 1: Is it true? Is it helpful? Do I want this thought?
29:28
Speaker 1: In other words, how does it make me feel? And
29:31
Speaker 1: do I want to feel that way? All your feelings
29:34
Speaker 1: are caused by thoughts. And if you don't like the
29:36
Speaker 1: way you feel, change the way you think. And if
29:39
Speaker 1: you don't like the thing you're thinking, well, then just
29:41
Speaker 1: replace it with a different thought. Let me tell you
29:45
Speaker 1: a little secret about your mind. You don't have to
29:48
Speaker 1: believe every thought you have. That's a choice because not
29:53
Speaker 1: every thought you have is true. Proverbs 4.23 says this,
29:58
Speaker 1: be careful how you think Because your life is shaped
30:02
Speaker 1: by your thoughts. And finally, we come to the last step,
30:07
Speaker 1: the T in start. Trust, write this down. Trust that
30:13
Speaker 1: God knows what he's doing. That's the fifth step to
30:19
Speaker 1: a fresh start in life and a fresh start in
30:21
Speaker 1: a new year. Trust that God knows what he's doing.
30:26
Speaker 1: You don't know what he's doing, but you can trust.
30:30
Speaker 1: that God knows what he's doing. He's a good God.
30:33
Speaker 1: You see, when God is working in your life and
30:37
Speaker 1: when he's preparing you for a fresh start, you often
30:41
Speaker 1: can't see it. Or if you can see it and
30:46
Speaker 1: you can see what he's doing, you still may not
30:49
Speaker 1: understand why he's doing it. You can see what he's
30:53
Speaker 1: doing in your life, but you can't see why he's
30:55
Speaker 1: doing it. But God's plan And God's intention for your
30:58
Speaker 1: life are always good. You can trust him. Trust that
31:03
Speaker 1: God knows what he's doing. Even when you don't understand
31:06
Speaker 1: why things are happening the way they are. I wanna
31:10
Speaker 1: close with a principle and a promise. Here's the background
31:15
Speaker 1: to the principle. One day, God told a prophet named Jeremiah.
31:20
Speaker 1: You thought Jeremiah was a bullfrog, but actually he was
31:22
Speaker 1: a prophet. One day, God told a prophet named Jeremiah
31:27
Speaker 1: to go to a potter's house and watch that potter
31:32
Speaker 1: making clay pots on a pottery table, you know, one
31:36
Speaker 1: of those turntables. And God says, I want you to
31:39
Speaker 1: go to this potter's house and watch what's going on
31:42
Speaker 1: and I will give you a message there. So Jeremiah
31:46
Speaker 1: did that. And he goes and finds the potter's house
31:49
Speaker 1: and sure enough, the guy's sitting at his potter's wheel
31:52
Speaker 1: and it's turning and he's taking a lump of clay
31:54
Speaker 1: and he's molding it, fixing it. And then he noticed something.
31:59
Speaker 1: And this is in Jeremiah 18 verse four. Jeremiah 18
32:02
Speaker 1: verse four says this. When the clay pot that the
32:06
Speaker 1: potter was forming on the wheel didn't turn out the
32:10
Speaker 1: way he intended, he simply started over using the same
32:17
Speaker 1: clay to make a new pot. Jeremiah notices three things. Sometimes,
32:25
Speaker 1: Things don't turn out the way you intended. That's true.
32:30
Speaker 1: Number two, when that happens, the potter just starts all
32:35
Speaker 1: over again. Number three, but he uses the same clay.
32:42
Speaker 1: He doesn't throw it out. He just takes the same
32:46
Speaker 1: clay that he tried to make something that didn't work
32:48
Speaker 1: out the way he intended. He takes that same clay
32:50
Speaker 1: and reshapes it. And after Jeremiah saw this object lesson,
32:55
Speaker 1: God explained it in Jeremiah 18, verse five and six.
33:00
Speaker 1: Then God said to Jeremiah, Jeremiah, cannot I do the
33:06
Speaker 1: same with you as the potter does? Just as the
33:12
Speaker 1: potter works the clay in his hand, so you are
33:18
Speaker 1: in my hand and I am working on you. That's
33:23
Speaker 1: both the principle and the promise. Now, I don't know,
33:30
Speaker 1: but this last year or even before that, you may
33:32
Speaker 1: have really made a mess of your life. And it
33:35
Speaker 1: may have been marred. It was marred by the decisions
33:39
Speaker 1: of others and the actions of others, or it had
33:43
Speaker 1: been marred by your own decisions and actions. And your pot,
33:48
Speaker 1: who you are, is scarred from poor decisions. that you
33:53
Speaker 1: made and things that were done to you. And as
33:55
Speaker 1: a result, your life has not turned out as you intended.
34:00
Speaker 1: But you're not the potter. God's the potter. You're the clay.
34:07
Speaker 1: And just like the potter, God doesn't throw out original
34:11
Speaker 1: clay that's been misshapen by circumstances. Scarred, misshapen, didn't turn
34:18
Speaker 1: out the way intended. God doesn't waste all of the
34:22
Speaker 1: pain that you've been through, no. And he doesn't throw
34:27
Speaker 1: out the unique personality and the essence of you that
34:31
Speaker 1: he gave you, the clay, the stuff that made you,
34:34
Speaker 1: that he made you with, no. Instead, he takes every
34:38
Speaker 1: part of you, all of you, and includes the good
34:41
Speaker 1: and the bad and the ugly, all that in the
34:44
Speaker 1: clay and everything you've experienced in life up to this point.
34:47
Speaker 1: You know what it does? And once you're in his hands,
34:57
Speaker 1: God starts over, fresh start, on shaping your life. And
35:04
Speaker 1: he begins to work on you lovingly, but firmly like
35:09
Speaker 1: a potter. And he begins to reshape you, applying pressure
35:14
Speaker 1: at just the right places to mold you and remake
35:20
Speaker 1: you into a beautiful, priceless piece of art. And that
35:26
Speaker 1: brings glory to him. And that brings glory to you.
35:31
Speaker 1: That's what happens when we surrender ourselves completely to God's
35:34
Speaker 1: loving hands. And we trust that God is the master
35:38
Speaker 1: potter who creates masterpieces. This is what it means to
35:44
Speaker 1: get a fresh start. Jesus called it being born again.
35:50
Speaker 1: Second Corinthians 517 says, It says this, when anyone becomes
35:55
Speaker 1: united to Christ, he becomes a new person inside. That's
36:01
Speaker 1: fresh start. He becomes a new person inside. He's not
36:04
Speaker 1: the same anymore. His old life, the old life is
36:07
Speaker 1: gone and a fresh new life has begun. I said
36:14
Speaker 1: it at the start and I'll say it at the end.
36:16
Speaker 1: God specializes in new beginnings and fresh starts. And you
36:22
Speaker 1: can have one today if you begin taking these steps.
36:27
Speaker 1: How do you get started? Well, you can start with
36:28
Speaker 1: the prayer that King David prayed. Psalm 51 verse 10
36:32
Speaker 1: in the message says this, God, make a fresh start
36:37
Speaker 1: in me. Shape a Genesis week from the chaos in
36:42
Speaker 1: my life. I love that. God, make a fresh start
36:47
Speaker 1: in me. Will you pray that today? Shape a Genesis
36:50
Speaker 1: week from the chaos in my life. You know, earlier
36:53
Speaker 1: I said it's always too soon to quit, but I
36:56
Speaker 1: also wanna say it's never too late to start over.
36:59
Speaker 1: It's never too late. If your heart's still pumping, it's
37:02
Speaker 1: never too late to start over. Now, if you would
37:05
Speaker 1: like that, it would be my privilege to introduce you
37:09
Speaker 1: to Jesus Christ and lead you in a simple prayer
37:12
Speaker 1: for salvation and a fresh start. Would you bow your
37:17
Speaker 1: heads with me right now? Would you just? Pray with me.
37:19
Speaker 1: Why don't you just say these words in your heart?
37:25
Speaker 1: You can just say, as I say the words, you
37:27
Speaker 1: can say, God, me too. Just say something like this.
37:29
Speaker 1: Dear God, dear God, I want a fresh start. Dear God,
37:36
Speaker 1: I need a fresh start. And today I've realized that
37:42
Speaker 1: only you can make that happen. I wanna stop making excuses.
37:51
Speaker 1: I wanna act in faith. So I ask you Jesus
37:56
Speaker 1: Christ to put your spirit inside my life and fill
38:00
Speaker 1: me with your love. Just say that to God. Put
38:04
Speaker 1: your spirit inside my life Jesus and fill me with
38:07
Speaker 1: your love. I ask you to forgive everything I've ever done.
38:10
Speaker 1: Clean the slate with your mercy and grace. And I
38:15
Speaker 1: ask you to make me a new person the person
38:19
Speaker 1: I was always intended to become. God, I recognize that
38:25
Speaker 1: you're the potter and I'm the clay. And I'm asking
38:29
Speaker 1: you today to begin reshaping my life. Thank you for
38:38
Speaker 1: loving me. And when tough times come and I feel
38:41
Speaker 1: under pressure, help me to trust you, knowing that you're
38:46
Speaker 1: a good and wise God. And I humbly ask you
38:50
Speaker 1: to accept me into your family because Jesus died for me.
38:56
Speaker 1: Thank you. Amen.