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Even in the Fire | Pastor Kami Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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This week, I felt the Lord drop this word in
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my heart right after I had preached the message
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on the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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And as I have been, because I have been continuing
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to meditate, to chew the cud on the unity of
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the Trinity and what that means for my life.
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And as I've been doing that, he brought me back
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to Philippians. chapter 4. And when I read this,
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you're going to be like, oh, here she goes again.
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I've got to rejoice. I've got to give thanks.
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We're actually not going to focus on that part
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of it, but what we need is context for what I
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do feel the Lord is speaking. And so verse 4
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begins it, rejoice in the Lord. In fact, I was
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going around singing the song. How many of you
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know the song? Rejoice in the Lord. We can get
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a round going here. Okay, good job. That's it.
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That would be kind of fun. You could practice
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it in our small groups and then have all our
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small groups up here going in rounds. Rejoice
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in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice.
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Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord
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is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but
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in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
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thanksgiving, present your request to God. And
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the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
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It doesn't make sense that you would have peace
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in your situation, right? It transcends all human
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understanding, will guard your hearts and your
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minds in Christ Jesus. So we get, we're supposed
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to rejoice and give thanks. And sometimes that's
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hard to do. But here's what the Lord just jumped
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out at me in the spirit. And I believe that it's
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a word for you. The Lord is near. That one little
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sentence changes everything. The Lord is near.
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And I think when we find ourselves having difficulty
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rejoicing and giving thanks, when anxiety begins
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to rise in our hearts, what I'm seeing from this
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is that we have forgotten something. The Lord
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is near. And so this morning, now, here's a little
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bit of Bible interpretation. Because you can,
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if you have the version, like on my app, I have
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my Bible versions, right? And I can click on
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it and it will give me all the definitions of
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the words, of the original word. And you have
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to be careful in that because you could choose
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whichever one gives you the goosebumps. And so
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this is why we have to know context, we have
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to know history and all, and verbiage and grammar
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and all that fun stuff. But as I was studying
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this, I was like, Lord, all of my points are
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just right out of this word right here. I felt
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like God was speaking through them. And so today,
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that's exactly what we're going to do. We are
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going to look at what the word near means. You
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say, well, this seems very obvious. Something
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is near, it's near. If it's far, it's far. We're
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going to go a little deeper than that today.
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Because I think what happens is we become very
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preoccupied with our problems, our situations.
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And suddenly the presence that is known to us
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is the presence of our problems. And that becomes
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more real to us. Than the presence of the living
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God. Who should be near to us. And so here we
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go. Ready? This is something that the disciples.
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It's a beautiful picture, and I love preaching
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the road to Emmaus. It's such an amazing passage
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of after the death and resurrection, the disciples
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are on the road that day, Resurrection Sunday,
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and they're discouraged, and they're disillusioned
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because our king has died. So they're going home,
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and Jesus appears on the road, and they're so
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preoccupied with their problem. Everything we've
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lived for for years has fallen into disarray
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and scattered. And that's all that they can see.
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And when Jesus appears and begins not just walking
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with them, but unfolding scripture to them, they
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do not recognize the Lord is near. And it's not
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until they're seated at the table and, oh, wait
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a minute. We've been here before with this person.
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We've sat around a table before with a person.
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The Lord is near. He's at our table. And their
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eyes are opened. And they go and they back to
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Jerusalem to tell of Jesus. What happened? They
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were preoccupied with their problems and didn't
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know Jesus is near. And so when we look at this
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sentence, this little sentence will change everything
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for us. The Lord is near. The Father, the Son,
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the Holy Spirit is near to you. So do not be
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anxious about anything, but just begin to lay
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your request at his feet. And so what does it
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mean that the Lord is near? Here's definition
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number one. I just about like went into revival
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reading this one because I'm a very work -oriented
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person. But the very first definition of nearness
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is a Sabbath day walk. How many of you have heard
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that phrase? It's used in Acts once to describe
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the distance from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem.
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A Sabbath's walk distance. It is a term that
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is used within the Jewish people that describes
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how far on the Sabbath day they can journey.
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So Darla lives in Decatur, and she drives over
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every Sunday. That's a 45 -minute drive. And
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she's here every week, except when it's icy and
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snowy. She would not have been able to come to
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church here on the Sabbath because she is more
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than a Sabbath's walk distance from this church.
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So on the Sabbath, it was intended to keep them
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close to home to be at rest on the Sabbath. The
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Lord is a Sabbath day walk from you. And so often
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in our difficulty, we're striving in our own
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strength, in our own understanding to make something
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happen in life. And we sang it this morning,
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didn't we? I'm just going to sit here. I'm just
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going to worship. That's all I'm going to do.
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I'm going to worship. I'm going to be still.
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Out of the place of rest. Now, here's a verse
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in Joshua chapter 3. This is one of the passages
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in which they get the Sabbath's day's walk. And
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the distance is about 2 ,000 cubits. Anybody
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out the top of your head know what that is? Anybody?
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Far? No looking up. I had to look it up. It's
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just over half a mile. So you could not travel
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further than half a mile on the Sabbath. And
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so we get this from Joshua chapter 3 verse 4.
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Now Moses had died. Joshua's leading the Israelites.
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And they come to the Jordan River. And what is
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on the other side of the Jordan River? The promised
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land. They've got to cross this river to get
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over to the promised land. And so in chapter
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3 of Joshua, they're receiving instruction. When
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you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your
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God. The Ark of the Covenant was the presence
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of God for Israel. And they followed it all through
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the wilderness, right? When you see the ark of
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the Lord your God and the Levitical priests carrying
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it, you are to move out from your positions and
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follow it. That was their sign to get up and
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go. Then you will know which way to go since
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you have never been this way before. but keep
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a distance of about 2 ,000 cubits between you
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and the ark. Now catch this phrase, do not go
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near it. This was not a distance given so they
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would be close to the ark. It was a distance
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given to separate them from the ark. Think about
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it. A million people. And if they were all crowding
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around it, would they even be able to see it?
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No. So they had to create distance so all of
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the community could see the ark when it was moving
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with the priest. I think this is an amazing idea,
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though, because in the Old Testament we have
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this directive. Keep a distance of half a mile.
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And this is a circumference all around. A radius,
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a half a mile, all the way around. You wouldn't,
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you, I mean, in a lot of ways, some of them wouldn't,
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even in that half mile, wouldn't be able to see
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the ark. They just know, oh, all of those people
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are getting up and going. I guess it's time to
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get up and go. And here's the power of the new
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covenant. Jesus says on the cross, it is finished.
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And in the moment he says it is finished, the
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veil before the holy of holies is torn. And the
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invitation is given. No longer do you need to
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keep a distance of half a mile. Come on in. Get
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up close. Get into the Holy of Holies. The Lord
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is near to you. The Lord is near to you. Praise
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the Lord. And so we have passages like Psalm
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62 verse 5. Yes, my soul find rest in God. My
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hope comes from Him. Truly, he is my rock and
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my salvation. He is my fortress. I will not be
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shaken. Why? Because the Lord is near. My salvation
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and my honor depend on God. He is my mighty rock,
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my refuge. Trust in him. I think this is a good
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phrase because it goes right along with our Philippians
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phrase. Trust him at all times. You people, you
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people trust him. Pour out your hearts to him
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for God is our refuge. He is near to you. Psalm
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46 says the same thing beginning in verse 1.
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God is our refuge and strength and ever -present
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help in time of trouble. The Lord is near to
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you. Though the earth give way. We're not going
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to fear. Though the mountains fall into the heart
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of the sea. Though its waters roar and foam.
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And the mountains quake with their surging. Isn't
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that sometimes what your circumstance is feeling
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like? God, everything is falling apart. Everything
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is in turmoil. Everything is foaming and surging.
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Fear not. There is a river whose streams make
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glad the city of God. A place where the Most
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High dwells. Oh, my friends, you are, say, I
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am the temple of the Holy Spirit. Where the Most
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High dwells, He lives in us. Oh, there is a river
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whose streams make you glad. I feel like we should
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be a little more excited by this news. There
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is a river. A river of His presence. And you
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don't have to come here to find it. It comes
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within you because he dwells within you. You
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are the river in your workplace. You are the
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river in the schools. You are the river in Washington,
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D .C., Kathy. You are the river. And everything
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you touch should be made glad. For the Most High
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dwells in you. God is within her. She will not
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fall. God will help her at the break of day.
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Man, the Lord is within you. Be at rest. His
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nearness is that of rest. Not striving, but rest.
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And so some of you just need to take a deep breath.
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Yeah, I'm being serious. You really do. You need
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to just take a deep breath. Why? We sang it today.
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The breath that I breathe, I breathe because
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of him. And so we take just a deep breath and
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be at peace and be at rest. The Lord is near.
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The Lord is near. The second definition here.
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Oh, this is good. Are you ready? It is almost
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time. It is almost time. I feel like we need
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to become with God like my grandsons. Oh my goodness.
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I know that parents joke about this all the time,
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but my grandkids know how to take it to another
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level since... The discovery of Google Maps and
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the following of the blue line, they can see
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it from the back seat. I'm not kidding you. Like,
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I will tell them how much, how many more hours.
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And like three minutes later, how many more hours?
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The whole way to Springfield, Missouri. Am I
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exaggerating, Darren? He's videoing this so he
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can send it to my grandkids, aren't you? We got
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it. into the vehicle after dropping them off
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and driving home alone it's like oh nobody is
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asking how much longer listen we need to get
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a little bit like that with God God is it almost
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time are we almost there I'm imagining the Israelites
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in the wilderness are we almost there yet God
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are we almost to the promised land it's been
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40 years Surely we're almost there by now. The
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Lord is near. It's almost time. And some of you
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have been carrying things for many, many years.
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Promises that God has given to you. And the enemy
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would come in and say, hey, see, it's never going
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to be fulfilled. It's been 10 years. It's been
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20 years. It's been 30 years. There is no expiration.
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on the promise of God. God's promises are not
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like our refrigerator after food pantry. When
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I have to go in and clean out all of the expired
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dairy. That is not God's promise. There's no
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expiration date. The Lord is near. It's almost
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time. And some of you need to kind of rise up
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and say, God, is it almost time? Is it almost
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time? I have an expectation that it's almost
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time. When, God? When is the promise going to
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come to pass? The Lord is near. It is almost
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time. It is almost time. And listen to what it
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says there in Joshua 3, verse 4. The instruction
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given is, then you will know which way to go.
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Since you have never been this way before. Oh,
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man. The Israelites had the promise. They had
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the promise back in Egypt of the promised land.
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And all that time they lived in slavery. Then
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they have all that time of traveling in the wilderness.
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And suddenly they're at the gates. of the promised
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land. And they've never been here. They hadn't
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because remember, they had been here before and
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they had sent Caleb and Joshua in for a report
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and the spies. And the spies came back and said,
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no, those giants are too big. We can't take this
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land. And Caleb and Joshua said, no, we can take
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it. Let's go. Let's go. And because they went
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with the spies' report, they went back into the
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wilderness until that generation died off. And
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the only two to enter were Joshua and Caleb.
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So all of those that Joshua brought had never
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been there before. They could have grown up in
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the promised land, but their parents did not
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believe. Oh, man, we got a huge responsibility,
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parents, don't we? They were on the verge of
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crossing, but they'd never been this way before.
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And so they needed the guidance of the Ark of
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the Covenant. They needed the guidance of the
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presence of God. And listen, some of us... You've
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never been. You've only ever been in the place
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of believing for the promise. You've not experienced
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the promise. And it's kind of like my grandkids,
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when they get out of their, you know, if you
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don't know it, they live in this little camper
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while they are renovating. And it's been like,
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what, three years? I don't know. I've lost track.
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And they get to our house. And it's interesting.
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Because they have all this space. And what they
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will do is pile on top of each other on my couch.
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Like they're squashed up in the camper still.
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And for a long time, by the end of the month
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with us, they're all over my house. But initially,
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wherever they go outside the camper, they're
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still on top of each other. Because that's how
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they sit in the camper. They're watching TV together.
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They're scrunched up together. They're eating
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dinner together. They're all scrunched on top
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of each other. And so often, so often when we
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have never entered into the promises, when we've
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never walked into the freedom that God has, we
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come in living like that. Like we're still scrunched
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up and not spacious. And God's word says in Psalms,
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I'm bringing you into a spacious place. A spacious
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place. In fact, Edmund, when he was here for
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the month, gained nine pounds. Nine pounds. It
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became a daily thing to check the scale. And
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Jeremy joked, oh yeah, we get you out of the
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camper and you start growing, you know, like
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a plant that you repot. But for some of this,
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this is the way it is. We cannot imagine life
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that is now identified by the fulfillment of
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the blessing. The Israelites had wandered the
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desert for 40 years, and they're at the fulfillment
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process. And you know what their identity was?
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Oh, that's that group that just keeps wandering
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in the wilderness. They just keep setting up
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camp out in the... It's like Darren when he goes
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to district events. Who's Darren? Who's your
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husband? Oh, yeah, he's the camping guy. This
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is what the Israelites' ID was, their identification.
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They are the people that wander the wilderness
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when God was wanting them to be the people of
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the promise, the promised land people, right?
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And often we allow the illness that has been
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a part of us for so long become our identity.
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We allow lack that has been a part of us for
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generations to become our identity. Unhealthy
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relationships have become our identity for years
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and years. Whatever your thing is, put it there.
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It's become your identity. It's all you've known.
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And God is saying, I have a new identity for
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you. One that is, one that is given through the
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presence of God. Trav, I felt in worship today.
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See, when the Lord is near, things happen. And
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I felt that that over your wife, that her illness,
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If you don't know, Trav's wife, she's bedridden.
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But I believe that God has the promise for her,
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and it's almost time. It's almost time. It's
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almost time. In fact, our next point, the nearness
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of God, is going to apply to her illness because
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where he is, where his presence is, all these
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identities, are subject to his presence. They
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cannot withstand his presence. And so the Israelites
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needed the ark to guide them in this new way
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of living. It isn't for them to figure out how
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to become people of the promised land. It is
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for them to learn the way from the presence of
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God. The Lord is near. It's almost time. It's
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almost time. And so this week, I want you to
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get a little naggy with God. I want you to get
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a little bit, God, are we almost there yet? Are
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we almost there yet? I want that to kind of rise
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up in you. Because what is that saying? There's
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an expectation that something is about to happen.
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This past week, Pastor Ben was just pinned as
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chief. He got his promotion, and so we want to
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rejoice with him today. Yes, give him a big hand.
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He worked very hard for that. See, I believe
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that where his presence is, there is favor and
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that we should continue to become more and more
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what God has destined for us to become. And I
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believe what he's destined for me to become is
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more than what I am now. I believe what he's
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destined for you is more than what you are now.
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Because we do go from glory to glory to glory
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to glory. And as we step into more of his glory,
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we become more of the image of the son. Praise
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the Lord. It is almost time for you. And so you
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got to raise your expectation. I can't even imagine.
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Some of us were so close. We're at the edge of
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the promised land. And the enemy, even at the
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edge of the promised land, wants you to begin
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to doubt. To begin to say, I don't know, that
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river looks awfully big. I'm not sure if we can
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get across the Jordan. Never mind that they came
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out of slavery with the Red Sea split. Still,
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we have this Jordan River we've got to cross.
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The Lord is near. It's almost time. This last...
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definition I want us to really get today. The
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Lord is near, and so that means that whatever
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is in your life is in danger of the nearness
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of his presence. Whatever it is, sickness, lack,
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whatever it is, when the Lord is near, that means
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your thing is in danger. Look at the last verse
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there in verse 4 that we read. But keep a distance
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of about 2 ,000 cubits between you and the ark.
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Do not go near it. Think of this. The ark of
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the Lord represented the presence of God, right?
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Right? And so they're sending the ark ahead of
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all of Israel. They are not sending the ark surrounded
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by the men of war. They are sending the ark ahead
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with the unarmed Levitical priests. Nothing to
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guard the ark. God doesn't need our protection.
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He is our protection. Without the ark going ahead,
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they would be completely open to the enemy. And
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you would think in our own thinking that, oh,
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that's our thing. We need to protect it. We need
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to put our special forces on the ark. That's
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not what God said. You stay back a half a mile.
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I only want the priest near. I only want the
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priest near. The Lord is near to you, so be anxious
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for nothing but pray. Our prayer meetings, I
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want to encourage you, where there is prayer,
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things happen. We've had one woman who had a
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great need financially. And we prayed one night
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for her, and the next day she received an unexpected
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check to completely pay off the need that she
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had. And that was not like, oh, somebody here
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knew the need and gave it to her. It was not
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that. It was outside of this. Jamie. Jamie has
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had neck pain for five years. Received prayer
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at one of our healing nights. And that was over
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a month ago. She has been pain -free ever since.
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Listen, the Lord is near, so be anxious for nothing
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and pray. Think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
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Let's just think about them for a moment. In
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Daniel chapter 3, King Nebuchadnezzar, you know,
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he thinks, oh, I'm such a great king. I'm going
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to build a golden image. And when you hear the
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music begin to play, everybody's going to bow
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down and worship this image I've created. Whoever
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doesn't fall down and worships is going to be
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put into the furnace. And so in verse 12, it
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says there are some Jews. He gets this report
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from his men. King Nebuchadnezzar, there are
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some Jews that you have put into authority. They
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are rulers over the provinces. You've put them
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into authority and they refuse to bow down. And
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so verse 13 says, furious with rage. That just
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did King Nebuchadnezzar in. He becomes enraged
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in fury. And he summons Shadrach, Meshach, and
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Abednego. And says, if you do not worship it,
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you will be thrown into the blazing furnace.
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Then what god will rescue you from this land?
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As I was actually preaching this last Sunday
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in Petersburg, I read this verse and it was like
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I could see. See, we live in a time, the spirit
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of the world, if you do not come into agreement,
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it stirs up furious rage. You see it in conversations.
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If we don't come into alignment with the world's
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philosophy, they become enraged and furious with
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you. And this is exactly the response of King
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Nebuchadnezzar. I love, I love their response.
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They don't get all heated up in defense. They
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just simply say, you know what, Nebuchadnezzar?
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We do not need to defend ourselves before you
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in this matter. We don't need to defend ourselves
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in this. If we are thrown into the blazing fire,
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the God we serve is able to deliver us from it.
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How much confidence do we have in our God that
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we are so completely at peace? He is able to
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deliver us. And then they go on, though, to say
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this. If we are thrown into the furnace, God
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is going to deliver us. And here's what King
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Nebuchadnezzar did. He ordered the furnace heated
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seven times hotter. And then he commands his
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strongest guys, his military guys, tie them up.
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We're throwing them into the fire. And so these
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men in verse 21, wearing their robes, their trousers,
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their turbans, and other clothes, were bound
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and thrown into the blazing fire. The furnace
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was so hot that it killed the soldiers that threw
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them in. That's how hot it was. Firmly tied up.
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And then something happens. In verse 24, King
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Nebuchadnezzar is looking in. And he leaps to
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his feet in amazement. And he asks his advisors,
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okay, I need to just clarify the numbers. Because
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three is very confusing. Were there three men
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that you threw in? Yes, king. There were three
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men. Certainly. And Nebuchadnezzar says, look,
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I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound
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and unharmed, and the fourth looks like the son
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of the gods. All scholars agree that this is
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the pre -incarnate Jesus. I find it interesting
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that Nebuchadnezzar can see the fourth man in
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the fire. It does not say that Shadrach, Meshach,
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and Abednego saw the fourth man in the fire.
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Maybe they did. Maybe they didn't. They knew
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they were free in there. They were walking around.
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But it doesn't tell us if they saw him or not.
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But King Nebuchadnezzar sure did. He saw Jesus
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in there walking around. They're just taking
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a stroll around the hot furnace. The only thing
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it had consumed was the bonds, the ties on their
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hands. And so it says, they saw that the fire
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had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of
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their head singed. Their robes were not scorched,
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and there was no smell of fire on them. There
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was no aroma of fire. We used to, at my previous,
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actually the first church we pastored in Petersburg,
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we had the women would do like a secret Santa
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thing. You remember back in the day when we used
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to do that stuff? And I knew from the get -go
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who had my name because every gift had this aroma
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on it of fire. And I knew Sukastelik has a wood
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-burning stove. And so every gift smelled like
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her wood -burning stove. Afterwards, I said,
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you might want to be careful for future reference.
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Can you imagine being within and coming out,
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not one scorch, not one bit of aroma of fire?
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They were so completely free from their situation.
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So free from it. Listen, when the Lord is near,
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the things in your life are in danger of his
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presence. In danger. And so it says in verse
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29, therefore I decree, the king, that the people
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of any nation or language who say anything against
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the goddess Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be
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cut into pieces and their houses be burned into
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piles of rubble. He really did go for the dramatic,
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didn't he? For no other god can save in this
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way. Listen. When the people see you in your
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life coming through the fire, and you don't come
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out being stinky and scarred up, but they see
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that your God got into the fire with you, what
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kind of God does that? He gets right into your
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mess. And he doesn't just sit in the mess with
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you. He pulls you out and cleans you up so you
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don't even smell like it. So you don't even,
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you weren't even scorched by it. This is what
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happens when the Lord is near. This is what happens.
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And then following the fire, verse 30, the king
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promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the
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province of Babylon. They came out. Man, we got
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to quit just sitting in our fire, woe is me.
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We need to let Jesus into our messes. We need
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to invite Jesus into our fires and say, Jesus,
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I want to walk around in this fire with you.
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I want to be in your presence, even if I'm in
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the fire. If I perish, I perish, as long as you
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are with me in the fire. And when the Lord is
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near, man, nothing can stand. Nothing can stand.
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We need to raise our expectation to what Jesus
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can do, not what our circumstance can do. We
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often promote our circumstance. We often, we
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want to one -up everybody on how bad we have
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it. You think you have it bad? Listen to my story.
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Oh man, come on, I want to one -up what God does
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through my life. I want to one -up, yeah, it
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was bad, but look at what my God did. Oh yeah?
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Look at what he did for me. What if we sat around
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the tables just doing that? Look at what God
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did for me. Oh no, but look at what he did for
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me. Let's one -up what God does in and through
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us. Amen? Yeah. And so I love, I'm going to ask
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the worship team to come back up. I love... this
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whole chapter, because we have this verse, the
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Lord is near at the beginning, and then we have
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the command, so rejoice, be anxious for nothing,
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pray. We then go on in the chapter, and he tells
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us all of the things that we should think about.
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And there's nowhere in the list of things we
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should think about that has listed all of our
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woes and problems. He says, here are the things
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you need to think about, the praiseworthy things.
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He then goes on in the chapter to talk about
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how to be content in the lack and in the abundance.
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And so he concludes this sandwich of a chapter
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with this verse in verse 13. And you know it
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well. And some of you really need to start believing
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it today. I can do all things through Christ
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who strengthens me. I can do all things through
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Christ. Why? Because the Lord is near. Christ
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is near to you. And so you can do all things
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because he strengthens you. And so this morning,
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as I was concluding this, what I feel is this
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sense of repentance. We hear the word repentance
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and we think, I must have sinned and I need to
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repent for my sin. But that isn't always the
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case. Because sometimes our repentance is needed
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when we've been living in a way that he doesn't
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want us to live. Maybe it is... You've been in
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the fire and you've been in woe is me. And we
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need to repent and we need to begin to believe
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that the Lord is near to you. And so I've been
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complaining. And so I've been anxious. So I've
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been worrying. And my prayers, they don't really
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have faith. They're just full of worry. Today
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we need to repent. The Lord is near. We are not
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recognizing his nearness to us. And we need to
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align ourselves to his presence. Just as the
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Israelites aligned themselves to the Ark of the
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Covenant, we have to align ourselves because
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you just maybe haven't been on this road before.
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And you need to do a little bit of a course correction
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in your life of where God is taking you. That's
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okay. That's what repentance is. It's a change
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of mind. It's a change of direction. And we want
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to get behind the presence of God and where he
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is going. He is near to you. He is near to you.
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And so this morning, I'm going to invite us to
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stand. And the team is going to lead us. And
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as they're leading us, some of you need to come
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to the altar and you need to respond. Some of
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you need to repent because you have let the situations
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rise above the nearness of his presence. And
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you're no longer seeing his presence. And you
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need to repent. Need to come into alignment with
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where the presence of God is in your life. And
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so, Father, this morning, as we come to this
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moment, as we come to this moment, of realigning,
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of repenting that we have ceased to see your
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nearness in our life. God, I ask that you would
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come in like a flood, that your presence, Lord,
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you've given the invitation. There is nothing
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to hinder the nearness of God in our lives. You
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are here. You are waiting for us to draw near
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to you. You've already... cross. You've already
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been resurrected. You've already torn the veil.
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And so you've just made an invitation and you're
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waiting for us to step closer. You're waiting
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for us, even as you have drawn near to us, you're
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waiting for us to draw near to you. And this
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morning, we make that fresh commitment. We make
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just a course correction that we're not going
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to let things, we're not going to let life get
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in the way of your presence. You are our Your
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presence is our priority. And there is nothing
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in life that is greater than your presence. There
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is nothing that we need to make more room for
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in life than your presence. So we draw near to
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you. We draw near to you. We draw near to you
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today. Thank you, Lord.