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The Strength of Silence Joel Osteen · A Better Tomorrow

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Speaker 1: Well, God bless you. It's great to be with you today,
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Speaker 1: and I hope you'll stay connected with us during the
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Speaker 1: week through our daily podcast, our YouTube channel, social media,
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Speaker 1: and you can come visit us in person. We'd love
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Speaker 1: to have you be a part of one of our services.
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Speaker 1: But I'd like to start with something funny, and I
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Speaker 1: heard about this husband and wife. They'd been arguing a
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Speaker 1: long time about who should make the coffee in the morning.
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Speaker 1: The husband thought it was the wife's job, but she
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Speaker 1: didn't agree. After several heated debates, she finally told him,
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Speaker 1: I can prove to you from the Bible that it's
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Speaker 1: the man's job to make the coffee. He said, what
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Speaker 1: are you talking about? Nothing in the Bible about the
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Speaker 1: man making the coffee. She said, sure there is. She
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Speaker 1: opened the Bible and turned to the book of Hebrews.
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Speaker 1: All right, y'all. Say it like you mean it. This
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Speaker 1: is my Bible. I am what it says I am.
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Speaker 1: I have what it says I have. I can do
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Speaker 1: what it says I can do. Today I will be
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Speaker 1: taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind
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Speaker 1: is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be
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Speaker 1: the same. In Jesus' name. God bless you. I want
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Speaker 1: to talk to you today about the strength of silence.
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Speaker 1: We live in a day where everyone has something to say.
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Speaker 1: We're quick to give our opinion and quick to respond,
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Speaker 1: quick to let people know what we think. If they
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Speaker 1: say something we don't like, well, we need to straighten
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Speaker 1: them out. Coworker offends us, we're going to let them
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Speaker 1: have it. Family member says something rude, well, two can
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Speaker 1: play at that game. We let them know how we feel.
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Speaker 1: But just because you have something to say doesn't mean
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Speaker 1: you're supposed to say it. Every offense doesn't deserve your response.
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Speaker 1: Every disagreement doesn't need your opinion. Every person that misunderstands
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Speaker 1: you doesn't have to be convinced to change. There are
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Speaker 1: battles you will never win with more words. Sometimes the
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Speaker 1: most powerful thing you can do is say nothing at all.
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Speaker 1: It takes strength to stay quiet when you could prove
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Speaker 1: that you're right. You have the perfect thing to say,
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Speaker 1: but no matter how convincing you are, the other person
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Speaker 1: is not going to receive it. The more you talk,
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Speaker 1: the more frustrated you get. You're trying to put out
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Speaker 1: the fire, but in fact, it's like pouring gasoline on
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Speaker 1: the fire. And Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, there's a time
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Speaker 1: to speak and there's a time to be silent. I'm
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Speaker 1: not saying to never speak up, never confront, deal with conflict,
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Speaker 1: but maturity is knowing what time you're in. Is this
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Speaker 1: a time to speak, to be bold, to let your
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Speaker 1: voice be heard? Or is this a time to be silent,
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Speaker 1: to walk away and let things cool down? One of
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Speaker 1: the best ways to protect your peace, protect relationships, is
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Speaker 1: to learn the strength of silence. You may have every
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Speaker 1: right to say something. The question is, does it need
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Speaker 1: to be said? Is it going to be helpful, move
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Speaker 1: things forward, or is it just going to make you
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Speaker 1: feel good, feed your ego? You've got to have the
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Speaker 1: last word. When someone makes a disrespectful comment, you don't
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Speaker 1: have to answer. They post something you disagree with, you
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Speaker 1: don't have to correct them. You're not called to straighten
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Speaker 1: everyone out. The Holy Spirit is the one that convicts people.
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Speaker 1: Sometimes we're playing Holy Spirit Junior. Let me convict you.
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Speaker 1: Let me get you fixed. That's not your assignment. Focus
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Speaker 1: on keeping yourself fixed. Maybe your spouse is frustrated and
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Speaker 1: they say something sharp. You don't have to say something back.
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Speaker 1: Those thoughts will come quickly. They'll give you a dozen zingers.
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Speaker 1: You'll think, that's good. That's really good. That's a bomb.
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Speaker 1: Which one am I going to say? How about being
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Speaker 1: the bigger person and saying nothing? Proverbs says, if you'll
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Speaker 1: keep your mouth shut, you will stay out of trouble. Ushers,
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Speaker 1: lock the doors. How much trouble... How much trouble do
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Speaker 1: we bring on ourselves because of our mouth? We have
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Speaker 1: to have the last word. We're always expressing our opinion, defending, proving,
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Speaker 1: showing them they're wrong. This can save a lot of heartache.
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Speaker 1: Zip it up. Put your ego down. Here's the key.
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Speaker 1: Let go of the need to always be right. This
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Speaker 1: is what stops many people. They have the facts. They
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Speaker 1: can prove and defend. But if on the way to
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Speaker 1: being right, Things get so heated. There's so much arguing
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Speaker 1: and hurtful words. Now you've won, but this damage is done.
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Speaker 1: Being right is overrated. You can be right and be
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Speaker 1: sleeping on the couch. You can be right and not
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Speaker 1: have your job because you were offensive in how you
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Speaker 1: said it. I've learned having peace is more important than
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Speaker 1: being right. The scripture says it this way, avoiding a
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Speaker 1: fight is a mark of honor. It doesn't say winning
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Speaker 1: a fight is the honor. It's easy to get into conflict,
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Speaker 1: stir things up, but it can be hard to bite
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Speaker 1: our tongue. It's hard not to express everything we're thinking.
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Speaker 1: Give them a piece of my mind, tell them what
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Speaker 1: I think. If you keep giving pieces away, you will
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Speaker 1: lose your piece of mind. How many relationships would be saved?
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Speaker 1: How much healthier would our marriages be If we learn
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Speaker 1: the strength of silence, that we don't have to defend, debate, argue. Joel,
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Speaker 1: I've got the facts. I'm right. Being right doesn't mean
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Speaker 1: you have permission to say everything you want. It may
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Speaker 1: not be the right time. You can say the right
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Speaker 1: thing at the wrong time and it blows up. The
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Speaker 1: person wasn't ready. Things too tense. Well, if I don't
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Speaker 1: speak up, I'm gonna look weak. It's just the opposite.
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Speaker 1: Silence is not weakness. Silence is strength under control. Anyone
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Speaker 1: can react. Anyone can blow off steam, say whatever they think.
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Speaker 1: That's easy. It takes a strong person to have something
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Speaker 1: to say and to choose not to say it. Psalm 39,
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Speaker 1: David had people coming against him, slandering him, trying to
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Speaker 1: ruin his reputation. Under all this pressure, He said in
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Speaker 1: verse 1, I will keep my tongue from sin. I
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Speaker 1: will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the
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Speaker 1: presence of the ungodly. He was saying, when I'm in difficulties,
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Speaker 1: people doing me wrong, I'm tempted to get upset, I'm
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Speaker 1: going to be careful what I say. He had people
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Speaker 1: lying about him. He was misunderstood, hurting, but his first
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Speaker 1: concern wasn't what other people were saying, it was what
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Speaker 1: he was saying. He said, when I get under pressure,
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Speaker 1: I feel like telling people off, speaking my mind, I'm
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Speaker 1: going to put a muzzle on my mouth. That's dramatic.
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Speaker 1: That's someone that's determined to stay quiet. You know what
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Speaker 1: a muzzle is. We were at the veterinarian clinic the
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Speaker 1: other day, and these big dogs came in. First thing
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Speaker 1: the receptionist said was, put a muzzle on him. Make
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Speaker 1: sure he can't open his mouth. What if we had
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Speaker 1: this attitude like David? Someone says something rude at work.
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Speaker 1: Everything in us wants to respond. We have some good
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Speaker 1: thoughts coming that would prove, defend, pay them back, but
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Speaker 1: we put our muzzle on. We don't get drawn into
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Speaker 1: that conflict. We're not going to sink down to that
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Speaker 1: level and speak poison with our mouth. In your home,
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Speaker 1: with your children, your spouse, you can't live with people
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Speaker 1: without there being times of conflict and misunderstanding. Don't let
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Speaker 1: that get blown out of proportion. Anyone can argue, but
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Speaker 1: the bigger person puts the muzzle on. The bigger one says,
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Speaker 1: I'm going to bite my tongue. I'm going to walk
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Speaker 1: away for the sake of peace. That's not weak. That's
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Speaker 1: a strong person. That's godly restraint. Well, Joel, if I'm
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Speaker 1: always the bigger person, I'm never defending myself, setting people straight,
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Speaker 1: then I'm going to get pushed down. I'm going to
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Speaker 1: continue to have these challenges. No, when you leave it
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Speaker 1: up to God, He'll be your defender. He'll fight your battles.
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Speaker 1: He'll prove to people who you are. The Scripture says
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Speaker 1: He will silence the lying lips. He will bless you
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Speaker 1: in front of your enemies. Not only that, in your
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Speaker 1: family relationships, when you're the peacemaker, when you swallow your
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Speaker 1: pride and keep your mouth closed, even though you know
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Speaker 1: you're right, you are honoring God. He sees that. He'll
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Speaker 1: deal with the other people. He knows how to get
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Speaker 1: their attention. One thing my father always taught me is
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Speaker 1: you never go wrong by taking the high road, overlooking
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Speaker 1: an offense, not responding to the negative chatter, keeping the
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Speaker 1: peace when everything in you wants to argue. That's a
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Speaker 1: mark of honor. That's what God rewards. I wonder if
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Speaker 1: what David called the sins of the tongue are holding
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Speaker 1: you back, saying hurtful things, trying to prove your point.
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Speaker 1: always having to have the last word, why don't you
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Speaker 1: try a different approach and get your muzzle out? Put
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Speaker 1: that restraint on. Hey, I'm so glad you're watching today.
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Speaker 1: I hope this message is speaking to your heart. If
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Speaker 1: you want to stay encouraged every day, I'd love to
9:28
Speaker 1: send you a short daily devotional, just a few minutes
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Speaker 1: each morning to help you start your day in faith,
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Speaker 1: in peace, and in strength. You can sign up by
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Speaker 1: scanning the QR code or using the link below. It's
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Speaker 1: completely free. Just a simple way to keep you moving
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Speaker 1: forward each day. We love you and we're praying for you.
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Speaker 1: David didn't pray. God shut them up. Make them quit
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Speaker 1: saying hurtful things, aggravating me, slandering me. David prayed, God,
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Speaker 1: help me control me. You can't control me. what other
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Speaker 1: people say, but you can control you. Here's the key.
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Speaker 1: There's a muzzle that has your name on it. A
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Speaker 1: muzzle that's custom designed, made by the Creator just for you.
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Speaker 1: Have you ever picked up yours? Some of you, it's
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Speaker 1: been in wheel call for 37 years and You can't
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Speaker 1: figure out why you can't control your tongue. Go get
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Speaker 1: your muzzle. You have the power to stay silent. You
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Speaker 1: don't have to respond to the insult. You don't have
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Speaker 1: to react when your spouse pushes your buttons. You don't
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Speaker 1: have to comment on every post that offends you. There's
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Speaker 1: strength in silence. I know this is not easy, but
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Speaker 1: it's something we all have to learn, a test we
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Speaker 1: have to pass. Because if we keep responding the same way,
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Speaker 1: using our words to pay back, to hurt, to argue,
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Speaker 1: it will limit how high we can go. David said
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Speaker 1: in the next verse, I came to a bursting point.
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Speaker 1: My thoughts grew hot within me and began to burn,
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Speaker 1: igniting a fire of words. He wasn't pretending. Everything was okay.
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Speaker 1: No emotion. He was hot. He was boiling on the inside.
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Speaker 1: He wanted to unload on those people. His thoughts began
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Speaker 1: to burn. He knew what would happen if he didn't
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Speaker 1: put that muzzle on. He would ignite a fire with
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Speaker 1: his words. He would stir up all kinds of trouble
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Speaker 1: if he said what he was thinking. Here's the principle.
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Speaker 1: Don't speak when your thoughts are hot. When you're upset,
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Speaker 1: your emotions out of check, you feel that anger, you
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Speaker 1: want to pay him back, that's when you have to
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Speaker 1: get the muzzle out David said in Psalm 141, God,
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Speaker 1: set a guard over my mouth. Keep watch over what
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Speaker 1: I say. When you're hot, that's a good time to say, God,
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Speaker 1: I need your help. I'm about to ignite a fire
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Speaker 1: with my words. I'm coming to a bursting point. Going
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Speaker 1: to say things I know I shouldn't. So God, I'm
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Speaker 1: asking you to put a watch over my mouth. Help
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Speaker 1: me to zip it up. Don't say things in the
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Speaker 1: heat of the moment. When emotions are high, wisdom is
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Speaker 1: usually low. When anger arises, common sense usually leaves. David
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Speaker 1: didn't trust his mouth when his emotions were hot. He
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Speaker 1: knew this wasn't the time to say everything he was thinking.
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Speaker 1: He even recognized speaking these wrong words could ignite a fire.
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Speaker 1: That's what James said in the scripture. The tongue is
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Speaker 1: like a fire. A tiny spark can set a whole
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Speaker 1: forest ablaze. When you feel yourself getting hot on the inside,
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Speaker 1: it's not the time to have a conversation. That's the
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Speaker 1: time to step out of the room, walk around the block,
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Speaker 1: get some fresh air. Don't try to solve the issue
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Speaker 1: right there. Don't send the email. Don't call your cousin.
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Speaker 1: Don't respond to that text. Sleep on it. You have
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Speaker 1: to give yourself time to let the temperature come down.
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Speaker 1: How many times have we set off a fire with
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Speaker 1: our words? said something out of anger or ego, blew up,
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Speaker 1: feelings got hurt, relationships were strained. Words can leave wounds.
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Speaker 1: Took 10 seconds to say it, but 10 years later,
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Speaker 1: the person is still dealing with it. Let's quit starting fires.
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Speaker 1: Let's learn to walk away. You're not weak when you're silent,
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Speaker 1: you're smart when you're silent. And again, I know there
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Speaker 1: are times to address issues and confront wrongs. I'm not
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Speaker 1: saying to live passive, I'm saying number one, make sure
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Speaker 1: it's a battle that you're supposed to fight. Not just
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Speaker 1: something where you're offended, upset, you're gonna pay them back.
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Speaker 1: And number two, is it the right time? Most damage
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Speaker 1: happens because people were angry and they threw words around
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Speaker 1: that they never meant to say. Proverbs says, reckless words
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Speaker 1: cut like a sword. All of a sudden you put
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Speaker 1: sword marks in people that you love. This can be avoided.
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Speaker 1: Put that muzzle on. Your peace is more important than
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Speaker 1: getting your way. Your peace is more valuable than proving
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Speaker 1: that you were right. Some battles you're not supposed to fight,
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Speaker 1: they are distractions. That's the enemy trying to get you
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Speaker 1: off course, offended, trying to prove your point. The problem
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Speaker 1: with those battles is there are no spoils. Even if
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Speaker 1: you do win, what has that gained you? If it's
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Speaker 1: not between you and your destiny, it's a distraction. After
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Speaker 1: David gave us all this emotion, God, I'm hot, I'm
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Speaker 1: at a boiling point, about to start a fire with
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Speaker 1: my words, he was venting, expressing how frustrated he was.
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Speaker 1: The next verse, David said something significant. He had a
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Speaker 1: change in perspective. He said, God, help me to realize
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Speaker 1: how brief my time here on earth is. After letting
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Speaker 1: himself get all worked up, he came back to focus
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Speaker 1: and thought, you know what? I'm not always going to
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Speaker 1: be here. This argument is not worth my peace. This
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Speaker 1: offense is not worth getting upset over. Life is too
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Speaker 1: short to waste valuable time fighting battles that don't matter,
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Speaker 1: trying to prove to people that are never going to
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Speaker 1: be for you, arguing over petty things. In a hundred years,
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Speaker 1: we're all going to be gone. How much time are
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Speaker 1: you spending letting other people determine your joy? How they act,
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Speaker 1: what they said, they didn't treat me right. You can't
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Speaker 1: control that. Life is going to happen to us all.
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Speaker 1: You can let them draw you into conflict, try to
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Speaker 1: change their mind, show them who you are, or you
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Speaker 1: can be the bigger person and not answer the insults,
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Speaker 1: not argue, let things go. See, sometimes we think, well,
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Speaker 1: I have a right to say something. But a better
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Speaker 1: question is, do you need to say it? Sure, you
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Speaker 1: have a right to respond, pay back, defend. You have
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Speaker 1: the facts. But what if you win the argument and
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Speaker 1: lose your peace? What if you damage the relationship? What
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Speaker 1: if you push people away that you need to be
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Speaker 1: for you? It's not worth it. Honor doesn't come from
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Speaker 1: winning the fight. It comes from avoiding the fight. We think, well,
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Speaker 1: if I don't respond, they're going to think I'm weak.
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Speaker 1: If I don't defend myself, I'll look bad. Honor isn't
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Speaker 1: proving your point. Honor is protecting your peace. Honor is
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Speaker 1: keeping the relationship strong. Honor is not letting petty things
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Speaker 1: steal your joy. Honor is staying silent when your thoughts
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Speaker 1: grow hot within you. It's walking away when you feel
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Speaker 1: like telling them off. That's a person of honor. I
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Speaker 1: heard about this man, he was eating dinner at this
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Speaker 1: country diner way out in the middle of nowhere and
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Speaker 1: all of a sudden about two dozen bikers pulled in.
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Speaker 1: You could hear their motorcycles outside practically shaking the little
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Speaker 1: wood-framed building. They came in the restaurant, big, strong, tough.
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Speaker 1: One biker, just to show who was in charge, walked
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Speaker 1: over to the man's table and knocked his hamburger onto
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Speaker 1: the ground, then picked up his water and poured it
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Speaker 1: on the man's head. He said sarcastically, oh, I'm so sorry.
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Speaker 1: It was just an accident. Looking for a fight. The
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Speaker 1: man very calmly picked up his napkin, wiped his face.
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Speaker 1: Then he got up out of the chair and he
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Speaker 1: walked out the front door. All the bikers were laughing,
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Speaker 1: giving high five. This main biker looked at the waiter
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Speaker 1: and shook his head and said, not much of a
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Speaker 1: man was he. The waiter looked out the window and said, no,
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Speaker 1: and not much of a driver either. He just ran
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Speaker 1: over a dozen choppers on his way out. Being silent
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Speaker 1: doesn't mean you're weak, it's strength under control. When you
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Speaker 1: know who you are, when you're confident, secure, you don't
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Speaker 1: engage in battles that don't matter. You don't spend your
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Speaker 1: time defending, arguing, proving. You protect your peace. You walk
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Speaker 1: away when you could fight. You put that muzzle on
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Speaker 1: when your thoughts grow hot. Your emotions trying to control
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Speaker 1: you and get you to say things you'll regret later on.
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Speaker 1: Immaturity says I have to respond, react, answer. But maturity
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Speaker 1: is when you know there's strength in silence, that not
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Speaker 1: every thought deserves to be spoken. Sometimes the best response
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Speaker 1: is no response. When Victoria and I go somewhere, I
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Speaker 1: like to drive. She says I like to be in control.
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Speaker 1: My thought is I want to be alive next week.
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Speaker 1: But when we first got married, sometimes I would ride
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Speaker 1: to church with her on Sunday mornings, looking over my notes,
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Speaker 1: and we lived 30 minutes away, a four-lane highway, and
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Speaker 1: I noticed that when she drives, instead of staying in
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Speaker 1: the middle of the lane, she puts her tires on
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Speaker 1: the passenger side on that dotted line on the freeway. Well,
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Speaker 1: that's where I'm sitting. I would look up from my notes,
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Speaker 1: and 12 inches away, there's an 18-wheeler, and My life
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Speaker 1: would flash before my eyes. Victoria, you've got to move over.
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Speaker 1: You can't drive like this. She'd move over five minutes later.
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Speaker 1: She's right back to that same place. This happened again
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Speaker 1: and again. Victoria, scoot over. This is too close. She'd
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Speaker 1: tell me, Joel, I know how to drive. I don't
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Speaker 1: need your instruction. I'm fine. After about a year of
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Speaker 1: trying to fix her, straighten her out, nagging her, I
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Speaker 1: finally realized this is just the way she drives. I
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Speaker 1: can harp on this for the next 40 years and
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Speaker 1: bring strife and contention, or I can zip it up
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Speaker 1: and keep the peace. We're not called to straighten everyone out.
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Speaker 1: You're not called to fix your spouse, change your coworker,
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Speaker 1: make all your friends just like you. That's going to
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Speaker 1: lead to frustration, tension. A mark of maturity is when
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Speaker 1: you can see things in others you don't like and
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Speaker 1: keep your mouth closed. Your peace is more important than
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Speaker 1: getting your way. Instead of praying, God, change them. I'll
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Speaker 1: give you a better prayer. God, change me. Help me
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Speaker 1: to grow. Help me to bite my tongue. Teach me
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Speaker 1: the strength of silence. I finally learned this. Now when
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Speaker 1: I ride with her, instead of trying to fix her
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Speaker 1: and getting upset, I just put my helmet on and say,
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Speaker 1: let's go. It's been 40 years. She hasn't killed me yet,
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Speaker 1: but sometimes we argue over petty things. We fight battles
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Speaker 1: that don't matter. Your life will be a lot more
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Speaker 1: peaceful if you'll learn the strength of silence. You don't
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Speaker 1: have to fix every person. You don't have to correct
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Speaker 1: every wrong. You don't have to express your opinion about
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Speaker 1: every issue. Luke chapter 9, Jesus was in Galilee and
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Speaker 1: he just multiplied the five loaves and fed 5,000. He
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Speaker 1: told his disciples it was time for him to go
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Speaker 1: back to Jerusalem and He was headed to the most
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Speaker 1: important assignment of his life. This is where he'd be
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Speaker 1: crucified and rise from the dead. Verse 51 says, he
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Speaker 1: resolutely set out for Jerusalem. This wasn't just, hey, let's
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Speaker 1: go see what happens. His mind was made up. Well,
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Speaker 1: the direct route went through Samaria. He sent messengers ahead
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Speaker 1: to prepare for food and lodging. But when they found
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Speaker 1: out it was Jesus, this Jewish leader, They refused to
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Speaker 1: let him come through Samaria. They wanted nothing to do
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Speaker 1: with him. When James and John heard about this, they
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Speaker 1: were furious. They said, Jesus, they insulted you. How dare
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Speaker 1: they reject you? They were so upset. They said in
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Speaker 1: verse 54, Lord, should we call down fire from heaven
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Speaker 1: and destroy them? They were ready to put up this
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Speaker 1: big fight, make this big scene. The scripture says Jesus
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Speaker 1: rebuked them and they went to a different village. Well,
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Speaker 1: Jesus could have proven who he was, could have defended himself.
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Speaker 1: He had the power, the ability, but he ignored it
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Speaker 1: and kept moving toward his assignment. He knew that was
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Speaker 1: a battle he didn't need to fight. They couldn't stop
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Speaker 1: his destiny. Their rejection didn't deserve his response. Their insults
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Speaker 1: weren't worthy of his time and energy. The people that
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Speaker 1: don't believe in you, that say hurtful things, most of
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Speaker 1: the time, that's simply a distraction. You don't need to
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Speaker 1: explain yourself to everyone. Just keep on walking. Keep your
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Speaker 1: face set on your assignment. Don't waste Jerusalem energy fighting
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Speaker 1: a Samaritan battle, arguing with people that are never going
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Speaker 1: to receive you, trying to convince them to be for
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Speaker 1: you when they're determined to misunderstand you. You don't owe
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Speaker 1: them an explanation. You don't have to prove who you are.
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Speaker 1: And Jesus didn't debate with them, didn't try to get revenge.
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Speaker 1: He didn't waste his emotional energy. He just kept walking. See,
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Speaker 1: the enemy loves distractions. He'll try to get you pulled
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Speaker 1: into things that don't matter. You're headed towards your Jerusalem,
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Speaker 1: so to speak. You have your assignment, but a coworker
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Speaker 1: is saying things that aren't true. It's tempting to veer
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Speaker 1: off course. Let me go set them straight. Don't be
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Speaker 1: like James and John. Let's call down fire from heaven.
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Speaker 1: Just ignore it and keep moving. You have an assignment.
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Speaker 1: Your destiny is waiting. One of the greatest principles to
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Speaker 1: learn is not everyone deserves your response. Your time is valuable.
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Speaker 1: Your peace is valuable. Don't spend it on every offense,
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Speaker 1: every argument. Do like Jesus and ignore it. The strongest
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Speaker 1: person is not the one that wins every argument, it's
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Speaker 1: the one that has the self-control to walk away from
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Speaker 1: conflict that never needed to happen. That's the strength of silence.
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Speaker 1: Someone is rude, keep walking. Don't sink down to their level,
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Speaker 1: trade insult for insult. Someone misunderstands you, keep walking. They
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Speaker 1: don't need an explanation, you have an assignment. Someone says
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Speaker 1: something unfair, keep walking. You don't have to attend every
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Speaker 1: battle you're invited to. The Samaritans were inviting Jesus in
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Speaker 1: one sense. Jesus, we don't like you. You can't stay here.
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Speaker 1: That was an invitation. Come on, fight, argue, debate. Jesus said,
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Speaker 1: in effect, no thanks. I'm on a mission. My time
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Speaker 1: is valuable. My assignment is important. Find someone else to distract.
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Speaker 1: I am resolute. I am focused. I am headed toward Jerusalem.
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Speaker 1: The way to win many battles is not by what
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Speaker 1: you say, but by what you don't say, by what
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Speaker 1: you're willing to walk away from. We've all heard the phrase,
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Speaker 1: mic drop. Someone says something so profound, so brilliant, there's
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Speaker 1: nothing left to say. They drop the mic and walk
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Speaker 1: off the stage. This powerful, impressive moment. But maybe we
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Speaker 1: need a different type of mic drop. How about dropping
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Speaker 1: the mic before you say anything? You could argue, but
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Speaker 1: you drop the mic. You could be offended. You have
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Speaker 1: the perfect comeback, but you drop the mic. Your spouse
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Speaker 1: says something hurtful. Your thoughts get hot. Everything in you
25:31
Speaker 1: wants to respond, but this time you drop the mic.
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Speaker 1: You don't have to have the last word. You don't
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Speaker 1: have to win. You don't have to prove that you're right.
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Speaker 1: Some battles are not worth your peace. Some arguments are
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Speaker 1: simply distractions to keep you from your Jerusalem. Do like Jesus.
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Speaker 1: Keep on walking. Keep your face set toward your assignment.
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Speaker 1: You know who you are. You know where you're going.
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Speaker 1: You don't need everyone to understand you, to approve you,
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Speaker 1: or to be for you. And the next time your
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Speaker 1: thoughts get hot and you're tempted to react, remember you
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Speaker 1: have a muzzle with your name on it. You have
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Speaker 1: the power to stay silent. You have the strength to
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Speaker 1: walk away, the discipline to drop the mic. Some of
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Speaker 1: your greatest victories won't come because of what you said,
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Speaker 1: but because of what you chose not to say. Be
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Speaker 1: that person of honor and avoid the fight. Learn to
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Speaker 1: zip it up. If you'll do this, I believe and
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Speaker 1: declare God will fight your battles. He'll be your defender.
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Speaker 1: You're going to have better relationships, more peace, and reach
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Speaker 1: new levels of your destiny. In Jesus' name. And if
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Speaker 1: you receive it, can you say amen? I'd like to
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Speaker 1: give you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of
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Speaker 1: your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord Jesus,
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Speaker 1: I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I
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Speaker 1: make you my Lord and Savior. If you prayed that
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Speaker 1: simple prayer, we believe you got born again. And we'd
27:06
Speaker 1: love to send you some free information on your new
27:08
Speaker 1: walk with the Lord. You can text the number on
27:10
Speaker 1: the screen or go to the website. But I hope
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Speaker 1: you'll get into a good Bible-based church and keep God
27:17
Speaker 1: first place. I hope the message encouraged you today. Such
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Speaker 1: a joy to be with you. It's one thing to
27:25
Speaker 1: be inspired in a moment, but it's another to stay
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Speaker 1: strong in your faith every day. That's why each month
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Speaker 1: we create a special resource to help you stay encouraged, focused,
27:35
Speaker 1: and moving forward. You can request this resource by scanning
27:39
Speaker 1: the QR code or using the link below. We love
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Speaker 1: you guys. We're praying for you. It's going to be
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Speaker 1: a blessed year. Your best days are still up in
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Speaker 1: front of you.