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God Won't Leave You Alone - Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, Now have mercy upon us as we open
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Speaker 1: your word forgive our speaker. You know his sins are many.
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Speaker 1: Help us to see Christ, just Christ, to Christ. We pray,
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Speaker 1: and all the church said, Well, the phrase shelter in
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Speaker 1: place was not in our vocabulary a few months ago.
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Speaker 1: Now even our children know its meaning. Quarantine was, at
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Speaker 1: least in my vocabulary, an extreme measure to isolate a few.
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Speaker 1: Now I see it as an extreme measure to isolate us.
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Speaker 1: All self isolation, at least for me, conjured up images
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Speaker 1: of a a peaceful sabbatical.
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Speaker 2: Not anymore.
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Speaker 1: Those who self isolate have fevers and cough and the
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Speaker 1: possibility of a deadly disease. We used to wear masks,
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Speaker 1: I'm sorry. We used to shake hands, Now we wear masks.
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Speaker 1: We used to give hugs, Now we keep our distance.
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Speaker 1: We used to smile at the fellow shopper in the grocery.
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Speaker 1: I was in the grocery yesterday and people were walking
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Speaker 1: around me like I hadn't had a bath in six weeks.
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Speaker 1: We're avoiding each other, walking wide circles around a potential carrier. Now,
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Speaker 1: while the intended outcome is to keep us safe, a
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Speaker 1: certain byproduct is loneliness.
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Speaker 2: Loneliness. It's as if we each.
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Speaker 1: Live on an isolated island, separated from others. We are alone.
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Speaker 1: Do you know the feeling? Are you acquainted with the
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Speaker 1: downward spiral of isolation? Do you feel that you're all
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Speaker 1: by yourself? If you know the feeling, you're not alone.
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Speaker 1: I don't mean you're not alone in knowing the feeling.
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Speaker 1: I mean simply, you're not alone. You may feel like
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Speaker 1: you are, but you're not. That raw, dark sense of
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Speaker 1: isolation and powerlessness. It's not here to stay. And your gracious,
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Speaker 1: heavenly father has some words to talk to you to
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Speaker 1: help you step out of that lonely spot of loneliness.
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Speaker 1: It's a psalm, the twenty third psalm, perhaps the best
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Speaker 1: known psalm of all of the book. In the Book
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Speaker 1: of Psalms, King David wrote this a former shepherd himself,
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Speaker 1: he said, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.
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Speaker 1: He makes me to lie down in green pastures, and
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Speaker 1: he leads me beside the still waters, and he restores
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Speaker 1: my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for
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Speaker 1: his namesake. And yea, though I walk through the valley
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Speaker 1: of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why,
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Speaker 1: for you are with me. Your rod and your staff
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Speaker 1: they comfort me. You prepare a table before me, and
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Speaker 1: the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil,
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Speaker 1: and my cup runs over. And surely goodness and mercy
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Speaker 1: shall follow me all the days of my life, and
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Speaker 1: I will dwell in the House.
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Speaker 2: Of the Lord forever.
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Speaker 1: This poem of worship is easily divided into sixteen stanzas
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Speaker 1: or phrases. And right at the heart of the psalm
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Speaker 1: is the heart of the psalm, and that is the phrase,
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Speaker 1: you are with me. You are with me. Because you
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Speaker 1: are with me, I'll fear no evil. Because you are
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Speaker 1: with me. I shall not want Because you are with me.
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Speaker 1: My soul is restored, and my path is righteous. And
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Speaker 1: I shall walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
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Speaker 1: But I won't be afraid. Why because you are with me.
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Speaker 1: You see, the presence of God changes everything. Let's look
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Speaker 1: for just a moment at the pain of the lonely,
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Speaker 1: the pain of the lonely.
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Speaker 2: I have a friend.
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Speaker 1: Who worked his way through college at the University of
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Speaker 1: Texas by delivering goods to nursing homes from a pharmacy.
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Speaker 1: An additional task, however, was a trip he made right
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Speaker 1: next door. Every four days, he would shoulder a large
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Speaker 1: jug of water and carry it fifty or so feet
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Speaker 1: to a building that was behind the pharmacy. The customer
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Speaker 1: was an older woman, perhaps in her seventies, who lived
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Speaker 1: alone in a dark, sparse, tarnished appointment apartment. A single
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Speaker 1: light bulb hung from the ceiling in the living room.
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Speaker 1: The wallpaper was and it was peeling. The shades were
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Speaker 1: always drawn, the room was always shadowy, and Steve, my friend,
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Speaker 1: would deliver the jug and receive the payment, and thank
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Speaker 1: the woman and leave. Over the weeks, he grew puzzled
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Speaker 1: by her purchase. He came to learn that the woman
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Speaker 1: had no other source of water except what he brought her.
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Speaker 1: She would rely on his delivery for four days of washing, drinking, bathing.
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Speaker 1: Odd choice. Municipal water was cheaper. The city would have
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Speaker 1: charged her twelve to fifteen dollars a month, but her
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Speaker 1: bill at the pharmacy added up to fifty dollars a month,
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Speaker 1: and he wondered why didn't she choose the less expensive
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Speaker 1: source of water. The answer, he came to note, was
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Speaker 1: in the delivery system the city water costs less, but
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Speaker 1: the city said only water. They didn't send a human being.
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Speaker 1: She preferred to pay more and see a person, then
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Speaker 1: pay less and see no one. He was one of
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Speaker 1: the few people she saw all week long. Could anyone
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Speaker 1: be that lonely? By now you've learned that you don't
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Speaker 1: have to be alone to feel lonely. Two thousand years ago,
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Speaker 1: two hundred and fifty million people populated our planet. Today
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Speaker 1: there are more than five billion people. If loneliness could
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Speaker 1: be cured simply by the presence of people, there would
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Speaker 1: certainly be less loneliness. But loneliness lingers. I remember, very
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Speaker 1: early in my ministry, I offered what I thought was
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Speaker 1: an innocent Sunday morning prayer. I said, thank you Lord
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Speaker 1: for all our friends. We have so many friends, we
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Speaker 1: can't get with them all. Didn't think much about it.
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Speaker 1: After the service, a gentleman corrected me. In the church
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Speaker 1: for you, a very successful businessman said, you may have
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Speaker 1: so many friends you can't visit them all.
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Speaker 2: Not me.
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Speaker 1: I don't have a single friend. You see, a person
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Speaker 1: can be surrounded by people, he can even attend a church.
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Speaker 1: He can even be very successful and be very very lonely.
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Speaker 1: Loneliness is not the absence of faces. It is really
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Speaker 1: the absence of intimacy. It doesn't come from being alone.
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Speaker 1: It comes from that feeling of a loneeness, feeling as
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Speaker 1: if you're facing death alone, facing disease alone, facing the
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Speaker 1: future alone. And whether it strikes you in your bed
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Speaker 1: at night, or your drive to the hospital, in the
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Speaker 1: silence of an empty house, or even in the noise
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Speaker 1: of a crowded bar, loneliness is that moment in which
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Speaker 1: you think, I'm all by myself. It's just me and
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Speaker 1: I ain't much. Does anyone care?
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Speaker 2: Boy?
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Speaker 1: Don't we need this message today? Even in the pre
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Speaker 1: pandemic era, we were a country marked by loneliness. Administrators
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Speaker 1: of one of the largest hospitals in America cite loneliness
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Speaker 1: as the major reason for overcrowded emergency rooms. The Parkland
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Speaker 1: Hospital of Dallas, Texas made this startling discovery as they
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Speaker 1: were looking for ways to unclog their system. They analyzed
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Speaker 1: data and compiled a list of high utilizers. They identified
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Speaker 1: eighty patients who went to four emergency rooms look at
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Speaker 1: this five one hundred and thirty nine times in a
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Speaker 1: twelve month period, costing the system fourteen million dollars. Once
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Speaker 1: they identified the name of these repeat visitors, they commissioned
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Speaker 1: teams to meet with them and determine the reason their
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Speaker 1: conclusion loneliness, loneliness, poverty, and food shortage. We're contributing factors,
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Speaker 1: but the number one determinant was the sense of isolation.
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Speaker 1: The er provided a source of attention, kindness, friendship, and care,
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Speaker 1: hence multiple return visits. They all want to know someone cares,
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Speaker 1: don't we all? When life feels depleted, does anyone care?
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Speaker 1: Most of all, does God care when I hear him
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Speaker 1: saying no? Does he have a response when I'm facing
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Speaker 1: an onslaught of challenges?
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Speaker 2: Will he help me?
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Speaker 1: When life grows dark and stormy? Does he notice? And
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Speaker 1: when I'm facing the fear of death or the uncertainty
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Speaker 1: of the future, will he help me? The resounding answer
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Speaker 1: and welcome answer of Psalm twenty three is yes. Can
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Speaker 1: you look at this God's promise to the lonely? This
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Speaker 1: could very well be the promise he wants you to
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Speaker 1: hear today. His promise to the lonely is what David
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Speaker 1: said to God. You are with me, You are with me,
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Speaker 1: Yes Lord, You're in heaven, Yes Lord, you rule the universe. Yes, Lord,
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Speaker 1: you sit on the stars and make your home in
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Speaker 1: the deep. Yes, yes, yes you are up there. But yes, yes, yes,
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Speaker 1: you are in here. You are with me. The Lord
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Speaker 1: is with me, The Creator is with me. Yahweh is
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Speaker 1: with me. Moses proclaimed it. He said, what a great
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Speaker 1: nation has a god as near to them as the Lord,
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Speaker 1: our God is near to us. Paul pronounced it. He said,
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Speaker 1: God is not far from each one of us. What
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Speaker 1: David discovered is the absolute truth of scripture, and that
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Speaker 1: is you are with me. I don't know where he
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Speaker 1: discovered it. Maybe in the wilderness when he was running
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Speaker 1: from Saul, maybe in the pasture when he was caring
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Speaker 1: for the sheep, maybe in the loneliness of leadership as
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Speaker 1: he was the King of Israel, or maybe even in
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Speaker 1: the redemption, the seeking of forgiveness after his sin with Bathsheba.
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Speaker 1: But at some point he was able to make that
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Speaker 1: declaration right at the heart of the psalm you are
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Speaker 1: with me. He discovered that God meant business when he
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Speaker 1: said what he said in the Book of Genesis, I
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Speaker 1: will not leave you, or First King six thirteen, I
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Speaker 1: will not forsake my people, or Psalm ninety four or fourteen.
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Speaker 1: The Lord will not abandon his people, or God will
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Speaker 1: never leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy, chapter thirty one.
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Speaker 2: And verse six.
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Speaker 1: The discovery of David is indeed the discovery of scripture,
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Speaker 1: and that is we are never alone, never alone. God
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Speaker 1: is with us. And since the Lord is near, that
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Speaker 1: changes everything, changes everything. You may be facing death, but
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Speaker 1: you're not facing it alone. The Lord is with you.
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Speaker 1: You may be facing unemployment, but you're not facing it alone.
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Speaker 1: The Lord is with you. You may be facing marital struggles,
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Speaker 1: but you're not facing them alone.
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Speaker 2: The Lord is with you.
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Speaker 1: You may be facing debt, but you're not facing dead alone.
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Speaker 1: The Lord is with you. Would you please underline those words?
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Speaker 1: Would you please carve them on the entryway to your house?
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Speaker 1: Would you please tattoo them on your part? The Lord
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Speaker 1: is with you. You are not alone. Yeah, your family
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Speaker 1: may turn against you, but God won't. Friends may betray you,
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Speaker 1: but God won't. You may feel alone in the wilderness,
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Speaker 1: but you're not. He is with you, and because he is,
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Speaker 1: everything is different.
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Speaker 2: Hear this.
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Speaker 1: Because God is with you, he will change You're in
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Speaker 1: to a the He will change you from lonely to Lovelee.
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Speaker 1: You see, when you know God is with you, everything changes.
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Speaker 1: When you know God loves you, you won't be desperate
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Speaker 1: for the love of others. You'll no longer be a
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Speaker 1: hungry sharp shopper at the grocery store. When I went
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Speaker 1: to the grocery store yesterday, I texted Deanlan. I said,
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Speaker 1: is there anything you need me to get while I'm here?
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Speaker 1: I was just going to the pharmacy. She said, well,
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Speaker 1: we're all out of chips and we're all out of crackers.
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Speaker 1: Boy does she live to regret that mistake. You see,
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Speaker 1: I was hungry.
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Speaker 2: I was hungry.
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Speaker 1: It's not wise to go to a grocery store when
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Speaker 1: you're hungry. Every bag of chips looks good, every box
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Speaker 1: of crackers looks like a candidate. When I brought it home,
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Speaker 1: she said, I shouldn't send you to the grocery store.
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Speaker 1: I said, I just shouldn't go there when I'm hungry.
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Speaker 1: If you go to the grocery store on an empty stomach,
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Speaker 1: you're a sitting duck. You'll buy everything that you don't need.
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Speaker 1: Doesn't matter if it's good for you or not. All
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Speaker 1: you want to do is fell your tummy.
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Speaker 2: Friend.
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Speaker 1: When you're lonely. When you're lonely, you'll do the same
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Speaker 1: in life. You'll do the same in life, pulling stuff
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Speaker 1: off the shelf, not because you need it, but because
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Speaker 1: you're lonely, because you're hungry for love. Why do we
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Speaker 1: do it well? We fear of facing life alone, for
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Speaker 1: fear of not fitting in what. We take drugs for
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Speaker 1: fear of standing out. We wear clothes that we don't
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Speaker 1: like for fear of appearing small. We go in the
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Speaker 1: debt and buy a house that we don't need for
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Speaker 1: fear of going unnoticed. We dress to seduce or dress
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Speaker 1: to impress. For fear of sleeping alone. We sleep with
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Speaker 1: anyone for fear of not being loved. We search for
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Speaker 1: love in all the wrong places. That's what loneliness can
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Speaker 1: do for you, if you're lonely, If you're lonely, would
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Speaker 1: you please today let God deal with your loneliness. Hear
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Speaker 1: the calming voice of your shepherd as he says to you, this,
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Speaker 1: this will not last forever, its isolation. It's going to pass,
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Speaker 1: this loneliness. It won't be here but much longer. This
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Speaker 1: feeling of looking around seeing nobody, or feeling like nobody's
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Speaker 1: here listen. God will help you here on this earth.
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Speaker 1: But I got to tell you his ultimate answer to
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Speaker 1: our loneliness is our heavenly home. He's coming for us.
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Speaker 1: He's coming for us. Praise to his name. Years after
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Speaker 1: David wrote these words, another Bethlehem's shepherd would say these
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Speaker 1: words that are so precious. And Jesus said, there are
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Speaker 1: many rooms in my father's house. I would not tell
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Speaker 1: you this if it were not true. And I'm going
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Speaker 1: there to prepare a place for you. After I go
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Speaker 1: and prepare a place for you, I will come back
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Speaker 1: take you to be with me, so that you may
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Speaker 1: be where I am. Bote the promise of Jesus. I
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Speaker 1: will come back. I will come back and take you
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Speaker 1: to be with me. He doesn't delegate this task. He
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Speaker 1: may send a missionary to teach you, angels to protect you,
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Speaker 1: teachers to guide you, singers to inspire you, physicians to
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Speaker 1: heal you, counselors to counsel you, pastors to lead you.
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Speaker 1: But he sends no one else to take you. He
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Speaker 1: has reserved this task for himself. I will come back
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Speaker 1: and take you home, my friend. He is your personal shepherd.
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Speaker 1: If you have said yes to Jesus, Christ as your savior.
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Speaker 1: He has become the shepherd of your soul. And at
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Speaker 1: the right time, in the right way, on the right day,
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Speaker 1: he will come back. He will come back. Do not
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Speaker 1: think for a moment that when you close your eyes
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Speaker 1: to die, that you will close your eyes to be alone.
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Speaker 1: Your Lord Jesus will meet you on this side of death,
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Speaker 1: and he will walk you through. He will come back.
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Speaker 1: He is personally responsible to lead you home. Once, when
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Speaker 1: we moved from one house to another, we promised our
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Speaker 1: daughters a big dog. We had a small, yippity yappity
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Speaker 1: dog by the name of Salty. We all liked Salty.
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Speaker 1: But little dogs aren't.
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Speaker 2: Real dogs, right.
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Speaker 1: I wanted a big dog, you know, a big, lumbering dog.
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Speaker 2: And so did my daughter Sarah.
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Speaker 1: She wanted a big dog, and so we double teamed
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Speaker 1: Denal and convinced her that we should get a big dog.
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Speaker 1: And I got online and I found a woman in
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Speaker 1: South Carolina who breeds golden retrievers in a Christian environment.
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Speaker 1: Must have been Lord's will, right, I mean, from birth.
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Speaker 1: The dogs are surrounded by inspirational music and prayers. They're
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Speaker 1: even taught to tie with their dog biscuits. I'm looking
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Speaker 1: at an empty sanctuary. But you would have laughed at
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Speaker 1: that joke had you been here. When the trainer told
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Speaker 1: me that she had read my books, I knew that
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Speaker 1: this was the trainer for us. What a woman. She's
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Speaker 1: such good taste. Surely she has to be a good breeder. Right,
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Speaker 1: So we ordered a pop Maybe you remember me talking
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Speaker 1: about her, Mollie. We mailed the check, we selected the name,
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Speaker 1: and we cleared a corner for her dog, Pillow. Now
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Speaker 1: the dog had not even been born, and she was
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Speaker 1: already named, claimed and given a place in the house.
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Speaker 1: Can the same not be said about you? Long before
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Speaker 1: your first whimper? Your master claimed you, and he named you,
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Speaker 1: and he hung a reserved sign on your room. You
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Speaker 1: and Mollie have more in common than odor and eating habits.
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Speaker 1: You're both being groomed for a trip. We prefer the
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Speaker 1: maturation and sanctification to weaning and training, but it's all
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Speaker 1: the same. We're all being prepared for a place in
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Speaker 1: our master's house. You see, Heaven is a perfect place
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Speaker 1: for those who have been made perfect by Jesus Christ,
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Speaker 1: and all these challenges that we face in our lives
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Speaker 1: are part of his sanctification. He is preparing us, He
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Speaker 1: is using us. He is preparing us for his prepared place,
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Speaker 1: and he is using us to get the word out
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Speaker 1: to others about this prepared place. He's going to come
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Speaker 1: and get us, folks, He's going to come and get us.
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Speaker 1: But until then, we're just in training. We're in training.
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Speaker 1: We're learning to lean on him, learning to lean into him,
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Speaker 1: learning to trust him. That's why there are, in times
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Speaker 1: of such intense struggle as these days, it is more
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Speaker 1: important than ever, more important than ever, that we turn
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Speaker 1: to him, We keep our open and our knees bent
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Speaker 1: and our eyes heavenward, that we do whatever it takes
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Speaker 1: to stay close to our master. We don't know the
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Speaker 1: day he's coming. I sometimes wonder if it doesn't seem
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Speaker 1: like he's coming any minute now. But I don't know.
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Speaker 1: I don't know his departure date. But I do know
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Speaker 1: that he's just waiting. He's just waiting for that moment
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Speaker 1: that the heavenly Father turns to the shepherd and says, now,
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Speaker 1: go get them, Go fetch them, go save them, go
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Speaker 1: rapture them, Go call them into their eternal home. You
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Speaker 1: can bet your sweet puppy chow that you're going to
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Speaker 1: be seeing your Maker someday. This is, by the way,
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Speaker 1: the concluding promise of David. We're not concluding the study
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Speaker 1: of the twenty third song, but this is the final
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Speaker 1: scripture of the twenty third Psalm. And I will dwell
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Speaker 1: in the House of the Lord forever forever. How could
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Speaker 1: he face the challenges of life? He knew he was
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Speaker 1: going to face the challenges He was going to spend
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Speaker 1: his forever life facing his Master.
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Speaker 2: In the home of his Maker forever.
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Speaker 1: Now, you see, folks, this house that we're in.
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Speaker 2: This is not our forever house. It's not.
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Speaker 1: That's why we feel so lonely here. That's why, even
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Speaker 1: on good days, in good times, we have this gnawing
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Speaker 1: sense that we were not made for this place, this here,
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Speaker 1: this life on this earth, this houth house. And let
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Speaker 1: me tell you what it is. It's short term housing.
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Speaker 1: It's a hotel room on your way home. It's not
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Speaker 1: you were not made to live here. The scripture tells
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Speaker 1: us that our homeland is where it's in heaven. I
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Speaker 1: know your passport says you're a citizen of the United States,
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Speaker 1: or a citizen of Mexico, or a citizen of Canada. Yeah,
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Speaker 1: I know, I know. But if you're in Christ, you're
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Speaker 1: a citizen of Heaven. That's your true home. That's why
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Speaker 1: we're so lonely, that's why we're homesick. That's why really,
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Speaker 1: this loneliness and this homesickness will be lifted once and
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Speaker 1: for all when we're home. When we're home, and oh,
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Speaker 1: what a moment that's going to be. Mollie could tell
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Speaker 1: you all about it. Yeah, Mollie. Finally, if we got
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Speaker 1: her to our house a month into her house life
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Speaker 1: in our new house, she ran away.
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Speaker 2: She ran away.
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Speaker 1: I came home one night found the house unusually quiet.
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Speaker 1: Everybody was sad and concerned. Mollie was gone. She'd slipped
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Speaker 1: out unnoticed. Well, the search began immediately. Within an hour
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Speaker 1: we knew she must she was far far from home. Now,
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Speaker 1: if you don't like pets, what I'm about to say
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Speaker 1: is going to sound strange. If you do like pets,
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Speaker 1: you're going to understand. You're going to understand why I
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Speaker 1: walked up and down the street calling your name. You're
22:54
Speaker 1: going to understand why I drove around the neighborhood at
22:57
Speaker 1: ten thirty pm. You're going to understand why put up
23:00
Speaker 1: a poster in the convenience store and convened the family
23:04
Speaker 1: for prayer.
23:04
Speaker 2: Honestly I did.
23:07
Speaker 1: You'll understand why I sent emails to the staff asking
23:10
Speaker 1: for prayers. Why I emailed the breeder asking if she
23:13
Speaker 1: had any advice. You'll understand. While we were ready to
23:16
Speaker 1: toss the confetti and throw a party. When she showed up,
23:20
Speaker 1: she did. Here's what happened. The next morning, Delon was
23:24
Speaker 1: on her way home from taking the girls to school.
23:26
Speaker 1: This is some years ago, but she was on her
23:29
Speaker 1: way home when she saw the trash truck and she
23:33
Speaker 1: pulled over lord the window and said, hey, could you
23:35
Speaker 1: keep an eye out for a little puppy golden retriever.
23:40
Speaker 1: They said they would. She hurried home to host a
23:43
Speaker 1: a mom's prayer group. Soon after the ladies arrived, the
23:46
Speaker 1: trash truck pulled into our driveway.
23:50
Speaker 2: A worker.
23:52
Speaker 1: Walked up the walked up the driveway and he had
23:56
Speaker 1: in his arms guests who yep, little Mollie. Mollie had
24:00
Speaker 1: been found. And when Delon called to tell me the news,
24:04
Speaker 1: I could hardly hear her voice. I mean, it was
24:08
Speaker 1: Marty Gras in our kitchen. Everybody was so excited. They
24:11
Speaker 1: were all celebrating the return of Mollie. Now that story
24:16
Speaker 1: pops with symbolism, the Master leaving his house, searching for
24:20
Speaker 1: the lost victories in the midst of prayer, great things
24:23
Speaker 1: coming out of trash, But most of all, the celebration
24:28
Speaker 1: of coming home. You know, that's something else you have
24:32
Speaker 1: in common with Mollie. You're going to have a party
24:36
Speaker 1: at your homecoming. Those who love you are going to shout. Now,
24:41
Speaker 1: those who know you will applaud. But all the noise
24:45
Speaker 1: will cease when your Master sees you, and when he
24:49
Speaker 1: cups your chin and lifts your eyes to look into his,
24:55
Speaker 1: and he says, welcome home. We have a place prepared
25:01
Speaker 1: just for you. And with scarred hands he'll wipe away
25:04
Speaker 1: every tear from your eye, and you will dwell in
25:08
Speaker 1: the house of the Lord forever, My friend. Would you
25:13
Speaker 1: set your heart on your forever home. May He give
25:18
Speaker 1: you strength while we're here on earth. May He keep
25:21
Speaker 1: you faithful, May you find joy. But may you never
25:24
Speaker 1: feel at home here, because you're not at home here.
25:28
Speaker 1: And the ultimate mistake is to feel at home too soon,
25:32
Speaker 1: because this is not your home. But your home is
25:35
Speaker 1: soon coming. It is soon coming. And for those of
25:39
Speaker 1: you who have said yes to Jesus Christ as your
25:42
Speaker 1: personal savior and shepherd, you can take great hope in that.
25:46
Speaker 1: You can take great hope in that. And for those
25:49
Speaker 1: of you who, for whatever reason, have not, my question
25:53
Speaker 1: to you is simply, why not?
25:56
Speaker 2: Why not?
25:57
Speaker 1: Why don't you just say yes to him? Say yes
26:00
Speaker 1: to him. He is the perfect savior, but he's also
26:05
Speaker 1: a perfect gentleman, and he doesn't force his way into
26:08
Speaker 1: anyone's life.
26:10
Speaker 2: Once you invite him, he'll.
26:11
Speaker 1: Come in and he'll do everything, change everything, make you
26:15
Speaker 1: a better person, prepare you for your eternal home. But
26:18
Speaker 1: that only happens upon invitation. Behold us stand at the door. Knock,
26:23
Speaker 1: he said, I stand at the door and knock. Do
26:26
Speaker 1: you hear him knocking on the door of your heart?
26:29
Speaker 1: Open the door, let him come in. Let him come
26:32
Speaker 1: in and sit at the table and eat with you.
26:35
Speaker 1: Receive your shepherd today. Let me lead us all in
26:38
Speaker 1: a prayer. But for those of you who are saying
26:40
Speaker 1: yes to Jesus for the very first time, this prayers
26:43
Speaker 1: especially for you, Lord Jesus, we thank you, and we
26:49
Speaker 1: receive you, Father, We receive you as our shepherd. We
26:54
Speaker 1: thank you Father for the gift of loneliness, because it
26:57
Speaker 1: reminds us that we're not home. We thank you for
27:02
Speaker 1: the gift of your son, Heavenly Father, our shepherd, and
27:07
Speaker 1: his guarantee that we will be at home with you forever.
27:12
Speaker 1: During these difficult days, Heavenly Father, would you please reach
27:16
Speaker 1: out and call in a whole oop expansion to your flock.
27:22
Speaker 1: Would you please reach out and call those who have
27:25
Speaker 1: always turned away from you? And would you, right now,
27:27
Speaker 1: Heavenly Father, call them home, call them by the dozens,
27:31
Speaker 1: by the hundreds, by the thousands.
27:34
Speaker 2: Dear Father, Yes, please.
27:39
Speaker 1: And thank you Lord, for these who have said yes
27:41
Speaker 1: to You for the first time today to Christ. We
27:44
Speaker 1: pray if you said yes to Christ for the first
27:47
Speaker 1: time today, let us know. Let us know so we
27:50
Speaker 1: can encourage you, so we can be there with you,
27:53
Speaker 1: so we can help you understand the Bible, so we
27:56
Speaker 1: can see your participate in your baptism, and where you
28:00
Speaker 1: can belong to this church. God bless you, and we're
28:04
Speaker 1: looking forward to seeing you soon.
28:30
Speaker 3: No, you don't have to stay close, as long as
28:42
Speaker 3: there's somewhere.
28:42
Speaker 2: Out there.
28:46
Speaker 3: That's enough for me.
28:51
Speaker 4: I don't need to hold you need me, don't need
28:55
Speaker 4: promises to keep.
28:58
Speaker 3: Just the thought that you reading somewhere in this world.
29:03
Speaker 4: I see, even if I'm not beside you, even if
29:09
Speaker 4: you never know, there's a.
29:12
Speaker 5: Quiet kind of comfort just in knowing you still glow.
29:19
Speaker 5: I don't need forever, I just need you to exist.
29:30
Speaker 6: You don't have to stay with me.
29:33
Speaker 4: You don't have to be to say. Just as long
29:37
Speaker 4: as you're still out there, calling softly.
29:41
Speaker 5: Through my days.
29:43
Speaker 4: You don't have to look my way. You don't have
29:48
Speaker 4: to be in my home. It's enough to know where
29:52
Speaker 4: you're living in the world. I'm not alone. I won't
30:01
Speaker 4: chase it through the distance, won't disturb your chosen life.
30:07
Speaker 4: I'll just keep you in my silence, like a star
30:10
Speaker 4: that shines at night, through the darkened, through the booth.
30:21
Speaker 6: I still think of you. You don't have to stay
30:27
Speaker 6: with me, You don't have to feel the same.
30:32
Speaker 4: Just as long as you're still out there, calling softly
30:37
Speaker 4: through my days.
30:39
Speaker 6: You don't have to look my way.
30:42
Speaker 4: You don't have to be my home. It's enough to
30:47
Speaker 4: know you're living in a world. I'm not alone.
31:08
Speaker 3: I don't need to be your late. I don't need
31:12
Speaker 3: to cross your mind.
31:13
Speaker 5: All I need is just the truth.
31:16
Speaker 4: That you're somewhere, still alive.
31:23
Speaker 6: You don't have to stay with me, you don't have
31:27
Speaker 6: to feel the same, just as long as you're still
31:32
Speaker 6: after calling softly through my days. You don't have to
31:37
Speaker 6: look my way.
31:40
Speaker 3: You don't have to be my home.
31:44
Speaker 4: It's enough to know you're living.
31:49
Speaker 2: In the world.
31:50
Speaker 4: I'm not alone.