Latest / The OneCry Podcast / #185 Positioned for Revival (1 - Positioned Through "Practical Holiness")

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#185 Positioned for Revival (1 - Positioned Through "Practical Holiness") · The OneCry Podcast

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  If you were to take just the sheer numbers of conversions and baptisms and movements
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  that were happening right now, and you put it in a book chronicling this time,
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  you would say, well, they were in a season revival.
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  Welcome to the One Cry Podcast, a nationwide call for spiritual awakening.
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  The goal, accelerating the movement of God through sharing revival truth, stories, and reports.
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  Hey, well, welcome to the One Cry podcast. I'm Kyle Reno with Bill Elif.
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  We have the honor of hosting this, and I hope that you're having a great day, one,
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  our listener, but I hope you're also catching the heart of this podcast is just
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  to position ourselves to be a part of the next great move of God in America and across the world.
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  And things are happening, aren't they, Bill, across our nation? They are.
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  I tell you, you know, I don't know when, because it's a podcast,
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  you can listen to this at all times.
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  But right now in 2024 and the beginning of 2025,
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  we have been hearing for the last year extraordinary accounts of God's movement,
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  uh, all across America, particularly in college campuses and, uh,
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  and in churches, uh, churches as you're seeing a record number of people coming to Christ.
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  And Kyle, I've, I've studied this most of my life.
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  And if you were to take the, just the sheer numbers of conversions and baptisms
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  and movements that were happening right now, and you put it in a book.
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  Chronic chronicling this time you would
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  say well they were in a season revival yeah and so
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  i don't i don't think we're about to be
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  in it i think we're in it we may be in the foothills and
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  not the tsunami of it you know
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  but but we are in in it
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  but you know the the purpose of today is we
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  want to we want to talk about how do
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  we personally position ourselves
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  to experience revival and awakening and
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  our churches yeah well i know we talked about
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  this kyle i mean we it's possible to miss
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  the movement of god yeah we've talked
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  about this numerous times and i just to echo what bill says and he's gonna really
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  share today how we can best get in the right position and posture personally
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  and as a people for a move of god and i i mean i echo what you said bill i don't Speaking personally,
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  I don't say anymore or speak to the coming revival.
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  I speak to the revival that has already began.
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  And that we are watching these moments, these embers that are turning into fires.
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  And so I'm seeing it in our region. You're seeing it in yours.
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  You hear stories of other places. And all the elements are right for a real
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  move of God. And so I would say, and it would be the old hymn,
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  Lord, do not pass us by. Right.
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  The last thing you want to do is our grandchildren read about the revival that
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  happened in this era and you not be able to testify personally. Right.
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  This is so real to me, Kyle, because I was in the Jesus movement in the 70s.
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  And then I've studied it a lot. And what I watched personally,
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  I mean, I saw in my own eyes in the 70s, churches and particularly pastors and youth leaders.
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  I was a youth leader at that time, a college guy that saw the activity of God,
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  but for a lot of different reasons. I think sometimes it was fear.
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  I think sometimes it was thinking this is going to require a lot of change in me.
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  And I don't know if I want to change. I don't know if I want to pay the price.
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  But they didn't. They knew that if they let God just do what he wanted to do
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  in their life, in their church, it was going to upset the apple cart,
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  you know, and they didn't want it upset. And so they quenched the spirit.
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  And God kept moving. He just moved around them.
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  You know, the wind went around them. And so there's this little pocket.
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  You know, I have this picture in my mind.
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  One of my buddies was building a huge church.
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  And there was a man that owned a piece of property, a home,
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  that they needed to be able to build this auditorium, and he wouldn't do it.
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  And they offered him three times the value of that home, and he wouldn't do it.
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  And there's no reason, except he was just kind of a mean old guy.
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  But he happened to be a deacon in that church.
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  And they offered him and they worked with him. He wouldn't do it. He wouldn't do that.
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  And one day the architect came to my buddy, he was the pastor,
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  and he said, I think I figured out a way for us to just go around that.
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  And we have all the property around it and just go around that.
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  And we don't need that property.
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  So they redesigned the plans and began to, build this beautiful place.
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  And then the guy came and said, Oh, I think I'm ready to sell.
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  I said, Well, I'm sorry, you've missed it.
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  And, and his property really kind of became worthless because of where it was positioned after that.
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  So we don't want to do that in terms of something even more valuable.
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  And that is the movement of God, the revival.
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  How do we position ourselves for the next few weeks on our podcast,
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  we're going to talk about that.
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  How do we position ourself for revival, both personal revival,
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  corporate revival, revival in my own life, my family, revival in my church,
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  revival in my community.
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  How do I not become a hindrance to revival, but I become a catalyst for revival?
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  And I want us to look at one passage here today that is surprising.
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  You wouldn't think about this in terms of revival, but it's in the Christmas
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  story, really, in the early days of the birth of Christ.
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  And it's the story of a man named Simeon,
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  and Simeon lived in Jerusalem, and we see the record of his life in Luke chapter 2,
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  but I just want you to notice with me how he positioned himself to encounter Christ.
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  And let me just pause right here and say something.
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  What revival is, I heard Richard Owen Roberts say this one time.
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  I can explain revival in one word. He said, God.
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  It's God coming. It's God manifesting himself. It's God being put in his rightful place.
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  It's God on the throne of our churches. God on the throne of our life.
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  It's just God. It's the manifestation of the presence of God by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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  So Simeon was positioned to encounter God.
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  And the greatest manifestation we ever saw on earth of God was when God came
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  to dwell in human flesh in Jesus Christ.
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  The word was flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, the glory of God.
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  Now listen to what the Bible says in Luke 2, 25.
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  There was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. This man, pay attention to these words.
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  This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel,
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  and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
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  How did Simeon position himself for revival?
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  Well, first of all, he positioned himself because he was godly.
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  He was godly. He was a righteous man. Now, that doesn't happen overnight.
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  Righteous means right with God and right with man, right?
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  He was just taking the right steps, responding to God in the right ways.
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  And so over a period of time, people looked at him and said,
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  he's just a righteous man. He's devout.
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  That word devout, the root of that word, means strong towards.
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  When Paul says in Colossians 4, be devoted to prayer, he means strong towards.
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  I know some people that are strong towards football.
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  They're strong towards video games. They know every video game. They know how.
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  But Simeon was devout towards God.
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  He was strong towards God. He was a righteous man.
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  He was a holy man. And because he had cultivated his relationship with the Lord
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  over the years, he was positioned to see God, right?
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  So there was a holiness in his life that positioned him to encounter revival.
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  And if we want to see revival, the greatest posture we can be in is to cultivate
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  personal holiness every day, right?
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  You know, I often thought, as I've dealt with pastors all my life,
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  and I am a pastor, as pastors, we are really guilty of what I call professional holiness.
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  And that is, you know, we just kind of live the way we want to all week long,
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  and then Saturday comes around, and we think, oh, my sorrows,
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  I've got to preach tomorrow.
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  Lord, please forgive me my sins and cleanse me, fill me, use me.
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  And God is real gracious because he loves his sheep and he wants to get his
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  word to his people and he blesses and uses.
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  But what if a man was walking with God on Monday and full of God on Tuesday
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  and Wednesday and Thursday, right?
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  Because we don't realize that holiness is cumulative.
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  And then we come to the pulpit on Sunday and we are full of God.
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  We are righteous and devout.
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  So this positioned Simeon to encounter Christ, and it would position you and
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  me for these coming days of revival.
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  Secondly, he was looking for Christ.
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  The Bible says about Simeon that he was looking for the consolation of Israel.
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  In other words, it's talking about the Messiah, the coming Messiah. He was just expecting.
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  So this means he had he knew and believed that the Lord was coming he was just waiting for it to happen,
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  i love being around people who are uh they understand enough about the ways of god,
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  that they know that there are moments when
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  god sends an extra measure of
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  his power and his spirit it's like he opens the windows of heaven he comes down
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  like the bible says rend the heavens and comes down to show the world who he
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  is to remind us to bring us back to wake up his church to do what we should
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  have been doing all along.
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  And some people are just looking for that.
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  They're just looking for that. That doesn't mean they're not doing what they need to do today.
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  If that's the case, that they're just sitting around being lazy and not doing
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  what they ought to do, the blocking and tackling of the Christian life,
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  but they're looking for more.
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  They're just always looking for more. This is the way we position ourselves
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  to see real revival. And he was looking for Christ. Then look at this.
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  Simeon was yielding to the Holy Spirit. The Bible says he was righteous and
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  devout, looking for the consolation of Israel.
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  And the Holy Spirit was upon him.
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  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death
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  before he would see the Lord's Christ.
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  So there was a conscious aggressive obedience
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  to the holy spirit he was yielding to the spirit and because of that the spirit
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  of god was upon him now we know that was a a gift in the old testament era before
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  the coming of the spirit in acts uh chapter two but but here was this man who,
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  was so cooperating with God that the Spirit of God was upon him.
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  And this is the kind of men and women we need to be if we want to be ready at
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  any moment for the activity of God or the explosion of his reviving power and work.
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  And because of that, he was listening to the Holy Spirit.
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  And when God spoke to him and said, Simeon, you're going to see the Messiah.
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  You're not going to die until you see the Messiah.
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  It could have been some men would have not been attuned to that.
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  Their hearts would be so dull. They would be so, their spiritual ears so full
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  of wax and their hearts so seared because of sin that they just didn't have the capacity to hear.
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  But Simeon was postured to hear God.
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  And so he was waiting for God. And he had faith and he had belief. And he was looking.
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  I wonder, you just kind of think about Simeon. And he got up every day and he
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  went to the temple and thought, is this the day I'm going to see Christ?
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  Is this the day we're going to see this promised Messiah that everything depends
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  upon his coming? And it did, by the way. And it does.
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  So how do we position ourselves? We cultivate holiness, right?
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  I mean, daily practical holiness.
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  We cooperate with God and look for Christ with holy anticipation.
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  And we yield to the Spirit and His work on a daily basis. And we look to the
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  Holy Spirit and listen to the Holy Spirit every day.
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  You know, I just believe that I can hear from God.
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  Some people think that's a weird deal, and I've never heard a physical voice from God.
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  I think he could do that if he wanted to, but I just don't think he normally,
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  we don't see that pattern that he normally manifests himself that day in our age.
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  But I know that he communicates with me by his spirit, to my spirit,
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  through his word. It's always consistent with his word, what the spirit of God
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  says to us. And he prompts us and communes with us.
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  And you just got to think, you say, well, how could that happen? Well, he's God.
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  I mean, for heaven's sake, he's God. And he loves us.
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  And he promises that he will speak to us and commune with us.
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  And this is what a relationship with God is all about, is the ability to commune.
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  You don't have a relationship if you don't commune.
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  And so we can commune with God. And Simeon was in a position when God chose
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  to manifest himself in Christ,
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  Simeon was ready because he had heard from God and he knew that it was coming.
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  And listen, he was obeying the spirit.
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  The Bible says here in verse 27.
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  He came, Simeon, let's talk about Simeon. He came in the spirit to the temple.
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  And when the parents, this is Mary and Joseph, brought the child Jesus to carry
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  out for him the custom of the law, which was on the eighth day,
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  he took him into his arms and he blessed God.
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  He was ready.
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  He knew that it was Christ. He saw the manifestation of Christ. Just think about this.
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  Simeon was one of the first guys in human history that saw God.
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  First, it was Mary and Joseph, the shepherds.
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  But on eight days later, Simeon, and you're going to see another prophetess,
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  if you follow this passage on named Anna, They were ready.
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  They were postured to see revival, which came in the person of Christ.
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  Let me ask you a question. And Kyle, are you postured to see Christ?
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  Are you postured to encounter Christ?
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  And, you know, there's one more thing, Kyle, in this story is that he took,
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  just think of this picture now, this old guy has been waiting his whole life for the Messiah.
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  And he takes Jesus in his arms.
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  Just think of that. And it says that he blessed God, and he said, Now, Lord,
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  you are releasing your bondservant to depart at peace according to your word,
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  for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
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  a light of revelation to the Gentiles. That was very prophetic.
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  And the glory of your people, Israel.
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  So not only did he encounter Christ in this moment of personal revival,
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  but also then he did what revival always leads you to do. He proclaimed Christ.
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  And we have that proclamation now for 2,000 years, he's been proclaiming Christ.
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  So there's something about getting yourself ready, Kyle.
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  About practical holiness, about cooperating with the Spirit, obeying the Spirit.
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  He was righteous and devout. He was looking.
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  He was prepared, and he was ready.
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  And, Kyle, that's right where I want to be. Yeah.
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  I mean, just sitting here listening to you, all those aspects of his cooperation
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  for revival, for a real move of God.
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  And the thing that is really speaking to me right now personally, he just anticipated.
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  Like, he anticipated, like, this is going to happen. This is going to happen.
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  And I wonder just how he didn't get discouraged.
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  I mean, I'm sure he did at times, but we don't see. He didn't give up. He didn't quit coming.
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  He kept anticipating the presence of God.
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  And I would just think, man, I would just encourage our listeners,
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  no matter what city, what church, what area, to anticipate, rightly position
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  yourself, but anticipate that God desires to make himself known right now.
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  Right now. So keep your spiritual antenna up.
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  And, you know, Kyle, can I give you just a personal testimony before we pray together?
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  When I was 17 and 18, I was in the middle of the Jesus movement.
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  I came to the college campus where I was.
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  God began to move. I just got caught up in that. And it was everything that
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  people said it was and wore for those who cooperated with God.
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  People resisted it and they missed it and they said, oh, no big deal.
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  But many of us, millions of us, saw a deeper manifestation of the power of God.
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  And it changed us forever.
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  And I never stand up to preach. I never go to a meeting somewhere,
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  never do anything that I don't think, Lord, is it coming? Is it today?
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  When I'm preaching to a group of students, I always think, Lord,
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  is Evan Roberts in this group?
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  The next guy that God, next student that God's going to use to bring a movement across a whole nation.
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  And I just, that's a gift from God.
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  I'm not spiritual that I claim that that's from myself.
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  It's just, I live with that anticipation. And do I get discouraged?
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  Absolutely. Are there times where I think, Lord, where are you? What are you doing?
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  I mean, particularly as we've watched our nation just dramatically digress in the last 15 or 20 years.
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  But it's those times when God sends revival.
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  And now to see this movement.
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  And I tell you, as for me and my house, I want a front row seat.
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  I just want to see and I want to cooperate and I want to proclaim.
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  And I'll be glad to say to the Lord, Lord, now my eyes have seated and I'm ready to depart in peace.
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  Because I've seen the manifestation of your glory.
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  Wow. Well, I think for just our listeners today, and what it awakens in my heart
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  in a renewed way, is I'm believing for that move of God's presence here among our nation.
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  But if it doesn't happen everywhere, I'm going to be positioned right here.
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  Yeah. I'm going to be positioned personally. You know, as much so as God's given
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  us leadership, I'm going to help position other people for a move of God.
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  So if the eyes of the Lord move to and fro, he would find us.
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  He would find us ready for it. So let's do this for just a moment in a fresh way.
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  Why don't you just walk into God's presence wherever you're listening?
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  Bill, I'm going to have you pray for us in a moment.
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  But walk in, and this is what I'm going to do. is say, Lord,
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  I pray that you would find me positioned.
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  I'm going to walk in right now, and maybe on behalf of your church,
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  say, this year, Lord, I pray that you would find a church that's positioned
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  in holiness, God, and attention to you, and desire for you, willingness to proclaim your work.
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  So just fresh surrender.
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  Fresh surrender to the move of God in our nation and in the nations right now.
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  Bill, why don't you pray for us?
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  And I want us to just pray the scripture first.
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  Through this picture of Simeon's life, Father, would you make us righteous and devout?
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  Or I pray, Father, for every one of us who are praying right now,
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  would you develop practical, personal, daily holiness in us?
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  Would you show us that, Lord, just save us from professional holiness?
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  Remind us that holiness is cumulative, that we see things that we wouldn't normally
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  see when our lives are right with you over a long period of time.
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  And our spiritual senses are attuned to you.
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  So, Lord, we pray for practical holiness.
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  And Father, we also pray like Simeon, who was looking for the consolation of
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  Israel, would you give us expectant hearts? Lord, that's faith.
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  Faith believes that he is and he'll reward those who look to him.
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  So, Lord, just give us an expectant faith about revival that we believe that
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  you're going to manifest yourself in greater ways, that there's way more than
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  we've ever experienced.
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  So build our faith and help us to look for you in every day,
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  in every encounter, in every conversation, in every worship service that we walk into.
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  I pray that this Sunday we would walk into our churches believing,
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  could this be the day that we see a greater manifestation of God right here in our presence?
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  And we pray for that and we believe God for that.
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  And Father, we thank you that he cooperated with the Holy Spirit.
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  The Holy Spirit was upon him.
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  And that he got up in the spirit and went to the temple.
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  He he just practically obeyed in the power of the Holy Spirit. And he was positioned.
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  Lord, if he hadn't paid attention to the spirit that day and the spirit of said,
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  Simeon, go down to the temple.
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  And he might have just missed Christ.
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  Lord, you you were too good to let that happen.
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  He'd been looking for you for years and you prompted him strongly by your spirit.
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  But then Simeon obeyed, and he got up in the spirit and went to the temple.
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  And Lord, let us be found right there, Lord.
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  And we sing that old hymn that Kyle mentioned, Pass me not, O gentle Savior.
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  Lord, do not pass me by while on earth you are falling, Lord, don't pass me by.
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  And so we pray for that. And then, Lord, when we see your work and you do things
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  that eye has not seen and ears not heard, Father, make us great proclaimers like Simeon.
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  Let us stand up and say, well, this is God. This is the hope of Israel.
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  This is the hope of the Gentiles.
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  And, Lord, let us give a strong proclamation that gives all the glory to you,
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  not to any man, not to any church.
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  Oh, Father, please deliver us from that.
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  And we pray that we would just proclaim the glory of God to those who need to hear it.
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  And so, Lord, make us ready and help us to posture ourselves for revival.
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  In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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  Amen. Well, listen, we're so excited about this series and more weeks to come.
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  And I'll just encourage you.
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  One, if this spoke to you, share it with somebody.
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  We just looked at Simeon and how he was ready to declare. And revival's too
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  good for it to stop with you.
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  And so I pray that you would be encouraged by these truths, but also share them
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  with somebody else, share the podcast. We look forward to the days ahead.
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  And just in faith, I believe that 2025 is an important year in the work of God's
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  kingdom. So let's lean in and be positioned to the.
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  Music.