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Transcript

Made to worship · Fostering Faith

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  Welcome back to Fostering Faith. I am Tracie Foster.
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  I am going to be your host for Fostering Faith
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  for this episode. And I was inspired by this
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  episode by watching a sermon while I was giving
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  my dog a haircut. It was about worship. And in
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  this episode, I think that we're going to go
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  deep and just really try to maybe have you think
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  of worship in a different light and inspire you
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  and allow you to go to God and draw closer. whenever
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  you are in worship. And so this episode is Worship
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  a Cleansed Heart on Fire. And so, hey friends,
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  welcome back to Fostering Faith. If you don't
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  want to have watered down Christianity, stay
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  tuned. And so we are going to not settle for
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  watered down Christianity. We're going to dive
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  deep. We're going to go hard and we're going
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  to go after God with everything that is in us.
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  Today, we're talking about something that is
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  foundational, transformational, and absolutely
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  essential to living a life on fire for Jesus.
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  And we're diving into worship, what it is, why
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  we were made for it, and how cleansing your heart
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  before you worship is not optional. It's the
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  whole point. So buckle up because we're going
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  to be fierce this episode. It's going to get
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  a little fiery and it's going to be one of those
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  episodes where you might find yourself weeping,
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  worshiping, or both because worship changes everything
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  when it's done with a clean mind. surrendered
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  heart. And so we were made for worship. So let's
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  start with the truth. You were created for worship,
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  period. Not maybe, not sometimes. You were wired
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  down to your deepest part of your being, not
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  to respond to something with reverence, awe,
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  and surrender. Worship is not something Christians
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  do. It's what humans do. John Piper said, missions...
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  exist because worship doesn't. Doesn't that hit
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  hard? That means worship is the end goal because
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  when we finally behold God for who he is, our
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  natural response will be to fall down in worship.
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  Psalms 95, six says that come all us bow down
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  in worship. Let us kneel before the Lord, our
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  maker. Worship is not hype. It is not a genre.
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  It's not three slow songs after the announcements.
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  Worship is what happens when your soul recognizes
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  the magnitude of our God. And Hebrews even had
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  a word for worship, which means bow down to prostrate
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  yourself in reverence. It's an act of lowering
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  yourself because you see the greatness of someone
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  else. It's humility in action. It's surrender.
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  It's not entertainment. It's an exchange. And
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  so worship requires a clean heart. Now, let's
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  get real. You can't worship rightly with a filthy
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  heart. God sees through your lip service. He
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  sees straight through your raised hands if your
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  heart is still holding on to pride and bitterness
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  or your secret sin. Ugh, I know. I know that
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  hurts. And I've been there and I have done it.
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  And we're all here to help each other grow. We
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  have Psalm 24, 3 -4 that says, Who may ascend
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  the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his
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  holy place? The one who has clean hands and a
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  pure heart. Do you want to experience deep, authentic
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  worship? Then you may need to come with a clean
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  heart. Charles Spurgeon once preached, God will
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  not accept the sacrifice of a praise from unclean
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  lips unless the heart is washed first in the
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  blood of Christ. That's not old school. That's
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  truth. And let me be clear. This isn't about
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  being perfect. Let me say that again for the
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  people that are in the back. It's not about being
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  perfect. It's about posture. It's about saying,
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  God, I messed up this week, but I'm here to lay
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  it all down. Purify me. Clean me out. I want
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  nothing between us. And you have Jesus in Matthew
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  15, 8 that says, these people honor me with their
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  lips, but their hearts are far from me. Let that
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  never be us. Having a chance of repentance is
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  such an honor. It's such an honor to go in front
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  of our Lord and say, you know what? I have screwed
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  up. I've messed up. I followed my fleshly desire.
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  I followed kingdom. I did not follow kingdom
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  standard. I followed what earthly people are
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  doing. And I'm sorry. Let me walk and let me
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  turn. Let me turn from this. And so the science
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  of worship changes you. Okay, so let's be a nerd
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  for a second. And there's actual studies showing
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  how worship affects the brain and the heart.
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  One study from the University of Pennsylvania
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  used brain scans during spiritual practices and
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  found that worship reduces the activity of the
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  parietal lobe, the part of your brain that gives
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  you a sense of self. So what does that really
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  mean? And so translation, in worship, your sense
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  of ego fades and your awareness of God increases.
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  And another study showed in the evangelical journal
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  of psychology showed that the consistent worship
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  reduces symptoms of anxiety, depression, and
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  stress. It increases your joy and emotional regulation.
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  It's like heaven designed worship, not just for
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  God's glory, but for our healing. It's like whenever
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  you lift your hands, your brain is rewiring.
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  Whenever you sing truth, Your mind is renewed.
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  You have metanoia. When you focus on God instead
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  of your problems, peace just floods in. And I'm
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  studying Romans right now. And Romans 12, one
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  through two says, and this hits hard, so just
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  pay attention. Offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
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  holy and pleasing to God. This is our true and
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  proper worship. Do not conform. to the pattern
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  of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
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  of your mind. Worship literally rewires your
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  mind whenever you do it with a surrendered heart
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  and your hands are lifted and you are weeping
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  because you were in the presence of the almighty
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  God. And worship is wonderful and heartfelt,
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  but it is warfare. You ever wonder why the enemy
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  attacks you when you're in the hardest, whenever
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  it's time to worship? Because worship is warfare.
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  Whenever you worship, you are dethroning your
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  fear, your ego, your shame, and you're enthroning
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  the king of kings. 2 Chronicles 20 says, give
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  us one of the wildest battle strategies in scripture.
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  And so when the King Jehoshaphat was facing three
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  massive armies, he didn't send warriors out first.
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  He sent worshipers. And what happened? God confused
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  the enemies and they destroyed themselves. That's
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  not cute. That's strategic. Worship shifts the
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  atmosphere. When you lift Jesus high, demons
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  have to flee. When you worship, And your heart
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  is clean and it carries weight. It's pure. It's
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  powerful. And so as we go in, how do we clean
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  our heart before worship? Okay, so let's get
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  practical. And so how do we cleanse our heart
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  before worship? Not just in the moment, but maybe
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  as a lifestyle. And so what are we doing to have
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  a clean lifestyle? One, repent daily. Don't carry
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  yesterday's sins into today's worship. Keep short
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  accounts with God. Check with him daily, hourly
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  if you have to. Some days I am repenting a lot,
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  a lot, every hour, every 10 minutes. And it's
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  just like, oh, that was not a good thought. That
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  was not a good thought. I didn't say that thought,
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  but it was still, I'm trying to capture those
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  thoughts before they come and go. And so Psalm
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  51. 10 says, create in me a clean heart, oh God,
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  and renew the right spirit with me. And so please
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  know that that is such a dangerous Psalm because
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  he will really clean your heart. He will let
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  you know that there's pride. He will let you
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  know that there's envy. He will let you know
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  of the bitterness that is in there. He will wring
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  out your heart. And so please know whenever you
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  are asking God for these, what seemed to be like,
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  oh, like very aesthetic or, you know, whatever
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  word is all over Instagram and TikTok that I
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  have no idea, but creating me a clean heart,
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  please be ready for him to show you what he actually
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  sees, not what you've been, the things that you've
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  been trying to hide from him. So cleaning me,
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  creating me a clean heart, he will bring out
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  pride. He will bring out sin. He will bring out
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  the things that you have not even told your best
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  friend and he will reign those out. And so just
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  please be prepared. Number two, forgive quickly.
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  Matthew 5, 23, 4 says, if you're about to worship
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  and remember someone has something against you,
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  go make it right. Worship isn't worship if you
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  are harboring offense. And so I forgive quickly
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  because who am I? Who am I not to forgive? Who
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  am I to hold a grudge if my God has not stroked
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  me dead because of all the things that I have
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  done to him and all the honoriness that I have?
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  Who am I? Who am I? Who am I not to forgive someone?
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  I mean, and just be like, you know what? You
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  may not even know any better. I do know better
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  because I've known scripture. I am trying to
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  just be more like Christ. I know better. I know
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  that I'm supposed to forgive. And so therefore
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  I do. If he forgives me, I forgive you. I mean,
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  that's his bottom line. I mean, and the things
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  that we are, that he does to us, we are to emulate
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  to others. And so we can show them what Christ
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  is like. And people can be saying, how would
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  you forgive that? Because Christ forgave me.
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  Because that's what he said to do. And so that's
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  what I'm going to do. Three, come in low. Humility
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  isn't weakness. It's the door to God's presence.
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  Isaiah 57, 15 says, God dwells within the contrite
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  and lonely in spirit. Humility isn't weakness.
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  It is bowing. And knowing that you are serving
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  the Lord of Lords. And we come humbly before
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  his throne. And we often talk about meekness.
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  And so that is strength under control. That is
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  knowing that I can crush you. I can just do all
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  the things, but I'm not. I come humbly before
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  it. It's not weakness. It's meekness. Four, fix
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  your eyes. Tell your eyes that it's not going
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  to be on your phone. your problems, your image,
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  look up. Psalm 121 says, one through two, I lift
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  my eyes to the hills. Where does my Lord come
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  from? My help comes from the Lord. And so I have
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  a sign that's in my office that says, when in
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  doubt, look up. And then so when in doubt, look
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  up. When in trouble, look up. When in, when in
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  just. In confusion, look up, fix your eyes. And
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  I often, I pray that almost every day is fix
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  my eyes on you. Take your hands on my face and
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  just keep them on you because it's so important
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  because we want to turn to the left. We want
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  to turn to the right. We want to see what everybody
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  else is doing and we don't fix our focus on him.
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  And so worship can change the room. Worship doesn't
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  just change you. It changes the room. One woman
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  in the back of the row singing with a clean heart
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  and fiery faith can shift the entire sanctuary.
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  One high schooler in the lunchroom humming a
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  worship instead of gossiping can change the atmosphere.
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  Your worship isn't about volume. It's about verity.
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  It's about truth. You can't fake it. It's the
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  power of purity. And so Jesus told women at the
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  well in John 4, 23, the father is seeking worshipers
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  who will worship in spirit and in truth. He's
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  not looking for the best vocals. He's looking
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  for the cleanest heart. And so know also whenever
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  you are in worship and you're in church, please
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  know that it does not matter who is sitting beside
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  you. It does not matter who is in front of you
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  nor in back of you. That is your time between
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  you and God. Sing. to your bestest ability, seeing
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  to your heart desires, seeing with your hands
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  lifted and do not be afraid. Do not just, just
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  be so excited to just be in his presence. And
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  I mean, sometimes you are so excited to be there
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  and your hands can't even lift high enough. Like
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  you just feel like you're just, you want to be
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  stretched armstrong and just lift your hands
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  and just lift your hands and just know that you
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  are in the presence of the almighty God. And
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  he is not looking for an opera singer or the
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  best person that has a vocalist. You are a child
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  of God for those that follow him, that has accepted
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  Jesus as their Lord and savior. He loves your
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  voice. He loves my squeaky voice. He loves the
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  fact that I think I can carry a tune. And my
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  mom always used to tell me that I couldn't carry
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  a tune in a metal bucket. But that doesn't stop
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  me. And that's why I teach my kids too, because
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  I teach junior hires and they are embarrassed.
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  And how cringy is that? And oh my gosh. No, no,
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  it's not about that. It's about your connection.
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  It's about your connection with your God. And
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  so final fire, you were made for this. And so
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  let me leave you with this. You were made to
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  worship, not to hustle for worth, not to impress
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  people. You were made to carry the glory of God
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  on your lips and in your life. That's why nothing
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  else satisfies. So stop settling for shallow
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  worship. Stop hiding in the back, hoping that
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  no one sees you. Stop singing lyrics you don't
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  live out. Worship like heaven is real. Worship
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  like God sees you because he does. He sees you.
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  He sees with your hands in your pockets. He sees
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  you with your hands down. He sees you like texting
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  in the middle of it. He sees all of that. And
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  if your heart's been heavy, If you've been carrying
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  stuff that's clogging up your worship, it's time
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  to lay it down. Today, right now, God doesn't
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  want a perfect song. He wants a cleansed heart,
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  a surrendered life. That's worship. That's power.
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  That's revival. And I also heard it of how to
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  spread the message. And so you have a house and
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  then your house is... that your neighbor's house
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  is on fire. And Candace Cameron talked about
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  this on one of her podcasts. And it was about,
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  she's, you know, a house is on fire and you're
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  just, you're just knocking, knocking. So three
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  o 'clock in the morning. And the guy is just
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  like, you're super annoyed. And he just keep
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  knocking and knocking and knocking. And then
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  finally he gets out and he's like, what is it?
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  What is it? And he's like, your house is on fire.
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  And so he runs out of the house. And so it's
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  like, that is how. we as Christians should be
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  spreading the gospel, should be spreading the
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  news is that we're knocking and knocking and
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  knocking because if we don't, what's going to
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  happen to those people? They're going to die.
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  They're going to be caught in the fire. And so
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  I know this episode was maybe a little intense.
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  I told you that we were going deep. I told you
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  that we were going fierce. I told you that it
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  was going to be on fire. If this episode lit
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  a flame into you, share it with somebody that
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  needs it. And before you go, Take a moment right
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  now and just worship. Turn off this podcast,
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  lift your hands to him. And that's where all
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  the changes start. And so I would love to pray
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  for you. And so dear Heavenly Father, thank you
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  so much for today. Thank you so much for yesterday.
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  Thank you for these listeners. Thank you that
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  the chains are falling off. Thank you that they
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  were coming to you with repentance. Thank you
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  that you were cleansing their hearts. Thank you
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  that they are coming to you with things that
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  they never have told anybody before. Thank you
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  that you are allowing them to have a chance of
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  repentance. Thank you for metanoia. Thank you
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  that you were renewing their mind. Thank you
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  that they have embraced the fact that they need
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  a cleansed heart. Thank you that they have surrendered
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  their life to you. Thank you for a fresh week.
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  Thank you for a fresh mind. Thank you for all
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  that you're doing in our lives. Thank you for
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  never giving up on us. Thank you for your grace.
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  Thank you for your mercy. Thank you for all that
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  you do. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen and amen.
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  And so thank you so much for tuning in. I will
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  see you next week on Fostering Faith. Until then,
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  clean your heart, lift your hands, and stay on
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  fire. Have a great week, guys. We love you. Bye.