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Quiet Your Soul | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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Turn with me to Psalm 131, Psalm 131. I just
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want to read, I want to read one verse that I'm
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going to springboard off of and talk about something
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that I think is important in this hour. Psalm
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131 and verse 2. Surely I have calmed and quieted
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my soul like a weaned child with his mother.
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Like a weaned child is my soul within me. Isn't
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that powerful? I want to read it one more time.
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Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul. like
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a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned
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child is my soul within me. Father, I just ask
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that in these few moments that we have to share
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and look into your word today, that you would
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shape us and that you would mold us and make
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us more like you. We thank you, Father. And everybody
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said, Amen. Praise God. Cammie and I, we care
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greatly about what is happening in your life.
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And so we work hard to make sure that you have
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the tools that you need to not only survive this
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crazy world that we live in. How many of you
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know that we live in a crazy world? Come on.
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Put your hand up if you think we live in a crazy
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world. We do. But God's plan in this world is
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not for you just to survive, but for you to thrive
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in your relationship with the Lord. abundance
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is God's plan for you. And by that, I'm not preaching
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a give -to -get kind of gospel, name -it -claim
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-it kind of gospel, but God's plan for you is
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abundance. I want to read what the apostle John
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said in 3 John 1 and verse 2. He said, Beloved,
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I pray that you may prosper in all things. and
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be in health just as your soul prospers. Amen?
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That's a lot of prospering. God wants you to
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thrive. He wants you to prosper in his relationship
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with you, in your relationship with him. Hallelujah.
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I had never in my life known what it was to be
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afraid. And 18 years ago, when I was 35, I went
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through a year -long battle that forever changed
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my life. It was a battle of health at first,
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and then it was a battle with fear, and then
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it was a battle with demons. that fear opened
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the door to in my life. It changed my marriage.
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Cammie used to sleep incredibly deep. And now
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if she hears something, she wakes up. And it's
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because of that nine months of time and what
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I battled through during that season. But the
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worst part of it all is that there was chaos
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that was in my soul. And I could not fulfill
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this verse. I could not calm and quiet my spirit.
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This is not something that God does for you.
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The psalmist here, David, wrote Psalm 131. He
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said, have calmed and quieted my soul. I have
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done it. So God helps you and heals you, and
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He might do some things in your life. Praise
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God. He's the source of it all. Amen? He's the
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source of it all. But it is a skill that David
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learned really well in his relationship with
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the Lord. David was gifted at calming and quieting
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his soul. In fact, as a shepherd boy, a teenager,
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he learned this. In fact, many people believe
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that Psalm 23 was one of the first psalms that
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David wrote before he ever was even anointed
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to be king. As he's out there in the back of
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the wilderness taking care of sheep, he wrote
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it. He said, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall
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not want. He leads me beside... I should know
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this. It rolled off my tongue when I was practicing.
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He makes me to lie down in green pastures. That
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was the part I forgot. He leads me beside still
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waters. He restores my soul. David learned this
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as a teenager. That I can still and quiet my
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soul beside the waters that God leads me to.
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Just as I'm a shepherd over these sheep, God
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is a shepherd over my soul if I partake of what
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He has given me. Amen? I have stilled and calmed
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my soul. And so when I was walking through, Let
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me continue with David for a moment. Because
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later on in his life, it was no different. He's
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a warrior, and he's leading an army. And he's
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not... the king yet. In fact, he's running from
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Saul. And in this case, he's leading an army
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and he's pursuing the Amalekites. And the men
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had lost everything and they blamed David for
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it. And it says in 1 Samuel 30 verse 6, now David
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was greatly distressed for the people spoke of
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stoning him because the soul of all the people
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was grieved, every man for his son. and his daughters.
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And not only did they want to stone David and
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blame him, but David had lost his own family.
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And yet the next sentence says this, but David
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strengthened himself in the Lord his God. Isn't
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that awesome? He had learned the secret of stilling
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and quieting his soul. And Cammie knew that I
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was walking through this, that that's what I
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needed. In fact, she wrote out Isaiah 26 .3 on
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a note card, and she put it on my bedside table
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where I read it every single day, multiple times.
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And so Isaiah 26 .3 says, you will keep him in
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perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because
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he trusts in you. Now that's elusive, isn't it?
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In this generation, perfect peace. That's elusive.
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In our generation and in our time, a stilled
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and calmed soul in perfect peace is rare. But
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it's a gift that God wants to give you. and teach
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you that you can learn. Praise God. And through
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this verse, we have the first part of the remedy.
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I'm going to come back to the remedies in a moment,
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but remedy number one is keep your mind fixed
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on Him. Amen? Praise God. And slowly I gained
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victory over those months. And slowly I was able
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to calm and quiet my soul once again. And that
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was the victory. Slow down. Meditate on who God
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is. Hebrews 12 .2 says, Look unto Jesus, the
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author and finisher of our faith. There's a lot
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of noise in the world. There's a lot of noise
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in the church. People are afraid of quietness
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and calmness. People don't like it at night,
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so they put on headphones and listen to music
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while they're sleeping. Because stillness and
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calmness and quietness bothers them. You start
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to listen to your own thoughts. And it is something
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that people try to drown out. Driving down the
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road and the car has to be filled with sound.
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When I'm by myself. 80 % of the time in my car,
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I have no sound playing at all. I like the silence.
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I've trained myself that way. Silence, calmness,
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and quietness. Quieting your inner man is a key
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to hearing God's voice. Right? Quieting your
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thoughts. This takes self -control. Because if
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you just let your mind idle, it's going to run
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everywhere. You've got to rein that mind in so
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that you can hear the quietness. 1 Kings 19,
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what was it? That was the situation where Elijah
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could hear the voice of God? Was it in the storm?
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Was it in the wind? It was a gentle whisper.
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And he heard the voice of God. The sons of Korah
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wrote about the opposite of a quiet spirit in
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Psalm 42. And so I want you to know if you're
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spirit man, if you're inner person, is not always
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calm and quiet, guess what that makes you? Human.
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And so this is a skill to learn and master. It
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is not something that most people have conquered.
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And the sons of Korah hadn't conquered it either.
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And in Psalm 42, in fact, in 42 and 43, they
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say the same thing three times. It's like the
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refrain of a dreaded chorus. Why are you cast
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down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within
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me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
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for He is the help of my countenance. Why are
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you disquieted? You know that the first word
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is downcast. Why are you downcast, O my soul?
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Do you know that word downcast means to disintegrate
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to dust? To disintegrate away to dust. Why are
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you downcast, O my soul? And then he says, why
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are you disquieted within me? The word disquieted,
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hama, to make loud sounds. Great commotion and
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tumult. That's disquieted, disturbed. And he's
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using that about his inner man. Not what he's
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hearing with his natural ears, but what he's
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feeling in the silence. My soul just is not quite
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right. Everything is discombobulated on the inside.
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I am not experiencing the peace, the shalom of
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God on the inside. Anybody ever been there before?
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Maybe you're there right now. You're experiencing
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that disquieted feeling. on the inside. You can't
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quiet your inner man. And they wrote these two
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psalms, the sons of Korah, and they give us another
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piece of the remedy. The first one is, keep your
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mind stayed on Him. The second part is, put your
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hope in God, for I will yet praise Him. And praise
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becomes part of the remedy of quieting your inner
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man. Praise the Lord, O my soul. You know, I
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feel like sometimes the saying of Ruth Ward Heflin
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is true. That the height of your praise determines
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the depth of your worship. And the height of
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your praise goes high. Hallelujah. It does something
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on your inside. Praise God. It calms and quiets
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you. It's my prayer that everybody will leave
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this place calmer and quieter than when they
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came in. Amen? I believe that that can happen.
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Calmer and quieter because of praise. Put your
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hope in God, for I will yet praise Him. Hallelujah.
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There are no circumstances. You need to get this.
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There are no outward circumstances that can steal
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the quietness of your soul. The outward circumstances
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can rage. It does not have to determine the condition
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of your soul. That's something that's learned
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by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let me read
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you a verse. Now it happened on a certain day.
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You just listen to the story and then I'll give
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you the reference. Now it happened on a certain
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day that he got into a boat with his disciples
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and he said to them, let's cross over to the
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other side of the lake. And they launched out.
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But as they sailed, he fell asleep. And a windstorm
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came down on the lake, and they were filling
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with water and were in jeopardy. And they came
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to him and awoke him. Now, I've been, probably
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their boat was a little bit bigger than the boats
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that I have, but I've been in some rough waters.
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And actually, as long as it's warm weather and
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the water is not in danger of causing hypothermia,
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I actually really like the rough, rough water.
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As long as it's not too rough, it's a lot of
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fun to paddle in. But I guarantee you this, I
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have never slept in tumultuous water. Our Savior
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said, hey, hey. gentlemen, let's go to the other
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side of the lake. And he fell asleep in the boat,
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and the boat starts rocking. The boat is filling
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up with water. It is starting to fill up with
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water. One time our canoe filled up with water,
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and I did not tip it. It just, water came over
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the edge, and it and it filled the whole canoe,
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and the canoe was a couple of inches underwater.
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We were still sitting in it, and we were still
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paddling. But I tell you something we weren't
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doing. We weren't asleep in the boat. And Jesus
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is sleeping through the windstorm. They were
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beginning. to fill up with water and were in
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trouble. And they came to him and woke him and
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said, Master, Master, we are perishing. Now,
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there is a difference between what is happening
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on the inside of these disciples and what is
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happening on the inside of Jesus. These disciples,
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their hearts are not calm and quiet. Their hearts
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are filled with fear. Their hearts are filled
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with anxiety. They are fixing their eyes not
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on what Jesus said to them, hey, let's go to
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the other side, but on the wind and the waves
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and all the circumstances. And Jesus arose, and
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I think he wiped... sleepy dirt out of his eyes.
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And he rebuked the wind, the raging of the water.
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And I think he did it calmly. I don't think he
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had to raise his voice. And they ceased and there
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was a calm. And Jesus said to them, where is
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your faith? And here's the third key this morning
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is to Allow your faith to get bigger. Then they
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were afraid and marveled, saying to one another,
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Who can this be? For he commands even the winds
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and the water, and they obey him. The squall
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was upon them, but Jesus was sleeping in the
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boat. Because of his faith and his trust in God.
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Speaking to somebody here today, God is going
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to bring you to the other side. Trust him. Allow
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the calm that is in his heart. To get inside
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your heart. God is not nervous about your situation.
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God is not wondering if you're going to make
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it or not. He is calm and quieted and assured.
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Hallelujah. And you allow that to get in your
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heart. Isn't that a good word? Allow that that
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is in his heart to get inside. your heart. We
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need to retrain our minds. Some of us need to
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turn off the television because unfortunately,
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media, all of it, is biased. Politically, if
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you're watching a political channel, it is either
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trying to sway you to become a Democrat or sway
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you to become a Republican. There is not media
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that is not one way or the other. And you know
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the number one ingredient that they use to get
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you swayed? Fear and anxiety. And you give yourself
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to that, and you're going to start to get angry
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with them, one side or the other. But what's
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happening to your soul? Your soul is no longer
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calm and quiet. It is disquieted. And I believe
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that God, some of you need to turn it off so
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that you can quiet your heart again to the Lord.
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Quiet your heart. Isaiah chapter 30, verse 15.
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I've only got two more scriptures and I'm done.
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This might be the shortest message I've ever
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preached. Some of you are clapping. Bill is clapping
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his hands back there. He is clapping his hands.
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Oh, he's ready for lunch. In Isaiah chapter 30,
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God gives them some direction to get out of the
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judgment that they're in, and he says in verse
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15, for thus says the Lord God, the Holy One
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of Israel, in returning, some translations say
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repentance, in repentance and rest is your salvation,
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or you shall be saved. In quietness, and confidence
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shall be your strength. But you would have none
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of it. It got quiet in here, didn't it? He gave
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them the remedy. Return. Rest in me. Embrace
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quietness and rest. But they rejected it. By
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the way that we live, we can reject the quietness
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of our soul, the calmness and stillness of our
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heart. We love our grandsons. But they shake
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up our house. We've had them for over three weeks.
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This is the longest. That's why we look so good
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this morning. We have been dealing with them
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and loving them and enjoying them. Mostly, 90
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% enjoying them. But they bring a sense of disquiet.
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to our home. And some of you can appreciate when
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your grandkids come, and some of you can appreciate
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when you send them back to mom and dad. Oh, raise
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your hand if you know what I'm talking about.
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Come on. You got to be honest. Yeah, grandparents
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with their grandchildren in the room right now
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have to be careful. Quietness and confidence
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is your strength. I want to read one more passage.
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Psalm 46. I'm going to read the whole psalm.
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And you're going to hear, this is again the sons
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of Korah. God is our refuge. And strength. A
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very present help in trouble. Therefore we will
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not fear. Even though the earth be removed. And
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though the mountains be carried in the midst
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of the sea. Though its waters roar. Guess what
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that word roar is? Disquieted. It's the same
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word. Tumultuous. Why so disturbed within me?
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Though the waters roar and be troubled. Though
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the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah.
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In the midst of that, the next verse happens.
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There is a river. Whose streams shall make glad
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the city of God. The holy place of the tabernacle
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of the Most High. God is in the midst of her.
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She shall not be moved. God shall help her just
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at the break of dawn. Here's that word again.
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The nations raged. It's the same word. The nations
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were entumbled. The nations were disquieted.
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The nations were all stirred up. Does that sound
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like our world today? That's where we live, friends.
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The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved. But
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God lifted his voice and the earth melted. The
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Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob. Is.
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Our refuge. Selah. Come. Behold the works of
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the Lord. Who has made desolations in the earth.
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He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.
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He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two.
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He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still. And
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know that I am God. I will be exalted among the
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nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The
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Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is
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our refuge. Selah. And that word still. Be still.
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is the word rapah. And it means to hang limp.
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What it really means is to give up. To give up.
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To give up in your own strength, in your own
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flesh, in your own trust. It means to fully yield.
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Be still. Be still. Tell on Edmund and Benji.
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We told them to be still. And they would not.
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So I put one in one chair. And one on the couch.
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And I said, you're there for two minutes until
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you are still. One of them got up. I won't tell
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you which one. And they got another two minutes.
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Give up. Yield. You know, we're not that much
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different. It's time to yield to the Lord. It's
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time to give up to God's plans for your life.
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It's the question that Jesus asked Saul on the
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road to Damascus. It's hard for you to kick against
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the pricks. Give up, Saul. Yield. Some perhaps
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have been running from God. And it's time to
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simply give up and yield and know that He's God.
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The Lord may or may not change your situation,
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but He will change you. He may or may not deliver
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you out of the lion's den. He may or may not...
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cause you to not be burned when you're thrown
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into the fire, but he will change you and transform
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your life. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit. Self
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-control is a fruit of the Spirit. It is your
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portion as a believer in Christ. I have stilled
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and calmed, quieted my soul. Father, we come
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before you in Jesus' name. And we thank you for
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your word that penetrates and cuts. And even
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this morning, there's a restlessness. That just
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can seem to never go away in our inner person.
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God, I'm just asking for grace this morning.
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You do the initial work, but we maintain it.
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And we have to learn to calm and quiet our mind.
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There's some this morning that are carrying.
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The chaos of Psalm 42 and 43. Why so disturbed
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within me? Put your hope in God. It's what you've
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taught us to do, Lord. To fix our eyes on you.
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To fix our mind on you. To give you praise. To
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grow in our faith. And to give up before you.
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Lord, if there's somebody here that's never yielded
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their life to Christ, I just want to give them
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that opportunity. I just want to pray for you
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right now. If you're here and you're not right
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with God, really, and you know that, but you
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want God to do a work inside of you this morning
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and you want to say, God, here I am. I yield
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my life to you. You might not even know what
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all that means. That Jesus paid the price for
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your sin on the cross. And you just yield to
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that. And you just turn to the Lord. And you
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just say, God, I turn to you. I turn away from
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my sin. And I turn to you right now. If you're
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here and... And that's your heart and you want
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to pray that prayer. God, I'm coming back to
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you. I just want you to just lift your hand.
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Everybody's eyes are closed and their heads are
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bowed. If you want to pray that prayer, just
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lift your hand to the Lord. Thank you. Anybody
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else that would just say, yes, I need to yield
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my life to Christ. Thank you. Anybody else? Anybody
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else? For the sake of these two that have raised
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their hands, I'd just like us all to pray together.
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Just repeat this prayer after me and just pray
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it from your heart right now. Lord Jesus, I thank
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you for the cross. I thank you for shedding your
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blood for me. I receive the gift of forgiveness
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as I turn from you. Turn to you. Turn from my
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sin. Turn to you. Thank you that you walk with
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me. Thank you that you help me. Every step of
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the way. Lord, I'm now a follower of Jesus Christ.
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Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you,
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Lord. We give you praise, God. We give you praise.
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And now, Lord, there are people here, they need
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the peace of God to come and be their guard,
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but they need you, Lord, to just do an initial
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work in their heart. And as they praise, and
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as they focus on you, and as they grow in their
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faith, and as they yield, They're asking you
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this morning for help. And so, God, we just want
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to cover anybody that's in the midst of a moment
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like that in their life. And you can, I'm going
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to pray for you whether you raise your hand or
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not, but if you do raise your hand, I'm going
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to pray for you specifically. Everybody in this
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room has been where you are. If you'd like specific
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prayer, just for the Lord to help you in quieting
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your soul before him. I just want you to lift
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up your hand to the Lord. I'm going to pray for
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you. Thank you, Lord. People all over just lifting
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up their hands. Father, those that have their
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hands raised right now, you see right where they
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are. You see what they're walking through in
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life. Their situations and their circumstances
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might be tumultuous. But I ask in Jesus' name
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that you would come alongside them right now.
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And God, I just speak to the storm, not just
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on the outward, but on the inside. And I speak
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to it to be still in Jesus' name. And I thank
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you, God. I pray, God, that this, even today
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before they go to bed, that you, Lord, would
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come as a shepherd and they would yield to the
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shepherd that would say, come beside the quiet
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waters I have for you just for a moment to turn
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everything off, to put away the phone, and to
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just... Breathe you in. And to just say, Jesus,
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I thank you for the stillness and the quietness
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of my heart. Help me to grow in stilling and
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quieting my soul. In Jesus' mighty name. In Jesus'
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mighty name. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. I feel
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the peace of God in this house. Amen? I feel
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the peace of God in this house. And I just speak
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that Hebrew word for shalom. The Hebrew word
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shalom is peace. And it is all around you. And
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it covers every area of your life. And it guards
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your heart. and your mind. Isn't that good? Peace
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of God. Hallelujah. I have stilled and quieted
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my soul. It's a precious commodity. And I want
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to encourage you to treasure and value stillness
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and quietness in your life. Amen? Praise God.