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Advent - Hope | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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Praise God. Well, more of you came than I thought
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would be here this morning. So I'm glad that
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you're here. We've got a great online community
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this morning as well. So I want to welcome all
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of our people online. Can we give a big shout
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out to our people online today? All right. All
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right. We have more than usual there. And if
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you are online at home and you have a prayer
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need, type that in and just type it into the
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feed. We're going to pray for people this morning.
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And so we're glad that you're here. We already
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read the verse from Luke chapter 1, but I would
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like you to go there to Luke chapter 1 and verse
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39. Luke is the third book in the New Testament.
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And so Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Luke was not
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one of the 12 disciples, Luke was a physician,
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and Luke wrote the book of Luke, and also the
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book of Acts. In fact, the number of verses in
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the New Testament, Luke wrote more of the New
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Testament than even Paul. Think about that, verse
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by verse. And so that's pretty cool. And so his
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account of the history of the New Testament,
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the life of Christ, Christ, the ministry of Christ,
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and then the life of the New Testament church
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is incredibly vital. His perspective is unique.
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And so he records more of the birth story of
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Christ than any other author. And so a lot of
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things in the book of Luke that are really, really,
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really important. Talking about we're beginning,
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I have the privilege of beginning this season,
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this Christmas season, talking about hope. These
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are going to be the next four Sunday themes that
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are on the wall. And so we're going to be looking
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at hope this morning. I want to just pause a
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moment and I want to pray and I want to ask the
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Lord to just help me right now. Father, we just
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come before you. And I thank you for your word.
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And I'm just acutely aware this morning that
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you want to speak to people right where they
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are. God, I believe that you have something for
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every single person, whether they're here, whether
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they're at home because of the weather or wherever
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they are. Lord, I ask in Jesus' name that you
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would speak. to our hearts. We thank you for
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your word. And everybody said together, amen,
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amen. So there was a woman named Florence Chadwick.
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This is not a joke, Brother Dale. He's waiting
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to see if I'm going to turn it to a joke. Florence
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Chadwick in 1952 was an amazing swimmer. And
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she swam the English Channel several times. And
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she was attempting to swim in the Pacific Ocean
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off the coast of California, a 26 -mile swim
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from Catalina Island to the California coastline.
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26 miles in good temperatures. is nearly impossible
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for most of us. I'm sure there's probably not
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anybody in this room that could accomplish a
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26 -mile swim. But she was trying to accomplish
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it in the Pacific Ocean, where the temperatures
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were frigid. There were boats around her to watch
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for sharks and dangers in the water. While she
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was swimming, a fog rolled in, and she could
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not see more than just a couple hundred feet
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in front of her because of the fog was so thick.
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On a normal day, she could see the coastline
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from miles and miles away, even swimming low
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in the water. And the fog was so thick, not being
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able to see, she began... to lose hope. And she
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began to think, I am never going to make it.
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And after 15 hours in the water, she did something
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that she rarely ever did. Florence gave up. She
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gave up. And they pulled her into the boat. And
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she was devastated when she realized something
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that was heartbreaking because the shore was
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less than one mile away. She had swam over 25
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miles and she gave up. Less than one mile away.
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And in a later interview, she said, I think if
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I could just have seen the shore, I would have
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made it. It's a powerful story, isn't it? I think
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if I could just have seen the shore, I would
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have made it. Hope. Hope is a precious commodity.
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I was on Friday with my dad watching the Bears
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game. Oh, hallelujah. Somebody say amen. Dale
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and I rarely agree, but we do agree about the
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Bears. And I was watching the game, and the Eagles
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at one point scored a touchdown in like five
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plays and 92 yards. And my heart began to feel
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the momentum shift. And in sports, one thing
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that you try to do early in a match or a game
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or whatever you're playing is you try to eliminate
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the hope that the other team has. If you're ahead,
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you try to get far enough ahead to make the other
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team feel like they cannot win. There's no way
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that you can come back. Once the opponent that
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you're playing against gets a spark of hope,
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everything can change. Isn't that right? Everything
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can change because of hope. You've probably heard
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of the rat in the water experiment that was conducted
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by Kurt Richter in the 1950s, demonstrating the
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power of hope. He was drowning rats in water.
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And he found out that after 15 minutes, the rats
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would give up and die. But he noticed something.
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So a rat was about to drown, and just at the
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brink of pulling it out of the water, just at
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the brink of death, he would pull it out of the
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water. And the rat realized that just at the
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point that I thought I couldn't go any longer,
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rescue is coming. They would take that same rat.
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and they would put it back in the water after
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it had recovered, and that rat would tread water
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for nearly 60 hours. Why? Because it thought
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it was going to be saved. That's crazy, isn't
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it? This morning, I don't want to talk about
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hope for winning a... or hope for a rat, I want
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to talk about hope in life. For things that really
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matter, because games come and go. I've got sports
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stories. from my past that I still talk about,
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times I lost that I knew looking back I could
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have won, times where I could have done something
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different that I wish. How many of you dream
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about moments like that still in your life? You
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dream about things, oh, if I just would have
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made it five more yards. I have things like that
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that I still. dream about that I wish that I
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could have done differently. But you know what?
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Those things do not matter. I want to talk about
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hope that matters today. And the life story of
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Elizabeth, I want to read it again in verse 39
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of Luke chapter 1. Mary arose in those days and
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went into the hill country with haste to a city
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of Judah and entered the house of Zacharias and
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greeted Elizabeth. And it happened when Elizabeth
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heard the greeting of Mary that the babe leaped
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in Elizabeth's womb. And Elizabeth was filled
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with the Holy Spirit. And she spoke out with
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a loud voice and said, Blessed are you among
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women speaking to Mary, and blessed is the fruit
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of your womb. But why is this granted to me that
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the mother of my Lord should come to me? For
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indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting
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sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb
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for joy. Blessed is she. who believed. For there
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will be a fulfillment of those things which were
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told to her from the Lord. Thank you, Father.
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So this is an incredible story that relates to
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hope, and it connects with every single one of
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us because Elizabeth was a real person. She lived
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in a real world with real problems. She was a
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Jew living in a nation that was occupied by Rome.
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It was not an easy time for anybody to be alive.
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She had personal issues, and she had personal
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struggle. She was barren, and to be barren in
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a time like that was more than just not having
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a child. It was to be viewed as being cursed.
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It was to be viewed as a person that had done
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something wrong in the eyes of God. And so God
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would not allow you to have children. And so
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Elizabeth and Zachariah lived with a lot of pressure
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and a lot of difficulty swirling around them.
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Our situations in our time might be a little
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bit different. The perspectives that people have
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on these types of issues are not the same in
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our culture. Perhaps your situations are different.
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Perhaps the stuff that you are walking through
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is very different. But Elizabeth was transformed
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by the power of God. and she was transformed
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by the power of God because she placed her hope
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in him. Amen? And so... I am believing this whole
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Christmas season that God is going to do some
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things in your lives. I believe that God, this
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Christmas season, is going to draw you nearer
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to himself. The devotional that Cammie wrote,
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she said, we prepared a devotional. And she used
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that plural, and I could stand up here and take
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credit for that. But she has been writing this
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devotional for about two months now. putting
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it together. And so it is not a we thing. It
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is something that she put together. She probably
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didn't want me to say that. But this is... Why
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do this? Because corporately, we're seeking to
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draw nearer to the Lord than we've ever been
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before. Amen? And I'm believing that this Christmas
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season is not going to be about decorations primarily
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and presents, although I love decorations and
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presents. I love all that stuff. I think it's
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a great addition to our celebration. But primarily,
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I'm believing that you are going to draw near
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to Jesus this Christmas. season. And that you're
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going to look back on Christmas 2025 and you're
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going to say, that's a season that God did something
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in my life. That he worked in my life. Amen?
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And so we are believing that we together are
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going to draw closer to the Lord. We are secondly
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believing that as we look at these scriptures,
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this one particular in Luke chapter 1, that as
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we look at them, that we talk about his first
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coming. that it is going to propel you to talk
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about, to think about, and to look forward to
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his second coming. Because Jesus came the first
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time as a baby in a manger. He is coming back
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again as King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen?
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And so it is, you know, we have a manger up here
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as part of our decoration in our scene. We are
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not worshiping a baby that is still in a manger.
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We are worshiping a king that is at the right
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hand of the Father, that is alive forevermore,
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that is working in your life and in my life.
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We worship the King of Kings and the Lord of
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Lords, and he is preparing to return to the earth
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again. Hallelujah. We believe that with our whole
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heart. I want to declare something that's not
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in my notes right now. I am not... a Christian
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because I just couldn't make it through life
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any other way. I am not a Christian because I
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needed a crutch. I couldn't survive life on my
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own. And so things got so bad. I just needed
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something in my life. That is not why I'm a believer.
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I want to thank God for difficult seasons in
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people's lives because it is often the difficult
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season that wakes us up to the important things.
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But I am not a Christian because I went through
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a difficult season. I'm a Christian. Because
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I came face to face with Jesus. And I realized
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that I had stuff in my life that I was not right
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with God. And I needed a Savior to do what I
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could not do. Cross the bridge, the divide that
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was created by sin. Right? Because we're all
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separated from God because of sin. Can you imagine
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Saul on the road to Damascus saying, life is
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just so hard, I need a savior? You can't imagine
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that, can you? Because he was a... He was a strong
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individual. He was a strong person. He was putting
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Christians to death for their faith, thinking
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he was doing God a service. He was a strong person.
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We don't come to Christ just because we've become
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so weak we can't get by any other way. But Saul,
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on the road to Damascus, in Acts chapter 9, you
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can read the story, came face to face with Jesus.
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And more than anything else, I'm believing in
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our city, I'm believing in our culture, in our
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time, that people will come face to face with
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Jesus. Hallelujah. And I realized I need a Savior.
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I worship Jesus not because He's my crutch in
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life, but because He is worthy of my worship.
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I worship Jesus because He carried the cross
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for me. He paid the price for my sin. Hallelujah.
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And He's forgiven me. And I've met Him. And He
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walks with me. And he talks with me. I think
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about men of God particularly in the Bible because
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I view, you know, being a man, I view the scriptures
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oftentimes through the lens of and looking at
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other men in the Bible. And I think about King
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David. And I think about the strength that David
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carried. They sang of him, Saul has slain his
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thousands, but David his tens of thousands. David
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was a warrior. He was a magnificent person. He
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was strong. And he served the Lord, not because
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he was weak. He was so weak he needed a crutch.
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And that's how people often view the church.
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But David was a man's kind of man. And can I
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tell you something? It's a reflection of Jesus.
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When Jesus walked the earth, he walked the earth
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with strength. He stood up. to religious and
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sometimes political figures, he stood up with
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strength. Remember when he stood before the religious
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leaders and he said, you brood of vipers. And
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they all wanted to stone him, but Jesus, in the
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power of the Holy Spirit, walked through the
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crowd. And they couldn't lay a hand on him, even
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though they wanted to. And everybody eventually,
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by the end of his ministry, all the political
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people had united against him. And they were
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looking to kill him, but still he taught openly.
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He was a strong individual. He was worth following.
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He was worth following. kind of overplaying the
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Bears illustration here, but I love watching
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the locker room videos they show after the victory.
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And Ben Johnson, I don't think he's even a believer.
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I don't know, but he has this thing he does with
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the Bears, and he says, good, better, best. And
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in fact, that's getting real popular. How many
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of you have heard that? Good, better, best. Never
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let it rest till your good gets better and your
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better gets best. And all these men in the locker
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room following their 39 -year -old coach because
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he is viewed as a man's kind of man. And they're
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all following him and yelling and screaming for
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a game. But can I tell you, Jesus was a man's
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kind of man. Jesus stood strong. Jesus was not
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weak. He was not unsure of himself. He was a
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leader of leaders. And he's worth following.
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The King of kings and the Lord of lords that's
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coming back again. Let me come back to my notes.
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Hope is a precious... Commodity. When you lose
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hope, despair and defeat set in. When you lose
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hope, you want to give up. When you lose hope,
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you forfeit your harvest. You lose your race.
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If you have no hope, your life begins to spiral
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into apathy. You drop your face. You isolate.
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You turn inward. You begin to merely exist. But
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I have good news for you today. That God wants
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to restore hope. The hope that Elizabeth was
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living in in this scripture, and really you sense
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a lot of things in this verse overlap in joy.
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You see great joy in these verses. We're going
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to preach about that in the coming days. But
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the hope that she had, culminating here in the
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birth of her child, was cultivated in her life
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all along. Did you know that suffering well produces
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hope? Did you know that? We're going to see that
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Elizabeth positioned her life in such a way so
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that hope was her portion. Hope belonged to her.
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Hope starts with walking through difficulty well.
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And I've already described to you her life. And
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to have such hardship and such difficulty and
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still persevere through it and not give up, it
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produces hope. Let me read to you a verse from
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Romans. Just so you're not looking it up, I'll
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give it to you at the end of my reading of it.
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It says this, we glory in tribulation. This is
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kingdom talk right here. People that are normal
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don't say, I love it when I'm persecuted. I love
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it when I go through hardship. But this is what
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Paul said in Romans. I glory in tribulation.
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And Christian, you need to learn how to suffer
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well if you're going to walk in hope. I glory
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in tribulation. Now it goes on. Knowing that
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tribulation produces... And perseverance produces
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character. And character, hope. Hope. But where
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does it start? Tribulation. Now when you're suffering,
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you have a choice in how you're going to respond
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to that suffering. We typically do one of two
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things when we suffer. The first thing we do
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is we say, woe is me. I'm going through something
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nobody else has ever gone through. Life is so
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difficult. But the other response that is a response
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gifted to you from heaven, I believe. God will
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help you in it if you will take up this response.
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If you will say, you know what? I know this is
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tough. I know this is difficult. But I am still
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going to do the right thing. I know this is difficult.
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I know this is tough. But I know, even if I don't
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have them in my life right now, I know that there
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are others walking through more difficult things
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than me. And they are surviving, and they are
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thriving, and they are making it. And so do you
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know what I'm going to do? I'm going to press
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through the tribulation. And you know what's
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happening right now? You, like in a pressure
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cooker, you are forming the diamond of character
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in your life. And that character is starting
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to come through. I can make it. I can get all
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the way to the end. I can come through this.
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And you begin to encourage yourself in the Lord.
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Your tribulation produces the perseverance that
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you needed to face your own limitations so that
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you could push beyond them and become what God
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had created you to be. Character. And when you
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have that kind of character, it does something
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in you. It changes your outlook so that you look
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at a nation called America and you say this,
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America is not going to fall to pieces and fall
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to the ground and become nothing. I'm telling
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you what, I have more hope for America than I've
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ever had. I believe that her best days are still
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ahead of her. I believe that there is revival
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coming to the United States of America. I believe
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that the church is going to thrive again in the
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United States of America. I believe it with my
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whole heart. I have hope. Now, does that mean
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I believe that it's perfect? No. Does that mean
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I agree with everything happening? No, but I
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have hope. That's what character gives you, a
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new perspective. That out of these ashes, God
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can do something great. That out of this difficulty,
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something good can come forth. And I've been
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relating everything with Isaiah chapter 61. This
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is what it means that God gives beauty for ashes.
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He takes ashes and he makes something beautiful
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out of them. And do you know that's where diamonds
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come from? Ashes? Carbon. Squeezed and pressed
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together. In verse 5, this is Romans chapter
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5, by the way. Verses 3 through 5. It goes on
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and it says this. And hope never disappoints
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us. Because the love of God has been poured out
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in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Who was given
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to us. Going back to Luke chapter 1. You'll notice
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something. In verse 13. Now this is a part of
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the story we haven't touched this morning. And
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I'm not going to touch it a lot. Except that
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Elizabeth became pregnant by miracle. She was
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beyond the age of childbearing, just like Sarah
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in the Old Testament. Elizabeth was the same
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way. And even though she was beyond the age of
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childbearing, she and her husband, Zechariah,
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did not quit believing God. And so I want you
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to look at verse 13. We're not going to talk
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about this whole story. You can read the whole
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story because Zacharias, later on, he did have
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doubt and so forth. We're not going to talk about
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that as part of another message for another day.
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But look at verse 13. The angel said to Zacharias,
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do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer
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is heard. and your wife will bear you a son.
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Think about that. So this is Elizabeth and Zacharias
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together. Elizabeth passed the age of childbearing,
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and yet they are still standing in the place
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of prayer, believing God for a child. Do you
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know what that tells me? That even though others
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thought their dreams were shattered and others
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thought that they were cursed, that they were
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still standing in the place of hope. That Elizabeth's
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hope was not born the day she became pregnant.
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Elizabeth was standing in hope. All along her
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journey. Why? Because she had produced character
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in her life. That stood strong. And hope does
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not disappoint. Hope comes from suffering. Anybody
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out there in the midst of tribulation. Don't
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say woe is me. Don't say, oh, what's happening
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in my life? I'm not saying that the tribulation
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is fun. That fun is just an emotion. I'm not
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saying that you have to get ascetic about it
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and say, oh, just see how much I can take. I'm
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not saying that you have to be like that. But
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I am saying this, make a decision today. That
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in the midst of the tribulation that you are
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walking through, that you are going to allow
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God to work in your life. And in the midst of
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it, shape you into the person God created you
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to be. God created you for victory. God created
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you to come all the way through. God created
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you. He wired you. He wired you. He wired you
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for overcoming. Tap into that. Lord, thank you
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for helping me. I am coming all the way through
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this thing. In Jesus' name. Praise the Lord.
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Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. He said, you shall
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call his name John, and you will have joy and
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gladness. That's the word of the Lord. And so
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the first thing that joy comes from is suffering.
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I'm going to wrap this up pretty quickly here
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and spend less time on these next points. But
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hope is rooted in trial and difficulty. Number
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two, hope comes from believing the promise. When
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the promise is given to you. Now this is where
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Zacharias failed, if we would follow through
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his story. Zacharias expressed doubt given the
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promise. But when he came home and could not
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speak, and he sign -languaged everything to Elizabeth,
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and she finally understood what the angel had
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said to her, maybe Zacharias wrote it all down,
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Elizabeth didn't respond with doubt. Elizabeth
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responded with hope. She responded with faith,
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believing the promise. And, friend, When God
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speaks to you a promise, then you have another
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choice to make. Your first choice was in the
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suffering and in the lack and in the time of
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difficulty to persevere and produce character.
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And now here's your second choice. Your second
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choice is this. When you're given the promise,
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are you going to believe the promise or are you
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not going to believe the promise? And that's
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the choice. And a person that has produced character
37:08
in their life, that is walking in perseverance,
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a person that is walking in hope, a person that
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is walking in faith, will rise up and say, God,
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I believe your promise. Hallelujah. I believe
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your promise because hope is birthed in the promise
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of God. Hallelujah. Glory to God. And so in Hebrews
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chapter 11, in Hebrews chapter 11, I can't believe
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this isn't in my notes. I'm going to turn there
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real quick. Hebrews chapter 11. This is so good.
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It says this. Now faith is the substance of things.
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Hoped for. Wow. The evidence of things not seen.
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And so faith and hope are coupled together. They
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are eternally coupled together. Faith and hope.
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And so because I'm standing in faith, I have
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hope. Yeah, but pastor, you don't understand.
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I'm in stage four. Faith is the substance of
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things hoped for. Hallelujah. And so the evidence
38:56
of things not seen, For by it, the elders obtained
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a good testimony. They carried faith in their
39:05
heart, belief in God that he would come through.
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And so they obtained a good testimony. Think
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about Elizabeth's life. She had faith in God.
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She hoped in God. She hoped against everybody
39:21
else's hope. I'm going to stand believing God.
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I'm still believing God for a son. I'm still
39:30
believing God for a son. Everybody's cursing
39:35
me, but I'm believing God for a son. And she
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hoped against all hope. And guess what happened?
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Her story is recorded in this book. Her story
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is recorded in the New Testament for people to
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read for all of time. As an example of a woman
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that stood strong. She obtained a good testimony.
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You know what else she did? Verse 6 says, without
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faith, it is impossible to please God. She became
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somebody that brought pleasure. To the Lord.
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Faith and hope. They're linked together. You
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know what God delights in? When the circumstances
40:39
of life should snuff you out. The circumstances
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of life should just get you to quit. But you're
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still standing in faith, believing. You've not
40:51
received the answer. And God is receiving the
40:54
aroma of that faith. And it is making him happy.
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And that's what Elizabeth did. Look at her. She's
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still believing me. I want God to say that about
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me. Look, there's my son. He's still believing
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me. There's my daughter. I haven't healed her
41:25
yet. But she's still believing me. There's my
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child. I haven't worked that miracle out yet
41:35
that he's believing for. But they're still believing
41:40
me. Oh, and when God looks down and he sees that,
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the answer hasn't come yet. But you're still
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standing in faith believing. Oh, he begins to
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take delight in that. That becomes a worship
41:54
unto him. That becomes an aroma that is pleasing
41:57
to him. Without faith, it's impossible to please
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God. But with faith, I can be one that brings
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pleasure to the Lord. This is what hope is all
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about. This is what hope is all about. This is
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what faith is all about. Do you know more than
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receiving the answer at the end, which I thank
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God happens, but more than receiving the answer
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at the end of it all, I get to bring pleasure
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to the Father. And I'm believing that this Christmas
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season, that this story of Elizabeth would become
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very real in your life. And that you will become
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a person of hope. That is not dependent upon
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your situation and how much money you make. But
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it is dependent upon you standing in faith, believing.
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Young people, stand in faith, believing God for
43:02
your friends to come to Christ. Stand in faith,
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believing for the answer, for the miracle to
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come in the name of Jesus. Faith produces pleasure
43:16
in God. God, I have the opportunity to bring
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you pleasure. The opportunity to stand in faith.
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Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Glory to
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God. Praise the Lord. Faith. produces hope, believing
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Him. You know, just say one more thing here.
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When Mary entered the home and Elizabeth, her
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baby side of her, Elizabeth's own description
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is, He leapt in me. He leapt in me. And many
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of you women know what it's like to have a baby
44:36
in your womb and you feel that baby move. I could
44:40
later on in Cammie's pregnancies feel the baby
44:43
kicking, moving, but she could feel it obviously
44:47
in a totally different way. For her to describe
44:51
that as the baby leaping, jumping. And in that
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moment, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
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It's powerful. Filled with the Holy Spirit. All
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of that happened because Mary came into the house.
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But it was more than that. It wasn't Mary so
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much. It's that it was the child that Mary was
45:35
carrying. It was Jesus as an infant in the womb
45:45
coming in to Elizabeth's house. And even as an
45:52
infant, the power of God expressed through the
45:57
life of Mary, the power of God came into Elizabeth's
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home and impacted the baby Elizabeth was carrying
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and Elizabeth. And she recognized without Mary
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even saying anything, she had a word from God.
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You are carrying my Lord. That's what she said.
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You're carrying my Lord. And you're blessed because
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you are his mother. Just thinking about this,
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the times later when Jesus, would enter homes
46:47
in his ministry. It was in a home celebrating
46:56
a wedding where Jesus turned the water into wine.
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It was in a home, Peter's home, that Jesus came
47:09
in and the fever left. And Peter's mother -in
47:13
-law began to get up and serve them all. It happened
47:17
in a home. Jesus came in the home. It was in
47:23
a home that Jairus' daughter, the Roman soldier,
47:28
his daughter was dead. And when Jesus came into
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the home, everything changed. And that daughter
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who was dead, came to life. It was in a home
47:44
that the crippled man on a mat that was, remember
47:50
they dug through the roof, the thatched roof,
47:53
they dug through and they lowered that crippled
47:56
man down into that home. And that man stood up
48:01
to his feet and was healed. And it was because
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Jesus came into a home. It was in a home where
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Mary sat and worshipped and poured perfume on
48:19
Jesus' feet that was worth a year's wages. Think
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about what you make in a year. She poured that
48:28
out at the feet of Jesus in one act of worship
48:32
in a home. Zacchaeus. In Zacchaeus' home, salvation
48:40
came to him. His life was turned around. And
48:48
after the resurrection, Jesus walked on the road
48:53
to Emmaus, and there were two disciples that
48:57
he started walking beside, and they didn't know
49:00
it was him, and they invited, they compelled
49:02
him. They didn't say Jesus. They didn't know
49:06
it was him. But they said, come into our home.
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They compelled him to stay. And in their home,
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Jesus ate with them and talked with them. And
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when he revealed himself as the Christ, he disappeared.
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And the two disciples were left looking at one
49:29
another. And they said, this were not our hearts
49:33
burning within us. It happened in a home. Here
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in Elizabeth's home, she's filled with the Holy
49:48
Spirit. In Revelation chapter 3, Jesus said this,
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Behold, I stand at the door and knock. Knock.
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And Jesus said this, if any man hears my voice,
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he's calling out. He's calling out your name.
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And if any man will open the door and let me
50:28
in, I'll come in. Who knows what Jesus will do.
50:39
He raises the dead. He fills people with the
50:42
Holy Spirit. He turns water into wine. He makes
50:48
provision where there was none. If you will open
50:54
the door and say, Jesus, come in. Will you allow
51:03
him in? Will you open the door of your home?
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Will you open the door of your heart? Elizabeth
51:21
positioned herself. God, you're doing things
51:36
in the hearts of people around this room right
51:38
now. You're doing things in the hearts of people
51:42
at home right now. There's some here that have
51:49
lost hope. Do you want to restore hope to them?
51:58
There's some here that... The need for you to
52:07
come and just touch their heart. But there's
52:12
some here that, Lord, you want to come alongside
52:17
and you want to cheer on and you want to champion
52:19
because they are living Elizabeth right now against
52:31
everything. They are standing in faith, believing
52:36
God. So I'm going to, in a moment, just ask you
52:44
to stand. And I want you to stand for a couple
52:48
of things. One, I want you to stand if you're
52:53
here today, you're saying, you know what, I want
52:55
to open up the door to Christ. I have never opened
53:01
up my heart to Him. And this morning, I hear
53:06
Him calling me. He wants to do a work in your
53:11
life. And in a moment, if that's you, I'm going
53:14
to ask you to stand and say, yes, that's me.
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If you're here this morning, and you're in the
53:23
midst of a tribulation, and you're saying, I
53:25
am standing. I am standing, but I want... I want
53:32
you to pray for me because I have been tempted
53:34
to lose hope. I have been tempted to not believe,
53:39
to throw in the towel. In a moment, I'm going
53:44
to ask you to stand. Some are already standing.
53:50
Because I want to pray with you. And I want to
53:53
cheer you on in your faith journey to stay strong.
54:01
If you're here this morning and you're just saying,
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I want to grow in my faith. I want to grow in
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my faith because I want to bring pleasure to
54:17
God. Then I want you to stand. So whatever the
54:24
reason this morning, if one of those things applies
54:29
to you, Just before the team begins to lead us
54:33
in a worship song, I want you to stand right
54:38
now in the name of Jesus. Say, yes, Lord, that's
54:42
me. Here I am, God. I want you to do that work
54:45
in my heart. I want you to do that work in my
54:48
life. In the name of Jesus, people all over this
54:52
room, thank you, Father, standing. Thank you,
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God, for the courage that is in this room right
55:04
now. For people saying, you know what, it doesn't
55:07
matter what everybody else thinks. This is me
55:10
and you, Jesus. And I'm standing in faith, believing.
55:14
I'm standing in the midst of my trial. I want
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to be a son or a daughter that brings pleasure
55:23
to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Hallelujah.
55:31
Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You at home right now,
55:34
if you want to stand up in your living room right
55:38
now, come on, just stand up right where you are.
55:42
And just begin to say, God, I want to be that
55:45
person. I want to be that son. I can't do it
55:50
without you, Lord. In and of myself, I'm nothing,
55:54
but I know that with you, I can stand. And I
55:58
thank you for the character that you're forming
56:00
in this room right now. I thank you for what
56:04
you're doing right now in Jesus' name. I thank
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you, Father, for your goodness. Hallelujah.