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Get Me Through The Middle | Pastor D-Wom | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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If you got a Bible, I hope you do, open it to
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the book. I'm gonna be actually in two different
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places today. I'm gonna be in Numbers chapter
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11, and then I'm also gonna be in John chapter
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number six. Numbers chapter 11, and then John
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chapter six. You're in for a treat today, because
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I have for you two titles. Two titles today.
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If you're taking notes, I hope you are. Write
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this down. My first title is Get Me Through the
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Middle. Get me through the middle, and here's
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my, if you don't like that title, no problem.
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Here's my second title. My second title is, it's
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less flashy, less catchy, and much more boring,
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but much more impactful. My second title is this,
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The Importance of Missions. Get me through the
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middle or the importance of missions. Now, if
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you haven't learned by now, I'm loud. I'm a loud
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preacher. I'm going to be yelling at you all
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day today. I pray you yell back at me. But most
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importantly, I pray you yell at each other. So
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we're going to practice this today. I want you
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to turn to a neighbor. Get all up in their face
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with that nasty morning coffee breath and say,
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neighbor. No, we didn't all do it. Say, turn
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to a neighbor and say, neighbor, I need you to
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help me get through the middle. Now turn to your
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other neighbor because that neighbor didn't like
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you. Turn to the other neighbor and say, other
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neighbor, did you know that missions in the U
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.S. It's God's heart. Numbers chapter 11 and
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John chapter 6. If you got Numbers chapter 11,
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say, I got it. If you're still turning there,
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say, hold on. Oh, desperate hold on over here.
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We will wait for you. Numbers chapter 11. I'm
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going to start reading in verse number one. The
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word of God says this, and the people. This is
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the people of Israel, God's chosen people, the
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people that God has designed, destined, orchestrated
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to usher in the kingdom of God. And the people
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of Israel complained in the hearing of the Lord
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about their misfortunes. Everybody say, uh -oh.
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And when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled
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and the fire of the Lord burned among them and
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consumed. Some outlying parts of the camp. Pause.
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Did you read what I read? Don't make God mad.
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He will burn you and your tent and your goats.
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All of them. Verse 2. Then the people cried out
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to Moses. Right? Naturally. That is a natural
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response. If the chairs are on fire in faith
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church and it's God's fault, what are you going
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to do? Pastor Cammie, chairs are on fire. God
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did it. Tell him to stop it, right? That's what
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you would do. Moses, God's being mean. Tell him
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to stop it. And so Moses, being the good leader,
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prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down, verse
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3. So the name of that place was called Tibera
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because the fire of the Lord burned among them,
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verse 4. Now the rabble. Come on, everybody say
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rabble. You might have a version of the Bible
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that says the mixed multitude. It might say something
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like the others. It's important that we know
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in verse 4, the rabble there, they are not, not
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Israelites. Remember, we're reading verse 1,
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the people of Israel complain. The people of
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God, these people are not. Israelite people could
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have been Egyptians traveling with the people
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of Israel. Might have been nomads. Might have
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been people they picked up along the way in the
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wilderness. But they are not Israelite people.
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Likely Egyptians. The rabble that was among the
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people of Israel had a strong craving. Everybody
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say mmm. Dreaming about lunch. When is this preacher
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going to be done? Dreaming about the double bacon
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cheeseburger at lunch and the fries to go with
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and the chocolate milkshake. Come on, these friends
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had a craving, church. They had a craving and
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the people of Israel also wept again and said,
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oh, that we had some meat. Any vegetarians in
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the room? No vegetarians. This is the house of
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God. No vegetarians. I cannot believe. No vegetarians
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in the room. Oh, that we had some meat to eat.
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We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt that
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cost us nothing. The cucumbers and the melons
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and the leeks. And the onions and the garlic
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and the steak with butter dripping off and the
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onions on top and the fries and the bag of Skittles.
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Friends, they had a craving. But now our strength
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is all dried up and there's nothing but all of
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this manna to look at. Now let me just pause
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before I go on and read John 6. Pause so we can
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understand what's happening in the life of the
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people of Israel. They are at a critical stage.
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Juncture in their history and in their life.
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They have been, what we just read, they have
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been emancipated, set free from 400 years of
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slavery in the land of Egypt. 400 years, been
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crying out to God. God, set your people free.
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Hallelujah. Been a week. God, hey, still here.
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A year goes by, right? After a week and a month,
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we're like, hey, God. Did you forget about your
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people here? Two years go by, 50 years go by,
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100 years. God's still here. In this moment,
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God has answered their prayer. He has emancipated
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and set the people of Israel free. This story,
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they're no longer slaves. 400 years. Friends,
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I don't know what you're going through today,
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but has it been 400 years? of slavery in Egypt,
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and in this moment, they're free, but they want
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to go back. They want to go back to the land
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of Egypt because they remember. They remember
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the fish and the steak and the butter, and they
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remember the leeks. I don't even know what a
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leek is, but they had them in Egypt, and they
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want to go back to the land of Egypt. They're
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free, but now they want to go back. I find it
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intriguing because how many times in our life,
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when God doesn't work, do we find ourselves right
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back in the same place that God delivered us
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out of? God sets you free. He delivers you from
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addiction. But you remember. You remember the
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highs. You remember the adrenaline rush. God
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sets you free from a relationship, but you remember
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the good times. And you've got some cravings
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to want to go back. God delivers you from financial
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despair. And then all of a sudden, pre -approved
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$60 ,000 capital and credit card, hallelujah,
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must be the Lord, right? All of a sudden, you
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find yourself back in the same place God delivered
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you. This is the people of Israel. To a T today.
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Now let me go out. I'm going to read John chapter
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6 just so we can make this make some sense for
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us today. John 6, I'm going to start reading
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in verse number 30. It will also be up on the
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screen. The word of God says this. So they said
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to him. Just for some context here, the they
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is a group of people who come to the hymn. That
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would be Jesus. If you read earlier in this same
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chapter, John 6, you will read a story about
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Jesus who has done a miracle, friends. A miracle.
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The Bible says he fed a group of thousands, 5
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,000 to be exact, but it's not even exact because
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they didn't count the women or the children or
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the goats or the rats. We got rats in Chicago.
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We count them as well as the population. He didn't
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count any of them. So he feeds a group of likely
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10 ,000 to 20 ,000 with five loaves of bread,
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two fish. Five loaves, two fish. Wouldn't feed
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this room for a meal. Five loaves, two fish.
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Wouldn't feed my boys on the car ride back to
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Chicago today. And yet Jesus feeds the masses
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with five loaves, two fish. I make a huge deal
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because the question that they're about to ask
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Jesus is ridiculous. Then what sign do you do,
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Jesus, that we may see and believe you? He's
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just fed the crowd with 12 baskets left over.
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Who doesn't love leftover meatloaf? The disciples
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loved it. 12 leftover after the miracle, the
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sign. Then what sign do you do, Jesus? That we
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may see and believe you. What work do you perform?
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Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness. Now
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they're going back to the story we just read
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in Numbers. Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness
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as it is written. As if Jesus didn't already
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know. He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
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Translated, Jesus. Talking to Jesus, the crowd.
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Jesus, we know Moses was the real deal. You know
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why? Because our forefathers told us crazy stories,
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wild stories, Jesus, about what happened to our
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forefathers in the wilderness. Jesus, you should
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have been there. There was water. It came out
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of a rock. Moses hit the rock and water came.
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Crazy Jesus. We had a pillar of cloud and a pillar
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of fire. Wild Jesus. We had Panera bread falling
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from the sky every night on the ground. And we
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picked it up and had carbohydrates. Jesus. Crazy.
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We had a golden calf. Wasn't our best moment,
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Jesus, but we had it in there. There was a mountain
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shaking and God wrote stuff on a rock. Wild,
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Jesus, you should have been there. Then Jesus
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said to them, truly, I truly, I say to you, it
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was not Moses who gave you that bread from heaven.
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But my Father gives you true bread from heaven,
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for the bread of God is he who comes down from
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heaven and gives life to the world. And they
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said to him, Sir, give us this bread always.
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Jesus said to them, I am. Jesus says to them,
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Do you remember that water that came from the
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rock? Jesus says, You remember that manna that
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fell every night for a generation in the wilderness
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that you picked up and sustained you for a generation?
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That was me, Jesus says. The pillar of cloud
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and fire, that was me, Jesus says. I am the bread
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of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger.
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And whoever believes in me shall never thirst
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again. Amen? Father, let's pray together today.
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Father, I love you. I praise you. God, your word's
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alive, living, active, has the power to go places
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my words cannot. So, Father, if we do nothing
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more than read your word today, we can leave
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here changed. Anything I say above and beyond
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this, let it be anointed by your Holy Spirit,
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I pray. In Jesus' mighty name, everybody said
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amen and amen. Get me through the middle or the
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importance of missions. Curious, in the room,
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do we have any frequent flyers, frequent travelers
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by plane? Maybe you travel for work. Anybody
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in the room? frequently fly. Okay, has anybody
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ever been on an airplane? Anybody ever been?
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Okay, there we go. Everybody else, you've seen
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an airplane? Everybody we've seen an airplane?
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Okay. All right, we got them all. We got them
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all. My family, we're in a unique season of time
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where we travel frequently for what we do, what
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God's called us to do in Chicago. We don't fly
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frequently, but here's what I've learned. In
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the few times we fly per year, maybe once, twice
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a year, what I've learned about the whole process
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of flying, the whole TSA. It's orchestrated,
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designed to suck the fruit of the Spirit from
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your face. That's what I've learned about the
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whole process. I mean, we're a family of seven.
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So when we fly specifically, like a move of God
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must happen in our home to get from our door
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to our destination, right? We've got to find
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the suitcases because inevitably they're in the
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attic or the basement. Sometimes they're in the
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alley. We don't know why they're there, but they're
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there. We've got to find them. We've got to find
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the underwear with no stains in the underwear,
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right? Especially if you're going to see the
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in -laws. You've got to make sure you impress
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the in -laws. You've got to find the socks with
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no holes in the socks. You've got to find the
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stuffies and the water bottles and the backpack.
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You've got to find it all. And then my family
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and I, when we travel, specifically by plane,
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we are faced with a critical decision. Do we
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drive to O 'Hare International Airport? Because
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if we drive there, then we've got to pay to park.
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It's $14 ,000 a day just to park. At O 'Hare.
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And so then we must decide, do we drive or do
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we Uber? We can't just Uber. Did you know that?
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We have to Uber XXL. Did you know that was a
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thing? I didn't either. It's the last time we
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had to do it. Uber XXL. You got to get all the
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kids inside there. The largest Uber they have.
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The car seats. Got to get the backpacks and the
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suitcases. Got to get the kids in there and my
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wife in there. Got to get them all in there.
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And then you get to the airport. You got to get
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them all out. All the kids, all the car seats,
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the stuffies, the backpacks, the goldfish. Everything
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got to come out. All the while they're yelling
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at you. You got to go. Got to move. Hurry it
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up. You're a terrorist. Keep it going. We're
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not terrorists. We just have a lot of kids and
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a lot of stuff. Then, friends, you are faced
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with the reality you must go in to talk to the
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ticket counter person. They don't love you. They
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don't even like you, frankly, right? Like, you've
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got to get your ticket, and then you have to
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go through security. TSA. You've got to get all
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the kids through there. You've got to go through
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the thing. You've got to turn around. You've
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got to bend over. You've got to cough. The whole
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thing, just to get through security, to get to
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your gate. And then we get to our gate, friends,
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and we all do this. Last time we flew, true story.
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We all do this. We grab our phones or our boarding
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passes and we look at them. Tells an important
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story because your boarding pass is going to
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tell you, it's going to give you a number and
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a letter. That letter is important in how you're
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going to spend the next three, four hours of
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your life. If you get the letter A, you are blessed
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by God. Blessed because you have the window seat.
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You can look out, see the clouds. You can hashtag
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it, post it on your Insta. It's great, powerful.
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You get the letter B, mm -mm, no bueno, nope,
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not good. You got the middle C, not good. Favor
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of God's not on your life. You get the letter
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C, awesome. Holy Spirit has anointed you. You
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have the aisle seat where you can get up and
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move around freely. So last time I fly, I grab
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my phone. We all do this. Lest you think I am
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the only heathen in the room. We all do. We grab
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our boarding pass and we get onto the plane.
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And we start looking in the area that we think
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we're going to be. Right? And you start stereotyping
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people. You're like that guy. Looks awesome.
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Looks like he'd ignore me. Earbuds in, arms crossed.
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Perfect guy. You're like, that person looks like
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they smell. Don't want to sit next to that person.
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So I grab my boarding pass, looking down the
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plane, and I look at the area that I think I'm
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going to be. I see a large guy. Large guy. Totally
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cool. He has the earbuds, the arms crossed. He's
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on the aisle seat. Then I see an empty seat,
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the middle one. And then I see another seat taken
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by a lady. Lady was special because she had something
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special with her. Someone special with her. Brand
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new. Days, weeks old, baby. Baby. Brand new baby.
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They're having a time. I can hear the baby from
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the front of the plane looking back there, seeing
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the guy, empty seat, and then the lady with the
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baby. I'm thinking, dear Lord, baby Jesus, if
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there's any grace left in you, let that not be
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my seat. Because as I get closer, then you hear
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things, you start to smell things, you start
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to see things. Baby's projectile vomit coming
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out of baby. You get closer, I'm looking, I see
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brown dribblies coming down baby's leg. You know
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how you're supposed to have the tray table up?
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During text, not this lady. Nope, she had tray
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table. Down, changing the baby, changing the
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baby. I'm thinking, oh God, oh God, please let
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this not be my seat. Lo and behold, that's my
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seat between large guy and lady with the baby.
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I sit down, the plane takes off. We're in the
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air. She's still having a time. Mom's having
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a time trying to keep baby calm, fed, nourished,
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all the thing. She's having a time. I now ding.
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I call it the dingy bar. You know the dingy bar?
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You got the air, you got the light, and you got
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the dingy bar. The dingy bar will ding the flight
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attendant. The flight attendant will come your
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way. I ding the dingy bar. The flight attendant
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comes my way. I say, excuse me. And I try to
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like slunk away from the lady because she's doing
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the best she can. Best she possibly can. Give
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her the benefit of the doubt there. Excuse me.
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Are there any other seats anywhere on the plane?
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Now I could tell immediately this flight attendant
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was not on my side. She says, no, there are no,
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loudly, other seats anywhere on the plane. Now
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I must slunk back into my seat. Mom was having
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a time. Guy's over here just kind of chuckling.
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You could see his shoulders just kind of going
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at it, right? Like mom's having a time. She turns
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to me with what I can only describe as this demonic
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voice, force. She looks at me and says, how dare
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you? And I'm trying to be calm and respectful.
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Like, you're doing the best you can. How dare
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you? Can't you tell? I'm doing everything I possibly
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can to keep my baby fed and changed and clothed
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and nourished. I said, no, I cannot because it
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smells and it's gross. Can't you tell? How dare
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you? Now, again, lest you think I'm the only
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bad guy in the room, in the room, sermonic survey
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time, how many of the room you'd say, you know
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what, pastor, you should have just sat there
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and taken it. You should have just been there.
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If the baby vomits on you, so be it. You should
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have offered a chance. You should have just sat
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there, not said a word. Raise your hand. I don't
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see any hands. All right. How many in the room?
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You're on my side. Absolutely. Not sitting next
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to stinky, poopy, vomit baby. Anybody in the
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room? Be honest. Heathens, heathens, heathens,
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heathens, heathens, all heathens. I couldn't
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believe this lady was mad at me, friends. I couldn't
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believe this lady who's having a time, this lady
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who was my wife, was mad at me, babe. We're headed
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to a ministry trip. I had to write a sermon.
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Babe, I've been there. Done that with Geronimo.
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He's good. You got this, right? You got this.
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Couldn't believe my wife was mad. Me. We're still
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in counseling over this. Here's what I've learned,
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although this story paints a ridiculously true.
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story. It paints a powerful picture in the life
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of the people of Israel today. Because if we
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could just kind of paint the picture here, if
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we could say that the window seat represents
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the land of Egypt, then the middle seat represents
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what we would call the middle. The journey, the
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process, the Bible calls it the wilderness. But
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we also know that the aisle seat represents the
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land of promise. The Bible says the land of Canaan
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is the land of favor, milk, blessing, and honey,
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the Bible calls this place. So we got the land
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of Egypt, we got the middle, and we got the promised
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land. The people of Israel today find themselves
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in the middle, frustrated, stuck in the middle.
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Because for 400 years, they've been crying out
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to God. God, set your people free. And in a moment,
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he does. He emancipates them from captivity,
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slavery in Egypt. And we all know he could have
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zapped them immediately into the land of blessing
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and favor and milk and honey. But he doesn't
21:40
do that. For 40 more years, it's almost as though
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we could say he condemns them. Although he doesn't,
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from our perspective, it feels like he condemns
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them to the middle, to the frustration of the
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wilderness. Friend, you may be here today and
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you may be saying, you know what, this kind of
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describes my life because God in my life has
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done a work. He has saved me. He has emancipated
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me. He has removed me from captivity in my Egypt,
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in my sin. And I know that God has a land marked
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out for me, a season of life and ministry and
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blessing. ahead of me, a new season of ministry
22:24
ahead of me. But today I find myself stuck, frustrated
22:27
in the middle. I find myself drinking that same
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water coming out of the rock. I'm like, God.
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Dr. Pepper would be good every once in a while,
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but it's the same water. It's the same manna
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every day. I mean, it's the same thing. It's
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the same job. It's the same car. It's the same
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bills over. And you find yourself frustrated
22:48
and stuck in the middle. And what I've learned
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is that God uses the middle, the frustration,
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the feeling stuck. of the journey, of the process,
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of the wilderness. He uses it to remove remnants
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of our past from us, to prepare us for what he
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has in the future for us. Maybe today you're
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here, still captivated by your Egypt, captivated
23:18
by your sin. Today you're going to have an opportunity
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to experience that freedom that the people of
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Israel experienced. that I have experienced,
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that so many in the room have experienced. But
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friend, let me tell you this, that the journey
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you're about to walk into is not necessarily
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the land of blessing and favor and milk and honey
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immediately. God may have a new journey marked
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out for you, marked with what you would say is
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the frustration of the middle, but friend, it
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is the best place you could possibly be. In fact,
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if I could just even take it a step further,
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because friends in the room, if you are saved,
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sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost, you got
23:52
the victory kind of a person. If God has done
23:54
a work in your life, God has designed, orchestrated
23:57
you to be a missionary to this world. You don't
24:01
have to be a fully appointed Assemblies of God,
24:03
U .S. missionary, world missionary to do what
24:06
God's called you to do. He has called each and
24:07
every one of us to fulfill the Great Commission.
24:10
Therefore, go. and make disciples. The Bible
24:15
doesn't say, open the church doors and yell loud,
24:18
hey, Lincoln, get in here. No, the Bible says,
24:22
go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
24:27
them in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
24:30
Here's what I found. When people give their life
24:32
to Jesus, God does a work instantaneously in
24:35
their heart. They move from death to life in
24:38
a moment, in a moment. But oftentimes those same
24:42
proclivities, patterns in their life require
24:45
a journey, a process to be removed to prepare
24:48
them for the future he has for them. Our job
24:51
is to fulfill the Great Commission by getting
24:54
people out of Egypt and into the middle. Because
24:57
we know the middle is going to lead to the promise.
24:59
The frustration of the middle is going to lead
25:02
to the promised land. Can I share a story with
25:06
you? Story of a guy named Big Sean. Big Sean
25:10
is one of our friends in Chicago. Large, probably
25:15
6 '6 guy. Lives on the street. He lives under
25:20
an underpass in Chicago, right off Lakeshore
25:23
Drive, under the Wilson underpass. This is a
25:26
large man who is mentally not all there. When
25:29
you have a conversation with him, you understand
25:30
that he is clearly demonically possessed. And
25:35
the things he says and the things he does, you
25:37
talk with him and you almost get chills because
25:39
you understand you're dealing with something
25:40
spiritual here. So one night our team from our
25:43
church, our ministry was out. We have a big homeless
25:46
ministry that we do. And we were out under this
25:48
particular underpass. What we typically do is
25:51
roll up. We have a bunch of food. We feed them.
25:53
We clothe them. We give them whatever they need.
25:55
We pray for them. And then you move on. You do
25:59
all that stuff and then you move on. Because
26:00
it's not a place you want to stay for too long.
26:02
So this particular night I've got a caravan of
26:05
three people. I'm leading the caravan. We've
26:06
got two cars behind us. Myself. My oldest son
26:09
was with us that particular night. My kids are
26:12
out on the streets, friends. That's why I'm asking
26:14
for your prayers for my family. So we're out.
26:17
We do our whole thing. We feed them. We pray
26:18
for them. And then I get back into my van to
26:21
start it up, and my van will not start. I'm leading
26:23
the team, the caravan, this particular night.
26:26
We fed them. We prayed for everybody. Van won't
26:28
start. I send the team on ahead. I stay behind
26:31
with myself, my son, and then we had one other
26:35
guy. I said, hey, why don't you stick back with
26:36
us just for... You know, security. It's not a
26:38
place you want to be in Chicago for too long.
26:40
Left there. So we're stranded. I call my wife,
26:42
babe, find us a tow truck. I got to make sure
26:45
we're good. We're safe here in this area. Find
26:46
us a tow truck. This is Chicago, friends. Anything
26:49
you want, you can get any time of day. You want
26:52
a Ben and Jerry's? It's there. You can have it
26:54
delivered to your house at 2 a .m. You need a
26:56
tow truck any time of day? It's there. For 45
26:58
minutes, my wife could not find a tow truck.
27:01
This is like 7 o 'clock at night. Unheard of
27:04
in the city of Chicago. We're there. She's frantic.
27:07
panicking because I got our son with us in an
27:10
area you don't want to be there. And so we get
27:12
out of our van and then Big Sean is standing
27:14
there. For the next 45 minutes, you have to understand,
27:18
I have never had a coherent conversation with
27:20
Big Sean, ever. For the next 45 minutes, we shared
27:24
the gospel with Big Sean. Big Sean, in the most
27:28
coherent possible way, asked questions about
27:30
the gospel, asked questions about Jesus. At the
27:33
very end of that conversation, Big Sean gave
27:36
his life to Jesus. We moved. We didn't move.
27:41
God moved Big Sean from slavery, addiction, demonic
27:46
possession. He moved him from his Egypt into
27:49
the middle, into the process where God's going
27:53
to start pruning some things out of him to prepare
27:55
him for what he has for him in the future. The
27:57
crazy thing about this story, we finished with
28:00
Big Sean for 45 minutes. Again. He gives his
28:03
life to Jesus for 45 minutes. My son's running
28:05
up and down the embankment, Lakeshore Drive,
28:07
not a place you want to go and hang out. He's
28:09
just hanging out doing his thing. We get back
28:11
into my van. The van starts right back up. God
28:15
had us positioned there as missionaries in the
28:18
city of Chicago to move one guy from Egypt ultimately
28:22
to his promised land. But we know that it's going
28:24
to be frustrated in the middle for a little while
28:26
while God removes the things from him. The van
28:28
starts right back up. We get back in the van.
28:31
Johnny, my oldest at the time, he didn't know
28:33
how to phrase it. He said, Dad, I didn't know
28:36
God could do magic like that. We talked about
28:39
the power of God. Two things needed to happen
28:42
that night. Big Sean needed to hear the gospel
28:44
in the most coherent way he's ever heard it.
28:47
He needed to give his life to Jesus. And my son
28:50
needed to see the power of God on display in
28:53
a tangible, real way. Moving Big Sean from his
28:57
Egypt to the wilderness, ultimately to his promised
29:00
land. That's what we're called to do as missionaries.
29:02
That's what you're called to do as believers
29:04
in the Lord Jesus, to move people from their
29:07
Egypt. We know it's going to be frustrating for
29:10
a while while God prunes and removes some things
29:12
from the past to prepare them for the future.
29:16
One last story. This is a little more personal.
29:19
When I was... Pastor, what time are we done?
29:23
We're good. Okay. You can send me a keyboard
29:26
player. It'll make me sound more spiritual. Awesome.
29:30
Thank you. Personal story here. I was 12 years
29:33
of age, and my entire world shattered, completely
29:38
changed, blew up. I grew up going to church,
29:41
kind of like what we're doing here today. We
29:43
went to church on Sunday morning. The next six
29:45
and a half days of the week were met with utter...
29:48
Violence, I think, is the best word to describe
29:51
my upbringing. My father is a Vietnam vet. I
29:55
am grateful for the military. Lest you think
29:57
there's any disdain, there's none. I'm grateful.
30:00
If you have served, if you serve, thank you.
30:02
We honor you. We are so grateful for your service
30:05
and sacrifice. Just the reality of my story.
30:09
My dad is a Vietnam vet. He was a sniper in the
30:11
Vietnam War. I cannot imagine what my dad saw.
30:15
I can't imagine what they went through. I can't.
30:17
And I never will. He never talked about it, and
30:20
still to this day does not. He had a severe anger
30:22
problem going into the military, which was only
30:26
exacerbated by the war, and then further exacerbated
30:29
by a severe alcohol problem. And when I say alcohol
30:33
problem, this isn't just get drunk. This is drinks
30:38
whiskey, beer, like it's water to this day. He's
30:41
74 years of age to this day. It's the exact same
30:43
thing. My upbringing was met by violence. Again,
30:51
I'll be delicate. I know we have young people
30:52
in the room there. Culminated in a moment where
30:56
my father attempted to murder my mother with
30:59
a machete. My brother calls the police. They
31:03
take my dad off to jail. That moment clearly
31:08
marks you. And it stays with you. And if I'm
31:12
being honest, the reality is that marks me to
31:15
this day. I would love to tell you that that
31:19
moment set me on a course and a trajectory towards
31:22
God. It did not. It set me on a course trajectory
31:25
running from God. Really for the next three or
31:28
four years, I ran from God with everything I
31:31
had and got into all the trouble you can imagine.
31:34
Wrong friends, wrong things, trouble with the
31:37
law, in places I shouldn't be. You name it, I'm
31:42
there. Just wild and rampant for three, really
31:46
four years of my life. 16 years of age, right
31:53
around 16 going on 17. My mom had invited me.
31:57
I was still living at home, but I was doing my
31:59
thing. She invited me to go to dinner one night
32:02
at a cafe. I grew up in South Dallas. A cafe
32:05
called Cotton Patch. Cotton Patch Cafe, if you're
32:08
ever in South Dallas. Look it up, go, it's awesome.
32:11
Invited me to dinner. Little did I know, my mom
32:14
had invited that particular night some family
32:17
friends. They happened to be Assemblies of God
32:20
world missionaries. They were world missionaries
32:22
to Austria. Nick and Ruth Wilson. This moment
32:38
changed my life. Because as we're walking into
32:42
Cotton Patch, they looked at me and said, David,
32:56
you have a call of God on my life. I didn't know
33:00
what that meant. I had no clue what that meant.
33:07
And they walked me as we're walking. We hadn't
33:09
even had dinner yet. Normally you save it for
33:11
after dessert. So for the next hour, two hours,
33:16
whatever it was, we walked through what we would
33:19
call God meant. We walked through what repentance
33:21
meant. We walked through what it meant to serve
33:24
God and to give your life fully to the Lord.
33:26
In that moment at Cotton Patch Cafe, I gave my
33:29
life back to Jesus because of a world missionary
33:32
who just happened to be home. They serve overseas.
33:36
They only come home every so often. They happened
33:38
to be home that night, that day. My mom invited
33:41
them, and because of that world missionary, it
33:44
changed this U .S. missionary for the rest of
33:47
my life. But I also tell you that because the
33:50
reality is this, that I would love to tell you
33:52
that I, today, as a man of God, no longer find
33:55
myself in the middle, but the reality is I do.
33:58
I find myself in the frustration of the middle
34:00
almost daily. Because the moment when I was 12,
34:03
when my father attempted to murder my mother,
34:06
that stays with you. And it will never leave
34:09
me. It will never go away from me. Because the
34:12
reality is this. I today, as a man of God, married
34:15
to my best friend, my high school sweetheart.
34:34
With five amazing kids. You have to forgive my
34:42
emotion. My son will tell you I never do this.
34:47
I find myself often still frustrated in the middle.
34:54
Because my reality is the same proclivities that
34:57
my father exampled in front of me. I've dealt
35:01
with in my own life. The same substance as my
35:03
father abused, I have abused. The same things
35:06
that my father has dealt with, I have. The same
35:08
anger he's dealt with, I've dealt with. And if
35:11
it's not for the frustration of the middle, God
35:14
pruning, God removing, God preparing me, I'll
35:18
find myself back in the same place that God delivered
35:22
me out of. Friend, you may be here today frustrated
35:25
in the middle. Can I tell you that John 6, 35
35:30
is true. Jesus says, I am the bread of life,
35:33
he says. Whoever comes to me will never hunger,
35:35
will never thirst again. Friend, the middle is
35:37
the best place you can possibly be. Whether you're
35:40
stuck in Egypt and need to move to the middle,
35:43
whether you're in the middle today and waiting
35:45
for your promised land, the middle is the best
35:47
place you can be to experience the grace of God,
35:50
the favor of God, the direction of God, the sustenance
35:53
of God, the mercy of God, unlike any place you'll
35:57
find in Egypt or in the promised land. Friend,
36:00
you may be stuck here in Egypt today. God wants
36:02
to remove you from Egypt. He wants to emancipate
36:05
you, set you free, and move you ultimately to
36:08
the promised land, but by way of the middle,
36:10
by way of the journey, by way of the process,
36:13
to remove some things to prepare you ultimately
36:16
for what he has for you. I think my title, I
36:20
think it's wrong. That's our prayer, is it not?
36:23
God, get me through this. And yet I think my
36:26
prayer and our title today should be, God, don't
36:29
get me through it. God, keep me. in the middle
36:33
until you've done all you want to do in me. Remove
36:36
all you have to remove from my path, from me,
36:39
to prepare me for what you have ultimately in
36:42
the promised land. Whether you're stuck in Egypt
36:46
today, surrounded by your sin, accompanied by
36:52
your addiction, whether you find yourself freed
36:57
but frustrated in the middle, maybe you find
37:00
yourself today living in your blessing. God wants
37:03
to do a work in your life today. He wants to
37:06
stir some hearts. He wants to set some people
37:09
free. He wants to call people into missions today.
37:12
Can we pray together today? Father, I love you
37:14
and I praise you. Again, I'm grateful for the
37:18
opportunity to gather around your word. Would
37:22
you do what only you can do in this moment? Let
37:24
me make this synced, but... Maybe you're here
37:30
today and you would say, Pastor, here's my reality.
37:32
I today find myself still frustrated, stuck in
37:35
Egypt. I find myself surrounded by sin. I find
37:40
myself in a reality of the decisions I've made.
37:44
Just stuck in sin. Today I need to be free. I
37:47
need to be emancipated. I need to be set free
37:49
from my captivity. Or maybe for you, you've had
37:54
that moment. You've made some decisions that
37:56
led you on a path. path away from God, and you
37:58
need to come back into alignment. And you find
38:00
yourself still kind of stuck and frustrated in
38:02
Egypt. If there's anybody in the room today,
38:05
you can say, I need to give my life to Jesus
38:07
for the first time, or I need to come back into
38:09
alignment with Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Lord
38:12
means He's in charge of all. I hold nothing in
38:14
my own control. I give it all to Him. Savior
38:16
means I accept Him as the one who died on a cross
38:18
in my place for my sin. I need to come back into
38:21
alignment with the Word of God. If you're here
38:23
in the room, would you just wave a hand? No one's
38:24
looking around. Wave a hand at me and say, pray
38:25
for me. Move yourself from Egypt. Maybe you're
38:40
in the room today and you'd say, Pastor, I find
38:42
myself freed, no longer in captivity, but frustrated
38:45
today in the middle. I find myself asking God,
38:48
why the same water? God, why the same manna?
38:51
Why the same wandering every day? You've promised
38:55
me a land of blessing, a season of fruitfulness
38:59
and ministry ahead. But today I find myself frustrated
39:04
in the middle and I need to be reminded that
39:07
God is as near to me in the middle as he was
39:09
in Egypt and as he is in the promised land. I
39:12
need to be reminded and encouraged today by God's
39:14
grace in the middle. Anybody here wave a hand
39:16
to me? Pray for me today. Praise God. Praise
39:19
God. Amen. Maybe you're here today and you say,
39:23
Pastor, I feel a call of God on my life. Into
39:26
the mission field. Whether that's overseas or
39:29
whether that's right here in the United States
39:31
of America, I feel that the Lord has positioned
39:33
me, called me by name, and stirred my heart today
39:36
and birthed inside of me a dream that I didn't
39:40
even know was there. But I feel a call of God
39:43
on my life to answer that today and to say, I
39:46
am committed. Here I am. Send me. frustrated,
41:55
stuck in the middle, Lord, I pray you remind
41:57
them that they're not stuck. God, you're removing
42:00
some things from the past to prepare them for
42:02
the future. God, remind them of that daily water
42:05
and manna. You are more than enough. You are
42:08
the bread. You are the well that never runs dry.
42:10
You are the one who crawls, who sustains, the
42:15
one who does it all. So God, remind them and
42:17
encourage them. Lord, I pray over my brother
42:19
who's called. Lord, I pray your anointing and
42:22
your manna. your colossal, give them a complete
42:28
knowledge of your will, spiritual wisdom and
42:30
understanding. And for those who are called and
42:32
you're just a little afraid to answer that call
42:35
today, give them courage and boldness to know
42:37
that when they step out of the bow, that's where
42:40
you are. You're in the midst of the wind and
42:43
the waves and the storm. You're the one who sustains,
42:47
you're the one who calls, you're the one who
42:48
provides. And so God, I pray your anointing upon
42:50
this church. Thank you for the heart of this
42:53
church to not just minister here in this house,
42:58
but to minister locally, globally. May your blessing
43:01
and your anointing fall upon this house in such
43:04
a rich and unique way. Lord, I pray over Pastor
43:08
Darren and Kim, your anointing, your fresh vision.
43:13
May they never rely on yesterday's anointing
43:16
for today's call and today's challenge. We honor
43:22
you. We thank you. awed sinners like us. You
43:27
are so good and so kind to us. We commit our
43:31
lives to you once again. In Jesus' holy name,
43:34
amen. Faith Church, God bless you. Thank you.