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Faithfulness in the Follow-Through: Finishing What God Started in You · Fostering Faith

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Welcome back to Fostering Faith. And so in last
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week's episode, I was just like, oh, it's just
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going to be our last week because I thought that
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there was going to be four weeks in a month,
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but there's really not. There's five weeks. So
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we are back for our fifth episode in January.
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And if you are new here to Fostering Faith, welcome
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to the channel where we are just fostering our
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faith together. We are walking and just growing
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our spiritual growth together as a community.
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And if you are a returning listener, welcome
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back home. And today we're going to be talking
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about a big one because we've spent all month
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talking about spiritual foundations, holy habits,
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discipline, bold prayers, and having the faith
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to go where God sends you. But the real question
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is, where do you go after you go? Because obedience
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isn't just in a moment. It's in the movement.
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It's in the follow through. and you can feel
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God calling you to do something and you can take
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the next step and you can say yes and you can
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go, but can you say faithful after that feeling
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wears off? See, anyone can go, but not everyone
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can grow. And today we're going to be talking
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about what may not be the most exciting next
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step, but the endurance of the second mile. And
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so in this episode, we're going to call faithfulness
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in the follow through the hype. always fades
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and so let's be real when god calls us to do
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something it feels exciting it feels powerful
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it feels new it feels momentum it feels spiritual
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and then life happens and you go where he told
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you to go you stepped into that ministry you
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showed up for that assignment you started the
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new routine you began the new relationship that
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got aligned and whenever you hit that point where
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you go well This was easier than the adrenaline
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was here. It was easier whenever that rush was
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there It was easier when the excitement was there
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It was easier whenever it was new and fresh But
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you're five years into this and you are just
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like what or you're not even a five years into
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it You could be a week into it a month into it
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because often times that newness wears off kind
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of like whenever you get a new car like after
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the first month the car smells gone and then
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you have potential payments and all this and
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I mean like Do I do I what what? You know, where
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do I go from here? And so let me tell you the
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truth that no one wants to preach. Obedience
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is emotional at first, but then it becomes spiritual
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in the follow through. The hype is in the moment,
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but faithfulness is in the lifestyle. And so
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we have people in scripture. So let's go through
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scripture because there's a biblical pattern.
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So Nehemiah, didn't just go rebuild the wall.
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He didn't just hear from God and then run with
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enthusiasm. He had to stay focused. He faced
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oppression. He shut down distraction. He ignored
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critics. He fight spiritual warfare. He handled
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conflict and kept people encouraged and pushed
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through exhaustion. And then on day 52, the wall
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was finished. Not day one. Not when it was exciting.
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not at the starting line, but on day 52. After
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day 51 of faithfulness, Nehemiah 6 .3 says, one
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of my favorite verses, he says, I am doing great
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work and I cannot come down. That is the heart
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of the follow through. It's not glamorous. It's
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not emotional. It's not Instagrammable. It's
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not goosebumps. It's steady. It's focused. It's
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obedience on the repeat. And so, Listen, spiritual
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maturity isn't whenever you go. Spiritual maturity
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is whenever you keep going. And you know why?
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Because through follow through, it requires spiritual
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discipline, humility, consistency, patience,
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sacrifice, grit, trust, surrender in the Holy
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Spirit. Anyone can start something, but few people...
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finish it. And so whenever we first heard this
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podcast it was just like they say that 90 % of
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podcasts at SART never get past six episodes
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and so we are well into our six episodes and
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we just keep going and just love hearing that
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people are tuning in and we are just expecting
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God for great things and He's maturing us, He's
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growing us, He put us in seminary for a reason.
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And we are just learning and loving on Jesus.
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And so why are we going to seminary? Not a clue.
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Not a clue. But we are just walking through semester
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by semester and just hoping and praying that
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we are doing God's will and taking the classes
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that He wants for us. And so as we are going
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to be starting our next semester. And so that's
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why we were wanting to just These messages encourage
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me just as much as I hope they encourage you.
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And people can start something, but very few
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people will finish it. And even Jesus talked
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about this in Luke 14 28. So which of you wanting
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to build a tower does not sit down and count
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the cost? Jesus wasn't thinking about the bricks.
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He was talking about discipleship. Before you
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start, you count the cost. And after you start,
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you carry the cross. And so the real reason for
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follow -through matters because Jesus didn't
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say, well done, good and faithful starter. He
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said, well done, good and faithful servant. Faithful,
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not flashy, but faithful. Why does follow -through
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matter? Because every calling has a completion
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every assignment has an after every goal has
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a keep going God is not just the God of beginnings
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He's the God of process and the enemy doesn't
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attack you when you go He attacks you whenever
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you continue because if he can't stop you first
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He'll try to stop you on the next one And that's
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why Galatians 6 9 says do not grow weary for
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doing good for in due season You will reap if
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you do not give up There's the keek word if You
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reap if You don't quit not if you start if you
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continue and So let me talk to the person who
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is tired the person who stepped out of faith
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But now you feel overwhelmed the person who obeyed
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But now you feel unseen the person who said yes
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Lord, but now the reality is heavier than a moment
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of excitement You need to hear me. Just because
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it's hard doesn't mean it's the wrong assignment.
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Sometimes the hardest obedience produces the
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greatest fruit. Faithfulness doesn't mean ease.
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It means endurance. Faithfulness doesn't mean
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excitement. It means commitment. Faithfulness
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doesn't mean clarity. It means trust. You don't
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go through this because it's fun. You follow
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through because it's right. And so let's get
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practical because I know you love when things
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are teachable, reachable, and practical. And
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so what does follow through really look like?
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Follow through looks like showing up when no
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one sees you. Follow through looks like praying
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whenever you don't feel like it. Reading the
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Bible whenever it feels dry. Staying planted
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where God put you. Finishing what God told you
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to do in the beginning. Trusting God with the
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results. Follow through looks like obedience
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in the ordinary Tuesday morning. Faithfulness
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is not glamorous, but it's powerful. And you're
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further than you think. Let me remind you that
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you are not behind. You are being built. You
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are not slow. You're being strengthened and you're
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not forgotten. You're being formed. You're not
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failing. You're being fortified. You're not stuck.
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You're being shaped. Follow through in the part
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where God does the deepest work. And so as we
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finish this month out in the very first month
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of the year, I want to speak this out loud. I
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want you to speak this out loud. God, I will
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follow through period. I will say faithful, period.
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I will continue to do what you started in me,
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period. I will not quit, period. I will not come
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down, period. I am doing a great work, period.
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And I will finish well, period. Write those on
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sticky notes. Write those wherever you are. Write
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them down. Take a picture of them. Put them on
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a screensaver. Do what you have to do, but declare
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it over what you're going to do. And so as you
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finish something that God started you to do,
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the one thing, the one assignment, the one step
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follow through, even in the small, finish it.
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Whenever we do small things, it leads to great
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things. And as we wrap up this first month of
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the year. I've been really thinking a lot about
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we don't talk about this enough and so we get
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all excited to go and then we spend all the time
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talking about the go but then we don't talk about
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what do you do after the thrill is gone and because
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obedience isn't just in the moment it's in the
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movement it's in the follow -through going it's
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gonna be so much more powerful if we continue
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to go and but continuing to grow your faith and
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when God calls you first to do something it feels
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exciting it feels spiritual it feels momentous
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But you feel bold, you feel ready and let's go,
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let's go. That's the moment where it's beautiful.
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But then life happens and it gets heavy and it
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fades. And you're doing exactly what God called
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you to do. But obedience is emotional at first.
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And then you have the spiritual follow through
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and the hype and you have Nehemiah. And so it's
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so just important to go back to scripture. There's
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people out there just like you. And you can see
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how they went. They were called. And he faced
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ridiculous amounts of spiritual willpower and
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exhaustion and conflict and all this stuff. But
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he says I will not come down my god told me to
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do something and I will not come down And so
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just make sure that we remember If god called
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to do something if god be for you who dare be
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against you Make sure that we are reading those
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scriptures making sure that we're looking at
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the people that went before us Hey if they can
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do it, so can I and we listen spiritual maturity
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is about whenever you go You're gonna finish
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that race. It's about us not being weary. It's
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about us Having that endurance for that race
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that god has called us to do because you know
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that if he has called you he's equipped you everything
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that you need to do Is in you and so whether
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he is going to put all those signs and wonders
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that are in you out at front No, he's going to
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continue to build them. He's going to continue
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to reveal them to you as you continue to walk
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He's not going to give you everything that he's
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declared over you like we're off your first step
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No month after month day after day week after
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week He's pruning you he's making you who he's
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created you to be and we have to go through things
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and refinement and treatment and like all these
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things to be transformed because obedience is
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gonna be Transformational and that's the whole
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point is to be transformed in Christ. And so
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as we close this out I just I hope this message
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encourages you because we have to do the follow
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-through and so even just like I told Gia in
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basketball the follow -through you got to follow
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up with your shot and so you shoot the ball and
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then you you shoot the shot and then you fade
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away and then you could have ran up got the rebound
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and shot it up again. And so it's just so important
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with the follow through with everything and staying
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consistent, staying up, showing up until it is
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done. And so it's just so important that you
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guys just really just root down. And I know it
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can get hard, but that's around putting people
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in your life and allowing. community to be there
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with you, and so they can build you up, they
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can edify you, they can encourage you, they can
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help you with the sermon. Hey, is this really
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from God? Because we know that what scripture
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said before, if it's not something that is biblically
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based, then we know it's not from God, because
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the devil can make things look real good. And
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so just making sure that we're surrounding ourselves
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with godly counsel. And just I think that this
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year is just going to be just a great year. And
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so we would love to pray for you guys. Lord,
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thank you for every listener. Thank you for the
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strengthening their hearts. Thank you for the
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protection of their commitment. Anchor them in
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their spirit. Give them the endurance. Help them
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follow through on things that you told them to
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begin. Remind them of obedience as it measured
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in moments, but in faithfulness. Cover them with
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your favor and give them the courage to continue
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even when it's not easy. Let this year be marked
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by the follow through. We pray this in Jesus
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name. Amen and amen. And we hope that you are
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following on the website and so we have a website
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called fosteringfaithmedia .com and that link
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is in it should be in the bio and it is we have
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workbooks and so we created a whole workbook
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for every month and so we can follow through
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every month because if I have to do homework
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so do you guys and so every month is already
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planned out and it is on the website you guys
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can print them out and that way you can go through
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week by week and that way you can have your homework
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and look back and at this year of what God has
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done because if we write it down because is we
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know that we have Habakkuk 2 .2 that says write
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it down, make it plain as day. And so someone
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can take and run with it. And so we write it
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down. We can see what God is doing in our lives.
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We can see our plans. We can see what we're walking
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through with every podcast. And so we hope this
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encourages you. If it does, share it, leave a
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comment, help our podcast grow. And we love you
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guys. We'll see you back next week.