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The Lord's Favor: When God Hits Reset (North OC)
This sermon by Daniel Sumoge marks the beginning of the church's new series, 'The Lord's Favor.' Reflecting on the significant events and spiritual growth of the past summer, Daniel emphasizes the importance of resetting, renewing, and reigniting our relationship with God. He discusses how these concepts apply both spiritually and practically in our daily lives, drawing inspiration from scriptures such as Luke 4:18-19, Psalms 51:10-12, and Isaiah 40:28-31. The message encourages the congregation to return to God, renew their hearts, and let the Holy Spirit reignite their spirits to live fully in God's favor.
00:00 Reflecting on an Amazing Summer
00:42 Youth and Campus Retreats
01:32 The Heart of Jubilee
02:28 A New Season: Living as Jubilee People
03:17 Introducing the New Sermon Series: The Lord's Favor
05:00 Understanding the Concept of Reset
08:56 Returning to the Father
16:05 Renewal of the Heart
23:14 Reigniting the Spirit
28:58 Practical Steps to Live as Jubilee People
Transcript
Guys, we've had such an amazing summer, haven't we?
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:Church, I dunno about you guys, but I
think about how this summer, God has been
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:moving so much here in Orange County for,
for us, you know, for me, I, I think about
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:the beginning of summer, you know, being
a, a high school minister, we had teen
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:camp and that was such a tremendous time.
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:You know, the theme of camp for that
year, for this year was seen in his eyes.
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:You know, the idea of talking
about how God sees us and he loves
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:us, but he also sees the other
sides of us, our sinful nature.
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:You know, I thought, I just thought,
you know, God was just moving at
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:camp, especially with our OCTs, and
they're making decisions right now.
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:They're fighting for their
relationship with God.
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:Amen.
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:And with that we also had youth camp.
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:I know we have some people
from youth camp there they are.
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:Oh wait, they were over here.
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:Okay.
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:I see some, some youth here.
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:They had youth camp this summer as well.
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:And the, the, uh, uh, the theme was
chosen, you know, the being chosen
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:by God and how special you are.
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:I think of first Peter two right there.
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:A royal priesthood, a uh,
you know, so all of that.
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:We also had our campus students,
they had a, a fun retreat called
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:Proclaim Campus with the energy.
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:I love it.
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:And, you know, I just love Proclaim.
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:They went through the book of Colossians.
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:I know what they learned talking
to many of the students is they're
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:really Realiz said, man, I cannot
keep all of this to myself.
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:I have to go proclaim it to
the people around, uh, in my
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:communities, in my classrooms.
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:So, man, we're so excited.
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:You know, the campus students,
most of them for Cal State, they go
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:back tomorrow in Fullerton College.
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:So they'll, we'll be praying
for you guys for that, to
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:proclaim the good news of God.
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:And then even for us as a church,
we've studied out the heart of Jubilee.
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:I dunno about you guys, but I had so
much fun studying out that series,
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:realizing that Jubilee wasn't just
for people back in, uh, in the Bible,
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:but we can live out Jubilee today.
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:And we were able to celebrate that
as a whole fellowship, you know,
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:in multiple churches, uh, from LA
and people from across the globe
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:came to celebrate for the Jubilee.
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:You know, here's the thing though, I was
talking to my wife about it this week.
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:We're just reflecting on the summer.
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:We were like, wow, this, this kind of
reminds of the description Ecclesiastes
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:three, how everything happens uh,
in season four, A reason for God.
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:And I truly believe this isn't
some random act that we just all
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:came together learning multiple
things at different life stages.
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:We're at.
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:I don't think it was random.
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:I really think God has been
planning this season for us.
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:He's been moving, not just teaching
us more about who we are, but
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:revealing more of who he is.
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:And now the spirit is
calling us to respond church.
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:He isn't just calling us to remember
those experience or study the ideas
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:or celebrate the events we had.
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:He's calling us into a new season,
a season to live as Jubilee people.
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:People don't just talk about freedom
and how good it is to be saved or how
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:good it is to be restored and have
God's favor, but to actually embody
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:them in every part of our lives.
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:And I believe church that the time is now.
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:Yeah.
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:We can't be like Felix back in N
where he's like, nah, I can't do it.
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:I gotta do it on my own time.
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:No, the spirit is calling us now.
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:We have to respond right now
as a Northfield Sea family.
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:We're stepping into this
new season together, church.
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:Amen.
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:I can't wait to see what God
will do when we say yes to
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:what the Spirit is calling us.
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:You know?
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:That's why today I'm so excited that
we're starting a brand new sermon series.
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:It's called The Lord's Favor.
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:Who here wants to have
the Lord's favor with you?
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:Amen.
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:I know all of us do.
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:You know, I think about the Lord's favor.
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:I think it means, man, I get to have
his presence with me everywhere I go.
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:I get to have this blessing.
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:I get to have his guidance.
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:It's with us, it's with me.
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:You know, the Lord's favor.
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:We get this from, uh, the
passage in Luke chapter four.
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:If you turn, your Bibles are with me.
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:If you don't, you can you
see it on the screen there.
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:But in Luke chapter four, verse
18 through 19, it says, the
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:spirit of the Lord is upon me.
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:Uh, the spirit of the Lord is on me,
uh, because he has anointed me to
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:proclaim the good news to the poor.
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:He has sent me to proclaim freedom for
the prisoners and recovery of sight for
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:the blind, to set the oppressed free to
proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
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:And that's what this whole series
is about, the Lord's favor.
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:And over the coming weeks, we'll be
unpacking what it means to be living in
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:that favor by resetting, by releasing.
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:By restoration, you guys
are probably thinking, wait,
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:didn't we just study this out?
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:We studied out the heart of that,
Daniel, but yes, we studied it out.
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:But now we're gonna get practical here.
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:Church, we're gonna live
it out as Jubilee people.
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:Amen.
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:I dunno about you guys, but I'm so
excited for, I mean, think about the,
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:the Lord's favorite and what we're
gonna be learning about a reset.
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:Amen.
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:Don't we all love a reset?
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:God gives us a fresh start.
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:He wipes the slate clean for us.
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:We're able to learn about releasing
how we can break the chain of
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:sin, the shame and oppression, and
then we get re well get restored.
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:The restoration he builds
what's lost and what's broken.
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:You know, over the few weeks
we're gonna unpack these,
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:but it all begins with today.
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:Right now it all begins with the reset.
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:You know, we can't be released
from sins and from the shame and
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:guilt, and we cannot be restored.
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:If we do not reset our
relationship with God, okay.
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:I mean, think about it.
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:The idea of a reset is amazing.
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:You know, my wife and I, we started this
show called Hard Knocks on, uh, HBO.
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:It follows an NFL team.
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:And man, I love it, the fact, because my
wife actually likes football now, so I'm
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:like, let's go on football seasons back.
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:So this year they're following
the Buffalo Bills and previous
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:years they'll follow other teams.
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:But the premise of this show is
it follows them at training camp.
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:And training camp is the beginning
of the year for the football players.
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:Like no matter how well or how
bad the team did the previous
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:year, all of that does not matter
because this is their start.
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:They all have this one goal in mind.
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:And that is to reset, to refocus,
to learn the playbooks, to learn
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:more about the team is to to
learn more about one another.
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:And we get to see that, you know,
watching hard knocks, you know?
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:And if you're not a football
fan, well guess what?
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:You guys still experience reset.
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:By show of hands, who started school
this past week or it's about to come up?
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:You guys are experiencing a reset.
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:Maybe some of us here, we started
a new job or got promoted.
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:We're starting a new project.
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:That's a reset.
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:You know, it always calls for reset
and God does the same with us.
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:You know, sometimes we bring last
season's failures or distractions
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:or struggles into the new season.
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:What if God says to us today,
Hey, it's time for a reset church.
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:It's time to start fresh, to return
to me, to experience my favor in a
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:new way, to live as Jubilee people.
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:How about you guys?
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:But I get excited for that.
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:I'm like, man, it's an oh and oh start.
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:I'm ready to go to the Super Bowl.
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:Let's win it all.
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:And that's exactly where
we are gonna begin today.
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:You know the title of my sermon
this morning is when God Hits Reset.
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:Now when you think about
the idea of reset, I dunno.
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:For me, I think about technology.
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:I go straight to my phone, you
know, with, with a reset, you know,
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:there's two different types of reset.
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:I believe the first one
is a simple minor reset.
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:So for those who maybe have a glitch
on their phone or it's going slow, uh,
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:the, the reset would be, lemme just
turn off my phone and turn it back on.
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:Right.
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:Just a simple reset.
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:But then there's a second
one, and hopefully you guys
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:never had to experience it.
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:It's a nuclear option.
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:It's called a factory reset.
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:Who here has experienced a
factory reset on their phone?
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:Oh man.
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:Oh yes.
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:I know Michael.
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:He texted me like last month.
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:He was like, who's this?
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:And I was like, Michael, come on brother.
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:But he experienced a factory reset
for those who don't know what a
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:factory reset is on their phone.
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:It's when, man, it's like
your phone is just it.
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:It cannot operate anymore.
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:You're like, man, I gotta
wipe the slate clean.
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:And it means that your
apps are gonna be deleted.
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:All the pictures, all the memories,
all of it's gonna be gone.
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:It's gonna be like how you
first got it out of the box.
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:Now with our phones, that can feel
frustrating to have that factory reset.
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:'cause you're like,
man, I'm losing so much.
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:All the memories, it's gone.
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:But spiritually, a reset, whether
it's a small restart or a full
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:factory reset, it's actually a gift.
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:And sometimes we all need it.
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:We all either need a small
adjustment, a small reset, or we
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:probably need a factory reset.
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:You know, spiritually, if you need a
small reset, maybe it's, man, I need
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:to spend more time in the war with God.
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:I need to pray more.
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:I need to, you know, uh, be
with the body a little bit more.
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:But then there's the factory
reset and it's when we have been,
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:we look in the mirror, we're
like, we don't know who we are.
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:We are the person far off from when we
declare Jesus as Lord at our baptism.
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:And we're like, man, we
need a factory reset.
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:And my first point today.
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:When it comes to this idea of
reset is when we reset, we must
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:first return to the father.
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:When we reset, we need to return to God.
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:He is the one who gives us clarity and
when life is cluttered, the one who
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:reminds us of who we are, you know, it
reminds me of the scripture here in Luke
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:chapter four, verses one through two.
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:It says, Jesus full of the Holy Spirit,
left the Jordan and was led by the
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:Spirit into the wilderness, where for
40 days he was tempted by the devil.
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:He ate nothing during those days, and
at the end of them, he was hungry.
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:You know, church, this comes moments,
uh, after, if you read the, the passage,
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:the chapter of Luke, before Jesus
was just baptized, and for those who
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:remember it, what Jesus's baptism.
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:You guys remember the heavens open up
the, uh, it send like a do onto him.
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:The spirit was on him.
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:He got the father's affirmation.
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:God told him, man, you are,
uh, the son whom I love.
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:I'm well pleased with you.
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:And when I think about
it, I'm like, man, Jesus.
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:There was ever a moment to really
get that recent, to get that fresh
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:heart to launch into your new
life of ministry on the mission.
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:That was the moment.
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:But instead, we see that after his
baptism, it led him to the wilderness.
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:Why?
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:Because for Jesus to step into
his public mission, he needed that
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:private reset with the father.
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:You know the wilderness.
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:I used to think the wilderness
was a punishment, but now the
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:wilderness was not a punishment.
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:It was preparation.
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:Okay?
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:It was a season of stripping away
distractions, of facing temptation and
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:strengthening his dependence on God alone.
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:And it made me think that man,
if Jesus himself, the son of God,
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:needed to go to his father and reset
daily, what does that mean for us?
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:How much more do we
need to reset with God?
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:Right.
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:Come on.
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:You know, for me, I know what it feels
like to get ahead of God, to rush
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:into plans, to ministry, to decision
without first returning to him.
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:And every time I do, I dunno about you
guys, but I wound up running on empty.
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:Maybe you've been there too.
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:Maybe you try to start a season,
maybe you try to fix a relationship
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:or maybe you try to overcome that
habit, but you didn't pause to be
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:with God and reset with him first.
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:It's like driving a car in fumes, right?
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:You know, eventually the
car is gonna break down.
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:You know, sometimes for us it can look
like maybe we're jumping into that new
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:job and we're just working so hard.
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:We're working 12 plus hours and man,
we're burning ourselves out 'cause we
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:never asked from the wisdom of God.
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:Maybe we're jumping into that
relationship thinking that it'll fix
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:our loneliness, but we never filled
our heart with God in the first place.
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:Or even trying to change a habit with
the sheer willpower, only to realize
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:you never really prayed about it or even
surrendered it to him in the first place.
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:I can feel discouraging, can't it?
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:Feeling like, man, I'm
fighting for my relationship.
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:I wanna reset.
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:I, I'm, you know, I'm running
an empty warning if I can
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:ever get that fresh start.
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:But here's the hope, and here's the
amazing news, is that when we return
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:to God, he meets us right where we are.
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:Reminds me the scripture here in James
chapter four, verse eight, come near
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:to God and he will come near to you.
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:You know, I find it interesting,
you know, James was writing this to,
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:to people who were drifted far off.
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:You know, they were caught up
in the world's distraction.
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:They were far off from God, and he
was telling them, man, if you want
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:a true reset, if you want a true
reset with God, it starts with you.
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:And the good news is, man, if
you were to make that first move,
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:you were to take that first step.
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:God's gonna match that
step with you as well.
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:You know, I think about that's what
Jesus was doing all along back in Luke
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:four when he went into the synagogue and
proclaimed the spirit of the Lord's army
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:to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
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:You know, in other words, Jesus was
saying, if you draw near to me, the you
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:will find God's favor waiting for you.
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:That's the same promise that we
see here in James four verse eight.
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:The favor comes when we return to God.
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:But Jesus couldn't proclaim favor
until he returned to the Father.
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:The favor came after the reset.
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:And the same is true for us.
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:And honestly, I think that's where
we can kind of get stuck in church.
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:Sometimes, we want the
favor without the reset.
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:We want God's blessing without letting him
strip away what's really holding us back.
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:You know, some of us, let's be
honest, some of us think we might
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:need that minor reset, like our
phone just turning it off and on.
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:But really spiritually, we
need that factory reset.
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:Okay.
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:And sometime the thing when I think about
is holding us back isn't even maybe our
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:current struggle, maybe it's our past.
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:We can get caught up in
the glory days, right?
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:When we were going, wow,
man, our faith was easy.
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:God was moving during this season
and we think God can only work
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:when times are well in my life.
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:Or maybe we get caught
up in the un glory days.
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:We get, you know, we think about
our mistakes and we just think,
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:man, God, there's no way you
can work through this season.
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:You cannot work through me anymore.
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:But Jesus shows us something different.
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:He didn't live in the glory days of his
baptisms when he got the approval from
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:the father, but he also didn't live in
the young glory days in the wilderness.
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:Starving tempted, you know, he moved
forward because his strength came not
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:from the past, whether good or bad,
but returning to the father again and
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:again, that's what we can miss sometimes.
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:Returning to the father
isn't just a one time thing.
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:It's like we turn to God, we pray
and we just sit in our hands.
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:We're like, alright, God bless me.
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:Let's see what's gonna happen.
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:But resetting requires a rhythm
of returning day after day, moment
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:after moment because life keeps
pulling us in different direction.
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:Our hearts can easily drift.
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:Church.
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:So let me ask you this morning,
where do you need to return to
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:God and what areas do you like?
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:I know for me personally, I know
for me I need, I need to return.
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:To my prayer life more now I can
get caught up doing things for God
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:rather than just being with God.
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:Maybe for you, I don't know
where you're at, but maybe you've
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:been holding on to something.
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:Maybe you've been holding on to, to, to
some hidden sin that you need to let go.
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:Maybe you need to create a space during
your time to set time aside for God
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:in prayer and reading scripture and
worshiping him, because here's the truth.
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:We can't experience, uh, the
new thing God wants to do if
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:we don't return to him first.
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:We can't experience the new
thing God wants to do if we
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:don't return to him first.
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:I mean, I think about, I talk about what
we're learning this summer church, and
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:you know, talking to Marcel, talking
to Dallas, talking to my wife Savannah,
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:I'm always getting giddy, like, oh my
gosh, we're doing something amazing.
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:But it all, it was all great ideas
and I see a great, you know, vision,
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:a great future that God has for us.
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:But it all starts with us, though.
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:It all starts with us having
to reset with God personally.
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:Amen.
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:Reset always begins by returning to God.
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:Amen.
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:But returning to God though
isn't just about going back.
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:It's about becoming new.
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:And that brings to the second point here.
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:It's the renewal of the heart.
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:We need to have a renewing heart.
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:And when I think about
the concept of renewal.
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:You know, I, it's not really a,
I mean it's spiritual, but it's
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:also like we, we renew things a
lot daily, if you think about it.
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:It's something we do every day.
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:We renew subscriptions and membership.
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:A majority of us have Netflix and
Spotify and all these different
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:accounts, and we, and we think about,
you know, and we put it on Autorenew
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:too, and we don't think about it.
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:But then there's other things
where we have to go in person,
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:actually pay for, you know, I just
had to pay for the car register.
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:Both of us did.
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:And we're like, man, $500 just
down the drain right there, just
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:to get it, you know, running so
we can run it on the streets.
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:Some of us have, you know, insurance
policies or a gym membership.
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:We make sure it's renewed
so we can still function.
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:But spiritually renewal
can work the same way.
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:But it's a little different though.
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:It's more essential, you know, unlike
the streaming service, whatever
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:membership you have just on Autorenew,
your heart doesn't automatically renew.
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:It needs intentional action.
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:We have to bring it to God to ask
him to cleanse us, to purify us,
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:to restore us, to transform it.
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:When I think about a heart
of transformation, I think
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:about the life of David.
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:You know David, he constantly
needed to be reset.
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:And we see David, he had many
victories, you know, the victory
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:of, you know, slaying Goliath.
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:What a victory there.
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:But then we saw a defeat
just with Bathsheba.
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:I'm like, David, what?
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:What just happened?
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:The fall he had.
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:But David knew he needed a reset.
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:You know, in Psalms 51, verse 10
through 12, it says, create in me
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:a pure heart, oh God, and renew
a steadfast spirit within me.
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:Do not cast me from your presence,
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
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:Restore to me the joy of
your salvation and grant me a
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:willing spirit to sustain me.
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:And I was talking to my wife
about this verse and something
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:she was, I love her perspective.
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:She was just like.
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:Man, Daniel, like, have you ever
thought about that word create?
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:I was like, no.
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:Like what?
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:What do you mean?
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:And she just pointed out like,
man, like David didn't just say,
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:God, fix my heart, repair my heart.
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:He said, create.
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:And when you create something
that means there's nothing there.
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:It's a blank canvas.
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:That means David was so humble enough
to say, wow, God, I am nothing.
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:I know I had many victories in your
name, but I also, I just need a reset.
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:I know I'm nothing without you.
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:You know what's interesting is that word
create in Hebrew, it's the, it's the
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:same meaning as it is in Genesis one,
where it talks about how God created the
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:heavens and earth creation out of nothing.
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:That's the kind of renewal
David was asking for.
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:You know, David understood that a
true reset isn't just about returning
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:church, it's about being renewed.
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:It's about not asking God only
to wipe the slate clean, but to
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:transform you from the inside out.
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:Just like we renew things in our
lives so we can have our daily lives
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:run smoothly, we need to regularly
invite God to renew our hearts because
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:renewal is what powers our reset.
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:Renewal is what powers our reset.
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:It keeps our hearts aligned with them so
we can truly walk in the Lord's favor.
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:And that's exactly what a
reset God wants to have for us.
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:You know what I love about what
David mentions here later on in the
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:scripture, he says, restore to me.
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:The pure joy of your salvation.
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:Yeah, and I'll be honest with you,
man, this, this was personal for me.
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:I feel like I need God to really
work and create that pure heart.
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:I need to have that joy
of salvation in him.
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:You know, church I, to be honest
with you, I've been wrestling
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:all week with this lesson.
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:You know, it came to my realization.
415
:I was like, man, God, I realize
I wanna really honor you.
416
:I wanna glorify you with all that I have.
417
:But I realize I can get
caught up in the distractions.
418
:I can think about myself, you
know, as a young minister.
419
:I can think about how, man, how do I look?
420
:How do I sound to you guys?
421
:Am I approving you guys rather
than am I approving God?
422
:Is his word being spoken?
423
:You know what really convicted me
even more was once again, my wife.
424
:I feel like my wife was just correcting
me all week, and it is a good, healthy
425
:correction, but she really convicted me.
426
:My wife asked me a simple question.
427
:She said, Daniel, when was the last time
you prayed for the joy of your salvation?
428
:I was like, whoa.
429
:I didn't really think about that.
430
:I was like, that really hit me hard.
431
:'cause the truth is, man,
I could pray for strength.
432
:I can pray for wisdom, I can pray
for blessings, but when it came
433
:to God, restore my joy in you.
434
:That's the renewal that
David was talking about.
435
:It's the power that fuels
a true reset church.
436
:And I know we all have moments
where our hearts are often not as
437
:soft towards God as it should be.
438
:Maybe it's anger, maybe it's
bitterness or just you're just
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:going through the motions.
440
:But the good news church is
when I look at David's example.
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:When I see how he's praying with God,
how he's wrestling with God, I see
442
:that God meet, met him with grace.
443
:I think about when we can do the same,
God can meet us with grace as well.
444
:'cause he doesn't just
patch up the old heart.
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:He gives us something entirely new.
446
:You know, that's the favor that Jesus
was talking about going back in Luke
447
:four, the freedom, the restoration,
the blessing you can bring to us.
448
:And that favor starts
with a renewed heart.
449
:So the question that I have for you
this morning is, what would it look
450
:like for you to pray this week?
451
:Create in me a pure heart.
452
:Oh God.
453
:What would it look like if you were to
ask him, restore the joy of his salvation?
454
:I don't know.
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:When I think about it, man, I think
about how, for me, I'm just, I'm
456
:ready to get open with anything
that I have going on in my life.
457
:I don't wait and just paer.
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:I'm like, lemme just get
open about what's going on.
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:I don't want it to be hidden.
460
:I wanna return to God in prayer.
461
:I wanna be honest with God and to others.
462
:We know, not just for the first time in
a while, but just continuously do that.
463
:You know, a reset isn't just
about stepping back or recharging
464
:like Jesus did in the wilderness.
465
:It's about letting God renew your
heart, just like he did with David.
466
:And when that happens, church,
when you position yourself
467
:to fully walk in his favor.
468
:But here's the thing, even when
our hearts are right with God.
469
:Guess what?
470
:Life still hits us.
471
:We can get caught up in many things.
472
:We face fatigue.
473
:We face pressure moments where we stumble.
474
:You know, maybe for us, for those who
are going back to school, maybe school is
475
:always something we stumble on, trying to
figure out who we are and where we fit in.
476
:Maybe it's frustration when
friends let you down or temptation
477
:to compromise your values.
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:Or maybe it's the grind of work.
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:Family responsibilities, financial
stress, relational tension.
480
:Know, even with the renewed heart church,
you still face the downs of everyday life.
481
:That's why we need our
spirit to be reignited.
482
:My last point today is
reigniting the spirit.
483
:We need God to breathe fresh life
in our hearts, to strengthen us,
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:to lift us up when we feel weak.
485
:And that's what exactly we see here in,
in Isaiah chapter 40, verse 28 through
486
:2020, uh, to 31, he says, do you not know?
487
:Have you not heard?
488
:The Lord is the everlasting God, the
creator of the ends of the earth.
489
:He will not grow tired or
weary and is understanding.
490
:No one can fathom.
491
:He gives strength to the weary and
increases the power of the weak.
492
:Even youths grow tired and weary and young
men stumble and fall, but those who hope
493
:in the Lord will renew their strength.
494
:They will soar on wings like eagles.
495
:They will run and not grow weary.
496
:They will walk and not be fame.
497
:You know, Isaiah, I love this, excuse me.
498
:When he was writing this, he was
writing it to, to the god's people
499
:who were in exile in Babylon.
500
:And during that time, they felt forgotten.
501
:They felt powerless.
502
:Their strength was drained.
503
:They were thinking, God,
you do not show favor in us.
504
:There is no way.
505
:They were far from home, and it
seemed like God's promises was fading.
506
:And honestly, we can feel the same way.
507
:We can relate to them.
508
:I feel like maybe you felt powerless.
509
:Like no matter how hard you try,
it seems like you get nothing.
510
:Right.
511
:Maybe you felt defeated by the mistakes,
bad news or struggles that won't go
512
:away, or maybe you just felt drained
emotionally, physically, spiritually,
513
:from responsibilities, from expectations,
from just life getting at you.
514
:And then of course, there's
the world around us too, right?
515
:Man, the, the world that they, they,
they just push values on us and their
516
:priority that doesn't align with God.
517
:And it can feel alone and
it can feel discouraging.
518
:But into that discouragement, Isaiah
brings these incredible words of God.
519
:Do you not know?
520
:Have you not heard?
521
:The Lord is an everlasting God.
522
:I think about that and I, I just
love the fact that God reminds us,
523
:people and us, that while we might
try to run our own strength, man,
524
:we are gonna grow tired and worry.
525
:But God's strength, it
is everlasting for us.
526
:Amen.
527
:Church, you know, in verse 30.
528
:And also what I love here, it says,
even youth grow tired and weary
529
:and young men stumble and fall.
530
:I mean, isn't that true?
531
:Yeah.
532
:The youth grow tired and we young men,
I'm looking at our teens right now.
533
:Someone just yawned.
534
:They're tired and weary.
535
:Right?
536
:You know what I mean?
537
:There it is.
538
:But man, even the strongest hit a wall.
539
:Students, they burn out.
540
:Parents run on fumes.
541
:Workers collapse under pressure.
542
:Even the most disciplined people fall.
543
:But then comes the promise in verse 31.
544
:Those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength, they
545
:will soar on wings like eagles.
546
:Jessica's getting excited.
547
:She's a Philadelphia Eagles fan, so she's
like, yeah, they'll soar like eagles.
548
:Not like that, Jess.
549
:No, but man, I just
love that passage here.
550
:Sometimes when I get tired, I want you
guys, but I think I just need more sleep.
551
:I need more caffeine, or I
just need a, a better schedule.
552
:And, uh, while those, yeah, they may
help slightly, but if I'm honest,
553
:my deepest weariness is spiritual.
554
:It comes when I'm running on my own
strength, on my own ideas, on my own
555
:abilities rather than the strength of God.
556
:Maybe you felt that too.
557
:You've been pushing, striving, trying
to be a good friend, a good student,
558
:a good spouse, a good parent, and
yet you're just hitting this wall.
559
:Your spirit is tired, your heart is
drained, and your energy is gone.
560
:But when we hope in the Lord, he
promises to renew our strength,
561
:not just another day to survive,
but enough to soar like eagles.
562
:I mean, think about it.
563
:Have you guys seen an
eagle fly in the air?
564
:They're not flapping, you know,
they're not just doing that
565
:trying to stay afloat, right?
566
:No.
567
:They're, they're catching the wind.
568
:They rise higher, not because they're
working harder, but because they're
569
:lifted by power greater than themselves.
570
:That's what happens when
God reignites our spirit.
571
:We stop striving in our own strength,
and we start soaring in his strength.
572
:You know, for me, this is real.
573
:As I share, man, ministry, life
responsibilities wears me down.
574
:Getting caught up in the performance
aspect, trying to be strong, trying to be
575
:disciplined, eventually feeling drained.
576
:But God reminds me, my strength
isn't in me, it's in him.
577
:I need to reignite my spirit and remind
me what I do is, uh, is for God and
578
:he can lift me up on his strength.
579
:You know, we as a church, you know,
as a family, we can get weary.
580
:We can feel like we're trying to
make it through, but God's favor
581
:isn't about barely surviving.
582
:I think we're getting this
instinct of, I just gotta survive.
583
:I gotta survive.
584
:But God, that's not, that's not
the life he wants you to have.
585
:He wants you to thrive.
586
:He wants you soaring in his spirit,
burning again, reigniting your spirit.
587
:You know, when we reset, we begin to
experience the fullness of God's favor.
588
:We step into a life where his
strength meets our weakness,
589
:where his power and his will fills
the gaps where we need it to be.
590
:So I wanna encourage you that if
you're tired, if you're weary, you
591
:just wanna push you on your own.
592
:My plea to you guys is to reset with God.
593
:Let him reignite your spirit.
594
:Catch his wind.
595
:Let him lift you up.
596
:'cause we do.
597
:You will ex you will experience
the Lord's favor fully.
598
:Amen.
599
:Amen.
600
:You know when we reset with God, when
we return to him, when we renew our
601
:hearts, when we reignite our spirits,
we're not just surviving, as I mentioned,
602
:we're actually gonna be thriving,
living the fullness of his favor.
603
:And that's what exactly he
wants for you guys today.
604
:This is what it looks like
to live as Jubilee people.
605
:And if that's true, it can't
just stay as an idea, right?
606
:Church, it can't just be, oh wow,
that that sounds great, but no,
607
:we gotta live it out practically.
608
:So what does it look like this week?
609
:Church, to live it out practically.
610
:Well, here's some action steps.
611
:First, I want us to return to God daily.
612
:Take time and pause and return to God.
613
:Don't wait until you feel distant
or from when you feel broken.
614
:But right now.
615
:Now is the time, and after
that I want us to feel renewal.
616
:I wanted to ask him to remove
what's holding you back
617
:and restore the joy in him.
618
:Going back to Psalms 51, verse 10, and
lastly, let's have a reignite spirit.
619
:Let's identify areas where you've
been relying on your own strength and
620
:invite God to fill you and empower you.
621
:Now as we step into this week.
622
:I want to remind us of the
scripture that Jesus declared in
623
:Luke four, verse 18 through 19.
624
:He said, the spirit of the Lord is
on me because he has anointed me
625
:to proclaim good news to the poor.
626
:He has sent me to proclaim freedom for
the prisoners and recovery of sight for
627
:the blind, to set the oppressed free to
proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
628
:That promise isn't just for
Jesus, but it's for us today.
629
:Church.
630
:When we reset, when we renew, when
we reignite, we position ourself
631
:to walk fully in the Lord's favor.
632
:We become a church marked by
freedom, by strength, and hope.
633
:And we become people who don't just
survive life but soar on his spirit.
634
:Amen.
635
:So this week, intentionally as Jubilee
people, let's be ready to experience
636
:God's favor in a fresh and powerful way.
637
:Thank you, church.
638
:Love you guys.
