What Are You Doing Here?

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Good morning, everybody.

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Good morning, church family.

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Good morning, friends.

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And we'll start with a question.

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You guys sit on the screen.

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Why are you here?

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Before you guys answer the question,

let's pray real quick, okay?

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Heavenly Father, thank you

for just being who you are.

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God, thank you for just being along

with us as we navigate through life.

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Uh, God, I pray if you do

today's service, God, work

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through me, uh, speak through me.

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Uh, Father, help me to slow in my

speech, uh, Father, I pray that

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it's clear, uh, Father, we're here

because we want to hear your word.

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I pray that it resonates in our soul.

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It moves us to draw closer to you.

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Uh, Father, we love you, just say we pray.

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Amen.

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So, why are you here?

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Now, I'm going to throw out some

reasons at a high level why you're here.

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And if it resonates with

you, please say amen.

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Alright?

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Okay, are you here because

you're a part of the church and

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you do this on a routine basis?

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Okay, are you, are you out of

town guests and you are staying

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in my house and you're here?

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Okay.

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All right.

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So we have some there If you're

here because maybe your kids

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are in camp and you're here just

for those reasons Amen Okay.

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All right.

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So At a high level, you know

that we're here for a reason but

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this question is much deeper.

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It's You What are you doing

here at this point in your life?

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And all of us, we're on journeys,

but we're on individual journeys.

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And so, as of right now, everyone is

at a certain point in their lives.

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Whether you're a teenager, whether

you're a, you know, a young adult,

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maybe you're an older adult, whatever.

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You're married, you're single, you

are at a point in your life right

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this minute where the question

is, what are you doing here?

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So this message is for us individually.

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The Bible talks about bringing

us to our senses, right?

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And so we have to ask ourselves

these kind of questions.

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Okay, the journey.

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We're all on a journey.

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How do I get back?

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Perfect.

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Okay, how do I get forward?

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Perfect.

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The journey.

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We're all on a journey.

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Since we're born, the journey starts.

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When we are kids, our journey

is shaped by our parents.

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Uh, it's, it's shaped by

those responsible for us.

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So they shape us, even shaped

by our, our religion too, right?

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A lot of us are kids kingdom, so it gets

shaped in a way that we don't decide.

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We just follow through

and follow along, right?

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Uh, as we go though, we realize once we

become teenagers and become young adults,

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what that adult means is that choices.

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My choices are not made for

me, I make my own choices.

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And then the road starts

looking like this.

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There are so many options,

um, for our, for our choices.

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And where do our go?

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And I love this quote.

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It talks about that, um, life

is just a series of choices.

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Uh, it reflects our belief

based on either love or fear.

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So, um, When we make these choices, it

could be made logic, you know, I'm in,

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I'm in IT field, so I'm very logical,

it just makes sense to go this route.

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Or it could be made by fear, meaning

I don't want to make the wrong choice.

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So by default, I'll go the

easiest path in front of me.

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Or the love part is passion.

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I love this thing so much.

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I will deviate to another path.

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And so, there are choices.

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We mentioned passion groups here, right?

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Uh, it's a marvelous

thing we do in our church.

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Whereas we have, uh, maybe

about a month and a half.

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And we just do whatever

you're passionate about.

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And so something that I have

done for years is I watch movies.

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And I, I don't watch

them for entertainment.

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I watch them because, um, they

are proven to be one of the best.

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And so I watch them to see, okay,

is it really that good and why?

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And I try to think about it.

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I try to pull in my wife and my, my kids.

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They never bite.

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So I'm always watching by

myself, you know, you know.

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And I give them individual ratings too.

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And so my passion was like, let me open

it up to the church to join my passion.

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So we get together on Fridays

and we look at movies.

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And we use the AF, I

think it's AFI, I think.

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American Film Institute.

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They're top 20.

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And we, every week we watch a movie.

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We watch Citizen Kane.

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And we realize Rosebud.

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is change the trajectory

of Citizen Kane's life.

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So, this idea of loneliness affected

his whole life, affected his navigation

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through life, this feeling of childhood.

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We have things in our childhood that, that

navigates, or these feelings, emotions,

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loneliness, that changes our choices.

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Casablanca.

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How many of you guys have seen Casablanca?

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Right.

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So, Casablanca.

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Uh, it's about, you know, a person,

the main character is deep hurt

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over, um, a relationship that

influenced the trajectory of his life.

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And so, hurts can affect our choices, too.

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Uh, then the last one we

watched was Singing in the Rain.

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How many guys have seen that?

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Yeah, and so I just couldn't wait.

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There's one, I know the song, I was

waiting for that to come on, but, you

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know, we watched it and very interesting

movie in that, um, his, uh, security,

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his, his, his security was disrupted by,

um, the career movie industry changes.

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Right?

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So, and for me, I think about technology,

I'm in technology, and there's this

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fear that, because technology moves

so fast, that there'll be some concept

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that I just can't grasp, grasp.

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And then there's my career, I

can't, I can't figure it out,

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I can't move past this concept.

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And so I can relate to that.

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So all of these movies,

they have journeys.

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And for us, we have a journey and we

are the main character in our journey.

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If you can see your life as that, right?

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And so you're navigating through

your life's journey here.

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Now, I want to look at,

Give me a second here.

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And so, We have our life's journey,

and then most of us here, it got

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interrupted in some manner, right?

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Matthew 7, 13, it says, Enter

through the narrow gate, for wide

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is the gate, and broad is the

road that leads to destruction.

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And many enter through it.

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But small is the gate, and

narrow the road that leads to

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life, and only a few find it.

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So many of us, we had all of these

choices, but then God intervened, right?

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And it says here in Titus chapter

3 verse 4 through 5, it says, But,

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when the kindness and love of God,

our Savior, appeared, He saved us.

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Not because of righteous things that

we have done, but because of His mercy.

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He saved us through the washing of

rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

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That's right.

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So, a lot of us had our lives

interrupted by God's love.

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If not, He is trying to interrupt

your life with His love.

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Saving us.

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Many of us have been saved, many of

us are on the path to getting saved.

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Right?

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And so, He's saying, Alright, I've

made clear to you, all of these

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choices is really boils down to two.

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There's a road to destruction and

there's a road to life, right?

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And so to many, one is wide, everybody

goes through it, you know, by default.

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If I am fear based, I want to go through

the wide road because it's safe, I think.

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But God makes it clear once you, once

he talks to you and speaks to you and

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his love, he makes it look like this.

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There's two.

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What do I choose?

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And then he says, after you choose,

then he says, trust in the Lord with all

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your heart and lean on not on your own

understanding and all your ways submit to

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him and he will make your path straight.

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So, so a lot of us here, we've, okay,

we've got, this is the path that I chose.

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Okay.

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How does it look right now on the screen?

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Bright, vibrant.

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And so he's saying, I'm going to

always make that path look that way.

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I'm going to make it straight

for you at all times.

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And so now many of us, that's our journey.

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How do I make that path straight for me?

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It gets crooked, it gets turned, it

gets, it looks a little gray at times.

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Sometimes, I don't even

realize I'm walking on a path.

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I don't even see a path anymore.

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And so, what are you doing here?

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We're on a narrow road.

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And this is a scary picture because

I've been in Yosemite and me and my wife

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went on our first wedding anniversary

and we went to, um, on the trails.

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And they had, like, three levels.

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They had, like, the novice,

the intermediate, and they

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had the, the tough guy one.

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I don't know what that's called, but

I said, let's go on the tough guy one.

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Let's do this, honey.

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We went on this trail, and it

looked very similar to this.

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We got to a point where it was

so high, there was no rail.

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It had to have been three foot of runway.

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And, um, I got to a point where I was,

and I realized I was really scared

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of heights is my, my knees started

buckling, and I couldn't, I couldn't

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stop them from buckling, I had a hard

time breathing, I was really starting

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to panic, but I was trying to panic

and look cool at the same time with my

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wife, and, but people were passing by,

older, I was like, and to a point, I

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was like, I, I can't take another step.

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And so let's, let's go back, honey.

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As we're going back, my knees

are wobbling, and I'm like,

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please, let's get to the bottom.

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And I was just so thankful

to get to the bottom of this.

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I was like, I can't, I just

physically can't do it.

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And so that's how this narrow road

can feel sometimes for us, right?

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And so, when we choose the narrow

road, God says, now I'm on it with you.

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You are no longer alone

making these choices.

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We are on the road together.

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I will, and there's a scripture that talks

about that, I am in you, I'm giving you

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the Holy Spirit, we are in this together.

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So I'm going to guide you, and

direct you because I'm in you.

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I want to speak through you, and to you,

and guide you because you need guidance to

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stay on this narrow road that you chose.

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I'm going to equip you too.

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I'm going to give you a backpack, I'm

going to make sure you got water along

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the way so you don't get dehydrated.

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I'm going to make sure

you're mentally prepared.

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I got you on this road, this

narrow road that you chose.

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You know what?

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On this road, you're gonna, it's gonna

be life to the full as I define it.

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There's going to be some enjoyment.

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There's going to be some changes.

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There's going to be some,

some aha moments for you.

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Uh, it's going to be wonderful.

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You'll look back and say, What an

amazing journey we had together, Lord.

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Or when you get to heaven,

it'll be those like, What an

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amazing journey we had together.

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Life to the full.

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And then, We go to, now that road

looks a little troublesome, right?

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He says, I promise you, this

narrow road, there will be trouble.

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There will be challenges.

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There will be obstacles.

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I promise you that.

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And so they'll be there

because of perseverance.

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You will have to persevere during this

narrow road, which means there'll be

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character development along the way.

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Don't shriek from it.

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And he says, the things I do, discipline.

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Expect me to discipline

you, as a good father does.

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So all these things are a

part of this narrow road.

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A lot of things happening,

a lot of great things.

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But, it's going to produce good.

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Do you believe that, for on

the road that you've chosen?

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Dorca.

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Alright.

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Alright.

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And so, I want to talk about a prophet.

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We're going to go through

his life a bit, uh, Elijah.

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And he's gone through the same thing.

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He's a prophet.

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God spoke to him.

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Moved him.

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He's doing what God wants him to do.

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And we're going to walk

through his narrow road.

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As well, we'll read through.

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It's in, uh, 1 Kings, chapter

19, verse 1 through 8.

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You can follow on the screen.

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or go to your electronic devices.

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It says, Now Ahab told Jezebel everything

Elijah had done, and how he had killed

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all the prophets with the sword.

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So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah

to say, May the gods deal with me, be

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it ever so severely, if by the time

tomorrow I do not make your life like

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that, like, like that one of them.

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Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.

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When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he

left his servant there while himself

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went a day's journey into the wilderness.

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He came to a broom, a broom

bush, bush, sat down under it

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and prayed that he might die.

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I have had enough Lord,

he says, take my life.

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I am no better than my ancestors.

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Then he lay under the bush

and then he fell asleep.

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All at once, the angel touched

him and said, get up and eat.

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He looked around, and there by

his head was some bread baked

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over hot coals and a jar of water.

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He ate and drank, and

then he laid down again.

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And the Lord came back a second time,

touched him, and said, Get up and eat,

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for the journey is too much for you.

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So he got up, and he ate again,

and he drank again, but he

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was strengthened by the food.

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He traveled another 40 days

and 40 nights until he reached

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Horeb, the mountain of God.

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And so this is Elijah, and, but

Elijah, God wanted him to go to Ahab,

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to go with Ahab, and God wanted him

to deal with all the prophets, um,

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the prophets of Baal, who, um, were

under this particular religion.

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And he wanted them to destroy them.

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God said, do it.

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And so he ordered God and he did it.

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And so after this journey, he realized

that Queen Jezebel didn't like that.

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And so Queen Jezebel says, I'm

going to put a hit on your life.

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And she was serious.

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And so Elijah was terrified.

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And scared, and lonely,

and he ran, and he hid.

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And he's saying, God, I'm

following you, your journey for

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my life, but I want it to be over.

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I don't want this.

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I'm depressed.

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I am tired.

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I'm dejected.

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And I'm alone, and I'm

about to get killed.

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I'd rather kill myself.

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Could you imagine that kind of fear?

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To the point I can't eat.

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Anybody can sleep.

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That's depression.

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Like, I just want it to, to end.

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Like, I tell God, and

God had to wake him up.

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You know, he's like, I just want to die.

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You know, I want it to end, even suicidal.

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And so, that's Elijah's journey.

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And, look at your own journey here.

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What mental state are you in right

now in regards to your own journey?

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You know, there are a

lot of ebbs and flows.

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You know, there's a lot of the

battle with depression, fears.

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It's life, right?

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Even God's men and women

struggled with mental health.

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They struggled with challenges

along the way of their going

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along their narrow path.

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They want so much, you know.

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the state of sin.

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They were in, they were going

along their state, their, their

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path and they had these poles.

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And so, that makes these

things very realistic here.

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And just think about where you are

in your state, you know, to make

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your decisions, uh, and your choices.

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And God wants to meet needs.

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And so, Father's question is, uh,

you know, what are you doing here?

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But he wants to reflect.

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It's like, What do you need?

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Really?

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He didn't know what he, he he needed,

but God says, I'm gonna feed you.

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He didn't ask for it.

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He fattom because he know what you needed.

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He'd help you with

your, your mental state.

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You know, you need a

little direction here.

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You know, I know you need

to go a little further.

320

: 00:19:34

I want to help you out here.

321

: 00:19:37

So God and angels, the angels

moving all around us guys.

322

: 00:19:42

They're angels.

323

: 00:19:44

that help us along too.

324

: 00:19:46

And so, it's amazing.

325

: 00:19:48

Then we continue on.

326

: 00:19:50

We go through God Passes

By which is pretty amazing.

327

: 00:19:57

So God makes his presence in our lives.

328

: 00:20:00

We may miss it at times.

329

: 00:20:02

We may catch it.

330

: 00:20:03

We may think it's a phenomenon.

331

: 00:20:06

You may think just bad things

just happen in the world.

332

: 00:20:09

We may think, you know, hurricanes,

tornadoes, earthquakes are

333

: 00:20:12

just a part of just California.

334

: 00:20:15

But God says, I make passes all the time.

335

: 00:20:19

Not to the whole world in

general, but to you specifically.

336

: 00:20:24

Do you catch me passing by you?

337

: 00:20:26

Or is it just a thing or a phenomenon?

338

: 00:20:29

Or just a temporary, you

know, uh, blip in your life?

339

: 00:20:36

And let's read further in 1st Kings

19 9 through 12 So 40 days he went

340

: 00:20:46

There he went into a cave and Spent

the night and then here we go again.

341

: 00:20:51

The Word of the Lord came to him the

question What are you doing here Elijah?

342

: 00:20:58

And he replied, what I said before,

I've been very jealous for the

343

: 00:21:02

Lord God Almighty, the Israelites

have rejected your covenant, turned

344

: 00:21:05

down your altars, and put your

prophets to death with the sword.

345

: 00:21:09

I am the only one left, and now

they're trying to kill me too, Lord.

346

: 00:21:13

The Lord said, go out and stand on a

mountain in the presence of the Lord,

347

: 00:21:17

for the Lord is about to pass by.

348

: 00:21:21

Then a great and powerful wind tore

through the mountains, tore the mountains

349

: 00:21:25

apart and shattered the rocks before the

Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.

350

: 00:21:34

And in the wind there was an

earthquake, but the Lord was

351

: 00:21:38

not in the earthquake either.

352

: 00:21:40

After the earthquake came a fire, but

the Lord was not in the fire either.

353

: 00:21:48

And so now we have the Lord passing by.

354

: 00:21:54

He passes by our lives too.

355

: 00:21:56

Uh, one of my favorite singing

groups is Earth, Wind, and Fire.

356

: 00:22:02

And so, when I read this, I was

like, all my tunes going through

357

: 00:22:05

my head and everything, so.

358

: 00:22:09

So, wind.

359

: 00:22:10

First comes the wind.

360

: 00:22:13

It says, for wind, you can't see wind.

361

: 00:22:16

You can only feel it.

362

: 00:22:18

Right?

363

: 00:22:19

So, God passing by could be refreshing.

364

: 00:22:22

It's refreshing.

365

: 00:22:22

You know, wind cools us on a hot day.

366

: 00:22:25

You know, maybe you had, um,

something in your life that

367

: 00:22:28

was very refreshing for you.

368

: 00:22:31

You know, maybe you got,

um, encouraged by something.

369

: 00:22:34

You know, another person or an

event was very encouraging for you.

370

: 00:22:38

Maybe you're right there right now.

371

: 00:22:39

It's like, man, I'm in a

state of encouragement.

372

: 00:22:42

Life is so good.

373

: 00:22:44

Or, Maybe you're a part of another

wind where it's challenging.

374

: 00:22:49

I have a lot of friends, um, from

the church isn't here today because

375

: 00:22:54

of the resurrection of COVID.

376

: 00:22:56

God's amazing, right?

377

: 00:22:58

Can you think of one thing if

God wanted to get everybody's

378

: 00:23:01

attention on this entire world?

379

: 00:23:04

What could he do to get

everybody's attention?

380

: 00:23:08

How creative can he be?

381

: 00:23:10

An earthquake?

382

: 00:23:11

No.

383

: 00:23:12

A fire?

384

: 00:23:12

No.

385

: 00:23:13

He tried it with Noah.

386

: 00:23:15

How about the wind?

387

: 00:23:17

Where I can put a virus in the

wind to get every single person

388

: 00:23:23

in this world's attention.

389

: 00:23:26

How about that?

390

: 00:23:27

To get acknowledgement.

391

: 00:23:32

I'm passing by and I'm

gonna pass by again.

392

: 00:23:37

How amazing is God, right?

393

: 00:23:39

The wind.

394

: 00:23:40

Then we talk about earthquake.

395

: 00:23:41

We know our earthquakes.

396

: 00:23:44

And you can't, you can't

get away from an earthquake.

397

: 00:23:46

It's happening when I first felt it.

398

: 00:23:48

I wanted to run outside.

399

: 00:23:50

Like, run outside is still there.

400

: 00:23:51

You know, I can't, you know, I want to go

to the table, but it's still happening.

401

: 00:23:56

You can't, it's, it's your foundation.

402

: 00:23:59

Alright.

403

: 00:23:59

And maybe God is passing by

through an earthquake in your life.

404

: 00:24:04

Maybe from a positive perspective.

405

: 00:24:05

Yeah.

406

: 00:24:06

Uh, you got a job or something, it

makes you, you know, some more job

407

: 00:24:09

security, you got more income, you

know, maybe that's a good thing.

408

: 00:24:13

Right?

409

: 00:24:13

Or maybe it's a challenge

with an earthquake.

410

: 00:24:17

Maybe you lost the job.

411

: 00:24:19

Or you lost a relationship that

was really important to you.

412

: 00:24:23

You know, either by just

disconnection or death.

413

: 00:24:26

Where it shakes the foundation.

414

: 00:24:28

Do you see God passing by here?

415

: 00:24:31

To get your attention.

416

: 00:24:36

Fire.

417

: 00:24:38

I have two dogs at home.

418

: 00:24:39

You know, uh, and what's amazing

about animals is that all creation

419

: 00:24:47

knows stay away from fire.

420

: 00:24:50

Innately.

421

: 00:24:51

It doesn't know.

422

: 00:24:52

I know what it is.

423

: 00:24:53

I ain't going close to it.

424

: 00:24:55

And so, fire warms us when we need it.

425

: 00:24:59

Maybe something's going

on that's warming you.

426

: 00:25:01

Or, fire can burn you.

427

: 00:25:04

leaves a mark, leaves a scar.

428

: 00:25:07

Maybe you have things in your life,

too, right now that, something that,

429

: 00:25:11

it's, I'm thinking about it right

now, it's causing an angst of anxiety.

430

: 00:25:15

It's a scar that I just can't get rid of.

431

: 00:25:17

It's been there for a while.

432

: 00:25:18

It's something I can't let go.

433

: 00:25:20

It keeps me up at night.

434

: 00:25:21

This, this scar.

435

: 00:25:23

God's moving through it, too.

436

: 00:25:29

And so, we talked about that as

far as the earthquake, the wind.

437

: 00:25:34

The fire and how he leaves a mark

and then let's finish it up here with

438

: 00:25:46

The whisper And so he makes this

stuff gets our attention here, but he

439

: 00:25:52

says I Passed by that But the way I

want to communicate to you is through

440

: 00:26:01

a whisper But to hear someone's

whisper, you have to be in a spot

441

: 00:26:06

to hear someone's whisper, right?

442

: 00:26:07

You have a lot of noise going

on, a lot of things going on

443

: 00:26:10

in life, you won't hear it.

444

: 00:26:12

And so could those events bring you to

a point where I can hear God's whisper?

445

: 00:26:23

So let's start with Elijah.

446

: 00:26:24

He says, So after the fire came,

after the fire came a gentle whisper.

447

: 00:26:30

When Elijah heard it, he pulled his

cloak over his face and went out

448

: 00:26:33

and stood at the mouth of the cave.

449

: 00:26:35

Then a voice said to him, What

are you doing here, Elijah?

450

: 00:26:39

Um, he replied, I have been very

zealous for the Lord God Almighty.

451

: 00:26:44

The Israelites have rejected your

covenant, torn down your altars, and put

452

: 00:26:47

your prophets to death with the sword.

453

: 00:26:49

I am the only one left, and now

they are trying to kill me too.

454

: 00:26:53

And so again, the Lord said, Um,

you know, go back the way, go back

455

: 00:26:57

the way he came and go to the desert

of Damascus when you get there.

456

: 00:27:00

Anoint, um, Hazel King over Arum.

457

: 00:27:03

Um, and also a name Joe who's

son of MSU King over Israel.

458

: 00:27:07

And anoint Elisha, son of Shepa

from Abel, um, ALAH to succeed.

459

: 00:27:14

You as a prophet, Jehu will put to death

any who escaped the sword of Hazel.

460

: 00:27:19

Of Hazel and Elijah will put to death

any who escaped the sword of Jehu.

461

: 00:27:24

Yet I reserve 7, 000 in Israel, all

who, whose knees have not been bowed,

462

: 00:27:28

have not bowed down to bow, and those

whose mouths have not kissed them.

463

: 00:27:32

So he says, I got you.

464

: 00:27:34

I'll send Elijah to help you out.

465

: 00:27:36

I'm here.

466

: 00:27:37

You know, I got your back, but he

had to tell him in a general whisper.

467

: 00:27:42

Elijah, he could tell us a lot of

ancient thoughts going through his mind.

468

: 00:27:46

He says, I can't sit here

and just talk to you.

469

: 00:27:49

I got so much going on in my mind.

470

: 00:27:51

So he had to pass by, pass by, to

put you in a spot where now, I want

471

: 00:27:55

to talk to you in a gentle way.

472

: 00:27:58

And the same for us.

473

: 00:28:00

You know, we get to,

um, he went into hiding.

474

: 00:28:03

Sometimes it's easy to go hiding, right?

475

: 00:28:05

I want to hide from

the things I'm feeling.

476

: 00:28:07

Uh, I want to just, I want to pull away.

477

: 00:28:10

I want to deal with it myself.

478

: 00:28:11

Oh, I don't want to think about it.

479

: 00:28:13

I just want to escape.

480

: 00:28:14

He says, come out of

the cave and talk to me.

481

: 00:28:18

I want to, and get a quiet spot.

482

: 00:28:21

For many of us, it's, how often do

you go to a quiet spot with God to

483

: 00:28:29

hear what He's trying to tell you?

484

: 00:28:33

God speaks to us all

through His Holy Spirit.

485

: 00:28:36

What is He telling you?

486

: 00:28:39

And so, and when He asks

questions, He He always ask it

487

: 00:28:44

multiple times in the scripture.

488

: 00:28:48

So as you go to God, you'll hear,

you know, he's saying, he's asking

489

: 00:28:50

me the same questions multiple

times to get me to really understand

490

: 00:28:53

in a deeper, in a deeper way.

491

: 00:28:56

Um, he's always speaking

through us, through the spirit,

492

: 00:29:01

throughout our spiritual journey.

493

: 00:29:04

And we move forward here, and so, Hmm.

494

: 00:29:10

What is God asking you?

495

: 00:29:13

Alright, we'll go, it didn't

go exactly the way I wanted it

496

: 00:29:15

to, but what is God asking you?

497

: 00:29:19

Is He asking you, what are you doing here?

498

: 00:29:22

Meaning, this spot in your life

right now, what are you doing here?

499

: 00:29:27

Is He asking you, do you love me?

500

: 00:29:29

Do you love me?

501

: 00:29:30

Do you love me?

502

: 00:29:34

Meaning that your life, I want your

life to reflect your love for me.

503

: 00:29:40

Or, maybe He's asking, where are you?

504

: 00:29:43

Meaning, you don't come to me enough.

505

: 00:29:46

I don't see you enough.

506

: 00:29:48

You know, where are you?

507

: 00:29:50

Why are you hiding from me?

508

: 00:29:52

Why don't you want to connect with me?

509

: 00:29:54

Why don't you want to talk?

510

: 00:29:56

Why don't you want to pray with me?

511

: 00:29:57

Maybe that's the question he'll ask you.

512

: 00:30:00

Or maybe he'll ask you, what is this?

513

: 00:30:02

These are all questions that he

asks throughout his word to people.

514

: 00:30:08

Maybe he's asking you,

what is this you have done?

515

: 00:30:11

Trying to bring you to

a level of repentance.

516

: 00:30:13

Can you first of all

acknowledge what you've done?

517

: 00:30:15

Because I've seen it, I'm in

you, I experience it with you.

518

: 00:30:19

So, I want you to acknowledge

what have you done so we can

519

: 00:30:22

truly forgive and move forward.

520

: 00:30:24

Maybe he'll ask you,

why are you so afraid?

521

: 00:30:28

to go the path that you know

that I'm pointing it to.

522

: 00:30:31

You know, when I can give you

confidence, uh, you can trust me.

523

: 00:30:35

Why are you so afraid?

524

: 00:30:36

Why are you so afraid?

525

: 00:30:38

Why are you so afraid?

526

: 00:30:40

Or, maybe, what do you want?

527

: 00:30:44

Like, I said, I tell you whatever you

ask for my name, I'll give it to you.

528

: 00:30:49

What do you want?

529

: 00:30:53

And so, he's asking that over and over

again, What can I help you on your story?

530

: 00:30:57

What do you need help with

on your spiritual journey?

531

: 00:31:00

I know what it is, but I have to have

you understand that you know what it is.

532

: 00:31:04

It's all about you.

533

: 00:31:07

Or, I was asking you, what is your name?

534

: 00:31:12

That sounds very simple.

535

: 00:31:13

You know my name, Lord.

536

: 00:31:13

Like, no, no, no, no, no.

537

: 00:31:15

You are my disciple, right?

538

: 00:31:18

And sometimes the way I see

you, you don't look like me.

539

: 00:31:22

You don't act like me.

540

: 00:31:23

I don't see you in me.

541

: 00:31:25

So I'm asking you, what is your name?

542

: 00:31:28

Say it.

543

: 00:31:30

I'm your child.

544

: 00:31:31

Say it again.

545

: 00:31:33

I'm your disciple.

546

: 00:31:34

Tell me again.

547

: 00:31:35

Who are you?

548

: 00:31:37

I'm different from the world.

549

: 00:31:38

Yes, you are.

550

: 00:31:40

So I'm telling you, when we're

together, what is your name?

551

: 00:31:44

Remember that.

552

: 00:31:46

Or, he's asking you, do you believe this?

553

: 00:31:49

Do you really believe this?

554

: 00:31:52

Do you believe what you're reading?

555

: 00:31:53

Do you believe what Kenny is

saying in front of the church?

556

: 00:31:56

Do you believe this?

557

: 00:31:57

Or are you just hearing it

and you go home and it's gone?

558

: 00:32:02

Do you believe it?

559

: 00:32:03

Well, if you believe it, you'll do what?

560

: 00:32:05

You'll try to do it.

561

: 00:32:06

So just ask me, do you

really, really believe this?

562

: 00:32:11

So, these are the kind of questions you

get some time with God and these questions

563

: 00:32:17

will start coming to you from your Lord.

564

: 00:32:20

And it's like, how are you

going to respond to this?

565

: 00:32:23

You know, I just got chosen as

um, or selected as, as an elder,

566

: 00:32:26

which was um, pretty humbling.

567

: 00:32:28

Um, but it's, I had to ask myself the same

questions, like, what are you doing here?

568

: 00:32:34

You know, it's my own questions, God

was like, and I had to think about

569

: 00:32:37

that, like what am I doing here?

570

: 00:32:39

Um, I don't feel worthy, I don't, you

know, but I had to not wrestle, but

571

: 00:32:44

just go to God to see a path here.

572

: 00:32:47

A path that God has done, which

is very, um, gives me confidence.

573

: 00:32:52

And you have your own path, too,

that God has done to bring you here.

574

: 00:32:55

And so, we'll move to, uh, the next

part is, we're gonna talk about, it's

575

: 00:33:04

a call to action, as we close up.

576

: 00:33:07

And so the call to action is, just

to commit to a consistent time

577

: 00:33:12

with God, and word, and prayer.

578

: 00:33:15

With no interruptions, with the heart

is that I want to hear from you, Lord.

579

: 00:33:23

Talk to me.

580

: 00:33:24

Tell me.

581

: 00:33:26

Uh, what questions are you asking me?

582

: 00:33:28

Uh, consistently going,

and it'll, it'll come.

583

: 00:33:32

And then, write it down.

584

: 00:33:35

Journal it.

585

: 00:33:37

Um, and then, um, you know,

what is he asking as he opens

586

: 00:33:41

up your heart to your spirit?

587

: 00:33:43

Just write it down.

588

: 00:33:45

Look at it, and you'll see it may

become again, and again, and again.

589

: 00:33:49

Share with somebody.

590

: 00:33:51

Your spouse, or friend,

uh, or even your elder.

591

: 00:33:55

You know, just share what, you

know, what is God asking you?

592

: 00:34:00

And then, when He's asking you

something, there's a response.

593

: 00:34:03

And, uh, and that response

is the faith action.

594

: 00:34:07

Okay, whatever you're asking me, you

know, the question he's asked me so

595

: 00:34:11

many times is really, do you love me?

596

: 00:34:13

Do you love me?

597

: 00:34:14

Do you love me?

598

: 00:34:15

That comes up all the

time when we're together.

599

: 00:34:17

But then the response is,

okay, if you love me, do what?

600

: 00:34:21

Feed my sheep.

601

: 00:34:24

Comes to me all the time.

602

: 00:34:25

He's like, feed my sheep, Kenny.

603

: 00:34:27

Feeding my sheep for the longest time.

604

: 00:34:29

That's what he tells me.

605

: 00:34:30

So I'm like, I'm going to

help me help me to do that.

606

: 00:34:34

And so for all of us,

there's some action Hey!

607

: 00:34:37

So help me to do what

God is calling me to do.

608

: 00:34:41

And, and that's what it means

that we're going to talk.

609

: 00:34:43

Sometimes when you talk to each other,

you realize there's some common things.

610

: 00:34:48

And so there's some corporate wide

things that God is telling us as

611

: 00:34:51

a whole that affects the church.

612

: 00:34:53

And so we make up the church.

613

: 00:34:55

So you're going to talk like, you know, he

told me the same thing, the same things.

614

: 00:34:57

Like, so corporately, he's calling us

to do something as a church together.

615

: 00:35:04

And that's how he works.

616

: 00:35:06

I was going through, we're

going to close it up.

617

: 00:35:08

I was going through the,

um, uh, in revelations that

618

: 00:35:11

talks about all the churches.

619

: 00:35:13

The first couple of chapters about seven

different churches and every church was

620

: 00:35:18

unique, which always gives me faith.

621

: 00:35:20

There's no perfect church.

622

: 00:35:21

We all got our stuff, right?

623

: 00:35:22

Cause we're not perfect.

624

: 00:35:23

But those letters were to the angels.

625

: 00:35:29

So each of those churches had

angels representing those churches.

626

: 00:35:36

So for a body of people, God has angels

assigned to bodies of people and God and

627

: 00:35:43

these angels are talking to God for us.

628

: 00:35:47

And so sometimes the angels are trying to

get these corporate messages to all of us.

629

: 00:35:53

They're telling us kind of the same thing.

630

: 00:35:55

And so for us all to grasp it and

understand what is it as a church we

631

: 00:35:59

have to change collectively because all

together we show we have a different you.

632

: 00:36:05

Church personality because of us But

some things we need to change and we're

633

: 00:36:09

growing so I just want to leave I'm

in with that so Guys, thank you for

634

: 00:36:13

the you know for hearing me out and

I'm going to pray for the communion

635

: 00:36:23

Heavenly Father Lord, thank you for

just being who you are for the hope

636

: 00:36:28

that comes for following you God.

637

: 00:36:31

for giving us a path To follow

and, uh, to help with your spirit.

638

: 00:36:37

Uh, Lord, what an amazing journey

we get to experience here on earth.

639

: 00:36:41

Uh, Father, that culminates in heaven.

640

: 00:36:44

Uh, God is valuable to you.

641

: 00:36:46

Uh, Father, it changes the

world as we go on this journey.

642

: 00:36:49

Uh, Father, I thank you so much

for the sacrifice in Jesus.

643

: 00:36:53

God, that brings us to our knees.

644

: 00:36:54

Uh, that slows us down.

645

: 00:36:56

That humbles us, Father.

646

: 00:36:57

Um, the, the juice that represents, um,

Real blood that flowed on the cross, uh,

647

: 00:37:03

real blood, real pain and father, and

how that washes over all of our sins.

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: 00:37:07

Uh, God, we're not worthy.

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: 00:37:09

Uh, I pray for the, um, the

bread that represents the body

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: 00:37:12

that was beaten, uh, for us.

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: 00:37:14

The pain and the agony, uh, Father, so

we can have a relationship with you.

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: 00:37:18

Uh, God, we so appreciate you.

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: 00:37:21

God, we respect you so

much for doing that for us.

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: 00:37:24

Uh, help us to remember

that as we take communion.

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: 00:37:27

Uh, Father, we love you as we pray.

656

: 00:37:28

Amen.