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Samuel Anoints David

Discover the importance of character in your walk with God as we study Samuel anointing David. This message unpacks why God values what is unseen, how humility and integrity are tested in ordinary days, and how your reactions in disappointment reveal your true heart. 

Get inspired to defend others, seek daily renewal in Christ, and let your actions in private align with your public witness.

Scriptures Referenced

1 Samuel 16:1-13; Proverbs 19:17; Isaiah 5:2-3; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Romans 5:3; Galatians 5:22-23

Key Insights

  • Character is who you really are.
  • Sometimes position and title are the genesis of a downfall.
  • Your actions and reactions are your responsibility.
  • How you leave a season is probably more important than how you start it.
  • God’s plan is bigger than our greatest disappointments.
  • God prioritizes relationship over resume.
  • The most important season is the waiting.
  • Enjoy the gift of ordinary days.
  • What we cultivate in private will eventually manifest itself in public.

Prayer Targets

Please join us in prayer for:

  • A hunger for the Word.
  • Tears for the lost.
  • Testimonies to share.

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We would love it if you would consider joining us in person for one of our Sunday gatherings.

Gathering Times

  • Sundays, 9:00 AM
  • Sundays, 11:00 AM
  • Thursdays, 6:00 PM

Contact Info

Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167

615-459-3421

Additional Resources

CCLI License 2070006

Transcript
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Well, good morning Spring House, and good morning to those joining

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us online. We're glad that you're joining us. You know I was saying in

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the early gathering, I'm so grateful for a church who

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does, consider those in need. It's so wonderful

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and supernatural really to see how the Lord blesses and uses

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the dollars for a need, people in need and how he stretches

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those funds for people who really are indeed in

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need. And so I just wanna thank you guys for your generosity, your

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intentionality in remembering that. The word

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tells us that when we give to the poor, we lend

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to the Lord, and I believe God

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is, He just so knows how to use

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the resources coming in in such a powerful way, in a way better than we

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could even imagine. And so thank you guys for, being

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intentional with that. Before we get going here, just

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a couple of things. We are in summer, believe it or

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not. It's here. And, and so we are not going

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to have midweek gatherings in the summer. We typically take

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the summer off in our traditional, scheduling on

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Thursday night, so in the month of June and July we will not have our

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traditional midweek gathering, but I do encourage you to continue to be

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plugged in to the ministries at the church. Pursuit's got

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a homeroom derby coming up, Bloom is gonna continue to meet,

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the youth and the young adult groups are also meeting throughout the

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summer, Evergreen, Everlast. So get on the, app and

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find out their regimen schedule and plug in that way, but

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we will not have our regular Thursday night gatherings until

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August. Okay? And so, no midweek, gatherings, and that starts this

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week. Okay? So welcome, Summer, and, we're still

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gonna be plugged into the family, amen? Alright, today we

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are going to talk about the story where Samuel anoints

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David in First Samuel chapter 16, and we are gonna

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read the entire story. So would you

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stand with me this morning?

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And we're gonna read it with some gusto. Are we are we ready?

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Kelsey, you ready to read? Alright. Here we go. I'm glad

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you're here today. The Lord said to

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Samuel, how long will you mourn for Saul

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since I have rejected him as king over Israel?

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Fill your horn with oil and be on your way. I

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am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have

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chosen one of his sons to be king. But

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Samuel said, how can I go? If Saul hears

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about it, he will kill me. The Lord said, take a

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heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice

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to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice

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and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint

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for me the one I indicate. Samuel did

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what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the

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elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked,

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do you come in peace? Samuel replied, yes

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in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.

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Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.

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Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to

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the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw

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Eliab and thought, surely the Lord's anointed stands

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here before the Lord. But the Lord said to Samuel,

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do not consider his appearance or his height, for I

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have rejected him.

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Heart. Then Jesse called the Benedab and had him

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pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, the Lord

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has not chosen this one either. Jesse had

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Shema pass by and Samuel said, nor has the Lord

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chosen this one. Jesse had seven of his sons

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pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, the Lord

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has not chosen these. So he asked Jesse, are

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these all the sons you have? There is still the youngest,

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Jesse answered. He is tending the sheep. Samuel

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said, send for him, we will not sit down until he

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arrives. So he sent for them and had him brought

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in. He was glowing with health and had fine appearance

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and handsome features. Then the Lord said, rise

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and anoint him. This is the one. So Samuel took

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the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his

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brothers. And from that day, the spirit of the Lord

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came powerfully upon David. Father, I thank you for your word and it's

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transformed to truth. I pray Lord that you would anoint us today to

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be recipients of your truth and transform us for eternity

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today. In Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated.

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Have you ever purchased something online on the

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internet and what you thought you were getting

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on the screen didn't quite pan out or look like

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what arrived on your porch? Has that ever

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angered anybody? Anybody suffered any frustration?

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I get sucked in sometimes to these schemes, especially when I'm scrolling

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through social media, Justin, that say, hey, buy this for $9. And

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it comes in and it's a medium, you know, and I thought it was a

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large or extra large and, you know, and you know,

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sometimes when we're we're looking at things on the outside, it doesn't

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necessarily match what's on the inside. You know, sometimes you might go to the store

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and buy a can of Pringles hoping to pop till you can't stop

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and, you open them up looking to enjoy a Pringle,

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but whenever you dig in, all of a sudden you got a lucky charms.

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And you're like, what is this? Lucky charms? Lucky charm. Now

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Ruby would be very excited about this.

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Sometimes what's happening on the outside

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isn't indicative of what reality is on the inside.

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And we blindly go through life often

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making sacrifices, purchases, giving ourselves

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to people, things, entities, what be it, that has

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an

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marketed or cracked up to be. Is that true? Is that

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true? We're talking about the greatest

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stories ever told. And part of the part of the the

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greatest story ever told as we are a part of the greatest story ever told

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is that we have this human element in us, within

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us that says, hey we are growing from the

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inside out. But also often especially for

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those who struggle with any type of pride or anything like that we

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like to try to manifest on the outside things that don't really

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aren't really happening on the inside. See here's the thing, what we see on

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the outside should match what's on the inside. What

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we see on the outside should match what's on the inside and if we're honest

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with ourselves sometimes what we portray on the outside isn't

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what's really happening on the inside. Perhaps you've met met

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someone, gotten in connection or relationship with someone and

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if you're really close to someone you get a chance to really see

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who they are. Today, this morning, we're gonna talk about something real

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important. It's we're gonna talk about character this morning. Character.

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I like to portray different characters

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from the stage. Anybody ever been in a show before?

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Okay. Been in a theater or a show or a play? You know one of

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the neat things about that is you get to take on the persona of a

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character that's not you And you get to display

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attributes, you get to study the character, you get to pretend

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as if you are somebody that you're not. But here's the problem,

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many times we take up characters and we use those characters

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and manifest those characters in our everyday life. And we

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think that we're fooling the people around us, but we ain't really

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fooling anybody. I love that the

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Lord gives us examples of figures in scripture who

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are human. Can you imagine if scripture was full of

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perfection? It was here is one person after the other

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doing the right thing all of the time. Boy, I think

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a lot of us would probably run, wouldn't want anything to do with Jesus because

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we just couldn't measure up. Well the truth of the matter is we can't measure

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up. We can't measure up nor could any of these predominant figures

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in scripture. They couldn't measure up either. They needed a

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sovereign God. We need a Jesus in his blood. We need a

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Jesus in his blood. We're gonna work with this simple definition of character. Character

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is who you really are.

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Character is who you really

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really are. The closer you get to people, the more you

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see who they really are. The people people closest

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to you should be able to defend your

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character. I think probably for most of us in the room the

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closest relationship we have is that one with our spouse. And

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maybe, maybe, just maybe, the person that walked down the aisle and

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gave you their vows, you found out some things about them in the first few

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weeks. Like they left their their cap off of the toothpaste or they

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weren't as clean as you thought they were gonna be or they handle situations

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because it's different whenever you're spending chosen time with somebody as opposed

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to spending all your time with somebody. They get to see the good,

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bad, and the ugly. When you're in that courtship relationship, you're bringing out the best.

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You're putting on the best labels, you're putting on the best things and all of

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that stuff, but boy when you start living with somebody you really really

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get to get to know them. But character

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should be something in our life that could be easily defended

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in the in the in in the right circles. You see, sometimes we

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get in circles of people and people get to talking and all of

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a sudden you start to hear some things about somebody who's not present in the

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circle, but you've got the insight and the data

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to the care as to the character of that person. And might I suggest

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that God has placed you in that environment to open your

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mouth and defend the character of the person that you know.

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We have often said here that love is my name protected in

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your mouth. Well, love is being able to recognize somebody's character and

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speak to it and defend it. Not that people are perfect.

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Not that people are perfect, but being able to stand up and say, I

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don't know that what you're saying or trying to say here is absolutely true. Let's

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get that person involved. Let's get that person

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involved in in the mix. I want to have a reputable

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character that can be defended and that should be a desire of all of ours.

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That we would have a character not a perfection but man, I sure do believe

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that when he makes a mistake he admits it and he apologizes or he asks

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for forgiveness or I have seen consistency and change in

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his life. Whenever somebody accuses him of something he

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actually leans in and says I want to try to dig in and figure out

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whether or not this is true or not true or how I can grow from

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that. That should be the story of every growing Christian

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in the room. And I believe that this is the number one

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reason people in leadership don't get close to people.

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One of the things that was told of me when I was getting into this

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role as pastor is somebody said to me you're not allowed to have any close

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friends. And I kind of scratched my head about that

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and getting being in it now for a while I understand why people

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would think that, why people would get in that, that mindset

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as as leaders because if you're a leader of any sort you sometimes,

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especially if you're on the platform, you live in a glass house. You live where

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everybody gets to see everything and they get to form opinions about what you're saying,

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what you're doing, how you're living, all of the different things. But my

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hope and my prayer for my life and for the leaders here at this church

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and the leaders that you follow out in the world is that their character, what's

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happening on the inside matches what's happening on the inside

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and the outside. We we tend to judge character or what's on the

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inside based on the packaging.

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Or what's protected on the outside. Sometimes we'll even judge

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the character of a person based on someone's description of the

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outside as opposed to really getting to

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know the person at all, inside or out. And

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so this guy named Samuel, he didn't just

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arrive on the scene. Pastor Ronnie talked about Samuel last week and Saul,

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And this is the part of the story where Saul's kingdom has been taken from

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him. Because of choices that Saul made, because of

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his character, the Lord had to

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remove the kingdom from Saul and

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Samuel, we're introduced to Samuel and how we're introduced in this chapter it

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says that Samuel is mourning. He is grieving

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over the loss of the kingdom out of Saul's hands. He's grieving. He's

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mourning Saul. Now this tells me something very

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interesting. This tells me that if Samuel is mourning or

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grieving Saul, it tells me how it ended with Saul was not how it began

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with Saul. How it ended with Saul is not how it

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began with Saul. God did choose Saul to be king.

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Samuel recognized Saul as the king

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of the Israelites, but Saul

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began to make some other choices. You see here's the thing,

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sometimes position and title is the genesis of a

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downfall. Sometimes position and

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title is the genesis of a downfall. I've seen a

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number of people change and evolve

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with their position and end up somebody totally different by the end

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of their tenure. This is why it

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is paramount in any position of leadership or anything God has given

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you to do that you hold it like this.

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Sometimes our fingers start to coral in just a little bit, just a little bit.

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We start to we start to form an identity

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around the positions and the things that we have. And all of

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a sudden what happens, the reason our character

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is called into question is because our identity is coming from

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a position and a title as opposed to the one who created

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us. And when that becomes the case, the Lord begins to say

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it's time for you to move on. Saul, you no longer can have the kingdom.

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You can no longer have the kingdom because what I say, says the

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Lord, is of less importance than what you think and what you're

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doing. And so Saul had to render

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render the kingdom. Even when something is taken away from

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you, have you ever been in a situation where you felt like a position or

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a title or something you've been given was unjustly

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taken from you? It was removed from you. Have Have you ever been

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in a situation where you thought this situation is not just, it's

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not right, and it makes you feel a certain sort of way.

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Can I tell you? Even in those circumstances your

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actions and your reactions are your responsibility.

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Your actions and your reactions in those unjust

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moments are your responsibility and have everything to

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do with your character. Because see here's the thing

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while some of us wreak havoc in the midst of

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an unjust situation all you're doing is really

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illuminating the fact that you shouldn't be in the position in the first place.

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We had a situation a little while back at our school

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where we discovered something about someone, that wasn't in

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keeping with our values at the school and that person had to be terminated.

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And so in that termination, which is never

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an easy thing, that termination, but that termination happened and

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months later months later the leader who terminated that

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person received this text message.

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Good morning. I Just want to let you know that I really appreciate you

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for sitting me down and talking to me. I have quit

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smoking and it's forced me to deal with things that I've been avoiding for

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years. I honestly didn't think that I would ever could

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never not depend on marijuana, but I've recently decided that

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I've got to give it to the most high and heal one day at a

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time. I love you so much for your kindness. This

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is to the person who fired her. Thank you for

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your kindness. I pray that the creator blesses you so much. Thank you

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again for not condemning me but helping me realize I had

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a problem. I love you.

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I love you. Can I tell you how you leave a

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thing is probably more important than the way that you started the

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thing? You can redefine

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your entire whatever it is, organization, ministry,

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timeline in the last few months by what you say and what you do. You

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can redefine and overshadow any of the good things you do based

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on how you leave, how you exit.

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You want to leave the seasons God's placed you in better than

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you started. It is a test of character.

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It is a test of your pride. It is your test of laying down

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the things that you want, your selfishness because the enemy wants

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to cause division, the enemy wants to cause confusion, the enemy

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wants you to react out of your flesh. Can I tell you the world cares

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less about character? The world is a dog eat dog world

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and wants you to climb a ladder and it doesn't matter who you hit on

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the way up as long as you get there.

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But in the kingdom, the kingdom will say I want you to sacrifice the

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position that the world is dangling in front of you and operate with

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integrity and character and then God comes in and he does something

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supernatural, exceptional, extraordinary beyond your wildest dreams with

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you.

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Samuel could have lived in the state of grief. He could have

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stayed there. He actually could have operated out of insecurity. Why is that?

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Samuel was the mouthpiece in the face of in the face of the Lord. He

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was the one that went to all of Israel and said Saul is your

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king. And then Saul did what he

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did and now he's not. Why do you think that made Samuel feel?

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Man, what are they thinking about me? What is Israel thinking about?

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What what are the what are the people I've gotta go back and Lord you

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wanna use me? He could have lived in the place of grief but

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he chose to listen to the Lord instead. Can I tell

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you this? God's plan is bigger than our disappointments.

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God's plan is always bigger than our greatest

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disappointments. I remember I have been a part

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of three youth transitions here at the church. And I'm one of

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them, and I'm not gonna go into the story, but I'm one of the youth

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transitions in this church. It was one of the greatest joys for

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me to step into the youth and it also launched my deepest

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pain because overnight I lost my best friend.

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Have you ever lost a best friend? Ever suffered a

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hurt, a deep hurt of somebody one day being there

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and the next day it's like they're gone? There's

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very few pains especially if you're actually heart connected to a person

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than to lose a relationship.

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And as I look back on that season many many years ago, as I look

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back on that season and I evaluate my choices and the

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decisions and why I chose, it emphatically 100%

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was the Lord. But it would have been so easy

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in that moment for me to lean into how I felt. It would have been

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so easy for me to look at what I was losing and not pay any

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attention to the God in the moment even though I couldn't see what was going

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to be down the pike that I would gain. There was an

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authority in my life, somebody that I looked at and I said to them I

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trust the God inside you. Can I tell you if you are

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in a confusing season, God is not the author of confusion?

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He will bring along people in your life who hold authority in your life and

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they may say something to you that you don't like,

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But as they render that truth it will give you direction,

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sound direction and I remember that moment telling the person in my

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life that said I want you to do this transition saying I trust the

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God inside you. And it meant me

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sacrificing my best friend. Didn't know it at the moment, but it's what

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happened.

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God's plan is bigger than our disappointments. Saul goes out

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and meets with Jesse and invites he and his sons

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to this sacrifice and they're all there and he invites the

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sons and here comes Eliab. Now,

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Eliab's got that thousand watt smile. He's

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tall, he's handsome, he's rugged, and he's I mean he's the deal. He's

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the person that he walks in the room and goes, I'm a follow that person.

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I don't even know their name. I'm following that guy. Right? He is I mean

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he is all that and a bag of potato chips. He has got it going

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on, and he walks up and he struts in there and Samuel

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even, the the one who is hearing from the Lord, he even says

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this surely the Lord's anointed stands here

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before the Lord. Surely the Lord's anointed

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stands here before the Lord. Can I tell you just because you look like

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a king on the outside doesn't mean you carry the heart of a king on

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the inside? And if you read the

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story later about Eliab, you'll find out that he is arrogant

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and does not trust the Lord. He might look the part but his

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heart wasn't in it. It's not the one God chose.

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See we send this We tend to see Eliabs in our life

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and we make rushed and rash decisions based on what we see on the

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surface. We sometimes vote this way.

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We will follow leaders and celebrities this way. We

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sometimes will even marry this way.

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This must be the obvious choice. Look

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at all the external reasons. This must be the obvious

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choice. When the elders were gathering together to select the

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pastor after Ronnie whenever I was in the queue or whatnot, you know, the eldership,

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they were looking for a strong, mighty,

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warrior, valiant person that could come in and

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just really lead with strength and and so

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I sent them my resume and my picture and they saw this and said

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surely the Lord's anointed stands

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before the Lord.

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The minute they saw that photo, it was a shoo in yes. This is

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our next pastor.

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Mighty, warrior, strong. I mean, just look at that. We

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don't need to see anything else. He's strong and mighty.

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You don't wanna really see what's under here. The

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Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward

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appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

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The Lord looks at the heart. The heart.

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I wish I could stand before you and say my heart's so pure.

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I wish I could stand before you and say my heart is just, it's great.

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That's what Jeremiah tells us. The heart is deceitful

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above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

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I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind to reward each person according

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to their conduct according to what their deeds deserve.

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My goodness. I wish I

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could say I have a heart as your pastor who's totally pure,

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but even in my best days I'm fearful,

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judgmental, unkind, selfish,

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unforgiving, willing to bend the rules to get out of a

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jam.

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The heart is deceitful above all things. And this is

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why we need the blood of Jesus Christ.

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Because every single morning when we wake up, we are

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nothing more than a filthy rag. Even

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in our best days, a filthy rag. But

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here's the thing, the blood of Jesus Christ

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covers every single misstep.

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Every single sin, every single thing that we do that's not in

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keeping with the will of God, the blood of Jesus covers.

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And we keep coming back over and over and over

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and over again. And can I tell you don't let anybody fool you

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that they're not coming back over and over and over again? The minute somebody

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says I've been there enough, I don't gotta do that anymore is the moment that

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they feel like the blood is not sufficient enough for them.

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The blood of Christ is sufficient and you can go

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daily. You must go daily. You must go daily.

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His his blood must cover us

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so that we can take the next step of righteousness, so that we can

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take the next step of faith, so that we can be in good standing with

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the Lord and so that our character is not compromised to a

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dying world who needs to see a Jesus, who needs to see authentic

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real Jesus living out in our life. You see here's the

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thing, it doesn't always feel good.

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It doesn't always feel good.

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A heart that's being transformed is a heart that's

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in constant connection with God. In other words, God prioritizes

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relationship over resume. He

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prioritizes the relationship over

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resume. Are you connected to this king? What is your

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relationship with the God of the universe? Let me tell you

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some of you don't have an active relationship with God because you

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feel like you've messed up and fouled up so much that the God of the

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universe you can't get close to him. And so you come in here on

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Sunday to get your temporary fix and praise on feeling worse than

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you did when you came in because you own, you're walking in shame and guilt

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and then you leave here and you just keep doing the same things over and

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over and over again. Can I tell you the grace of God can meet you

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this morning and change everything? Can I tell you that there are

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testimonies in this house where last week I was a druggie, but this

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week the Lord set me free? There's testimonies in this house where

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this week we were not reconciled, but this week supernatural divine

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forgiveness walked into the picture. The God of the universe will step

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right into your situation and change everything. That's why he's not split the sky

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yet. The blood of Christ is sufficient. He wants

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to reconcile first us to him, but then us to each other. There are

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things in our lives that we need to get cleaned up because our

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character is at stake. Why is our character important? Because a dying

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world's looking at us and they need to see Jesus.

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They need to see Jesus and guys can I tell you the outpouring of Kevin

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is not Jesus? If I can give you, I can give you about

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this much of me and it will be kind and it will be loving, it

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will be all this, but there comes a point where that line and it's got

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to default into the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit in my life

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or you're just gonna get filthy rags. And it's gonna smell like filthy rags.

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I can parade it. I can put a slap of Christian on my shirt. I

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can look like it all day long, but it's not gonna be anything of Him.

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I need the Holy Spirit. He prioritizes relationship.

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How do I how am I able to render forgiveness in a

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situation where I don't feel like they should be forgiven? How do I render these

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types of things? I've got to be in relationship, daily constant relationship

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with the Lord. With the Lord.

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Yesterday's yesterday's covering isn't enough. I need a new one

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today. Yesterday's drink, you know sometimes I wake up in the morning I'm

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parched and I'm thirsty and I've got yesterday's cup of water sitting on my on

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my thing and I take a drink. It just doesn't taste the same. It's not

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fresh. I need a fresh touch from the Lord every day.

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Well, I wait until 9PM at night to do my devotional reading. Well, I hate

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to see what's going on from eight in the morning to 9PM with you. I

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gotta wake up in the morning because I'm stubbing my toe on the way to

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the bathroom and there are things that fly out of my mouth.

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And I want it to be thank you Jesus.

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And so Samuel asked this question. He goes through all Eliab comes,

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all the other kids all the other kids come and they walk through and none

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of them are chosen and Samuel asked this question, are these

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all the sons you have? Are these all this I I think

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this is a this is a funny question to me, but first before I go

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to the funny, let me tell you what's happening here. Characters being

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tested in Samuel and in Jesse.

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Number one, Samuel. He has seven sons in front of him.

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He's been tasked to identify the one who's gonna be king

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and the op the options are the seven in front of him. It would have

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been so easy for Samuel to say well, I guess I've missed it. I've gotta

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pick one of these. Eliab, you must be the one. But

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can I tell you, Samuel had a relationship

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with the God of the universe? He knew what his voice

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sounded like and knew that none of these seven, even though he said

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it's gonna be a son of Jesse, none of these were it. And it caused

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him to ask the question, are you sure all of the sons are here?

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Jesse, proud dad, marches his kids, Eliab's

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right out of the gate. He just said, no, I don't got

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any other sons. These these are the ones you

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need to choose from. But he said, yes. There is

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one more. He's out in the field tending

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sheep. I find this question to be funny

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because Samuel then says, alright. You didn't bring him here the first

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time. We're gonna stand until he comes. I think that that's

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funny. A few weeks ago, we had a service and I don't know if you

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noticed, it was like the aerobic service with everybody stand and sit and stand and

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sit and stand and sit. Have you ever been a part of a service like

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that? Yes, pastor. It happens quite frequently here. Yes, I understand.

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They're standing. He said we're not gonna sit until he comes.

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In other words, hasten. Let's go. Let's bring

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him on.

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And so David comes and he is anointed.

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He is anointed to be king. He is told you are

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the next king of Israel. He knows it. It's not something

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that has to be mystically discerned. He knows.

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You are it. You are God's chosen man.

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And then the story stops.

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They grabbed David and put a crown on him and row him and put him

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on the seat and just start worshiping. No. The story stops. You are the

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king. Now get back to the field. You are

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the king. Now continue doing what you've been doing.

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Can I tell you anointing is like the

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seed, character is the soil?

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If the seeds not nurtured in good soil, it does not produce good

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fruit. Let me give you another analogy. Anointing is your wedding

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day. Character is your marriage.

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Character is your marriage.

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I want you to understand that what happens

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next is everything. The story

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stops at verse 13 but life doesn't stop.

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This extraordinary moment is met following

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fifteen years of a lot of ordinary moments.

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Lots of ordinary days. Character development is

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happening. Character development is happening

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in David before he gets the position for fifteen

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years. Guys, we can't wait thirty seconds on a cup of coffee.

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And some of you are willing to throw in the towel because you feel you

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you you feel you deserve a position, you feel like you deserve the title, you

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feel like you're supposed to be moving in there, somebody has usurped it and you

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go God I've been waiting for I've been waiting for three days God, I don't

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understand why you're doing that. I've been waiting for three years God. I've been waiting

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for thirteen years God.

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Can I tell you the most important season that you will be in is

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in that waiting room season? Because

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when you get into the position and you have to start putting that into action

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it needs to be the outflow of the Holy Spirit not you at all anyway.

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You are wrestling with the Lord. I've I've gone to recently have had to

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go to doctor's appointments. Can I tell you? I don't understand why they schedule you

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at the doctor's office for 11:30, make you come in at 09:00 and sit

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there two and a half hours in the waiting room looking at magazines.

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It's a test of my character. I'm a tell you right now.

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Patience. Patience. And then when somebody else comes in after you and they get

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seen before you. Oh, Jesus.

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The word says that the spirit of the Lord fell on David. Who else did

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the spirit of the Lord fall on in the new testament? It fell on Jesus

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and what happens immediately following? He gets tested in the

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wilderness. He gets tested

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Landon, you're starting a new thing. Is that what I understand? Start a new business?

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Is that what you said today? Okay, guess what? You're you're being tested.

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And guess what? Here's here's the thing. You said I know I was supposed to

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do it. Well guess what? If God chooses not to give you the check,

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chooses not to bless you in the next season, chooses not to do that, do

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you know that you're still called? That's the test. That's the real truth.

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And guess what? He's putting you all through this. Why? Because he you are

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not a doubter. You call yourself a doubter. That's not what he calls you. And

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the more you keep confessing that out of your life, you're gonna get to get

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tested in over and over and over again. That's not who you

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are. I know that's not who you are. You begin to own that truth as

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as well. He's testing you. He's testing you. You're

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in the waiting room. Get ready. And he's gonna bust the doors open. He's

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gonna bust the doors open.

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When Margaret Meek passed away many years ago,

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Arwen Jones got up and she did a speech, and one of the things she

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said that always stuck with me was enjoy the gift of ordinary days. And within

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that week, I was mourning, I was grieving, and I went to a store and

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I saw this planter here, and I had to pick it up. I thought the

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Holy Spirit led me right to it, and I had it for a while in

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my face every day. Enjoy the gift of ordinary days. Guys,

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God rarely, rarely is looking to

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curb your character in those extraordinary moments. It is in

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that ordinary, mundane, stubbing

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your toe moment, getting cut off the road moment of

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your life, going into work, going to bed, eating, all of

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these relationship, he is cultivating your character

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in these ordinary moments. And in these

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ordinary moments, and this is a misperception when it comes to Christianity,

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in those ordinary moments there is going to be suffering.

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There is going to be suffering in these ordinary moments.

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For those who I'm so sorry that you were introduced to a Christ that

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you thought went to the cross so that you can have the best life here

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on earth. Guess what? He gives us the most important things

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such as peace, passing, understanding. He does some things to

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it for us that are excellent, but let me tell you he did not die

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on the cross so that you could climb the corporate ladder and become the big

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CEO.

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We suffer for him. We rejoice in our suffering, Paul says, because we know that

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suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character,

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hope. I hate this phrase or

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this quote that I learned from AW Tozer this week because it's so true,

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but I just can't stand it. When God wants

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to use someone greatly, he first hurts them deeply.

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God, break me. Because in order for you to use me, I

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gotta look like you and I don't look like you right now.

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Can I tell you that what we cultivate in private will eventually manifest

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itself in public? Come on out worship

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team. What we cultivate in private will eventually manifest

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itself in public. And this is why

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character is so important. I went to Alabama this

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week with my family. My kids love the beach. I don't really like the beach,

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but I went. And, have you ever been in a car ride with your

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kids and your kids are telling you how to drive?

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Have you ever been in a car ride and your spouse is telling you how

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to drive? Have you ever been frustrated

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by these comments of back seat and side seat drivers?

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Well, this happens, you know, I'm the I'm the world's greatest driver and this

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happens quite frequently

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in in my car where my people

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are sharing their opinions about

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my driving. Well,

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on the way back from Alabama, I was ready to get home.

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And I had a little blue light

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special. I got pulled over and, I got a

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ticket on the way home. And,

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the police officer, you know, puts his head in the window and we talked for

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a minute and he says, man, I would hate for something to happen to those

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four precious girls back there. I go,

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Yeah. I drive to the gas station right after

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that, and we get to the gas station and I

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look in the rear view mirror and I see see Adasa, and she is just

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weeping. And so I say, Come here,

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Adasa. And I pull her up in the front seat,

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and I look at her, she's weeping, and she looks at me with her glass

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eyes, and she looks at me, and I say, What's wrong? And she

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says, I just don't understand why you don't have to follow the

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rules.

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And I just broke.

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I don't want my kids to see something different

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than what I want to manifest on the outside to everybody

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else. You see, she heard loud

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and clear the police officer say, I would hate for you to lose one of

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these precious girls. And I looked at Edessa and I

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said, I am so sorry.

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Please forgive me for not listening to you, when you were telling me I

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needed to slow down. All the times you're telling me to slow down.

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And in that moment with humility, I believe that my child was

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able to see me chip away at my pride, my

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arrogance, my need to be right, and to

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say, I hear you.

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Because what we cultivate in private is gonna manifest itself

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in public.

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The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, gentleness

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and self control. These are some benchmarks of what

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our life with Christ looks like if we're walking with the

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Spirit. These are indicators of what our

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character truly looks like. But it's not just for

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the grandiose population. It's in those one

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on one moments with your closest friends, with your spouse, with your

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family. What

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you're projecting on the outside isn't happening on the inside.

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Jesus, can I tell you, we would have not chosen Jesus to be our King?

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This is what the word says in Isaiah about Jesus. Who has

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believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

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He grew up before Him like a tender shoot and like a root out of

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dry ground. He had no root out of dry

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ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. Nothing in

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his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and

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rejected by mankind. A man of suffering and familiar with pain.

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Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised and we held

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him in low esteem. We would have not chosen Jesus to be

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our king. But despite that

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truth, he

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believed. Guys we want to be like

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Jesus. We wanna be like Jesus, our character

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needs to emulate Jesus, but in order for us to look like Jesus,

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you see that hand there with that nail? That's what we're supposed to look

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like. Dying to our selves every single

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day. Looking at people who have wronged us and saying I'm

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gonna give you the upper hand. I'm gonna love you so much more

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even though you're unlovable right now, I'm gonna love you so far high, much higher

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above that. I'm gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna sacrifice. I'm gonna lay down my

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life. That is looking like the Lord Jesus Christ, the one whom

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we say, we love. Do you look like Christ?

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If you'll stand with me and we're gonna end with this poem,

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and I'm gonna release you this morning.

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In fields unseen where sheep once grazed, a heart was

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shaped through simple ways. Not crowned with gold nor

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clothed in quiet

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night. The world may chase the grand and bright, the

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dazzling stage, the fleeting light, but God, he looks

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beneath the praise to hearts refined in hidden

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ways. Character whispers when no one

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sees. It holds the line with humble ease.

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It stands in truth, it loves through pain. It

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bears the cross and shuns the game. Oh Lord, may

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I in every place enjoy the gift of ordinary

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days. For there you mold and there you

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mend. In simple tasks, your truth

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descends. A heart that waits and walks by grace

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that trust your hand through every space. For crowns will fade and

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fain depart, but character remains the heart. So

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build me strong in quiet ways through

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unseen nights and waiting days. Let Christ

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be formed in every part. A life that beats

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with your own heart. May we be a

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people who look like Christ, not in our

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shirts and what we manifest on the outside. But may our

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hearts and our presence and our character

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be reflective of Jesus Christ in those intimate

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moments when nobody else is looking. So that when the

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dying world is looking at us, they get a true picture

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of Jesus, the hope of the world. Raise

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your hand, let me give you a blessing. May the God of

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the universe, the God who breathes stars continue

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to help us grow in character that is becoming

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of the kingdom. Whether we are serving in a

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season we're serving in or we're in that waiting room.

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And may it all be to glorify him and that we would look

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more like Jesus. In Christ's name we

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pray, Amen. Be blessed Spring House. I love you today.

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