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<v Speaker 1>springtime or summertime is.

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<v Speaker 1>It's three things.

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<v Speaker 1>It's follow, belong and love.

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<v Speaker 1>We're gonna follow Jesus together and explore what that looks like.

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<v Speaker 1>What does it mean to follow Jesus?

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<v Speaker 1>What does it mean to be a disciple or an apprentice or a student of Jesus?

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<v Speaker 1>We're all disciples of something, so you might as well make it of something good and beautiful and worthwhile, and we think it's Jesus.

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<v Speaker 1>So what does it mean to follow Him?

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<v Speaker 1>And then, secondly, how do we be a place and create a place where people can belong?

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<v Speaker 1>So we want this place, this building, but also us as people, wherever we are, to be hospitable, to be open to loving people.

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<v Speaker 1>So this creating a place where people can belong, where we can have real, intimate, authentic relationships and get to know each other in those kinds of ways, and where everybody's welcome Old, young, rich, poor, whatever.

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<v Speaker 1>And then, lastly, we wanna love our neighbors globally.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's why we have Scott here in Global Health Ministries.

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<v Speaker 1>And then also, but love our neighbors across the street.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, our guest preacher this morning is from up the road in this foreign town called Zimmerman.

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<v Speaker 1>You might have heard of Zimmerman.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, any Zimtown folks in the house?

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, a couple, yeah, for sure.

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<v Speaker 1>And so I met Pastor Lorraine actually right around the I don't know COVID at some point, and just heard about what she was doing up there to bring unity amongst the pastors, I'm like, oh, she seems like awesome, I gotta get to know her.

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<v Speaker 1>So I went and met with her.

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<v Speaker 1>We had coffee and went up to her church, restoring lives community church.

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<v Speaker 1>I was in the room and I'm like you know how you're kind of like, we're like like-minded, I wanna, you gotta come and speak at Central.

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<v Speaker 1>And so she came shortly thereafter and shared a word.

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<v Speaker 1>It was awesome.

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<v Speaker 1>Came a year later and this is her third time being here at Central and I'm just really grateful for her ministry up there, not just with the pastors, but she does some incredible work, which she'll share about in a minute within the Zimmerman community.

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<v Speaker 1>They're a church that takes it seriously to be the hands and feet of Jesus and so we're glad to have her here with us this morning.

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<v Speaker 1>Would you please give a warm central welcome to Pastor Lorraine Diggler this morning.

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<v Speaker 2>Am I on?

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<v Speaker 2>No, oh, I am.

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<v Speaker 2>You just told me I have enough time.

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<v Speaker 2>I have as much time.

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<v Speaker 2>There's one more.

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<v Speaker 2>Don't give me that.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, it is so good to be in the house of the Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>You guys don't know how blessed and how privileged.

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<v Speaker 2>I am to be here.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't take it lightly when I get asked to come, and so, from the moment Pastor Ryan reached out, I was in prayer.

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<v Speaker 2>It wasn't an easy yes, not because of you, it was just Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>You know what.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't wanna just go to go.

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<v Speaker 2>I want to make sure that there is a purpose.

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<v Speaker 2>There's always a purpose, but if you're sending me because I know how I am I'll talk about that a little bit later I just wanna make sure that this is where your hand is leading me.

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<v Speaker 2>So, as he stated, I am my husband and I, co-pastor Restoring Lives Community Church in Zimmerman.

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<v Speaker 2>And so, for those of you who may not have been here at the time when I was here, you know where city folks got called us, to rural Minnesota, and I always say God, you got jokes so, but we have been blessed by the opportunity to serve.

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<v Speaker 2>You don't go into an area to serve if you don't have that right mind and heart for the people God is calling you to serve.

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<v Speaker 2>And so, yes, we've been doing that.

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<v Speaker 2>We've had the opportunity, not long after we started, to open up a transitional house for women coming out of addiction programs and out of prison, and I think last time I was here in March I talked about you know, we don't have a house lead, if you know anyone and we kind of were on this verge of okay, should we continue in this ministry?

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<v Speaker 2>Because it is kind of, you know, lord, we're having a hard time filling this role and, but I would say, probably within a week later, we were presented with a family, a woman and her children, girls who were in a very serious domestic abuse situation and so they needed to be rescued and they needed a place where everyone could be.

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<v Speaker 2>They were in different shelters and we like Lord, you just knew what you were doing.

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<v Speaker 2>So now they are in our home and we're blessed to be able to continue our ministry to women.

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<v Speaker 2>It's just out of a different, a little bit of a different vein, but at the end of the day, it's showing love and being there to support them right, and so we've been doing that.

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<v Speaker 2>We've also been engaged with Laundry Love.

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<v Speaker 2>If you don't know what Laundry Love is, it's where we provide free service or free laundry to people in need the second and third Thursday I was just at the laundry mat this past Thursday and so people can come bring their laundry from five to seven PM and we will plug their quarters, give them what they need and have conversation, pray, whatever it is.

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<v Speaker 2>And so we've been doing that for a few years and we partner with two other three no four, excuse me, four other churches in Zimmerman that come alongside us and we partner to do this.

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<v Speaker 2>So we've been blessed to just yes, we're not washing the clothes, you know, but we're blessed to be able to put the quarters in.

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<v Speaker 2>So you'd be surprised at the many stories we get out of that, where you know one that comes to mind of a woman who was having this fight with her son because she needed quarters, and so they were just arguing about how she was gonna get this money, and then she comes into the laundry mat and then I'm there, I'm like hey you're here for free laundry.

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<v Speaker 2>And she looked at me and she was like what?

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<v Speaker 2>And then she begins to start crying because she just had this you know awful encounter with her son about trying to get money to pay for the laundry.

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<v Speaker 2>And I said look how God shows up.

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<v Speaker 2>He showed up just for you and we just talked about the love of God and you know so she was blessed by that.

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<v Speaker 2>But again, lots of stories there and I just wanna be.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm thankful that the Lord allows us to serve.

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<v Speaker 2>Before I go into prayer, there's something we always like to say.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna see if you guys know this God is good All the time.

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<v Speaker 2>Amen, god is good all the time, isn't he?

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<v Speaker 2>Some of y'all said it.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, there's more than 10 people in here.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, god is good All the time.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, I know you're with me this morning.

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<v Speaker 2>Amen, amen.

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<v Speaker 2>So as we pray, heavenly Father, I just thank you for this time, for this moment and for this space to share.

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<v Speaker 2>I ask, oh God, father, lord, that you will be done here amongst your people.

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<v Speaker 2>You know exactly what they need and what they need to hear this morning.

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<v Speaker 2>I am just a vessel and so I pray, god, that you will be honored and that people will be blessed, oh God, by the hearing of your word in Jesus' name Amen, amen, all right, and so you have a theme of discipleship, and so, if we can put up the first slide we've been talking about, I'm not going to really give a lot about my background in history, because I think I've said it so many times, but my husband and daughter were here this morning.

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<v Speaker 2>My son has yet to come, so I'm like I don't know.

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<v Speaker 2>He's always, there's always something.

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<v Speaker 2>He's in college, so I'm going to give him that right, but at some point he's going to have to show up, all right, but I'm blessed.

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<v Speaker 2>As I said, my husband and I co-pastor.

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<v Speaker 2>But anyhow, one of the things I talked about last time is my.

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<v Speaker 2>You know I love to garden, you know so.

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<v Speaker 2>But I didn't show my garden, I showed somebody else's garden.

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<v Speaker 2>So this time I'm always going to have a theme about plants, because I'm always like trying to get to this level of you know where I'll be.

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<v Speaker 2>I know I won't be a master gardener, but I mean somewhere in there, somewhere right, anyway.

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<v Speaker 2>So you look at these plants.

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<v Speaker 2>What do they all have in common?

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<v Speaker 2>Any thoughts?

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<v Speaker 2>You can't see them that well?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, they're pretty, they're flowering.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh yeah, we're not going to talk about vikings right now, but I already thank my two friends right there for representing this morning.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, all right, wrong topic.

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<v Speaker 2>But there are plants that are drought resistant.

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<v Speaker 2>They grow in the desert.

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<v Speaker 2>They flourish in very dry and hot places, and the reason why I brought this up, or wanted to show that, is, when we think about being followers of Christ, the way we exist, you can go to the next slide.

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<v Speaker 2>The way we exist in our society, in our world and we have titled it, it's been titled as a disenchanted world is that everything that we do must be punctuated by being in the presence of the Father as his followers.

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<v Speaker 2>It is how God speaks to the world, speaks to a dry and desolate world, people who are hard in their hearts, people who don't want to hear God, people who don't want to see God, people who don't want to encounter God.

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<v Speaker 2>And as I was praying about this this morning, the Lord was reminding me it's not just in the world, it's in our churches as well, where there's people who are just not impressed anymore.

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<v Speaker 2>God help us.

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<v Speaker 2>They're not moved anymore by what God does.

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<v Speaker 2>When you talk about miracles and different things that are happening.

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<v Speaker 2>There's questions as to well, that was for back then, guess what God is still doing those things now.

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<v Speaker 2>And so there's still this little angst, I think, amongst people and within our church, and you know what Paul was talking to the church when there were a lot of issues going on.

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<v Speaker 2>So it shouldn't be something that is not new to us where there's this level and this spirit of people not being impressed or people not being engaged in the works of God or believing the works of God.

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<v Speaker 2>And so I'm going to be referring to two scriptures this morning.

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<v Speaker 2>One is taken from Isaiah 6, that was read earlier, and one is going to be taken from Luke, chapter 15.

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<v Speaker 2>And these scriptures as we read about Isaiah and him seeing the Lord, and then we're going to be talking about the elder son of the prodigal son.

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<v Speaker 2>We know the story of the prodigal son, but just the position of these two accounts reflects a beingness of in the presence of God.

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<v Speaker 2>There is something about each of them had a different reaction or a different outcome based on how they were close or not close to the Father.

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<v Speaker 2>And so I say that because how we love people, how we forgive people, how we give of ourselves right, how we are coming together in unity and in fellowship when we come to church, how we hold each other accountable, right.

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<v Speaker 2>All of that must come out of an overflow of our relationship, of being in the presence of a God who loves us.

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<v Speaker 2>Amen, everyone say overflow, amen, amen.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm going to say amen If no one says amen.

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<v Speaker 2>When I say amen, I'm amen in myself because I'm like thank you God, thank you God for saying that, amen.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, no pressure, no pressure at all.

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<v Speaker 2>And so, going to the next slide, some of these things that you may hear are things that you are very familiar with, and so forgive me if it's a repeat, because I would say, lord, pastor Ryan gave me all of the themes and I want to continue in that vein.

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<v Speaker 2>But what is it that you're trying to say to this congregation?

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<v Speaker 2>What are you trying to say to this people, right?

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<v Speaker 2>And so the Lord was just kind of bringing some different thoughts to me, and so if it is something you've heard, it's easy to tune someone out, but I'm going to ask you to tune God in, because if it's bears repeating, it means that it's something that you need to hear this morning, and so the three dimensions of our faith, all of them, intertwine.

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<v Speaker 2>Right Is the no be due right, our head, our heart and our hand are knowing it's knowing God and being rooted and grounded in His revelation, the doing that we do.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, right Are those things, those practical things that we've been talking about, about how we walk out our faith in God, how do we show up in this world?

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<v Speaker 2>But the focus today is about being man, being in relationship with God.

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<v Speaker 2>But being is what energizes us, being is the heart around, how we live out these experiences, how we live out our relationship or the doing of what God has called us to do.

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<v Speaker 2>And I'm going to be honest, I struggle as a leader right To in this space sometimes because my busyness, I define my work or what God, when people ask you what, how's it going and what are you doing, we always list off the things that we're doing easily, right and easily.

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<v Speaker 2>That becomes the way we define ministry by what we do.

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<v Speaker 2>And what I'm saying this morning is that our busyness can become a threat to our intimacy with God, because when you're busy doing right and you're leading out of that, then you become empty and dry and your motives.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, god has to come face to face with Ray.

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<v Speaker 2>Why are you doing that?

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<v Speaker 2>Why are you really doing that?

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<v Speaker 2>Why are you really busy?

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<v Speaker 2>And that's why I said it was a challenge for me when I got the request to come, because I said, lord, is this, is this where I need To be this morning, because I'm oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, I'm a yes person.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, yes, I'll do that.

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<v Speaker 2>It's ministry.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, it makes sense.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, but it's not all the time that we need to be in those places.

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<v Speaker 2>We need to know our limits.

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<v Speaker 2>Amen, and be blessed that we have limits, praise the Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>So in Isaiah, chapter 6, we read that Isaiah was taken up in a vision.

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<v Speaker 2>King Uzzi, who was the king at the time, had died.

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<v Speaker 2>He was the one in power and Isaiah had a certain perspective and he had a certain view of God, no doubt because he was a messenger and a prophet of the Lord to the king.

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<v Speaker 2>And it says when the king died, he saw the Lord.

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<v Speaker 2>Their earthly king was God.

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<v Speaker 2>And yet now Isaiah, in his dream or vision, is seeing the king of all kings, the Lord of Lords, and he says that when he saw the Lord, he was high and exalted and he's trying to describe God's presence in this place.

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<v Speaker 2>He's not describing God himself, he's describing the atmosphere.

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<v Speaker 2>He's describing the presence of holiness.

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<v Speaker 2>And he said that woe is me, for I am undone, I am empty, I am parched, I am of waste, there is nothing in me.

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<v Speaker 2>When he looked at himself in comparison to the holiness of God, he realized who he was and he said I am ruined.

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<v Speaker 2>And he says I am amongst other people who are ruined.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey, I'm not the only one.

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<v Speaker 2>I Am in a situation.

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<v Speaker 2>I am in a land where everyone is as I am.

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<v Speaker 2>He is comparing himself Again to God.

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<v Speaker 2>So he saw God and he saw the Lord and his glory and his presence and his otherness.

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<v Speaker 2>And then he is seeing the glory and the presence Isaiah.

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<v Speaker 2>In that glory and presence he's seen himself, and Then he sees himself again in comparison to God's holiness.

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<v Speaker 2>Sometimes we tend to see people's imperfections more than we see our own.

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<v Speaker 2>We ought to see how God sees us.

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<v Speaker 2>Amen, amen.

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<v Speaker 2>I love it when it gets quiet.

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<v Speaker 2>That's the other part of when you hear amen, amen, amen, and then all of a sudden it gets quiet.

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<v Speaker 2>Then you're okay, you're saying something.

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<v Speaker 2>The Lord is saying something, amen, intimacy.

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<v Speaker 2>The next slide he is unveiling himself before God.

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<v Speaker 2>He was truly seen the way he was in God's eyes.

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<v Speaker 2>Sometimes we say, you know, as the kids game peekaboo, peekaboo, you know, we stand before God, just like that.

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<v Speaker 2>Like you know, like God can't see you and he sees all of you.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, he sees all of us and so, as he is seeing himself, he's.

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<v Speaker 2>Has he seen God?

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<v Speaker 2>He's seen himself and then God seen him, and it says that the angel and angelic being came and cleansed him, because God doesn't want to leave us the way we are.

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<v Speaker 2>He cleansed him and then he was also able to see, like I said earlier, the condition of the world, others.

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<v Speaker 2>There was this continuous movement.

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<v Speaker 2>If you read in this chapter, in these verses, how there's this continuous movement, everything was moving, the angelic beings were moving, the doorpost was moving, because in the presence of God, there's not stillness, there's something happening.

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<v Speaker 2>We need to get into that presence of God, amen, so that the things that are in our lives have to shift.

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<v Speaker 2>We can't remain the same, because we are standing in the presence of a holy God who sees us, and the beautiful thing about God Seeing us is that he still accepts us Come on now.

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<v Speaker 2>He still accepts us.

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<v Speaker 2>He still says I love you, I see you and I still love you, I still desire to be in you.

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<v Speaker 2>God Invited Isaiah into this realm, into this presence, so that he could see him.

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<v Speaker 2>So there wasn't just a revealing of God, of Isaiah unveiling himself.

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<v Speaker 2>God himself was unveiling.

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<v Speaker 2>He was revealing himself to Isaiah.

00:18:01.893 --> 00:18:08.132
<v Speaker 2>And Then Isaiah says heard, who will go?

00:18:08.132 --> 00:18:12.125
<v Speaker 2>And Isaiah says send me, I'll go.

00:18:12.125 --> 00:18:14.906
<v Speaker 2>Do you know who he was going to?

00:18:14.906 --> 00:18:18.009
<v Speaker 2>The message he had wasn't a popular message.

00:18:18.009 --> 00:18:22.039
<v Speaker 2>What he was about to do, he needed to have an encounter with God.

00:18:22.039 --> 00:18:32.647
<v Speaker 2>I believe that we need to have encounters with God as we are living in this world to enable us to be the Representation and the disciples and the followers of Christ.

00:18:32.647 --> 00:18:34.092
<v Speaker 2>We need to have that.

00:18:34.092 --> 00:18:46.509
<v Speaker 2>It wasn't a popular message, but, you see, many people struggle with being authentic in their public faith Because they're not being real with God in private.

00:18:46.509 --> 00:18:53.112
<v Speaker 2>The next slide, the state of who you are, as we continue to talk about, into me.

00:18:53.112 --> 00:18:57.768
<v Speaker 2>See, the state of who you are in.

00:18:57.768 --> 00:19:01.199
<v Speaker 2>The state you are in, excuse me, is the state you give to others.

00:19:01.199 --> 00:19:04.319
<v Speaker 2>And that's gonna take us to our next story.

00:19:06.928 --> 00:19:11.364
<v Speaker 2>In Luke, chapter 15, verses 25 through 31.

00:19:11.364 --> 00:19:19.025
<v Speaker 2>I'm just gonna paraphrase the marinara with here is that God's story and his redemption to all comes through Christ.

00:19:19.025 --> 00:19:23.388
<v Speaker 2>The attitude of the older brother represents in this story.

00:19:23.388 --> 00:19:30.430
<v Speaker 2>The older brother represents the Pharisees and the Jewish leaders right, who were part of the covenant.

00:19:30.430 --> 00:19:40.028
<v Speaker 2>They were part of God's people, they had the law, they had everything and yet they were Rebuke in Jesus because he was sit down and eat with sinners.

00:19:40.028 --> 00:19:57.615
<v Speaker 2>And so Jesus shares in these parables, the lost and found parables you know the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son, about his heart, god's heart, that all should come into fellowship with God.

00:19:57.634 --> 00:20:01.642
<v Speaker 2>And so here we have the son.

00:20:01.642 --> 00:20:05.069
<v Speaker 2>Right, the older brother hears some music going on.

00:20:05.069 --> 00:20:06.452
<v Speaker 2>Oh, there's a party going on.

00:20:06.452 --> 00:20:07.114
<v Speaker 2>What's going on?

00:20:07.114 --> 00:20:07.875
<v Speaker 2>What's going on?

00:20:07.875 --> 00:20:17.085
<v Speaker 2>And he is told that the son, the brother, has come home and he says what?

00:20:17.085 --> 00:20:21.230
<v Speaker 2>Look all the brother became angry.

00:20:21.230 --> 00:20:23.185
<v Speaker 2>I'm going to that party.

00:20:23.185 --> 00:20:39.628
<v Speaker 2>He becomes angry and the father comes out to him and he said to the father look, all these years I've been slaving for you.

00:20:39.628 --> 00:20:42.385
<v Speaker 2>He had a wrong view of the father.

00:20:42.385 --> 00:20:43.403
<v Speaker 2>That was one mistake.

00:20:43.403 --> 00:20:50.865
<v Speaker 2>All these years I have been slaving for you and you never did this.

00:20:50.865 --> 00:20:52.289
<v Speaker 2>And you never did this.

00:20:52.289 --> 00:20:53.705
<v Speaker 2>You didn't do this for me.

00:20:53.705 --> 00:20:58.048
<v Speaker 2>I didn't get no, this that's how we are sometimes right.

00:21:02.028 --> 00:21:25.588
<v Speaker 2>And so the eldest son didn't have the capacity to enter into the feelings of the joy or the perspective of the father, because his relationship was based on what he was doing for the father, what he was doing for the father.

00:21:25.588 --> 00:21:29.906
<v Speaker 2>Sometimes it shows up for us this way right, I read my Bible, amen.

00:21:29.906 --> 00:21:31.799
<v Speaker 2>Sometimes my father's asleep.

00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:33.922
<v Speaker 2>Get back here, I pray.

00:21:33.922 --> 00:21:37.431
<v Speaker 2>Right, church got a meeting.

00:21:37.431 --> 00:21:37.881
<v Speaker 2>I'm here.

00:21:37.881 --> 00:21:39.607
<v Speaker 2>Pastor Ryan sees me every Sunday.

00:21:39.607 --> 00:21:43.763
<v Speaker 2>Well, every meeting, every time the church door is open, pastor Ryan gonna see me.

00:21:43.763 --> 00:21:47.366
<v Speaker 2>Right, I'm doing all of these things?

00:21:47.366 --> 00:21:48.582
<v Speaker 2>Right, I'm doing.

00:21:48.582 --> 00:21:51.503
<v Speaker 2>I said this last time about there's another building fund.

00:21:52.006 --> 00:22:05.109
<v Speaker 2>You know all of these things, and yet there's still a level of discontentment there, there's still a level of questioning there.

00:22:05.109 --> 00:22:06.071
<v Speaker 2>You know why?

00:22:06.071 --> 00:22:13.330
<v Speaker 2>Because we're trying to do it out of ourselves and not out of being in the presence of the father.

00:22:13.330 --> 00:22:17.089
<v Speaker 2>I'm talking about how we practice it every single day.

00:22:17.089 --> 00:22:37.768
<v Speaker 2>How we show up every single day is because we've been in the presence and continue to dwell in the presence of the father, and so he was doing it based on doing, based on how he perceived the father If I keep doing, then the father will love me.

00:22:37.768 --> 00:22:43.821
<v Speaker 2>And the father said to him and the father we know represents God in this story, my son.

00:22:43.821 --> 00:22:53.430
<v Speaker 2>The father said you are always with me and everything I have is yours, man, this is yours.

00:22:53.430 --> 00:23:09.420
<v Speaker 2>He didn't get to see it, he didn't get to understand it, he didn't know the heart of the father, right, he didn't see God, he didn't see the father, he didn't see himself, right, and he wasn't able to see his brother.

00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:18.357
<v Speaker 2>You see, when we get I'm going back to the beginning when we get into that relationship with God, intimacy is a revealing and unveiling.

00:23:18.357 --> 00:23:24.861
<v Speaker 2>Where we see God, we see him and we see ourselves in his holiness Amen.

00:23:24.861 --> 00:23:27.564
<v Speaker 2>I love that song, holy Forever, one of my favorite songs.

00:23:27.564 --> 00:23:29.585
<v Speaker 2>As they were singing, I'm like thank you, jesus.

00:23:29.585 --> 00:23:35.743
<v Speaker 2>We see God, he sees us, he cleanses us.

00:23:35.743 --> 00:23:40.188
<v Speaker 2>Because when we get into his presence, there are maybe some things that we need to change.

00:23:40.188 --> 00:23:48.950
<v Speaker 2>Many times there are, and then we are able to see others the way that he sees others, to love on them.

00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:58.284
<v Speaker 2>Again, our busyness, our doing can become a threat to intimacy.

00:23:58.284 --> 00:23:59.845
<v Speaker 2>So what does it mean?

00:23:59.845 --> 00:24:07.066
<v Speaker 2>We need to cultivate intimacy with God being in his presence, as I shared, we need to read God's word.

00:24:07.066 --> 00:24:09.248
<v Speaker 2>God's word is light and life.

00:24:09.248 --> 00:24:12.708
<v Speaker 2>It is the inspired word of God.

00:24:12.708 --> 00:24:14.928
<v Speaker 2>That means it is still inspiring.

00:24:14.928 --> 00:24:21.105
<v Speaker 2>It means that when you open up God's word, you can be delighted by it, get excited about it.

00:24:21.320 --> 00:24:24.244
<v Speaker 2>Amen as the word, as you read the word.

00:24:24.244 --> 00:24:27.002
<v Speaker 2>The word reads you If you let it.

00:24:27.002 --> 00:24:31.028
<v Speaker 2>Sometimes we say no, no, that doesn't apply to me.

00:24:31.028 --> 00:24:38.703
<v Speaker 2>Sometimes we may feel a sense of conviction, nope, uh-uh, nope, not ready for that.

00:24:38.703 --> 00:24:41.385
<v Speaker 2>But God's word reads us.

00:24:41.385 --> 00:24:43.866
<v Speaker 2>It can be activated in our lives.

00:24:43.866 --> 00:24:45.044
<v Speaker 2>It can be real.

00:24:45.044 --> 00:24:53.126
<v Speaker 2>So as we read and his word reads us, we will learn what to reject and what to accept in our lives.

00:24:53.126 --> 00:25:02.805
<v Speaker 2>His standard is the standard we measure ourselves by, not what your brother or your sister is doing right or what they're not doing.

00:25:02.805 --> 00:25:05.185
<v Speaker 2>Amen, cause we can point people's faults out.

00:25:05.185 --> 00:25:06.644
<v Speaker 2>Don't let me get talking.

00:25:06.644 --> 00:25:12.163
<v Speaker 2>We can point people's faults out, but what about you?

00:25:12.163 --> 00:25:14.685
<v Speaker 2>And how does God see you?

00:25:14.685 --> 00:25:16.645
<v Speaker 2>What is God saying to you?

00:25:16.645 --> 00:25:26.984
<v Speaker 2>Help us to pray, help us to come into community, the best way you can find out about yourself other than in a marriage.

00:25:26.984 --> 00:25:33.471
<v Speaker 2>That's a good way, but it's also about in relationships with other people, amen.

00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:36.506
<v Speaker 2>The next slide, real quickly.

00:25:36.506 --> 00:25:39.469
<v Speaker 2>It says that we need to worship.

00:25:39.469 --> 00:25:48.528
<v Speaker 2>No one says worship to me is to constantly say, yes, I love you too.

00:25:48.528 --> 00:25:50.684
<v Speaker 2>And what is he saying?

00:25:50.684 --> 00:25:56.651
<v Speaker 2>It means that everything I do, how I do, it is a reflection of my relationship with God.

00:25:56.651 --> 00:26:01.244
<v Speaker 2>If I'm helping someone, I'm indicating to God Lord, I love you too.

00:26:01.244 --> 00:26:05.509
<v Speaker 2>If I am serving in church, lord, I love you too.

00:26:05.509 --> 00:26:11.446
<v Speaker 2>If I am being forgiving, I'm saying, lord, I love you too.

00:26:11.446 --> 00:26:15.598
<v Speaker 2>We love because he first loved us.

00:26:15.598 --> 00:26:20.135
<v Speaker 2>We're going to do one more slide, do I have?

00:26:20.135 --> 00:26:27.574
<v Speaker 2>Okay, I was going to skip this one.

00:26:27.574 --> 00:26:34.198
<v Speaker 2>All right, just to share a little bit about my testimony.

00:26:34.198 --> 00:26:36.114
<v Speaker 2>Okay, it says pick me.

00:26:36.114 --> 00:26:51.338
<v Speaker 2>And I told the earlier congregations that look, when I pull out an old picture of myself and you fortunate, because that ain't that it's not going to happen, and I know on Lord, I'm like do you really need me to share this Share?

00:26:51.338 --> 00:26:53.282
<v Speaker 2>Okay, pick me, right.

00:26:53.430 --> 00:27:14.636
<v Speaker 2>I just remember growing up I shared earlier too that I was born in England and I came here and I know they don't do this much anymore, but I just remember you know sports teams and you have games, competition and you would have, you know two team captains and they pick your teams right and invariably I'm the last person, always the last person.

00:27:14.636 --> 00:27:20.923
<v Speaker 2>I would just stand there and say pick me in my head, right?

00:27:20.923 --> 00:27:22.068
<v Speaker 2>Finally I get picked.

00:27:22.068 --> 00:27:23.733
<v Speaker 2>This is how they would pick me.

00:27:23.733 --> 00:27:47.549
<v Speaker 2>I get picked and then, when I get on the team, I would spend the rest of my time on that team proving why I was picked, that they didn't make a bad choice, and then I would also be proving to the other team that, hey, you wish you had picked me right and that's how I, that's how I lived out my life.

00:27:47.711 --> 00:28:05.349
<v Speaker 2>That was my perspective and, unfortunately, that was my perspective of God, because, even though I was a Christian and serving God, I was doing, doing, doing because I thought in my doing that is how God was going to be happy with me.

00:28:05.349 --> 00:28:14.628
<v Speaker 2>It's kind of like you go to the through the cycle Okay, right, you try, fail, try again, try, fail, try again, do good, try, fail, try again.

00:28:14.628 --> 00:28:21.930
<v Speaker 2>It was that vicious cycle that I was going through because I perceived God in the wrong way.

00:28:21.930 --> 00:28:32.536
<v Speaker 2>I had not seen God and I didn't allow him to see me and I didn't allow him to see how he saw others, because my relationship with others struggled.

00:28:33.411 --> 00:28:35.824
<v Speaker 2>But I do remember the day when I came to an altar.

00:28:35.824 --> 00:28:37.473
<v Speaker 2>I remember it like it was yesterday.

00:28:37.473 --> 00:28:49.650
<v Speaker 2>Thousands of people was in this room and I remember coming to the altar and praying and I remember asking God, lord, if you are real, cause I am tired of going through the motions, but if you are real, can you show me?

00:28:49.650 --> 00:28:52.888
<v Speaker 2>And I remember it was like the room became silent.

00:28:52.888 --> 00:28:55.420
<v Speaker 2>It was just just God being God sitting there.

00:28:55.420 --> 00:28:59.214
<v Speaker 2>Instantly I felt I was known.

00:28:59.214 --> 00:29:04.470
<v Speaker 2>Instantly I felt I was loved.

00:29:04.470 --> 00:29:07.750
<v Speaker 2>Instantly I felt I was approved.

00:29:07.750 --> 00:29:10.605
<v Speaker 2>Only God can do that.

00:29:10.990 --> 00:29:16.849
<v Speaker 2>And it is out of that overflow of what God did in my life, the way I live my life.

00:29:16.849 --> 00:29:18.996
<v Speaker 2>This is not pretend for me.

00:29:18.996 --> 00:29:27.749
<v Speaker 2>When I say that I love God, I say that I love God, I love God, I love God, I love God, I love God, I love God, I love God, I love God.

00:29:27.749 --> 00:29:42.059
<v Speaker 2>And when I understand the love that he has for me, not to say I haven't messed up, not to say that I haven't fallen, not to say that I haven't gotten off track, but there is a God who is merciful and kind.

00:29:42.059 --> 00:29:51.739
<v Speaker 2>And so when I encounter him in his love and his mercy and when he looks at me, he doesn't want me to stay the same and he changes me.

00:29:51.739 --> 00:30:00.596
<v Speaker 2>Then my outlook and my overflow is because of the relationship that I have and continue to have.

00:30:00.596 --> 00:30:03.750
<v Speaker 2>He said you are already approved, lorraine.

00:30:03.750 --> 00:30:13.739
<v Speaker 2>You are already, I already picked you, I already picked you and because of that, I can walk it out.

00:30:14.010 --> 00:30:20.018
<v Speaker 2>My last, this is truly my last slide, because I think I'm way over Takeaways.

00:30:20.018 --> 00:30:26.557
<v Speaker 2>Right, I was going to list things of what does it mean to be intimate with God?

00:30:26.557 --> 00:30:32.778
<v Speaker 2>Do this, this and this, and I'm like you know what, if you don't remember anything, remember into me matters.

00:30:32.778 --> 00:30:35.163
<v Speaker 2>Intimacy matters to God.

00:30:35.163 --> 00:30:37.919
<v Speaker 2>It is the unveiling of yourself.

00:30:37.919 --> 00:30:41.858
<v Speaker 2>It is the unveiling of yourself before the Father.

00:30:42.852 --> 00:31:02.740
<v Speaker 2>It is him allowing him to unveil himself and to reveal himself to you, right, when we are cultivating an intimate relationship with God, it helps us to live in such a way that people can connect to the voice of God and the message of the gospel with the touch of your life.

00:31:02.740 --> 00:31:07.740
<v Speaker 2>Isn't that powerful that you can walk in a room?

00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:14.740
<v Speaker 2>People say, oh, there's something different about that person, man, what is it?

00:31:14.740 --> 00:31:20.069
<v Speaker 2>Sometimes you don't even have to say anything, but there's just a sense.

00:31:20.069 --> 00:31:24.184
<v Speaker 2>And then, because of that sense, they're drawn to you.

00:31:24.184 --> 00:31:26.493
<v Speaker 2>Some of us just repel people.

00:31:26.493 --> 00:31:27.455
<v Speaker 2>Come on, let's be honest.

00:31:27.455 --> 00:31:30.902
<v Speaker 2>Oh, here they come.

00:31:30.902 --> 00:31:33.086
<v Speaker 2>Let me go the other way.

00:31:34.557 --> 00:31:43.204
<v Speaker 2>And what I'm talking about is that true love, right, you having that relationship with God, him seeing you, you seeing him, you see others.

00:31:43.204 --> 00:31:46.807
<v Speaker 2>Then you know when you see someone, it's God.

00:31:46.807 --> 00:31:49.190
<v Speaker 2>Out of that overflow, you're able to see what God is seeing.

00:31:49.190 --> 00:31:53.470
<v Speaker 2>You're able to see a need, you're able to speak a need and talk about a need.

00:31:53.470 --> 00:31:55.346
<v Speaker 2>And the person said how did you know that?

00:31:55.346 --> 00:31:55.769
<v Speaker 2>You know why?

00:31:55.769 --> 00:31:59.710
<v Speaker 2>Because you've got this going on and God's able to reveal it to you.

00:31:59.710 --> 00:32:25.808
<v Speaker 2>The disciples, when they were before the Sanhedrin and they looked at them, the Jewish council, they said man, these men they're on learn, they're disciples, they're ignorant, but you know what else they say?

00:32:25.808 --> 00:32:25.950
<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

00:32:37.226 --> 00:32:39.849
<v Speaker 1>I told you we're going to pray.

00:32:39.849 --> 00:32:41.365
<v Speaker 1>Here's where we're going to respond in this way.