Episode Transcript
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Welcome to another episode of Life's Uncertain Journeys weekly podcast where
we engage our listeners in real talk about the troubled times that we live in
and we use the Word of God as the source for our information.
We also hope to provide encouragement and inspiration as we are be equipped
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to fulfill our God-given purpose.
I'm Nadine Davis and I'll be your host tonight and
I have with me some of our Life's On Certain Journeys podcast team and I'm really
desiring that those that will be joining us for this particular episode really
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hear what the Holy Holy Spirit is saying to us at this hour,
you know, many, many, many may consider this topic on temptation to be a trivial matter in our day.
And the more I've prayed over it, the more I've studied, the more I've read,
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the more I've just gone before the Lord about it, you know, I'm just thinking that,
This is a timely topic, being that we are at the end of the age.
So we're going to go ahead and get started. I'm going to ask Dorothy if she
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will cover us with prayer, please.
Heavenly Father, we come to the throne of grace. We come thanking you for this day.
Lord, thank you for waking us up this morning and starting us on our way and
taking care of us all day long. And thank you for bringing us to this appointed
time right now where we're online here.
And we want to ask you to cover the airways.
Lord, you know the devil comes to do double, kill, steal, and destroy.
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Try to keep us from hearing the word of God and hearing about temptation because temptation is real.
It's nothing to play with. It's something that we need to really know.
And all he does is try to come to tempt us to do the things that we shouldn't do.
We need to keep our focus on God. We need to really get into that word and study
that word and know the word of God.
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So when the devil comes, we're happy to get back to him.
We want to tell him we don't live by what he say, but we live by every word
that come out of God's mouth, by the word of God, not by what he telling us
to do or trying to tell us.
But let us know the word of God, know what we can come back him with and come
back with scripture that we can stand on, that he will fight that battle for us.
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We need to really stand up now and really learn all about what he comes to do
to kill, steal, and destroy.
Lord, be with each and every household that's online right now.
And Lord, give us ears to hear, our heart to receive.
And not only just receive this word, but be hearers and doers of this word and
apply it in our lives and tell others about it.
We ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Amen. Thank you so much, sis.
All righty. Well, Saints, thank you all for joining us tonight, as always. ways.
I'm always eager to see and hear what the Lord is going to provide for us. Let me just,
give a couple of announcements. As you all know, every Thursday at seven o'clock,
my husband and I host New Beginnings.
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We'd love to invite you to join us if you're free.
It's at seven o'clock p.m. and we are still in the book of Genesis and having a wonderful time.
However, if there is anyone that's interested, you can visit our ministry website,
which is charlottechristianfellowship.org.
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And you'll find a link there on the first, on the main page that will allow
you to enter into the virtual Bible study if you're interested.
We'd really love to have you.
I'd also like to just remind you all that Daughters of Destiny 2024 is scheduled for October the 26th.
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It's a Saturday, and I think it's scheduled from three to six,
but I'll have more information for you once I've been able to get all the ins
and outs of things from UNCC campus.
That's where we want to be hosting the event this year and looking for,
God to grant us some fruit in the form of redeemed lives as a result of the
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information that God will share with us that day.
And also, for those of us that are a part of the Women Who Overcome ministry,
we're going to be meeting this coming Saturday, the 27th at 1130,
as we are planning to get things in order and lined up for the Daughters of Destiny 2024. 24.
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So if you're interested in joining us,
just email us at thewomenwhoovercomeatgmail.com. We'd love to have you.
So before I move forward,
I wanted to just ask specifically Specifically, you, Cheryl and Jan,
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if you all might share a major revelation or come away that you have as a result
of the conversations we have been having thus far.
I know oftentimes, you know, the Lord may, after we look at things in hindsight,
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the Lord may clarify some things or bring some things into the light that's worth a consideration.
So I want to open up and let that take place at this time, if at all,
if you all have anything, anybody.
I know one thing I wanted to ask you, Jan, at the end of last week,
you were trying to explain to us the fact that.
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There was more to using God's word than just speaking it.
You were trying to help us to comprehend the larger ramifications,
because we were talking about how Jesus used the word of God to deal with Satan
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at his time of temptation.
And so, you know,
you really were trying to get us to comprehend that it's not so much in the
saying of the scriptures that but that the word of God itself is a weapon or it is,
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you know, a power that God uses in those kind of situations.
I don't know if you remember it or not, but I don't know. It just stuck with me this morning.
Well, as you're talking, I mean, no, I didn't remember it until you started speaking to it.
You know, I thus say to the Lord, you know, whatever the Spirit puts on my tongue,
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and I pray that it's in keeping, you know, that I'm rightly divided in His Word.
But yeah, I just think that as we go through as a group, you know,
whatever biblical community you're in, whether it's this podcast,
whether it's, again, two or three other women in Christ, and I use that term
very specifically, you know, biblical community.
It doesn't have to be inside halls and walls, right, where two or three are gathered.
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If you've got other women that you're being discipled with, there is power in
really opening up His Word and letting it do what it's supposed to do. Its Word is powerful.
So I think that's what I was just trying to get to, understanding that when
we release the words, it's just not the words. We're releasing His Word.
His word has power. We're saying the words, but recognizing that it's His word,
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the word, and understanding what's really behind that.
So that even when we read it, sometimes I call Nadine or call some of my other
sisters that my circle's real small, and they'll say, what are you doing today?
I say, I'm having a big old bowl of Jesus.
I'm having breakfast. It's a big old bowl of Jesus. And it's just all-encompassing.
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It's not just reading some stuff.
Right. Yeah. Very good. Wonderful.
Absolutely. Did you have anything, Cheryl?
Nadine, I don't. Not right now. I know this this session has been beneficial and I think necessary.
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But I don't have anything specific right now that I can that I can recall or
want to bring back, bring up. Very good. All righty.
Well, if anything does come, I know you'll speak up. I know you'll share it.
Is there anyone else, maybe a question or, you know, just something that you
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want a clarity on before we move forward?
Okay so as i was saying and i and i may be wrong but i don't know i get this impression,
that you know there are certain topics that don't seem to carry as much,
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weight, I guess is the word I would use, as others.
And, you know, oftentimes I think that maybe that it could also be to our detriment
because we seem to love the stories about being blessed and highly favored.
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We like to be talking about the scriptures that talk about God prospering us
and, you know, giving us money or, you know, providing our need,
all those kinds of things.
And I'm not saying that they aren't important because they are.
If they're in the Bible, they're important.
But when we start talking about emphasis on areas such as temptation and how how touchy it can be,
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you might not find too many of us that are open and willing to really dig deep
into all the ramifications of this topic on temptation.
And I've been just going before the Lord about it all week.
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What is it about something that's almost like a landmine? I look at it as a landmine.
If you know, when they go to war, a lot of the times they put landmines under
the ground so that unsuspecting people would walk over it and get blown up by it.
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And I see temptation as something like that.
I see it as a landmine that's planted under cover, out of sight.
And when the unsuspecting individual walks over it, it explodes and it can really cause some damage.
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And so that has
been my pursuit of the Lord this
week and just because I know this is the seventh episode I mean we've had long
episodes before but I really didn't think when we first started this conversation
that we might go beyond you know three or four weeks but it doesn't seem to be the case and so.
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I remember I was saying before that in our Savior's day, Jesus took the time
as he was training his 12 disciples.
He took the time to talk to them about prayer.
They had asked him, you know, how should we pray? And he gave them instructions.
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And his instruction included in that prayer that he gave to them the topic of
temptation and all that he would want to convey to his disciples.
He included that this issue about temptation needs prayer.
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It's a part of, it has to be a part of our prayer life.
And I know that many of us have, you know, we prayed the Lord's Prayer a hundred
thousand times, you know, just,
because most of us came up with parents that taught us how to,
you know, pray the Lord's Prayer or whatever it is like that.
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But it's, and looking into the meat of the prayer instructions that he gave us.
And I assure you that if Jesus took the time to emphasize this to his disciples,
I really believe it's necessary that we take a look, serious look,
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at this thing called temptation.
Because I would imagine being in our day,
being so close to the end of the age, And we
don't have an understanding of the implications of why Jesus actually put this
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into the minds of his disciples to pray about temptation.
So I'm not sure how much time we're actually going to spend.
I mean, I don't know how much time we spend daily in God's word.
Like Jan said, she has breakfast, lunch and dinner.
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I don't, I don't, wouldn't be surprised, but because that's the nature of, of,
you know, as you mature in the faith and you, you know, you begin to,
to grow and you become attached to the word of God, you, you probably can't
do too much of nothing without, you know, getting in God's word,
prayer and, and those things that he's instructed us to do.
But one thing I know, most of us who have prayed the Lord's Prayer probably
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didn't really consider what the prayer was about.
Okay? It was just something we recited on a daily basis, on a routine occasions or whatever.
But we may not have even thought to consider all the ramifications of the prayer.
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Especially as it dealt with
this issue of temptation but like
i said i assure you i i believe with
all my heart that if it was important enough for jesus to teach his disciples
to pray lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one then it
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should require our greatest attention as well.
Of course, you don't get the deep down, undercover, under the skin interpretation
of this. Lead us not into temptation.
That this is something we need to pray to the Father and make that a part of
our prayers when we're going before the Lord.
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And that we would be delivered from the evil one.
So tonight, we're going to continue to just dive into the subject,
overcoming temptation.
Our focus, as we started last week, is about the fact that overcoming temptation is doable.
But I'm asking the Lord tonight to just give us, you know, divine revelation
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as to what's so volatile, you know, what's so detrimental about temptation that,
you know, he made certain that he put it in the prayer that he taught his disciples to pray.
And even in his home prayer, that he prayed for his disciples,
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keep them from the evil one.
So let's begin. Let's talk about why, as any of you are led,
please feel free to speak up.
And we talked about some of this last week. Why is it that God allows temptation in our life?
And I know last week we kind of broke down some differences between what trials,
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tests, and temptations were.
But we also concluded that temptation is something that happens to everybody.
As a matter of fact, James 1.13 and 14 says that when we're tempted,
we're not supposed to say that God tempted us. because he can't be tempted by
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evil and nor does he tempt anyone.
And even in that statement right there, he doesn't, he is not tempted by evil.
You see the connection between the two?
Temptation and evil one seem to, you know, go hand in hand that in a way,
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at least, you know, the way my mind works, you know, I think they're almost inseparable.
I don't think anybody can be tempted to do good.
It's not, you know, that's not how it works. But temptation is directly related to evil.
And so what do you all think? When tempted, no one should say God is tempting
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me for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.
But each person is tempted when they're dragged away by their own evil desires and enticed.
Anyone? anyone you asked why
do you believe that god allows us to be tempted right the same thing i believe
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it's so we can see him move in our lives just as the just the most basic level
i mean some people just go through life you know they go to work they come back
things like that you know,
temptation can happen anywhere and then you know god says you know i promise
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you a way out So, you know, he promised us, he gives us promises.
So, you know, this is a way for God to show himself.
I mean, he doesn't have to in any way, but. Yeah.
Yeah, I get it. Yeah. Amen.
Amen. I get it. And I really do believe that because,
you know, when I think about how he took Israel through the wilderness to test
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them, you know, He allowed it to happen,
because what they wound up seeing is how mighty their God is.
Amen. Parting red seas and raining from heaven. Amen.
Fire by night, cloud by day. Yeah. Every day. Every day. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
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Exactly, because that's what they got to see. so if we were to look at that
in our relationship with God to the degree that if he has permitted us to.
To be tempted by this, that, or the other, whichever it is, that this is an opportunity,
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that we could consider God is designed to reveal himself to us in some way, form, or fashion,
as opposed to it being something to bring us down or because we've done something
wrong or anything like that. What do you all think?
Okay, I'm going to stir up the pot a little bit. So So, yes and yes, I agree.
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He allows everything, first of all, because he's God.
But I'm going to go all the way back to the beginning. When you're stuck and
can't go forward, it's like, I'm just going to go back to the beginning because that's all I know.
So back, you know, in the garden, he allowed the temptation to even exist in the serpent.
He allowed the serpent to, you know, to stay in the garden.
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And, you know, when God created us in his image for his good delight,
remember, he didn't need us. It
delights him, the fact that he created something that gives him delight.
And I just cannot imagine where I'm thinking is that God didn't make robots.
He made mankind with choice, with heart.
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And I cannot imagine that every time we choose God over the temptation,
God over evil, God over the bad choice, it delights him.
It just makes, he likes to please himself because he's God, you know,
everything about him, to him, from him, it's all about him.
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If things go through us, if that makes sense to you guys, however, it really is about him.
So every time there is a temptation before us and it's an opportunity,
it's like, I'm going to choose my God, the God, the God with a big G,
not the little God, not myself, not the thing.
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And the temptation really does appease two places, right? Right.
The temptation to peace is our soul, the God part of us.
Right. Because it's sometimes it's invisible. We don't even can't even articulate.
You know, it's just something that is drawn a desire. It's it's it could be
an invisible kind of quantity.
But sometimes it's visible for our own eyeballs to see, you know,
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that I'm just thinking about some some eating plans.
I've been on lately and just trying to really eat healthy and out of sight,
out of mind. If it's not my house, I'm so good.
But if it's in my house, if I lay eyeballs on it, that's all she wrote.
It just sets me up for failure. So, you know, I just think it's a choice for me.
It's just a choice when I'm not yielding to, and he gives me the power to say, no, thank you.
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And again, even the power to say, no, thank you. And not fall into notation.
I can't even do that on my own darn self.
Yeah, that's right. Even me saying, I'm not going there.
I'm not thinking that even though it's in my head, it's like,
you know, just, just, I'm not going Even that saying, if I'm not going there,
that means I'm going here.
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It's a choice. So that's my little two cents. Yeah, that's good, Jan.
And I like the fact that you, you know, helps us to understand that it is about God.
It's about him, you know, being able to delight in us.
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And it's going to require us to reciprocate that.
And we reciprocate that by...
You know, loving him by loving him.
I mean, if you look at a marital relationship, you know, between a man and a
wife, you know, normally,
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you know, people with, you know, a little bit of sense and understanding the
word of God would marry a man and then have somebody on the side deliberately.
You wouldn't do that because you love your husband.
Okay but we know
that time and time again it's proven to be
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a little little sticky at times and long you know long comes long tall sally
or you know in the the muscle man or whatever it is like that and then our eyes
begin to wonder and the next thing we know we're wondering how in the the world,
we got into these situations.
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But when our love is fast and hard for God, for our mate, I mean,
we have a hard and fast love for our children because I bet you we won't,
we won't, definitely won't leave them to chance.
But with those things that we can negotiate, We seem to sometimes negotiate,
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but to be able to reciprocate the, the, not the same level of course,
because we're human, but to start out with that love for God.
And, and I really believe there's a reason why it's, it's one,
it's first commandment because that's where it starts.
It starts with our relationship with him. Right.
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Is it a genuine love relationship that we have with him?
Well, again, that gets back, Nadine, to the point I was trying to make.
The temptation, even though it may present itself in the natural,
it may be a temptation of the lust.
It may be what our hormones are wanting to get our little you-know-what on.
It could be, you know, it may start off very simply a temptation in the flesh
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presenting itself a sexual kind of desire or a covenant.
It's like, I should get that. How come I don't have this?
Somebody else has it. So it's a temptation to kind of go there.
But the real battle, the enemy ain't trying to get your body.
Your body's going to be dead.
You know what I'm saying? The enemy is not about trying to pull you off course
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to do something to your body.
He don't need a body. He needs a soul.
So that's how it's so important to understand. We're all caught up sometimes.
And that's, Nadine, your question was, you know, why is it so that,
you know, we just can't see it?
I think you used the phrase that it's like a landmine planted underneath,
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under our very sight, because that's the problem. We look in with our natural
eyeballs and if it's faith and if it's of the spirit world, if it's of God,
it's what we don't see with our natural stuff. Right.
So I just think that God's just trying again, like get heads up.
This is a battle that you can't see coming.
You can see the temptation if it's in the natural. But the real end game is
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trying to pull you away, doing things, thinking things, feeling things that
God does not intend for you to to to act on in that way.
Pulling you off course away from him that's what temptation does yeah I think you said that,
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God's desire is for us to love him and not just with lip service,
but with a genuine heart.
And so throughout God's word, it'll say things, your heart was far from me.
You said one thing, but your heart was far from me. And so don't give God lip service.
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You know, I love the Lord, but if your actions and if he places you in a situation.
What does your heart towards him have you to do?
Does your heart say, I don't want to sin against God because I love him, right?
I love him genuinely, not for what he does for me, but because he is worthy of that love, right?
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You know, and so sometimes people love God for the gifts that he gives,
the blessings that he gives.
But what if there are no blessings? Do you still love me, right? Right.
And I think, yeah, so it's it's our heart, like you said before,
Jahin, after our heart and our dedication and commitment to him. But why?
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Why are you committed to me? Right.
Yes. Simply because I love you and I want to love you in return.
It's a reciprocal relationship, meaning he loves us and we love him in return.
Turn actually he first loved us while we were sinners there you go yeah that's
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right and even if we don't love him he won't disown himself that's right because
you know that's so true That's so true.
That's so true, Isabel. Yes.
And therein, I believe,
lies the reason behind the fact that temptation has such power over us.
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And you know like the scripture
says everybody nobody no human being on
this planet is going to get sidestep temptation
it's just you know a part of the territory but equally it's once we developed
that kinship that connection with our God that love for him and yes And yes...
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He did. He does love us. But the love that he extends to us is has a reproductive aspect to it.
Yes, it it generates or it's supposed to to a yielded heart,
that is, you know, to to stir up that same, you know, desire and longing for him.
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You see I mean I and I know this probably happened to you all too I could be just riding along,
in the car or something like that and all of a sudden I remember that
last week I asked God for this or last week you know this happened or that happened
and God came through for me and it just it just lights my heart up I just tears
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started rolling down my face because God God displayed his love for me. Yes.
Yes. And on my little quirky, you know, life, you know, inconsistent,
you know, look, he has been faithful to me and he loves me like that.
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Yes. Tell him, Lord, my heart's desire is to please you, to be the kind of child
of God that will make your heart glad.
That's what I want to be. And so, like Jan said, I have to admit,
you know, I'm not there yet.
I'm not there yet. But here's what I do know. So just like Lord Isabel said,
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you know, the fact is that God is the one that's doing the work in us.
Yeah. You see what I mean? He is the one who promised us that I'll love you
and I'll never leave you. He's the faithful one.
And so that draws me to him even more.
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More that gets me into wanting to
know more to to give more to be
more you know I just can't give him enough you know what I'm saying of my time
I can't give him you know enough of of my energy or whatever it is like that
you know because because he does so much for me and so in our faith walk If
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we haven't started there,
at least at a place where we are loving him, you know, at a deeper degree,
then our journey is still going to wind up in victory because he promised it.
But it's going to be a little a little rocky because we haven't we haven't settled
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some things in our hearts and in our minds about our God.
He's the faithful one. Yeah. He's the one that's going to come through for us.
So every time, just like he said, when you fall seven times,
I'm going to pick you up every time.
Fine. And I'm going to work all things together for your good because I love you. That's right.
And I love when you, oh, I'm sorry, Nadine. Go ahead, baby. Go ahead.
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I was going to say, I love when you stated that God's love is like a reproductive
love, a multiplication kind of love.
Because when he created Adam and Eve, he stated to them, be fruitful and multiply,
right? Because he wanted them to be his people.
So he's multiplying his people, people who love him. So his love is multiplied as well.
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And it makes me think of the scripture in 1 John 4.
And I'm in the NIV. be. And so it's 1 John 4, 16.
And it says, and so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.
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Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him.
So there's that multiplication, reproductive that you were talking about.
In this way, love is made complete among us so that we all have confidence on the day of judgment.
And it goes on. But it just made me, when you said that, made me think of that
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scripture over there that it's like, it's like a, I don't know how to describe it.
And I'll be weird if I can, but just for the visual.
So it's like a force that is just moving around through everyone and everything.
God's love is that force that's just moving. And as it touches,
it increases, it multiplies.
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So, yes, as we as we yield ourselves to him, I think it's the first Corinthians
where it says the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.
That's how we're supposed to go. The love of God is shed abroad.
The love that God gives us is shed abroad to others in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
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You see so the
enablement the enablement to love is with us because the holy spirit is with
us yeah and you see and they're one god the father god the son god the holy
spirit they're one you see and so the only element the only.
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Thing that that seems to get in our way is the evil one he uses this tool of temptation,
and if we're not watchful remember first peter 5 be alert be sober because your devil the devil,
prowls around he looking for folk to take to take down and he doesn't want us
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to dismiss that it's not a myth.
It's not some saying that we use to keep each other in line or to warn each
other or cause fear. It's not about that.
It's about the fact that this is the way that it is.
Satan is the tempter. He is the source.
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And so he is the one that you need to be alert and sober mind it about so that
we won't be frivolous in how we go about our day-to-day lives.
You know, and you know what I mean when I say frivolous? I mean,
it's just a happy-go-lucky kind of lifestyle that, you know,
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I remember the 60s, back in the 60s, that sort of, you know,
feeling was around. Everybody loved everybody.
Everybody was having fun. Everybody getting down, partying, you know,
all this kind of stuff. You know, it was just free for a free fall, free for all.
Right. And there was no there was no, you know, soberness.
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There was no vigilance. You know, I think that that's where the baby boomers came out of. Right.
Yeah. So the point the point that I'm making is,
is that the element that we we have to employ along with the the the love of
God that he's deposited in our heart for him is wisdom.
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We've got to understand that this is the end of the age.
And so now they're going to be a different set of parameters than than maybe it was.
50, 60 years ago, whatever it is, 100 years ago.
But the point of it is, is that we have to be mindful of it so that we won't get tricked.
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I mean, the enemy is just so easy to trick us like that.
But if we're mindful of it and if we're watchful for him, then guess what?
He won't be able to trick us all the time.
You know what I'm saying? and he's not going to keep winning over and over and
over again. That's not what God desires.
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And that's what God told us in James. This is what I want you to do. Come to me.
Submit yourself to me. I know how to handle him.
And resist the devil and his temptation. You know, James 4, 7.
Because therein lies the instruction for us on how to do, how to handle when
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the temptation gets a little bit rough. Right.
Submit to God.
Resist the devil, and he'll flee from you.
Now, he may not flee for long, but at least he'll give you enough time to get
your wind back, you know, get yourself resituated.
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Because if he didn't leave Jesus alone, what makes us think he's going to leave us alone?
And that's why Jesus prayed. Pray for yourself. Pray that the Father will lead
you not into temptation, but that he will deliver you from the evil one.
And then Jesus, when he prayed, he prayed, Father, keep them from the evil one. Remember?
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He knows it's important.
It's critical that we pray this for ourselves and know that Jesus has prayed
this prayer for us because temptation is the tool of Satan that That will draw
us into falling and yielding to temptation.
And so when we're steeped in a love relationship with him, and when we are also
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garnered about with the word of God, equipped with all the information,
I mean, he's given it to us.
You see, Jesus demonstrated, like we said last week, he demonstrated what to do.
No, Satan, I'm not going, you know, God says, you know,
You don't live by every Man must live by every word that comes out of the mouth
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of God Not by food Food is not my focus,
In other words Hey Nadine, can I ask, since you were on James 4 It just came to my Thought.
The podcast folks What do y'all think in James 4 7 where it says submit to God
It sounds like a simple question, but I'm going to throw it out anyway What
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does submit to God mean to y'all?
Very good question too. Because again, a lot of y'all Christ followers,
we know this verse backwards and forwards.
We done said this verse backwards and forwards many times.
Lord, I know, help me. You said submit, submit to you, and you resist the devil.
Anyway, so what does submit to God mean to y'all?
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I'll give it a try, Jane. So submission in general to me means yielding my will,
not my will, but your will.
So in order for me to submit to God, I need to know what He expects of me in situations.
So you have to be obedient to God's word,
living a life that is pleasing to Him,
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not gratifying or
satisfying my fleshly desires
my my pleasures but truly
saying not my will lord yours i want to go over here and do what i want to do
but your word says no so i'm going to submit to your word lord okay anybody
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else that's good that's good anybody else got it it means that we're talking about this.
I always say, God, I know you want, you know, he, he requires like,
you know, we always think that God's like, give this up or give that up. Right.
But he's like, no, I want your heart, you know? And that's true.
Like true surrender, you know? Cause there's times where I'm like,
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God, I don't know how to truly surrender this to you.
Or I'll say, yeah, you take care of this and I'll take care of that.
But no, I can't be on the throne. own. He has to, he has to be Lord,
you know, and I have to take myself out of that. And I feel like,
and that's true submission.
You know, that's true yielding when you're just like, I don't want to.
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But I, but I want to for you, God, because I know you love me and I love you.
And I want to be obedient. Like you just said, Cheryl, like that,
it comes from a place of obedience too.
And that's what drives us to want to yield. You know, you kind of take that
bow, you take that knee and you You say, God, you're Lord.
You know, I've been trying to be Lord over my life and it never works out.
So he only keeps doing his way.
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Yes, it works out. And you know, there's no, there's no circum,
there's, it's not happenstance that when God's word has things in chronological
or sequential order, it's not by happenstance.
That first step, submit to God, you can resist all day long and you're just
going to be wasting your time and your energy.
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You can be trying to tell the devil to go somewhere and sit down,
get out my head, get out my space. It ain't going to be a fun thing.
Right, right. It ain't going to be fun. unless we recognize that every single
thing, you know, he is Lord.
And so I just think in our Christian walk, you know, and it's good to praise
the God, you know, Jesus, he's our savior, but he's Lord and savior,
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king of kings, Lord of Lords. That means he's the boss.
It's just, I don't know any Christian way of saying it other than,
okay, God, you know, I don't know nothing from nothing.
I think I do, but I don't. And so you're, you're Lord, you know it all.
You you see it all you handle it all that's
it simple as that boss i wanted
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to say something about boss people say that they know how to follow their boss
but then they get all clueless on how to how to follow god yes yeah yeah and
we'll run behind we'll run behind kissing some you know what's right that's
right he's that boss trying to get that promotion trying to again i can't be cooperative,
but that we would give our heart the chase.
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We would give the chase so much attention that is like, okay,
I got to do my part, but now God, you really own this thing.
So no matter what I do, I do for the glory of God and I'm going to try to honor him.
But at some point it's like, Lord, you just, I'm going to take it where I think
you're telling me to take it. But after that, I'm going to let you work in that person's heart.
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I'm not going to. Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah. You know, and anyone else have, have a, have an answer about submit or,
or what you think it means?
Well, for me, as I think about submitting, I think about the fact that if I don't really know God,
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then submitting to him is going to be based on my own derivatives, if you know what I mean.
Not not according to what he would desire you know it's like somebody goes out
you know and and buys you chocolate ice cream and brings it back not knowing
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that you allergic to chocolate,
but but they're doing a good deed but they don't know you enough to know that
you don't you know you can't eat chocolate so you know it's just like a waste
and so when we're talking about submitting to god but we don't we don't know
god we don't know him like that because we don't spend time with him,
then the submission is going to be hard.
It's going to be a real tough fight.
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But it's because we know his word. We know him because we know his word.
The word lets us know what he likes, what he don't like.
Everything we need to know about him, how he responds to different situations and so forth and so on.
And then we jump in line.
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With what we know about God as we have learned it in his word.
And so I would not be surprised if people who haven't got a good relationship
with the Father, they can't really submit yet.
Right. That's good. Yeah. But it's in our pursuit of the word of God.
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I was watching something the other day that was troubling to me.
There's this guy watch he's a jewish guy and anyway he was teaching that the
christian church is mystery babylon as written in in um in revelation and so
his his his justification,
for the the christian church being the the the mystery babylon is because you
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know it's always trying to amass money trying to you know take you know get
money and and all these other kinds of things.
But, you know, the truth of the matter is that.
All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. I don't care if
you're a Jew, if you're Greek, free, Scythian, woman, male.
I mean, it covers the whole gamut that if it weren't for God giving us his Holy
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Spirit, you see what I'm saying?
If we didn't have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, we could be easily tricked,
into going down the wrong road.
You know they they talk about you know the different interpretations of the
bible the difference you know different denominations and all these other kind
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of things you know all that may be true you know i don't know because i'm not
a theologian but this i do know,
jesus said i'm going to give you my holy spirit and he's going to reveal things
to you he's going going to lead you.
He's going to guide you. He's going to show you things to come.
You see, all of that, all of that is available to us because now we're in relationship with God.
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That's right. He knows we need the Holy Spirit because there's a whole lot of
lying going on, a whole lot of deception going on. That's right.
And so as long, I think there's a passage of scripture says that That those
who do the truth without ever having knowing the truth are still doing the will
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of God because his word has been written on their hearts.
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who impacts our heart.
So there are people who may not have read the Torah or may not have read the
Bible, but they have a godly instinct in them to do what is right.
You see, that's right. And that just gives me such joy and confidence because
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I don't have to be arguing with people about whether I'm a Hebrew Jew or Jewish
Jew or whatever it is like that.
You know what I'm saying? These are the kind of conversations that people are
having, you know, especially in our community.
And they're unproductive conversations.
That's right. That's right. Right. Right. I'm sorry to cut you off,
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but yes. Yes. Yeah, you're right. You're right.
You know, taking you off course, you know, now you try to go back to Africa
and find out if you're part of that tribe or that tribe or that tribe or that tribe.
Look, all those kinds of things are designed.
It's like the scripture says, you don't you don't get all involved into those
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genealogies and stuff like that, because you all do stir up strife and trouble.
And so that's why you see those people, they're in a strife situation.
They want to argue, they want to fight, you know, all this other kind of stuff.
No, I know where you came from. No, thank you. I know who I am and I don't need,
you know, I'm just going to settle with what the Holy Spirit has revealed to me and walk in that.
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But this idea that temptation is the tool of the enemy that he uses very regularly.
He did it in the beginning, like we said, and it goes through all of us.
Be sober, be vigilant.
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And look out for him because he's looking out for you. That's all I have to say.
If we are vigilant and sober, that we are trying the spirit by the spirit.
We're not receiving everything just because we get this smile over here.
Somebody offers money over here. All these women that are, what do they call it? It's a bait.
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I can't remember the name of it. But with these older women meeting guys online
and sending them money, you know, because they said they'd never met them before.
All they see is a picture. Yeah.
Because they're gullible. Their hearts are gullible.
That's the kind of thing that their heart is pursuing. No, we're pursuing God.
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We're pursuing the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I don't care about the things,
you know, things of this world anymore. They just are not important to me.
All the things that God has desired for me to put my attention to,
that's what I'm going to put my attention to.
But all these other things, you know, money and fame and all these other kind
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of things, all that's going to go out with the bathwater.
Daughter yeah before we close off because it's 7 55 i just wanted to remind
us of a few things that we talked about last week to kind of help us practically
be able to stand withstand temptation
uh we talked about submitting ourselves to god the other one was,
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resisting the the enemy to stand firm in our faith against him uh the bible says do not.
Do not resist evil, but overcome evil with good.
Yes. That doesn't mean that we go out here and take a pick of signs.
You know, this person is that and that person, that's the organization,
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this and that. No, we don't get involved in those kinds of things.
You see, that's not resisting evil.
We overcome evil with the good things that we do.
The Bible says, let your light shine before men so that they can see your good
works and give God the glory for it.
That's right. That's our focus. And then avoiding triggers. You know,
those situations that we know can be a little tricky.
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I mean, we may have an honest reason for being there, you know,
but stay sober and stay alert.
We don't be going around situations and things that are going to have tempting
kind of situations for you.
Just don't go. Don't don't be a part of it. Come out from among among that,
you know. And if your heart is not stout and strong in that area,
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then you need to leave it alone.
And then there's another one we were talking about was being accountable,
that we all should have someone who's walking beside us that we're accountable to.
I'm not talking about a girlfriend who we just hobnob with. I'm talking about
somebody who is either at our spiritual level or more mature than we are.
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That we can really reach out to and walk alongside us through situations and
things that are going on in our life and stop trying to wing it on our own.
God did not meant for us to do that. Two is better than one, remember?
And then 1 Corinthians 2.
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It's not first Corinthians. I think it's in Psalms or Proverbs when the Bible says flee temptation.
You know, don't don't even negotiate with it.
And I tell, you know, my sons, my sons in the faith and all these other kind of things.
See, they they, you know, I don't believe they really are aware of the power
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of how women can draw them.
Them they don't i don't believe they really know the
depth of it because they all giddy and looking for
love and all the wrong places too but i you know i tell my grandsons you all
have y'all got friends and i said a lot i'm not happy right now they pay they
can pay it out to pay it up you know every you know pocket they got you know
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because they made the wrong decision at some point in their lives,
but don't, don't mess around with, you know, the, those kinds of girls that
seem to be all free to give you stuff that they don't need to be given you.
That's how I explained it to them. Don't try to be, try to not,
you know, be too crude, but, but yeah, God has put things in place for us and we need to utilize them.
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And we need to develop that love for him that at some point,
And when the time comes and the temptation shows up, that we run to God and
submit ourselves to him.
He'll give us what we need to stand. Amen.
Amen. Any questions?
Comments? There are some comments. Let's see.
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Isabel put a comment in the chat from a previous point we made.
She says, people fall in idol.
They think is God. They submit to what they think is right. Right.
So just whatever the itchy ears kind of thing.
Right. I can't remember that scripture, but yeah, it kind of comes to mind. And then Elaine said.
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About the goodness piece. So true what you say about the good we do,
because God puts that in our hearts to know.
But without him, we misplace that goodness for our own. We all fall short.
Goodness comes from God. Amen. Those were the two comments.
And then, oh, Isabel had placed on her heart to pray for Melissa.
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She prays that the Lord will continue to cover her. so
if you could miss nateen in your closing prayer to
remember melissa yes yes yes
we will we will anyone else oh
stephanie said oh go ahead whoever
that is go right ahead go ahead you can read it that's fine no you speak it
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is your words you speak it i said submitting also means to give up control that's
my that's my what i think submitting means to give up control because we're not in control.
God is in control and we have to give up and then we have to yield.
So I think there's another step to that yield and it's giving up control. So yeah.
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Very good. Very good, Steph.
Wonderful. All righty. Well, if all hearts and minds are clear,
we'll go ahead and close out.
Father, we just thank you for what we've learned tonight.
Lord, we thank you in Jesus name that we have you present with us, Lord God.
We thank you that you deposited your Holy Spirit in us to help us,
Lord, that we don't have to worry.
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We don't have to be all anxious about anything because you promised that since
you've begun this good work in us, you're going to see to it being completed.
And Father God, I just commend all these women to you in Jesus' name.
Father, I thank you for their hearts. They're longing for you.
They're searching for you.
And your word declares that when they search for you with all their hearts,
they're going to find you. You're not trying to hide from them.
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Lord God, continue to pour out your spirit upon us, Lord. Continue to allow
us, Heavenly Father, to have revelation so that we can understand these things
that you're teaching us.
And then give us wisdom, Father, so that we'll know how to walk it out in our day-to-day lives.
I ask you also, Lord God, to have mercy on Melissa tonight, Lord God.
I don't know exactly what, but you know exactly what's going on with her heart.
I thank you in the name of Lord Jesus that she belongs to you.
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And because she belongs to you, Father God, you know very well how to take good
care of her. So I ask you, Lord God, to encompass your angels around about her,
to lead her and guide her in the right path.
In the name of Jesus, I thank you, Father God, that we know that every good
and perfect gift comes from above.
It comes down from the Father of lights in whom there's no variableness or shadow of turning.
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So we're asking you, Lord God, to continue to grant her wisdom in her daily
walk, Lord, that you'll know how to allow your word to have its way in her life.
Thank you for all our sisters that weren't able to be with us tonight.
Bless us all and keep us in Jesus name. We pray. Amen. Amen.
Wonderful. Wonderful. Yeah. Young Timothy's continue to march forward. I tell you.
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Yes. Yeah. That's what they are.
All right, ladies. Good night. And just to let you all know,
there's probably going to be a conversation we'll have about changing some
things for the podcast but I'll let you all know once I figure it all out yeah
when you when God lets you know then you'll let us know no doubt yeah yeah I
love you I love you love you too honey good night.