November 20, 2025 • 42 mins
Overcoming Your Past and Stepping Into Your Future!
Joel 2:25-26; Isa 48:6-7; Isa 1:8; Lam 3:20-21 Isa 53:12; Romans 8:1-2; Eph 2:10; 1 Thess 5:11; Ps. 84:11; Jer. 29:11
Joel 2:25-26; Isa 48:6-7; Isa 1:8; Lam 3:20-21 Isa 53:12; Romans 8:1-2; Eph 2:10; 1 Thess 5:11; Ps. 84:11; Jer. 29:11
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Broadcasting from the Golden Spread of Texas. This is the
Fred Hughes Show. With each episode we introduce to you
an inspiring person or message to help you grow and
unlock your potential in life. I'm Fred Hughes, professional photographer, pastor, teacher,
(00:26):
author and your show host. Thank you for joining us,
and welcome this episode brought to you by the faithful
partners of Decision Ministry. Well, welcome once again to the
Fred Hughes Show. I'm glad that you're joining us tonight,
and we're looking I've got a good word for you.
(00:48):
Before we get to that, though, I want to just
remind you down in the corner, and I think it's
over here down in the corner, Well, I've got the website.
It's just the word decision, the number one and then
dot org decision one dot g org uh. If you
(01:08):
go there, you can avail yourself of several things. A
couple of those things is I have some books there.
I have a children's book, but I also have a
I don't put this one in very often, but it's
just it's just a little journal where or you can
just kind of write notes and that sort of thing.
(01:28):
It's inexpensive, but it's a it's a good place, a
good way to kind of keep up with your daily
notes or whatever things that you have heard from God,
jot them down. And my book that it's you know,
besides the Still Waters, it's uh, it's I just recommend
it for anybody that it will strengthen. Uh. If you're
(01:50):
a solid Christian. It gives you a lot of good
scriptures to uh nail down some of the things that
you already know. Uh if you're not well, then you
need an over them. And so you get the word,
get the truth, get the Word of God inside your
spirit so that you will be, you know, ready to
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answer whatever it is that life imposes upon you. Well,
today I have I have a couple of things that
I really want to kind of focus in on. And
you know, it's the season that we're in right now,
is we're coming up on Thanksgiving, soon after Christmas and
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New Years. It's just an exciting time of the year
in my in my opinion, and you know, going headed
to two thousand and six, I think there's a lot
of people that are going to be ready for a
new year. But nevertheless, it's you know, I am declaring
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triumph over your past. Right now, This is this is
what I want to do talk about tonight. Is is
I think I believe that you can have triumph over
your past, that you can you can over be an overcomer,
especially over those things that didn't go right in your past.
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Everybody's got to pass, everybody, and we all face things
that we didn't like or disappointed or happen to us
or whatever. But you will, I believe, after after we
talk about it just a little bit here, you will
be able to face, you know, boldly face your your future.
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But you can only do that if you deal with
your past. And so tonight I just want to I
just really want to get both both ends of this stick.
I think it's really really important that we deal with
our past. But I think it's even more important that
we begin to plan a future and uh and expect
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a good future. Sure, And so especially during this these
these holidays season, have an opportunity to you know, get
around family and influence family and and make amends to family.
Do you know, There's just some important things that are
that are very important to take care of, and the
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holidays offers that opportunity. Sometimes when nothing there's not any
there's not a different not a different time that could
excuse me. But I do believe, I believe that there's
some a divine shuffling and a kind of an expansion
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and a call to uh to action and witness uh,
you know, concerning concerning what's going on in the world,
what what what is in the future, what this next
year will bring to us. And sometimes you have to
close out the old year to be able to get
into the new year. So it's really important that we
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deal with these kinds of things. And I believe that,
you know, this year, this upcoming year, it's a connection
It's a connectional kind of year. I believe it's going
to be one that will connect really Heaven and Earth
in a transformative kind of way, both in scope and
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in nature. I really, I really do believe it's going
to be a year of realignment for what His Kingdom
you know, has for in store for humanity. And so
it's really really important, and so I want to kind
of start dealing with a few of those things even
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before these those times get here. I think we just
need to be considering these things. And while we're out
buying packages and and getting ready for you know, Thanksgiving
holiday and to set around and gather around the family
a little bit. There's just some opportunities I think that
we need to be thinking about in advance so that
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when those times come in front of us, we're already
prepared for things. We're expectant of what God wants to
do in our lives. As a believer, we have, you know,
entered into new seasons before, but this one is a
new one. I believe that it is. It is it's
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a season of refreshing. It's a season of a fresh start.
The season that we are that were into. It's just
really divinely appointed time, I believe for refreshing and restoring.
And according to Joel chapter two, verse twenty five and
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twenty six, I want to actually put that one up
on the green GI mean just a second, because I
really think it highlights some very important things that you know,
we can we can talk about here. So let me
see if I can pull that up. I get that
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up on the screen. Juell twenty five second, Jewel two
twenty five and twenty six. Just want to read those
right quick, so I will restore to you the years
of the Swarming Locusts. Has that the swarming locust has eaten,
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the crawling locusts, the consuming locusts, the chewing locus. Can
you identify with that? I mean, I'm there's two thousand
from twenty twenty to two tenty twenty five. It's it's
been consuming. I think a lot of people would be
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able to in a file with that, And so sometimes
I think things have been eating away. I want to
go on with this, says my my great army, which
I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and
be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord, your God,
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who has dealt wondrously. I like that word. He has
dealt wondrously with you, and my people shall never be
put to shame folks. To me, that says refreshing and restoring.
It says to me that God's got a plan. It's
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got to He's got a plan for your life. He
wants to refresh and restore, even though life has been
chewing away at at you know, things around us. There's
not always a fun thing to walk through this life.
But sometimes we bump into joy and that's so wonderful.
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We bump into good times and that's so awesome. But
sometimes we just feel you know that there's those seasons
that come and seem to be everything just steals, everything
just pecks away at us. You know, there's just a
problems in your financial realm, or problems in the relational realm,
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or problems with work, or problems, and there's just that
little continuous pecking away like a locust consuming things in
your life. I really think a lot of people can
identify with what I'm saying here. But I'm just telling
you there is a refreshing, there is a restoring that
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God wants to do in our life. This is a
new day in which you may boldly declare old things.
And you know, old things have passed away according to
Isaiah forty eight, verse six and seven. You know it's
it's this is a new day. Those old things we
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let God push them out of the way for you
and just be be of a good cheer God. God
offers us ways to get what we need, and one
of those ways is very important. It's called forgiveness. So
coming up on the especially the Thanksgiving time, if there's
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someone in your life that you just have still a
little unforgiveness with, or maybe a lot, maybe this is
the time to begin to think about dealing with that.
Maybe not maybe so, but I'm just I'm just, you know,
kind of throw that out before you. One of the
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absolutely sweetest words in the English language is the word forgiven.
God promises us that if, even if, if, even if
your sins are like scarlet, you know, I mean, like crimson,
they're bright, they're obvious, they're glaring, they're unmistakable, they have
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been forgiven, washed white as snow, and they have become
because they have they have come under the blood of Jesus.
It's according to you know Isaah fifty, I know Isaiah
one eighteen. He's the one that cleanses. He's the one
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that that has come and and made things right for us.
And so if you're born again believer, you have been cleanse,
you have been set free. And we really do need
to re enter the understanding that that's where we stand.
We have been forgiven and so therefore we can forgive.
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And you know, God puts it in us to be
able to forgive one another, and so it's an empowerment.
It's it certainly is a powerful thing that we need
to be able to grab hold of because it's so
important in our life and anyway heaven and earth may
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pass away, but his compassion will never fail. According to
Lamentation three twenty why because Christ Jesus alone bore our sins,
our iniquities. He's the one that paid the prize. He's
the one that that that made it possible for us
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to be forgiven and to be able to forgive someone else.
If we've never been forgiven, how then can we forgive?
Because we wouldn't know even know of it. But because
we have been forgiven, miss Let mean, let me make
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no mistake about it. You know we have, we have
been blessed by being forgive given, So why would we
not want to, you know, forgive, You know his his
it's his righteousness that cleanses. It's not our righteousness. Okay. Religion,
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including the Christian religion, brings in this idea that that
we become, we become so righteous that we deserve No,
that's that is wrong. That is a wrong teaching. Understand
that Christianity is not a religion. It is the truth,
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and it's the truth that will set you free. And
when you put it over in and call it a religion,
actually you're speaking the wrong thing because it's not I
mean Jesus hated the religious crowd more than any He
called them white wors shephl because he empty tombs, I
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mean terrible he gave. He called him dall, I mean
he gave, he did not like and the religious crowd,
and they're the ones that came in and crucified him.
So it's not religion that we're after. It's not what
he came to do. He hates religion worse than you
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and I do. And it's not religion, but it's a
belief in him and him alone. It's his righteousness that
cleanses us, not ours. And it's what he did, not
what we have done. God forgives your past, he chooses
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really not to remember it. He sets you free from
the things that you have done in your past. And
this is the thing that we need to really understand,
because if you are holding on saying I don't deserve
his forgiveness because I haven't merited it. I haven't been
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good enough. I haven't read my Bible or done this
or done that. You know, if you're over in this
religious thing that says I've got to become good so
that he will like me, or he will receive my righteousness. Now,
the Bible says that our righteousness us as as if
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it was dirty or filthy rags, and so our righteousness
is not does not come into the picture of our salvation,
our relationship with God. That's a religious mindset and it's
dead wrong. I'll tell you. I just tell you, because
our righteousness can never measure up to making us able
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to become a son or a daughter of God Most High.
In fact, the scripture says we were given power to
become sons of God. How do we get this power
to become sons of God by believing in what Jesus
did on the cross and that he washed us. Why
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this now that he forgave us and made this clean
and made us, gave us his righteousness so that we
can be right together with him. And that's the good news.
That's the good news of the Gospel. That's the good news,
you know. So through repentance, we have to realize that
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we need a savior, and we have to realize that
Jesus is the savior. And we find that out through
the Word. We find that out from being around Christian
other Christian believers. We find that out. There's a myriad
of different ways that we can make that discovery. And
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it's all good. But it's not by performing. It's not
by being good enough. So many, so many people believe
that that you know a little, maybe if I'm good enough,
God will take me in. Now he won't because you
can't be good enough. The only way you can get
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in is you as you believe that He paid the
price and gave it to you. It's a free gift
and you have to receive it. You have to acknowledge
He is my savior. I receive him as lord in
my life, and I give my life to him. And
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he cleanses me, washes me, makes me whye a snow
forgives me and sets me in place. That's who we
really are. We are children of God most High. That's
the good news. That's the good news. So don't let
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your past failures keep you from experiencing your future victories. Okay,
it's just it's just remember it. It's it's it's it's
really really important that we embrace this vital You promise
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that there there is Let me just kind of quote
a scripture for you. It says, there is therefore now
no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For
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the law of the spirit of life is Christ Jesus,
and it has made us free from the law of
sin and death. That's Romans chapter eight, verse one through
one and two. Man. That is just such a powerful,
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powerful scripture, but it just helps us to understand that
Jesus has made us free. Jesus is the one that
accomplished it, and he made us free from sin and
death because he gives us eternal life, and that eternal
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life starts the moment where you get born again. In
one John four seventeen, the last part of that verse says,
you know that as he is, meaning Christ, so are
we in this world. And that means now. That doesn't
mean after we go to heaven and be with him.
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That means right now we are like him. He made
us to be like him, and in this present world.
He says that even the things that He did here,
we do even even greater things because He has empowered
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us by sending Holy Spirit to dwell in us. He
gives gifts. All kinds of supernatural gifts available to the
Word of God is available to us. The Holy Spirit
is here too. He's an ever present help and time
of need, we need him all the time. He's he
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never leaves us, he never forsakes us, he never goes
away from us. But he is there all the time.
And so the Lord has already lavished you with abundance,
extravagant forgiveness and grace. And you know, I don't know,
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I don't, I don't. I don't know how people miss
this opportunity that we have to embrace him to you know,
establish relationship with him and to you know, go get
get free of all the things that we're tangled up with. Everybody,
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everybody has failed in their relationship up somehow, everybody has
missed the opportunities. Every everybody's come short. Okay. But God
makes it possible for us to set all those things aside,
forget to pass and press on in the into the
future that He has planned for us, his good plan.
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To Jeremiah says, he has great plans for us, okay.
And so you know me, you know, all all the
things that we that we mess up there, and there's
many and all of that, but his blood cleanses them.
From the Bible says all all he cleanses, He cleanses
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all sin, for all people, for all times. You know, somebody,
somebody asked me, you know, well, if I sin tomorrow,
will we'll we'll I have to go back and be
born again or or get the blood get get get
my sin under the blood, you know, or what I
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gotta do to to clean up. You know, hey, listen,
all of your sins we're in. We're in the future
because two thousand years ago is when Jesus died on
the cross to set you free. He did it two
thousand years ago, but you better be thankful that he
that he can do it in advance. Okay, he's he's
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outside of time, and so he comes forward and he
he takes care of all of our iniquities in sin,
even the ones we will commit yet. So it's all sin,
all people, all for all times. It's all. I love
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that word all It includes me and you, so so
it's really really important. So as we believe, you know,
his word of forgiveness, and and we at our heart
to seek the Lord, then we're gonna find overwhelming grace
and mercy or you know each day that we that
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we have to traveil through, you know. Jeremiah twenty nine.
Like I said, as as it says, neither neither give
up neither, you know, never give up, never give in. Never,
you know, have a mindset that that guilt and failure
is going to overcome you because we're free from that,
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where we have the ability to step step step over that,
because God has already made it right for us. You
were created by you a maker to carry you know,
his glory, his presence, his his you know everything. He
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wants us free and free indeed, and so you know, God,
God has confidence in you because he put himself inside
of you, and he knows that Holy Spirit can can
whisper whatever he needs, the information, he knows how that
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we can communicate with him, and he is every confidence
that we are able and he has a plan for us,
and we are He's confident in us. We need to
be confident. And if God is confident in you, why
would you not want to be confident in you? So
remember you are you are His choice. You are you know,
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chosen for such a time as this, if that's esther
four fourteen, that we're chosen to live and operate in
this day and this hour. And so as we progress forward,
you know, we need to understand that we are free
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and free indeed, and we are forgiven. And when we
realize that, we realize who we are and what we
have available now, then we can begin to have good
news to give to the world. And whenever you're around family,
you can proclaim this good news. You can have the
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attitude that of gratitude that they'll recognize on you instead
of you know, the grumpy, bewildered I'm having a bad day,
the canker worms have eaten up everything, and you know
all blah blah blah, you know, all this bad stuff.
We should be proclaiming. Yes, the goodness of God is
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upon me, and his goodness is coming. I have a
great future. I have opportunities in front of me, and
so I'm so looking forward to what God has in
front of me. It's going to be good. So I
believe God is even now releasing divine favor to you,
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to us in general, to accomplish great exploits for his kingdom.
I believe he has plans that he'll reveal to us
that will cause us to be super heroes of faith
and be able to walk out all of the good
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plans that He has for our life. I don't think
we're going to miss out. I have to miss out
on anything. And you know, like I'm seventy five years old,
I'm three quarters of a century. But I still think
maybe that God might even have greater days in front
of me than he had in the back of me.
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I certainly believe He does for you and for me
as well. You know, we bring christ healing and comfort
to other people in the areas in which you know,
we ourself need and have experienced and have testimony to
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tell other people about. So if God's healed you in
your body, we have a great testimony that you can
tell other people God healed me. And you know, I
think I think one of the most powerful things is
that we've got to get our believer cranked up a
little bit so that we can be a good, a
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better receiver ourself. That we can believe God for answers
in our life and experience those answers coming to us,
and we'll have a testimony to share with other people
and either get them free or help them be encouraged
to find the freedom that we found and walk in
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as Wellsums eighty four eleven says it just basically says
we learn how to lavish his blessing of grace and
glory on, you know, on people that are rent. It's just,
you know, we we have been lavished on by God himself,
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and we can turn around and hand out what we
have received to other people just by believing for them,
praying for them, laying hands on them, doing I mean
just just the life that the believer has is such
a famous life and such a powerful life. But we
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have we can't start. We can't think the way the
world has. We can't live in our past and and
and want and and uh think on all the places
where we have failed or where the difficulties are. Let
the world just kind of come in and and and
chew up our life like so many have. And so
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it's really really important, you know. And the world has
a lot to say. I'm telling you there's uh, we
were in a my wife went to a meeting. She
came back and told me about it. But uh, it's
she had a local college and and and these there's
so many kids, young people especially that are they just
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have this anxiety. They just think that, you know, they
go for anxiety treatment and they are all wondering who
in the world you know can help me with all
my anxiety and and all of this. And it's just
uh kind of I mean, basically, there's snowfall, I mean,
any every every little, any little temperature arise and just
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they just melt over it. It's just crazy. But but
here's here's the deal. That the people that they're coming
to to try to get help with this problem are
worldly and a lot of this. One Christian, i mean
one person that made a statement says, can Christians season
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the world with non anxiety? Well, yeah, we actually can
because whenever, you know, if you do like them and
you throw Jesus out, well then you're flinging the door
open for anxiety and fear to come in. But if
you have Jesus, you have you have the love of
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God inside of you that it says says love conquers all,
it conquers every The love cast out fear, anxiety it had,
you know, yes, the Christians, the love of God inside
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of a believer, cast out fear, cast out anxiety, It
will rid you of those things. You don't have to
walk in anxiety, you don't have to walk in fear.
And God tewod Timothy one seven. Write this down second
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Timothy one seven. It just says God did not give
you a spirit of fear, but power, love and a
sound mind. Hey watch that right there. Okay, he didn't
give you a spirit of fear or anxiety. Okay, that's
not what he that did not come from God, that
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came out of the other kingdom, came out of the
kingdom of darkness. All right, So let's identify that clearly
right quick, because this second Timidth the one seven, clearly
spells this out. But it says, but I like that,
but that's in there because here's what. He didn't give
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you a spirit of fear. But here's what he did
give you. He gave you three weapons to battle with.
Any One of those three weapons that he gives right
here in this verse is bigger than the fear that
you have, the anxiety that you have, sore. Here's what
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they are. It says them very clearly. He gives you
the spirit of power to overcome these things. He gives
you the spirit of love to cast out all of
this mess, and he gives you a sound mind. You
don't have to be tormented in your mind and run
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away with all of your fearfulness and anxiety. And I
missed out on life for everything's eating eating up at everything. Yeah,
all this hopelessness that comes in your way, you don't
have to put up with that. He gave you right
there in two Timothy one seven, he says he gives
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you power, love, and sound mind, three big weapons to
defeat the devil, To defeat anxiety, worry, and discomfort in
your life. Just praise God that you are a believer,
that you have the life of Christ, and that you
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have the deliverance over all of that. It's a free gift.
We received it at salvation, but we have to appropriate
it in our life. We have to recognize that we
have it. Man, I'm telling you, it's just so, so
so important. I believe. I believe this. I honestly do
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believe that God is now revealing divine favor. He is
he is, He's now releasing divine favor. He's making it
abundantly clear for us to see that favor is available
to us, divine favor and to for us to accomplish
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really great and glorious things in His name. So it
if you're if you're all continuously looking at your past,
you're not going to find the favor that he has
for your future. And so let me let me kind
of quote this little scripture Psalms eighty four eleven. Psalms
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eighty four eleven, because we learn how to lavish it's
it's it's learn how to to lavish His blessing of
grace and glory. That was in the d N l
V I think version. But anyway, I like that particular
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deally we learn how to lavish His, not ours, remember,
but lavish his you know, blessing, his glory, his grace
on people. We just we just we can do that
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and it's fun. And I just I just want to
set us up so that in these coming holidays that
we will be the one that will go around lavishing
people with with with grace and with love, and with
the presence of God and all for God, you know,
for the for for the Lord God is our son
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and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The
Lord will not or the Lord will withhold no good
thing from those who do what it is right, and
the right thing to do is is to is to
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embrace him. That that's Psalms Uh. That that Psalms eighty
four eleven. Even even even if we're not success. If
if we don't succeed in and you know, in previous days.
If even if we're not real super successful and in
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our in our past, you know, it doesn't mean that
we can't be in our future. Okay, I just really
believe that God has good futures for us, and I
believe that we really do need to expect that He
will reveal how to embrace those says, how to how
to law hold of to walk in more favor, more abundance,
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more blessing, more greater health, greater prosperity, greater success in life,
and and and be a blessing to people that we're
around to demonstrate the good news of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, to be able to help people put into
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practice the word of the living Word of God. So
I just want to pray that your entire family will
be will experience the overwhelming love and favor of God
as you as you you know, leave the past behind
and boldly take hold of the blessings and promises of
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God that He has abundantly given to all of us.
All we have to do is receive it like we
the same way you got salvation. You also, that's how
you get everything from God the same way. It's by faith.
We by faith we receive it and with our mouth
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we confess it and it becomes ours. So it's just
such a special special season this in front of us,
and I want to just pray and bless you right
now that you will experience the best Thanksgiving, the best Christmas,
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and the best New Year of your entire life this year.
Jesus Mighty Name God, bless you. Listen. We have a
number that you can call our little prayer hotline. Let
me put that up on the screen and say eight
O six three four zero zero one six two. Eight
(39:50):
o six three four zero zero one six two. If
you'll call that number. We have people that can speak
Spanish English. Uh. They will help you. They'll pray with you,
agree with you for whatever you you need prayer for.
And but I'm just I just want to pray over
you right now in Jesus Mighty Name that you that
(40:13):
that you will have the greatest personal, family, church, national
and world influence that you have ever had before. That
are that you will see with new eyes what God
has planned for you and for those that He are
(40:33):
are called according to His purpose and his name. And
that we will be able to together walk in great
hope even though there are dark days out there. Even
though there are maybe some really dark days out there,
we are made to go through them. We're made to
(40:54):
be overcomers. We are made to walk in the land
of Goshen. We are made to be overcomers and successful
at walking through life's troubles. And we have been endowed
by our living God that lives inside of us with
(41:16):
supernatural powers. And we are called the sons and daughters
of God for no good reason. I'm just telling you
we are. That's who we are, and we need to
be identifying as who we are. We don't need to
be identifying with the world. Are the failures of the past,
(41:39):
but we need to be expectant of a great future
because God has one plan for every single one of them.
God bless you and bring those little bells and join
us again next Thursday and every Thursday at seven o'clock
PM Central Standard Time right here in the USA. God
(42:01):
bless you and keep you. If you enjoyed the show today,
be sure and get the downloads and the show notes
that we have available for you. If you agree that
this is placed to be invite your friends. Use those
little buttons to connect us to your Facebook friends and others.
(42:26):
And if you have not subscribed, do it today. Check
out our free downloads. This is the Bread Hugh Show,
signing off,
Broadcasting from the Golden Spread of Texas. This is the
Fred Hughes Show. With each episode we introduce to you
an inspiring person or message to help you grow and
unlock your potential in life. I'm Fred Hughes, professional photographer, pastor, teacher,
(00:26):
author and your show host. Thank you for joining us,
and welcome this episode brought to you by the faithful
partners of Decision Ministry. Well, welcome once again to the
Fred Hughes Show. I'm glad that you're joining us tonight,
and we're looking I've got a good word for you.
(00:48):
Before we get to that, though, I want to just
remind you down in the corner, and I think it's
over here down in the corner, Well, I've got the website.
It's just the word decision, the number one and then
dot org decision one dot g org uh. If you
(01:08):
go there, you can avail yourself of several things. A
couple of those things is I have some books there.
I have a children's book, but I also have a
I don't put this one in very often, but it's
just it's just a little journal where or you can
just kind of write notes and that sort of thing.
(01:28):
It's inexpensive, but it's a it's a good place, a
good way to kind of keep up with your daily
notes or whatever things that you have heard from God,
jot them down. And my book that it's you know,
besides the Still Waters, it's uh, it's I just recommend
it for anybody that it will strengthen. Uh. If you're
(01:50):
a solid Christian. It gives you a lot of good
scriptures to uh nail down some of the things that
you already know. Uh if you're not well, then you
need an over them. And so you get the word,
get the truth, get the Word of God inside your
spirit so that you will be, you know, ready to
(02:11):
answer whatever it is that life imposes upon you. Well,
today I have I have a couple of things that
I really want to kind of focus in on. And
you know, it's the season that we're in right now,
is we're coming up on Thanksgiving, soon after Christmas and
(02:31):
New Years. It's just an exciting time of the year
in my in my opinion, and you know, going headed
to two thousand and six, I think there's a lot
of people that are going to be ready for a
new year. But nevertheless, it's you know, I am declaring
(02:53):
triumph over your past. Right now, This is this is
what I want to do talk about tonight. Is is
I think I believe that you can have triumph over
your past, that you can you can over be an overcomer,
especially over those things that didn't go right in your past.
(03:13):
Everybody's got to pass, everybody, and we all face things
that we didn't like or disappointed or happen to us
or whatever. But you will, I believe, after after we
talk about it just a little bit here, you will
be able to face, you know, boldly face your your future.
(03:38):
But you can only do that if you deal with
your past. And so tonight I just want to I
just really want to get both both ends of this stick.
I think it's really really important that we deal with
our past. But I think it's even more important that
we begin to plan a future and uh and expect
(03:58):
a good future. Sure, And so especially during this these
these holidays season, have an opportunity to you know, get
around family and influence family and and make amends to family.
Do you know, There's just some important things that are
that are very important to take care of, and the
(04:20):
holidays offers that opportunity. Sometimes when nothing there's not any
there's not a different not a different time that could
excuse me. But I do believe, I believe that there's
some a divine shuffling and a kind of an expansion
(04:43):
and a call to uh to action and witness uh,
you know, concerning concerning what's going on in the world,
what what what is in the future, what this next
year will bring to us. And sometimes you have to
close out the old year to be able to get
into the new year. So it's really important that we
(05:05):
deal with these kinds of things. And I believe that,
you know, this year, this upcoming year, it's a connection
It's a connectional kind of year. I believe it's going
to be one that will connect really Heaven and Earth
in a transformative kind of way, both in scope and
(05:28):
in nature. I really, I really do believe it's going
to be a year of realignment for what His Kingdom
you know, has for in store for humanity. And so
it's really really important, and so I want to kind
of start dealing with a few of those things even
(05:50):
before these those times get here. I think we just
need to be considering these things. And while we're out
buying packages and and getting ready for you know, Thanksgiving
holiday and to set around and gather around the family
a little bit. There's just some opportunities I think that
we need to be thinking about in advance so that
(06:12):
when those times come in front of us, we're already
prepared for things. We're expectant of what God wants to
do in our lives. As a believer, we have, you know,
entered into new seasons before, but this one is a
new one. I believe that it is. It is it's
(06:33):
a season of refreshing. It's a season of a fresh start.
The season that we are that were into. It's just
really divinely appointed time, I believe for refreshing and restoring.
And according to Joel chapter two, verse twenty five and
(06:56):
twenty six, I want to actually put that one up
on the green GI mean just a second, because I
really think it highlights some very important things that you know,
we can we can talk about here. So let me
see if I can pull that up. I get that
(07:16):
up on the screen. Juell twenty five second, Jewel two
twenty five and twenty six. Just want to read those
right quick, so I will restore to you the years
of the Swarming Locusts. Has that the swarming locust has eaten,
(07:38):
the crawling locusts, the consuming locusts, the chewing locus. Can
you identify with that? I mean, I'm there's two thousand
from twenty twenty to two tenty twenty five. It's it's
been consuming. I think a lot of people would be
(07:59):
able to in a file with that, And so sometimes
I think things have been eating away. I want to
go on with this, says my my great army, which
I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and
be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord, your God,
(08:24):
who has dealt wondrously. I like that word. He has
dealt wondrously with you, and my people shall never be
put to shame folks. To me, that says refreshing and restoring.
It says to me that God's got a plan. It's
(08:47):
got to He's got a plan for your life. He
wants to refresh and restore, even though life has been
chewing away at at you know, things around us. There's
not always a fun thing to walk through this life.
But sometimes we bump into joy and that's so wonderful.
(09:10):
We bump into good times and that's so awesome. But
sometimes we just feel you know that there's those seasons
that come and seem to be everything just steals, everything
just pecks away at us. You know, there's just a
problems in your financial realm, or problems in the relational realm,
(09:32):
or problems with work, or problems, and there's just that
little continuous pecking away like a locust consuming things in
your life. I really think a lot of people can
identify with what I'm saying here. But I'm just telling
you there is a refreshing, there is a restoring that
(09:55):
God wants to do in our life. This is a
new day in which you may boldly declare old things.
And you know, old things have passed away according to
Isaiah forty eight, verse six and seven. You know it's
it's this is a new day. Those old things we
(10:18):
let God push them out of the way for you
and just be be of a good cheer God. God
offers us ways to get what we need, and one
of those ways is very important. It's called forgiveness. So
coming up on the especially the Thanksgiving time, if there's
(10:42):
someone in your life that you just have still a
little unforgiveness with, or maybe a lot, maybe this is
the time to begin to think about dealing with that.
Maybe not maybe so, but I'm just I'm just, you know,
kind of throw that out before you. One of the
(11:04):
absolutely sweetest words in the English language is the word forgiven.
God promises us that if, even if, if, even if
your sins are like scarlet, you know, I mean, like crimson,
they're bright, they're obvious, they're glaring, they're unmistakable, they have
(11:28):
been forgiven, washed white as snow, and they have become
because they have they have come under the blood of Jesus.
It's according to you know Isaah fifty, I know Isaiah
one eighteen. He's the one that cleanses. He's the one
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that that has come and and made things right for us.
And so if you're born again believer, you have been cleanse,
you have been set free. And we really do need
to re enter the understanding that that's where we stand.
We have been forgiven and so therefore we can forgive.
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And you know, God puts it in us to be
able to forgive one another, and so it's an empowerment.
It's it certainly is a powerful thing that we need
to be able to grab hold of because it's so
important in our life and anyway heaven and earth may
(12:41):
pass away, but his compassion will never fail. According to
Lamentation three twenty why because Christ Jesus alone bore our sins,
our iniquities. He's the one that paid the prize. He's
the one that that that made it possible for us
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to be forgiven and to be able to forgive someone else.
If we've never been forgiven, how then can we forgive?
Because we wouldn't know even know of it. But because
we have been forgiven, miss Let mean, let me make
(13:27):
no mistake about it. You know we have, we have
been blessed by being forgive given, So why would we
not want to, you know, forgive, You know his his
it's his righteousness that cleanses. It's not our righteousness. Okay. Religion,
(13:51):
including the Christian religion, brings in this idea that that
we become, we become so righteous that we deserve No,
that's that is wrong. That is a wrong teaching. Understand
that Christianity is not a religion. It is the truth,
(14:13):
and it's the truth that will set you free. And
when you put it over in and call it a religion,
actually you're speaking the wrong thing because it's not I
mean Jesus hated the religious crowd more than any He
called them white wors shephl because he empty tombs, I
(14:34):
mean terrible he gave. He called him dall, I mean
he gave, he did not like and the religious crowd,
and they're the ones that came in and crucified him.
So it's not religion that we're after. It's not what
he came to do. He hates religion worse than you
(14:55):
and I do. And it's not religion, but it's a
belief in him and him alone. It's his righteousness that
cleanses us, not ours. And it's what he did, not
what we have done. God forgives your past, he chooses
(15:17):
really not to remember it. He sets you free from
the things that you have done in your past. And
this is the thing that we need to really understand,
because if you are holding on saying I don't deserve
his forgiveness because I haven't merited it. I haven't been
(15:39):
good enough. I haven't read my Bible or done this
or done that. You know, if you're over in this
religious thing that says I've got to become good so
that he will like me, or he will receive my righteousness. Now,
the Bible says that our righteousness us as as if
(16:02):
it was dirty or filthy rags, and so our righteousness
is not does not come into the picture of our salvation,
our relationship with God. That's a religious mindset and it's
dead wrong. I'll tell you. I just tell you, because
our righteousness can never measure up to making us able
(16:29):
to become a son or a daughter of God Most High.
In fact, the scripture says we were given power to
become sons of God. How do we get this power
to become sons of God by believing in what Jesus
did on the cross and that he washed us. Why
(16:54):
this now that he forgave us and made this clean
and made us, gave us his righteousness so that we
can be right together with him. And that's the good news.
That's the good news of the Gospel. That's the good news,
you know. So through repentance, we have to realize that
(17:18):
we need a savior, and we have to realize that
Jesus is the savior. And we find that out through
the Word. We find that out from being around Christian
other Christian believers. We find that out. There's a myriad
of different ways that we can make that discovery. And
(17:39):
it's all good. But it's not by performing. It's not
by being good enough. So many, so many people believe
that that you know a little, maybe if I'm good enough,
God will take me in. Now he won't because you
can't be good enough. The only way you can get
(18:01):
in is you as you believe that He paid the
price and gave it to you. It's a free gift
and you have to receive it. You have to acknowledge
He is my savior. I receive him as lord in
my life, and I give my life to him. And
(18:25):
he cleanses me, washes me, makes me whye a snow
forgives me and sets me in place. That's who we
really are. We are children of God most High. That's
the good news. That's the good news. So don't let
(18:45):
your past failures keep you from experiencing your future victories. Okay,
it's just it's just remember it. It's it's it's it's
really really important that we embrace this vital You promise
(19:06):
that there there is Let me just kind of quote
a scripture for you. It says, there is therefore now
no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For
(19:27):
the law of the spirit of life is Christ Jesus,
and it has made us free from the law of
sin and death. That's Romans chapter eight, verse one through
one and two. Man. That is just such a powerful,
(19:49):
powerful scripture, but it just helps us to understand that
Jesus has made us free. Jesus is the one that
accomplished it, and he made us free from sin and
death because he gives us eternal life, and that eternal
(20:11):
life starts the moment where you get born again. In
one John four seventeen, the last part of that verse says,
you know that as he is, meaning Christ, so are
we in this world. And that means now. That doesn't
mean after we go to heaven and be with him.
(20:31):
That means right now we are like him. He made
us to be like him, and in this present world.
He says that even the things that He did here,
we do even even greater things because He has empowered
(20:51):
us by sending Holy Spirit to dwell in us. He
gives gifts. All kinds of supernatural gifts available to the
Word of God is available to us. The Holy Spirit
is here too. He's an ever present help and time
of need, we need him all the time. He's he
(21:11):
never leaves us, he never forsakes us, he never goes
away from us. But he is there all the time.
And so the Lord has already lavished you with abundance,
extravagant forgiveness and grace. And you know, I don't know,
(21:34):
I don't, I don't. I don't know how people miss
this opportunity that we have to embrace him to you know,
establish relationship with him and to you know, go get
get free of all the things that we're tangled up with. Everybody,
(21:57):
everybody has failed in their relationship up somehow, everybody has
missed the opportunities. Every everybody's come short. Okay. But God
makes it possible for us to set all those things aside,
forget to pass and press on in the into the
future that He has planned for us, his good plan.
(22:19):
To Jeremiah says, he has great plans for us, okay.
And so you know me, you know, all all the
things that we that we mess up there, and there's
many and all of that, but his blood cleanses them.
From the Bible says all all he cleanses, He cleanses
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all sin, for all people, for all times. You know, somebody,
somebody asked me, you know, well, if I sin tomorrow,
will we'll we'll I have to go back and be
born again or or get the blood get get get
my sin under the blood, you know, or what I
(23:05):
gotta do to to clean up. You know, hey, listen,
all of your sins we're in. We're in the future
because two thousand years ago is when Jesus died on
the cross to set you free. He did it two
thousand years ago, but you better be thankful that he
that he can do it in advance. Okay, he's he's
(23:27):
outside of time, and so he comes forward and he
he takes care of all of our iniquities in sin,
even the ones we will commit yet. So it's all sin,
all people, all for all times. It's all. I love
(23:47):
that word all It includes me and you, so so
it's really really important. So as we believe, you know,
his word of forgiveness, and and we at our heart
to seek the Lord, then we're gonna find overwhelming grace
and mercy or you know each day that we that
(24:11):
we have to traveil through, you know. Jeremiah twenty nine.
Like I said, as as it says, neither neither give
up neither, you know, never give up, never give in. Never,
you know, have a mindset that that guilt and failure
is going to overcome you because we're free from that,
(24:34):
where we have the ability to step step step over that,
because God has already made it right for us. You
were created by you a maker to carry you know,
his glory, his presence, his his you know everything. He
(24:57):
wants us free and free indeed, and so you know, God,
God has confidence in you because he put himself inside
of you, and he knows that Holy Spirit can can
whisper whatever he needs, the information, he knows how that
(25:19):
we can communicate with him, and he is every confidence
that we are able and he has a plan for us,
and we are He's confident in us. We need to
be confident. And if God is confident in you, why
would you not want to be confident in you? So
remember you are you are His choice. You are you know,
(25:46):
chosen for such a time as this, if that's esther
four fourteen, that we're chosen to live and operate in
this day and this hour. And so as we progress forward,
you know, we need to understand that we are free
(26:07):
and free indeed, and we are forgiven. And when we
realize that, we realize who we are and what we
have available now, then we can begin to have good
news to give to the world. And whenever you're around family,
you can proclaim this good news. You can have the
(26:28):
attitude that of gratitude that they'll recognize on you instead
of you know, the grumpy, bewildered I'm having a bad day,
the canker worms have eaten up everything, and you know
all blah blah blah, you know, all this bad stuff.
We should be proclaiming. Yes, the goodness of God is
(26:51):
upon me, and his goodness is coming. I have a
great future. I have opportunities in front of me, and
so I'm so looking forward to what God has in
front of me. It's going to be good. So I
believe God is even now releasing divine favor to you,
(27:18):
to us in general, to accomplish great exploits for his kingdom.
I believe he has plans that he'll reveal to us
that will cause us to be super heroes of faith
and be able to walk out all of the good
(27:39):
plans that He has for our life. I don't think
we're going to miss out. I have to miss out
on anything. And you know, like I'm seventy five years old,
I'm three quarters of a century. But I still think
maybe that God might even have greater days in front
of me than he had in the back of me.
(28:00):
I certainly believe He does for you and for me
as well. You know, we bring christ healing and comfort
to other people in the areas in which you know,
we ourself need and have experienced and have testimony to
(28:27):
tell other people about. So if God's healed you in
your body, we have a great testimony that you can
tell other people God healed me. And you know, I
think I think one of the most powerful things is
that we've got to get our believer cranked up a
little bit so that we can be a good, a
(28:48):
better receiver ourself. That we can believe God for answers
in our life and experience those answers coming to us,
and we'll have a testimony to share with other people
and either get them free or help them be encouraged
to find the freedom that we found and walk in
(29:09):
as Wellsums eighty four eleven says it just basically says
we learn how to lavish his blessing of grace and
glory on, you know, on people that are rent. It's just,
you know, we we have been lavished on by God himself,
(29:32):
and we can turn around and hand out what we
have received to other people just by believing for them,
praying for them, laying hands on them, doing I mean
just just the life that the believer has is such
a famous life and such a powerful life. But we
(29:55):
have we can't start. We can't think the way the
world has. We can't live in our past and and
and want and and uh think on all the places
where we have failed or where the difficulties are. Let
the world just kind of come in and and and
chew up our life like so many have. And so
(30:19):
it's really really important, you know. And the world has
a lot to say. I'm telling you there's uh, we
were in a my wife went to a meeting. She
came back and told me about it. But uh, it's
she had a local college and and and these there's
so many kids, young people especially that are they just
(30:40):
have this anxiety. They just think that, you know, they
go for anxiety treatment and they are all wondering who
in the world you know can help me with all
my anxiety and and all of this. And it's just
uh kind of I mean, basically, there's snowfall, I mean,
any every every little, any little temperature arise and just
(31:03):
they just melt over it. It's just crazy. But but
here's here's the deal. That the people that they're coming
to to try to get help with this problem are
worldly and a lot of this. One Christian, i mean
one person that made a statement says, can Christians season
(31:24):
the world with non anxiety? Well, yeah, we actually can
because whenever, you know, if you do like them and
you throw Jesus out, well then you're flinging the door
open for anxiety and fear to come in. But if
you have Jesus, you have you have the love of
(31:46):
God inside of you that it says says love conquers all,
it conquers every The love cast out fear, anxiety it had,
you know, yes, the Christians, the love of God inside
(32:07):
of a believer, cast out fear, cast out anxiety, It
will rid you of those things. You don't have to
walk in anxiety, you don't have to walk in fear.
And God tewod Timothy one seven. Write this down second
(32:29):
Timothy one seven. It just says God did not give
you a spirit of fear, but power, love and a
sound mind. Hey watch that right there. Okay, he didn't
give you a spirit of fear or anxiety. Okay, that's
not what he that did not come from God, that
(32:50):
came out of the other kingdom, came out of the
kingdom of darkness. All right, So let's identify that clearly
right quick, because this second Timidth the one seven, clearly
spells this out. But it says, but I like that,
but that's in there because here's what. He didn't give
(33:12):
you a spirit of fear. But here's what he did
give you. He gave you three weapons to battle with.
Any One of those three weapons that he gives right
here in this verse is bigger than the fear that
you have, the anxiety that you have, sore. Here's what
(33:33):
they are. It says them very clearly. He gives you
the spirit of power to overcome these things. He gives
you the spirit of love to cast out all of
this mess, and he gives you a sound mind. You
don't have to be tormented in your mind and run
(33:55):
away with all of your fearfulness and anxiety. And I
missed out on life for everything's eating eating up at everything. Yeah,
all this hopelessness that comes in your way, you don't
have to put up with that. He gave you right
there in two Timothy one seven, he says he gives
(34:18):
you power, love, and sound mind, three big weapons to
defeat the devil, To defeat anxiety, worry, and discomfort in
your life. Just praise God that you are a believer,
that you have the life of Christ, and that you
(34:42):
have the deliverance over all of that. It's a free gift.
We received it at salvation, but we have to appropriate
it in our life. We have to recognize that we
have it. Man, I'm telling you, it's just so, so
so important. I believe. I believe this. I honestly do
(35:03):
believe that God is now revealing divine favor. He is
he is, He's now releasing divine favor. He's making it
abundantly clear for us to see that favor is available
to us, divine favor and to for us to accomplish
(35:28):
really great and glorious things in His name. So it
if you're if you're all continuously looking at your past,
you're not going to find the favor that he has
for your future. And so let me let me kind
of quote this little scripture Psalms eighty four eleven. Psalms
(35:52):
eighty four eleven, because we learn how to lavish it's
it's it's learn how to to lavish His blessing of
grace and glory. That was in the d N l
V I think version. But anyway, I like that particular
(36:14):
deally we learn how to lavish His, not ours, remember,
but lavish his you know, blessing, his glory, his grace
on people. We just we just we can do that
(36:36):
and it's fun. And I just I just want to
set us up so that in these coming holidays that
we will be the one that will go around lavishing
people with with with grace and with love, and with
the presence of God and all for God, you know,
for the for for the Lord God is our son
(36:58):
and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The
Lord will not or the Lord will withhold no good
thing from those who do what it is right, and
the right thing to do is is to is to
(37:18):
embrace him. That that's Psalms Uh. That that Psalms eighty
four eleven. Even even even if we're not success. If
if we don't succeed in and you know, in previous days.
If even if we're not real super successful and in
(37:40):
our in our past, you know, it doesn't mean that
we can't be in our future. Okay, I just really
believe that God has good futures for us, and I
believe that we really do need to expect that He
will reveal how to embrace those says, how to how
to law hold of to walk in more favor, more abundance,
(38:04):
more blessing, more greater health, greater prosperity, greater success in life,
and and and be a blessing to people that we're
around to demonstrate the good news of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, to be able to help people put into
(38:25):
practice the word of the living Word of God. So
I just want to pray that your entire family will
be will experience the overwhelming love and favor of God
as you as you you know, leave the past behind
and boldly take hold of the blessings and promises of
(38:47):
God that He has abundantly given to all of us.
All we have to do is receive it like we
the same way you got salvation. You also, that's how
you get everything from God the same way. It's by faith.
We by faith we receive it and with our mouth
(39:07):
we confess it and it becomes ours. So it's just
such a special special season this in front of us,
and I want to just pray and bless you right
now that you will experience the best Thanksgiving, the best Christmas,
(39:29):
and the best New Year of your entire life this year.
Jesus Mighty Name God, bless you. Listen. We have a
number that you can call our little prayer hotline. Let
me put that up on the screen and say eight
O six three four zero zero one six two. Eight
(39:50):
o six three four zero zero one six two. If
you'll call that number. We have people that can speak
Spanish English. Uh. They will help you. They'll pray with you,
agree with you for whatever you you need prayer for.
And but I'm just I just want to pray over
you right now in Jesus Mighty Name that you that
(40:13):
that you will have the greatest personal, family, church, national
and world influence that you have ever had before. That
are that you will see with new eyes what God
has planned for you and for those that He are
(40:33):
are called according to His purpose and his name. And
that we will be able to together walk in great
hope even though there are dark days out there. Even
though there are maybe some really dark days out there,
we are made to go through them. We're made to
(40:54):
be overcomers. We are made to walk in the land
of Goshen. We are made to be overcomers and successful
at walking through life's troubles. And we have been endowed
by our living God that lives inside of us with
(41:16):
supernatural powers. And we are called the sons and daughters
of God for no good reason. I'm just telling you
we are. That's who we are, and we need to
be identifying as who we are. We don't need to
be identifying with the world. Are the failures of the past,
(41:39):
but we need to be expectant of a great future
because God has one plan for every single one of them.
God bless you and bring those little bells and join
us again next Thursday and every Thursday at seven o'clock
PM Central Standard Time right here in the USA. God
(42:01):
bless you and keep you. If you enjoyed the show today,
be sure and get the downloads and the show notes
that we have available for you. If you agree that
this is placed to be invite your friends. Use those
little buttons to connect us to your Facebook friends and others.
(42:26):
And if you have not subscribed, do it today. Check
out our free downloads. This is the Bread Hugh Show,
signing off,
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