The Winning Walk with Dr. Ed Young is the international on-air and online teaching ministry of Dr. Ed Young. The Winning Walk proclaims the proven truth of God’s Word to give men and women the world over a winning way to live life.
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The Winning Walk with Dr. Ed Young | Ed Young - The Will of God | January 21, 2025
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- Pastor ed: our heavenly father, forgive all of us when we have
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- Put self and selfishness ahead of kingdom purposes.
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- Right now, i pray that you will speak and let me get out of
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- The way.
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- It is our petition in jesus's name, amen.
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- We could offer after this service 25 or 30 classes in
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- Which you and i could attend on all sorts of subjects, biblical
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- Subjects, 25 or 30 classes.
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- And in one of those classes, we would entitle it "how to know
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- The will of god."
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- I guarantee you that class would fill up before any of the other
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- Classes that we'd offer.
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- Have you ever watched a road lizard, not much?
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- A road lizards, they just squirm around seemingly without
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- Rhyme or reason.
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- They get in the highway, the roads, and they're capricious,
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- And you don't know if they're looking for food, or they run
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- Right into trouble.
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- They're just, "whoosh, woosh," and i use the phrase "crazy as
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- A road lizard."
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- You know what i'm talking about? sure you do.
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- A lot of us seek the mind and the will of god like a road
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- Lizard, and i've been guilty of this, and maybe you have.
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- We have a decision to make, wanna let god get in on it, and
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- Hopefully we're a part of what he's leading us to do, and we
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- Flip a coin and say, "well, heads i'll do this, tails i'll
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- Do this."
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- Road lizard methodology of seeking god's will and plan.
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- Or we look for the magic bible verse.
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- "lord, i don't know what to do. please give me insight."
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- Bang, that's it. "oh, yes, you spoke to me."
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- Or we make lists of pro and con on that decision, and the
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- Longest list, that's how we go, forgetting that the priorities
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- On the list should be the thing that most gives us insight.
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- Road lizard methodology of trying to find the will of god.
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- And sometimes people say, "well, there's a biblical principle
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- There in judges 6.
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- I put a fleece out, remember?
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- It's wet tomorrow and it's dry today."
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- Listen, that method is not available to us at this moment
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- In time.
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- That was one situation there with joshua, period.
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- And we see it all over the place, and some of us fall back
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- Into that trap.
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- Now, if you are in christ and i am in christ, the bible tells
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- Us, and we know because we're seeking the leadership of the
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- Holy spirit, some basic principles of discovering the
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- Will of god.
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- And because god loves us, and if we're in christ, does it seem
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- Strange to anybody here that god is putting his plan and purpose
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- For your life and my life in some mysterious, hidden way?
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- Does that sound like a god who loves us?
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- We know that when we're living in action according to his plan
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- In this world, in this universe, for you and for me, and you
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- Think he's, "i don't want them to find out.
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- Oh, i sure hope they don't find out."
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- And finding the will of god for some is like an easter egg hunt.
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- We do that every year with our grandkids.
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- We hide eggs all over the place and, they want to find the
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- Golden egg, and as they're looking, we'll say, "you're
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- Getting hotter," or "you getting colder."
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- Does god operate like that?
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- Well, you're getting close to knowing what i want you to do,
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- But i'm telling you--oh no, you're getting cold.
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- You think almighty god is operating like that and trying
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- To give instruction, insight, and his wisdom in the
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- Decision-making process of your life and my life?
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- We've been studying romans chapter number 8, and we're
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- Gonna be there for a while yet, and we've already ran into there
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- The 26th verse last week.
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- If you missed it, you missed one of the pivotal verses in
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- The bible.
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- Remember, it says the holy spirit, when we're praying,
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- Helps us.
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- Remember the word "helps"?
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- Big ol' long greek word, "sunantilambanomai,"
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- Remember it?
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- And what does it mean?
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- It means that so many times we do not know how to pray, and we
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- Say something, we're seeking god's mind, god's will for
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- Healing, for guidance, and whatever the situation might be,
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- And that verse gives us assurance that the holy spirit
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- Helps, goes over where we are, we don't know exactly how to
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- Pray, and takes hold of us.
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- "sun" means with; "anti," on the other side; "lambanomai" takes
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- Hold of you and me as we're trying to pray, and prays on
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- Our behalf.
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- And write down this principle, i said it last week, i could say
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- It a thousand times, a thousand times.
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- This is the basic principle.
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- The holy spirit helps you and i to pray as you and i would pray
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- If we knew what god knows.
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- Stay with that.
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- Don't say, "oh, i got it."
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- No, stay with it.
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- So, we pray and our prayers go up to the lord, and sometimes we
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- Pray in ignorance and stupidity, even though we're sincere, but
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- The good news is we cannot mis-pray.
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- And then we come to the verse, just a part of the verse we're
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- Looking at today, that deals with god's will.
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- Hope you have your bibles with you.
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- Open them if you would, romans chapter 8 verse 26.
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- We looked at it last week. let me restate it.
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- "in the same way the holy spirit helps.
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- For we do not know how to pray as we should, but the spirit
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- Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."
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- You follow me?
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- Then verse 27, "and he who searches the hearts," who
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- Searches our hearts?
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- Jesus, jesus searches our hearts.
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- "he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the spirit."
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- Jesus knows the holy spirit, because the holy spirit
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- Primarily, remember, is honoring jesus, "because he intercedes,"
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- Jesus, "for the saints according to," there's our phrase,
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- "will of god."
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- Don't get lost in that.
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- It's saying god the father, god the son, god the holy spirit is
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- Involved in all of our prayers, and god the father and god the
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- Holy spirit is involved in helping you and i to know what
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- God wants us to do and decide, and how we are to live in that
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- Particular, unique situations that's unique to every single
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- One of us.
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- So, we see here that when we pray, jesus searches our hearts,
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- Because jesus knows the mind of the spirit, and the holy spirit
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- Takes our verbiage we're offering to god and it goes
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- Again through jesus as our intercessor at the right hand of
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- The father, and out of this comes the will of god revealed
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- To you, revealed to me.
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- Now, let me bring it down a little bit and talk about the
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- Will of god, the purpose of god, the plan of god.
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- First of all, the will of god is hidden.
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- There is a hidden will of god, and if you're a theologian, that
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- Is under the sovereignty of god.
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- In other words, you say, "boy, my life--
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- I heard people say, "my life is all messed up.
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- I made a wrong decision when i got married, and i should have
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- Done this, and i should have done that, i should have stayed
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- And i moved, and the grass looked green on the other side."
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- There ain't no green grass.
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- There ain't no green grass, and therefore sometimes we're
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- Seeking god's will, and we realize it is hidden to us.
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- And the hidden part of god's will is a super thing, because
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- You and i, follow me, most of the time know that we're in
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- God's will only as we look in the rearview mirror.
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- We look back in the rearview mirror and we say, you know, i
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- Didn't know god was there, and god led me here, and i moved
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- Over there.
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- I had no idea what was going on.
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- That's true of every single one of us with a little
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- Introspection, with a little backward glance.
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- And i like the thing that i learned from leslie weatherhead.
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- There is god's intentional will, follow me, what god intended for
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- You and me to do in every decision in our life, but we
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- Don't always do that.
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- We mess up. we're not perfect.
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- Big news, we're not perfect, big news.
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- Therefore, god's intentional will may be for this, but we
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- Made some wrong choices, and therefore now we operate in his
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- Circumstantial will, right?
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- But in that circumstantial will, guess what?
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- His ultimate will, will be carried out.
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- Somebody said, "well, i made a mistake and there's no hope."
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- No, god in jesus christ specializes in second chances,
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- Third chances, as we go through.
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- So, his intentional will, will be carried out in our life as we
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- Walk and live in jesus christ, but there is the hidden will of
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- God, and then there is the general will of god.
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- By the way, somebody looking for god's will, do you climb a tree
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- And look to heaven and try to conjure up some emotional
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- Feelings, or some sign or symbol to find out his will?
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- We look for his will, guess where the first place to look?
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- God's will is found in his word.
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- It's right there for us.
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- Psalm 19 says, "thy word is a lamp unto my feet," tells us how
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- To walk right now, "and a light unto our path," tells us how to
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- Walk in the future.
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- So, let's start with god's word.
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- Does that seem strange to anybody or peculiar to anybody?
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- No, it's where we start when we determine every choice, every
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- Decision we make in life.
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- I'm not talking about whether you go to safeway or kroger, by
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- The way, don't get ridiculous and silly.
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- I see some super-pious, whiny people that drop back into that.
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- Don't get me there.
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- But i'm saying about decisions we make in life, let's start
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- With the five basic things,
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- Five things we need to operate in our life that the bible tells
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- Us is the will of god for every single person on the
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- Planet, okay?
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- Let's start there.
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- That is the general will of god for everybody.
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- Look at me.
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- It is we be saved, and i use the word so many times, salvaged,
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- Restored through faith in jesus christ by repentance and
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- Receiving him, we are saved.
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- We are saved, we're salvaged.
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- Number two, be filled with the spirit.
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- When we come to christ, the spirit comes in our life, but we
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- Leak, so there's a constant thing of saying, "lord, i want
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- To be available for your filling," ephesians 5.
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- And then we go down to the next thing up there,
- 00:12:20.286 --> 00:12:22.354
- Be sanctified, 1 thessalonians 4:3.
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- And basically said, that means we are growing up and becoming
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- Increasingly pure.
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- Anybody like the word "pure"?
- 00:12:32.865 --> 00:12:36.035
- That's a part of growing up in christ, we get pure, our motives
- 00:12:36.035 --> 00:12:39.805
- Get right, our background is-- that's being sanctified,
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- That's growing up in our faith.
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- The next thing is the will of god, we'd be serving, we serve.
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- Ladies and gentlemen, we have a function and an office for
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- Everybody here, no matter what your state of life, where you
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- Are, sick, well, doesn't matter, we have something everybody here
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- Can do.
- 00:13:00.893 --> 00:13:02.761
- We all have certain gifts, put them to work.
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- They can be holding the door, they can be cutting--it's a
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- Zillion things out there.
- 00:13:08.434 --> 00:13:10.236
- Just stand up, look around, find a place where you can serve.
- 00:13:10.236 --> 00:13:13.839
- Now, we have people all the time who come and says, "i want to
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- Sing a solo."
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- Well, we'll try you out if you can sing, but if you can't,
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- Guess what?
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- That's not your gift, and i don't decide that, god decides
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- That by the affirmation of our gifts.
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- So, find a place you can serve, whatever it is.
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- If we are seeking the will of god, we have to be using, we
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- Have to be serving.
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- Next thing is, look, be suffering.
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- Oh my goodness, i've got to suffer?
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- Yes, let me tell you about that suffering.
- 00:13:44.770 --> 00:13:47.940
- There's a painting called "the straight and the narrow."
- 00:13:47.940 --> 00:13:53.145
- Remember jesus said there's a narrow way that leads to heaven,
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- There's a broad way that leads to hell?
- 00:13:57.883 --> 00:14:00.486
- There's a painting, famous painting, and it pictures a
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- Mountain, and there's a few people on that mountain
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- Struggling, climbing, trying to reach the city of god.
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- Oh, they're having a tough time.
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- Then in the same picture, there's a river that's flowing,
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- And there are people all in that river having a great time, and
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- The river is flowing, but you can see in the foreground those
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- Who are in the broad way, they're about to go over a cliff
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- And to destruction and be killed down in the rocks below, but
- 00:14:26.312 --> 00:14:30.082
- They're just having a big time.
- 00:14:30.082 --> 00:14:31.583
- This group is climbing that mountain and struggling.
- 00:14:31.583 --> 00:14:34.486
- You say, "boy, that's a good picture."
- 00:14:34.486 --> 00:14:35.821
- No, it's not.
- 00:14:35.821 --> 00:14:37.823
- No, it's not, but as christians, it's not that we're lonely,
- 00:14:37.823 --> 00:14:42.328
- Climbing up a mountain, trying to get to the city of god, but
- 00:14:42.328 --> 00:14:45.965
- As christians, here is the broad way where everybody's in that
- 00:14:45.965 --> 00:14:50.102
- River, but we're in the river, the only difference is we're
- 00:14:50.102 --> 00:14:53.706
- Swimming upstream.
- 00:14:53.706 --> 00:14:55.174
- And when you swim upstream, you bump into people, and you'll be
- 00:14:55.174 --> 00:14:59.078
- Sure if you walk with jesus christ in the 21st century,
- 00:14:59.078 --> 00:15:03.115
- There's going to be some suffering.
- 00:15:03.115 --> 00:15:06.352
- There's gonna be some suffering.
- 00:15:06.352 --> 00:15:08.487
- So, that's the picture.
- 00:15:08.487 --> 00:15:09.822
- So, here there are five things, not operating perfectly in our
- 00:15:09.822 --> 00:15:14.827
- Life, that we're committed to, we understand, that's the will
- 00:15:14.827 --> 00:15:18.263
- Of god.
- 00:15:18.263 --> 00:15:19.598
- That's not too complicated, is it?
- 00:15:19.598 --> 00:15:21.066
- I mean, there they are.
- 00:15:21.066 --> 00:15:22.534
- What's god's will for my life about?
- 00:15:22.534 --> 00:15:24.336
- Oh, no, start off with those five.
- 00:15:24.336 --> 00:15:27.339
- If these five things are operating, and we're growing,
- 00:15:27.339 --> 00:15:30.075
- And the holy spirit is leading in your life and my life,
- 00:15:30.075 --> 00:15:33.012
- Guess what?
- 00:15:33.012 --> 00:15:34.380
- The will of god is in any situation.
- 00:15:34.380 --> 00:15:36.949
- Trust the lord with all your heart, five things.
- 00:15:36.949 --> 00:15:40.719
- Lean not upon your own understanding.
- 00:15:40.719 --> 00:15:44.690
- In all thy ways acknowledge him.
- 00:15:44.690 --> 00:15:46.992
- The operative principle of these five things, and guess what?
- 00:15:46.992 --> 00:15:50.095
- He will direct your life, and then it becomes any decision,
- 00:15:50.095 --> 00:15:54.666
- Master, lord jesus christ, mission, you're calling, your
- 00:15:54.666 --> 00:16:00.606
- Vocation, your mate, your mate.
- 00:16:00.606 --> 00:16:04.309
- And i see this so many times people.
- 00:16:04.309 --> 00:16:06.712
- It's like that girl that was dating six guys named william.
- 00:16:06.712 --> 00:16:12.584
- You know what she was?
- 00:16:12.584 --> 00:16:13.952
- A bill collector, a bill collector.
- 00:16:13.952 --> 00:16:17.456
- So, a lot of the time, "oh, i don't know whether to marry this
- 00:16:17.456 --> 00:16:19.658
- One, or to marry this one, or go there."
- 00:16:19.658 --> 00:16:21.193
- Let me tell you something.
- 00:16:21.193 --> 00:16:22.561
- When the holy spirit is operating in our life, all of a
- 00:16:22.561 --> 00:16:24.797
- Sudden, the wisdom of god comes into our life, and then we began
- 00:16:24.797 --> 00:16:27.766
- To, go back, now, we've got the general will, haven't we,
- 00:16:27.766 --> 00:16:30.869
- For everybody?
- 00:16:30.869 --> 00:16:32.204
- Now, let's get personal.
- 00:16:32.204 --> 00:16:33.539
- "well, you didn't tell me whether or not i should move,
- 00:16:33.539 --> 00:16:35.774
- Or whether or not i should build a house, or rent,
- 00:16:35.774 --> 00:16:37.709
- Or whether or not-- and all the other."
- 00:16:37.709 --> 00:16:39.044
- Let me tell you how that works.
- 00:16:39.044 --> 00:16:41.180
- Matthew chapter 7, what does jesus say that we do?
- 00:16:41.180 --> 00:16:46.952
- He says simply, "ask, you'll receive; seek and you'll find;
- 00:16:46.952 --> 00:16:54.493
- Knock and it'll be open to you."
- 00:16:54.493 --> 00:16:56.895
- That's in our praying, we ask.
- 00:16:56.895 --> 00:16:59.731
- We say, "lord, i know the blank check is there.
- 00:16:59.731 --> 00:17:02.167
- I know i can lead, but i wanna ask you for your leadership and
- 00:17:02.167 --> 00:17:05.137
- Guidance," and when making a big-time decision, take a time
- 00:17:05.137 --> 00:17:08.907
- Out, sit down, listen to god.
- 00:17:08.907 --> 00:17:13.479
- Listen to god.
- 00:17:13.479 --> 00:17:14.847
- Ask god and wait.
- 00:17:14.847 --> 00:17:19.885
- And then you seek, what does that mean?
- 00:17:19.885 --> 00:17:22.054
- You seek information.
- 00:17:22.054 --> 00:17:23.889
- You go to godly people.
- 00:17:23.889 --> 00:17:25.290
- You get counsel, and that's when you might make those lists and
- 00:17:25.290 --> 00:17:30.062
- You're seeking information about it.
- 00:17:30.062 --> 00:17:32.898
- And then, finally you knock, and the door may open, the door
- 00:17:32.898 --> 00:17:37.069
- May close.
- 00:17:37.069 --> 00:17:38.437
- By the way, just because there's an open door doesn't mean we
- 00:17:38.437 --> 00:17:40.539
- Walk in and that's god's will.
- 00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:42.207
- Well, this door opened for me.
- 00:17:42.207 --> 00:17:44.042
- I was in seminary.
- 00:17:44.042 --> 00:17:45.444
- I had a professor, virgil moorefield, my first semester,
- 00:17:45.444 --> 00:17:48.580
- He taught me homiletics, that's preaching.
- 00:17:48.580 --> 00:17:51.316
- And you could tell he failed in his task, but anyway, he taught
- 00:17:51.316 --> 00:17:54.887
- Me homiletics, and he was a young man, and after class one
- 00:17:54.887 --> 00:17:58.790
- Day, we had a large class, and he came to me, he said, "you
- 00:17:58.790 --> 00:18:02.227
- Know, i've watched you, and i think maybe you ought to go with
- 00:18:02.227 --> 00:18:05.564
- My family and i, because this is the last semester i'm going to
- 00:18:05.564 --> 00:18:08.700
- Teach in seminary.
- 00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:10.035
- We're going to italy as a missionary, and i'd love for you
- 00:18:10.035 --> 00:18:13.405
- To learn italian with our family and go with us.
- 00:18:13.405 --> 00:18:15.908
- I think you'd really be effective."
- 00:18:15.908 --> 00:18:20.345
- Man, that floored me.
- 00:18:20.345 --> 00:18:23.148
- And i remember what my dad said when i told him i was called by
- 00:18:23.148 --> 00:18:26.251
- God to work in the church, which was weird to all of my family, i
- 00:18:26.251 --> 00:18:30.589
- Can assure you of that.
- 00:18:30.589 --> 00:18:32.991
- And my dad said, "you're throwing your life away.
- 00:18:32.991 --> 00:18:35.694
- Nobody's lazier than preachers."
- 00:18:35.694 --> 00:18:38.130
- My dad believed that.
- 00:18:38.130 --> 00:18:40.032
- And now after a while in this ministry, i almost agree with
- 00:18:40.032 --> 00:18:43.335
- Him, too.
- 00:18:43.335 --> 00:18:45.003
- But anyway, he said, "look," and then he said "of all things," my
- 00:18:45.003 --> 00:18:48.040
- Mom said, "don't go to one of those foreign mission fields."
- 00:18:48.040 --> 00:18:52.077
- Now, here i was thinking the will of god was something that i
- 00:18:52.077 --> 00:18:56.014
- Didn't know.
- 00:18:56.014 --> 00:18:57.349
- By the way, the will of god isn't always the most difficult
- 00:18:57.349 --> 00:18:59.785
- Thing to do.
- 00:18:59.785 --> 00:19:01.119
- Oh, it must be the will of god because i've got a
- 00:19:01.119 --> 00:19:03.155
- Sacrifice here.
- 00:19:03.155 --> 00:19:04.489
- No, no, no, no, an open door doesn't mean an opportunity, a
- 00:19:04.489 --> 00:19:07.659
- Closed door doesn't mean an opportunity, because we have
- 00:19:07.659 --> 00:19:10.896
- These things operative in our life, and god gives us wisdom to
- 00:19:10.896 --> 00:19:14.166
- Make decisions.
- 00:19:14.166 --> 00:19:15.634
- And i waited until i finished seminary, i felt no leadership,
- 00:19:15.634 --> 00:19:19.238
- But i was willing, i was ready.
- 00:19:19.238 --> 00:19:22.808
- I'll go to bangladesh today if i get a clear indication.
- 00:19:22.808 --> 00:19:25.611
- It wouldn't be a skinny minute like that.
- 00:19:25.611 --> 00:19:28.280
- So, the bottom line is, the will of god, when these things are
- 00:19:28.280 --> 00:19:31.316
- Operating in your life, in my life, he gives us his wisdom,
- 00:19:31.316 --> 00:19:34.786
- And we're going to make good choices, because now remember
- 00:19:34.786 --> 00:19:38.123
- Our verse?
- 00:19:38.123 --> 00:19:39.458
- The holy spirit has picked us up, and when we pray and seek
- 00:19:39.458 --> 00:19:43.595
- Information, the holy spirit takes the right prayer to jesus
- 00:19:43.595 --> 00:19:48.533
- Christ at the right hand of god, and he interprets it to the
- 00:19:48.533 --> 00:19:51.603
- Father, and that kind of praying is answered every single time.
- 00:19:51.603 --> 00:19:56.842
- Sometimes the answer is no, sometimes it is yes, sometimes
- 00:19:56.842 --> 00:20:03.248
- It is maybe, sometimes it is wait, but it's always answered.
- 00:20:03.248 --> 00:20:08.587
- This is how we know the will of god, the holy spirit picks
- 00:20:08.587 --> 00:20:12.658
- Us up.
- 00:20:12.658 --> 00:20:14.092
- Do y'all remember the powerful, powerful story of a family?
- 00:20:14.092 --> 00:20:21.333
- The father and the son were so very close.
- 00:20:21.333 --> 00:20:27.806
- The father was named dick and the son was named rick, and rick
- 00:20:27.806 --> 00:20:31.877
- Was born with a very rare form of cerebral palsy.
- 00:20:31.877 --> 00:20:35.647
- The son could not use his arms, he could not speak, but through
- 00:20:35.647 --> 00:20:41.053
- A computer, he was able to communicate.
- 00:20:41.053 --> 00:20:44.256
- And the son was in high school, and another classmate was in an
- 00:20:44.256 --> 00:20:49.394
- Accident and was now paralyzed from the waist down, and so the
- 00:20:49.394 --> 00:20:54.232
- Class decided that they would go and they would run a 10k, get
- 00:20:54.232 --> 00:21:00.706
- Money to follow them, and give money to this family that now
- 00:21:00.706 --> 00:21:04.543
- Had this son that was now paralyzed.
- 00:21:04.543 --> 00:21:07.679
- And in that class was rick with cerebral palsy, and he went home
- 00:21:07.679 --> 00:21:12.984
- And told his dad, you know, he wished he could run in that
- 00:21:12.984 --> 00:21:17.889
- Race, and he'd asked the teacher, and the teacher said
- 00:21:17.889 --> 00:21:21.460
- The dad could run on his behalf if he would.
- 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:26.264
- And so, the father, dick, arranged a way to get on a cart
- 00:21:26.264 --> 00:21:30.802
- And to run with his son in the cart that 10k to raise funds.
- 00:21:30.802 --> 00:21:38.677
- That began a ministry for the father, dick, and the son, rick.
- 00:21:38.677 --> 00:21:44.883
- In the next couple of decades, they ran in 62 or 63 marathons,
- 00:21:44.883 --> 00:21:53.959
- The father taking care of the son, and they ran in over 155 or
- 00:21:53.959 --> 00:21:58.397
- 156 triathlons.
- 00:21:58.397 --> 00:22:02.367
- A triathlon, you swim for almost three miles, you bike for almost
- 00:22:02.367 --> 00:22:07.072
- Over a hundred miles, and then you run
- 00:22:07.072 --> 00:22:10.642
- A 26-mile race, triathlon.
- 00:22:10.642 --> 00:22:12.210
- They did about 150 or 160 of those over a couple of decades.
- 00:22:12.210 --> 00:22:17.182
- And the son said, "dad," with his computer, he couldn't talk,
- 00:22:17.182 --> 00:22:24.990
- "when we're running together, i feel that i don't have
- 00:22:24.990 --> 00:22:32.097
- A single disability."
- 00:22:32.097 --> 00:22:34.433
- Pastor ed: have you ever tried to read a historical novel
- 00:22:36.301 --> 00:22:39.638
- Out of order?
- 00:22:39.638 --> 00:22:41.206
- It would be hard if not impossible to understand the
- 00:22:41.206 --> 00:22:44.009
- Plot, wouldn't it?
- 00:22:44.009 --> 00:22:45.644
- And yet we read and study the bible in much the same way.
- 00:22:45.644 --> 00:22:49.281
- Like a novel, the bible tells a story with a beginning,
- 00:22:49.281 --> 00:22:52.517
- A middle, and end, and when you read in chronological order, you
- 00:22:52.517 --> 00:22:56.655
- Will see history unfold in a new and understandable and
- 00:22:56.655 --> 00:23:00.859
- Memorable way.
- 00:23:00.859 --> 00:23:02.194
- Listen, in this new year, i want to challenge you to read through
- 00:23:02.194 --> 00:23:05.597
- The bible in 52 weeks.
- 00:23:05.597 --> 00:23:08.567
- When you give to "the winning walk," this month, we want to
- 00:23:08.567 --> 00:23:11.503
- Send you a one-year chronological bible.
- 00:23:11.503 --> 00:23:15.006
- It's arranged in daily readings that will take about 15 minutes
- 00:23:15.006 --> 00:23:18.810
- To read each day, at the end of 52 weeks, you will know and
- 00:23:18.810 --> 00:23:22.981
- Understand like never before the full story of the bible.
- 00:23:22.981 --> 00:23:28.887
- Male announcer: to get your copy of the one-year chronological
- 00:23:28.954 --> 00:23:31.256
- Bible, call the number on your screen or go online
- 00:23:31.256 --> 00:23:33.825
- At winningwalk.org.
- 00:23:33.825 --> 00:23:37.062
- Pastor ed: just think, if you and i know jesus christ, we have
- 00:23:38.296 --> 00:23:42.634
- An entree to god 24/7, that's amazing.
- 00:23:42.634 --> 00:23:46.705
- That's a gift to you and to me.
- 00:23:46.705 --> 00:23:49.474
- Somebody said, "well, or we can just pray."
- 00:23:49.474 --> 00:23:52.377
- No, that's the first thing we do.
- 00:23:52.377 --> 00:23:54.779
- We seek the mind, and will, and purpose of god, and we turn our
- 00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:59.117
- Lives over to him, we listen to him, we let him speak to us,
- 00:23:59.117 --> 00:24:03.989
- Then we make our petitions to him, first of all, confession,
- 00:24:03.989 --> 00:24:08.760
- And then we do a moment of praise, and then we just sit
- 00:24:08.760 --> 00:24:13.031
- Back and say, "lord, help me to understand this, this, this, and
- 00:24:13.031 --> 00:24:18.136
- This," and he gives us his wisdom, and he gives us
- 00:24:18.136 --> 00:24:21.239
- His healing.
- 00:24:21.239 --> 00:24:22.574
- Let me tell you how i begin each day and end every day.
- 00:24:22.574 --> 00:24:26.912
- I've done it for many, many years.
- 00:24:26.912 --> 00:24:29.147
- When i roll out of bed, the first thing i do, i hit my
- 00:24:29.147 --> 00:24:32.551
- Knees, i call it knee to knee, or i call it a self-prayer,
- 00:24:32.551 --> 00:24:37.889
- Because you know my biggest problem?
- 00:24:37.889 --> 00:24:39.824
- It's the same problem you have.
- 00:24:39.824 --> 00:24:42.027
- It's spelled s-e-l-f.
- 00:24:42.027 --> 00:24:46.031
- Isn't that the person you have the most difficulty with?
- 00:24:46.031 --> 00:24:49.301
- It's my number one problem.
- 00:24:49.301 --> 00:24:50.635
- Therefore, when i begin my day, i'm on my knees, my wife comes
- 00:24:50.635 --> 00:24:55.340
- And kneels with me, and i put my hand on the bed, and i pray a
- 00:24:55.340 --> 00:25:00.845
- Little prayer revolving around self, it's an acrostic, and i
- 00:25:00.845 --> 00:25:05.517
- Just spell s-e-l-f.
- 00:25:05.517 --> 00:25:07.619
- I start off and say, "lord, i surrender this day to you," and
- 00:25:07.619 --> 00:25:11.957
- I talk about surrendering everything in my life to him.
- 00:25:11.957 --> 00:25:16.094
- And then i talk about e, i surrender, and then that e comes
- 00:25:16.094 --> 00:25:22.100
- Up and i empty myself.
- 00:25:22.100 --> 00:25:23.902
- Whatever i'm full of, self or selfishness, i start off by
- 00:25:23.902 --> 00:25:27.572
- Emptying so i will be fresh.
- 00:25:27.572 --> 00:25:30.075
- Then i turn my hands up as i'm on my knees by my bed, and i
- 00:25:30.075 --> 00:25:34.713
- Say, "o lord, fill me with your spirit.
- 00:25:34.713 --> 00:25:38.984
- I surrender, i empty, and i love you, and now fill me with
- 00:25:38.984 --> 00:25:44.055
- Your spirit."
- 00:25:44.055 --> 00:25:45.824
- Self, that's where we start, and as we express our love to him
- 00:25:45.824 --> 00:25:49.094
- And he fills us with our spirit, then i'll have a personal prayer
- 00:25:49.094 --> 00:25:53.031
- That fits me and fits my wife, or she prays, and then we say,
- 00:25:53.031 --> 00:25:57.702
- "in jesus's name, amen."
- 00:25:57.702 --> 00:26:00.105
- I do that every morning.
- 00:26:00.105 --> 00:26:01.973
- I do it every night.
- 00:26:01.973 --> 00:26:04.342
- I pray the self prayer, the knee-to-knee prayer.
- 00:26:04.342 --> 00:26:07.646
- First thing in the morning, i hit my knees, the last thing at
- 00:26:07.646 --> 00:26:10.448
- Night, i am on my knees.
- 00:26:10.448 --> 00:26:12.317
- And i don't know how it works for anybody else, but that self
- 00:26:12.317 --> 00:26:15.954
- Prayer, that knee-to-knee prayer, is a good way to begin
- 00:26:15.954 --> 00:26:19.557
- Every day, because it gets self out of the way, it does.
- 00:26:19.557 --> 00:26:24.496
- Surrender, empty, i love you, fill me with your spirit.
- 00:26:24.496 --> 00:26:28.833
- Just a little ritual that i think will help your day to
- 00:26:28.833 --> 00:26:33.138
- Start off with wings and end your day with praise.
- 00:26:33.138 --> 00:26:38.977
- I recommend it, that's why i think we need to listen to him
- 00:26:38.977 --> 00:26:44.149
- And pray, because there's nothing more powerfully
- 00:26:44.149 --> 00:26:48.653
- Available to you and me in the 21st century than the ability to
- 00:26:48.653 --> 00:26:53.158
- Call god's blessing, god's healing, god's touch upon
- 00:26:53.158 --> 00:26:56.861
- Your life and my life.
- 00:26:56.861 --> 00:26:58.463
- I highly recommend knee to knee, this little self prayer.
- 00:26:58.463 --> 00:27:02.934
- It's a good way to let all of your day be filled with prayer
- 00:27:02.934 --> 00:27:08.506
- Without ceasing.
- 00:27:08.506 --> 00:27:10.608
- ♪♪♪
- 00:27:12.277 --> 00:27:29.694