319: Aaron Mckee – Exhortation: Pessimism is Not Our Calling

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Welcome to good Chris Selfian
talks.

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I’m Levi.
I’m Chris.

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I’m Jason.
And I’m Brian, thank you for

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joining us this week.
On this podcast, we select one

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talk a week to help us get the
Bible in our Daily News feed.

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Each week we post talk that we
previewed from suggestions sent

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in by listeners from around the
world.

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Then we record a short intro
beforehand as a personalized

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recommendation to you on why we
are sharing the talk.

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And now let’s talk more about
this week’s talk.

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This week’s class is an
exhortation by brother Aaron

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McKee.
The title is Pessimism is the

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Opposite of Our Calling.
He gave this exhortation on

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September 22nd of this year.
So just a couple weeks ago.

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This was a suggestion and thank
you to the person that sent that

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in.
So enjoyed this excitation.

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I think the message of kind of,
I don’t know, we’ve run a few

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talks on this, just having that
confidence and faith and trust

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in our in our Lord Jesus and,
and in God’s plan and in our

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hope.
He talks about that kind of the

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end having having trust in our
hope and uses lots of really

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great examples of biblical
believers who had that same kind

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of trust and faith in our hope.
Should that should translate

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into, in general, a positive
attitude, not a pessimistic

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attitude, which he talks about.
This is really excellent, really

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well studied.
I thought I actually noticed a

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bunch of times how many
references.

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It’s really well referenced.
There’s a lot of referrals to

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passages that he makes without
even pulling them up, which is

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something that makes it for very
easy listening.

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And I would say, and I’ve talked
with this before as well, so

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I’m, I’m repeating some of my
favorite themes, but Aaron has a

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great voice.
I think this is just a fantastic

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present presentation for a
podcast format specifically.

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I think he’s very easy to listen
to.

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He changes volume quite a lot.
You can tell he he has a passion

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for, I mean, working at the
actual craft of the

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presentation.
So thank you, Aaron for for that

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focus and I’m really excited to
share this class.

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If you enjoyed this one.
This is Aaron’s second time on

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the show.
He is also on episode 219 with

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kind of a similar kind of a
similar theme, but an equally

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excellent excitation.
I went back and listened to it

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to confirm.
And it was me that introduced

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that one as well back in episode
219 two years ago.

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So here is Pessimism is not Our
Calling by brother Aaron McKee.

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Well, good morning, my dear
brothers and sisters and the

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Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s a really robust sound

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coming up at me, and it’s good
to see so many visitors and to

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share this time around the table
of our Lord with you.

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You know, I’ve been thinking
recently on a simple truth about

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life and the way we think.
Something captured in a saying

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something.
I’m certain at some point or

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another we’ve all encountered
and heard in this life.

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And that’s something that life
is, is 10% what happens to you

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and 90% how you respond to
what’s occurred.

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And again, I’m quite certain
that’s a phrase at some point or

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another you’ve been exposed to
brothers, sisters.

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And if you’re like me, that
that’s a statement that rings

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true in life because it touches
on a a universal, obvious yet

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yet very powerful observation on
the way the human brain works.

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Which is simply that the mind
you apply to the events of this

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life, the daily struggles you
face, the obstacles in front of

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you, that is of enormous
consequence to the subsequent

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actions and results taken,
aren’t they?

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In other words, mindset has
enormous consequence on if we

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stand firm in the face of trial
or walk away.

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If I endure to the end or
stumble and give up, if I give

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myself over to my fears, the
worries, the darkness of my

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anxieties, let myself be
consumed by that or hold to an

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anchor of hope through the
storm.

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And it’s a reflection of this
power of where our thoughts so

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easily lead us that I’ve
recently been forced to

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reconcile something about
myself, brother and sisters, the

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the person I am, the character.
I have something I’ll I’ll share

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with you now.
And that’s that I can be a

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pessimist.
I’m not always the happy go

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lucky person you might see here
on a Sunday morning.

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In fact, I could be quite a
negative person.

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You know, Rose often refers to
me lovingly as as her wet

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blanket.
And I, I think it’s lovingly

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what we can check with her
afterwards.

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But she says that because
admittedly, I caveat most

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experiences in this life through
a lens of negativity, Something

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good happens.
I’m I’m waiting for the other,

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the other shoe to drop.
New opportunity presents itself.

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I’m going to weed out a way of,
of how this this could go wrong

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for me or my family.
And and that’s an outlook for

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and sisters that for as long as
I can remember, I’ve applied to

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this life, but it’s by no means
unique to me because whether you

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are like me, a negative person
or maybe you’re a glass half

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full person, you’re you’re prone
to optimism.

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We all experience periods of
this life characterized by that

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thinking.
Life has a way, Bren sisters, of

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honing that into us to expect
the negative by observance of

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life experiences and human
behavior.

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In fact, I’m going to suggest
that many in our world today

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struggle with that thinking.
Many who see events on the news,

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things read on a phone, and they
despair and stress on what it

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means for their lives, their
families, their futures.

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Many who, in looking to the
state of our world, since we’re

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on a precipice, careful balance
before suddenly things plunge to

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the worst.
We read articles postulating

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impending world wars.
We read articles on geopolitical

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issues more unsolvable than
ever.

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They’re new technologies that
threaten jobs, the fate of

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humanity.
There’s worries over financial

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stability.
There’s there’s civil strife

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that is at a fever pitch.
And in many ways, Brun sisters,

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all these things have produced.
They’ve culminated together to

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to result in a generation of
pessimists.

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Statistics show that of those 18
to 32 years old who haven’t had

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children, 30% question whether
they want to have kids for fear

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of what our world’s going to
look like in the next 20 years.

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In fact, this is a phenomena
many world governments are are

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puzzled by.
They call it the crisis of

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negative thinking because even
if they feel they’ve they’ve

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performed on a mandate, voters
aren’t turning out.

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Wall Street economists are
puzzled by it because even if an

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economy is rallying, it’s not
showing in the sentiments and

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the confidence of of the stock
markets.

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And it’s easy, brothers and
sisters, to as we see these

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things be consumed in that, to
gradually have our minds come to

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expect that same thing from
life, that thinking, thinking

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we’re in perceiving negativity
around us.

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We apply that fear to the events
of our daily lives, to how we

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respond in the face of trial.
But you see Bron and sisters,

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that stands in sharp contrast to
another mindset we see

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encouraged all throughout our
Bibles.

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Come with me to second Timothy
chapter 1.

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You see Paul speaks directly to
this contrasting mind as he

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exhorts Timothy on on the
thinking in which a servant of

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Christ is to Orient themselves
in the face of challenges.

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We see it in second Timothy one
verse seven.

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He says God gave us not a spirit
of fear.

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Timothy not disposed to that
negative thinking discussed

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before, but if power and love
and self-control.

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That’s especially poignant
brothers, sisters, because Paul

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he writes this months, perhaps
days before his execution.

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He says look beyond that.
Don’t live life dictated Timothy

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by by the negativity of what’s
in front of you.

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Again, he he touches on this in
his letter to the Romans in

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Romans 815.
You did not receive a spirit of

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bondage to fear, but you receive
the spirit of adoption, of

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assurance and peace and love
that you are cared for as a

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parent loves their child.
You are children of God, says

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Paul and justice.
Paul is a student of that mind

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all throughout his life who
could look beyond the bleak

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events in front of him and
exhorts the believers to do the

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same.
So too are we exhorted, brothers

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and sisters.
So too do we see that call all

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throughout our Bibles.
We see it in the words of David

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of Psalm 118.
This is the day the Lord has

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made.
Rejoice and be glad in it have

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Joyce’s David.
Let that be the disposition of

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your heart day in and day out.
We see it in Proverbs 13, the

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words of Solomon.
Hope deferred makes your heart

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sick when it comes.
It’s a tree of life.

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It can transform you.
A joyful heart is good medicine.

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A broken spirit drives the bones
we see in the Philippians. 4

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Finally, brothers, whatever is
true and honourable and just and

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pure and lovely and commendable,
whatever is excellent and worthy

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of praise, think on that, says
Paul.

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Let that be where your heart
dwells, says God.

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And all this to say, Bron,
sisters, that in contrast to a

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world that would so easily pull
your minds to pessimism, to

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assume the worst, to dwell in
the darkness of negativity,

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Scripture calls you to something
entirely different, a different

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standard of your thinking, one
that resembles optimism over

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pessimism, a heart more oriented
around joy than fear when

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diametrically opposed to the
mind discussed before.

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And it’s these two ways of
thinking, brothers and sisters,

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the implication of these two
ways of thinking on how you

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behave as a servant of Christ
that we’re going to spend just a

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brief moment considering this
morning.

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Come with me to Numbers chapter
13.

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Because you see here in this
chapter we’re presented with a

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case study on these two ways of
thinking, aren’t we?

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2 responses by two groups of
people, two decidedly different

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reactions to the same challenge.
And of course, in this chapter,

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I think there’s things nothing
new to us, brothers, sisters.

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In it we have the children of
Israel arriving in Canaan from

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the deliverance of Egypt.
In this chapter, they

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commissioned the spies to go
out, verse 2112, go out to see

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the land.
Verse 24, they see it as God

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described as full of grapes and
fruits and pomegranates.

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It’s good.
And ultimately in verse 27, they

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come back to get the first
reaction of the things they saw.

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And what do they say?
They say the land, it’s truly as

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God made it, flowing with milk
and honey.

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Nevertheless, those people are
undeniably strong.

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The descendants of Amalek are
are undeniably many.

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And in verse 28, we cannot go
against that.

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And in that first reaction run
sisters in a mind that cannot

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help but focus to the to the
negative perceived reality of

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what’s in front of them.
Is that mindset of negativity

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discussed this morning.
And, you know, I described

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myself earlier as a bit of a
pessimist and I could say when

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Rose would accuse me of that
thinking, what I would do is, is

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what I do when I’m often accused
by things and that’s deny and I

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would deny and I’d say, no, I’m,
I’m not a pessimist, Rose.

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I’m a realist.
And that’s true of all

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pessimists, brothers, sisters,
we self characterize as realist

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because when we’re in that state
of thinking, we’re walking

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through a looking glass of
circumstance, aren’t we?

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You see reality in front of us
and that dictates our reactions.

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And that’s exactly what these 10
minute dumb run sisters were in

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seeing the the obstacles before
them.

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They look past the goodness of
the land.

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They look past the promises God
made them.

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They look past the evidence of
the power plant and purpose

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demonstrated in the wilderness
behind them.

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And all they could see was the
negative.

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Only the giants and the
fortresses that obstructed their

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view.
And that might be able to be

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easy to criticize in Storybrand
Sisters.

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In reality, we struggle in that,
don’t we?

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We struggle in being so fixated
on the immediacy of issues that

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that we lose the forest for the
trees.

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We we struggle and losing sight
of the bigger picture and plan

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God has of our lives and maybe
forget God and how we respond to

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those trials.
And I say because it’s most true

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of me brothers, sisters, but
that mind to negative thinking

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that is far reaching effects on
a servant of Christ.

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Pessimism is a door that will
lead to far deeper and far more

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serious issues in life.
Pessimism leads to partiality to

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the thinking of the disciples
who in John 4, when they find

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Christ speaking to the woman at
the well, marveled in their

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hearts why Christ would bother
talking to her Because surely

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God couldn’t use her.
They couldn’t see any potential

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in her.
And so, so maybe we do the same,

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brothers, sisters, we don’t see
in our in our negative view of

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life the potential God could
have with somebody.

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It makes us unwilling
intercessors for people.

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So unlike Abraham, who pleaded
with God down to the last

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individuals of Sodom because he
hoped and believed that God

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could use them, maybe we don’t
believe God can save the people

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of Sodom in our lives.
So we don’t try.

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We’re not ambassadors of Christ
as as we should be.

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You know, maybe we’re just
Jonah, whose vision is so

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obstructed by the political
reality of of what Nineveh was,

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he emitted the grace of God to
people.

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Pessimism dictates how we see
each other, brothers and

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sisters, how we see this
community, where rather than

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commonality, maybe all you can
see is conflict, past wrongs

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done to you by someone or a
group of people so that all you

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can do when you think of them is
see negativity making us more

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judging, less forgiving, less
willing to show the character of

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Christ to them.
Pessimism can affect our

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friendships, where rather than
build up, all you seem to focus

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00:16:23,040 –> 00:16:27,320
on as a group is, is negativity
pushing each other lower and

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00:16:27,320 –> 00:16:29,320
lower.
Pessimism effects our preaching,

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It can affect our families, it
can affect our relationships, it

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affects our spirituality.
Brunt, sisters, Pessimism makes

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us the man in Mark nine who,
when coming to Christ with his

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son to be healed, says if you
can do this.

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Because somewhere along the
line, in face of life’s harsh

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realities, we lost some genuine
belief in the power of God to

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work miracles in our lives.
Pessimism, brothers and sisters,

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breathes doubt it will rob you
of your visions of God, blind

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you to the opportunities He’s
put before you in your life.

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Maybe I won’t try IT service
because I I don’t think I can do

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it properly.
I can’t.

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I can’t preach to that person
because I know they wouldn’t

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like to hear what I have to say.
In short, this can rule your

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behavior as a servant of Christ.
But of course, but and sisters,

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that’s not the only mind on
display in the records of

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Numbers 13, is it?
Because in the midst of that,

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that panicked reaction, in the
midst of the chaos whipped up by

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by by the desperation this
thinking produces, another voice

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speaks up.
And we see it in verse 30.

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We’re having quieted the people,
Caleb says, as a lone voice.

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Let’s go out and occupy the land
for we are able to overcome and

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continuing in chapter 14,
Joshua, he’s encouraged by this.

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He adds to this perspective.
He says yes, the land is good.

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If the Lord delights in US,
he’ll deliver it.

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Verse 9 only do not fear.
Again in verse 10, the Lord is

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with us.
Do not fear.

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And in that reaction by the
sisters in contrast to that mind

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00:18:24,720 –> 00:18:28,120
of fear display before formed in
responsiveness to the hardships

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00:18:28,120 –> 00:18:34,440
of life.
We see the mind that God is

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asking you assume in the face of
your trials.

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And there are many things we can
remark on in these verses,

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brothers, sisters in the
response of Caleb and Joshua.

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But if there’s one thing, if
there’s one simple thing, we’d

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reduce it to of what they’re
doing here is they had the

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00:18:57,680 –> 00:19:06,400
remarkable ability to
contextualize their trial behind

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00:19:06,400 –> 00:19:12,120
the things they hoped in Paul,
in his letter to the Romans,

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00:19:12,120 –> 00:19:14,800
commends this very thinking.
He says glory in your trials

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because tribulation produces
perseverance, perseverance,

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00:19:18,360 –> 00:19:20,640
character.
Character produces hope.

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In other words, glory in trial,
says Paul, because God is

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working something in you.
Have the foresight to see that

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00:19:28,440 –> 00:19:31,240
beyond whatever is currently in
front of you. 2nd Corinthians

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00:19:31,240 –> 00:19:33,880
418 speaks further that says
look not to the things that are

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00:19:33,880 –> 00:19:35,840
seen.
Don’t be blinded by what’s in

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00:19:35,840 –> 00:19:37,360
front of you.
Those things are passing the

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things that are unseen or what’s
eternal.

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Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t
mean, brothers and sisters, that

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Caleb and Joshua didn’t suffer
or have the same pit of fear in

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their stomach as they thought
about those giants and what

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00:19:55,920 –> 00:19:58,440
awaited them or panic at times
that might have overwhelmed.

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00:19:58,600 –> 00:20:04,920
But they had the ability to make
these feelings secondary to what

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they hoped in to despite what’s
in front of them.

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Live by faith and not by sight.
Come with me to 2nd Kings

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00:20:12,680 –> 00:20:22,120
Chapter 6 because you see there
are many places.

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We could go in the record of
God’s Word by the sisters to see

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this principle in action, living
by faith and not by sight.

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But I’m going to suggest there
are a few accounts as clear, as

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powerful, as contrasting as the
events of this chapter.

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Here in this chapter, Israel is
facing desperate odds.

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They’re at war with the Syrian
empire, the nation that would

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eventually come down and destroy
here in this chapter.

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They’ve come to pursue the last
prophet of God in Israel who is

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rallying the elect in this
nation.

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And they’re going to get them.
They send their armies, their

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Chariots.
They surround the city of Dothem

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in the morning.
And at Daybreak the trap is set.

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The servant of Elijah gets up
and he says, master, what are we

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going to do?
That’s very much our reaction at

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times, brothers and sisters,
where we cannot help but in the

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face of seemingly terrible
situations in life, respond with

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00:21:28,360 –> 00:21:31,280
nothing but loss and fear and
despair, because that’s all we

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00:21:31,280 –> 00:21:33,320
can see.
But what does Elijah say?

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He says fear not understand,
something bigger is happening

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00:21:40,000 –> 00:21:42,840
here and those who are with us
are more than those against us.

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And praying.
His eyes are open.

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The dark curtain that Shields
our vision is pulled away.

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The man sees the reality of
God’s hand in this world.

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And the mountains of God are
full of horsemen and Chariots of

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fire.
And that’s what’s behind your

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00:21:58,880 –> 00:22:05,080
trials, Brothers and sisters, in
this story is a glimpse of the

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active hand of God at work in
your life and the world around

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us.
And again, this doesn’t mean

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that when you come to think this
way in life, brothers, sisters,

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that you’re always going to see
the Chariots of fire, that

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00:22:17,920 –> 00:22:19,920
you’re always going to
understand with clarity the

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00:22:19,920 –> 00:22:22,280
purpose that God has for you in
this moment.

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What it does mean is that you
are cognizant of God’s hand in

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00:22:25,160 –> 00:22:28,080
all things, that through the
eyes of faith you have a power

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00:22:31,280 –> 00:22:32,800
to see beyond what’s presented
you.

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00:22:32,800 –> 00:22:46,720
Now,
brothers and sisters, we have

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00:22:46,720 –> 00:22:53,800
talked briefly about what this
mind calls us to do, to reject

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the thinking of fear, to hold to
optimism, and to hope.

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But let’s reflect for a moment
on what this doesn’t mean.

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And for the sake of time, I want
to think on three things.

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The 1st is that there’s a
caricature of Christians in this

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world of being blind optimists
with our head in the clouds.

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The luxury of pretending that
problems in this life just

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simply don’t exist.
Well, living by faith, brothers

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00:23:22,480 –> 00:23:28,080
and sisters, doesn’t mean
burying your head in the sand.

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Where?
Because we can see beyond the

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00:23:32,200 –> 00:23:35,400
hardships of this life that we
use our faith as a shield for an

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00:23:35,400 –> 00:23:39,720
action or ignoring wrongs when
we see them to say to ourselves

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00:23:39,720 –> 00:23:41,800
when we encounter particularly
troublesome trial.

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00:23:41,800 –> 00:23:44,080
You know, I I’m just going to
leave that one to the Kingdom or

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I’m not going to get involved in
this messy issue because that

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00:23:48,280 –> 00:23:50,520
looks like something that that
that that Christ is going to

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00:23:50,520 –> 00:23:52,320
take care of.
In fact, in many ways, brain

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00:23:52,320 –> 00:23:56,680
sisters, this mindset encourages
the opposite.

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00:23:56,680 –> 00:23:59,360
Caleb and Joshua, they didn’t
use it for for passivity in

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their lives.
They used it to ready themselves

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00:24:03,240 –> 00:24:05,840
for the hard work to come, to
take up the sword and the spear

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00:24:05,840 –> 00:24:07,800
and to lead people where it was
hard to go.

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00:24:07,920 –> 00:24:13,680
And the same is true of us.
This mind gives you the strength

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00:24:13,680 –> 00:24:17,840
for action to believe that with
God all things are truly

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00:24:17,840 –> 00:24:20,760
possible to arm you with courage
to push through and to do

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00:24:20,760 –> 00:24:22,960
greater things in his name to
live the words of first Peter

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00:24:22,960 –> 00:24:25,920
one verse 13 we’re setting
having said our hope on the

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coming revelation of Christ.
We prepare our minds for action.

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The second thing it doesn’t mean
is that once we have this mind

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that we can now look down on
those who see life differently.

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It doesn’t manifest and
knowledge that puffs up or

374
00:25:03,320 –> 00:25:06,880
judgements that tear down or
derision or exclusionary

375
00:25:06,880 –> 00:25:09,440
thinking or chastising people as
foolish because they they can’t

376
00:25:09,440 –> 00:25:11,600
see things the the way do that
the way we do.

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00:25:11,720 –> 00:25:17,120
Mankind, brothers and sisters,
all creation, longs for a

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00:25:17,120 –> 00:25:19,560
breaking of this depressing
cycle of thinking, whether they

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00:25:19,560 –> 00:25:22,160
can articulate it or not, or
whether they turn to the right

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00:25:22,160 –> 00:25:25,600
source of strength when they’re
in desperation or not, they long

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00:25:29,040 –> 00:25:30,800
in front of them that they face
in the world.

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All creation groan, says Paul,
for their coming revelation of

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Christ.
And in the same way, brothers

384
00:25:35,040 –> 00:25:41,240
and sisters, people around you
are looking for answers.

385
00:25:43,680 –> 00:25:46,720
So when you have this mind in
the face of trial, people

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00:25:46,720 –> 00:25:47,800
notice.
You know, I’ll give you a very

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00:25:47,800 –> 00:25:54,280
personal example.
Around 4 years ago, a brother I

388
00:25:54,280 –> 00:25:59,440
knew, a man of remarkable faith,
fell asleep and he had a

389
00:25:59,440 –> 00:26:06,840
tremendous ability in life, even
in palliative care, to see past

390
00:26:06,840 –> 00:26:08,440
what was seemingly in front of
him.

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00:26:10,760 –> 00:26:13,880
And that had an enormous impact
on the medical staff, the nurses

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00:26:14,040 –> 00:26:15,920
that cared for him.
It prompted many to inquire

393
00:26:15,920 –> 00:26:18,520
about the nature of his faith
that that gave this man such

394
00:26:18,520 –> 00:26:20,840
such strength and, and such a
trying time.

395
00:26:20,840 –> 00:26:22,920
And, and this is something I saw
as well, brothers and sisters.

396
00:26:24,920 –> 00:26:33,080
Two weeks before he passed, I I
called him and while my mind was

397
00:26:33,080 –> 00:26:38,720
focused on what imminently
awaited him, his mind was

398
00:26:38,720 –> 00:26:43,680
somewhere else entirely.
In fact, it was worried about me

399
00:26:45,320 –> 00:26:48,600
encouraging me, saying things to
me that he felt I needed to

400
00:26:48,600 –> 00:26:52,840
hear, sharing with me his
visions of the Kingdom, things

401
00:26:52,840 –> 00:26:55,080
that inspired him in his life
because he hoped maybe that

402
00:26:55,080 –> 00:26:57,360
would inspire me.
That’s what having this mind

403
00:26:57,360 –> 00:26:58,480
does to us, brothers and
sisters.

404
00:27:00,600 –> 00:27:03,520
It should allow us to think
outside of ourselves, even in

405
00:27:03,520 –> 00:27:06,400
our hardest moments, like Elisha
did to the servants struggling.

406
00:27:06,400 –> 00:27:09,160
It compels us to share this
perspective with those around

407
00:27:09,160 –> 00:27:18,000
us, to actively participate in
restoring the hearts and minds

408
00:27:18,000 –> 00:27:19,920
of people around us to the
knowledge of God.

409
00:27:26,560 –> 00:27:31,920
Finally, brothers and sisters,
it doesn’t mean it will be easy.

410
00:27:34,440 –> 00:27:37,520
What we’re talking about this
morning flies in the face of

411
00:27:37,520 –> 00:27:41,840
what comes natural and and it
doesn’t happen overnight in a

412
00:27:41,840 –> 00:27:43,840
big loud, one and done
declaration.

413
00:27:43,840 –> 00:27:45,280
That’s the way I’m going to see
my life.

414
00:27:45,280 –> 00:27:48,440
And you know, things are going
to go smooth from here.

415
00:27:48,480 –> 00:27:54,560
This is a choice made in the
smallest of challenges every

416
00:27:54,560 –> 00:27:56,440
single day.
It’s a choice made every single

417
00:27:56,440 –> 00:27:59,800
day to transform ourselves by
the renewing of our minds, to

418
00:27:59,800 –> 00:28:01,800
condition our thoughts.
And you know, I’ll be honest

419
00:28:01,800 –> 00:28:02,480
with you.
Run, sisters.

420
00:28:02,480 –> 00:28:05,080
It’s all too often when I’m in
the crossroads of this thinking,

421
00:28:05,080 –> 00:28:07,680
when I’m faced with these
trials, I forget what I’m

422
00:28:07,680 –> 00:28:11,720
telling you.
I lose the battle of my

423
00:28:11,720 –> 00:28:14,440
thinking, and I’m once more the
children of Israel, not Caleb

424
00:28:14,440 –> 00:28:17,920
and Joshua.
I’m once more the servant of

425
00:28:17,920 –> 00:28:23,320
Elijah, not Elijah himself.
I’m like Elijah, lost in

426
00:28:23,320 –> 00:28:25,200
disparity.
The Jezebels of my life that

427
00:28:25,200 –> 00:28:28,160
have blinded me to God’s purpose
and plan for me makes me want to

428
00:28:28,160 –> 00:28:33,520
give up.
But, but how did God help

429
00:28:33,520 –> 00:28:38,280
Elijah, brothers and sisters,
when things were that bad?

430
00:28:38,280 –> 00:28:40,840
When when life was so desperate?
How does He save them?

431
00:28:40,840 –> 00:28:43,960
He brings his mind back to the
beginning, didn’t he?

432
00:28:46,680 –> 00:28:49,800
Back to the mountain of God, a
time when he spoke face to face

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00:28:49,800 –> 00:28:52,720
with Moses, a story Elijah would
have heard from childhood.

434
00:28:54,800 –> 00:28:57,840
Or he made a promise that no,
that no matter what happened in

435
00:28:57,840 –> 00:29:01,840
life, no matter how how often
things appeared bad, he would

436
00:29:01,840 –> 00:29:04,640
never remove himself from those
who desire to be with him.

437
00:29:04,640 –> 00:29:06,240
That they would be his treasured
people.

438
00:29:09,600 –> 00:29:13,440
He removed the noise and left
him with the small voice.

439
00:29:18,720 –> 00:29:20,480
And isn’t that true of us,
brother and sisters?

440
00:29:23,040 –> 00:29:28,360
We’re sometimes in our darkest
moments, when we’re up against

441
00:29:28,360 –> 00:29:31,280
the most insurmountable odds.
That’s all we can reach to as

442
00:29:31,280 –> 00:29:35,560
well.
The simple things, thinking back

443
00:29:35,560 –> 00:29:38,960
to, to quiet moments, personal
moments in each of our lives

444
00:29:38,960 –> 00:29:42,440
where where you felt and saw the
hand of God with clarity.

445
00:29:42,480 –> 00:29:43,800
Perhaps it’s a moment of
baptism.

446
00:29:45,360 –> 00:29:48,840
We’re away from the crowds.
You had a moment of quiet

447
00:29:48,840 –> 00:29:52,440
reflection and solitude and you
talked with God and you knew you

448
00:29:52,440 –> 00:29:58,360
could feel he listened.
If that’s all you can reach to

449
00:29:58,360 –> 00:30:02,560
in a moment of trial, brothers
and sisters, know that that’s

450
00:30:02,560 –> 00:30:06,640
OK.
Know that sometimes all you can

451
00:30:06,640 –> 00:30:09,280
be is Peter putting his hand
above the water in the belief

452
00:30:09,400 –> 00:30:11,080
that Christ was there to grab
his hand.

453
00:30:13,440 –> 00:30:15,360
Know that sometimes all you can
be are the words of

454
00:30:15,360 –> 00:30:18,200
lamentations. 3 We’re feeling
the Wormwood, and the gall, and

455
00:30:18,200 –> 00:30:20,520
the bitterness of life
overcomes, Yet this we call the

456
00:30:20,520 –> 00:30:22,040
mind.
For this we hope, because the

457
00:30:22,040 –> 00:30:24,760
Lord’s great love we are not
consumed.

458
00:30:28,880 –> 00:30:31,880
Sometimes it is just the
knowledge of the ever present

459
00:30:31,880 –> 00:30:36,760
love of God that’s enough to
keep the fear from drowning.

460
00:30:36,760 –> 00:30:50,690
So,
brothers and sisters, living

461
00:30:50,690 –> 00:30:52,570
with this mind, God desires of
us.

462
00:30:54,450 –> 00:30:56,770
It doesn’t mean we are
impervious to hardship and

463
00:30:56,770 –> 00:31:01,050
sorrow.
It doesn’t mean that if you

464
00:31:01,050 –> 00:31:03,970
struggle and have hurt in your
heart that you are somehow more

465
00:31:03,970 –> 00:31:06,410
unrighteous than others around
you who on the exterior have

466
00:31:06,410 –> 00:31:08,810
endured it better.
But it is knowing that our God

467
00:31:08,930 –> 00:31:13,120
is a faithful God, true to His
word.

468
00:31:15,200 –> 00:31:19,000
It’s knowing our God is a caring
God abounding in comfort.

469
00:31:20,640 –> 00:31:23,560
It’s knowing our God is one of
Psalm 34, close to the broken

470
00:31:23,560 –> 00:31:25,840
hearted and saving those crushed
in spirit.

471
00:31:25,920 –> 00:31:28,880
It’s knowing our God is the God
of Psalm 94, who in the cares of

472
00:31:28,880 –> 00:31:31,400
our heart are many.
His consolation cheers the soul.

473
00:31:31,560 –> 00:31:37,320
If we can do that, if we can
maintain that simple

474
00:31:37,320 –> 00:31:44,680
understanding.
You can endure all the hardship

475
00:31:46,680 –> 00:31:48,280
that this life will ever throw
at you.

476
00:31:52,040 –> 00:31:56,200
If you can do that, brothers and
sisters, you will join the ranks

477
00:31:56,200 –> 00:31:59,880
of many men and women in our
Bibles who lived their days and

478
00:31:59,880 –> 00:32:06,760
spent their lives in the face of
tremendous trials and endured by

479
00:32:06,760 –> 00:32:13,640
the power of this thinking.
You’ll be like Noah, who in the

480
00:32:13,640 –> 00:32:16,800
years before the flood, feeling
alone and spiritually isolated,

481
00:32:16,800 –> 00:32:19,440
not only held to that faith but
grew his family because he

482
00:32:19,440 –> 00:32:21,240
believed God could save them
too.

483
00:32:23,680 –> 00:32:27,960
You’ll be like Abraham and
Sarah, who left the comfort of

484
00:32:27,960 –> 00:32:30,480
all they’d ever known and they
endured childless years and

485
00:32:30,480 –> 00:32:33,200
family strife and conflict and
hardship and the hope of a

486
00:32:33,200 –> 00:32:36,760
promise to come.
You’ll be like Joseph, who

487
00:32:36,760 –> 00:32:39,240
anyone else would have felt
abandoned, knew all those years

488
00:32:39,240 –> 00:32:41,800
intimately that he was never
truly alone.

489
00:32:41,840 –> 00:32:48,840
You’ll be like the prophets of
old, beaten and imprisoned and

490
00:32:48,840 –> 00:32:51,440
mocked, but they were able to do
it because they saw something

491
00:32:51,440 –> 00:32:52,880
greater.
You’ll be like David, brothers

492
00:32:52,880 –> 00:32:57,600
and sisters, a man who could
endure trial and tribulation to

493
00:32:57,600 –> 00:33:00,680
the extremes, but could rightly
say, and truly no, because I

494
00:33:00,680 –> 00:33:04,040
have sent the Lord at my right
hand, I shall not be moved.

495
00:33:06,920 –> 00:33:15,320
Therefore, says David, my heart
is glad, my glory rejoices, and

496
00:33:15,320 –> 00:33:22,720
my flesh rests in hope.
That’s the promise of this

497
00:33:22,720 –> 00:33:27,320
thinking, brothers and sisters,
rest in our hope in the face of

498
00:33:27,320 –> 00:33:30,160
what this life presents you.
That’s why God so desires you

499
00:33:30,160 –> 00:33:42,040
see life this way.
The words of Christ in John 16

500
00:33:42,600 –> 00:33:48,880
read I have said these things to
you, that in me you have peace

501
00:33:50,760 –> 00:33:52,760
in the world and everything else
around you.

502
00:33:52,960 –> 00:33:56,360
You will have tribulation.
But know this, I have overcome

503
00:33:56,360 –> 00:34:02,240
the world.
You know there is no greater

504
00:34:02,240 –> 00:34:07,560
example, brothers and sisters,
of a man who lived the by the

505
00:34:07,560 –> 00:34:12,600
thinking we considered this
morning, then our Lord Jesus

506
00:34:12,600 –> 00:34:19,000
Christ.
Christ was a man who could have

507
00:34:19,000 –> 00:34:23,480
lived his whole life clouded by
the fear of what awaited him at

508
00:34:23,480 –> 00:34:26,159
the end of his ministry, but
never let pessimism and negative

509
00:34:26,159 –> 00:34:28,679
thinking stop him from doing the
work unintended.

510
00:34:31,400 –> 00:34:36,199
Christ was a man who never let
pessimism blind him from seeing

511
00:34:36,199 –> 00:34:37,360
the potential in those around
him.

512
00:34:37,360 –> 00:34:40,080
See, it was sinners and tax
collectors, but even worked with

513
00:34:40,080 –> 00:34:43,360
the hardness of people’s heart
for years, even up to the bitter

514
00:34:43,360 –> 00:34:47,760
end.
Christ was a man who in his most

515
00:34:47,760 –> 00:34:51,159
desperate moments, never let the
challenge before him steal his

516
00:34:51,159 –> 00:34:55,040
focus from the needs of others
around him, from helping them

517
00:34:55,040 –> 00:34:59,920
even in his hour of need.
Christ was a man who and many

518
00:34:59,920 –> 00:35:02,760
others despaired and his
disciples fled, knew intimately

519
00:35:02,760 –> 00:35:05,360
that legions of angels stood
with Him that night in the

520
00:35:05,360 –> 00:35:07,040
garden.
And he was not alone.

521
00:35:07,200 –> 00:35:13,120
And there is no greater example
to the testament of our Lord’s

522
00:35:13,120 –> 00:35:15,960
thinking that even though driven
to a point of crying out that

523
00:35:15,960 –> 00:35:19,200
the trial he faced might be
passed, persevered through the

524
00:35:19,200 –> 00:35:28,720
darkest days because his vision
was focused on something more.

525
00:35:31,680 –> 00:35:33,080
We don’t know exactly what it
would have been.

526
00:35:33,080 –> 00:35:37,760
Brothers and sisters, I like to
imagine it was that moment in

527
00:35:37,760 –> 00:35:44,080
the garden, or having walked
from the tomb and put his feet

528
00:35:44,080 –> 00:35:47,640
in the soil and smell the
flowers and felt the warmth of

529
00:35:47,640 –> 00:35:49,600
sun on his face.
He would have known that it was

530
00:35:49,600 –> 00:35:55,880
done.
Our Lord was a man who never

531
00:35:55,880 –> 00:36:00,840
once deviated from the mind of
hope that we’ve been discussing.

532
00:36:01,320 –> 00:36:05,720
And ultimately, brothers and
sisters, that’s what we’ve come

533
00:36:05,720 –> 00:36:10,640
to remember as well, isn’t it?
That’s why we gather around

534
00:36:10,640 –> 00:36:13,880
these emblems week in and week
out, to condition our minds to

535
00:36:13,880 –> 00:36:17,920
think as He thought.
To perceive a time beyond today,

536
00:36:17,920 –> 00:36:21,000
when tomorrow we might take this
company with Him and His

537
00:36:21,000 –> 00:36:26,520
Kingdom.
To look past whatever trial is

538
00:36:26,520 –> 00:36:31,120
facing us in the week to come,
whatever failure beset us in the

539
00:36:31,120 –> 00:36:34,240
days past, and to remember a man
greater than these things.

540
00:36:35,960 –> 00:36:38,080
To remember that the head of the
serpent has crushed.

541
00:36:38,920 –> 00:36:41,360
To remember the light of Christ
shines in the darkness.

542
00:36:41,360 –> 00:36:43,760
And there is nothing in this
life that could ever separate

543
00:36:43,760 –> 00:36:46,160
you from the love of Christ if
you desire it.

544
00:36:55,680 –> 00:37:01,240
We’ll end, brothers and sisters,
with the reflection that now we

545
00:37:01,240 –> 00:37:06,080
see through a mirror darkly.
And how true is that?

546
00:37:07,920 –> 00:37:10,800
We see through a lens that
colors our world and

547
00:37:10,800 –> 00:37:15,920
uncertainty, where the events of
our lives are are not easy,

548
00:37:17,520 –> 00:37:20,680
where struggles are in abundance
in our personal lives, in our

549
00:37:20,680 –> 00:37:23,000
ecclesias and the broader world
around us.

550
00:37:23,080 –> 00:37:28,920
But at a moment soon to come, we
will know face to face what we

551
00:37:28,920 –> 00:37:35,400
have fully known in our hearts.
The mirror will be broken, the

552
00:37:35,400 –> 00:37:38,200
light of Christ will shine
through, and the Chariots and

553
00:37:38,200 –> 00:37:40,560
the horses of God will be made
known in this world.

554
00:37:40,760 –> 00:37:48,000
Until that day we resolve
ourselves with the words of John

555
00:37:48,080 –> 00:37:55,480
first, John 5 verse 4.
For whosoever is born of God

556
00:37:55,880 –> 00:38:00,440
overcomes the world.
And this is the victory, says

557
00:38:00,440 –> 00:38:07,600
John, that overcomes all things.
Your faith.

558
00:38:10,840 –> 00:38:15,400
Who is it that overcomes except
they who believe Jesus is the

559
00:38:15,400 –> 00:38:36,710
Son of God?
Thank you for listening to the

560
00:38:36,710 –> 00:38:38,310
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561
00:38:39,110 –> 00:38:41,590
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562
00:38:41,590 –> 00:38:43,960
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563
00:38:43,960 –> 00:38:45,720
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564
00:38:46,080 –> 00:38:49,320
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00:38:50,440 –> 00:38:52,920
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578
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God bless and talk to you next
week.