Born Wild: Thursday 6:30pm

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[music]

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- Well, how is everybody here today?

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Are we good here?

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All of our sites are Crossroads in Lexington

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and Dayton and Columbus,

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all over Cincinnati, online.

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Great to have everybody with us today.

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This is an adventure.

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Every time we do this, it is an adventure.

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By the way, my name is Brian Tome.

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I'm what's known as a Senior Pastor around here,

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if we haven't met before.

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This started as a conversation I had with

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a guy who I went on a hunting trip with

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a few years ago, and he told me what he did,

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that he has this -- I think his words would be

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a supernatural ability to connect with horses.

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He's -- He probably doesn't like when I say it,

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but he's a genuine horse whisperer.

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I've seen him do, at this point, I don't know,

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15 horses that have never been ridden,

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never had a saddle on them, no one has ever been on them,

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and every time the horse is able to be ridden.

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There's always the first time, that can happen.

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They're always the first time, but it's pretty magical.

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And we really had to go around, around

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with the insurance company to tell it,

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to make us -- allow us to have a live horse

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inside like this, and we got our way.

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And we just told him, "Look, we're going to do it

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or not, whether you insure us or not,

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we're going to do it or not."

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It's a really fun, fun thing to do.

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Now, a few things.

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You're hearing this horse behind me who's whinnying.

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This -- they're all different,

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all these horses are different.

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This one is a very vociferous.

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I know it's loud in your auditoriums right now,

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but the speakers are pointing to you,

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not the horse.

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The horse is not getting blasted out with sound.

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This horse is obviously a little disoriented.

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This one saw horses up on the video

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and wanted to be part of the herd, if you saw that, right?

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Never seen LEDs before. Go figure.

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But I want to calm you down.

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We care very much, very much about every horse

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and this horse. This horse is not getting hurt.

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This horse is actually going to get helped.

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This horse is going to get unlocked

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and become a more potent version of itself.

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And this is why we do this.

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Because if God gets a hold of you

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and He unlocks you, you can become

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a more potent version of yourself.

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It's a brand new horse every time we do it

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over the next several days.

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I think we have like eight different horses.

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And one of the things about when there is

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a large church I Crossroads is

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people always assume it's orchestrated and fake.

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It's not, it's not.

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Todd Pierce is a, or was a professional

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Bronco rider on the circuit.

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And this is kind of what he does right now.

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And he's never seen these horses,

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put his hands on them.

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All these horses are different.

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What he teaches will be totally contingent

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on what happens with the horse.

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That's what we're in for today. Are we ready?

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All right, let's bring up my friend Todd.

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Todd Pierce, come on up. Come on up.

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Come on up, cowboy. Good to see you. All right.

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Was there anything that I should have said

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that I didn't say in the little intro there?

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- Yeah. Don't call me a Bronco rider.

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- You're not a Bronco rider? What were you?

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- Well, I was a bareback rider. - Bareback rider?

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- Yeah. Which is a different.

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There's bronc riders, which not Bronco.

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- Okay. - So it's bronc rider.

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- Okay.

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- If you're going to use the right terminology.

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And then second of all, it sets me up

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for them to think I can actually

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stay on something that bucks, and I can't anymore.

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Like, my hips don't let me squeeze

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so I just fall off, then I feel even more stupid.

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- That is true. I found out about this.

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You were -- You had this issue last year

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and a chiropractor buddies of mine

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are part of our church, Baker Chiropractic.

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They were here and they came out

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and did some cracking on you.

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He said he's got issues down here

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with his muscles here,

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and so he can't pinch with his knees.

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And if he pinches with his feet,

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that's an act of aggression to the horse,

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which would not help.

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So he flops off pretty easy because

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he can't pinch with his knees because of his muscle issues.

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- Yeah, so I'm just good at falling off.

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- You are good at falling off. - Sometimes.

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- Well, I think it's best to give you

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as much time as you need.

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I've not heard one in all the years

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be this loud as this guy is.

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Why is a horse is talkative as he is?

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- It's a woman. [laughter]

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I'm going to be in trouble all over the place.

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- Of course it's a woman, blah blah blah blah.

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Okay, I get it. I understand.

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- There's scientific data about

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how much more women talk than men.

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- Right. I'm going to get off where I make more --

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- Yeah. So we're in trouble. Yeah.

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- Todd Pierce, everybody. Welcome to Crossroads.

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- Y'all realize it's Thursday night?

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This is so cool that there's people in our culture

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that are hungry enough that they'll do

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whatever it takes to get here.

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I saw an elderly woman when I was walking in

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that's walking on two canes,

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and there's just something beautiful

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about people that come hungry

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because we've got a Father that just loves,

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loves it when his kids just lean in and say,

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"What do you want to say?"

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And I know that we're all over the spectrum here

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as far as where you are with

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your conversations with God, but I hope --

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Hi, sweetheart.

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Gosh, I haven't -- I haven't got to meet her yet,

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as Brian was saying.

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But watching her from a distance, I can see

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that she's got so much enthusiasm.

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And so I love that.

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And so I'm going to just step in

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and visit with her for a second.

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And I think there's kind of this common theme

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that's been going on with me all week long,

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and it's this idea that we're living

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in a planet that's filled with orphans.

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And it's not that we're orphans because

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we didn't necessarily have a mom or dad.

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Maybe that's true.

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But it's that we haven't properly learned

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or appreciated or realized

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how much God wants to father us, mother us,

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and make it to where all the fears

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and the insecurities that each of us deal with

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He wants to just lift those things off us.

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Brian used the word potent version of yourself.

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I'd say I just I just want to be whole.

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I want to be what God intended me to be.

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And I'm still becoming that.

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And so horses have always been

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just a very special thing to me that makes it

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where the fact that I get to be here

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with you guys and work with a horse

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in front of you, this is really special.

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Hi. What do you think?

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Yeah. You are powerful and you're special.

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There's only really one place to start,

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especially with something that's already

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this comfortable with being around me

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is that she's misunderstood and it's not her fault.

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It's just up until now,

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this is what she's been able to do with people.

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And so I'm just right now another person,

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and she feels safe because

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there's a lot of distraction around her.

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And we're living in a time and age when there is

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so much distractions going on

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and there's so much noise with the news

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and the social media and the devices

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and the things that are constantly

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demanding our attention.

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We can find ourselves really connecting

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to this horse because although this is not

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frightening or intimidating environment for her,

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it is very distracting because

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she's never been in an environment like this.

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And so there's so many things

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that's got her attention

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and she's just crying out for,

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"Hey, is there anybody there? Somebody hear me?"

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And it's what I hear going on in the world right now.

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People are crying.

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It's like there's so much noise

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and they don't even know if they're being heard

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or if anybody actually sees them and knows them.

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And so what I want her to know right away

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is that I see you. I hear your cry.

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I want to know you.

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She's already communicating to me

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just a really high level of her just saying

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that I'm okay with you, and I want to be able to --

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I'm asking her to move away simply because

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I need her to be freed up in her mind

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to look at me differently than she's looked at me before.

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I'm not going to be --

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She's not going to be my pet.

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And I think that Christianity is so often

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been portrayed to people as something to where

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you just become a dumbed down version of yourself,

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to where you just obey what --

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Do what you're supposed to do,

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follow the rules, be a good person.

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And clearly I'm not saying that that's not --

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That's not a good idea.

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Like, let's do be kind.

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Let's do the right thing.

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But it can't start there.

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And right with her, it's starting there

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where she's wanting to do the right thing.

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But I want her to realize that

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there is so much decision,

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there's so much free will

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that I'm going to let her walk in.

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That she's even seeing herself on screen,

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so she's going to have to get over

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this fascination with herself.

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My wife, I love this woman.

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We've been together since she was 15,

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so we've been together 32 years.

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We've been married for 30 years.

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Oh, we've been -- oh, my gosh,

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we've been together like 35 years.

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I can't do the math, but I've been with her

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for a long time and I don't like looking in the mirror.

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But she gets those magnifying mirrors

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and it's, like, "I don't know why

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you do that to yourself.

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All it does is make it to where

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you can see everything that's wrong with you,

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and that's all you see."

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But this one's already told me what she --

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What I needed to see.

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And so, the idea that she's already been convinced

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that I'm powerful and I'm kind

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is a really great start.

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And I think there's so many people,

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and because I don't just do this,

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I get to spend a lot of time with people

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and a lot of diverse people.

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And everywhere I go,

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we've all got the same problem:

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We just don't really know how to see ourselves

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the way God sees us.

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And I'm wanting her to have a revelation tonight

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to where she's going to see something different

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about herself that she's never seen before.

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She thought she was supposed to do this.

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And if you don't properly assess

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who we are apart from God,

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then we're never going to really be able

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to value the significance of what it is

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that He's offering to us.

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So those that have been forgiven much

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are the ones that love much.

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The problem is, is that sometimes we think that

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some people are forgiven more than we are forgiven

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because they do more bad things.

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That's not actually the case.

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It's a revelation. It's the idea that

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there's a difference between you

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and the rest of the world, and that is

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that you're the only one that can know yourself.

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She is --

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The way the Bible says it,

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it says that we're dead in sin.

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So she doesn't really realize that

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she's dead apart from me.

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She can go through her life and use her instincts

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and fight or flight or freeze.

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But that's not life.

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Apart from me it's not life.

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She's going -- She's going to live a life of death.

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And it ends in death.

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And for every one of us sitting in this room,

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it doesn't matter how well you're doing

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or how bad you're doing, clear up to the third balcony.

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I just want you to know that I can confess

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the same thing that I'm asking you to confess.

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And if we're going to start anywhere tonight,

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we've got to have to start with the fact that,

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apart from God, we're dead.

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And we can go through this life

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and get whatever level of happiness

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you're able to attain, but it's not going to,

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one, you're living a life separated

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from the one that you were created to be one with.

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But two, after this life, we live a life

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of separation for an eternity, and that's a big deal.

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And I don't usually talk about it much,

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because I think that so many people think

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that maybe it's almost a fear tactic, but it's not.

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It's what love looks like, that Jesus

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had to make sure that we understood that,

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"Hey. kiddos, you were designed to be one with Me.

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And if you're trying to live your life

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apart from Me, it's always going to be --

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It's going to be hopeless."

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And there's never been a time where

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it's more hopeless than it is now for people.

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And when you see the depravity of what people will do,

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and they'll call it right.

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And I'm not asking a whole bunch from her,

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but the little things that I have asked of her,

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she's just so willing.

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And it's not, like, if I do have

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a supernatural gift, I don't know.

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Maybe some people would would argue that

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I'm not a great horse trainer.

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There are great horse trainers and I would --

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I would like that to even be a disclaimer,

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that to the horse world, I'm not claiming

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to be a great horse trainer.

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I don't know how to teach horses

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to do certain things the way you do.

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That's not what I'm wanting to do.

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I'm wanting to become one with her

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and connect with her on a level to where

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I don't have to just beat her around and push her.

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Kindness and gentleness is going to make it

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to where I'm going to awaken her own desires,

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the things that she was built to do,

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or the things that she's going to do with great joy.

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It's like how we raise our kids is that

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if we're not careful, we just push them

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into the things that we value,

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and we never take the time to study them

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long enough to find out what is it

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that they're passionate about?

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Don't worry about keeping them comfortable.

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Put them in situations where they learn

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how to discover things that they're great at

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that they didn't even know.

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Her and I are going to talk here for a second.

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- Man, I don't know if you can see it from there.

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Her bottom lip is hanging down, kind of quivering.

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She looks silly, really, but --

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Please don't make this as me

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over spiritualizing things.

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But when the Holy Spirit is like,

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they call Him the Prince of Peace,

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the Holy Spirit is actually impacting

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the entire planet.

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But when we're aware of it,

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something happens inside us.

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Like she's physically, it's manifesting in her.

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She's physically feeling something

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that she doesn't know how to feel,

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especially in this environment.

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I know that there's been people that

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have given flack to doing something like this,

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like, why would you expose a horse to this?

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And I'd say why would you not?

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They live in lightning storms and thunder.

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They understand noise and light and confusion.

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They're built to deal with predators and disease.

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And we're trying to, in some ways, help her

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to know what a higher level of living is all about.

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And if we can reckon with the fact

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that we're dead apart from God,

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then we can appreciate the idea that

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He pursued you tonight and made it to where

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you don't have to leave here

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without hope or without joy

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and the reality that you're one of God's sons,

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and that He is so very, very, very proud of you.

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The big difference between a horse that's trained

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and a horse that's not in many cases is that

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they used to call it breaking a horse,

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but it's what horses don't want

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is something on their back.

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And so you wait until they're two years old,

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which she is,

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before you actually put anything on their back.

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Some people desensitize them over time

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and make it to where they're more accustomed

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to that, and so it's not such a big deal.

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These horses haven't had that done.

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So the getting on them is usually,

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there's a difference.

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Like, she's one thing right now,

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but if she'll allow me to become one with her,

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to actually get on, then she becomes something else.

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And this is the joy of it all,

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is that she's never had this kind of experience.

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And so without the piece, her lip's still hanging.

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This isn't normal.

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This is supposed to be a very alarming,

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someone's attacking me type of reaction.

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All of her instincts would say that.

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And this is why Brian tried to say

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at the beginning, some people think

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this is just staged or it's a trick.

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It's not.

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And this is what's being made available to us,

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that you've ran long enough,

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you've spent enough time trying to figure out

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how to find joy and peace and a purpose

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and a vision and what it is to have

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a lifestyle that's supernatural.

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You spent enough time looking for that.

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I say that this is the night.

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Sometimes these are the ones that really surprise me,

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because they wake up and realize

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that you're on their back.

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So she's -- I think she's aware of it, but --

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Such a good girl.

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Now remember what she was before I got in here.

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Remember the frantic running and the crying out

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and all of the confusion and all of the anxiety.

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[chuckles] Okay.

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She remembers her feet works again.

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It really is like they're almost drunk.

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So it's -- Yeah.

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Wake up.

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- Good girl. That's a good girl.

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So, I just got on the other side

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just so that she's having to process things

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from one side of her brain to the other

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because her eyes don't --

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It's a different experience.

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And I know that there's a lot of people

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in this building tonight,

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you're getting approached by Holy Spirit

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from a completely different direction,

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and you didn't know what to expect coming in here.

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- That's a good girl.

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That's a good girl.

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That's a good girl.

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Wow.

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- I don't know how much confidence you have in God.

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I've got a friend sitting with his dad

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that's passing away from dementia

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and he's really struggling.

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He's been a man of faith his whole life,

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and now he's really struggling.

00:32:37

And he felt a lot of shame and even embarrassment

00:32:40

over the fact that he's questioning God

00:32:44

and he's mad at Him.

00:32:46

He says, "I know I'm not supposed to be like that."

00:32:48

I was like, "Who told you

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you're not supposed to be like that?"

00:32:51

There's a mystery to all of this that makes it

00:32:54

to where, of course, we're going to question

00:32:56

His goodness when we see all

00:32:58

of the horrible things that are happening.

00:33:01

If we have permission to question it, it's okay,

00:33:03

because a Father that's confident enough in who he is,

00:33:07

we can question everything about Him,

00:33:09

and He'll come to us in a way that makes it

00:33:11

to where we can feel safe in our questions.

00:33:14

And we would be so brave as the man

00:33:16

that brought a child to Jesus and asked Him to heal him.

00:33:19

And Jesus just asked him a question: do you believe?

00:33:24

And the man was like, "I believe.

00:33:27

Will You help me with my unbelief?"

00:33:31

That's a really beautiful heart cry for us

00:33:36

to have in a confusing world where we're like,

00:33:41

"If God is so good, then why?"

00:33:44

It's okay to ask. I don't have the answer.

00:33:47

All I know is that the alternative is

00:33:51

I've been there, and I'm one of those blind people

00:33:54

that have been healed.

00:33:57

And if I've been blind and now I can see,

00:33:59

I'm not going to allow the questions

00:34:02

to get in the way of this one thing.

00:34:04

And the one thing is that I know

00:34:06

what I'm like apart from Him,

00:34:07

and I know what I'm like with Him.

00:34:10

And even though it's hard

00:34:11

and there's challenging things

00:34:13

and I question things, He gives me the courage

00:34:17

to make it to where I can stand

00:34:18

in the middle of the same chaos that was making me crazy before,

00:34:21

and just stand there in peace.

00:34:25

After I've done everything I know to do to stand,

00:34:28

I just stand. I don't know, I don't understand.

00:34:31

I don't have to understand.

00:34:33

And even in my doubting, it's okay

00:34:35

that I confess that.

00:34:37

And He's just such a kind Father that

00:34:39

He's not so insecure that

00:34:41

He's going to punish me for being afraid.

00:34:45

And she's not finding anything other than peace.

00:34:48

So there's no reason to run.

00:34:50

It's tiring.

00:34:52

It was fun for a minute, but now it's tiring.

00:35:02

Guess what? There's more.

00:35:05

Because along with my presence,

00:35:07

and Jesus manifests this beautiful thing

00:35:09

to where Jesus said, "I've come.

00:35:15

I've come to reveal truth.

00:35:18

I've come to set the captives free.

00:35:22

I've came so that the thing that was lost,

00:35:26

I'm going to regain it."

00:35:29

Jesus said that, "I came to set things right again."

00:35:32

And so He modeled it in His beautiful humility

00:35:36

and power that He submitted Himself

00:35:39

to all of the horrific things that the world has to offer.

00:35:45

And then He made it to where everything was right again.

00:35:49

And I can't believe that He gives us so much power

00:35:52

that we get to choose, but we get to choose.

00:35:56

And because she said yes to me,

00:35:58

I want to give her gifts.

00:36:00

I want to give her powers.

00:36:01

I want to give her strengths,

00:36:03

things that she wasn't actually born with.

00:36:05

There's something that comes with me.

00:36:10

And a saddle, this is again usually a big process.

00:36:16

Lots of emotion, lots of, you know,

00:36:19

fortunately Britain carries enough peace

00:36:26

that she moved towards Britain.

00:36:28

She found peace again.

00:36:32

This is scary for her.

00:36:33

She's got something on her that's that's foreign

00:36:36

and it's noisy and it smells funny.

00:36:44

It smells like leather. That's a dead cow.

00:36:49

So she's putting up with a lot.

00:39:08

- I'm not really sure when we started believing

00:39:10

that this has got to be difficult.

00:39:14

There was a guy that was, like, demon bound

00:39:16

and he was so messed up and demonized that

00:39:21

they couldn't even hold the guy in chains.

00:39:24

And he's running around a graveyard naked.

00:39:27

It's a true story.

00:39:29

And Jesus comes to him and gets rid of the demons,

00:39:35

and the guy is found in his right mind.

00:39:37

And the next day he's in town

00:39:39

telling everybody about this miracle, Jesus,

00:39:41

that has made it to where he's right.

00:39:47

And I don't know how much difficulty

00:39:49

we have to factor into all this,

00:39:51

because if she's saying anything right now,

00:39:53

it's like, "Can we get back to the simplicity

00:39:55

that's in the gospel?"

00:39:57

Because Paul was talking to a bunch of people

00:39:59

and he was saying that I'm actually afraid

00:40:01

that you guys have made this too complicated.

00:40:03

You're going to be like Eve.

00:40:05

What was once simple, you've made it so complex

00:40:08

and so complicated.

00:40:09

You're asking the wrong questions.

00:40:11

The question isn't, is there a God?

00:40:14

It's just the fact that there is one

00:40:15

and what are you going to do with it?

00:40:17

What is this Jesus of Nazareth,

00:40:19

the one that is the Lamb of God,

00:40:22

that we still set our calendars

00:40:24

to His life and his death.

00:40:30

And made it simple enough to where

00:40:32

we can be dead in sin one moment,

00:40:36

put all of our faith and our trust in Him,

00:40:39

like she has, and be something

00:40:41

entirely different the next moment.

00:40:44

It's not that complicated,

00:40:46

but the journey just begins there.

00:40:50

And I feel like maybe in Christendom,

00:40:52

we've made it to where,

00:40:54

"Okay, I've given my life to Jesus.

00:40:55

I'm surrendered, I believe. Get on with it.

00:40:59

Why am I still so messed up?"

00:41:03

This is the journey and this is why it is

00:41:06

that like we were built for more than that.

00:41:08

Th story is not over.

00:41:12

We're still becoming the likeness of God.

00:41:15

There's there's an honest thing that says

00:41:18

that I haven't yet arrived, but there is something

00:41:20

that I know that is happening in me

00:41:22

that's made me a Son of God.

00:41:23

And the thing that's beautiful about

00:41:24

being one of God's sons is He's okay

00:41:26

that when I was born, I was an infant

00:41:29

and I didn't know how to walk,

00:41:30

and I didn't know how to talk,

00:41:32

and I didn't know how to conduct myself.

00:41:33

And I was still making messes

00:41:35

all over myself and everybody around me.

00:41:38

But a really good Father stuck with me

00:41:40

through all of these times,

00:41:41

and He's still sticking with me.

00:41:44

And I would say right now

00:41:45

I'm just as desperate for a Father,

00:41:46

maybe more so desperate for a Father

00:41:48

and for His presence than I've ever been.

00:41:53

Not because I'm struggling with sin issues so much

00:41:56

as that the stakes just feel that much higher,

00:41:59

that I've been trusted to say something of value

00:42:03

and make it to where I can accurately represent

00:42:06

the nature and the goodness of God.

00:42:09

And Jesus came and He said that

00:42:11

I'm the Word of God made flesh,

00:42:12

and I'm going to dwell among people.

00:42:16

What happens when we are actually the Word of God?

00:42:19

We're not just people that

00:42:20

are talking about the Word of God.

00:42:22

We're living the Word of God.

00:42:55

So brave.

00:44:57

- She's feeling something right now,

00:44:59

and horses are really, really emotional.

00:45:05

And I'm asking her if she's feelings

00:45:08

has something to do with

00:45:09

what's going on in the room right now.

00:45:10

But she was once really fascinated with me

00:45:17

because it was new

00:45:19

and it was a brand new experience

00:45:20

and it demanded her attention

00:45:23

almost for a survival.

00:45:24

But I don't want her to lose this awe and wonder

00:45:30

and the pleasure of being near me.

00:45:33

And that I'm not trying to just make her

00:45:35

into my workhorse and do what I told her to do.

00:45:38

I want her to become something, not just do something.

00:45:44

And when she's becoming one

00:45:46

that knows how to trust.

00:45:56

And that a life of surrender actually has, like,

00:46:01

there's a fullness of joy that's found in it,

00:46:03

that this one that is the Creator of heaven and earth,

00:46:07

the one that makes things shake.

00:46:10

And it says that I will shake everything

00:46:12

that can be shaken toward the only thing

00:46:14

left standing are the things that are true.

00:46:16

And that He's coming against every lie

00:46:18

that's got in the way of your story

00:46:20

and you properly understanding who you are.

00:46:25

And it's not why things happened,

00:46:26

it's what it is that you're going to do

00:46:28

in the midst of it, and how it is that

00:46:31

she can actually ask the right questions.

00:46:42

Part of what her instinct is is that

00:46:43

she's either going to rule or she's going to be ruled.

00:46:50

Those are really specific words,

00:46:53

but I want her to know that

00:46:58

there's way more being given to her

00:47:01

so that she knows how to conduct herself.

00:47:05

I'm not ruling her

00:47:07

as though some people understand being ruled.

00:47:12

There isn't a way that I'm asking her

00:47:15

to interact with me, and I'm waiting for her

00:47:18

to just do the right thing

00:47:19

so I can trust her with more power.

00:47:23

I want to give her everything.

00:47:33

Wow, I haven't done this in a while,

00:47:36

but we got a bridle back there?

00:48:02

Hey, Britain, come in here for a second.

00:48:07

I was asked to do something at the beginning of this

00:48:10

and I forgot to.

00:48:12

And I just think it's just there's

00:48:14

so much honor in this house and leadership,

00:48:16

and this church has done so much

00:48:19

to just further the Kingdom and bless our lives.

00:48:22

And this year we're able to bring our whole team.

00:48:25

Britton's been here with me multiple years,

00:48:26

but this is Britton Collum.

00:48:28

How about it for Britton? [applause]

00:48:34

People frequently ask me where do I find the horses?

00:48:37

And I'm like, I don't.

00:48:38

Because I don't have anything to do with it.

00:48:40

And the only thing I know is that I trust this man.

00:48:42

He finds the horses and he knows a whole lot more

00:48:47

about these horses than I do.

00:48:49

So it makes it to where I completely stay out of it

00:48:53

until a man that I'm in covenant with,

00:48:56

a man that I trust makes it to where he sets me up.

00:49:00

And not always because they're this easy.

00:49:04

He wouldn't do that.

00:49:06

But he will make sure that he's being led

00:49:08

by the Holy Spirit on what it is to bring

00:49:10

and does a lot of effort.

00:49:11

So thank you, Britain. [applause]

00:49:17

Every man deserves to have somebody in their life

00:49:19

that they can trust with their life.

00:49:21

And Jesus didn't call us to be family

00:49:24

to make it to where we still live

00:49:26

like orphans that don't have family.

00:49:28

And so us being a larger family,

00:49:31

it's good that we have each other.

00:49:34

Austin Johnson.

00:49:37

I was trying to help, right,

00:49:39

so we're going to do many services.

00:49:41

And I thought, "Well, I'll just bring

00:49:43

the guy that travels with me everywhere I go

00:49:45

and he's going to help."

00:49:47

Well, I didn't realize how complicated things are.

00:49:50

This is a big job.

00:49:52

And they just embraced Austin.

00:49:55

And Austin travels with me

00:49:56

and has just devoted himself

00:49:57

to being in the background

00:50:01

and playing beautiful music. [applause]

00:50:08

And Dougie-poo, I don't know where you're at,

00:50:10

but I got a man that just stands in the middle

00:50:14

and makes sure that everything happens.

00:50:17

And he's the person that's on contact

00:50:20

for everybody that works with us.

00:50:22

And so I don't want to miss this opportunity

00:50:25

to introduce those people to you.

00:50:37

[indiscernibly talking to horse]

00:54:30

- You ever put peanut butter

00:54:32

on the roof of your dog's mouth?

00:54:39

I remember when I actually gave my life to Jesus,

00:54:42

I didn't know how to read, barely knew how to read.

00:54:47

It was so clumsy for me to, like,

00:54:49

someone told me I'm supposed to read the Bible,

00:54:51

and, man, I just didn't get it.

00:54:55

Like, nothing made sense.

00:54:56

And it was really clumsy and awkward.

00:54:59

And but the Word, like, what God said,

00:55:04

especially when I just --

00:55:05

I have to keep it pretty simple.

00:55:07

So to me, Jesus is perfect theology.

00:55:10

So, I just read about Jesus and it's good enough for me.

00:55:16

Like, I'm not saying don't read the whole Bible.

00:55:18

I do, I listen to it.

00:55:22

But I'm focused on I just need to see

00:55:24

what Jesus did and I need to know why it is

00:55:27

that He would say something so ridiculous

00:55:30

to those that were following Him,

00:55:32

gave up their life to follow Him.

00:55:34

And He said, "Hey boys, I'm leaving

00:55:36

and it's going to be better."

00:55:37

I would be saying,

00:55:39

"What could possibly be better than you, Jesus?"

00:55:43

And he said, "Well, because I'm leaving

00:55:45

and I go to the Father,

00:55:47

I'm going to send the Spirit.

00:55:50

And when the Spirit comes,

00:55:53

He's going to heal the world.

00:55:55

He's going to convict the world of its sin.

00:55:58

And it's going to help us understand

00:56:00

our righteousness and what judgment is all about."

00:56:04

That she's already been judged.

00:56:06

She was dead, and now she's alive.

00:56:10

And now I've put something in her mouth

00:56:12

that makes it to where it's going

00:56:13

to navigate the rest of her life.

00:56:16

She's going to know what it's like

00:56:17

to know what to do next, because

00:56:19

she's going to walk into situations

00:56:21

that doesn't -- she's never been there before,

00:56:24

she doesn't know what to do.

00:56:25

She's only walked behind fences

00:56:26

and done what she's told.

00:56:28

She's followed the rules, but it brought her

00:56:31

to a place of encounter to where

00:56:34

she gets to leave here with something

00:56:36

that makes it to where there's something else

00:56:38

that's directing her life.

00:56:39

It's tethered to me.

00:56:42

The Holy Spirit is speaking and directing

00:56:45

and convicting and encouraging

00:56:48

every one of us right now.

00:56:51

And we get to have the Word

00:56:53

and the Word gets in our mouth

00:56:54

and we start speaking His Word.

00:56:55

And He says, "Out of the abundance of your heart,

00:56:57

your mouth is going to start speaking."

00:56:59

And I can speak all sorts of foul things.

00:57:02

I can speak all sorts of devastating,

00:57:04

depressing, discouraging things,

00:57:06

or I can speak what God is saying

00:57:10

and what it is that He desires for me

00:57:12

and for my family and for my nation

00:57:13

and for this world.

00:57:15

That we're the ones that have healing in our mouth.

00:57:18

We have healing upon our lips and our tongue,

00:57:20

declares the goodness of God.

00:57:22

It declares His attributes

00:57:24

and the ways that He works

00:57:25

and the way it is that we can,

00:57:26

just as his sons and daughters,

00:57:28

be ones that actually reflect

00:57:29

the very nature of God.

00:57:32

And He's not insecure. He's not. He's not.

00:57:34

That's not blasphemy.

00:57:36

I'm not carrying a message. I am a message.

00:57:39

And the message isn't just what I get to say,

00:57:41

it's how I conduct myself, especially

00:57:44

in the places where there's no cameras on me.

00:57:46

Where my wife and my kids get to see

00:57:50

what does it look like for a father to love?

00:57:52

What does it look like for a husband

00:57:54

to give himself, and to lead a house

00:57:56

from a place of the same way Jesus led the world?

00:58:01

He was given authority to do something,

00:58:03

and what He did with his authority is that

00:58:05

He laid Himself down so that everybody else could live.

00:58:10

He didn't dominate. He didn't intimidate.

00:58:14

He demonstrated love.

00:58:15

And then He said, "I'm going to show,

00:58:17

I'm going to prove it to you

00:58:19

so you have nothing else left to ask.

00:58:21

I will give My life for your life."

00:58:24

And if I'm going to love my wife

00:58:26

in that same context, oh, my goodness,

00:58:33

I don't think that we would have women

00:58:35

just shouting for their rights.

00:58:37

I don't think that women would feel insecure

00:58:40

if they were loved to that deep of a level

00:58:43

and empowered to that level to where

00:58:45

"Whatever as you can dream of, sweetheart,

00:58:47

let's do that. Let's dream together.

00:58:49

Let's dream with God and find out what's possible

00:58:52

when two people are in covenant."

00:58:54

I can't hold up two fingers.

00:58:55

Two people are in covenant.

00:58:58

And they decide that, yes, God, whatever it is,

00:59:01

yes, let's do that.

00:59:05

It's not one of us is leading and the other one is following.

00:59:08

It's a partnership that requires leadership.

00:59:11

We can't have two heads.

00:59:13

But if that leadership would be demonstrated

00:59:15

in a way that --

00:59:17

And I've done it the other way

00:59:19

so I know what I'm talking about.

00:59:22

She should have spoke up

00:59:24

and said, "You're not loving me.

00:59:26

You're not considering my own heart.

00:59:28

You're only considered your own success."

00:59:34

We're not there anymore, thank God.

00:59:37

But this is what covenant makes for us.

00:59:44

I'm in the red, that means we're over time, huh?

00:59:47

It's Thursday night.

00:59:49

What else do we got to do? Right?

00:59:51

Gosh. [applause]

01:00:03

The way she's chewing on the bit

01:00:05

and the way she's starting to relax right now,

01:00:07

just for those of you that have are, like,

01:00:08

"Come on, that horse has done this before." \

01:00:12

It's all brand new.

01:00:15

She just felt safe enough to not have to fight it.

01:00:20

And I think that that's such a beautiful invitation

01:00:22

that a Father would want for

01:00:24

every one of his sons and daughters.

01:00:26

"Come. Let's heal. Let me show you who you are.

01:00:30

You can't listen to the voices around you.

01:00:32

You can't look in the mirror to find out who you are.

01:00:35

You've got to look to Me. Let Me heal you.

01:00:39

Let Me be the one that makes it to where

01:00:41

you know what it's like to be whole,

01:00:44

where you have the freedom and the confidence

01:00:46

to where you can walk into a place

01:00:47

and just be yourself and that's enough."

01:00:52

I don't have to act or pretend.

01:00:56

We're confident in who we are,

01:00:57

and every one of our roles are so important.

01:01:01

I don't know how it happens,

01:01:03

all I know is that you matter.

01:01:09

Yeah. [applause]

01:01:23

- Am I going to get to ride her?

01:01:25

- Well, I thought that's what you were coming for.

01:01:27

I was tightening the saddle.

01:01:28

- So in just a moment, we're going to

01:01:31

just kind of stand and sing a song to God together.

01:01:35

But let me just connect some dots

01:01:36

in case you didn't see what I saw, okay?

01:01:41

Because these things

01:01:45

are practical things for all of us.

01:01:47

This horse who has really never been ridden before,

01:01:52

I think they just gave you the hyper easy horses.

01:01:56

We have one named Bone Crusher

01:01:57

that's coming up soon. I can't wait.

01:01:59

I'm like I want to see him get thrown.

01:02:01

I want to see that.

01:02:02

I want to see him go down.

01:02:03

I want some good theater.

01:02:04

But that horse, as we saw, was very uneasy.

01:02:10

It was not at peace.

01:02:12

And I think about that when the Bible says,

01:02:17

"I give not as the world gives, but I give peace,

01:02:20

a peace that passes all understanding."

01:02:22

The world will never give any of us peace.

01:02:24

It only gives us responsibilities,

01:02:26

rules, obligations, shame, guilt.

01:02:30

That's what the world does.

01:02:32

Obligations, all that stuff.

01:02:34

But God gives us peace.

01:02:35

And this horse came in just a picture

01:02:38

of so many people I know,

01:02:41

and a calming influence came over that horse,

01:02:44

to the point where it drooped its lip. Right?

01:02:48

And the other big takeaway I have is, you know,

01:02:50

this horse is still not comfortable with that bridle.

01:02:55

This is not a fix.

01:02:57

None of these horses are.

01:02:59

But getting accustomed to it, you know,

01:03:01

that's what God is probably going to ask you

01:03:03

to do or is inviting you to.

01:03:06

There's probably something that Todd gave.

01:03:08

He gave about 14 different sermons tonight, by the way.

01:03:11

I have a hard time getting away with just one when I did.

01:03:14

But there's probably something that he said

01:03:16

that was personal to you, but it's uncomfortable.

01:03:21

That's like a bit in your mouth.

01:03:23

God wants to direct you and you can't expect

01:03:26

when God starts doing something new in your life,

01:03:28

you start taking new steps.

01:03:29

You can't expect it to be natural.

01:03:32

You can't expect it to feel good.

01:03:34

It doesn't feel good. It always feels awkward.

01:03:36

It always feels abnormal because we haven't done it before.

01:03:39

That's what spiritual growth is.

01:03:41

And many people never spiritually grow because

01:03:44

they never do something that's uncomfortable

01:03:46

and they never allow the uncomfortability to set in.

01:03:48

But this horse has got to allow that bit

01:03:51

to get comfortable in his mouth,

01:03:53

or else he won't run faster than he's ever ran.

01:03:56

This horse right now with Todd on it,

01:03:57

I learned this from Todd, will run faster

01:04:00

than any horse that doesn't have a rider on it.

01:04:03

One horse that's had this experience,

01:04:06

one guy on one horse's saddle,

01:04:09

can round up an entire herd of wild horses

01:04:12

because this horse is stronger, faster,

01:04:14

more capable, because he's come under

01:04:16

the tutelage of the master.

01:04:18

That's what happened with you and I tonight.

01:04:20

So let's allow peace to come upon us.

01:04:22

And let's allow that peace to take us

01:04:24

into the uncomfortable spots.

01:04:26

Because God wants you to get uncomfortable.

01:04:28

It's called growth.

01:04:30

And He cares for you and He loves you enough

01:04:33

to hang there with you. Why don't we all stand?

01:04:35

Let me pray for us and then let's sing together.

01:04:37

All right? God, You are so kind,

01:04:39

what you've done for this horse tonight.

01:04:42

And You're kind what you've done for all of us today.

01:04:45

You're kind what you've done for this horse today

01:04:48

and You're kind for what You've done

01:04:50

and are doing for all of us as well today.

01:04:54

We are trusting in You as we leave here today,

01:04:57

that You're going to take us into new places.

01:05:00

And I'm asking that You would help us too

01:05:03

and just help us remember this fresh taste of the bit,

01:05:07

to do the thing that's uncomfortable, but to do it.

01:05:11

Thanks for Todd, Lord, he's a blessing to all of us.

01:05:15

May You receive this song right now from us,

01:05:17

this worship,

01:05:19

and You can feel our gratitude for our time.

01:05:22

And I pray these things in the name of Jesus.

01:05:24

Amen. Amen.

01:05:27

- Let's sing this together.

01:07:34

- So whatever sites you're at,

01:07:36

we've got people who are volunteers

01:07:38

and trained would love to pray with you.

01:07:40

Just come forward whatever site you're in

01:07:42

and have somebody pray for you.

01:07:45

Maybe you feel a little uneasy like this horse did,

01:07:48

or something else is messing with your mouth.

01:07:52

We would love to pray with you.

01:07:53

If you've never had that done before,

01:07:54

I promise none of these people bite.

01:07:58

Feel free to have some prayer

01:08:00

and thanks for coming.

01:08:01

We'll see you you next week. [applause]

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