WEBVTT 00:02.521 --> 00:03.922 [SPEAKER_00]: High-braze podcasts. 00:03.942 --> 00:10.606 [SPEAKER_00]: Hey everybody, this is Pastor Josh. 00:10.626 --> 00:15.630 [SPEAKER_00]: We'll leave Pastor here at High-braze and I want to thank you for downloading today's podcast. 00:16.130 --> 00:20.033 [SPEAKER_00]: We know that this message is going to encourage and bless you. 00:20.433 --> 00:24.336 [SPEAKER_00]: So I want you to open up your heart and receive with the Lord as for you today. 00:26.281 --> 00:27.662 [SPEAKER_00]: We are in that season. 00:27.682 --> 00:29.583 [SPEAKER_00]: We're in the Thanksgiving Christmas season. 00:29.603 --> 00:32.025 [SPEAKER_00]: So we're starting a new series this morning. 00:32.045 --> 00:35.287 [SPEAKER_00]: My question is how many of you sang this when it popped up on the screen, right? 00:35.307 --> 00:36.788 [SPEAKER_00]: A few of you all, something I like. 00:36.848 --> 00:38.630 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what you're talking about. 00:38.810 --> 00:42.012 [SPEAKER_00]: But we're going to start this series this morning called more than a feeling. 00:42.672 --> 00:45.254 [SPEAKER_00]: It's the title of a Boston song, actually from before. 00:45.354 --> 00:46.195 [SPEAKER_00]: I was even born. 00:46.895 --> 00:47.075 [SPEAKER_00]: But 00:48.116 --> 00:50.097 [SPEAKER_00]: So it's 50 years old if you can believe it or not. 00:50.377 --> 00:56.900 [SPEAKER_00]: But we're going to be talking about this over the next month or so that Thanksgiving is more than just a feeling. 00:58.641 --> 00:58.881 [SPEAKER_00]: Right? 00:59.301 --> 01:01.162 [SPEAKER_00]: It's more than just the warm and fuzzy. 01:02.464 --> 01:12.171 [SPEAKER_00]: It is something that we do, it is an action, it is a mindset, it is a reality, it is a lifestyle that we are called to live in. 01:12.711 --> 01:17.755 [SPEAKER_00]: And before we read the scripture, I want to ask you a question, you ever, have you ever been in a place in your life? 01:17.775 --> 01:26.261 [SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever been, and Facebook has become great for this, but so has also just like if you got a phone, it'll pop up like memories from, 01:27.470 --> 01:30.614 [SPEAKER_00]: and you open it up and there's a slide, show of all these things. 01:30.994 --> 01:32.496 [SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever opened up your phone? 01:32.516 --> 01:35.359 [SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever been swiping through old pictures? 01:35.960 --> 01:37.242 [SPEAKER_00]: And you have a lot of thoughts. 01:38.022 --> 01:39.404 [SPEAKER_00]: Who let me get that haircut? 01:42.327 --> 01:45.611 [SPEAKER_00]: Man, I need to lose that 20 pounds, so I can look like that again. 01:47.004 --> 01:48.085 [SPEAKER_00]: You might know what I'm talking about. 01:48.626 --> 02:04.662 [SPEAKER_00]: And you have all of these feelings, whenever you go through old pictures, and you have all of these moments, and all these memories, and some of them make you laugh, and some of them may make you tear up, and some of them make you realize how much time is a thief, but then there are moments and there are times. 02:04.682 --> 02:06.264 [SPEAKER_00]: There are pictures you look at. 02:07.264 --> 02:17.686 [SPEAKER_00]: And whenever those pictures pop up, it's not necessarily the hair, it's not necessarily the outfit, it's not necessarily the vacation, it's not necessarily this or that, that you remember. 02:18.186 --> 02:30.508 [SPEAKER_00]: But sometimes there are those pictures that make you have extreme moments where you remember prayer, where you remember gratitude, where you remember where you were in that moment at how God met you in those moments. 02:30.548 --> 02:31.668 [SPEAKER_00]: Anybody have those pictures? 02:32.188 --> 02:34.809 [SPEAKER_00]: I have a few of those pictures in my phone. 02:38.047 --> 02:42.652 [SPEAKER_00]: And that is super pixelated because it is old at this point. 02:43.512 --> 02:44.653 [SPEAKER_00]: But this is one of those pictures. 02:44.673 --> 02:47.116 [SPEAKER_00]: This is one of those memories in my life. 02:47.176 --> 02:48.898 [SPEAKER_00]: My wife did not know I was going to put this up here. 02:48.918 --> 02:49.718 [SPEAKER_00]: She might murder me. 02:49.778 --> 02:50.199 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know. 02:51.940 --> 02:55.764 [SPEAKER_00]: If I'm not here next week, call the police. 02:58.453 --> 03:01.435 [SPEAKER_00]: But this is one of those moments in our lives. 03:01.455 --> 03:05.298 [SPEAKER_00]: This is 17 and a half, almost 17 and a half years ago now. 03:05.978 --> 03:10.881 [SPEAKER_00]: This is whenever our first son was born, our oldest child. 03:11.742 --> 03:19.027 [SPEAKER_00]: And what you see when you see this picture, you see a new mom, a new dad, you see Pastor Josh Pastor Miranda about. 03:20.725 --> 03:25.046 [SPEAKER_00]: especially me, a much younger looking version than I look now. 03:25.506 --> 03:29.287 [SPEAKER_00]: You see a little baby and you may notice something that's in his nose to help him breathe. 03:29.947 --> 03:42.850 [SPEAKER_00]: And whenever I look at this, I don't just see, or maybe it's okay, whenever I look at this, I see the smiles, I see all that, and that's where everybody else is, you see the smile, you see the newborn baby, but whenever I see this picture, I remember a prayer. 03:49.968 --> 04:01.112 [SPEAKER_00]: I have overwhelming feelings of gratitude because what everyone else sees is a new mom, a new dad, and a little baby, but I don't even just think about this moment. 04:02.112 --> 04:04.093 [SPEAKER_00]: I think about the moments before this moment. 04:05.854 --> 04:08.535 [SPEAKER_00]: I think about a delivery room and a baby that wasn't breathing. 04:10.135 --> 04:14.357 [SPEAKER_00]: I think about a prognosis that happened when he was born whenever they were saying 04:18.048 --> 04:21.330 [SPEAKER_00]: I remember the prayers that went up in that moment in that room. 04:22.291 --> 04:27.674 [SPEAKER_00]: I remember wrestling to stand in those moments. 04:27.834 --> 04:31.476 [SPEAKER_00]: I remember the feelings that were overwhelming. 04:32.617 --> 04:34.798 [SPEAKER_00]: And then I also remember him breathing. 04:36.259 --> 04:40.562 [SPEAKER_00]: And then I also remember everything that God brought us through in that moment. 04:41.283 --> 04:46.366 [SPEAKER_00]: What you see here is actually the first time that I was even able to hold him. 04:47.132 --> 04:50.855 [SPEAKER_00]: which was more than half a day after he was born. 04:52.716 --> 04:58.660 [SPEAKER_00]: And everybody else sees one thing, but I remember something completely different. 04:59.481 --> 05:06.206 [SPEAKER_00]: And whenever I see this picture, it immediately takes me back to a place of gratitude to the Lord. 05:06.966 --> 05:11.690 [SPEAKER_00]: Because I am thankful for our son, who I think is upstairs directing or doing something today. 05:12.355 --> 05:23.249 [SPEAKER_00]: I am thankful for Josiah, I am thankful for his life, I am thankful that he's alive, that he's breathing, that he's healthy, but I'm even more grateful for the God who moved. 05:25.112 --> 05:29.718 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm even more thankful that whenever we were at our most desperate, the God showed up. 05:30.550 --> 05:34.836 [SPEAKER_00]: I am even more thankful, and it is more than just a feeling. 05:35.457 --> 05:38.361 [SPEAKER_00]: It is something that I live in every day of my life. 05:38.882 --> 05:42.266 [SPEAKER_00]: That whenever I wake up, I go thank you, Lord, for your goodness. 05:42.867 --> 05:45.571 [SPEAKER_00]: And I think about moments like this, and oh God, you were good then. 05:46.653 --> 05:48.635 [SPEAKER_00]: And God, you will still be good now. 05:49.135 --> 05:51.857 [SPEAKER_00]: We all have this moment, these moments in our lives. 05:52.598 --> 06:04.326 [SPEAKER_00]: And sometimes we need to look back to realize and be thankful for the grace that brought us to where we are, for his power that brought us to where we are. 06:04.747 --> 06:06.608 [SPEAKER_00]: Because you see a picture, but I know a story. 06:08.049 --> 06:09.851 [SPEAKER_00]: Because you see a moment, but I know the life. 06:10.691 --> 06:14.214 [SPEAKER_00]: Because you see smiling faces, both of you can't see is the battle that we went through. 06:15.132 --> 06:17.093 [SPEAKER_00]: What you can't see is how God brought us through. 06:17.873 --> 06:20.153 [SPEAKER_00]: You see the picture, but I know the story. 06:20.193 --> 06:35.117 [SPEAKER_00]: And this picture when I look at it still reminds me of how desperately we need it God in that moment, but it also reminds me of his mercy in the middle of it and it also reminds me that he's shown up again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. 06:38.608 --> 06:44.011 [SPEAKER_00]: And the same God who showed up then is still the same God who shows up today. 06:44.071 --> 06:48.913 [SPEAKER_00]: And I love my son and I love the blessing that he's given us, but I love the blesser. 06:51.194 --> 06:52.595 [SPEAKER_00]: Even more than I love the blessing. 06:52.615 --> 06:55.056 [SPEAKER_00]: I was saying, I love the blesser. 06:55.937 --> 06:58.458 [SPEAKER_00]: More than I even love the blessing. 06:59.099 --> 07:03.101 [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, some people this morning may see you worshiping and they may go, why in the world do they act like that? 07:03.481 --> 07:05.662 [SPEAKER_00]: Because 17 years ago, I was in this moment. 07:07.967 --> 07:12.531 [SPEAKER_00]: But now I have a healthy 17-year-old son who God has blessed. 07:12.651 --> 07:13.932 [SPEAKER_00]: I have a healthy family. 07:14.273 --> 07:21.219 [SPEAKER_00]: We had three more kids after this with no complications, with no issues that were more completely healthy. 07:21.760 --> 07:27.725 [SPEAKER_00]: People see our girls now and they don't see what I went through and what I wrestled with before Miranda Game got pregnant again. 07:28.386 --> 07:32.790 [SPEAKER_00]: And whenever she came to me and said, I'm ready to have another baby and I said, I'm not sure if I'm ready to go through that again right now. 07:35.747 --> 07:38.009 [SPEAKER_00]: and how I had to rely on the Lord through that. 07:38.709 --> 07:42.972 [SPEAKER_00]: Because there's always this thing of like we went through this before, we can have to go through it again. 07:44.193 --> 07:48.195 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm thankful that God brought us through a complete health every step of the way. 07:48.676 --> 07:50.597 [SPEAKER_00]: Because listen, I'm thankful for the blessing. 07:50.617 --> 07:51.617 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm thankful for Jerusalem. 07:51.637 --> 07:55.060 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm thankful for our girls, but without the blesser, there is no blessing. 07:56.521 --> 07:58.822 [SPEAKER_00]: I say again, without the blesser, there is no blessing. 07:59.583 --> 08:02.845 [SPEAKER_00]: I wanna read this Luke 17, it's gonna make sense, you can throw up the logos. 08:03.942 --> 08:05.403 [SPEAKER_00]: Says this, verse 11. 08:05.703 --> 08:11.106 [SPEAKER_00]: Now it happened as he went to Jerusalem that he, Jesus, passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 08:11.706 --> 08:18.089 [SPEAKER_00]: Then as he entered a certain village there, there met him 10 men who were lepers who stood afar off, that's important. 08:18.729 --> 08:24.912 [SPEAKER_00]: And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, master, have mercy on us. 08:26.053 --> 08:27.494 [SPEAKER_00]: So when he saw them, 08:28.501 --> 08:36.184 [SPEAKER_00]: He said to them, go show yourselves to the priest, and so it was as they went, they were cleansed. 08:36.964 --> 08:53.010 [SPEAKER_00]: Now get this, and one of them, say one of them, and one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks, and he was a Samaritan. 08:53.791 --> 08:54.931 [SPEAKER_00]: That's so, boy, we could, 08:58.870 --> 08:59.690 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to, don't worry. 09:00.331 --> 09:06.054 [SPEAKER_00]: So Jesus answered and said, where they're not ten cleansed, but where are the nine? 09:07.315 --> 09:12.258 [SPEAKER_00]: Where they're not any found who were turned to give glory to God, except this foreigner. 09:13.679 --> 09:22.664 [SPEAKER_00]: And he said to him, arise, go your way, your faith has made you well, or your faith has made you well. 09:23.893 --> 09:24.754 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to see this. 09:25.255 --> 09:27.397 [SPEAKER_00]: First of all, it's important to understand what leprosy is. 09:27.497 --> 09:34.004 [SPEAKER_00]: Leprosy is this flesh-eating disease, is flesh-eating disorder, and it is more than just a physical ailment. 09:34.365 --> 09:37.888 [SPEAKER_00]: As a result of the physical thing, it also becomes a social ailment. 09:38.589 --> 09:45.172 [SPEAKER_00]: because under the law, because the disease, because of the way it's spread, they also cannot be part of community. 09:45.852 --> 09:47.313 [SPEAKER_00]: They can't be around their families. 09:47.393 --> 09:48.694 [SPEAKER_00]: They can't be around their friends. 09:49.054 --> 09:50.234 [SPEAKER_00]: They are put out. 09:50.654 --> 09:56.117 [SPEAKER_00]: It's interesting that Jesus, we can, we can somewhat deduce from this. 09:57.617 --> 10:02.980 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not a jump to believe that there are probably some people who were Jews, people of covenant. 10:04.108 --> 10:09.339 [SPEAKER_00]: that had this leprosy among the 10 and then there's some who we know at least one is a Samaritan. 10:10.622 --> 10:14.992 [SPEAKER_00]: So it actually created its own little leprosy community. 10:15.897 --> 10:27.703 [SPEAKER_00]: That is probably a mixing of people in covenant people out of covenant people who are local people who are foreign, but they are completely out of their normal social construct and social circles that they belong to. 10:28.084 --> 10:34.807 [SPEAKER_00]: So not only is it a physical disease, it also begins to impact you mentally socially and in every way. 10:35.348 --> 10:41.291 [SPEAKER_00]: That's why it says that they stood afar off because they can't even get close to people. 10:42.097 --> 10:51.622 [SPEAKER_00]: When it says to far off someone's, what we think is probably like from us from like me to Pastor Garrett, but the reality is it's probably much, much, much, much farther than that. 10:51.982 --> 10:54.644 [SPEAKER_00]: It's a miracle that Jesus even hears them. 10:57.445 --> 11:00.327 [SPEAKER_00]: Because of how far they probably are away from Him. 11:01.127 --> 11:09.492 [SPEAKER_00]: Under the law, this thing involves unclean separation, these people need healing and they long to belong again. 11:10.495 --> 11:14.418 [SPEAKER_00]: But distance here, me, distance does not make them invisible to Jesus. 11:15.679 --> 11:33.433 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to hear me, no matter how far you've gone, no matter what you've done, or no matter how extreme your situation feels, no matter how much you feel like he is away and not part of what's going on in your life, Jesus still sees you, Jesus still hears you. 11:33.793 --> 11:37.036 [SPEAKER_00]: And even when you feel like he doesn't, I promise you he does. 11:37.756 --> 11:39.837 [SPEAKER_00]: even when you feel like he's a far off. 11:39.877 --> 11:41.577 [SPEAKER_00]: He's still sees and he's still here. 11:42.178 --> 11:46.319 [SPEAKER_00]: Even when ever you feel like it's been too much and it's too far gone in the situation. 11:46.699 --> 11:48.320 [SPEAKER_00]: It's irreparable. 11:48.600 --> 11:49.900 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus still heals. 11:50.261 --> 11:51.581 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus still saves. 11:51.921 --> 11:56.763 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus still delivers and your situation is not too far gone that he can't. 11:57.083 --> 11:59.504 [SPEAKER_00]: step into the middle of it and release life. 11:59.724 --> 12:08.986 [SPEAKER_00]: Whatever you're facing right now, it's not too far gone that Jesus can't step into the middle of it and reverse the situation and bring it back to life. 12:09.266 --> 12:23.990 [SPEAKER_00]: Once again, our situation with Josiah, we were literally in the valley of the shadow of death and even in the valley of the shadow of death, it is not too far gone for Jesus to step in and say, I will still have the last, 12:24.691 --> 12:31.136 [SPEAKER_00]: Even if you feel like your family situation is a strange and broken and difficult, it is not too far gone. 12:31.376 --> 12:36.060 [SPEAKER_00]: For Jesus to step in and say, I will have the last word. 12:36.080 --> 12:41.184 [SPEAKER_00]: If your health situation you've been told it's broken, it is not too far gone. 12:41.424 --> 12:46.228 [SPEAKER_00]: For Jesus to step in and say, I will have the last word. 12:46.428 --> 12:47.689 [SPEAKER_00]: He still sees you. 12:49.270 --> 12:51.072 [SPEAKER_00]: He still knows your situation. 12:52.453 --> 12:57.734 [SPEAKER_00]: This miracle cannot be understood apart from the mercy of Jesus. 12:58.935 --> 13:06.056 [SPEAKER_00]: And I want you to hear me, gratitude is a response to His mercy and grace, not a transaction. 13:08.997 --> 13:11.338 [SPEAKER_00]: Is there a response to His mercy and His grace? 13:11.998 --> 13:13.598 [SPEAKER_00]: Not a transaction, notice the order. 13:14.619 --> 13:19.440 [SPEAKER_00]: All 10 or cleansed before one comes back to give thanks. 13:21.261 --> 13:24.382 [SPEAKER_00]: All 10 are cleansed before one comes back. 13:24.682 --> 13:26.943 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 13:28.724 --> 13:30.285 [SPEAKER_00]: And He says, go show yourselves to the priest. 13:31.045 --> 13:32.366 [SPEAKER_00]: They're obedient, which is important. 13:33.646 --> 13:39.389 [SPEAKER_00]: And as they're obedient to the word of Jesus, as they go on their way, they are cleansed. 13:40.089 --> 13:41.069 [SPEAKER_00]: They are made whole. 13:41.550 --> 13:44.411 [SPEAKER_00]: It is not, they say, thank you, and then they are cleansed. 13:44.431 --> 13:47.932 [SPEAKER_00]: They're obedient to the words of Jesus, and they are cleansed. 13:48.032 --> 13:49.273 [SPEAKER_00]: And then one, 13:50.718 --> 13:53.959 [SPEAKER_00]: responds with a heart of thanksgiving. 13:54.299 --> 13:57.061 [SPEAKER_00]: Hear me, they're gratitude didn't purchase his compassion. 13:58.761 --> 14:00.702 [SPEAKER_00]: He saw them before they said thank you. 14:01.662 --> 14:06.984 [SPEAKER_00]: Aren't you thankful that you don't have to do anything to purchase his compassion and his mercy? 14:08.925 --> 14:10.466 [SPEAKER_00]: Otherwise, we would all be in trouble. 14:11.346 --> 14:13.487 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm thankful that his mercy is just there. 14:15.782 --> 14:23.084 [SPEAKER_00]: that this is like the classic scripture that every Sunday school kid should have grown up learning. 14:23.644 --> 14:28.285 [SPEAKER_00]: For God's so loved the world, that he, I want you to hear that again. 14:28.705 --> 14:29.905 [SPEAKER_00]: For God's so loved who? 14:30.985 --> 14:32.586 [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't say for God's so loved the church. 14:33.906 --> 14:35.546 [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't say for God's so loved the Jews. 14:36.626 --> 14:38.487 [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't say for God's so loved Mary and Joseph. 14:39.380 --> 14:51.066 [SPEAKER_00]: It says, for God's so loved who, the world that He gave, hear me, Jesus, I mean, the Father gives the Son before anyone ever accepts Him. 14:52.787 --> 14:59.270 [SPEAKER_00]: The gift is given, not on the contingency of you get it all right, and then I'll give the gift. 15:00.051 --> 15:02.092 [SPEAKER_00]: He gives the gift to make it right. 15:03.292 --> 15:05.313 [SPEAKER_00]: He gives the gift to make a way. 15:05.973 --> 15:07.413 [SPEAKER_00]: Hear me, I don't believe God. 15:08.373 --> 15:09.694 [SPEAKER_00]: And I don't want you misunderstand me. 15:09.734 --> 15:11.014 [SPEAKER_00]: I believe in the power of prayer. 15:11.094 --> 15:12.455 [SPEAKER_00]: I believe in the power of faith. 15:12.555 --> 15:13.755 [SPEAKER_00]: I believe in all of those things. 15:13.995 --> 15:16.396 [SPEAKER_00]: But I don't believe everything that, maybe this way. 15:16.616 --> 15:21.137 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't believe anything that's been given in my life has been given because of how awesome I am. 15:22.566 --> 15:25.888 [SPEAKER_00]: Anything God has blessed me with is not because of how great I am. 15:26.588 --> 15:36.733 [SPEAKER_00]: It's because of how incredible He is and how amazing His mercy is and how amazing His grace is and that He gives gifts not because we deserve it. 15:36.933 --> 15:39.054 [SPEAKER_00]: He gives gifts because He's good. 15:40.134 --> 15:42.295 [SPEAKER_00]: He gives gifts because He loves us. 15:43.756 --> 15:45.357 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't give anything to my kids. 15:45.557 --> 15:46.097 [SPEAKER_00]: It's my effect. 15:46.657 --> 15:48.438 [SPEAKER_00]: There's times I probably shouldn't give my kids things. 15:52.786 --> 15:55.888 [SPEAKER_00]: All right, some of your kids are like, my parents ain't never given me nothing that I didn't deserve. 15:55.948 --> 15:56.808 [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, they have trust me. 15:59.289 --> 16:01.631 [SPEAKER_00]: My kids don't give gifts because they deserve them. 16:02.351 --> 16:04.312 [SPEAKER_00]: My kids get gifts because I love them. 16:06.053 --> 16:08.775 [SPEAKER_00]: Right, my kids get gifts because I care for them. 16:09.795 --> 16:13.037 [SPEAKER_00]: My kids get gifts just because they're my kids and I want to bless them. 16:13.417 --> 16:18.680 [SPEAKER_00]: God gives blessings because he loves us, not because if you strive hard enough, 16:20.370 --> 16:21.270 [SPEAKER_00]: Then you can get this. 16:21.330 --> 16:23.952 [SPEAKER_00]: If you weren't card enough, then you'll get this. 16:24.132 --> 16:27.633 [SPEAKER_00]: He gives gifts because he simply loves us. 16:28.454 --> 16:31.795 [SPEAKER_00]: This is what Ephesians 2 tells us very clearly. 16:31.835 --> 16:34.816 [SPEAKER_00]: It says that we've been saved by grace through faith. 16:35.877 --> 16:38.238 [SPEAKER_00]: Not of ourselves. 16:38.358 --> 16:40.299 [SPEAKER_00]: It is the gift of God. 16:41.239 --> 16:42.300 [SPEAKER_00]: It is the gift of God. 16:42.320 --> 16:43.800 [SPEAKER_00]: You're very salvation. 16:44.361 --> 16:46.181 [SPEAKER_00]: It's the gift of God. 16:46.402 --> 16:47.362 [SPEAKER_00]: Now we have to receive it. 16:48.743 --> 16:49.003 [SPEAKER_00]: Amen? 16:49.888 --> 16:51.749 [SPEAKER_00]: But it is a gift given by God. 16:52.489 --> 16:53.290 [SPEAKER_00]: Hear me, I want you to hear me. 16:53.910 --> 17:00.534 [SPEAKER_00]: As we enter into this, I want you to understand that Thanksgiving is not a technique, you use to get him to bless you. 17:00.554 --> 17:04.516 [SPEAKER_00]: You say, the end, thanksgiving is not a technique you use to get him to bless you. 17:05.296 --> 17:06.497 [SPEAKER_00]: It is not a transaction. 17:06.637 --> 17:07.958 [SPEAKER_00]: If I'm thankful then he'll bless me. 17:08.618 --> 17:12.620 [SPEAKER_00]: He blesses us and in response, we show gratitude. 17:14.001 --> 17:14.201 [SPEAKER_00]: Right? 17:14.561 --> 17:17.763 [SPEAKER_00]: In response, we offer up Thanksgiving. 17:18.542 --> 17:23.564 [SPEAKER_00]: When I remember forgiveness, I'm remembering the mercy of the forgiver. 17:24.504 --> 17:28.485 [SPEAKER_00]: When I remember provision, I'm remembering the care of the provider. 17:29.386 --> 17:37.108 [SPEAKER_00]: When I remember the strength that I've needed to keep going, I'm remembering the faithfulness of a God who sustained me when I felt like I couldn't go another mile. 17:37.728 --> 17:40.629 [SPEAKER_00]: It is more than just something I feel. 17:40.909 --> 17:44.731 [SPEAKER_00]: And here, me, the blessing tells me something about the blesser. 17:45.862 --> 17:56.073 [SPEAKER_00]: And you know what it tells me that he is good, that he is merciful, that he is faithful, that he is able, because without the blesser, there is no blessing. 17:56.534 --> 18:02.381 [SPEAKER_00]: Every good and church tells this, every good and perfect gift comes from above. 18:03.161 --> 18:05.704 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't get to take credit for anything good in my life. 18:06.907 --> 18:21.190 [SPEAKER_00]: Everything good in my life is because there is a good God who is full of mercy and full of grace and He blesses me and my response in that should be the fall on my knees and say thank you Lord for your goodness. 18:21.590 --> 18:23.230 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you Lord for your blessing. 18:23.590 --> 18:25.351 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you Lord for your provision. 18:25.731 --> 18:27.391 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you Lord that you love me. 18:27.751 --> 18:30.512 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you Lord for everything that you've done in my life. 18:31.992 --> 18:32.832 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm thankful for help. 18:34.507 --> 18:36.629 [SPEAKER_00]: But more than any, I'm thankful for the one who helped me. 18:37.829 --> 18:41.752 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm thankful for giving for forgiveness, but more than anything, I'm thankful for the one who forgave. 18:42.573 --> 18:42.993 [SPEAKER_00]: Are you with me? 18:43.854 --> 18:45.815 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't just have a blessing to celebrate. 18:46.996 --> 18:48.817 [SPEAKER_00]: I have a Lord to worship you with me. 18:49.217 --> 18:50.879 [SPEAKER_00]: Hear me, this is sometimes where we get off. 18:50.919 --> 18:56.322 [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes, if we aren't careful, we can let the blessing take the blessers place. 18:58.804 --> 19:01.286 [SPEAKER_00]: And sometimes we will begin to worship the blessing, 19:05.063 --> 19:13.625 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure the other nine men told other people they were made well, but only one showed up to tell Jesus, thank you for what you've done. 19:14.945 --> 19:28.007 [SPEAKER_00]: Only one response, and by the way, I found, let me say this, people read these words to go, I can't believe that only one person at a ten came back to thank the Lord for what he's done. 19:28.987 --> 19:32.208 [SPEAKER_00]: I've been in ministry long enough to know that these statistics are actually pretty good. 19:34.112 --> 19:35.593 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus, actually, had a pretty good return. 19:37.674 --> 19:39.275 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, thank you for that overwhelming response. 19:40.555 --> 19:56.143 [SPEAKER_00]: Because I've seen people be faithful and cry out when they're hurting, when their finances are struggling, when they're believing God for the business, and then God blesses them, and God begins to release in their life. 19:56.664 --> 19:58.905 [SPEAKER_00]: And suddenly, their worship dims. 20:01.135 --> 20:17.705 [SPEAKER_00]: And suddenly, they don't show up as much because they're so busy with the blessing that they forget to worship the blesser and the blessing quickly becomes more important than the blesser. 20:18.285 --> 20:18.765 [SPEAKER_00]: And you know what? 20:18.805 --> 20:22.488 [SPEAKER_00]: That is a real quick way to end up without the blessing. 20:23.329 --> 20:34.632 [SPEAKER_00]: is if you begin to worship the blessing more than the blesser, whenever you begin to think that God is there to give you everything that you want, but you're not there to worship Him. 20:36.132 --> 20:41.254 [SPEAKER_00]: Whenever we begin to think that the goal of this is how much we can get rather than how much we can thank Him. 20:42.774 --> 20:49.116 [SPEAKER_00]: And hear me, I've seen time and time again when people make the blesser first, God continues to release blessing. 20:50.660 --> 20:54.224 [SPEAKER_00]: But whenever we make the blessing the goal, we get things out of order. 20:55.806 --> 21:00.951 [SPEAKER_00]: Whenever we make the blessing, come on, y'all with me, but when we make the blessing the goal, we get things out of order. 21:01.192 --> 21:03.194 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not that there's anything wrong with blessing. 21:04.655 --> 21:08.840 [SPEAKER_00]: We just can't seek the blessing, rather than the blesser. 21:09.060 --> 21:12.224 [SPEAKER_00]: This is why Jesus has seek ye first, the kingdom of God. 21:13.735 --> 21:18.638 [SPEAKER_00]: and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you to things. 21:18.658 --> 21:20.880 [SPEAKER_00]: He's talking about our actually temporal things. 21:21.960 --> 21:28.784 [SPEAKER_00]: He's talking about natural things, but seek He first, the kingdom, and then all these things will be added unto you. 21:29.145 --> 21:29.605 [SPEAKER_00]: Are you with me? 21:30.486 --> 21:30.766 [SPEAKER_00]: All right. 21:32.627 --> 21:33.147 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to hear me. 21:34.008 --> 21:38.911 [SPEAKER_00]: The gift that the Lord gives should always deepen our relationship with Him. 21:39.891 --> 21:41.992 [SPEAKER_00]: It should not pull us from him. 21:42.532 --> 21:44.133 [SPEAKER_00]: It should push us toward him. 21:44.533 --> 21:46.474 [SPEAKER_00]: Healing shouldn't pull us from the Lord. 21:46.814 --> 21:48.354 [SPEAKER_00]: It should push us to the Lord. 21:48.635 --> 21:51.776 [SPEAKER_00]: Whenever God answers the prayer, it shouldn't pull you away from God. 21:52.136 --> 21:53.977 [SPEAKER_00]: It should push you towards the Lord. 21:54.497 --> 21:57.258 [SPEAKER_00]: The blessing was never meant to take the blessed place. 21:57.278 --> 22:00.239 [SPEAKER_00]: Psalm 103 says this, bless the Lord. 22:00.399 --> 22:01.040 [SPEAKER_00]: Oh my soul. 22:01.760 --> 22:04.021 [SPEAKER_00]: And all that is within me, bless his holy name. 22:04.561 --> 22:06.102 [SPEAKER_00]: Bless the Lord, oh my soul. 22:06.422 --> 22:08.683 [SPEAKER_00]: And forget not all his benefits. 22:09.603 --> 22:11.565 [SPEAKER_00]: Who forgets all your inequities? 22:11.985 --> 22:13.927 [SPEAKER_00]: Who heals all your diseases? 22:14.247 --> 22:16.469 [SPEAKER_00]: Who redeems your life from destruction? 22:16.749 --> 22:19.592 [SPEAKER_00]: Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies? 22:19.852 --> 22:22.374 [SPEAKER_00]: Who satisfies your mouth with good things? 22:22.674 --> 22:26.077 [SPEAKER_00]: So that your youth is renewed like the Eagles. 22:26.297 --> 22:29.740 [SPEAKER_00]: But notice where the Psalmist starts, bless the Lord. 22:31.301 --> 22:34.444 [SPEAKER_00]: Bless the Lord and forget not all of his benefits. 22:34.724 --> 22:37.226 [SPEAKER_00]: But start with blessing the Lord. 22:38.151 --> 22:45.575 [SPEAKER_00]: Some of y'all wonder why they shout so much because we are blessing the Lord and we are not forgetting all his benefits. 22:45.855 --> 22:47.396 [SPEAKER_00]: Why you know lift your hands like that? 22:47.596 --> 22:51.338 [SPEAKER_00]: Because we are blessing the Lord and we are not forgetting all his benefits. 22:51.518 --> 22:52.439 [SPEAKER_00]: Why y'all dance? 22:52.519 --> 22:53.739 [SPEAKER_00]: Look at all we're like that. 22:53.939 --> 22:55.440 [SPEAKER_00]: Because we bless the Lord. 22:57.201 --> 22:58.522 [SPEAKER_00]: And we forget not all his benefits. 22:58.542 --> 23:00.603 [SPEAKER_00]: We're gonna get Steve to do that so little one day during. 23:06.447 --> 23:08.730 [SPEAKER_00]: If you didn't, you know you know, and if you don't, it's all right. 23:13.957 --> 23:19.785 [SPEAKER_00]: The benefits, when we see here the famous, the benefits are what he remembers, but the Lord is who he worships. 23:21.636 --> 23:24.519 [SPEAKER_00]: We can remember the benefits and we can worship the Lord. 23:24.920 --> 23:26.101 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't to pick one or the other. 23:26.701 --> 23:30.625 [SPEAKER_00]: We can remember the benefits and we can worship the Lord. 23:30.966 --> 23:36.611 [SPEAKER_00]: I can hold a gift with gratitude without asking the gift to hold my life together. 23:37.712 --> 23:39.895 [SPEAKER_00]: My life is not held together by the gift. 23:41.098 --> 23:43.999 [SPEAKER_00]: My life is held together by the one who gave the gift. 23:44.759 --> 23:46.920 [SPEAKER_00]: My life is held together by the Lord. 23:47.200 --> 23:49.320 [SPEAKER_00]: My life is held together by Jesus. 23:49.440 --> 23:54.482 [SPEAKER_00]: Because if you're trying to hold your life together with things your life will fall apart. 23:55.902 --> 23:57.863 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm giving this a lot of, he says. 23:59.363 --> 24:08.186 [SPEAKER_00]: If we would really put this into practice and we would make the Lord first, marriages wouldn't fall apart. 24:10.618 --> 24:18.764 [SPEAKER_00]: If we would put the Lord first and really first, we wouldn't have as many issues with our teenagers as we have. 24:20.245 --> 24:27.251 [SPEAKER_00]: But we put everything else first because we want we want to have good lives. 24:29.072 --> 24:30.373 [SPEAKER_00]: It's got real quiet in here. 24:32.535 --> 24:33.936 [SPEAKER_00]: I've said this before, I'm gonna say it again. 24:34.356 --> 24:37.599 [SPEAKER_00]: I found that most parents don't want godly kids. 24:40.231 --> 24:44.833 [SPEAKER_00]: Most parents want good kids, real quiet. 24:46.014 --> 24:47.874 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't want godly kids, we want good kids. 24:48.515 --> 24:52.416 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't want the kid whenever you say, we're gonna say home today, they're gonna go, no, I'm gonna have, we need to go to church. 24:55.138 --> 24:56.618 [SPEAKER_00]: Got real quiet. 24:57.779 --> 25:05.202 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't want the kid that whenever you say, hey, you need to go to this event at school, but there's a youth event going on, and that needs to be more important. 25:07.865 --> 25:09.326 [SPEAKER_00]: real quiet this morning. 25:09.366 --> 25:09.886 [SPEAKER_00]: Praise God. 25:09.927 --> 25:11.027 [SPEAKER_00]: Anybody with me this morning? 25:13.149 --> 25:14.330 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't want good men. 25:14.370 --> 25:15.570 [SPEAKER_00]: Get out godly marriages. 25:15.610 --> 25:16.791 [SPEAKER_00]: We want good marriages. 25:17.692 --> 25:22.115 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't want our spouse who's going to keep us in check about making sure our walk with God is right. 25:22.395 --> 25:25.017 [SPEAKER_00]: We want to make sure we got 57 date nights a year. 25:27.259 --> 25:27.499 [SPEAKER_00]: All right. 25:28.339 --> 25:30.181 [SPEAKER_00]: And that becomes the goal of our life. 25:30.641 --> 25:32.682 [SPEAKER_00]: And let me tell you what date nights are good day nights are awesome. 25:32.702 --> 25:33.443 [SPEAKER_00]: We go on date nights. 25:33.503 --> 25:34.083 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm all about it. 25:34.304 --> 25:35.464 [SPEAKER_00]: We got older kids now. 25:35.524 --> 25:36.105 [SPEAKER_00]: So it's great. 25:37.093 --> 25:38.874 [SPEAKER_00]: We can just be like, stay home with your sisters. 25:40.474 --> 25:42.075 [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to rot, yes, for dinner tonight. 25:42.095 --> 25:42.755 [SPEAKER_00]: Come on, somebody. 25:43.335 --> 25:47.897 [SPEAKER_00]: Anybody with teenage kids and younger kids don't want to say praise God, live in babysitters. 25:47.937 --> 25:48.938 [SPEAKER_00]: I hate man praise God. 25:48.958 --> 25:49.738 [SPEAKER_00]: This is wonderful. 25:53.720 --> 25:56.881 [SPEAKER_00]: But hear me, date night isn't what holds your marriage together. 25:58.629 --> 25:58.889 [SPEAKER_00]: Right? 25:59.289 --> 26:00.791 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't care what the podcaster said. 26:01.151 --> 26:05.214 [SPEAKER_00]: Date night is at what is a good thing, but it's not what holds your marriage together. 26:05.234 --> 26:06.394 [SPEAKER_00]: You know what holds your marriage together? 26:06.615 --> 26:11.538 [SPEAKER_00]: The Lord and making him first and seeking him in his righteousness. 26:11.798 --> 26:13.419 [SPEAKER_00]: You know what holds your family together? 26:13.659 --> 26:23.526 [SPEAKER_00]: Not all the extra curricular activities and not making sure they have the nicest, best, newest, most expensive clothes and the new phone and they're involved in this and they're involved in that. 26:23.766 --> 26:24.787 [SPEAKER_00]: You know what, hold it together. 26:25.007 --> 26:35.152 [SPEAKER_00]: a community of faith, you know what holds it together, seeking the Lord together, you know what holds it together, worshiping together, real quiet in here this morning. 26:37.713 --> 26:43.016 [SPEAKER_00]: Our problem is we want the blessing more than we want to worship the blesser. 26:45.797 --> 26:51.860 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to hear me, somebody may be hearing me this morning going past her, I'm not, I'm not, I have any blessing in my life, for one, take a deep breath. 26:54.418 --> 26:57.523 [SPEAKER_00]: You're alive, you're breathing. 26:58.264 --> 27:00.087 [SPEAKER_00]: You have another day to worship the Lord. 27:00.588 --> 27:01.970 [SPEAKER_00]: You have another day to be thankful. 27:02.050 --> 27:05.796 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think probably anybody here walked in the rain to church. 27:05.876 --> 27:08.761 [SPEAKER_00]: If you did, you deserve two badges this morning. 27:10.041 --> 27:13.003 [SPEAKER_00]: But more than likely, you drove to church this morning. 27:13.323 --> 27:14.904 [SPEAKER_00]: You have a vehicle to drive in. 27:15.124 --> 27:16.644 [SPEAKER_00]: We have a reason to be thankful. 27:17.025 --> 27:19.366 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think any of you slept outside last night. 27:19.606 --> 27:21.207 [SPEAKER_00]: You have a roof over your head. 27:21.467 --> 27:24.068 [SPEAKER_00]: You have a reason to be thankful and be grateful. 27:24.369 --> 27:26.470 [SPEAKER_00]: How many married people we got in the room today? 27:26.850 --> 27:30.812 [SPEAKER_00]: You should certainly have a reason to be thankful and grateful. 27:31.372 --> 27:32.333 [SPEAKER_00]: Emma, you're just engaged. 27:32.353 --> 27:33.093 [SPEAKER_00]: You can't hear yet. 27:33.133 --> 27:33.653 [SPEAKER_00]: Praise God. 27:35.514 --> 27:36.255 [SPEAKER_00]: She said, whoa! 27:38.863 --> 27:40.004 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm playing, you're getting there, that's right. 27:40.825 --> 27:42.526 [SPEAKER_00]: You're on the right road, the blessing. 27:45.589 --> 27:49.072 [SPEAKER_00]: We all can find something, how many you thank for your, how many parents we got in the room. 27:49.372 --> 27:51.173 [SPEAKER_00]: You should be thankful for your children. 27:52.174 --> 27:52.835 [SPEAKER_00]: Are they perfect? 27:53.115 --> 27:53.355 [SPEAKER_00]: No. 27:54.356 --> 27:54.937 [SPEAKER_00]: And guess what? 27:56.078 --> 27:56.738 [SPEAKER_00]: You aren't either. 27:59.100 --> 28:04.445 [SPEAKER_00]: But we should be thankful for all the ways that God is still thankful, that has blessed us. 28:05.208 --> 28:12.409 [SPEAKER_00]: But even in areas where you don't have an answer, yes, somewhere you've been standing, maybe something you've been believing for and haven't seen yet. 28:13.149 --> 28:16.250 [SPEAKER_00]: You may not have an answer, but you know the one who does. 28:17.770 --> 28:21.491 [SPEAKER_00]: And you can be thankful that even when you don't have the answer, he does. 28:22.111 --> 28:25.352 [SPEAKER_00]: That even when you haven't seen the way yet, he knows the way. 28:26.552 --> 28:29.713 [SPEAKER_00]: And here's what I wanna kind of wrap up with these thoughts. 28:30.653 --> 28:32.033 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't wanna be like the nine. 28:34.652 --> 28:39.195 [SPEAKER_00]: who whenever the Lord blessed them, they just went on their way. 28:41.557 --> 28:42.958 [SPEAKER_00]: Think about the arrogance of that. 28:44.359 --> 28:51.964 [SPEAKER_00]: These people were broken outcasts, broken down, sick, dying, and Jesus heals them. 28:53.265 --> 28:59.109 [SPEAKER_00]: And they can't even return to say, thank you, Jesus, for what you've done. 29:03.883 --> 29:06.445 [SPEAKER_00]: How often do we have this disconnect in our own lives? 29:07.906 --> 29:10.908 [SPEAKER_00]: Or we're standing for something, we're believing for something in God, does it? 29:11.749 --> 29:15.071 [SPEAKER_00]: And then we don't return and go, thank you Jesus. 29:15.892 --> 29:17.913 [SPEAKER_00]: For I said, we go, man, I worked really hard for that. 29:18.534 --> 29:21.776 [SPEAKER_00]: That might be true, but it still starts with him. 29:23.457 --> 29:29.362 [SPEAKER_00]: How often do we fail to thank the Lord for his many benefits like the Psalmist said? 29:30.062 --> 29:36.225 [SPEAKER_00]: I know a lot of you in your state, I know a lot of you, and what things you have, and what God's done, I'm telling you. 29:36.446 --> 29:43.049 [SPEAKER_00]: There's not a single one of us in this room this morning that doesn't have a reason to be thankful. 29:44.690 --> 29:46.591 [SPEAKER_00]: We all have a reason to be thankful. 29:47.271 --> 29:49.353 [SPEAKER_00]: And I know we're entering the Thanksgiving season. 29:50.693 --> 29:52.354 [SPEAKER_00]: I know some of you already in Christmas season. 29:54.175 --> 29:56.737 [SPEAKER_00]: November one immediately marks the beginning of Christmas. 29:58.658 --> 29:59.198 [SPEAKER_00]: Praise God. 30:02.298 --> 30:03.639 [SPEAKER_00]: But we still do have Thanksgiving. 30:04.780 --> 30:11.524 [SPEAKER_00]: And in this holiday season that we're coming into, in this Thanksgiving Christmas season, here's what we're not gonna do. 30:12.504 --> 30:25.532 [SPEAKER_00]: We are going to be people who refuse to get so wrapped up in parties and food, in going in activities, in this that and the other that we fail to come back into your thank you Jesus. 30:27.033 --> 30:30.175 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you Jesus for what you've done for me. 30:31.008 --> 30:33.929 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Jesus, for your benefits. 30:34.029 --> 30:37.689 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Lord, that I was on the road to hell and you brought me back. 30:38.710 --> 30:42.790 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Lord, that I was broken, but you put me back together. 30:43.290 --> 30:48.912 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Lord, my marriage was in a rough spot, but you gave us sound counsel and wisdom. 30:49.392 --> 30:53.112 [SPEAKER_00]: You put people around us to hold us up, and it's been put back together. 30:53.372 --> 30:55.593 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Lord, that my kids were going crazy. 30:56.385 --> 30:58.927 [SPEAKER_00]: But you arrested them and you brought them back to you. 30:59.267 --> 31:03.211 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Lord, for those times in my body that I was struggling, but you healed me. 31:05.413 --> 31:08.555 [SPEAKER_00]: Where they're not 10 clans, the where are the nine? 31:09.676 --> 31:14.000 [SPEAKER_00]: Where they're not 10 clans, the where the nine all 10 received mercy. 31:14.921 --> 31:18.163 [SPEAKER_00]: All 10 had reason to return, but only one did. 31:18.804 --> 31:20.005 [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, I'm gonna be like the one. 31:21.462 --> 31:22.323 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to be like the one. 31:23.063 --> 31:32.549 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm be like the one who keeps coming back because God's goodness deserves a response of our worship, of our praise, of our gratitude. 31:33.790 --> 31:34.951 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't let you hear me. 31:35.371 --> 31:37.933 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't let your request be louder than your Thanksgiving. 31:39.414 --> 31:42.916 [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of times we shout our request louder than we shout thanks. 31:44.357 --> 31:48.740 [SPEAKER_00]: And I would encourage you, let your thanksgiving be louder than your request. 31:49.987 --> 31:53.429 [SPEAKER_00]: Let your thanksgiving be louder than your request. 31:58.113 --> 32:01.095 [SPEAKER_00]: The Lord is blessed as be the one who returns. 32:02.176 --> 32:07.079 [SPEAKER_00]: I can't decide how everybody else is gonna respond to God's goodness, but I can't decide how I'm gonna respond. 32:08.560 --> 32:11.682 [SPEAKER_00]: I can't decide what everybody else is gonna do, but I can't decide what I'm gonna do. 32:12.483 --> 32:14.684 [SPEAKER_00]: 10 received the blessing, one returned to the blesser. 32:15.385 --> 32:17.226 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't wanna be somebody who's received, 32:21.888 --> 32:23.689 [SPEAKER_00]: Look up, picture back up, if you will. 32:24.910 --> 32:28.553 [SPEAKER_00]: When I look at that picture, if we can, praise God. 32:30.195 --> 32:36.780 [SPEAKER_00]: When I look at that picture, I remember, I think about a young mom, a young dad, who didn't know the road ahead. 32:37.621 --> 32:38.582 [SPEAKER_00]: We didn't even know what it was. 32:38.602 --> 32:40.803 [SPEAKER_00]: At this point, we were being told all kinds of crazy things. 32:41.804 --> 32:42.285 [SPEAKER_00]: But you know what? 32:42.305 --> 32:43.746 [SPEAKER_00]: That was still a smile on our face. 32:44.947 --> 32:48.610 [SPEAKER_00]: Because we were being told sickness, but we knew the healer. 32:51.783 --> 32:56.184 [SPEAKER_00]: We were being told this to that and the other, but we knew the one who had the answer. 32:56.984 --> 32:58.704 [SPEAKER_00]: I'll never forget, this is the same day. 32:59.204 --> 33:02.945 [SPEAKER_00]: Right after this, we walk out and I tell her nurses, I said, when do we get to take him home? 33:05.425 --> 33:08.226 [SPEAKER_00]: And they laughed and they said, Mr. 33:08.246 --> 33:09.526 [SPEAKER_00]: Gay, you don't understand. 33:10.626 --> 33:14.847 [SPEAKER_00]: You have a very, very, very sick child. 33:15.927 --> 33:17.707 [SPEAKER_00]: You're lucky he made it through the night. 33:21.912 --> 33:26.913 [SPEAKER_00]: The road ahead of him, what was the gestation? 33:26.933 --> 33:34.435 [SPEAKER_00]: When he's marched at 34 weeks, they said, he's going to be right here in this NICU for at least six, probably longer. 33:36.495 --> 33:44.017 [SPEAKER_00]: And then, you just need to be prepared because for the rest of his life, he's going to struggle. 33:45.277 --> 33:50.238 [SPEAKER_00]: For the rest of his life, he will always be the smallest kid in the room of the kids, his age. 33:54.012 --> 34:00.316 [SPEAKER_00]: For the rest of his life, he's gonna struggle with a lot of really basic things for everybody else. 34:00.976 --> 34:03.518 [SPEAKER_00]: And he'll struggle with those things for the rest of his life. 34:04.899 --> 34:07.501 [SPEAKER_00]: And I remember I said, okay, thank you very much. 34:08.621 --> 34:10.803 [SPEAKER_00]: And that nurse walked off, and I'm not making this up. 34:10.823 --> 34:11.984 [SPEAKER_00]: This isn't Pastor Talk. 34:12.004 --> 34:15.926 [SPEAKER_00]: This isn't me being super faith man in the rear view. 34:16.006 --> 34:18.748 [SPEAKER_00]: My wife can tell you, I looked at her and I said, we don't receive that. 34:21.510 --> 34:22.491 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm thankful for nurses. 34:22.531 --> 34:23.371 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm thankful for doctors. 34:23.391 --> 34:25.853 [SPEAKER_00]: We have incredible nurses in this place. 34:25.873 --> 34:26.594 [SPEAKER_00]: Docs up here. 34:26.634 --> 34:28.215 [SPEAKER_00]: We're so thankful for Dr. Mapp. 34:28.275 --> 34:30.417 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm so thankful for people in the medical community. 34:31.537 --> 34:35.140 [SPEAKER_00]: But at the end of the day, they're diagnosing based on what they see. 34:35.160 --> 34:36.161 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm thankful for that. 34:37.302 --> 34:38.102 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm thankful for that. 34:38.983 --> 34:45.548 [SPEAKER_00]: But where their knowledge ends, I have a God who's bigger. 34:46.802 --> 34:54.768 [SPEAKER_00]: I have a God who's able to do exceedingly abundantly, above all, we dare ask or think. 34:55.549 --> 35:02.994 [SPEAKER_00]: And I look at that four pound 15 ounce baby who was struggling to breathe. 35:04.335 --> 35:07.878 [SPEAKER_00]: And now he's a 17 year old young man. 35:09.190 --> 35:23.499 [SPEAKER_00]: who's taller than me, who has a size 13 shoe, who's upstairs directing today, who doesn't struggle with basic functions, who's smart, who drives, who's able to do everything that they said he wouldn't be able to do. 35:23.779 --> 35:28.182 [SPEAKER_00]: But listen, as thankful as I am for the blessing, as thankful as I am for that. 35:28.462 --> 35:30.403 [SPEAKER_00]: It always pulls me back to this. 35:30.463 --> 35:31.424 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, Lord! 35:39.784 --> 35:44.685 [SPEAKER_00]: And I won't forget what you've done and I won't forget your goodness. 35:46.806 --> 35:51.548 [SPEAKER_00]: And as good as you were then, I know this, that you're the same yesterday. 35:52.348 --> 35:53.328 [SPEAKER_00]: You're the same today. 35:54.068 --> 36:04.111 [SPEAKER_00]: You will be the same forever and the same God who did it then that I'm thankful for today is the same God that will do it today and I will be thankful for in the future. 36:04.952 --> 36:09.153 [SPEAKER_00]: And you will bring me through every situation and I'm just going to keep coming back. 36:10.340 --> 36:12.743 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm just going to keep coming back and saying thank you. 36:13.464 --> 36:15.306 [SPEAKER_00]: I can't say thank you enough times. 36:15.707 --> 36:17.609 [SPEAKER_00]: I can't say thank you enough with my life. 36:17.889 --> 36:20.292 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you Lord for your goodness. 36:20.332 --> 36:21.534 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to keep going back and stand with you. 36:22.275 --> 36:24.297 [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks again for downloading this podcast. 36:24.317 --> 36:28.122 [SPEAKER_00]: We trust that this message has blessed and courage and advice you. 36:28.576 --> 36:32.280 [SPEAKER_00]: Make sure you subscribe so you never miss a message here for a high praise. 36:32.760 --> 36:40.728 [SPEAKER_00]: Also, you can follow us on social media, on Facebook and on Instagram, and don't forget to go subscribe to our YouTube channel. 36:41.329 --> 36:43.591 [SPEAKER_00]: We'll be back soon with another incredible message. 36:43.731 --> 36:45.553 [SPEAKER_00]: God bless you and have a great week.