Collierville First Baptist Church

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And he is right. Church. Greater is he that's in you. That he that's in the world. The Bible says I love that verse of Scripture. It's so comforting and encouraging when we face spiritual battles in our lives. So I want you to take your Bible today. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 17. Jeremiah chapter 17. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God to a fallen world.

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God used approximately 40 men to over a course of 1500 years to produce this amazing book that we call the Bible. If I were to condense its message down into one short little statement, I think that statement would be this. Trust the Lord from Genesis to Revelation. The message is not complicated. It's very simple. Trust the Lord. I took my concordance and I.

00:01:26:03 - 00:02:10:21
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I looked at the word trust, and and I noticed that over and over and over. The Old Testament uses the word trust to trust the Lord. But when you flip over to the New Testament, the English word changes from trust to believe or faith. Same thing. All of those are synonyms. The message is the same. You see, God created you to have a relationship with him, and the only way you can ever have a relationship with a living, true God is to put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

00:02:10:24 - 00:02:54:08
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Now, Jeremiah was a Jewish priest and a Jewish prophet. He was chosen by God to write two of the books we have in our Bible. The the prophecy of Jeremiah and the Little Book of Lamentations. His ministry lasted for about 40 years, from 626 BCE to around 586 B.C.. He was heartbroken. He's called the weeping prophet. He was heartbroken over the fact that God's covenant people had forgotten about God.

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They had fallen into idolatry. And trust me. Anytime idolatry is prevalent, immorality follows close on its heels. Every time, as a result of his faithful preaching of God's Word to the rebellious people of Judah, he was isolated. He was imprisoned. He was persecuted. But this man never gave up. He had conviction, and he was strong in the Lord, and the power of his might.

00:03:32:05 - 00:04:14:21
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And he kept challenging the Jewish people to repent and to trust the Lord. In Psalm 62, verse eight. Listen to the verse. Verse. Trust in him at all times, O people, pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Notice. Trust in him at all times. Proverbs chapter 16, verse 20. He who gives attention to the word will find good and blessed is he who trust in the Lord.

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Isaiah chapter 26, verses three and four. The steadfast of mind you will keep in perfect peace, because now listen, because he trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever. For in God the Lord we have an everlasting rock. And then you flip over to the New Testament in Second Corinthians chapter one, verse nine. Paul wrote these words indeed we had the sentence of death within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.

00:04:55:05 - 00:05:29:08
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Listen, one of the most important things you need to understand today is the importance that God places upon trusting him, believing in him, having faith in him. So let me ask you this morning. Who are you trusting? Are you trusting yourself, or are you trusting some friend or some expert? Or are you trusting the Lord? I'm going to take up Jeremiah Challenge today.

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Unapologetically, unashamedly. I'm going to challenge you to repent and to trust the Lord this morning. I want to read verses five through eight of Jeremiah chapter 17. And if you have your Bible, follow along with me. Thus says the Lord. Cursed is the man who trust in mankind. If you have a pencil or a pen, underline that little phrase.

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Cursed is the man who trust in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert, and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony waste in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant. Blessed is a man who trust in the Lord.

00:06:32:14 - 00:07:08:28
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Underline that phrase. Cursed is a man who trust in mankind. Verse five. Blessed is a man who trust in the Lord. Verse seven. And whose trust is the Lord, for he will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by stream, and will not fear when the heat comes, but its leaves will be grain, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought, nor cease to yield fruit.

00:07:09:01 - 00:07:36:19
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Let's pray. Heavenly father, I pray that through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, you would make your word come alive in our hearts. And I pray that you would do a work in each and every one of us this morning. Have your way, Lord. We love you in Jesus name. Amen. So we're presented two options here. In Jeremiah chapter 17, verses 5 to 8.

00:07:36:21 - 00:08:08:00
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Option number one, we can trust in people. Look at it again. Cursed is a man who trust in mankind and makes flesh his strength. And whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he would be like a bush in the desert, and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony places in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant.

00:08:08:03 - 00:08:48:01
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The threat of Babylonian invasion hung over God's covenant people like a thick dark cloud. Instead of turning from their sin, their immorality, their idolatry, and trusting the Lord. The Jewish people, the Jewish leaders, were reaching out to Egypt and other nations to come to the rescue. Instead of crying out to God. They cried out to other nations. The Lord's response was terrifying.

00:08:48:03 - 00:09:28:02
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What's life like for someone who rejects the Lord and relies on the strength of people, even his or her own strength? What's life like for them? We'll look at the picture right here in verse six. Here's a stunted, gray, prickly desert shrub that struggles every single moment to stay alive. This little shrub is in soil that's not fit for anything to grow and be productive.

00:09:28:04 - 00:10:10:19
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There are no leaves. There's no fruit on this little shrub. This shrub is doomed to a life of desolation. Let me ask, is that the life you want to live? You have two options. Option number one, you can trust in people. You can trust in other people. You can trust in yourself. But I promise you, based upon the authority of the Word of God, your life will be like this little prickly gray desert shrub.

00:10:10:22 - 00:10:36:17
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I don't want to live like that. I'll pray you don't either. In Psalm 146, verse three, God's Word says, if do not trust in princes or politicians, we might say, do not trust in princes, in mortal man in whom there is no salvation. Let me tell you, there's no politician on the face of the planet that can save your soul.

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None. Republican. Democrat. Independent. Nobody can save your soul but the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible is very clear here. Do not trust in princes, in mortal man in whom there is no salvation. Listen to Psalm 118, verse eight. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. The person who ignores the Lord and depends on self or others is spiritually blind to the opportunities that God presents to them.

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Look at verse, verse six again, for he will be like a bush in the desert, and will not see when prosperity comes. Look at that will. He will not see when prosperity comes. You know what that's a picture of? If you trust in people, yourself or other people, you will be inflicted by spiritual blindness. And God will come with a plethora of blessings to you and and you will be blind to them.

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You won't see them, and you will choose instead of God's blessings, material prosperity, a life of pleasure or career advancement.

00:12:05:03 - 00:12:36:25
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Let me tell you something that is no way to live. Wouldn't it be a sad thing to be spiritually blinded and you can't see what God is putting before you in the way of blessings? That's exactly what happens to the man, woman, boy or girl who chooses to trust in people rather than trusting in the Lord. But there is another option.

00:12:36:28 - 00:12:59:05
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You can trust in the Lord. And my prayer is that whether you're watching live stream, whether you're you're you're you're here in the room, are you? Watch this sermon on YouTube at a later date. My prayer is that you will trust in the Lord, that you'll trust in the Lord.

00:12:59:08 - 00:13:32:27
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Now, when he created you, he designed you to live in an intimate, lifelong, trusting relationship with him through the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus, according to the New Testament, is a continuous fountain of living water. In first Corinthians chapter one, verse nine, Paul wrote, God is faithful. Hey, turn to your neighbor and say, God is faithful.

00:13:32:29 - 00:14:27:16
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He is. He is faithful through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. But, but the Lord presents another word picture for us here in verses seven and eight of Jeremiah chapter 17. Blessed is a man who trust in the Lord, and whose trust is the Lord, for he will be like a tree, not a little prickly gray ish desert shrub, but he will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by stream, and will not fear when the heat comes, but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought, nor cease to yield fruit.

00:14:27:18 - 00:15:02:00
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I don't know, I don't know about you, but if I took those two pictures presented here by the Lord himself, I choose the second one. I want to be that tree planted by streams of water that that sends its roots and its tendrils into the water source, so that whether there is extreme heat or even drought, I'm still my leaves are still green and I'm still producing fruit for the glory of God.

00:15:02:02 - 00:15:37:03
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Trusting in the Lord results in favor and blessings on our lives. The person who trust in the Lord can endure life's adversities without being rendered ineffective or unfruitful. Hey, can I tell you this? We will all face difficulties in our lives. If the picture here is extreme heat or drought, and we all have those moments in our lives.

00:15:37:05 - 00:16:28:13
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But here's the question what will you do when you face life's uncertainties and difficulty? How will you respond? The person who trust in the Lord can endure life's adversities without being rendered ineffective and unfruitful. This is the Old Testament equivalent to John chapter ten, verse ten, where Jesus promised abundant life to those who believe in him. In fact, you could write John ten verse ten over verses seven and eight and refer back to it later, and just look at that and study that and see the parallels that are right here in the Word of God.

00:16:28:15 - 00:16:58:03
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Now, were these two options before us? I'm not the smartest guy in the world. I'll admit that. But I'm smart enough to choose to trust the Lord rather than trusting in people, whether it be myself or other people. So I want to address a few questions here to make us think clearly about this idea of trusting in the Lord.

00:16:58:05 - 00:17:17:20
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Question number one why is it hard to trust God? Why? It is, isn't it? Oh, you look so sanctimonious about having trouble trusting God in times of difficulty. Pastor, I got this thing.

00:17:17:22 - 00:17:51:26
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Now, we all know that there are times when we struggle with trust in God. Hey, Abraham and Sarah struggle with trust in God. You remember what God promised them? He said, I promise you, I'm going to give you a son. A special son. And they were 75 years old when they received that promise. And now they're getting old.

00:17:51:28 - 00:18:23:06
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And so Sarah turns to Abraham and said, I got an idea. I got a good idea. I've got a handmaid here by the name of Hagar. You go in to her, you have a child with her. And that child. I will be the the mother of that child. And we'll make sure that God's promise comes true. Can I tell you, God does not need your help to make his promises come true?

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How did that work out for them? Horribly. But you know what they did. Instead of trusting God, they took matters into their own hands.

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Can you recall times in your life when you took matters into your own hands? How did that work out for you? You didn't trust God. You trust yourself. Are you trusted someone else to make sure that what you needed occurred in your life? So why is it hard to trust God? Let me. Let me suggest a few things for you.

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It's hard to trust God because we have limited insight.

00:19:13:01 - 00:19:46:23
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When we go through difficult times. Many times we question how the Lord could allow us to go through this. And secondly, we question how in the Lord, how in the world is the Lord going to get us through this? The Bible says that that God doesn't think like we think. His knowledge is infinitely greater than our knowledge. Think about Israel and Moses at the Red sea.

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God sent Moses to deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, and by the sovereign hand of a powerful Almighty God. They are delivered, and they're heading toward the wilderness as they come to the Red sea, and the Red sea is in front of them. And the Egyptian army is now behind them, and they're closing in in a hurry.

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And Moses said, God, what do I do? You know what God said? God said, go forward. Lord, there's a there's a sea out here. God said, go forward. And you know what? They went forward. And I believe the moment that Moses big toe touched the water, the water divided walls of water on each side. Dry ground. And the children of Israel crossed on dry ground.

00:20:57:10 - 00:21:24:09
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But because God knew what he was doing, that because of their limited insight, they were questioning God. I guarantee you, there were some in the group back there that were wanting to take matters into their own hands. But they trusted God and they saw what only God could do. Why is it hard to trust God? We have limited insight.

00:21:24:16 - 00:21:52:24
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We. Here's secondary. We want to be in control. We want to be in control. We don't want to relinquish control of our lives to God. It's difficult to do from time to time, isn't. But I'm to tell you, when you repent of your sin and you place your faith in Jesus as your Savior and your Lord. He becomes your master and your Lord.

00:21:52:24 - 00:21:58:07
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He gets to call all the shots.

00:21:58:10 - 00:22:30:28
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Why is it hard to trust God? We have limited insight. We want to be in control. And here's another reason we've been let down by others. It could have been family members. You could have been let down by a pastor at some time in the past, and you have trouble relinquishing control of your life and following the leadership of someone that God places in your life as a result of being let down by others.

00:22:30:29 - 00:23:04:00
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We are predisposed to doubt the Lord. Here's another question. We've answered the question why is it hard to trust God? Now here's another question. Why should we prioritize our trust in the Lord as opposed to people? Well, listen to Proverbs chapter three, verse five and six. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Say all your heart. All your heart.

00:23:04:02 - 00:23:30:05
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You know, one of the foolish things I hear today we tell kids, follow your heart. That is bad advice. Hey, just yes, you got you got your your Bible at Jeremiah 17. Look at verse nine. The heart is more deceitful than all else, and it's desperately sick. Who can understand it? Do you want your kids to follow their heart?

00:23:30:07 - 00:24:01:24
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No. They need to trust the Lord and follow the Lord and and follow the teachings of the Bible. So Proverbs three five and six, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Sarah, do you hear that? Do not lean on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.

00:24:01:27 - 00:24:35:22
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Now, why should we prioritize our trust in the Lord as opposed to people, ourselves, and other people? Well, every human being is tainted by sin. Oh, look, we have received forgiveness of our sin if we placed our faith and trust in Jesus, but we are still in the process. We talked about a few weeks ago of sanctification. We're growing spiritually.

00:24:35:24 - 00:24:53:22
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But I tell you, friend, we battled sin in our lives, do we not? And it affects the way we think. It affects our emotions. It affects our will. Every human being tainted by sin.

00:24:53:24 - 00:25:26:08
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So we should trust the Lord because he is totally trustworthy. Why is he trustworthy? Well, he's sovereign number one. He's sovereign. Listen, I love this for these two Scripture. First Chronicles 29, 11 and 12. Listen, this yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. Indeed, every thing that is in the heavens and the earth, yours is the dominion.

00:25:26:08 - 00:25:51:28
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Oh Lord, you exalt yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from you. You rule over all, and in your hand is power and might, and it lies in your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. Now when I say the Lord is trustworthy, I say that because he is sovereign. Number two, I say it because he's good.

00:25:52:00 - 00:26:15:00
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Now I'm going to quote Sam's favorite verse here. Nahum one seven. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he knows those who take refuge in him. There are those today who say that God is not good. I tell you, my friend, on the authority of God's Word, he is good, and he's good all the time.

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God is good.

00:26:19:20 - 00:26:53:20
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So he's trustworthy and he's wise. You don't know why and why he's trustworthy. He's wise. In Romans 1133, the Bible says, oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable his ways! God's wisdom is perfect. Wisdom that makes him trustworthy. That's why you can trust him. And here's a final reason.

00:26:53:23 - 00:27:22:16
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I say that God is trustworthy. He is love. God is love. Romans chapter five, verse eight. The Bible says, But God demonstrates his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Christ went to the cross of Calvary and took all of your filthy, vile sins that you will ever commit in your life, and shed his blood and offered his body as a sacrifice for your sins.

00:27:22:18 - 00:27:51:11
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Now, my friend, if God would love you so much that he would sacrifice His son on the cross of Calvary to save your soul and to bring forgiveness to you. Don't you think that whatever you need in your life to to be the person he wants you to be, he'll provide. He'll provide it. He'll bring order to the confusion of our lives.

00:27:51:14 - 00:28:20:04
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He will make our paths straight. He is trustworthy. Final question what are the benefits of trusting the Lord? What are the benefits? Good question. I've got a list here. I don't have time to go into great detail, but here are some benefits of trusting the Lord. You're here today. You're weighing it out. You're saying, do I trust people?

00:28:20:04 - 00:28:53:21
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Do I trust the Lord? Let me give you some benefits of trust in the Lord. He gives you eternal life if you trust him. What's better than that? He helps us through difficulties. He promises to meet all of our needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. He promises that he will give us perfect peace and he releases us from anxiety and worry.

00:28:53:23 - 00:29:28:21
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He never leaves us or forsakes us, and he protects us. That's the benefits of trusting the Lord. So my challenge you this morning is trust the Lord. Don't. Don't trust in people, not yourself and not other people. Make sure that you prioritize trusting the Lord over trusting in people. Now, Jeremiah's message to the Jewish people was simply this.

00:29:28:23 - 00:30:04:15
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If you read through the book, Jeremiah is saying, it's not too late. I'm telling you, God's imminent judgment was hanging over the right horizon. But Jeremiah is saying it's not too late to trust the Lord. You can repent. You can come back to God, and God will release his hand of judgment. Here's my question to you today. Will you believe in Jesus?

00:30:04:18 - 00:30:52:26
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And trust him as your Savior and your Lord? That's the first step in this whole idea of trusting Lord, that that's what the whole Bible. That's the message of the whole Bible. We cannot save ourselves. We cannot be good enough. To make God give us the gift of eternal life or forgive our sins. We have to do what the message of this Bible says over and over again, and that's trust the Lord by putting our faith and our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

00:30:52:29 - 00:31:19:01
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He will forgive your sins. Isn't that wonderful? My goodness. One of the most wonderful things in the world about believing in Jesus is you can lay your head down on the pill at night and know that all that junk that you've done in your life is forgiven. You're forgiven. And the Bible says in Psalm 103 that he separate sin from you as far as the east is from the west.

00:31:19:04 - 00:31:47:26
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And every time the enemy reaches back into your past and accuses you, or makes you feel guilty over some of those sins that you committed, in fact, you know what you can say. It's under the blood and you do not have to give in to the devil's accusations. He'll forgive your sins. He will bless you with new life, new hope, and a new destiny.

00:31:47:29 - 00:32:15:12
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And I'm inviting you today to repent of your sin and to trust Jesus as your Savior and your Lord, and commit your life to him in just a moment. I'm going to invite our worship team. I'm going to invite our staff to come. We're going to stand and we're going to worship. And it's a time for you to respond.

00:32:15:14 - 00:32:47:13
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It's a time for you to to leave your seat and come to one of our staff members and say, today, I'm trusting Jesus as my Savior and my Lord. I tell you, you'll never regret making the choice to trust the Lord. Or you're here today and you're a believer. You're a believer. You've already trusted him as your Savior and your Lord.

00:32:47:15 - 00:33:06:07
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But you got to understand this, this idea of trust in the Lord requires what I call holy stubbornness. I'm serious. You got anybody in your life who's stubborn?

00:33:06:09 - 00:33:11:08
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Not going any further?

00:33:11:10 - 00:33:41:00
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What? What is holy stubbornness? Holy stubbornness is when you, as a born again believer who trust in Jesus, receive the gift of eternal life, forgiveness, and new life in him and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Holy stubbornness is where you when you face life difficulties, adversities, or even life's prosperity. And it's hard on you and you have to make a choice.

00:33:41:03 - 00:34:00:26
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Trust the Lord. Trust people. Holy stubbornness is when you come back and you last yourself to the Lord and you trust the Lord. Time after time after time, the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

00:34:00:29 - 00:34:34:18
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Choose to trust him when trusting is hard. But I want to get real specific here. You're a born again believer named. Written in the Lamb's Book of Life. You're going to heaven when you die. But this morning, here's my challenge. I want you as a believer to think about one area in your life. Only one. Not five, not three, but one.

00:34:34:19 - 00:35:03:09
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Just one. Let's take it one at a time. One area of your life where you need to trust the Lord more. It could be your finances. It could be your marriage. It could be your parenting. It could be your your your career. It can be a thousand different things. But there's one area in your life where you're really struggling and you need to trust the Lord more.

00:35:03:10 - 00:35:25:23
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Here's what I want you to do. When we stand and we begin to sing and worship the Lord, I want you to come to the altar. And I want you to bow the knee to Jesus. And I want you to share with him what this one air in your life is, and ask him to help you to trust him more.

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Amen.

00:35:28:29 - 00:35:42:26
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I'm going to ask our our team to come. Our staff, our worship team. You come and we're going to begin to have that time where we respond to the Lord.

00:35:42:29 - 00:36:18:10
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Before we do, let me pray. Our father in heaven. We've studied your word. We've dissected Jeremiah chapter 17, verses five through eight. And we see, Lord, we have two options before us trust in people. Our trust in you. And I pray that the Holy Spirit of God would work powerfully in the hearts of men, women, boys and girls.

00:36:18:12 - 00:36:44:14
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And I pray today, Lord, that some would trust you as our Savior and their Lord and be saved. I pray that some today would would come to this altar. Recognize that there's an error in their life where they need to trust you more, and that they would pray about that, and they would surrender that to you and ask you to help them to trust you more.

00:36:44:14 - 00:36:54:14
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Oh, God, please have your way in our heart, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen. Let's stand at worship and you come as God leads you