In this first sermon of the 'In God Alone' series, Dallas Kaauwai emphasizes the importance of trusting in God as a congregation. Grounded in Psalm 23, Dallas discusses God's provision, protection, and assurance in our lives. He encourages the congregation to memorize Psalm 23, reflect on God's blessings, and remain steadfast in their faith through life's darkest valleys. Personal anecdotes and practical advice highlight how God's intentional and abundant care leads us through challenges and grants us peace.

00:00 Introduction to the New Series: In God Alone

00:52 Memorizing Psalm 23: A Congregational Goal

01:55 Opening Prayer and Lesson Introduction

03:06 Exploring Psalm 23: David's Perspective

04:16 Are You in Good Hands?

05:45 The Importance of Provision

11:02 God's Intentional Provision: A Personal Story

16:32 Trusting God as Your Shepherd

17:44 Introduction: Are You in Good Hands?

17:50 Understanding Protection: The Shepherd's Role

18:36 Facing Life's Valleys with Faith

19:42 God's Presence in Our Struggles

26:25 The Assurance of God's Blessings

28:40 Reflecting on God's Abundance

30:57 The Overflowing Cup: Sharing God's Love

36:19 Final Thoughts and Practical Steps

39:28 Closing Prayer and Commitment

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OC Church of Christ

All right, we're gonna be in a new series this year.

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Uh, well, this, I guess in

these first couple months,

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um, it's called In God Alone.

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Um, as we talked about last week in the

regional, our, uh, focus as an Orange

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County Church It's to trust in God.

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Simply trust in God.

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And if you've been around, you've known

that we've been working through a lot

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about how to become a healthier church.

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Not just from the staff perspective,

but also from the membership as well.

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And as a whole congregation, we

can come to trust in God alone.

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And so here in the North OC,

we're going to be going through

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a series called In God Alone.

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And the premise of it is

going to be based in Psalm 23.

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Psalm 23 is a very, very popular passage,

one that, um, really, um, exemplifies, I

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feel like, a, a deep, um, in, in a genuine

and a very, um, profound trust in God.

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Now, the goal, apparently, I, I, I just,

I would just receive word of this, I

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didn't have a say in this, but the,

the goal is to have everyone in the O.

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C.

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Church memorize Psalm 23.

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Don't worry, it's only six verses.

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We're not having you memorize

like, I don't know, what is it,

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Eric, like Psalm 17 that has

like 50 or something like that?

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Yeah, we're not doing that.

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It's just Psalm 23, six verses, and

we're gonna go through all of them today.

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But the, the key is that we can

recite this as a, as a congregation

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to remind ourselves, to ground

ourselves that we trust in God alone.

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Amen?

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Okay, so, and apparently there's prizes,

so if you come up here on stage, I

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think, like, starting next week, And

you can recite the whole scripture.

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There's a prize.

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I don't, you can fact

check Marcel on that.

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He just told me to announce it if you

wanted to have a little extra incentive.

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But the key is though, to recite the

scripture, have it really resonate

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and be written on our hearts as

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let the spirit drive in 2025.

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I don't know.

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Someone said, let Jesus drive.

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I mean, that's, I guess it's

the same thing, but yeah,

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let the spirit drive in 25.

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But let's memorize Psalm 23 if we

can, um, and let that be something

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that sinks in, um, as we continue.

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But, uh, before I get into my

lesson today, um, we're going to be

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taking time to pray, uh, to our God.

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So bow your heads with me.

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God, thank you so much for today.

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Uh, thank you so much for, uh,

your love and your mercy, God.

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I just, uh, want to just be here with a

heart of gratitude and humility, knowing

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that, uh, I don't deserve to be here,

none of us deserve to be here, but you

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have offered graciously and willingly

your son to die on a cross for us,

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God, we are so grateful to be here to

worship you and lift your name up, I

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pray that today's lesson is encouraging

and inspiring to all of our hearts,

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including mine, and I just pray that you

speak through me, and you just use me,

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God, as an extension of your voice, um,

but I pray that your words carry more

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than mine, and I pray that, um, you can

just continue to uplift and, uh, have

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us, uh, grow deeper in our trust in you.

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Uh, we love you, Father, and

we pray in Jesus name, Amen.

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Alright, title of my lesson

today is, In Good Hands.

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Okay, we have In God Alone is our sermon

series, but my lesson is In Good Hands.

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And I'm kicking off this series, so I

hope I don't derail us, so when Marcel

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comes back next week, and he's like,

what are you guys talking about, and

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it's like a totally different, you know,

lane, but I hope, I've never kicked off

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a series before, but I hope that I do a

good job setting the stage for us here.

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So the context of, uh, like I said, we're

gonna be in Psalm 23, so if you want,

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you can turn your Bibles over to there.

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Um, but it's written by David,

and in the beginning of the

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Psalm, it says, A Psalm of David.

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And so, basically, this is, this,

what it's recorded and what's, what's,

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what's assumed and what's hopefully

thought of is that David wrote this

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Psalm later on in his life, when he

was much wiser, much older, and much

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more, uh, had a lot more wisdom to him.

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In, in his, in his mind and in his heart.

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You know, he's reflecting

on his time as a shepherd.

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I'm sure he was about king at around

this time or maybe just after.

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But it's, like I said, I said

earlier, this is one of the most

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popular and it's the most recited

Psalms in the book of Psalms.

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And I think you've heard it

probably in, uh, the movies like

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Green Mile or Schindler's List

or the Pursuit of Happiness.

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You know, you've seen, like, or

maybe you've seen it, like, someone

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has, like, a tattoo of it, or,

like, it's in their, someone's bio.

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Like, it's a very popular

scripture, because it's a lot

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of things that we can relate to.

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There's a lot about, about

fear, a lot about trust, a lot

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about abundance and blessing.

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Like, there's just so many things

packed into this thing that just make

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it so relatable and so inspiring.

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Now, before we get into the

passage, I want to ask a question.

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Are you in good hands?

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Sorry, let me, let me, let me

deepen my voice a little bit.

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Are you in good hands?

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You know, like, you

know, Allstate, exactly.

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Right?

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It's from Allstate.

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You're, right, you're in good hands.

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Right?

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Now, I know they changed the guy.

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It's no longer the, you know, the

really nice looking tall African

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American man, you know, that

was like, with the deep voice.

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It's like this guy who always has like

a band aid on him now and he's always

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like getting hurt for some reason.

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But the original, right, the, the question

that they would always ask at the end of

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the commercial is, are you in good hands?

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Right?

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And in the same way, I kind

of thought about this when I

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was like thinking to myself.

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I was like, man, am I in good hands?

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Is, are you in good hands?

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Is the OC Church in good hands?

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Right, and so this question, it

begs for us to have to really

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dig deep into our hearts and

understand, are we in good hands?

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Do we have the insurance and

the assurance from God and to

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trust that we are in good hands?

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Amen, you guys with me so far?

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So, I'm going to touch on three

points that I feel like from this

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passage, I feel like that we, that

can hopefully at, by the end of this

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sermon, help you affirm that when

I ask you, are you in good hands?

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It is a yes, absolutely.

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It's a surely.

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There's no question about it.

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Amen.

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First point.

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Oh, actually, let's go back a

little bit before I go into that.

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Like I said, this whole, this whole

passage is about sheep, but I'm

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going to skip through this thing

real quick and I'll come back to it.

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It's very important.

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I was out of order on my

slides, but you'll see why.

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First point is provision.

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Alright, let's go read it

on the screen real quick.

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It says, The Lord is my shepherd.

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I lack nothing.

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He makes me lie down in green pastures.

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He leads me beside quiet waters.

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He refreshes my soul.

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He guides me along the right

path for his name's sake.

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And, like I said, I, like, we're, we're

talking about David's perspective from him

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being a king, but now, but from his time

earlier as a young boy being a shepherd.

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And, you know, he's describing God as the

shepherd, the one that tends to the flock.

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And who is his flock?

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That's us, right?

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We are the sheep.

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And whether you like it

or not, sheep are dumb.

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Okay, we like sheep do not have

any like real sense of direction.

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They are like super scared.

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They're fearful I mean, I have a couple

videos here that I have to share.

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This is some sheep trying

to get through a door

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And they just stop Because no one

can get through the door and then

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finally one goes and like, okay

cool and they get stuck again and It

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just happens over and over and over.

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It's just like Just wait for

one person to go and then exit.

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It's simple or they're like this

sheep, you know, we're in a ravine

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You know, we're getting out.

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God drags us out.

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Okay, great.

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Life is great.

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I'm free.

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Love and life.

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Look it's free Oh, wait a minute

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And we're back in the ravine, okay Sheep

are not very intelligent on their own.

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Okay, they need a shepherd need someone

to guide Did we get the picture now?

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Of what a sheep is.

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Now, like I said, there's so much

more, and I'll dive into more of

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the, of more, little, little facts

that I learned about sheep, um, as

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we go through this lesson, but the

premise is that sheep need provision.

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They need something to be provided

for, because obviously they

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can't handle themselves, right?

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Got people going out of a ravine

and jumping right back into it.

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It's like us, sometimes we come out of

sin, and we're like, yes, this is great,

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and we jump right back into sin, like

it's nothing, like, you know, it's,

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we are, we are in need of a shepherd.

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We are in need of someone

to guide us, right?

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So, with that being said, I want

us to understand that sometimes

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even though we can wander and get

lost, how grateful are we that God

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is the shepherd that goes after us,

the one, and never forgets the one.

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He always, he can leave the 99, he

said, that will be taken care of,

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but I want to go after the one.

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He goes after each and every one of us.

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And I want to go back to the

scripture here, because it

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says, the Lord is my shepherd.

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I lack nothing.

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I love the, the, the personable,

the genuine, the intimate

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style that David is writing.

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He's not just talking to

us as a general sense.

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He's not saying the Lord is our shepherd.

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We lack nothing, but it's like when

you read this for yourself, between you

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and God, it's, the Lord is my shepherd.

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I lack nothing.

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And lacking nothing doesn't

mean that life is perfect.

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It doesn't mean that you're free

of trouble, and we'll get into that

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later on, but the idea is that God

provides all the things that we need

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spiritually, physically, mentally,

emotionally, even relationally.

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He provides those things.

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Not saying that, like I said,

everything's perfect, you have everything

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you want on your Christmas list.

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Like, you know, it's not what it is.

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It's about having this intimate, genuine

sustainability that only God can provide.

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Now I like this next part in verse 2, it

says, I, um, He makes me lie down in green

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pastures He leads me beside quiet waters.

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He refreshes my soul.

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And you know, I, I, when I, when I read

over the scripture sometimes, like,

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I just come like, Oh, green pastures,

quiet waters, that sounds really nice.

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But then I kind of stop for a second,

I kind of beg the question of, Well,

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why didn't God just say pastures?

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Why didn't God just say waters?

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Right?

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It could have been very genuine, the

general, like, you know, green is a

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nice, like, description of it, but why?

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Well, the significance of having

that detail green in there, as

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a sheep, sheep won't lie down

if three conditions are not met.

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I learned this as a fact.

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Like I said, this is me fact

checking, going to do my research,

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and this is where God really kind of

starts to become a really cool God.

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Because sheep don't lie

down if they're stressed.

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They won't lie down if

they're still hungry.

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They won't lie down if

they're still fearful.

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But when there's green pastures,

the green signifies abundance.

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Signifies, uh, signifies

sustenance, and it signifies peace.

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All the things that a sheep needs to

lie down, that's what green signifies.

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And a sheep, us, we can find rest.

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We can lie down.

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And now you might be wondering, okay,

well why would God put quiet waters?

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What's wrong with just regular water?

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Well, sheep are timid and afraid.

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They're a highly sensitive animal.

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They get scared very easily.

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They get, they scurry off.

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So, if you take a sheep next to

some rushing water, and it's like,

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alright, drink up, it's like, no, it's

going to freak out, and it's going

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to buck back and run the other way.

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But God says, I lead you to quiet waters,

so that way you don't feel stressed.

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I bring you rest, I give you peace,

that when you want to drink and be

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refreshed in your soul, be restored,

you don't have to be afraid.

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Amen.

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And I think like when I read that, I'm

like, wow, God, you are so intentional.

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I mean, think of a need in your life,

but think about how about thinking back

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to a time where God met not only the

need, but exactly how you needed it.

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Yeah, I want to share real quick.

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This week has been very hectic for me.

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Um, I started a new internship, um,

for my grad school program that I'm in.

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Um, but on top of that, I was moving.

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Um, a couple of the brothers here in

the front in the campus ministry, we

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have a household and we had to add

another brother, uh, Philip, who we, who

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we baptized last year and we became a

household of not only five, but now six.

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So do the math.

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You have six brothers, all who would make

under 2k a month trying to find a three

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bed two bath in North Orange County.

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Not the greatest, not, not, not great.

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We were, I'm now backstory.

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I got some of the guys to kind of get

riled up when we were like kind of

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experiencing an increase in our rent

and, and a decrease in our quality

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of living in our old apartment.

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And I was like, guys, 30 day

notice, let's sign it, let's go.

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And they're like, yes, let's do it.

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So I signed that mess.

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I turned into the leasing office.

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I'm like, all right, guys, we got 30 days.

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Let's find a house.

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Now, it wasn't a wise decision, but

at that time, give me something.

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Give me something.

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Now, listen, this is where I, this is

where I kind of, I feel like I kind of

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had a bit of a intuitiveness about this.

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But at that time, it was

only me and Phillip looking

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for a house, like, actively.

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But it wasn't until there was a threat

of there being no home, that all the guys

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were like, Okay, we gotta find one now.

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Let's go, let's go, let's go.

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Right?

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So, we're praying, we're going through

Zillow, we're going through Redfin,

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we're going through Apartments.

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com, Homes.

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com, Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp.

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Like, we're checking everything.

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And we're praying every day.

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I'm like, Oh my, like God, like you,

I'm like, please, like, just give us a

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home, like, like, and it was hard because

we don't want to settle either, right?

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Like, I'm like, you got six

guys, no way we're going to try

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to fit into a two bed, two bath.

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Like, that's just insane.

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We've done it before, but

we're not doing that again.

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So, we're praying, we're like,

I'm fasting, I'm trying to get

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advice, I'm trying to figure

out, like, hey, where can we go?

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And I got to a point where last

week, um, a week and a half ago, I

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remember I called, me and Phillip,

we found a house, we found a place.

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And we were, we were going back and

forth and he was expressing to me his

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frustrations about how like, like this

leasing office lady was being very

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difficult, she was asking for things

and she was like, I needed it yesterday.

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I'm like, this is today, but you

were out of the office yesterday.

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So it was just very like, just so

discouraging and so frustrating.

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And I remember I just

literally walked out the house.

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I went on a walk.

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I just, I just, I was just praying

and I was like, God, I don't

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know what you want us to do.

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And at this point we only had like.

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Eight days left in the house.

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So I was like, God, I was like, please.

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I'm like, I don't know what you're going

to do, but I just pray you do something.

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Um, I get a call from, or

I get a text from Derek.

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Derek comes in or he texts a

group that he says, Hey, we got

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an email from the leasing office.

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I checked my phone.

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She says, Oh yeah, your guys income

has been approved because at that

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time, like I said, a few of us are

still going income off our parents.

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Some of us have jobs, but

it's still low income.

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So a lot of the places that we applied

to are like, we're not, we can't do that.

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We can't work with you guys on that.

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But this leasing she said,

Hey, your income got approved.

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Let's move forward.

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And we're like, Oh, okay.

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So we hop in.

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We get on a call with her.

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We sign all the electronic

signatures, the agreements, the lease.

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We said we do everything in the day.

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House was ours within 12 hours.

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But not only that, what was also

hard was because the fact we

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were looking for something that

was close to campus as well.

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No more than 15 minutes.

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That had three beds that was rent.

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That was low enough to support all of us.

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So that was low enough for us

to be able to give consistently.

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God met the income need we're only

10 minutes from campus and on top of

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that, we have three beds praise God.

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But I say that because the need was

so specific and I asked God and I

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prayed and I was like, God, I know

that this it's somewhere, I don't

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know where it is, but I know you're

a God that meets the exact needs.

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You're not just a God that just gives

the general, like, you know, or like,

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something that we can settle with,

but when we pour out, and I, and I

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just, and I, I pray, and I, and I

ask humbly, like, I know that you're

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a God that can meet the exact needs.

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You're a God that gives

me the green pastures.

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You're a God that leads

me to quiet waters.

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That's the God that we serve.

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The God that gave me a home and

some of these brothers a home.

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You know, like, but it's, but I just,

I'm just so grateful to God that

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He is a God that is so intentional.

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That is so genuine that he, he knows all

of us so intimately that he just wants

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to fulfill the needs of our hearts.

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And like I said, sure it was a

lot of, like, just numbers and

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paperwork and stuff like that.

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But it was God along the way

getting us to where we needed to be.

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You know, it says he guides me along

the right path for his name sake.

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God is a righteous God.

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God is a holy God.

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God wasn't, well God wouldn't lead us

anywhere that goes against his nature,

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that goes against his character.

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I don't know what need you're asking

for in your life, I don't know what need

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you're praying for, I don't know what that

is, but what I do hope that you know, is

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that God is leading you to be falling in

line with his character to meet that need.

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Anything else that falls outside

of it, God is, it's not, that's not

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something that God can really help

fulfill or sustain, but one that

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falls within his line of character,

his heart, his desire is one that he

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will provide in depth, in completion.

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Does that make sense?

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You guys with me so far?

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All right.

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So I got to ask, you know, are you

truly trusting in God as your shepherd

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or are you trying to be your own guide?

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You know, it reminds me of this scripture

here, it says in, uh, in Luke 12, it

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says, Then Jesus said to his disciples,

Therefore I tell you, do not worry

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about your life, what you will eat, or

about your body, what you will wear.

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For life is more than food,

and the body more than clothes.

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Consider the ravens, they do not

sow or reap, they have no store

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room or barn, yet God feeds them.

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How much more valuable are you than birds?

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Guys, how much more

valuable are we than birds?

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That God wants to provide all for us

and we don't need to worry about that.

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Why?

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Because God is, if we're allowing God to

guide us to these green pastures and these

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quiet waters, we don't need to worry.

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We don't need to stress.

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I'm like, Oh my gosh, like what can I do?

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I need to go here, but

God's calling me here.

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Like God will lead us

to where we need to be.

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But if we're trying to be

our own guides, then we can't

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claim to be all in God alone.

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Nope.

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And God plus me.

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And then, you know, possibly, you

know, it's in God alone that we can

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be led to the green pastures and the

quiet was one that refreshes our soul.

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Amen.

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Once again, I'm asking,

are you in good hands?

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Oh, we got to work on that.

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Here we go.

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Let's keep moving though.

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Second point is protection.

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We're going to be in verse four,

and I'm sure this is probably

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one that you guys have heard.

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I feel like they say this before,

like some, like some football

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players play this before a game.

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You know, even though I walk through the

darkest valley, I will fear no evil for

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you are with me, your rod and your staff.

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They comfort me.

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You know, sheep cannot

defend against themselves.

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I mean, you saw what the videos

earlier, I don't think that's, they're

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taking on any predators anytime soon.

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And when a shepherd would have to

transport the flock, right, he would

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have to have a rod and a staff.

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The rod to protect and fend off from,

uh, from enemies and predators and the

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staff to guide and to get sheep back

in line if they start to wander off.

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But I think one of the biggest

things that we have to identify

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when we read the scripture is

what is the valley in our lives?

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You know, life's darkest moments

reveal the depth of our trust in God.

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Our trust, honestly, is really

tested when we're defenseless.

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When we have no say or have no

power over a certain situation.

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You know, His presence in the valley

gives us courage, comfort, and direction.

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You know, in some of the valleys that

I kind of thought of that, you know,

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I feel like as a church that we can

all go through as human beings, can

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be grief or loss, illness, health

struggles, financial hardship, hardship.

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Depression, mental health, infertility,

unemployment, broken trust, family

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drama, persecution, natural disasters

like the fire that we just had in L.

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A.

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My parents actually had to evacuate,

luckily our house was intact,

410

but they did have to evacuate

so that was a very scary time.

411

But there's valleys, we all go

through valleys, can you guys relate?

412

We all have valleys in our

life and there's different

413

valleys for different seasons.

414

And in the last three years, I

will be honest, man, when I look

415

at that, I will fear no evil.

416

Man, it is hard.

417

It's so hard to not fear.

418

Even though God tells us 365, 66

times not to be afraid in the Bible.

419

It's so hard to be not fearful.

420

It's so easy to be fearful because

it's just a reaction to, Oh, I

421

got to defend myself as a threat.

422

I need to protect myself.

423

You know, I, the last three years of

my life have been just peak and valley,

424

peak and valley, peak and valley.

425

And I can't begin to explain

how much the even though in

426

this scripture has spoken to me.

427

Even though, it's not saying

that maybe, possibly, likely,

428

I walk through the valley.

429

No, it says even though I walk through.

430

Meaning that it's going to come

whether you were in it or not.

431

If you're on the highest, this is

like, this is the mountain of the Lord.

432

This is amazing.

433

Or whether you are, you are, you're coming

into a situation where you feel like

434

you're starting to get into the valley.

435

The Lord is with you.

436

God is with you.

437

You are protected by the great

shepherd, the chief shepherd, the rod

438

and the staff that brings comfort.

439

Even though

440

you're going through a hardship.

441

Even though.

442

You're financially struggling,

even though you've lost trust in

443

people, even though your dreams

are shattering right before you.

444

God tells us to fear

nothing, to fear no evil.

445

You know, I, I, like I said, for me,

I feel like my life has just been

446

peak and valley, peak and valley.

447

A couple of years ago, I lost one of my

best friends, he was one of my roommates.

448

A year before that, I was, I

had to step out of the ministry

449

because I was burning out.

450

Even now, I'm facing a little

bit of persecution, getting, I'm

451

on the hot seat for some things,

452

from things that I, you know, are

out of my control at this point.

453

But I will fear no evil.

454

With God as my shepherd,

I will fear no evil.

455

There is nothing and no one

that could ever separate us

456

from God, as scripture says.

457

So what do we have to fear?

458

And I've had to remind me

that I have to dig deep.

459

We all have to dig deep, Church, because

it's really easy to want to gain control,

460

to tap out, to run the other way when

we meet trials, when we face adversity.

461

But when God says, I will fear no, when

he says, he tells us, he tells us to

462

fear no evil, because he is with us.

463

He's not a distant God.

464

He's not an absent God.

465

He's not a circumstantial, tap

in, tap in, tap out kind of God.

466

He is with us, through the valley.

467

And when you feel alone, and

you feel isolated, reminder that

468

God says that He is with us.

469

That He comforts, He wants

to bring comfort to us.

470

It reminds me of this, uh,

this, this, this phrase.

471

I, I, I was in a West Coast

School of Missions class.

472

Basically, it's like

ministry and training.

473

And this phrase came up

about shalom, about peace.

474

It says, Peace doesn't exist

in the absence of conflict, but

475

in the assurance that God is

with us, guiding us through it.

476

So, like I said earlier, life

is not all well and dandy.

477

And that's not peace when there's

no struggles in your life.

478

Peace is a consistent

wholeness and assurance.

479

That God is with us in the midst of chaos.

480

And we have to ground ourselves in that.

481

Later on I'm going to share a scripture

that kind of talks about the peace of God.

482

But for right now, just know that.

483

You're like feeling man.

484

I don't have peace in my life.

485

I feel like this the situation is this

and it's that and it's the other It's not

486

about your circumstances It's about God

being with you and you holding tight to

487

God Holding fast to him in his word and in

prayer that even in the midst of conflict

488

conflict and confrontation and adversity

Understanding that God is with you

489

leading you guiding you encouraging you

supporting you God is with you, church.

490

God is with us, church.

491

Amen.

492

Uh, I, this scripture also, I think, uh,

also speaks a lot to, um, the evil part.

493

Evil in, in Hebrew is ra'ah, in Hebrew,

and it translates to some, it's,

494

it's just a bad, but in an elemental

speak, it talks about water, and it

495

talks about fire, it talks about land.

496

It says, Isaiah 43, 2, it

says, When you pass through

497

the waters, I will be with you.

498

And when you pass through the

rivers, they will not sweep over you.

499

When you walk through the

fire, you will not be burned.

500

The flames will not set you ablaze.

501

Raise your hand if that

brings you comfort.

502

That no evil can overtake you.

503

No power can overtake you.

504

No person can overtake you.

505

No words said to or about

you can overtake you.

506

Because God is with you.

507

He's with you through the waters.

508

He protects you from the rushing

streams that try to overtake you.

509

He's with you in the fire when it hurts.

510

When it stings, when it breaks your heart,

God is with you every step of the way.

511

In the darkest of valleys, in the darkest

of nights, when you're questioning

512

and you're doubting if this is even

worth it, God is still with you.

513

God is still close.

514

Last point here.

515

Let's, let's try this again.

516

Are you guys in good hands?

517

All right, I love this.

518

Last point is assurance.

519

And we're going to read in verses

five and six through here, it

520

says, you prepare a table before

me in the presence of my enemies.

521

You anoint my head with

oil, my cup overflows.

522

Surely your goodness and love will follow

me all the days of my life, and I will

523

dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

524

God's blessings are abundant, His

mercy is constant, and His promise

525

of eternal life is unshakable.

526

You know, it's the, I love the, you

prepare a table in the presence of

527

my enemies, and it's like, sometimes

in that table, not sometimes, always,

528

that table that is being described

is the abundance of God's blessings.

529

Six, the things that he's given us, things

that he's, um, graciously given us even.

530

But love says in the midst

of the presence of enemies.

531

And that doesn't mean just people, but

that means circumstances, hardship trials.

532

Sure.

533

But what's hard sometimes is that

when we wanna say that we're in good

534

hands, then we have this beautiful

table, this feast buffet of blessings

535

laid out for us, but then all the

noise of the world and our hardships

536

and our circumstances distracted.

537

We take our eyes off the table of the

blessings that God has given us and we

538

focus on, well, ah man, this is, but I,

I, man, I, I'm financially struggling

539

here and, you know, my kids are acting

up here and I'm in this class and this

540

professor and like, you know, all of

life's worries begin to then distract us.

541

And the distraction is not that God is

trying to say, Oh, don't worry about

542

like, you know, like, like he's like,

Oh, you know, the enemies I know are

543

hard, but hey, look at this table.

544

I think we invert that some, we,

we, we, we look at it the wrong way.

545

We look at it as, well, I'm in the

presence of my enemies and then God's

546

trying to provide this table for me.

547

No, no, no.

548

The, uh, the way we should be looking

at it is that we have this table

549

despite all this going on around us.

550

We have blessings in front of us despite

everything that's going on in our lives

551

because if we don't keep our focus on the

table, we'll never see the abundance, the

552

provision, the protection that God has

laid out for us on this beautiful table.

553

The spread of blessings.

554

And like I said, if you take time

this week to just go through and

555

reflect on what God has given you, the

troubles of the world just fall away.

556

They pale in comparison.

557

You begin to think, man, why did I

give this so much like time and energy

558

when God has just been, when I know

that God is with me and he's blessing

559

me with this table of blessings.

560

And yet I'm choosing to look around and

focus on everything but the blessings.

561

Like I said, it's not being naive.

562

It's not being ignorant

of what's going on around.

563

It's just not giving it the power that

God never intended those things to have.

564

God is the sovereign God, the

authoritative God over all creation.

565

And like I said, if He provides

the needs of His own creation,

566

how much more valuable are we that

He blesses us with this table.

567

You know, it says you

anoint my head with oil.

568

My cup overflows.

569

Um, another fact about sheep.

570

Some shepherds back in the day

would put oil on their sheep.

571

To give them healing for some wounds, to

protect them against insects and fleas,

572

but then also in a traditional, in a

religious tradition, it was anointing

573

of favor, of high praise, of high favor.

574

The fact that you think about,

like, God anoints us with oil.

575

He favors us, guys.

576

Do you feel favored by God?

577

Do you know that you're favored by God?

578

That God loves you?

579

That God sees you as blank, as, as a

clean slate for those that are in Christ?

580

That you are viewed as

holy and favored by Him?

581

That he desires nothing more but to give

you, to show you the honor and praise.

582

Obviously he deserves it more than any

of all of any of us here combined, but

583

he does he out of his own love and his

grace and his willingness, he does what

584

he, well, he does what he wants with

this oil and he chooses it to anoint us

585

to show us favor, to show us blessings.

586

And I love that.

587

My cup overflows.

588

I had, I, I had a, I wanted to

do a demonstration day but didn't

589

have enough time to set it up.

590

But I want you to, guys, to picture this.

591

When we pour into a cup, obviously

when overflows, we kind of freak out.

592

We're like, oh no, we gotta

clean it up and like make sure

593

everything stays in the cup, right?

594

But think about this, if I had a

giant basin under the cup and I

595

said, your life is the cup and I'm

pouring in water as it overflows, the

596

basin is your life, the community.

597

The people that you interact with

and what I think or I believe and

598

I want to share this is that I feel

like as a church I feel like in the

599

beginning of our time we were so gung

ho about let's go, let's go, let's go

600

to the world, tell them everything.

601

I would hope that we would get filled

up spiritually, but sometimes people

602

would feel burnt out by just going

and going and going and feel like

603

man, like I don't feel filled up.

604

But I feel like now our church is

moving into a stage where we're trying

605

to really focus on the internal.

606

Have an internal focus to really make

sure that people are feeling not only

607

just seen, but also feeling like they're

loved and blessed by God and reflecting

608

on that and being grateful for that.

609

Why?

610

Because when we have an internal

focus on what God has done in our

611

lives, naturally the response is what?

612

It just overflows into

the rest of our lives.

613

When we have the love of God, the

grace of God, the mercy, we want

614

to extend that to other people.

615

But it's hard when we don't feel

that in our lives, or we don't quote

616

unquote see it in our lives, or we

don't choose to acknowledge it or

617

give it the time and the space to

have some reflection, to acknowledge

618

that, man, our cup is overflowing.

619

We have God's love.

620

We have his spirit in us.

621

Our sins are forgiven.

622

Things that we feel like, I can feel like

we can all water down, To just, oh yeah,

623

that's just as much as, you know, like,

it's, it's not worth much saying that.

624

But when you really go deep, and

we take time, and I need to do

625

this as well, I'm not saying like,

I'm above this or anything, but,

626

I've had to take time to really

reflect, man, is my cup overflowing?

627

Or am I just limiting my blessings

to me and keeping it to myself?

628

No, our cup overflows, guys.

629

Our cup is meant to not just be

filled halfway, three quarters or just

630

to the brim, but meant to overflow

because that's how much God pours in.

631

He pours more than enough.

632

He gives more than enough.

633

And lastly, in verse five or verse

six here, it says, surely your

634

goodness and love will follow me all

the days of my life and I will dwell

635

in the house of the Lord forever.

636

I love how the word

said it's, it's surely.

637

I don't know about you guys, but I, I

mean, for me, when I take time to read,

638

when I see words like surely, and even

though, and but, those words carry so

639

much more weight than we give them today.

640

Because I think sometimes we can

be skeptical, we can, you know, be

641

critical about certain things, certain

aspects, but God says, surely my

642

goodness and my love will follow you.

643

You don't have to doubt, you don't have

to question, you don't have to worry.

644

Surely, surely, as sure as the sky is

blue, as sure as you see me on stage

645

and I see you in the crowd, surely

God's goodness and his love will

646

follow us all the days of our lives.

647

That not only that, but that we would

dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

648

You know, there's a quote here from J.

649

Vernon McGee, he's a

writer, a commentator.

650

He says, David's enemies cannot

stop the Lord from blessing him.

651

In the same way, the believer's

enemies may try to defeat us,

652

but they cannot take away the

blessings that God has promised us.

653

Our provision is certain

despite external struggles.

654

Our provision is certain.

655

What God provides in His love.

656

And it is goodness is certain.

657

You don't have to doubt you don't have

to question, but the thing is, though,

658

what's different, what's, what's difficult

is that when we start to try and find

659

that in other things, when we try to go

to our career, to a relationship, when

660

we try to find it within social media

or substances or whatever, that the

661

goodness and the love that we want to

feel it's fleeting, it's temperamental,

662

it's empty, it's circumstantial.

663

And God is the opposite

of all those things.

664

God is consistent.

665

God is, um, just.

666

He is sustainable.

667

He is infinite.

668

He is eternal in his

love and his goodness.

669

And he's ever abounding.

670

He's ever, ever producing it.

671

It's just, it's just who he is.

672

You don't have to question where

it comes from or how it comes.

673

It, it's just who he is.

674

It's how He's designed all of us to be

able to receive it, to receive love.

675

So when we go and seek it out into

the rest of the world, we're missing

676

out on the greatest provider.

677

We're missing out on the greatest,

um, assurance and the greatest

678

abundance that we want to receive.

679

We're missing out on all of that.

680

When we say, oh, it's not in God alone,

it's God plus this, plus this, plus this.

681

Guys, our focus is in God alone.

682

It's in God alone that we can find

this kind of love and assurance.

683

I wanna finish out with

the scripture here.

684

Philippians four, um, verse six through

seven says, do not be anxious about

685

anything, but in every situation by

prayer and petition with thanksgiving,

686

present your requests to God and

the peace of God, which transcends

687

all understanding, will guard your

hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

688

When I think about the peace of God, when

you reflect this week on where you're

689

at, I want you to know that the peace

of God transcends all understanding.

690

It's a peace like no other, where you're

unoffendable, you're not reactive in your

691

emotions, you're not emotional, like to

the point where you're not, you're not,

692

you can't, you can't control yourself.

693

You're not spiraling out, and

you're not thinking too deep

694

in thoughts and overthinking.

695

The peace of God transcends

all understanding.

696

It brings the calmness.

697

It brings us to the green pastures.

698

It brings us to the quiet water.

699

Knowing that we were led and

guided by God the entire time.

700

Amen?

701

Can we get real practical real quick?

702

So some action steps this week.

703

Reflect on what God has provided in

your life and protected you from.

704

Verses 1 through 4.

705

Read it.

706

Dive deep.

707

Secondly, I would like you to write

a list of the abundance God has

708

shown you and pray with gratitude.

709

Verses 5, right?

710

The table that has been prepared for us.

711

That's what we should be giving our

time, our energy, and our focus toward.

712

And our, and our, and our, and

whatever is on that table, whatever

713

else is going on in our lives,

know that God is taking care of it.

714

He is with you through it.

715

Like I said, it's not being naive, it's

not being ignorant and just kind of

716

burying your head in the dirt about it.

717

No.

718

It's about acknowledging, yes,

there is a presence, there's an

719

opposition, there's pressure, but

God has laid out something greater

720

and that we know that God is with us.

721

So what do we have to fear?

722

And lastly, like I said in the

beginning, memorize Psalm 23.

723

Memorize Psalm 23.

724

Like I said, even if you don't come on

stage and recite it, memorize it for you.

725

It's not about being on here and doing it.

726

It's, we should be doing this

not just with this scripture,

727

but with many scriptures.

728

Different seasons in our lives where

God's Word needs to be the sword that

729

cuts through all the lies, cuts through

all the chaos and all the noise.

730

Psalm 23 grounds each and every one of us.

731

Psalm 23 will ground you and keep you

Keep you and keep you rooted in God's

732

love, his assurance of his promises,

and the assurance of his protection.

733

And last but not least,

are you in good hands?

734

Come on, love it.

735

We are in good hands.

736

You are in good hands because we

are in the hands of God and it is in

737

God alone that we have good hands.

738

Um, I'm going to pray, um, before we

have our, um, uh, our worship team

739

come out and lead us in a final song.

740

But like I say, guys, this

is our, this is our series.

741

It's in God alone.

742

So let us fight, strive, and commit.

743

Each and every day, each and every

moment and decision to putting

744

it and trusting in God alone.

745

Amen.

746

All right, let's pray.

747

God We are so grateful, uh for you.

748

God in you alone.

749

Can we find this everlasting peace?

750

This everlasting love the sovereignty that

you have God over all creation gives us

751

assurance that we have nothing to fear

God, I pray that as we continue through

752

this series and through these weeks and

even just the rest of our Walks with you

753

in our faith God, that we know that you

are the good shepherd, the chief shepherd,

754

the one that wants to lead us to green

pastures and quiet waters, the one that

755

is with us in the midst of dark valleys,

the one that prepares a table in the

756

presence of our enemies, the one that

anoints our heads with oil, the one that

757

overflows our cup, and the one that has

goodness and love and mercy that follows

758

us all the days of our life until we

come into, um, go into heaven with you.

759

God, we are grateful.

760

Thank you for your blessings.

761

Thank you for your grace that

you have lavished upon each and

762

every one of us in this room.

763

We love you so much.

764

We pray also in your son Jesus name.

765

Amen.