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<v Speaker 3>Hey, everybody.

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Well, we're talking about

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<v Speaker 1>your money.

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<v Speaker 3>That's right.

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<v Speaker 1>We're continuing a powerful series called Financial Fitness. Rick is

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<v Speaker 1>opening God's Word and showing us how to manage what

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<v Speaker 1>we've been given with wisdom, faith, and purpose. And I

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<v Speaker 1>know if you apply these biblical principles, you'll start to

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<v Speaker 1>experience true financial freedom and lasting peace. Such a great

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<v Speaker 1>lesson today. We're hearing part one of a message called

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<v Speaker 1>The Laws of Sowing and Reaping.

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<v Speaker 2>Now the Bible tells us that God is an organized God.

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<v Speaker 2>God is not a God of chaos. He's very orderly.

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<v Speaker 2>In fact, the more we look at the universe, the

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<v Speaker 2>more we realize how organized everything really is. In fact,

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<v Speaker 2>science continues to show us things we didn't even know

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<v Speaker 2>five years ago about the ecosystems on planet Earth. and

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<v Speaker 2>even the ecosystems in the universe, that everything is finely tuned.

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<v Speaker 3>Did you know that if our.

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<v Speaker 2>Earth, which is tilted on an axis, if it one

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<v Speaker 2>degree tilted this way, we would burn up, and one

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<v Speaker 2>degree that way, we'd freeze up?

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<v Speaker 3>Did you know that?

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<v Speaker 2>It is at the exact angle axis to sustain human life.

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<v Speaker 2>And everything is connected and there are laws. God has

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<v Speaker 2>established the universe around certain natural or physical and spiritual laws.

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<v Speaker 2>There are laws of physics. There are laws of mathematics.

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<v Speaker 2>There are laws of chemistry. We know these things. We

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<v Speaker 2>know that there are spiritual laws. We get the laws

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<v Speaker 2>of nature, obviously, the natural laws by looking.

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<v Speaker 3>At God's creation.

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<v Speaker 2>We get the spiritual laws by looking at God's word.

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<v Speaker 3>Now, the amazing thing is this.

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<v Speaker 2>You don't have to understand these laws to benefit from them.

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<v Speaker 2>In other words, you don't have to understand why God

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<v Speaker 2>does what he does You just have to cooperate with it.

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<v Speaker 2>And if you do, you're gonna benefit whether you understand

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<v Speaker 2>the law or not. For instance, I don't understand the

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<v Speaker 2>law of magnetism. Now, if I wanted to, I could

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<v Speaker 2>obviously go study it, I just haven't chosen to do so.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know how magnetism works.

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<v Speaker 2>But it doesn't stop me from using a compass when

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<v Speaker 2>I get lost. I don't have to understand how it works,

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<v Speaker 2>I just know it works. I don't understand the laws

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<v Speaker 2>of electricity. But it doesn't stop me from flipping a

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<v Speaker 2>switch and using a light. I don't understand the laws

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<v Speaker 2>that cause the chemical reactions and internal combustion. It doesn't

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<v Speaker 2>stop me from driving a car. And, you know, I

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<v Speaker 2>don't understand the law of gravity. Now, nobody understands that one.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, even Einstein said nobody understands the law of gravity.

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<v Speaker 2>In fact, it doesn't make sense. Because with something spinning around,

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<v Speaker 2>does that usually draw things to it or does it

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<v Speaker 2>repel them?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, it repels them. And the Earth is spinning around.

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<v Speaker 2>Seems like we should be floating off that way instead

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<v Speaker 2>of being held down. It doesn't make sense. No scientist

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<v Speaker 2>has ever given a full explanation of gravity. We're still

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<v Speaker 2>studying it. But I am sure glad that that law,

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<v Speaker 2>the law of gravity, is consistent. I mean, what if, say,

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<v Speaker 2>Tuesday and Thursdays were non-gravity days? Would that kind of

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<v Speaker 2>mess up your schedule a little bit? Yeah, and the

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<v Speaker 2>thing about God's laws is that because they are God's laws,

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<v Speaker 2>they are always true, and because they're always true, you

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<v Speaker 2>can count on them. The reason we were able to

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<v Speaker 2>send in the Apollo program, send guys to the moon

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<v Speaker 2>and back is because there's certain laws of physics we

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<v Speaker 2>know are inviolable. They cannot be changed. They're not theories.

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<v Speaker 2>They are laws, and if you do certain things, you

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<v Speaker 2>can count on it. And that's the only way we

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<v Speaker 2>make these scientific breakthroughs. Now, in this series, We're looking

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<v Speaker 2>at God's laws of money. We're looking at the laws

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<v Speaker 2>of wealth. We're looking at the laws of prosperity. Now

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<v Speaker 2>I said this last week, we are not a quote,

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<v Speaker 2>prosperity gospel church. We do not believe that God wants

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<v Speaker 2>everybody to be a millionaire. In fact, Jesus taught the

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<v Speaker 2>exact opposite. Jesus said a man's life consists not in

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<v Speaker 2>the abundance of things that you possess, and it's not

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<v Speaker 2>about the acquisition of things. But God has given certain

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<v Speaker 2>laws about Finances, in his words, in his word, laws

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<v Speaker 2>of spending, laws of saving, laws of investing, laws of

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<v Speaker 2>managing and using, laws of insuring, laws of giving. There

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<v Speaker 2>are all kinds of laws about money that if you

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<v Speaker 2>do these things, whether you understand them or not, you

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<v Speaker 2>will get blessed by them. You just cooperate with them.

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<v Speaker 2>And so we're looking at them. Now there are two

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<v Speaker 2>books in the Bible that deal a lot with this.

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<v Speaker 2>The book of Proverbs and the book of Ecclesiastes. I

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<v Speaker 2>mentioned last week that Solomon was the king of Israel.

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<v Speaker 3>He was the son of David.

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<v Speaker 2>And when he became king, God said, ask Solomon for

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<v Speaker 2>anything you want and I will give it to you.

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<v Speaker 2>Solomon thought about it and said, Lord, what I want

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<v Speaker 2>more than anything else is wisdom.

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<v Speaker 3>Wisdom, make me wise.

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<v Speaker 2>God said, Solomon, that's not only great wisdom, it's the

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<v Speaker 2>greatest one and because you asked the right thing, I'm

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<v Speaker 2>gonna give you everything else. I'm gonna give you power

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<v Speaker 2>and I'm gonna give you wealth as well as wisdom.

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<v Speaker 2>So Solomon became the wisest man who ever lived and

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<v Speaker 2>he also became the wealthiest man. And as a result,

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<v Speaker 2>he wrote two books and a lot of it has

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<v Speaker 2>to do with money management, the book of Ecclesiastes and

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<v Speaker 2>the book of Proverbs. Now in this series, week one,

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<v Speaker 2>we started looking at these laws. And first we looked

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<v Speaker 2>at Jesus' laws of wise money management. Seven Laws of

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<v Speaker 2>Wise Money Management. And if you missed that, you're going

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<v Speaker 2>to want to go back and listen to that series,

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<v Speaker 2>our message online. Then last week, we looked at the

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<v Speaker 2>law of contentment. And we talked about the five reasons

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<v Speaker 2>why we need to learn to be content and the

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<v Speaker 2>four ways to enjoy more on less. Now this week,

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<v Speaker 2>we're going to look at a third foundational law of

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<v Speaker 2>money management. And it is called the law or the

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<v Speaker 2>laws of sowing and reaping. The laws of sowing and reaping.

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<v Speaker 2>If you'll look at your outlines, the first verse on

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<v Speaker 2>the outline is Proverbs chapter 11, verse 18. And in

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<v Speaker 2>that verse, we have one example of the law of

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<v Speaker 2>sowing and reaping. It says there, the wicked man earns

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<v Speaker 2>deceptive wages. In other words, he earns them dishonestly. But

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<v Speaker 2>he who sows righteousness will be certain to reap a reward.

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<v Speaker 2>Now circle the word sow and the word reap. What's

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<v Speaker 2>he talking about here? This obviously is a verse about money.

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<v Speaker 2>He's talking about wages here. He's talking about your income.

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<v Speaker 2>And he says there's a dishonest way to make money

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<v Speaker 2>and there's an honest way to make money.

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<v Speaker 3>And he says if.

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<v Speaker 2>You sow honestly, you're gonna reap a reward. Now what

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<v Speaker 2>is he talking about, sowing and reaping? Well for thousands

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<v Speaker 2>of years, the only way people did farming was what

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<v Speaker 2>was called sowing. They didn't take a single seed and

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<v Speaker 2>put it in the ground dig a hole and cover

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<v Speaker 2>it up, put a seed in the ground, dig a

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<v Speaker 2>hole and cover it up.

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<v Speaker 3>Nobody did that. And they certainly didn't have machines.

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<v Speaker 2>That could poke holes and automatically seed a field like

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<v Speaker 2>they do today. And for thousands of years, people would

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<v Speaker 2>wear a little knapsack filled with grain or corn or

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<v Speaker 2>seed or whatever, And as the farmer would walk through

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<v Speaker 2>the field, he would sow, which means he'd grab a

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<v Speaker 2>handful of the seed and he'd throw it like this.

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<v Speaker 2>And this is called broadcasting. It's where we get the

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<v Speaker 2>term for television. Broadcasting means you're broadly casting it over

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<v Speaker 2>a large area as opposed to narrow casting.

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<v Speaker 3>Which is a very specific target.

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<v Speaker 2>Broadcasting, you throw seed over an area and some of

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<v Speaker 2>that seed grows. The birds eat and some of it

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<v Speaker 2>lands on rock and some of it, you know, actually

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<v Speaker 2>gets planted and it begins to grow. And the principle

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<v Speaker 2>is whatever you sow, you will reap in life. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>I want us to understand that this principle applies not

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<v Speaker 2>just in your money.

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<v Speaker 3>What we're going to look at today, these.

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<v Speaker 2>Nine laws will apply in your relationships, in your time,

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<v Speaker 2>in your words, in your talents. in the way you

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<v Speaker 2>use your energy and every other area. But let's get

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<v Speaker 2>right into it. Here are the nine laws of sowing

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<v Speaker 2>and reaping from the word of God. Number one, everything

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<v Speaker 2>starts as a seed. Everything in life starts as a seed.

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<v Speaker 2>Every idea is a seed, every dream is a seed,

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<v Speaker 2>every achievement is a seed, every building that's built, firstly

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<v Speaker 2>was a seed thought, it was a seed idea.

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<v Speaker 3>Your life began as a seed.

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<v Speaker 2>Everything starts as a seed in this planet. And God

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<v Speaker 2>created the world around what he calls the seed principle.

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<v Speaker 3>In the very first.

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<v Speaker 2>Chapter of the Bible, God calls this to our attention.

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<v Speaker 2>Genesis chapter one, verse 11, God said,' Let the land

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<v Speaker 2>have seed-bearing plants' and let the trees that bear fruit

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<v Speaker 2>with seed in it' according to their varieties.' Now everybody's

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<v Speaker 2>heard the old cliche that anybody can count the seeds

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<v Speaker 2>in an apple. But only God knows the number of

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<v Speaker 2>apples in a seed. Because the seed has exponential potential.

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<v Speaker 2>You could take one seed, plant it in the ground,

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<v Speaker 2>that seed grows into a giant tree, which produces fruit,

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<v Speaker 2>which has other seeds, which create more trees and more trees,

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<v Speaker 2>and over thousands of years, you could have an entire

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<v Speaker 2>forest of hundreds of thousands of acres from one single seed.

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<v Speaker 2>And the Bible says in the book of Zephaniah, do

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<v Speaker 2>not despise the day of small things because everything.

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<v Speaker 3>Starts small, it starts as a seed.

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<v Speaker 2>I grew up in Northern California in the redwood country.

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<v Speaker 2>The redwoods are the largest living things on the planet.

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<v Speaker 2>Nothing is bigger than the Northern California redwoods, not the

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<v Speaker 2>quails or anything else. And in fact, the largest living

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<v Speaker 2>thing on the planet is in Humboldt County. It is

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<v Speaker 2>a redwood tree that is 380 feet tall.

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<v Speaker 3>You can imagine that.

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<v Speaker 2>I grew up in a little town called Redwood Valley,

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<v Speaker 2>about 500 people. I have seen redwood trees where the

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<v Speaker 2>trunk was bigger than this half of the stage. And

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<v Speaker 2>when you would cut it off, you could turn it

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<v Speaker 2>into a dance floor. I have seen redwood trees where

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<v Speaker 2>they actually wanted to build a road and they would

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<v Speaker 2>carve out the road through the middle of the redwood

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<v Speaker 2>and you could drive through the redwood tree and the

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<v Speaker 2>tree is still growing hundreds of feet on.

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<v Speaker 3>Top of it.

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<v Speaker 2>They are enormous, enormous trees. And yet if you've ever

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<v Speaker 2>seen a redwood tree seed, they're dinky. It's like a

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<v Speaker 2>little speck of sand. or pepper, and you would look

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<v Speaker 2>at this little redwood seed and you'd go, how in

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<v Speaker 2>the world could something so big come from something so small,

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<v Speaker 2>so tiny? Well, that is the exponential potential in every seed.

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<v Speaker 2>Everything starts with a seed idea, a seed thought, a

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<v Speaker 2>seed dream.

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<v Speaker 3>When I started.

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<v Speaker 2>Saddleback with Kay, one of the verses that I held

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<v Speaker 2>onto is this verse, it's on the screen, Job 8,

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<v Speaker 2>verse seven says this, though what you start will seem significant,

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<v Speaker 2>small and insignificant. You'll end up in the future with much.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's what happens. Everything starts as a seed. Law

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<v Speaker 2>number two is this. Nothing happens until the seed's planted.

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<v Speaker 2>Nothing happens in your life until the seed is planted.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, a couple years ago, I bought some pumpkin

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<v Speaker 2>seeds because I like to grow vegetables. And it's just

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<v Speaker 2>one of the ways I relax and I like to

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<v Speaker 2>garden and grow vegetables. fresh things and I like to

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<v Speaker 2>watch stuff grow. So I got some pumpkin seeds.

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<v Speaker 3>You know what?

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<v Speaker 2>Those pumpkins never produced. And I couldn't figure out why

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<v Speaker 2>until last week I was going through the garage and

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<v Speaker 2>on a shelf I found those pumpkin seeds. Well, of

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<v Speaker 2>course they didn't produce because I never planted them. A

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<v Speaker 2>seed that's in a box on a shelf is worthless.

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<v Speaker 2>Seeds are meant to be planted. Now imagine a farmer

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<v Speaker 2>going out and spending his life savings to buy a

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<v Speaker 2>bunch of seed, and he's got it in his barn,

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<v Speaker 2>and as he gets ready to start springtime, he's looking

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<v Speaker 2>out on a barren field, and he bought all this seed,

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<v Speaker 2>and all of a sudden he goes, I don't know

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<v Speaker 2>if I should plant this or not. Because all my

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<v Speaker 2>life savings is tied.

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<v Speaker 3>Up in that seed.

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<v Speaker 2>And if I plant it, I might lose it. And

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<v Speaker 2>if I lose it, I've lost my life savings. I

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<v Speaker 2>don't think I want to plant it. I'm gonna play

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<v Speaker 2>it safe. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm not gonna plant

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<v Speaker 2>my seed. I'm simply going to hold on to it.

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<v Speaker 2>We would call that farmer a fool. because seed is

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<v Speaker 2>worthless unless it's planted. You gotta put it in the ground.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, it's like the old things on the Coke cans,

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<v Speaker 2>no deposit, no return. You gotta make a deposit with it. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>here's a farmer, and he's like some of you who

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<v Speaker 2>are out of work. Or your finances are barren. And

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<v Speaker 2>he's got a barren field. And he looks at this

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<v Speaker 2>field and there's no crop, there's no produce, there's no income.

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<v Speaker 2>He's got a field that's producing no income in his life.

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<v Speaker 3>Now, what does the.

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<v Speaker 2>Farmer do when he's got a barren field and it's

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<v Speaker 2>producing no income? Well, he doesn't complain about it. Oh,

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<v Speaker 2>I can't believe the terrible environment we're in right now.

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<v Speaker 2>I've got a barren field. He doesn't worry about it.

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<v Speaker 2>He doesn't gripe about it. Oh, the economy is so bad.

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<v Speaker 3>It's terrible. I'm not making any money. He doesn't even

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<v Speaker 3>pray about it. He just goes out and starts planting

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<v Speaker 3>some seed.

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<v Speaker 2>Because nothing's going to happen until he plants a seed.

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<v Speaker 2>He can pray all he wants, and it's not going.

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<v Speaker 3>To produce fruit.

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<v Speaker 2>All the prayer in the world is not going to

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<v Speaker 2>produce fruit.

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<v Speaker 3>He's got to plant. He's got to plant some seed.

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<v Speaker 2>Now some of you think you're waiting on God. You

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<v Speaker 2>think you're waiting on God for that job. You think

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<v Speaker 2>you're waiting on God for a husband. You think you're

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<v Speaker 2>waiting on God for the big deal. You think you're

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<v Speaker 2>waiting on God for the windfall, for the income to

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<v Speaker 2>come in that's there. And God said, you think you're

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<v Speaker 2>waiting on me?

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<v Speaker 3>What? I'm waiting on you.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm waiting for you to plant some seed. It isn't

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<v Speaker 2>going to happen until you plant some seed. Everything in

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<v Speaker 2>life starts as a seed. A relationship, a marriage, a business,

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<v Speaker 2>a church, everything starts as a seed. And nothing happens

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<v Speaker 2>until the seed is planted. Now why is God doing this?

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<v Speaker 2>Because planting is an act of faith. I take what

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<v Speaker 2>I've got and I give it away. And I put

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<v Speaker 2>it in the ground and I bury it. And that

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<v Speaker 2>takes an act of faith because it takes what I've

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<v Speaker 2>got and I let go of it. And God says

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<v Speaker 2>that planting is an act of faith and that brings

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<v Speaker 2>glory to God. Now Jesus explained this principle when he

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<v Speaker 2>was trying to explain why he came to earth to

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<v Speaker 2>die on the cross. He used the principle of sowing

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<v Speaker 2>and reaping. Look at this next verse. In John 12, 24,

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus said, unless a grain of wheat is buried in

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<v Speaker 2>the ground, It cannot reproduce.

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<v Speaker 3>As long as it's stocked in the barn, it's worthless.

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<v Speaker 2>Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground,

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<v Speaker 2>he's talking about his own death, it cannot reproduce. But

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<v Speaker 2>if it dies, it will produce much fruit. Millions of

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<v Speaker 2>people will be saved and get to go to heaven

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<v Speaker 2>because of my death and my burial. He said, I'm

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<v Speaker 2>going to plant a seed and the seed is going

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<v Speaker 2>to be my life. Now, here's a principle. I want

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<v Speaker 2>you to write this down. Whenever I have a need,

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<v Speaker 2>I plant a seed. Whenever I have a need, I

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<v Speaker 2>plant a seed.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know what you need.

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<v Speaker 2>More time, more energy, more money, more support, more relationships,

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<v Speaker 2>more wisdom.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know what you want.

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<v Speaker 2>But whatever you need more of, you plant a seed.

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<v Speaker 2>This is the principle of sowing and reaping. When I

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<v Speaker 2>have a need, I don't gripe about it. I don't

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<v Speaker 2>complain about it. I don't wish about it. I don't

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<v Speaker 2>even have to pray about it.

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<v Speaker 3>I just plant a seed.

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<v Speaker 1>What a fantastic message from Pastor Rick. You know, Daily

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<v Speaker 1>Hope is changing lives every day. Here's Pastor Rick with

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<v Speaker 1>a letter from one of our listeners.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, friends, it always encourages me to hear how

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<v Speaker 2>God is using Daily Hope to help you. And so

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<v Speaker 2>thanks for your letters. And I want to read one

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<v Speaker 2>to you today from a woman named Judith. She said,

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<v Speaker 2>Dear Pastor Rick, After college, I met and married a

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<v Speaker 2>man that God did not intend for me, but I

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<v Speaker 2>became pregnant with triplets, and the marriage was tumultuous, and

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<v Speaker 2>I endured more pain and more loneliness and more sadness

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<v Speaker 2>than I could have ever imagined. But God still showed

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<v Speaker 2>me his grace and love, and he sustained and he

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<v Speaker 2>comforted me. But as I was left to work and

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<v Speaker 2>care for three babies, I clung on to God, and

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<v Speaker 2>I listened to your daily podcast every day, And sometimes

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<v Speaker 2>it was as if God was speaking directly to me.

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<v Speaker 2>I read your Daily Hope devotionals and I read the

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<v Speaker 2>Bible and I prayed and it was tough, but I

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<v Speaker 2>survived and I'm still surviving because of God. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>after your series on tithing, I felt convicted and started tithing,

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<v Speaker 2>even though mathematically it was literally impossible for me to tithe.

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<v Speaker 2>But I trusted God with what I had and God

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<v Speaker 2>has covered the tithing and blessed me with even more.

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<v Speaker 2>And I'm now starting your series on prayer. And I

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<v Speaker 2>can't wait to grow closer to God and walk in

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<v Speaker 2>his purposes for my life instead of my own purposes.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you, Pastor Rick, for doing God's work. Well, Judith,

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<v Speaker 2>I want to thank you. Thank you that you wrapped

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<v Speaker 2>your arms tightly around God during such an incredibly hard

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<v Speaker 2>season in your life.

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<v Speaker 3>You've been through some really.

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<v Speaker 2>Challenging times, and I'm blessed to see that Daily Hope

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<v Speaker 2>has played a part in deepening your trust in God.

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<v Speaker 2>You're seeing God's faithfulness, and you're seeing his provision, and

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<v Speaker 2>that's increasing your trust.

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<v Speaker 3>And that makes me smile. God bless you, Judith.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, Pastor Rick would love to hear how this

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<v Speaker 1>broadcast has blessed you. So please send him an email

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<v Speaker 1>at rick at pastorrick.com. That's rick at pastorrick.com. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>simple way to encourage and bless Pastor Rick and the

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<v Speaker 1>whole Daily Hope team. We hope you'll join us next

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<v Speaker 1>time as we look into God's word for our daily hope.

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<v Speaker 1>This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and

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<v Speaker 1>your generous financial support.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you.