Conversations of Faith: A Gentle Invitation to Hope

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Hello, my name is Kevin Griffin, and you are listening to Conversations of Faith.

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Got a question for you. Have you ever thought to yourself, with all the churches,

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ministries, and Christian podcasts

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out there, why is there still such a misunderstanding of God and His Word?

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I mean, why is Christianity known more for being a religion of hate rather than

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the reflection of hope in this world.

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I believe the time is right for a different approach.

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Welcome to.

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Hey, again, thanks for joining us on this here episode, Conversations of Faith.

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You know, today on this episode, I wanted to share the thought and the heart behind this podcast.

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And it's really simple. It's simply a conversational podcast about God and His

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faithfulness to His Word.

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You know, as I pay attention to all the things that are out there,

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I recognize that there's many ministries,

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churches, Christian podcasts that can feel very dogmatic, judgmental, critical,

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and even self-righteous.

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And they often seem to be selling a version of Christianity that is so burdensome and not liberating.

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I hear a lot, and man, it's just hard. There's a lot of points of views that's

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shared that's oftentimes it takes the word of God out of context,

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to kind of push a point or an agenda.

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And what we wanted to do with this podcast is create a podcast that is simply conversation style.

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You know, I've got nothing to sell you, no debate to have with you to prove

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that you're wrong about everything nothing to convince you of or even to get you to stop doing,

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our only goal is to share the word of God in a way that brings hope and encouragement

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as you seek to live out your new identity in Christ.

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We wanted to create a place for those who really want to follow Jesus,

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but find it a struggle against the influences of this world and the opposing forces of Satan.

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And so we wanted to be a place where you can hear the word of God without all

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the preachy and dictating talk.

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Excuse me. The word itself is

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simple and powerful, and we don't want to do anything to get in its way.

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We believe a conversational style can meet people where they're at,

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especially those trying to figure out what it means to live a life according

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to faith in Jesus Christ and how to incorporate the word of God as a compass for daily living.

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What I've drawn upon is my own life and sharing faith for me has become more

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of a conversation than trying to prove a point or sell an idea.

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It's been about how God's promises in scripture have shown up in my own life,

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and how even through seasons of pain and uncertainty he has sustained me.

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You know, as I stated earlier, Conversations of Faith is simply a conversation,

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about God our Father and his faithfulness to his word.

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You know, as a final note here, I wanted to include a piece that was recorded

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before we came up with the name Conversations of Faith.

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The podcast used to be called 4110, which is actually the ministry now behind this show.

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So instead of re-recording it, I wanted to share it as it is because it's a message from my heart,

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about our ministry's desire to have impact and influence in the lives of others to the glory of God.

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Hey, this is Kevin, and I want to thank you for joining me on this episode of

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4110, a podcast dedicated to sharing hope and encouragement through the Word of God.

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I thought today I would start this episode with giving a little bit more context,

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as to the ministry of 4110.

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You know, it's been something in development that God placed in my heart.

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And I want to say at least six to seven years ago.

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So it's been in the making for that period of time.

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And first and foremost, 41.10 comes from the verse in the book of Isaiah 41.10,

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where it's God's message to the Israelites through the prophet Isaiah.

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And it says, Do not be afraid, for I am with you.

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Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you.

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I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

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And that happens to be one of my favorite verses in the Bible.

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I have a few, but that's one actually I have tattooed on my arm because of the

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significance of the meaning.

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The context of this verse is that the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon,

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and God had allowed it simply because of their ongoing disobedience and turning

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to other gods and refusing to repent.

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And so God allowed them to be taken into captivity and.

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For 70 years. But during that time, he sent the prophet Isaiah to give them

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this message to basically remind them that though they are in a place of captivity,

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God has not forgotten about them.

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God will come and he will rescue them. And so to have hope and be encouraged because God will come.

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And so I've taken that to heart in my life because There's been many seasons where,

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you know, I would say I was in captivity, maybe in bondage to sin,

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maybe going through some situations or circumstances that I did not want to be in.

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And it appeared that maybe God was absent, specifically, you know, from view, if you will.

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And so this particular verse, it reminded me and reminds us of God's love and

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care for those who are called according to his name.

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And so 4110 is set up to be that type of ministry,

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a ministry that reminds you of the promises of God,

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a ministry that supports and encourage you through seasons where it may seem

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that God is absent, maybe seasons of pain, maybe seasons of God holding on to

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a blessing that you feel is long overdue,

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you know, seasons of struggle with fear, insecurity, and doubt that kind of,

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attacks your faith and makes it tough for you to believe.

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You know, you may be struggling with the loss of a friend, the loss of life,

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the loss of just a job, things that are inherent to life that are not the things

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that we desire, but they are a part of life.

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And you may need that reminder that do not be afraid for God is with you. Do not be dismayed.

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And so those are words that have been a blessing to me during those seasons

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and from that same place is where the ministry 4110 comes from.

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In addition, one of the things that I have taken notice of over the years is the way that,

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ministry, and I'll say contemporary Christian churches or services,

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and it's not to be disparaging, but I have just noticed the trend that's moving towards entertainment,

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versus lending itself towards spiritual maturity.

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And we are called by the word of God into spiritual maturity. And so.

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When there are institutions, when there are church options available that lend

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itself more towards entertaining,

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and not towards shepherding to where there's growth in an individual who is

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investing time to participate, to attend these services.

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It's really limiting the way that people can experience,

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the evidence of God working in their life so that their faith is strengthened,

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and that the things that they view happening in this world, they begin to lose

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their edge in terms of the dynamic or how severe,

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because we're reminded in our maturity that God is sovereign and in control

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and there's nothing that he can't do.

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And so as the popularity of entertaining places of worship continues to spread,

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I felt in my heart to really be a place where the Word of God is the only thing that's being spoken,

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and spoken in a way to where it's not about how I can preach or wow you or dazzle

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you with how much I know, because that makes no difference.

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It's so that the word of God lands in your heart and begins to give a fresh

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way of looking at God, looking at the value of what's been given to you through

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the blood of Jesus Christ, a new identity,

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so that you can begin to operate and function from the privileged position that

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has been given to us through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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And so this is not a ministry of just random, you know, teachings,

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random thoughts or opinions or views that I hold.

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It's literally taking you through the word of God and helping you to see for

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yourself what God says about who he is,

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about who you are because of the blood of Jesus Christ and what that means for your life.

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And my hope and desire is that this is just a place where you can comfortably come.

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And look to hear a word that not only encourages you, but inspires you into

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action, into taking faith steps into the things that God says,

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so that you can begin experiencing the fullness of God in your life,

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the fullness of His presence, the fullness of His Spirit,

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so that as you're sharing with

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others, you're not sharing simply something that you heard in a sermon.

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You're not sharing something that you simply heard from someone else.

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You're sharing experiences and encounters that you are personally having because

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you are stepping out in faith into the very promises of God.

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You're believing in the one who says it.

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And then by faith, you're stepping into it.

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And God's faithfulness will be the experiences and the encounters that makes

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himself known and real to you in your life.

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So as you're sharing God, you're sharing a tangible living God that is alive,

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that is well, and that is working in and through his people to make himself

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known that he is glorified through us, his children, for the world to see.

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And so 4110 is simply that place, a place of hope and encouragement,

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a place where you can begin moving towards spiritual maturity,

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not because of what I say, but because of the word of God that will be spoken.

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And I'll do my best to break things down. I'm not a scholar.

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I'm not a pastor. I'm not anything other than a child of the living God.

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And I have committed myself to learning the word of God,

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exploring the word of God. So I have a clear understanding of who my father

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is and who I am in him through the blood of Jesus Christ.

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And I seek diligently how to live the truth of God's word

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so that I can have the experiences and the encounters that make him real and

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that it strengthens my faith and giving me perspective now that's not a part

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of the way the world sees things

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or from the lens of the world,

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but from the lens of the kingdom of God.

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And so that helps me when I deal with unfavorable circumstances.

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It helps me when I deal with challenges that seem insurmountable to me.

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It helps me when I deal with fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

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And I call it the help that it gives me is it gets me back to truth quickly.

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I may have moments where I have an emotional charge that wants to take over,

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and really crowd out and force out the truth that I hold in my heart.

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And I know that's the process, that is the dynamic of this fallen world,

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and that is the strategy of Satan, to remove the word from our hearts so that

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we feel helpless and that we turn to our own devices.

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And so the word of God has become an anchor for me, and it's my home base of truth.

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And though I may have an emotional charge, by God's grace, he allows me to get back to what's true.

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And then I get to respond not from the emotion, but from what God's word says

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is true, either about him or the circumstance that I'm in.

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And more importantly, the reminder of his faithfulness,

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for those of us who choose to put our faith in him and to cry out to him for

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the help that we need, for the perspective that we need in the things of life

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that we encounter that are just inevitable,

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that we may be a witness.

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That we may be a light in the darkness for others to see.

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We are in a season where the word of God is getting mangled and trampled under

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the feet of those who don't know the living God.

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And they're trying to dictate what it means to be a Christian.

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They're trying to dictate what it looks like, saying that we don't have a heart,

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that we're judgmental, that we're criticizing, that we don't have empathy or

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compassion, that we're self-righteous.

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Well, that's not Christianity at all.

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That's a version of Christianity that is not rooted in the truth of who God

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is and what He says He has done to redeem,

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to reconcile, and to restore His people back into right relationship with Him

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so that we can live as sons and daughters.

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And so as we press into the truth of God's Word, we find it coming alive in us.

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It's no longer something where

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we have to be remembering or memorizing scriptures to quote to someone.

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That's important, but not as important as someone seeing you live out the very

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truth that you profess, especially when it's hard and there are other options

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that are presented by the world.

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It's then and in those moments where we are demonstrating and reflecting the

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hope that we have in Jesus Christ.

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And it's in those moments, just

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as Christ did, that we're glorifying the Father apart from this world.

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And so if that's a place that you'd like to hang out,

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if that's an environment you'd like to be in, then welcome to 4110,

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because our hope and our prayer is not to make this about us and what we're

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doing and how great we are as a ministry.

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But to make it about you.

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How you learn about who you are because of our gracious, merciful,

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loving God who sent his son to die that we may be redeemed out of the fallen nature of this world,

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and that we would be restored into our rightful place,

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as children of God in divine relationship with the creator of heaven and earth,

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for both now and eternity.

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So I thank you for taking the time to tune in and I pray that this message hits

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your heart in a special way,

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and that today that you have hope in

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your current struggle and that you're encouraged that it is not the end.

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We are here with you and for you because of the spirit of the living God who is with us and for us.

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Be blessed and I look forward to you joining us on the journey of 4110. God bless.

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Thank you for tuning in to Conversations of Faith. You can subscribe to keep up with new episodes.

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If you'd like to follow us on Instagram and TikTok, you can find us at 41.10 Ministries.

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That's 41.10 Ministries. To learn more or to support the ministry of 41.10,

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you can find us at 41.10.org.

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That's all spelled out, 41.10.org.

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May God's peace rest upon you. Until next time. Thank you.