Created To Be Free

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- Today on Crossroads we're going to see

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what a wild, untamed beast has to do with us

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and how we can find freedom

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just like it's going to find freedom.

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Welcome to Crossroads. I'm Brian Tome, senior pastor.

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- And I'm Hannah and Happy Mother's Day

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to all the moms out there. We are so excited.

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- It's amazing, my church gets to remind me,

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"Oh, no, I've got to go get something, for my mother today."

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- Exactly right.

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So if that's you, you need to pause this or walk away,

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call, text, do whatever you got to do,

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because mothers everywhere deserve to be celebrated.

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And we're excited to do that today with a weekend

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we get to call created to be free.

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And your friend Todd Pierce is here.

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- It is an unbroken horse

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and bring it to a place of freedom.

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It's crazy what he does.

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He does this all over the country

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with a lot a lot of people.

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- Maybe you're skeptical because what does freedom

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and horses and Todd have to do with anything?

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And Mother's Day? We're about to find out right now.

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- Today, I'm going to tell you a story about a horse.

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It's not just about the horse.

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It's actually about us.

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You're going to be able to see the transition

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that can happen even in a short amount of time

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of this horse going from scared

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and in almost every way clueless about

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what its life can be about

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and overcome fear, learn how to be loved

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and the potential that's released as a result of that.

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It's going to come down to her having

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a pretty big decision to make.

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It's going to determine the impact of her entire life.

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And it's going to be whether she says yes or no.

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She was made for greatness, but she doesn't know it yet.

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My name is Todd and I'm from Idaho,

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where I'm a husband and a father.

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And I've spent my whole adult life as,

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first, a rodeo cowboy.

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And now for the last 20 years,

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I've used my cowboy influence to encourage other people.

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And over the last ten years, actually doing

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what it is that you're going to see today,

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where we can allow a horse to teach us

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more about how God created us and interacts with us.

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When we got here last night, she was obviously very scared.

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She had been in the trailer with this other horse,

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but it was a whole new world to her whole.

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Her whole life had been in that one pasture

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and she had no idea what to expect.

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Obviously, a lot of confusion

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and the reality of just trying to get off the trailer

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was a brand new experience.

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She comes from a ranch here locally

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that has a breeding program.

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And they purposely breed horses for special purposes.

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But this one was an accident.

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It wasn't one that someone had a specific plan for,

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and it'd be what some people would consider

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a throwaway horse on a on a big ranch like this

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that produces horses for what their intended goal is.

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And because she hadn't had any handling,

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she thought that she was actually doing really well

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because she just lived in a pasture, got deep grass,

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and that was her life.

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But I believe because this beautiful little girl

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has such a future and a destiny

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that today's something on Mother's Day

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where we can take a look again

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on how good God is in the ways that it is

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that He honors what it is that He created in this.

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It wasn't the plans of man.

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It was that He had this knowledge of us

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and this intimacy that He desires with us

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that makes it where our own instincts

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and our own nature aren't going to ever get in the way

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of us fulfilling our purpose.

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And because this horse hasn't been handled at all,

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the only thing she really knows about me

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is what she's observed from a distance.

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And if that's all that we have to go off of,

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she's never going to really understand what my heart is.

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Unfortunately, that's where I believe

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a lot of people live, is they've settled for

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this ability to stay alive and survive,

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but they don't actually know what they're capable of

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and the potential that's hidden inside of them.

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And you can't forgive yourself.

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You can't bring out the greatness inside of you.

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That's something that is reserved for Jesus alone.

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So we'll let her move around because

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I want her to know that she's actually free.

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I can't control her.

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And now that she's looking at me,

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she's probably asking the question

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of why it is that she's here

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and what do I want from her?

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A wild horse, even the wild horses that

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we have in our country, they don't live near as long

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or near the quality of lives

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of horses that are actually cared for.

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And if you're going to go round up a wild horse,

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it'll take a tame horse to do it,

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because one tame horse can overcome 50 wild horses

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simply because it's partnered with man.

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Probably never even crossed your mind that

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I would want something from her.

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But if she knew what my dream was for her,

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there wouldn't be any hesitation in this at all.

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And what she's going to get to encounter today

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is not just a look from me,

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not just the knowledge of me, but such a connection

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that everything that's inside of her

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as far as all of her gifts,

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all of her potential is going to get released.

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She's super nervous about this

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and she's got a reason to be,

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all of her instincts say that I want

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to stay in control of my own world.

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And we live in a culture right now that's so confused

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on what it means to be human,

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maybe more specifically, what it looks like to be a mom.

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I'm a father, so it feels super natural for me

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to talk about the role of God as a father in our lives.

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But on Mother's Day, I am who I am today,

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significantly because of my mother

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and the heart of God and the beauty

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and the tenderness of God being displayed

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through my mother.

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We need to see what it's like to see a woman

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that's filled with power, but she's still kind

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and she's tender, she's nurturing,

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and she doesn't have to be masculine to be heard.

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She can be very much feminine and very much a nurturer.

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The way we honor them is that we live our lives

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that exceed even their own expectations

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of what it is that we were capable of.

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So thank you, moms.

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So she's just paying just enough attention to me

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so that she can make herself feel comfortable.

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But if we're going to get anywhere today,

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she's going to have to understand that

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we've got to become one and that oneness is going

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to take a lot of courage on her side

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and a lot of kindness and patience on my side.

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And I believe it's the attributes of

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the perfect father of who God is that makes it

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to where if we all realize that this is

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how patient He's been with us, that we can run,

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we can have our attitudes, we can have our questions

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and our concerns and even the things that

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we just don't understand.

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And He's okay with that.

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Again, the rope isn't here to control her.

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This is like Holy Spirit that draws us to Him

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that makes it to where, even when we're scared,

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that we've got something inside us

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that's just making it to where, man,

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I just long to understand who God is,

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what it is that makes it to where if

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the world would actually understand what this is like

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to have these types of encounters with God,

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that all the restlessness and all the anxiety

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and the fear and the thing that causes people

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to stay busy and running around,

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those things start to go away

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and you start to understand what it's like to be loved.

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And because you can see that she's smart, she's kind.

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She just doesn't know anything about what she's capable of.

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Not every horse, fact is, most horses don't,

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they don't have this kindness and the innocence

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that you see in her.

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And I know that we've got a culture

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filled with women that have been so mistreated,

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they hadn't been fathered right.

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They haven't been treated well

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by those that they should have been able to trust.

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But this horse has got the privilege of having

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just this preserved innocence in here

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to where it's making it so much easier

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for her to understand this.

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If we use fear and intimidation

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so that we can dominate her and we can manipulate her

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and we can make her do what we want,

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then we've got a broken animal.

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We don't want a broken animal.

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We want a healed the animal.

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And her nature would actually work against that healing

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if all she listened to was her instincts.

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So she's got her boundaries and you can see

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that she's quite comfortable with me

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being around her and petting her.

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But there's still some things that she's going

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to have to endure that every part of her instinct

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is going to be against.

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It's going to be, like,

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everything inside of me is saying this is unsafe.

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Someone's going to hurt me.

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They're going to take something from me.

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How do I stay in control with this guy

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getting this close to me?

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And she's feeling just enough pressure.

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Well, just step back and let her think about it for a second.

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Because God was so kind, is when, like,

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when He showed up in human form and Jesus walked around

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and He interacted with people, He just gave invitations.

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He never told them what to do or what not to do.

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He just said, "Would you come and follow me?"

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And that following looked like something.

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It required them to walk away from one thing

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so that they could pursue something else.

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And that pursuit was Jesus.

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And so today, while you watch this

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and you watch her deal with her own concerns

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and misunderstandings, that you can look at your life

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again and say, "In what areas is that

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I've just actually limited God,

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and I've wanted to keep Him at some distance

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because that's where I feel safe?"

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But she wants to know me.

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She just doesn't know what it's going to look like

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for her to actually give up all of herself

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so that she can have all of me.

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God is perfect love. He's the perfect Father.

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And I see a world that's filled with people

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that just don't -- they've never encountered that.

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They don't understand that the creator of heaven

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and Earth is actually desiring

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such an intimate connection with you.

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For me to be able to take my love for horses

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and my love for people and my love for God

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and make it to where hopefully

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it's going to bring understanding.

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Because it's heartbreaking to see people

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live their lives separated from God

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when they don't have to.

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Until we become one, you're never going to understand.

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I can't teach it to you from here.

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It's going to become so inward and so vulnerable

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that the same way you're going to feel

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so much more power because my nature

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becomes one with yours.

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It's okay. That's a good girl.

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Yes, it is. It's a good girl.

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I don't want her to think

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that because she's afraid that I'm afraid.

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I don't think our Father is afraid of us.

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He's not afraid of our fear or our rebellion.

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That a girl. That a girl. That's a good girl.

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The other approach to doing this was that

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I would actually have to establish dominance with her.

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I'd have to make her feel like I'm more powerful

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than her in a really intimidating way.

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That's just not the way that Jesus operated.

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He had all the power of heaven to do whatever it is

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He wanted to do to the people around Him.

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Yet He chose this way and He said, "Come and follow Me.

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And I'm the Word of God made flesh,

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and I'm dwelling among people.

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And I'm going to show you a revelation

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that the world has never experienced,

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that I want to have such a deep encounter with you

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that as My Spirit fills you and we become one

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that our whole world begins to change."

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Because she's going to see what it is that I see.

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That's good.

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Good girl. It's okay.

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I don't want to get too far from her here for a second,

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because I don't want her to think that every time

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she gets scared that the only way she can feel safe

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is to get away from me.

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Because eventually, once she gets scared,

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she's actually going to start looking for me.

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Good girl. That's a good girl.

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You did so good. You did so good.

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- I don't know about you, Brian, but I've literally got chills

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with what we just saw and experienced.

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- Crazy seeing how far he could come

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in such a short amount of time with that horse.

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- It is amazing, and there is still

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so much more to come. You know what?

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Today is made possible by very faithful people.

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- Yeah, everybody who gives.

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And we want to thank you if you're a giver.

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This costs a lot of money to pay for Todd's time

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and to get a horse there and a crew there,

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let alone the things that we do

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outside of our community to bless the world,

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let alone all of us trying to make that

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a spiritual discipline of giving.

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So we want to invite you on the team so our church

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can be stronger and you can be more spiritually strong.

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- That's exactly right. If you want to join us in that,

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you can go to Crossroads.net/give right now.

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You know what?

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Before we hop back into the rest of the episode,

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we're going to get to hear from someone whose life

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was quite literally changed by experiencing Todd Pierce

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and his ministry through horses.

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His whole life was flipped upside down

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in the best way possible.

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- Well, and this reminds us, your life might be changing,

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and maybe your friend's life might be.

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Good idea, share this link.

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Get other people in on this, because

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we all know people who need to be free.

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- That's exactly right.

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So let's watch a story right now.

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- I'm Bill Teeter.

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We started coming to Crossroads back in '96,

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shortly after they started having services

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and heard that they were going to have

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this horse on stage, that they were going

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to be able to train a horse within an hour.

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When I saw this huge ring with this very high fence

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and my first reaction was,

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"I wonder if that horse could get out of there?"

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As the service progressed, I got more and more

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into what he was saying.

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And this line really stood out to me was he talked

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about how they used to break horses

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and they used to just, for lack of a better term,

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beat them into submission.

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But he called, he used a term called sacking them out.

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- So back in the day, they would take a horse like this

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and they would tie him up and they would dominate him.

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They would beat the fear out of him.

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It's called sacking them out.

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- Having grown up without a father

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and then having taken custody of our grandson

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when he was three, and it changed the way

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I approach my grandson.

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I started trying to apply some of those principles

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of not trying to sack him out,

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but trying to bring him in.

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We just started to grow.

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He trusted me much like that horse had to trust Todd.

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All of a sudden, Cameron started to trust me.

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He started to blossom.

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He really started to thrive.

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And it really helped create a bond between he and I

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that to this day has gotten only stronger

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and continues to get stronger.

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- Just because this filly, this young female horse,

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was as cooperative

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and it looks like she was so willing.

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I could have wrecked that

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if I chose to take a firm hand with her.

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And any time that she would have felt like

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I was going to be abusive or I was there to hurt her

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or put her in a corner and force her to do something,

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this would have had an entirely different outcome.

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And so I just think the core values

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that Jesus gave us in how we lead people,

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that just because we're in authority doesn't mean

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that you have to dominate people.

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There's a force at power here that

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it's why I believe that we have been invited

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into the supernatural lifestyle of experiencing God

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is not just one to be afraid of

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because we know that He's bigger than us,

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we know that we're not Him.

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But He's so kind.

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And He said that it's his goodness that leads people

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to change the way they think, to repent,

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to actually turn away from the life

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that they were doing once and say,

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"I was built for this type of connection."

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People have got an idea that being free means

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that you're just turned out

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to go do whatever it is that you want.

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And that is a level of freedom.

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But the freedom that we actually have offered to us

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in Christ is that you haven't been called

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to just be my servants.

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You've actually come to be mine,

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to be my son, to be my daughter.

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So Jesus had a lot of people following Him.

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And they would follow Him

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the way they would follow another man.

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It's okay that we know how to follow,

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but I don't want her to just learn

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how to follow me around like a puppy on a string.

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She's got too much power.

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She can do stuff with me now

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that she's never even dreamt that she could do.

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This horse is not my slave.

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She's actually made a decision for herself

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that even with all of the back story

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and all the things that she's been through,

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her saying yes to me became a turning point

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for everything that's going to happen from here on out.

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So still just a level of of anxiety or nervousness,

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curiosity, like, "Wow, I didn't even know

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I could do this, but still,

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I don't know what to do next."

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So because I'm not walking in front of her, leading her,

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she's realizing that she's partnering with me,

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that she can't just run off and do what ever she wants,

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that she wants to carry me into whatever's next.

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She's learned how to stop.

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So when I can change what she's looking at,

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I can change the whole direction.

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It's nothing short of a miracle.

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But this is what love does, it creates safety,

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it creates power,

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it creates a whole new world of opportunity.

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Right now she's not trying to think about

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where her next meal's coming from.

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She's not trying to figure out

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what tomorrow's going to bring.

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She's so in the moment that she can enjoy just

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the peace that's coming from being one with me.

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She doesn't have to just lean on her own understanding.

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In all her ways, she's going to acknowledge that

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I've got a higher level of living for her

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and that I'm going to direct her paths.

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And those paths are always going to lead to

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more power, more wisdom, more love,

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and the things that's going to make it

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where she's fully alive.

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It was later on in life when I actually

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made a decision that I was going to follow Jesus.

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And it was kind of a conditional thing where I said,

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"Jesus, I want to give you my life.

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I want to be, I'm all in, anything that you ask of me.

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I just don't want to be a part of your church.

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I don't want to be around your people."

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You know, I don't think that God makes deals,

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but it was his kindness that made it where

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knowing how broken I had been

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and how hurt I'd been by people and religion,

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that it was as though He gave me permission

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to just go on this journey with Him.

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I was training horses at the time

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and there was one horse in particular that

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he just wouldn't stop running.

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He just kept going around in circles.

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And I'd never spoke out loud to a horse,

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that I can remember.

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But I just started having an open dialog and saying,

00:21:59

"I don't know why you want to keep running,

00:22:01

like, this has got to be exhausting for you.

00:22:03

If you actually knew what I see when I look at you,

00:22:06

you wouldn't even run.

00:22:07

And you'd be able to trust me with everything

00:22:10

because everything that I have for you

00:22:12

is going to be a gift."

00:22:14

And it was in that moment that I realized

00:22:17

I wasn't even talking to that horse,

00:22:19

that was actually the Holy Spirit speaking to me.

00:22:22

And every interaction that I had with horses

00:22:25

from that point on became like a super sacred thing

00:22:28

where I was starting to understand the love of God

00:22:31

and His desires for me.

00:22:37

So you can see that she's already asking,

00:22:41

"What in the world is that?"

00:22:45

So she don't know yet that this is a gift,

00:22:48

but she'll learn.

00:22:54

That's a good girl.

00:22:59

It's one thing to just sit there

00:23:00

and have an encounter like this and get a new tool

00:23:03

and a gift like this.

00:23:05

It's another thing to start actually using it

00:23:07

and moving with it, that she wasn't supposed

00:23:11

to just sit here and be a saddle rack

00:23:12

and hold it for me,

00:23:13

but we're going to do crazy stuff together with it.

00:23:16

So we're going to let her get used to moving with it.

00:23:21

My goodness.

00:23:24

Again, she didn't even have a halter on before this.

00:23:37

Now, remember, any of the separation is

00:23:40

it's always got a purpose.

00:23:42

Like people think that because things

00:23:43

aren't going their way and they might feel distant,

00:23:46

that where is God in it?

00:23:48

He's not far, I promise.

00:23:50

He's actually just one look away.

00:23:53

And I think super similar to how it is

00:23:55

that we are with God is that His ways

00:23:58

are so far above our ways and we've been so limited

00:24:02

in our understanding of Him that

00:24:04

it's these types of interactions or encounters

00:24:07

that make it where we don't have to spend

00:24:10

our whole life trying to figure this all out.

00:24:12

All we've got to do is have the courage to surrender.

00:24:16

Any part of her right now that's unshielded,

00:24:18

any part of her that she still has fear

00:24:21

is going to be a part that she's never going

00:24:24

to be able to find peace with.

00:24:25

And I know that we've all got things in our life

00:24:27

that it's, like, I can trust God with certain things,

00:24:32

but then there's others that

00:24:33

I don't know that I can trust Him.

00:24:35

Like, I don't know what that looks like.

00:24:37

How do I actually say, "God, I trust you with my life,

00:24:40

with my finances, with my marriage, and with my kids,

00:24:43

and with my own ability to accept myself.

00:24:46

God, I trust You that You said that I'm beautifully,

00:24:49

I'm wonderfully created, I was created in Your image."

00:24:53

It takes practice and it takes this continual

00:24:57

just allowing Him to come back into your story and love you.

00:25:02

And again she's never had a bridle,

00:25:05

so brand new experience for her.

00:25:14

And again, super awkward.

00:25:15

She's like, "There's this thing in my mouth.

00:25:20

It tastes funny. It feels funny."

00:25:27

You know, I'm not just coming up with this stuff,

00:25:29

this is all what the Bible actually says.

00:25:31

And He actually said that it's like

00:25:34

a bit in the mouth of a horse.

00:25:37

That some the smallest part of their body

00:25:41

can make it to where you can change

00:25:42

the trajectory of everything.

00:25:45

And that's what it's like when we actually

00:25:47

hear God's voice that it's every word that He speaks,

00:25:49

it's in our mouth. it's the words that we speak.

00:25:53

This isn't a self-help program.

00:25:55

And Jesus says, "Come and die with Me."

00:25:58

It's it's the only life worth living.

00:26:00

And as you see what happens, it's almost like,

00:26:05

what if the whole world just would accept

00:26:09

this invitation that God has that brings

00:26:11

so much strength and peace and love and knowledge

00:26:14

and wisdom into the into every relationship?

00:26:18

It really would fix all that ails humanity.

00:26:24

I want you to remember last night she got roped.

00:26:27

One man on a horse went out and roped her

00:26:30

and had to use that means to get her in a trailer

00:26:34

to bring her to this deal today.

00:26:36

She's never been handled.

00:26:39

And in such a short amount of time, less than an hour,

00:26:43

this is where she's at.

00:26:44

And it's and it's not because she was forced.

00:26:48

It was because she was loved.

00:26:51

The feminine attributes that we get to see

00:26:55

in our mothers, it's the feminine nature of God.

00:27:00

I want to spend my life doing this

00:27:03

where everything that you do is good

00:27:05

and the knowledge of that.

00:27:07

And even when I'm afraid that you're patient

00:27:10

and you wait for me, and even when I'm running,

00:27:12

that it's okay because you haven't left me.

00:27:16

And when we have a father that says,

00:27:18

"I'm never going to leave you. I'm never going to forsake you,"

00:27:21

then this is a whole lot more than just a belief system,

00:27:23

because it becomes super tangible.

00:27:26

As you've watched what she's endured

00:27:28

and the things that have happened over this process,

00:27:32

there's there's been conflict, there's been fear,

00:27:35

there's been frustration, there's been a lot of love.

00:27:39

I think that people have the idea

00:27:40

if they give their life to Jesus

00:27:42

that somehow it's just going to fix all the problems.

00:27:44

But really, there had to be a lot of confrontations

00:27:47

and me just presenting myself to her again

00:27:49

to realize I didn't come to steal life from you,

00:27:52

I actually came to give you life.

00:27:54

And the hardest thing for us to to be convinced of

00:27:59

is if we actually say yes, if whatever's going on

00:28:02

in your heart right now and you say yes

00:28:05

to this invitation, that, "Jesus,

00:28:07

you can have full access to my life."

00:28:09

I believe that's where this becomes super personal

00:28:12

for each one of us that you get to make a decision,

00:28:14

or are you just simply going to give Jesus a yes?

00:28:24

[music]

00:30:02

- With everything that's going on in the world

00:30:04

and whatever your story is,

00:30:06

you're sitting here watching this deal

00:30:08

and it's like God is just dropped

00:30:10

right in the middle of your world.

00:30:12

And for a second here, I want you to just consider

00:30:14

what would happen if you were to just give your yes to Jesus.

00:30:17

And I've spent enough time around enough people

00:30:22

that I know everyone's got these super unique stories

00:30:24

and you've got all these pressures

00:30:25

and the things that have come against you

00:30:27

and even the ways you've been hurt by other Christians.

00:30:31

And what it looks like for you to say yes to Jesus,

00:30:35

it's extremely personal.

00:30:37

And so with that invitation that's just hanging

00:30:40

out there in front of us all the time on a daily basis,

00:30:44

I hope that you find the courage and the ability

00:30:47

to just say yes to Jesus today.

00:30:54

That was easy, huh?

00:31:07

Father, thank you for the privilege

00:31:09

of being your sons and your daughters

00:31:11

and the way that you've poured out so much love on us.

00:31:14

And even today, as we've interacted with this horse,

00:31:17

we invite you, Holy Spirit, to do whatever it is

00:31:19

that You want to do in us.

00:31:21

We just say yes to whatever it is that You've got.

00:31:24

And we want to turn away from anything

00:31:27

that's not of You and we want to embrace

00:31:29

everything that You've got for us.

00:31:31

So thank You for being so patient with us

00:31:34

and kind and gentle and that the rest of our lives

00:31:38

represent what it's like to be one of Yours.

00:31:43

So we present ourselves to You in this way.

00:31:45

In Jesus' name. Amen.

00:31:54

- Incredibly moving to see one of God's creatures

00:31:59

come into freedom.

00:32:01

And what they said was, yes.

00:32:03

That's kind of our part. God does His part.

00:32:04

And our part is to take that step and say, "Yes,

00:32:08

I'll have what You have for me."

00:32:10

And maybe that's you right now.

00:32:12

Maybe you've recently said yes,

00:32:14

maybe you want to say yes.

00:32:16

Maybe you're curious about saying yes.

00:32:18

We would love to partner with you

00:32:19

in your spiritual adventure.

00:32:21

Reach out to us, please.

00:32:23

- That's exactly right.

00:32:24

We want to connect with you on Crossroads.net.

00:32:26

Someone is waiting and ready to talk to you

00:32:29

whenever you're ready.

00:32:30

Hey, you know what? This is not the end.

00:32:32

We do this every single weekend,

00:32:34

God gives us something fresh.

00:32:36

And what happens is right now

00:32:38

we're in the Book of Luke in the Bible challenge.

00:32:40

- We know God wants us to be free because

00:32:42

the Bible says He wants us to be free.

00:32:44

That's why we're in the Bible Challenge this year,

00:32:47

because the more you get in the Bible,

00:32:49

the more you get the freedom God wants for you.

00:32:51

So please come along the journey with us.

00:32:54

Jump in the app with us.

00:32:56

It's one of the ways you can engage in the Bible.

00:32:58

And we're going to do our best to get you rooted

00:33:00

in who God is by getting in the Bible and getting free.

00:33:03

- If you have more questions,

00:33:04

you can go to Crossroads.net/BibleChallenge.

00:33:08

Well, we'll see you next time on Crossroads.

00:33:11

- Did you know the Bible isn't all about rules

00:33:14

and that it's actually possible to understand

00:33:16

what Jesus was saying to us?

00:33:17

Jesus spoke in parables,

00:33:19

earthly stories with spiritual truth.

00:33:21

Ever wonder what the parables are?

00:33:23

Why did Jesus use them?

00:33:25

Join us at Crossroads Church

00:33:26

as we explore the Book of Luke to find out

00:33:28

what Jesus really taught

00:33:30

and gain powerful insight that can change your life.

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