Happiness vs. Joy | The Book Of Philippians Week 4 | Anywhere Service

The problem with happiness is that it depends on what happens. We can’t wait until everything is going right to enjoy our lives. Join Brian Tome as he teaches us three steps we can take to have joy no matter what we’re going through. Get ready to renew your mind, have peace, and less anxiety.

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    - Oh. Hey, I'm Brian. Welcome to Crossroads.
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    I'm at an amusement park.
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    It's a really good one, it's called Kings Island.
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    It's the king in the region of the country I live,
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    in Cincinnati.
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    It's a good park, but I don't like them.
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    I don't like lines.
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    I don't like heat.
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    I don't like standing in line.
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    I don't like kids sticking cotton candy
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    in the back of my knees.
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    And yet we come to these things because we want amuse.
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    We want to find some sense of happiness.
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    We realize that we're just not happy.
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    World Happiness Report recently came out.
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    The United States ranked 16th -- 16th,
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    one place above Canada.
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    Canada, aye.
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    Just one place.
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    We're the most powerful, dominant,
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    supposedly richest country in the history of the world
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    and we're 16th?
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    Finland beats us. Denmark beats us.
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    Iceland beats us; a place where there's crappy weather.
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    You're supposed to be really upset
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    when there's bad weather.
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    They have bad weather all the time
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    and they're happier than us.
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    Why?
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    Maybe they know something we don't.
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    We're going to talk about joy and happiness
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    and go on that journey today.
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    I got to tell you, that was a lot of fun.
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    That was, like, I haven't been
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    on a wooden rollercoaster for a long time.
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    Like, it lifted off the track.
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    I got a little stomach jilt. That was awesome.
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    So, all right, I've got a verse for you.
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    It's the book of Philippians.
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    I probably couldn't even read it for you,
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    if I read it for you, which I will,
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    you would have heard it before,
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    but I'll read it anyway, Philippians 4:13:
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    I can do all things to Him who strengthens me.
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    I hear people interpret this as meaning
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    whatever I want I will get
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    if I just somehow align Jesus to my cause,
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    as if it's like this mystical incantation of,
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    "All things through Him who strengthen me.
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    I want to be an astronaut so I can be that."
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    No, no, you can't.
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    There are certain things you just can't do
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    and Jesus isn't going to equip you to do.
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    Sorry to break your bubble.
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    Like, you don't have any people skills,
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    you can't be a good salesman. You can't.
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    If you don't have fast twitch muscle fibers,
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    you can't be an NFL running back. You can't.
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    This verse isn't talking about that.
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    Speaking of the NFL, we have a class of game
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    here at Kings Island and it's open.
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    Old school Brady Bunch fans, those of us in our 50s
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    remember this scene.
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    Greg Brady from The Brady Bunch.
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    Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.
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    If you're in your 20s, go YouTube it. It's amazing.
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    I wonder, I can do all things
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    through Christ who strengthens me,
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    so therefore I can be an NFL quarterback
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    and hit all four balls because He strengthens me.
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    Let's see.
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    [cheers]
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    One out of four ain't bad I guess.
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    - Hey, I'm Hannah. - And I'm Andy.
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    - We're super excited that you're here today
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    on Crossroads, we're having a good time.
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    - A great day.
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    - I hope that you're having a good time
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    listening to what BT has to say all about joy.
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    - You know, shockingly, there's something
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    that can bring you joy and that is giving.
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    Giving, it fuels amazing things
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    that happen in our community and all over the country.
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    Head to Crossroads.net/give for more info.
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    - I know you're itching to get back to BT's message.
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    Before we do that,
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    we have an important thing to tell you about.
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    It's one of the biggest things we do
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    around here all year long called Journey.
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    Let's hear some more about that right now.
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    - This year's journey is called Grow
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    because God wants more for our lives
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    and to find that we must grow.
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    The Journey is five weeks long, starting September 18th.
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    There are three parts to the journey.
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    Step one: Attend the weekend
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    and receive weekly teaching at a site or online.
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    Get inspired with the good news.
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    Step two: Do your guide work.
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    You get your very own printed guide.
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    It'll help you create a plan of action to grow deeper.
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    And step three: meet with your group.
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    During the Journey we meet in groups
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    to talk about what we're learning, grow deeper together.
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    You might even make a new friend.
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    And if you don't have a group, that's okay.
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    We'll help you find one.
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    Recap: Attend the weekend,
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    do your guide work, and get in a group.
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    Go here for more.
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    Come Grow.
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    - In Philippians 4,
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    before that mystical incantation verse
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    that we abuse and get wrong:
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    Who wants the peace of God
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    that surpasses all understanding? I do.
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    So guess what?
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    If we want the peace of God,
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    we've got to go where God is.
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    And where is God?
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    God is with, in this verse,
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    with those who choose to rejoice.
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    Rejoice in the Lord always.
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    Not rejoice in the Lord if I become an NFL player.
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    Not rejoice in the Lord when I hit the lottery.
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    Not rejoice in the Lord
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    when something in America goes the way I want it.
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    No, rejoice in the Lord always.
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    And then watch this: And again I say, rejoice.
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    Hey, rejoice.
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    In other words, don't be like normal people
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    who are complain always, again I say, complain.
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    Be a cynic always, again I say, be a cynic.
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    Look on the negative side always,
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    again I say be very, very skeptical.
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    No, rejoice in the Lord always.
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    Why?
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    Because He is at hand
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    and let your reasonableness be known.
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    I like to be happy.
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    The thing about happiness is
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    it depends on what happens.
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    So if what happens makes me feel good, then I'm happy.
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    And I love being happy.
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    I love when good things happen.
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    But I can't wait for my moods to uplift
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    until everything goes right in my surrounding
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    the way I want it to.
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    Joy and rejoicing is a choice that you make
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    that's a reasonable decision that's not based on
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    what everything else around me is doing.
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    I want joy and so do you.
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    To have joy, we've got to have these attributes
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    of not being anxious, not being anxious about anything,
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    but in everything, making our requests known to God.
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    That's a command, actually,
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    don't be anxious to God about anything.
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    Anxiety and depression
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    is just skyrocketing in our midst. Skyrocketing.
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    And please hear me very clearly,
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    there is a reason sometimes to be anxious
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    and a reason sometimes to be depressed.
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    And I'm not trying to minimize anybody's bad place,
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    legitimate, bad place you're in right now.
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    I'm going to tell you my story in just a moment,
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    a recent learning I've had about holding on
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    to anxiety and depression and difficulty too, too long.
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    So we've got to be reasonable and notice
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    I live in a free country,
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    that's a very prosperous country.
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    There's no wars happening here right now.
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    There's no IEDs that are going to blow me up as I drive along.
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    It's the richest, most prosperous country
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    in the history of the world right now.
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    We don't feel that way. It is that way.
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    Even if it's not coming to us right now,
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    the possibility is here right now.
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    And I'm preaching to myself because
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    I did something recently which is an amazing thing to do.
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    Awesome. I recommend it highly.
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    It's a word that many people don't like.
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    I love this word. It's awesome.
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    It's the word repent, repent.
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    Repenting is amazing.
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    Repenting is a change in mind.
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    It's when you change your thinking on something,
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    you choose your mindset on something.
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    And when you change your mind,
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    you change your direction.
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    I've been pretty open and honest
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    about the last three years
  • 00:09:03
    being very, very difficult for me
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    personally, familial-ly, professionally.
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    It's hard to lead anything.
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    We've had all kinds of challenges at Crossroads,
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    in our culture.
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    It's been a hard, hard run.
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    I don't want to rehash everything.
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    It's been very, very difficult.
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    I've been very, very tired and worn out.
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    I've been open with that.
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    So I went away on a seven week break
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    looking to get my energy back and feel right.
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    And it was great. I was away.
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    But was unusual about this break versus others,
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    as I normally am always checking my email,
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    calling our executive pastor, Darren Yates,
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    saying, "What's going on? What's happening?"
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    Engaging with people in coffee shops.
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    This time when I was off, I was off, man.
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    I don't want to talk to anybody
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    or do anything church wise at all.
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    Come the end of seven weeks, I got really freaked out
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    because I realized tomorrow I've got to
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    go back to my normal life.
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    I don't think I'm ready.
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    Oh, my gosh, I don't think I'm --
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    I don't think I'm restored enough.
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    I think I'm still worn out.
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    I don't know if I can do this again.
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    I go in on Monday.
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    Monday's a good day. It's not a bad day.
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    Tuesday's good, Wednesday is good.
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    Thursday is good. It's good.
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    What's a good day for me at work?
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    Well, a couple of things.
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    One is I add some value.
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    Two is I'm creative.
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    Three, here's a big one, I don't leave
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    at the end of the day regretting something I said
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    because I was on edge and kind of
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    blurted something out I shouldn't have done.
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    When I'm worn down, I do that.
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    Like the week's good, like, oh, wow.
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    Okay. I got through it.
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    Come the first weekend of preaching live on stage,
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    and God, before I go out on stage,
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    there's a supernatural encounter I have with Him.
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    Not to use a very spiritually loaded word,
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    but it's an accurate word to described it.
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    There was an anointing that came upon me
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    before I went out and preached
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    where there's just an empowerment
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    to do what I needed to do before a live audience.
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    And it was beautiful and I had a lot of fun doing it
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    and people benefited.
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    I got off that stage after doing three services going,
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    "Whoo! All right, all right. Good, good, great, great."
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    Monday comes.
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    I go in on Monday, I'm ready to go on Monday,
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    and I think, "Oh, no, oh, no, I got to do this again.
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    I don't know if I could do this."
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    All the sudden I stop, "Whoa, stop, stop, wait.
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    Wait a minute.
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    I've got to choose to think differently here.
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    Why do I -- why do I keep thinking
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    it's going to be a hard week?
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    Why do I keep thinking I'm tired?
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    Why do I keep thinking I'm worn out?"
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    The Bible says: As a man or woman thinketh, so is he.
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    So here's the deal, if you think --
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    if you think you're tired, guess what?
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    You are. You're tired.
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    If you think you're going to have a tough week,
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    guess what you're going to have? A tough week.
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    If you think life is hard, guess what?
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    Life's going to be harder than you think it is.
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    But I can do all the things through Christ strength,
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    and be all things meaning I can choose joy.
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    I can choose to rejoice.
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    I can change my mindset through Him who strengthens me
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    and say, "I'm going to have a good day."
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    And I repented before God.
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    I said, "God, I'm sorry for playing these old tapes.
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    I'm -- I'm good and I choose to say I'm good."
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    And it was like, bam, something changed.
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    I'll just tell you, we've got a lot of us,
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    you're much better than you think you are.
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    You're much stronger than you think you are.
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    You're ready for a new day
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    and you've got to stop getting away --
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    You've got to start getting away
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    from all the negativity that's out there,
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    people don't want to rejoice,
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    would rather bitch and moan.
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    You've got to choose to say, "No, I don't --
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    I don't want your reality.
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    I can do all things to Christ who strengthens me.
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    That means have a great day, have a great week,
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    have a great life."
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    To rejoice in the Lord always
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    and the peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding
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    will lift me up.
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    You can have that. You can choose that.
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    That's called joy.
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    That's the power and call of Christ.
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    Instead of being abused by the negativity of culture
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    that's tried to suck you in.
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    Don't do it, don't do it.
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    Don't go where everyone else is.
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    You be you with God and choose a different way.
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    It's great.
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    - Hey, I hope you enjoyed BT's message on joy,
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    but I want to give you a heads up
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    on something really, really important that's coming up,
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    and that is the Grow Journey. - Right.
  • 00:13:02
    - The Journey is one of the best things we do
  • 00:13:04
    all year long, combining our best creativity,
  • 00:13:06
    our best training, a printed workbook
  • 00:13:08
    that you can get and a community component.
  • 00:13:11
    The Journey literally changed my life
  • 00:13:13
    about a decade ago.
  • 00:13:14
    I look forward to it every year
  • 00:13:16
    and I don't want you to miss it.
  • 00:13:18
    So head to Crossroads.net/Journey.
  • 00:13:22
    Find a group, start a group.
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    If you feel like you don't have people around you,
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    hey, we can help solve that.
  • 00:13:27
    We can help get you connected into a great community
  • 00:13:29
    that you can Grow alongside of.
  • 00:13:31
    And I'm just going to say it,
  • 00:13:33
    if you start a group, there will be prizes.
  • 00:13:35
    So make it happen.
  • 00:13:37
    It's going to be a fantastic thing
  • 00:13:38
    that you and your community can grow through.
  • 00:13:40
    - That's right.
  • 00:13:41
    The other thing you'll find at Crossroads.net/Journey
  • 00:13:44
    is how to get this awesome guidebook.
  • 00:13:47
    If you live near a Crossroads site in Cincinnati
  • 00:13:49
    or in Kentucky, you'll be able to go to a site
  • 00:13:52
    on specific dates and pick up a book.
  • 00:13:54
    We're asking that you do that to save
  • 00:13:56
    and to be a little bit more sustainable.
  • 00:13:58
    If you do not live near a Crossroads site, that's okay.
  • 00:14:00
    You can also go to Crossroads.net/Journey
  • 00:14:03
    to sign up and get this free thing sent to your house.
  • 00:14:07
    Hey, that's all we got for you this week.
  • 00:14:09
    We hope to see you next time on Crossroads.
  • 00:14:13
    - We're going to talk about how we can relearn joy
  • 00:14:16
    and see a framework for growth
  • 00:14:17
    in the good and bad in your life.

Process, journal or discuss the themes of this article - here's a few questions to get the ball rolling...

Welcome to the Weekend-Follow Up This is the group part of the Bible Challenge, so your questions are based on specific Bible passages from the weekend message. Each week, your group will discover what God might be saying to you, and how you can respond through a group discussion.

  1. What’s something you’ve bought because you just know it would make you happier?

  2. What stood out to you most from this week’s message?

  3. What brings you the most happiness and comfort in your life?

  4. Brainstorm some barriers to finding joy you encounter in your daily life.

  5. Read Philippians 4:11-13. Discuss as a group how that passage applies to your life.

  6. What’s one step you can take this week to choose contentment?

  7. Let’s end with prayer. You can say something like, “Jesus, thank you for being the ultimate source of joy in our lives. We ask for the strength to find contentment in you rather than all the temporary things we accumulate. You are what catapults us forward.” Amen.

More from the Weekend

Bonus Questions! Check these out if you’re on a roll and want to go a little deeper.

  • How can viewing contentment as an active choice, rather than a passive mindset, impact your daily life?
  • How might discontentment be holding you back from the things God wants for you?
  • What connections do you need to make or things should you curate to seek more contentment?

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Aug 26, 2022 14 mins 32 sec

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