Joy in the Journey | The Book of Philippians Week 3

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- What do Jolly Ranchers, diamonds,

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plants and people have in common?

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Well, at first glance, maybe nothing.

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But at second glance, we see that all of those things

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go through a little thing I like to call process.

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Today on Crossroads, we're talking about

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how process might just be the link

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to the joy that we've been missing.

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We're going to look at Philippians 3

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to see what a man named Paul has to say

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about pressing, process and, poop,

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you know, alliteration. Let's get into it.

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- We all want to be happy.

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We spend our entire lives chasing this feeling.

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The truth is, happiness based on

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our experiences in life, is always going to be elusive

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because the world will continue to keep breaking.

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Things won't go the way we want them to.

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Unexpected circumstances

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will always get in the way of our plans.

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Paul wrote long letters to his friends

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while he was in prison, giving advice

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that included a powerful message

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about the secret of contentment.

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Today, we're going to look at what Philippians

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can teach us about finding joy

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in the midst of our messy and challenging lives.

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- Hey. Welcome to Crossroads. I'm Hannah.

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And I'm super glad that you're here today.

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Lately around here, we've been talking a lot about joy

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and mostly how to get it.

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We've talked about finding joy in Jesus,

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understanding joy in humility.

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And if you missed any of those episodes,

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you can catch up any time at Crossroads.net

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or in the Crossroads app.

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Now, the reason we've been talking about joy

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is because everybody wants a piece of it.

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And while it might seem a little bit elusive,

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I think that we can find joy where we least expect it.

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So I'm in this very fancy dining room,

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which, by the way, is in a very fancy building

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that is only for fancy people.

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Not sure why I'm here, but this fancy place

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when most people get here because it's a private place,

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they might say to themselves, "I have arrived.

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I've made it.

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This is a place where only I can get in."

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And the problem with focusing on arriving

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is that it sort of skips

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the very important part of the process.

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Now, when I was little, there was a TV show

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that I used to watch with my mom called Unwrapped.

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And this an old, old show.

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But I used to love, love this show

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because it was all about process.

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See, what they did was most of it was fascinating,

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but some of it was kind of boring.

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The parts that I found the most fascinating,

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maybe because I was a kid, but I don't think so,

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is how they make candy, hard candy in particular.

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See, this little Jolly Rancher right here

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actually starts out as

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a big, giant, heavy, like putty thing

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that they stretch and stretch and manipulate

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and manipulate and fill with sugar

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until it looks like this.

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See, I love that show because

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it was not about the product.

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It was about the process of getting to it.

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Now, most of us, when we think about process,

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if we're honest,

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we probably don't even like it that much

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because we probably think about processed foods

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which are bad.

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We think about processing fees on Ticketmaster,

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which make us mad because they're horrible.

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We might even think that process is just

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a nice word for suffering or for hard times,

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and it's actually something that we want to skip

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to get to the product.

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See no matter where you fall on that spectrum,

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my hope is to reframe process

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a little bit for you today.

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But to do that, I'm going to have to introduce you

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to a Bible character by the name of Paul.

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So before I read any of Paul's words,

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let me give you some context

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and let's back into the story just a little bit.

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Paul is an apostle in the Bible

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who is this giant Jesus fan.

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And he's a big part of bringing many others to Christ

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in the early days of Christianity.

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But more than anything, Paul and I,

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Paul and you perhaps have something in common.

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See, Paul has a story.

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A story that's not always been easy.

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That doesn't even include him always following Jesus.

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And in fact, it's one that includes some moments

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that might be a little hard to imagine.

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Paul was a big deal, a big religious guy.

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He calls himself the Hebrew of Hebrews,

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which just means that he followed

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the scriptural law to a tee

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and that he would hurt anybody who didn't.

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In fact, he persecuted many of

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the early Christ followers as often as he could

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because he believed it was his duty.

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And so one day he goes blind on a road called Damascus,

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and God speaks to him and talks to him

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about following Him.

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And from there he starts following Jesus.

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And then he starts to tell others about Jesus,

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and he becomes a huge persecuted, still,

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often beaten evangelists.

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In fact, he's attributed as the author

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to most of the New Testament.

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And to many, he's such a big deal

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that they call him the chief apostle.

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Now Paul has a wild story, but in Philippians 3,

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he says something very important.

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He has a story that when you think about this place,

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he could say the same thing that people say

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when they're in this dining room.

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He could say, "I've arrived."

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But in fact, he says, "I have not arrived.

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I am still in process, and there is joy there."

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That's my paraphrase.

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But let me read you what he actually says:

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That's Philippians 3:12-14.

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And there's a lot in that scripture

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that some of it maybe you didn't understand.

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So let's zoom out a little bit

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so we can understand what he's talking about.

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This scripture comes after Paul tells his life story.

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He tells us how he was this bigwig Hebrew.

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And he talks about how important he was.

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But he says something very important.

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He says all of that was worthless

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compared to knowing Jesus.

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All of it, in fact, was so worthless,

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it's worthless as poop.

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And some of the early version of the Bible say dung

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because he's saying it really means nothing

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compared to the joy of knowing Jesus

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and experiencing his freedom and living for heaven.

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He tells us that he desires the perfection

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of righteousness, of being and walking like Jesus.

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And although he hasn't reached it,

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he's excited about pressing towards the mark.

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Or in other words, he's excited about the process.

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Paul says that with a deep, fulfilling joy

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that we all want.

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See, he's not focusing on just the arrival,

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but the journey of knowing Jesus

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and focusing on what lies ahead.

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- My name is Rhonda Campbell.

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I go to Crossroads West Side.

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In October of 2020,

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I started having really bad back pain.

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I was immediately diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy,

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so I would have nerve pain in my legs and my feet.

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For me, it's more of walking outside

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on blacktop barefoot and that heat,

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that burn that you feel on the bottom of your feet,

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it's that for me, but it's on the inside

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in my feet and my legs.

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They found degenerative disc disease,

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which explains some of the back pain.

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They couldn't figure out why a 34 year old

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who hasn't had any major trauma

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would be going through this.

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There were definitely some times in the suffering

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where I'm like, "God, I don't --

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I don't understand why this is happening.

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I just need You to come and heal me."

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I was driving home from work and I was --

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I was in pain. I was over it. I was mad.

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I -- all the feels.

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But I felt so much better after just getting everything --

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everything I thought, every question, every everything.

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I laid it all out to God.

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At the end of of my rant,

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it's like something broke free from that.

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When you truly surrender something to God,

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joy can be in its place.

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Happiness is dependent upon outside things,

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whereas God's joy, if it's dependent on anything,

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I would say it's obedience and surrender.

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In that pain, even if I'm curling up and crying,

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I know one day God's going to be there.

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This -- He's going to heal it.

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And even if it's still actively going on, you know,

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I'm still going to doctors appointments.

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They still run tests every so often

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just to figure things out.

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It's like, you know what? I don't really care.

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And when you do find a good, solid diagnosis,

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what you really think it is this time,

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I'll remember that because I know

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that's what God's going to heal me from..

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It's like I finally surrendered to God

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and because of that, He was able to in turn,

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like, reward me with joy.

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Joy from the Lord is is not fleeting.

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That stays with you.

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- Hey, everyone. I'm Kyle. - And I'm Andy.

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- Just wanted to say, if you're enjoying this episode,

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you want more people to hear messages like this

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that help them connect to Jesus,

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your giving will go a long way

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in helping make that happen.

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- Yeah, it's super easy.

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It's as simple as opening up your Crossroads app.

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There's the little profile icon

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down the lower right hand corner.

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You can press that

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and then the little gear up here for settings,

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bam, right there in the middle,

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you can give and support episodes just like this one.

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- Super easy. - Super easy.

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All right. Let's get back to the message.

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- Now, if you're watching this, I'm not assuming

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that it means you automatically know Jesus

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and are following Him.

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And if that's you, I'm super glad you're here.

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You're in the right place because

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you might just be on the brink of something very joyful.

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In fact, no matter where we are

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in this Jesus journey, we all are,

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because Paul gives us the keys to unlocking joy daily,

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not just as a one time destination.

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And that is to enjoy the journey of following Jesus,

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the process of becoming more like Him,

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which some people call righteousness,

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and pressing towards the mark

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while also looking forward to what lies ahead,

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which is heaven, which is the ultimate time with Jesus.

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Okay, maybe what I just said sounded a bit confusing,

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but here's a very tangible example.

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Now, when a bride is walking down the aisle,

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a bride normally walks with their father

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or maybe a special person in their life.

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But the entire time they're looking ahead

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to the prize as waiting for them

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at the end of the aisle.

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It's the same with us.

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See, Paul is saying that joy is when

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we both savor our walk with Jesus

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and we relish with anticipation the end goal of heaven.

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Now, here is where the caveat

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and the word of caution come.

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See this life, this is not always easy.

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And there are some very hard

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and maybe even strenuous moments

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of the process called life.

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And those things can seem anything but joyful.

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But the joy is not that you're in pain

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or struggling or trying to ignore

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that you're in pain or struggling,

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but it's that you don't have to do it alone.

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That when you choose to follow Jesus,

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He's actually right there with you

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every step of the way.

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And what He offers in this walk with Him is grace,

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it's freedom, it's rest, and yes, of course, joy.

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See, but most of us fall on the spectrum

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that actually prevents us from finding joy

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in the process or even having joy at all.

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See, there's two ends of the spectrum

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that Paul gives us in Philippians 3.

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Some people on one side of the spectrum,

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they go through life thinking that

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they can avoid process and arrive

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if they just do everything right.

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They'll think that life is going to be breezy

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if they simply follow the rules.

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So Paul would have said this as if

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they're the Hebrew of Hebrews,

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if they just are a good Christian

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and stick to the script,

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then everything's going to be peachy.

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Now, on the other end of the spectrum,

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there are people who Paul says that God,

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their god is their bellies,

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which just means that they do whatever feels good

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and right in the moment.

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They aren't following anything like Jesus.

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They just follow themselves.

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See, the problem with those two ends of the spectrum

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is that there's really no joy on either side of them.

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The real pleasure is in the middle,

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is in becoming more like Jesus every step of the way,

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little by little, and actually getting to know Him

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and finding out things about Him that you never knew.

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See, choosing to walk with Jesus can be joyful

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and being shaped by His Word, the Bible

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and His character, it's not only what He takes pleasure in,

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but it's also where He wants us to find pleasure.

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Now, it sounds cliche, but the end goal of heaven

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is really not nearly as important

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as the joyful process itself of getting to know Jesus.

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See, I'll explain it to you.

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I would never know Jesus to be a healer

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if I never had to go through the process of being broken.

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I would never know Jesus to be a helper

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if I never actually needed help.

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I would never know Jesus to be a provider

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unless there were actually times where I didn't have.

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And you can make that sentence your own.

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I bet you get the picture.

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See, even though I would rather not be in need,

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I would rather not be sick,

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I would rather not need help at all.

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It's actually brought me more joy

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to be in those processes because

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I get to know Jesus in a new capacity.

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Growing up, I would always hear the phrase

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Heaven is my home.

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Now, I can only imagine what kind of joy heaven will bring.

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But I believe that God wants us to have joy

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right here on Earth.

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And I believe that God wants that for you,

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you watching this right now.

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That lets me know and it leads me to believe

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that we can experience joy while we're still in process.

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Maybe we haven't made it.

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Maybe we're not even at the decision

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where we want to follow Jesus yet.

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Maybe there are days where we're like,

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"I'm not sure about this following Jesus thing

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because it feels really difficult."

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I want to encourage you that it's that type of process

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that when we get closer to Jesus,

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when we learn more about Him, that brings us joy.

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See, just as Paul makes clear

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that none of us have arrived, like this place,

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and we won't until we get to heaven.

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He makes that clear, but he says

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the goal is not actually the end point.

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It's the journey.

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It's the pressing that it takes to get there.

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So, maybe you haven't even begun

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this journey with God yet.

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You're just here because you want to find out

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maybe what you think about Him.

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Maybe you're watching this

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and you've been following Him for a very long time

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and you haven't felt the joy of following Him

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in a really long time.

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And to you I say, you're actually not alone.

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In Psalms 51:2 it says:

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The writer says that because sometimes

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this thing right here, this following Jesus thing,

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it doesn't feel joyful.

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But there is a process of salvation,

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the process of righteousness.

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It can be joyful.

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And I believe God wanted somebody to hear that today,

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that joy can be found in the process.

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And even though it isn't perfection, it isn't arriving,

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getting to know Jesus in our imperfection,

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coming to Him while we're still not perfect,

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it's still so much better.

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It's still so much more worth it

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than any superficial happiness.

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Right now, we're about to go into a time of music

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and to a time of worship,

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and there's this brand new Crossroads music song

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that says I will Remember.

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And it's describing a time of, well, remembrance,

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a time of remembering God's faithfulness

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and how He's delivered.

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And maybe you've never experienced that before.

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You don't even know what faithfulness is,

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you're not sure what deliverance is.

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But you can still use this time to reflect

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on what Jesus has been to you

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and let that be the reminder of joy.

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Or you can use this time to tell God

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what you need Him to be for you.

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I'm going to pray for us really quick,

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and no matter where you are

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in the journey of knowing Jesus,

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I want you to realize that our gain

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is in knowing Christ and who He is to us.

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Our joy is actually in the process.

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Jesus, thank you so much for everyone

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who's watching this, whether they've been following You

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for a really long time

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or whether they are just here today

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wanting to get to know You for the first time.

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Lord, for everyone watching,

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there is joy in getting to know you daily

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through prayer and through reading Your Word

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and through asking you questions even.

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I prayed that you would expose that joy

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to everyone watching if they ask,

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that You would give them exactly what they need,

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that they would use this time to remember

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all the ways that You've provided joy,

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all the ways that even throughout process

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and not being perfect, You have still provided joy.

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Let that be our song today. In Jesus's name. Amen.

00:20:38

- Hey, we hope you enjoy the message today

00:20:40

and hopefully you were able to get something

00:20:41

out of us going deeper into the process that is joy

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and the process that is following Jesus.

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- It's helpful to hear, like, the process.

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I think about in my, I don't know, connotations,

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I think of it as like you're just born with joy.

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Oh, no, it's a process.

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That gives me some hope for it.

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Hey, by the way, this is part of an initiative

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our whole church has been doing

00:20:59

called the Bible Challenge.

00:21:01

- Yeah, we as a community are in the Crossroads app

00:21:04

all through the week, reading

00:21:06

and diving deeper into the book of Philippians.

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I'm in there. Brian's in there.

00:21:09

You are in there as well, right?

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- Yeah. I am, I'm trying to do it three times a week.

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Make it a habit for me.

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All you have to do, if you want to join us,

00:21:16

is you just download the app and you get started.

00:21:18

Or hey, maybe you download the app a long time ago,

00:21:20

go ahead and update that thing. It's way better now.

00:21:22

- Hey, that's all we've got today.

00:21:24

We'll see you next time on Crossroads.

00:21:26

- So today we're talking about the core characteristics

00:21:30

of contentment that lead to joy.

00:21:35

- Your burnout is not invisible to God.

00:21:39

You are not designed to live on empty, worn out

00:21:42

and running on fumes.

00:21:43

He sees all your dry, empty places

00:21:46

and wants to transform your desert

00:21:48

into a place of abundance, well watered

00:21:51

and overflowing with His Spirit alive in you.

00:21:55

At Woman Camp you will experience fresh teaching,

00:21:58

guided solitude, a dynamic worship experience,

00:22:02

a dedicated prayer team,

00:22:04

time to wander on 400 acres of beautiful land

00:22:07

overlooking the Ohio River,

00:22:09

opportunities for fun and adventure

00:22:11

with a community of women that will help you

00:22:13

set up your tent, make a fire, share stories,

00:22:17

and laugh and cry with you in equal measure.

00:22:21

Don't miss out on a chance to reset and restore.

00:22:25

God wants you to be filled.

	Our Link to Joy	0:00
	Have You Arrived	1:19
	Meet Paul	3:29
	What Is It Worth?	6:00
	Story of Joy	7:02
	Keys To Daily Joy	9:46
	Word of Caution	11:03
	Walking With Jesus	12:47
	Process	13:47
	I Will Remember	17:10
	Connect With Us	20:38

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