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Derek Greer
Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's Word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in.
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The Bible says now when they drew near to Jerusalem, Luke 2:41 tells us that Jesus family went to Jerusalem, the temple in Jerusalem, every year during his childhood. We also know from Deuteronomy 6 and 16 that when Jesus came of age, he was required to worship at the Temple at least three times a year. And if we do the math, we discover that Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem to worship a minimum of 70 times in his lifetime, but probably more. But this trip would be his final trip. Every breath, every smile, every sigh, everything Jesus did in word or deed was preparation for this final trip. What if everything you're going through right now is God preparing you for what you prayed for? And he came to Bethpage at the Mount of Olives. It was a small town right outside of Jerusalem, about a half mile. But in this we see that Jesus courage was absolutely amazing. He knew that in just a couple days or a few days ahead, he would be beaten. He knew he would be mocked, scourged and crucified, but he went anyway. You know, life can be unfair. People can be unfair, but I've learned to forgive them anyway. People can be self centered. I've learned to be kind anyway. People can and will at times try to stop you, but go anyway. And the final analysis is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. And as Jesus set his face like flint and said, lord, I'm going to go through whatever I've got to go through. It's between him and the Father. And while he's on this journey, he continues to conduct himself as he's always conducted himself. There was no confusion in his eyes or in his mind. He was still very much in control. So he came to Bethpage at the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus sent two of his disciples. He was still large and in charge. He was in command. And he told his disciples exactly what they needed to do. And he was this way until his very last hour. Matter of fact, if I can liken him to anybody, he's like my wife while I'm driving. She's not trying to be bossy. She just always seems to know best what I should be doing. So Frank, okay, I think y' all gonna need some couples counseling after this. Then Jesus sent two of his disciples saying to them, go into the village opposite you. And without Jesus being there, observing the town it says, and immediately, or he said, immediately, you will find a donkey tied. Jesus knew some things just because he was the Son of God. But if God ever gives us this type of information, it would be what First Corinthians, verse 12 and 8 calls a word of knowledge. And a word of knowledge is when God supernaturally reveals information to us that you could not know apart from his help. So Jesus knows what's happening in the next village, though he's in Bethpage. You see, one thing that makes God God is this incredible ability to know and predict the future. God, by nature and definition, exists outside of time. Now, he injected himself in time through Jesus becoming a man. He injected himself in time as a Shekinah glory that was in the temple. He injected himself in time when the Holy Spirit came into our hearts and lives. But what I need you to understand God before there was anything existed outside of time. And because he existed outside of time, he sees the past, the present, and the future at the same time. Theologians call this the eternal now. This is why God described himself at the burning bush as I am, that I am, meaning I have always been. I will always be in everything I've ever been or ever will be. I am right now. Okay? You see, time doesn't pass with God as it does with us. All moments are equally real at once. And all the time. Let's dig into this for just a moment. We'll get back Isaiah 46:9. God says this. Remember the former things old how God did things for his people that only God could do. Remember the miracles of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Remember the ten plagues in Egypt, the miracles in the wilderness, the miraculous military victories that he gave Joshua, David and many of his other kings and leaders. I can go on and on about his miracles of power, but watch what it says, for I am God, and there is no other. And then he repeats himself. And you guys know by now that whenever God repeats himself, he's putting an exclamation point on it. I am God, and there is none like me. But watch the trait, watch the attribute. Watch the characteristic that makes God like none other. Verse 10 tells us declaring the end from the beginning, meaning God is never surprised by any event. He saw right where you are 10,000 years ago, yesterday, 15 days before. Nothing surprises God. God. And we also see in the scripture that God loves to demonstrate his divinity by telling us things, particularly in the scriptures, before they happen. Matthew 21:2. Though Jesus had not physically seen this village, he couldn't physically observe all that was happening in this village. This is what Jesus said to them. And it was actually another supernatural sign and a wonder. He said, go into the village opposite you and immediately you will find a donkey and a colt with her. Now, Mark and Luke tells us it was a colt a man never sat upon. So in the scripture, Jesus was born in an unused tomb, buried in. I'm sorry, in an unused womb, buried in an unused tomb. And he entered Jerusalem on an unridden donkey. There are things in life that God only reserves for himself. Martin Luther famously said, there are three conversions of priorities necessary in the Christian life. Number one, the conversion of the heart. Number two, the conversion of the mind. And three, the conversion of the purse. But in this case, the purse happened to be this owner's donkey. And immediately meaning Jesus supernaturally knew this. He couldn't know this by his eyesight or anything he smelled, tasted, or touched. And immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Now, Jesus spoke of this prophecy to strengthen their faith when they went into the next town. And there was no way for Jesus to know exactly what they were going to see first. And there was no way for him to naturally know about this donkey. And they saw the donkey, the mother donkey with the colt, and the first part of the prediction came true. It then became easier for the disciples to do the rest. Now, the problem was what they were about to do was really illegal. He was not a natural king, and he did not have a right, as far as human beings were concerned, to just take people's property. This is important, particularly with all the prophetic stuff you see on the Internet and everything else. Prophecy is not designed to make you look deep or get an offering. Prophecy is not designed. So now you can start handing out a card with, you know, I'm a prophet, you know, on it, and celebrate me. According to scripture, prophecy is for edification, exhortation, and comfort. Meaning prophecy comes to. Edification means to build up or to expand. You edify a room when you make it larger. So prophecy was designed to cause people to do things larger than they would naturally do, to expand the hearer's thinking and capacities, Also to encourage the hearer's heart, but also to calm our nerves when we're under pressure. If or when God shows you things that are coming, it's not so you can be great. It's because God is great. Then he said, this is the dangerous thing. Loose them. Not just one, but two. The mother and the foal. Loose them, not just stealing one car, but a baby Car. What do you call those little tiny cars? Mini Coopers. Okay, loose them and bring them to me. He did not ask the owner, but he told his disciples, the commandeer, the donkey, as they've watched soldiers from Rome do all the time in the city. You see, Jesus is the king of the universe. And what the Romans did under the authority of the emperor, Jesus was being commanding that it would be done in his name. Watch this. Jesus was at the end of his time at Earth and he didn't have time to keep playing cat and mouse about his identity. So in these final moments, he's pulling rank as the eternal king, the owner of a cattle on the thousand hills. Psalms 24 says, the earth is the Lord, the fullness thereof, and all those who dwell therein. Everything in the universe belongs to God. And what Jesus was showing his discip is, I've been polite up to this point, but I need you to realize who I really am. Don't ask a question, just go and get what's mine. Loose them, plural, and bring both of them. Again, a donkey was tantamount to a car today. It's how people, not only place, you know, transportation, you know, Mary seemed to travel, at least, I don't know, in the movie she travels on a donkey. I don't know know how she traveled in the Bible, but the short of it is it was used for travel and you could pack stuff in it and the rest. Why do I keep getting sidetracked here? Loose them and bring them to me. What I want you to notice is the blessing was in the next town. The blessing was already there, but it was tied up. Sometimes God's provision is already here. It's just tied up. When I first met my wife, she told me she had a boyfriend. But I wasn't intimidated. I just had to loose her from her small thinking.
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Frank
And she's been loosed for 32 years now.
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Derek Greer
Loose them and bring them to me. Sometimes your blessing is encumbered. Sometimes your blessing is maybe a little mixed up in other things. That's when you take authority and take command of the situation and untie that thing. So. So Jesus understood that what he was doing, people would look at, you know, be like, what are you doing? This is illegal. He says, if anyone says anything to you, and somebody always has something to say, you know, I don't argue like I used to. I just let the results speak for themselves. And if the person is open in time, they'll come around. And if anyone says anything to you, again, Jesus was not asking. He was telling, he was commanding. And if you serve a Jesus that only asks you, he never tells you to do anything. I'm not sure you're really hearing from the same God.
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Frank
I know.
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Derek Greer
You know, if you think you're a good parent, but you can't tell your child to do anything, you're only kidding yourself. If the Lord can't give you directions, is he truly Lord? So he tells them to do this thing. And what I found with God is he can turn a moment of obedience into an eternity of blessings if we would just trust him. If anyone says anything to you, here's what I need you to say. The Lord. You know, maybe I've just studied the scripture for too many years and maybe I'm just becoming simple minded. I'm not sure. But as soon as I know it's the Lord, debate is settled. For me, the debate is settled. I don't need to understand always why all the deep stuff. If the Lord is in it, that settles it. And what he says here, if anyone says anything, here's your response. Say, the Lord has need of them. That's an interesting statement because the psalmist said, you know, I'm the Lord thy God, I hold a cattle on a thousand hills. If I had a need, I wouldn't even tell y'.
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Frank
All.
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Derek Greer
But what we see here is the Christ in the sky has no needs. He's seated at the right hand of the Father. It was only his human body here on earth that has needs. And the only way we can really bless the God of heaven is to bless his work on earth. He said, say the Lord has need of them and immediately he will send them. And Jesus promised that there would be no tug of war. And that was a miracle in itself. Whatever God asks of us or from us already belongs to Him. But what God does, His way is he puts it in our hands and then asks to use it to test whether or not we believe that or not. He said all this was done, that it may be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet five centuries prior saying, tell the daughter of Zion. Now he's quoting Zechariah 9 and 9. And the prophet prophesied about this moment down to he didn't just prophesy a donkey, but a young donkey and the foal of a colt. And we'll get into that in just a moment. But what proves God is God, is not just his power? Miracles. Like parting the Red Sea. How many of y' all thought that was exciting? Yeah, walking on water. Jesus healing the blind. The Lame and casting out demons. But it's not just his power miracles, but also God's foreknowledge and knowledge. Miracles. And it's a beautiful thing, knowing we can trust our unknown future to our all knowing God. So 500 years before it happened, Jesus. I don't know if God just reminded him of the scripture. I don't know what happened. I don't know how God moved on. I don't know how all that happened, but it was already recorded. And Jesus basically just stepped into the prophecy. And then Zechariah gives more information. Behold me. Look at this. Pay attention to this. Your king is coming to you, but not the way you expect it. Kings come in magnificent robes with people, you know, surrounding them at their beck and call. But this king would be different. Your king is coming to you lowly. This was the problem. The people wanted a Dwayne Johnson, a Keanu Reeves, a Sylvester Stallone, an Arnold Schwarzenegger. They wanted some great type like that to ride in on a white horse with sword, army and spears to totally wipe out the Romans. They were a lot like you and I. They wanted God to show his muscle by removing all of their physical problems and destroying all of their external enemies, ignoring the fact that our greatest enemy lives within. In my immaturity at times, I'm like God. If you were God, you'd fix this. You'd feel fix that. And God's like, no, son, I'm fixing you. I'm giving you the grace to be strong. I'm giving you the faith, the grace to forgive and to endure. I'm giving you more opportunities to learn and be wise. Another opportunity to humble yourself and to trust me. Jesus understood if there's no enemy within, the enemy outside can have no lasting harm. But watch this. Salvation is spiritual before it's material. God goes to the root of the problem before he deals with the fruit of the problem. God wants to deal with our character. He wants to develop his image in us before he fixes everything around us. The message of the Bible is that God can use people in the midst of hard times and challenges to show himself strong. But listen, listen. I wanted a Christianity where I had to face nothing. I wanted a Christianity. I never had to do nothing. I wanted to just be able to bind and loose and get in my prayer closet. Fix it. Never face nothing. Never have a problem. When I was a child, I spoke like a child. When I became a man, I had to put away childish things. I had to change my thinking. God's not trying to make me comfortable as much as build me into the individual he wants me to become and my family and my church needs. Behold, your king is coming to you, but not the way you want it. Lowly, not on a horse. Steed and sitting on a donkey. You see, David rode a donkey at his coronation. And donkeys are symbolic of humility and service because we put things on donkeys, we put weights on donkeys. A donkey can handle up to about 30% of its body weight. It's a very powerful, powerful animal. But a donkey, again, was symbolic of humility and service, not conquest. I want God. Sometime, many times. Come with the sword. Go get him. But instead, he comes lowly. And he's not just serving me, he's also serving the person I'm dealing with. And he knows what we both need. And at the right time, he'll show himself strong and sitting on a donkey. Watch this. Not just a donkey. He gets specific. A colt. A colt is a young donkey. But if you know anything about donkeys, they can be very territorial. They can bite, they can kick. And if they're dealing with a perceived threat, they'll use their hooves to crush. And the rest of the. But he was saying, here, listen. Not just a colt, not just a young donkey, who, you know, young donkeys, they might not be as bad as adult donkeys, but I'm going to use the most innocent of them all. The foal of a donkey, meaning a baby donkey. He was probably no more than a year old, and he hadn't yet gained the aggressive traits. And life will make you aggressive. Life will make you a certain way. Life will make you bite. It will make you kick. It will make you hoove. It will make you crush. But to represent his spirit, it was a baby donkey that was totally innocent. And he rode this fold to emphasize that he came to bring peace on earth and good will to men. 19 and 41 gives us some more detail. Stay with me. Now, as Jesus drew near, he saw the city of Jerusalem and wept over it. Now, if you watch the movies, a warrior and warriors approached cities with a war cry. They would shout, they'd beat their spears. They would try to intimidate the people in the city that they were about to conquer. But instead of a war cry, Jesus wept. And if you look closely at the Greek, it wasn't just one of those slight tears coming down the sides of his face. It literally said he wept out loud. Everyone was watching. He wasn't coming in anger, he wasn't coming in rage. He came weeping and not for himself. He wasn't weeping over how he'd be beaten, how he'd be mocked, how he would be crucified, but he wept over how his people would miss God's timing. And I have been saying for the last couple weeks, an opportunity of a lifetime only lasts a lifetime of the opportunity. And the window into this opportunity was closing. And God would have to move from reaching the Jewish people in mass to taking the Gospel into nations around the globe. And I'm not going to go into all that. We'll look at a scripture in just a moment. But watch what Jesus said. And this is what he was saying as he was weeping. If you had known in my prayer, God is not looking at you with tears in his eyes saying, if you had known. Right now you think you are listening to a preacher, but somewhere under my voice is his voice calling you to Himself, saying, this is your moment. This is your hour. Don't miss it. If you had known, even you, especially in this, your day. Romans 11, 25, 26 tells us that at some point in history, every Jew will believe. But listen, pay attention. They miss though their preferred timetable. God's spirit will not always strive with men. If God has chosen you, you can come easy or you could come hard, but you're coming. But. But wouldn't it be easier to miss all the pain, all the regret, all the drama by coming the first time he calls? If you had known, even you, especially in this day, the things that make for your peace. This is not about me. It's about your peace. If they only knew that Jesus wasn't trying to harm them, but to help them. They only understood Jesus wasn't trying to get anything or take anything from them, but get something to them. He wants to get some things out of your hand so he can protect them with his hand. If that woman with the issue of blood was full of her own stuff and her own things, she could have never touched the hem of his garment. And sometimes we're too full of our
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Frank
stuff
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Derek Greer
to touch and take hold of. So in his mercy, he's like, let me take that. Let me take that. He's like, God, why are you being so mean? Why are you being so hard? No, man, I'm trying to free you so you have room in your hands for what's best for you and what will give you life and peace. But they miss their moment. Live streamers. They miss their moment. Do not miss your moment. But now, from this moment on, it's hidden from your eyes. God's patience with our stubbornness is not limitless. At some point, he closes the door and he'll let us learn the hard way. So Israel, you know, the early church was largely Jewish, but the church today is largely Gentile. The scripture I pointed to in Romans pointed today. And some say this is going to happen during the tribulation period, where 144,000 Jewish evangelists are going to be sent around the globe. And people are going to be one to Christ. But if they would have listened the first time, they wouldn't have to wait until the last time. Luke 19:34 and I'm just a couple more verses and I'm through. And they said, the Lord has need of him, the little donkey. And they brought the little donkey to him. You know, small, insignificant seeming things can become everything when put in God's hands. Remember, just five loaves, two fish fed a multitude. And they threw their own clothes. I believe it was only two of the disciples that went there. And these two disciples, and perhaps those that were standing by, I don't know all that happened, threw their own clothes. But the term there for clothes literally represents. Or it means cloak. So they threw their cloaks on the colt. Now, a cloak was a person's most vital portable possession. They didn't have hotels like we do today. And most of their hotels that they did have were places of prostitution and all different types of things. You didn't really want to stay there so many times. Now, as we're approaching Passover, it's the Passover season. People are coming to Jerusalem for Passover. So many of these people are pilgrims, and they're going to either sleep outside or find, you know, a barn somewhere. And your cloak was very, very important because your cloak was what was used to keep yourself warmed at night or warm at night. And actually, in Deuteronomy, Moses tells us by the Holy Spirit, that if someone lends you their cloak, listen, maybe they give it to you for earnest or something, give it back to them by evening because, you know, they get sick at night. They'll get cold at night. So this cloak was a very, very important piece of clothing. But the disciples used their cloaks to become a saddle for Jesus, which signaled their personal sacrifice and their honor for the king. And when Jesus saw this or got this, they set Jesus. So Jesus accepted this sacrifice by sitting on them. And God still honors sacrifice today. But let me tell you a little bit more about these cloaks. These cloaks represented a person's, again, protection, the warmth at night, but also their identity. Each cloak was a little bit different. It also represented their status. And, you know, if you were more wealthy, you might have what they call blue sewn into your cloak. And you could tell a person's status by the clothes they wear. Not like us today. You could find someone flat broke with a Gucci bag and all the rest, But not back then. And as they went, many spread their clothes on the road. So the rest of the people that saw that were so moved by what was done, they also placed their cloaks on the road. But what you need to know about this is, you know, these were pilgrims. Largely, they were outside of Jerusalem. So maybe some people from Jerusalem came out of the city. But I think a lot of these people, the people that saw his miracles, and most of his miracles were done in Judea because the Bible said, you know, that they're praising them for the great works they had seen. So with that, they're laying down their cloaks. But these cloaks, there was no guarantee that you'd get it back. I mean, hundreds of people are throwing down their coats. How are you going to get your coat back? And not only that, the mule, the donkey would walk on it. And people might step on it, someone might steal it. But what I want you to see is they worshiped him with abandonment. They were willing to lay down their protection, their identities, their status. Never hold any cloak too tightly. Never hold on to anything. Even if God gave it to you in a way, you can't give it back to him. Let me just pause here. God miraculously gave Abraham Isaac. But then God made Abraham walk up the hill to sacrifice his Isaac. And sometimes the blessings of the Lord can become idols in our lives. Sometimes even the answer to prayer we can hold so tightly that we begin to trust that thing and celebrate that thing more than God. But we have to be willing to release that thing back into God, his hands in order for us to experience freedom. If you can't say Amen, say ouch and we'll keep going. Verse 37. I'm going to stop at. I got three more verses. Then, as he was drawing near to the Descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to rejoice in what, praise God. The environment was electric. I mean, it was. It was. I mean, it was. Man, it was an incredible environment. And then the Bible says everyone quietly sang like, you know, baby angels. No. And with a loud voice. Sometimes our praise needs to be vocal. Sometimes there are parts of me that are stubborn and they don't listen so well. Sometimes I have to praise in a way that everything about me has all of my attention. The Bible said it this way. Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me. Bless your holy name. Now listen, some of us bless the Lord, but it's not all that's within you. But these folks, the Bible said they blessed everything. Doesn't always have to be loud. Don't mishear me. But they praised God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen. This is why I think a lot of these people were pilgrims. Because he didn't do so many miracles in Jerusalem. They were usually outside of Jerusalem. But what I want you to see is they were not just polite whispers of approval. If God has been as good to you as he's been to me, you'd praise him just a little bit crazy sometimes, too.
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Frank
Every now and then you gotta give him a shout, a hallelujah, a thank you, Jesus.
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Derek Greer
And it's not satisfactory to just give him a whisper. And watch how they praise. They said this in unison, and actually they were taking this from the Psalms. Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. Like us, they had lyrics to their songs too. And they corporately and collectively sang a song and praised God together. But watch what's happened at 39. And I got to get out of here. And some of the Pharisees from the church across town, they came from High Church, where everything was said in a whisper. No one ever got excited. And if you did, you were out of order. Don't mishear me. Everything should be done decently, in order. Don't do things to bring attention to yourself. Everything we should do should point to God. But some of the Pharisees called to him from the crowd with frowns and scowls on their face. Teacher, rebuke your disciples. Teacher, it doesn't take all that.
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Frank
But if you knew him like I
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Derek Greer
know him, you'd be shouting too.
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Frank
If you've seen what the Lord's done in my life and if he did it for you, you shout too. If you knew the cost of my praise,
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Derek Greer
the cost of the oil in my alabaster jar. If you only knew the things he brought me through, you shout too.
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Frank
If you only knew what it was like that midnight hour when there was
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Derek Greer
no one there but Him.
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Frank
I couldn't call on any name but his name. And at the name of Jesus, Jesus, Knees bowed, tongues confessed my situation, cried
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Derek Greer
out, giving him glory.
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Frank
If you only knew.
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Derek Greer
What's it like to have an issue of blood for 12 years. If you only know what it's like to sit by the pool of Bethesda waiting for a Pentecostal experience, for the water to move and get nothing. But then suddenly Christ passed you by
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Frank
and he said, boy, you live and not die. Get up, take up your mat and walk. Get up and go on, boy. And leave no traces of where you've been behind. If you ever had seven demons on the inside making you think crazy like Mary Magdalene, but then the Master laid his hand on you, say, peace, be still. You too. Leave everything to follow him. And there'd be a praise in your heart, a praise in your mouth.
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Derek Greer
There'd be the lifting of the hands. If you only knew him like I know him. And some of the Pharisees called him from the crowd, teacher, rebuke your disciples. And he answered. Instead of rebuking his disciples, he rebukes them. Watch what he says. He says, I tell you verily, verily. He got serious. There's fire shooting out of his eyes that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out. Listen to me. What he's saying is, even rocks are more responsive than a hardened heart. Even rocks are more responsive to a Pharisaical heart and mindset. We need to. I know we now have some Bible verses under our belts. I recognize some of you earned advanced degrees. But never lose your wonder. Jesus said, unless you become like a child, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. Return to a sense of wonder and marvel at the goodness and the grace of God in your life. You're expecting so much. And because you only got 90% of what you want, you focus on the
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Frank
10 and you forgot about the 90. God has brought you through.
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Derek Greer
He has kept you.
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Frank
You should not be alive. You should not be stand. Should not be in your right mind. But because of his mercy and his goodness, you are standing here right now. And because of it, I can't help but give him praise, honor and glory. King of Kings, Lord of Lords. The Bible says that there's not only
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Derek Greer
mumbles of praise, but there are shouts of joy.
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Frank
Shouts of joy in the tents of the righteous. Are there any righteous people here right now? Give him a shout. Give him a hallelujah. Praise the Lord. If it hadn't been for the Lord who's on my side. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. If he didn't break me through, I wouldn't have gotten through. If he wasn't holding me, I wouldn't have made it to God. Be the glory to God. Be the glory to God be the glory.
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Derek Greer
Thank you for joining us. Until next time, remember you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derekre.com by clicking the link in the description.