Heart Hedges - Is God in or out?

Which hedge have you built around yourself? 

Have you built a barrier where you're protecting your hurt and pain and deflecting God's love? Or have you allowed God to build a hedge of protection around you that keeps the enemy out - one where you are rooted and grounded in His love for you?

Transcript

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[Music]
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hello and welcome thank you so much for
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joining the embracing Grace podcast my
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name is Cindy and today I'm going to
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talk to you about Hedges and no I'm not
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talking about the gardening type I am
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going to be talking to you about heart
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Hedges so what do I mean there are two
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types of heart Hedges that God's been
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talking to me about um which I want to
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share with you heart Hedges that either
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keep God's love inside and push out
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anything that the enemy brings or there
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is a hard hedge which is a barrier that
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actually Rejects and deflects God's love
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that he has for us so today I want you
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to think about which heart hedge have
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you built around you barriers let's talk
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about barriers first so when we are
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walking with God we can either choose we
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all have a choice right we have a choice
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to choose life and to choose death
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Deuteronomy speaks about that and God
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actually encourages Us in Deuteronomy to
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choose life but not all of us always do
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um same for me you know some people hear
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me speak and think that I've got it all
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together and that's not the case we all
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have the same types of challenges maybe
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some are more severe than others but we
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all go through daily challenges and
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every single day we have a choice what
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kind of hedge we're building around our
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heart so I want to talk to you first
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about the barriers you know I speak to
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many women in the the work that I do
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whether it's coaching in my inner circle
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in just you know people that I meet
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through the podcast there are many women
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that are walking with shame and guilt
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unworthiness feeling that they are not
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not loved or feeling like they need to
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work to earn their place in this world
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and I know that that's true because I've
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gone through all of that I have felt so
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many of the same feelings and same
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things that they've gone through I have
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gone through myself but it's been a
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journey to get to where I am today where
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I'm no longer phased by that of course
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there are days that are more difficult
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and more challenging than others but I
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also know how to get myself into place
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of God's love but those barriers those
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things like shame and guilt and and the
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feelings of unworthiness are a ve very
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real reality for many women on a daily
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basis and what we've done is even though
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we are saved because you know what you
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can be saved and still be affected by so
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many of these things and it's the choice
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that we make between um walking in God's
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love and walking in fear that fear all
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of those things that I mentioned like
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shame and guilt and unworthiness are all
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rooted in fear that the enemy has placed
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inside of us ultimately when it boils
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when we boil it down right to the end
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you will see it all comes down to your
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identity in Christ all of those things
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attack who you are and they it all of
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those things wants you to doubt who God
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created you to be and whose you are so
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the barriers when we're focusing and
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thinking about it all the time that we
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are not good enough you know that you
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need to earn your place you need to work
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and you you're people pleasing
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essentially you're doing things because
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you feel other people need you to do
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this so that you can have this place in
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society or in your church or even in
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your home sometimes you feel you need to
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work at it to earn your your your worth
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in a way
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okay we put up every every one of those
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things is a barrier that we put around
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us and I had this beautiful picture when
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I spoke to somebody recently that that
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is where we place ourselves sometimes we
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put ourselves in this place and all
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we've been hearing and maybe it was one
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word that was spoken maybe it's not
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something even that you're hearing every
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single day but we've heard something
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spoken over us and it's you've taken it
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and a little while ago I did a podcast
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on watering the weeds or the seeds which
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one are you watering and that
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essentially just means what are you
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focusing on are you meditating on the
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wrong things that people have spoken
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over your life and what it's done is
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you've heard it you started thinking
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about it and now it's growing in your
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heart and what that means is you've
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started believing that you are that
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person that people are you know that
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that one person perhaps spoke over you
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and that is not true that is not who God
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says you are so what are you watering
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right you are essentially even though
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you may have been rooted and grounded in
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God's love before what you've done is
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those kind of things that you're
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meditating on all the time it's the
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things that you're thinking about is
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starting to grow in your heart and what
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you're doing is you're placing up this
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hedge or this barrier around you where
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even though God's love is there all the
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time all of the time his presence can be
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tangible around you but what you're
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doing is you're building up this hedge
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or this barrier that is deflecting God's
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love it's like putting up something
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shiny that deflects the sun right the
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sun who is Jesus it's actually it
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doesn't matter then what people tell you
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after that that what you're saying is
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you know what what that person told you
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is not true it doesn't matter because
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your barrier that you've built around
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you is protecting your hurt you're
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you're essentially being loyal to your
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own hurt and I've been there I have been
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there protecting the hurt and and the
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shame and the guilt um of of what things
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that I've done in my life I protected it
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because I felt that that is was who I
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was and what does that essentially do
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that brings anxiety that brings stress
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that that actually causes you to even
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feel more unloved you you feel Justified
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and that these words that have been
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spoken over you are true when you start
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believing it you start acting like it
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you you it becomes your you know it
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comes out in your behavior you
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essentially do what you what you've
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started believing um and that just
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deflects everything that God is trying
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to do in your life God cannot move in
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your life and you cannot step into who
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God's called you to be when you've got
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that hedge around you and you're
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deflecting his love right so there is a
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process that you need to go through to
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break down those walls and those
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barriers so that you can actually start
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receiving the love that God has for you
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um and I'll do a message I do a podcast
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on receiving because I felt that wow a
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couple of weeks ago God just spoke to me
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so beautifully um about receiving but
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that's that's a podcast for another day
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so I want to just speak to you about
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building Hedges that are Shields right
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we've spoken a little bit about the
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barriers that we put up that deflects
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God's love um which means that you're
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living in a place of punishment
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essentially and I'll and I'll read that
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to you now um in uh 1 John 4 where God
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says that um perfect love drives out
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fear but fear has to do with punishment
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all of those things shame guilt when
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you're constantly thinking about it
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you're con instantly punishing yourself
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that is not who God is and that is not
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who you are that is not who God created
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you to be I want to read to you 1 John 4
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from: 16 it says and so we know and rely
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on the love that God has for us we rely
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on the love of God can you just stop and
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think about that for a moment are you
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able to just open yourself up and trust
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and rely on God's love for you just just
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for a moment think about
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them it goes on to say God is love you
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know love is not a fleeting feeling that
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comes and goes that is not who love is
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love is a person and somebody shared the
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other day on our Inner Circle she said
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that peace is not the absence of War or
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conflict peace is the presence of a
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person love is a person when we see
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and acknowledge love as a
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person there is so much more that God
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wants to give you and do in your life
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when you can see him as a person and not
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just a feeling it's not just something
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you feel on the inside there'll be a lot
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of stuff that goes on in the inside when
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you experience God as love but it's not
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just something that comes and goes
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because love is a transform it
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transforms the inside of you um and it
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just builds up such a beautiful
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confidence inside of you so it goes on
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to say God is love whoever lives in love
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meaning in God lives in God and God in
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them you know there's that beautiful
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exchange between love and you when you
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are rooted and grounded in God's love
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for you this is how love is made
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complete among us so that we will have
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confidence on the day of judgment in
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this world we are like Jesus can you
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imagine being like
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Jesus think about it for a moment
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Genesis 1:26 says you are made in God's
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image and his
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likeness you are like God you have been
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created to look like him in his image
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you are a spirit being in the same way
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that God is Spirit the words that we
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hear when we read the Bible is not
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necessarily only supposed to impact our
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minds and our bodies that is sometimes
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who we think we are our minds and our
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bodies no we're more than that you are a
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spirit being the revelation of God's
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word I hope and I pray that the words
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that I'm speaking over you today the the
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scripture will actually penetrate your
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heart and bring transformation on the
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inside of
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you we are like Jesus there is no fear
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in love so all those things that we
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spoke about earlier the shame the guilt
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unworthiness things that bring
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anxiousness and depression and things
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that bring loneliness that actually want
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you make you to withdraw from other
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people who want to love on you that is
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all rooted in fear and in punishment
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right it's punishment to be alone to
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feel like you're lonely even though
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you're surrounded by many
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people says but perfect love drives out
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fear because fear has to do with
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punishment the one who fears is not made
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perfect in love and then it n verse 19
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says we love because he first loved
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us
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wow I want you to sit and think about
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that for a moment because you know the
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when you're rooted and grounded in God's
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love for
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you it actually drives out all the
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fear it drives out the things that
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you're constantly thinking about when
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you're constantly meditating on his love
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it will move and push away everything
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that the enemy is trying to put on you
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everything that people are saying about
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you it pushes it away so which hedge are
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you building around you are you building
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a barrier that is actually where you're
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sitting inside feeling like you're
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protecting the hurt that is inside you
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are you you rooted and grounded in God's
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love and building a shield around you
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letting him build the shield around you
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that deflects everything from the enemy
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there's another scripture that I want to
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read to you and it is Ephesians
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3:14 it says for this reason I kneel
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before the father from whom every family
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in heaven and on Earth derives its
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name I pray that out of his glorious
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riches he may strength
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you with power through his spirit in
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your inner being that inner being is the
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one that I spoke about earlier you are
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created in God's image and his likeness
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you are spirit because you're Made In
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His Image you are made in his likeness
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you have the character of God and the 1
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John 4 scripture says in this world we
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are like
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Jesus so may he strengthen you with
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power through his spirit in your inner
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being so that Christ May dwell in your
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hearts through faith and I pray that you
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being rooted and established in love may
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have power together with all the Lord's
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holy people to grasp how wide and long
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and high and deep is the love of Christ
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and to know this love that surpasses
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knowledge that you may be filled to the
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measure of all the full of God do you
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know what God's measure of fullness is
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it's
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overflow God's measure is always
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overflow of his love and his grace his
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Mercy his faithfulness towards you you
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are so loved Isaiah 43 says God has
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called you by your name Psalm 139 says
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that I think it's verse 16 it says God
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has written about you in his book way
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before you were even born can you
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imagine that God thought about you he
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knitted you together in your mother's
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womb just so that you could be like him
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just so that he could love you it says
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we love because God loved us
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first so which hedge are you building
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around your heart today a barrier
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deflecting God's love or are you
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allowing God to put that Shield of love
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around you which deflects and removes
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all the fear that the enemy is trying to
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put on
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you I would love it if you would comment
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below and let me know which hedge you
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are building around yourself today and
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include your family God is a god of
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generations right he's always thinking
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about your children he's always thinking
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about your loved one he might be
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thinking about you but the impact he
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wants to have it's not just in your life
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it's a ripple effect
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many years ago I owned a recruitment
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company and you know at that time even
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though I was saved and I loved God and I
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walked with him I never knew the impact
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of a slogan that he gave me back then
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and it said when you touch one life you
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change their world I always thought was
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when we give somebody a job it impacts
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their world right it impacts their
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family when they start earning an income
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that is how I saw I always looked at the
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one Lord how are we going to impact the
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one's life because that life is going to
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impact their family and potentially they
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will impact their friends and they will
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hopefully impact their Community that's
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what I thought but when I look at God's
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love now there is a ripple effect that
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God wants to move through your family
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it's not just for you when you have an
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internal transformation when you start
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seeing yourself the way God does you
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will see the transformation that starts
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happening around you because you are
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different when you are different when
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you start seeing yourself as a beautiful
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Masterpiece that God has created you to
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be you will start seeing the impact that
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it has on those around you so on that
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note I want you to like this video share
16:50
it with your friends subscribe to the
16:52
channel because you know what when you
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share this you never know whose life
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you're going to impact so sometimes we
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don't know what people are going through
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and when we share a message like this of
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Hope of encouragement of
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empowerment any message that you feel
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that has really touched your life make
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it a responsibility of yours to share
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because you never know when you've
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shared it whose life will be impacted by
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that there's always somebody who needs
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to hear the message of love from God for
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them so like and share and subscribe to
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the channel and always remember that you
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are loved you are chosen and that you
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are redeemed lots of love and God bless
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bye
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[Music]



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