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Today we are going to take a posture of peace by choosing our source.

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Posture is a short audible fist bump to remind you God is with you in everything.

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Together we're going to be emboldened to take a daily posture of perfect peace.

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In John chapter 6 verse 28 the crowd said to Jesus,

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what must we do to be doing the works of God? And Jesus said to them, this is the work of God,

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that you believe in him who he has sent. Jesus is talking about himself here.

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So they said to Jesus, then what sign do you do that we may see and believe? What work do you

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perform? This is a very interesting conversation that Jesus has with the crowd. Some quick context,

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a quick summary, if you will, of the chapter. In the beginning of chapter 6, Jesus feeds the 5,000

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miraculously and the crowd doesn't just see, witness the miracle with their eyes, but they

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partake of the miracle. They get to eat the bread that Jesus miraculously provided and be satisfied.

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Their natural hunger was satisfied by the miracle. Jesus moves to the other side of the sea,

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walks on water along the way, freaks the disciples out. Another story for another day,

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but the crowd follows Jesus to the other side and when they find Jesus again, they ask him this

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question, Jesus, what do we have to do to do what you just did? And Jesus says to them,

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the work of God is to believe in me. And the crowd says this to Jesus,

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okay, then do something that makes you believable. Prove that you are worthy of our belief.

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And they even cite some experience that they've had with God in the past, not what Jesus just did

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by feeding them miraculously, but what God did with their ancestors in the wilderness with Moses,

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and they talk about manna falling from heaven. So Jesus answers them by saying this in verse 32,

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he says, truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the manna from heaven,

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but my father gives the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from

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heaven and gives life to the world. Again, Jesus is talking about himself. And they said to Jesus,

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sir, give us this bread always. And Jesus replies, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me

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shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. Jesus is not holding out

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on the crowd of people by not performing the miracle that they're asking for, the sign that

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they're asking for. Instead, he is holding out to them something so much greater than what they are

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asking for. He is holding out to them himself. Now, often when I share about our relationship

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with God or identity in Christ, I get a question, it comes up a lot, and that is, can you please

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tell me what this practically looks like? What do I need to do to access this kingdom reality?

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What steps do I need to take to experience this in my daily life? And I totally understand that

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question, you know, what must I do? It's not a silly question. I've asked that question many

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times before. We hear the truth. We want to embrace it. We want it to be our everyday experience,

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but we are in the process of unlearning worldly ways of doing things, and we're practicing every

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day living in these kingdom realities. So sometimes those two things, those two ways of

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thinking overlap, and we try to access kingdom truth through worldly ways of doing things.

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So we think of things in terms of earning and gaining, like passing a test, earning a wage,

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following a formula, taking the steps, and we apply that to kingdom truth. So for example,

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the love of God. Some of us live in a way thinking we have to earn God's love for us,

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or we think we have to do certain steps or follow certain formulas in order to maintain

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his love for us, like we have the ability to keep up what he's given us. So we think, you know,

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his love can be depleted by our bad behavior or increased by our success in life,

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because in this world, we are so used to doing things to get things. We're so used to having to

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do stuff to keep stuff. Remember, Romans 12, two says, do not be conformed to this world.

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Don't copy the way of the world, the way the world's way of doing things instead be transformed

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by the renewal of your mind. So we need to take on a new mind about everything.

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If we try to experience kingdom reality,

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through the world's way of doing things, we will be double-minded. And being

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double-minded, the Bible says, makes you unstable in everything because you're

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tossed around by everything. You're bouncing between two realms, you're

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bouncing between two realities, and you're trying to be satisfied by two

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different sources. And living that way makes you utterly confused. And confused

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people are doubt-filled people, understandably so. They're confused. They

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don't know what to believe, so often they believe only what they can see. And all

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that to say, what is practical in the world may not be practical in the

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kingdom. So kingdom truths, like receiving and believing, they don't always feel

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very tangible or practical in this world. They're not always practical because they

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are relational. We are in relationship with the creator of the universe. And

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believing and receiving just seem a little bit too simplistic in accessing

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that wonderful relationship. Because again, we're comparing them to what we

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have to do, all the things we have to do to pull off things in this world. And

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those things that we pull off in the world, that we achieve in the world, seem

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very low in comparison to this majestic relationship we have with God. So you

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might be thinking, man, the blood, sweat, and tears that I had to sow to get that

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promotion, or to get my health back on track, or to find a worthy soulmate, I

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had to do all that work for that. So it's definitely got to be harder to access

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the promises of the kingdom because they're so much greater. So if we think

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that way, we make believing, and we make receiving, and we make our relationship

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with God complicated in order for it to feel tangible, in order for it to feel

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practical. So we reach for the 27 steps to a better you program, and we attend

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every conference we can, thinking the next one's gonna change our lives, and we

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pray that, you know, the five prayers that we must pray for our marriage, and for

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our children, and for our health. And none of these things are evil in and of

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themselves. Most of them are helpful tools. We have to recognize that's all

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they are. They're tools that we can use, and they can be helpful, but we are not

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subject to them. They don't dictate our freedom, they don't determine our destiny,

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they are not our Savior, and they are not our source. In the kingdom, it's not about

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what you see, or what you don't see, it's about what God said. His word, his nature,

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him. He is the one who sustains you and me. He is the one who satisfies. Not the

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miracle, not the sign, not the wonder, not the promise being made manifest in a

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particular way. As wonderful as those things are, I have come to realize that

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they are not my source. He is my source. And I've stopped chasing the

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instantaneous and the quick fixes, because I've realized I'm on a

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relational journey, and it is a journey. It's not some destination, it's not some

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achievement, it's not some level. It's a relationship, and it's a journey. And

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because I'm in relationship with the answer, I don't have to chase down a

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quick fix. Instead, I can enjoy, I can receive the relationship that he

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initiated, not the one that I did. So you might be thinking, okay great, I just have

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to believe. How do I believe? You know, again, we want to make it practical. I'm

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going to try to help you by telling you this. You believe by making a choice, by

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choosing your source. In the overcoming, and we're all overcoming something, right?

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Because we're overcomers, it's what we do. In the overcoming, in different areas, I

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have to decide and make a decision. I am not choosing what I see or don't see.

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I'm choosing what you said, Lord. I'm choosing you. And in that choice, let me

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tell you, there's often no tangible difference at first, but in the

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choosing, in the choosing him, in the choosing what he said, there is a knowing

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that is deepening and informing all that is tangible. My emotions, my thoughts, my

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bodies, they're gonna get the memo. They will catch up as I make the choice and

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experience that joy and peace and believing that Romans 15 12 talks about.

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Here's what's happening. Instead of just experiencing a healing, I'm experiencing

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the healer. Instead of just experiencing a provision, I'm experiencing the provider.

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Instead of experiencing just peace, I'm experiencing life in relationship with

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the Prince of Peace.

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I'm choosing my source. Today I want to encourage you to choose your source.

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It's Him alone. You don't have to chase down a quick fix. You don't have to chase

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down an instant solution. Instead, you can take step by step each and every day and

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enjoy this relationship, this relational journey that you're on with the Lord.

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You're in relationship with Him. Not a sign, not a wonder. You don't need to see

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it to believe it because you're a son, a daughter of the Most High King, and you

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are experiencing His presence in your life every day.