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So Paul gives us a step-by-step instruction on how to handle anxiety.

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And so when we look at these biblical examples of these young people doing extraordinary things,

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don't think that they were immune to the common feelings and emotions and desires that young people have today.

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They're still people.

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What a blessing it is to have biblical examples of young people doing extraordinary things from the Bible.

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We can learn so much from David, Mary, and Joseph and countless others in the Bible.

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Those of us who have teenagers in our lives can use these examples to encourage and mentor them.

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And those of you that are teenagers can look to these examples for inspiration and guidance.

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Now perhaps you've been watching these videos and thinking,

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young people in the Bible lived so long ago, can we actually relate and learn from them today?

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We face a lot of different issues and things and society lives on different parts of the world.

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What can we actually learn from these biblical examples?

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And that's a good question.

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Yes, David, Mary, and Joseph lived thousands of years ago in a different part of the world,

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but they were people who served the same God as we do.

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They were people who had the same emotions, thoughts, and feelings that we have today.

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For example, I believe that David, Mary, and Joseph all dealt with anxiety.

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And as I've spent the past 10 years working with youth in a variety of different situations,

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as a teacher, as a coach, and as a youth pastor,

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anxiety is one of the main things that I talk about with youth

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because it's one of the main things that they bring up as a problem that they're facing in their lives.

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And I'm sure that David had to deal with some anxious thoughts before he stood toe-to-toe with Goliath.

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Even though he was confident in his identity in the Lord and he knew what he was supposed to do,

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I guarantee you there were still thoughts that went through his head, anxious thoughts, before he did what he did.

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Mary had to deal with some anxious thoughts as she considered being a mother,

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as she considered the shame and judgment that people would cast her way

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knowing that she was pregnant without being married.

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She had to fight with those feelings of shame and anxiety.

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And Joseph had plenty of situations in his life that could have caused anxiety.

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Being in slavery, being in prison, leading all of Egypt, even when he's elevated, right?

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In Egypt, through a famine, there could be some anxious thoughts that he would be attacked with.

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Am I capable of this? Am I fit for this? Do I know what I'm doing?

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So what did they do with these thoughts and what do we do with anxious thoughts today?

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What can teenagers do when they feel burdened with anxiety?

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Well, we can do it what David, Mary, and Joseph did.

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We can turn to the Lord.

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Philippians 4 is a great example of what we can do with anxiety.

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Paul was another biblical figure who dealt with his fair share of difficult situations and anxiety.

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In his letter to the Philippians, Paul gives a step-by-step plan on what to do with anxiety.

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It's from Philippians 4, starting in verse 4, Paul writes,

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Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice.

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Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand.

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Do not be anxious about anything,

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but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

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And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

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Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,

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whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence,

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if there is anything worthy of praise, think of these things.

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What you have learned and received and heard of me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

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Step-by-step. Paul dealt with anxiety.

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He was in prison as he wrote this letter to the Philippians, and he starts with rejoice in the Lord always.

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I will say it again. Rejoice.

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He's in prison, and he's encouraging people to always rejoice in the Lord.

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Always rejoice in the Lord.

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Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.

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And we can rejoice in the Lord despite our circumstance because we serve a God who's bigger than our circumstances.

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David knew that he served a God that was bigger than Goliath.

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Mary knew that she served a God that was bigger than this uncomfortable, impossible situation she was in.

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Joseph knew that he served a God who is bigger than his time in slavery, bigger than his time in prison,

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and bigger than the problem of the famine that Egypt was facing.

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And that's why they trusted in him, and that's why they could rejoice in the Lord.

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Not because they were confident in their own abilities, but because they were confident in the God that they were serving.

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So be rejoicing in the Lord always.

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Then Paul writes, the Lord is near.

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be anxious about anything, but he doesn't stop there.

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I'm glad that's not the end of the chapter

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because if that was the command,

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don't be anxious about anything, that feels impossible.

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And I'm sure if you said those exact words

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to David, Mary or Joseph,

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they would have had the same reaction.

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That feels impossible.

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David was about to face a giant.

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It's natural to feel anxious.

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Mary was about to walk through her small town,

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pregnant and unmarried.

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There's reason to feel anxious.

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Joseph was in prison.

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That would cause anxiety.

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So Paul keeps writing, maybe you're in a situation

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where you feel like it's impossible to not feel anxious

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about what you're going through.

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So what do we do with it?

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Keep reading.

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Do not be anxious about anything,

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but in everything by prayer and supplication,

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with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God

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in the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding

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will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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So there's a promise there in verse seven,

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the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding

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will guard your hearts and minds.

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And that sounds great.

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And that sounds like an answer to anxiety,

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but how do we get there?

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Well, it says first, but in everything by prayer,

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pray about everything.

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Pray about what makes you anxious.

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Send your anxious thoughts up to the throne room of God.

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Pray about what is causing you anxiety.

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And I would say, pray it out loud,

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pray it out loud and give it to God.

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And then he says, with thanksgiving,

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it is difficult to be full of gratitude

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and also be anxious in the same time.

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Those thoughts can't really exist simultaneously

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in your brain.

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So we're truly being grateful and thankful

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to the God of the universe who gives us what we need.

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It's gonna be difficult to be anxious.

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So pray about everything and thank God for what you do have.

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And then after that, he says, make your requests

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when you know to God, and then the promise comes in.

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So if we're truly being grateful

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and we're truly giving our requests

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and our anxious thoughts and desires to the Lord,

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then he will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

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But Paul doesn't stop there.

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He continues in verse eight and he says,

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finally, brothers, whatever's true, whatever's honorable,

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and he gives a list of things

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that we should be thinking about.

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And I love that first one, whatever is true.

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Have you ever noticed that anxious thoughts are not true?

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They might be based in a real situation,

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but they usually spiral and kind of end up in a crazy place.

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That's where our anxiety can take us to a crazy place.

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Crazy thoughts of things that are not gonna happen.

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Paul says, focus on what is true.

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Think about what is true,

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not where our anxious thoughts can take us.

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So Paul gives us a step-by-step instruction

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on how to handle anxiety.

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And so when we look at these biblical examples

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of these young people doing extraordinary things,

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don't think that they were immune

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to the common feelings and emotions and desires

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that young people have today.

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They're still people, still people.

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But in the exciting part about that

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is we serve the same God,

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the God who helped David face Goliath,

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the God who used Mary in an extraordinary way,

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the God who used Joseph and brought Joseph through slavery,

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through prison, to a place of leadership.

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That's the same God that we serve.

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And we can learn a lot from these biblical examples.

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And so whoever you are watching these videos,

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if you're someone who has influence

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over a young person's life,

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if you're a teacher or a coach or a mentor

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or a youth leader or a parent,

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use these examples, use these truths,

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impart them on the young people in your life,

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encourage them, encourage them.

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If you're a young person watching this,

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be encouraged by these examples.

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You can do extraordinary things

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just like the people in the Bible did.

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You can be used in mighty ways.

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The Lord can and wants to use you.

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And remember this, the who is more important than the what.

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Who you are is more important than what you do.

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And so often we ask young people,

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especially seniors in high school,

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their whole year, if you're a senior in high school,

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you relate to this.

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You're constantly being asked,

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what are you gonna do next year?

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What college are you gonna go to?

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What's your career?

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What job are you pursuing?

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What do you wanna be when you grow up?

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Even at a young age, we ask kids that.

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What do you wanna be when you grow up?

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And those are good questions to consider.

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It's good for young people to have goals and dreams

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and be striving for something.

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But what is more important than the what

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is who you are.

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So what if we ask young people that more often

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or make sure they know who they are

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and who their identity is rooted in

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because their identity should not be rooted

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in what they do, in a career path, in an athletic ability.

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and anything like that, it should be grounded in who they are, and who you are is a child of God.

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That is your identity. And if that is what we can impart on youth, if that is what young people in

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Generation Z can be grounded in and know that, that they are a child of God, that that is who

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they are, if that's what's most important to them, if they're grounded in that truth, then you will

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do extraordinary things. Put your identity in that, who you are, not what you do. Put your identity

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in Christ, and he will use you to do extraordinary things.