Shadowing Practice: 19 Minutes To Make Your Problem Look Stupid - Learn English Speaking with Video
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What do you do when the problem is bigger than you?
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Our job is to go to our problems and show our problems how big God is.
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Your problems are only problems to you.
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They're not problems to God.
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Because if you could do it, you wouldn't need a savior.
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You wouldn't need him to do it.
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Deuteronomy 9 verse 1.
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Hear, O Israel, thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go into possessed nations greater and mightier than thyself,
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cities great and fenced up to heaven, a people great and all the children of anakims whom thou knowest
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and of them thou hast heard say who can stand before the children of anak under understand therefore this day
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that the lord thy god is he
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which goeth over before thee as a consuming fire he shall destroy them
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and he shall bring them down before thy face
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so shalt thou drive them out
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and destroy them quickly as the lord hath said unto A lot of you guys skip over,
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if you're being honest, Deuteronomy chapter 9, because it's very difficult.
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It's a very dry book.
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It's hard for us to understand.
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So I want to ask you guys, what did you guys get from just those three verses?
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The unlock in this verse, in these three verses, is talking about one thing.
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Problems.
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Problems.
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What do you mean?
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What do you do when the problem is bigger than you, basically?
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and you already know in yourself
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that you cannot defeat this problem what do you do
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when you face something
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that you cannot handle
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that's what god is showing in this verse here everybody in this chat in this room uh has faced
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that has dealt with this before right it's easy to say hand
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it over to the lord
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it's easy to say to answer correctly right yeah just pray about it just do this but
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if you're being honest with yourself there are many times where we genuinely pray
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we fast we tithe we go to church
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and it still doesn't overcome whether it's this emptiness
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or this crippling anxiety or this depression
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so i don't want you guys to think
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so surface level i want you know it's a bible class
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so we're going to go deeper into this right right so
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when you think about this there's a debt
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that you can't pay there's an addiction you know
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that you couldn't overcome uh whether it's lust um whether it's it's it's envy
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and feeling jealous
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when people get blessed above
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you right all of these things god is actually trying to remind us of something here right deep down
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you know just like he says in verse one thou knowest
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you know deuteronomy 9 1 1 1 2 3 you guys already know of these people the anakims right
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and the people who are giants and you are
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but grasshoppers to them it says you know these people you know you can't do it
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but the bible says i will do it i will bring
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you across who's i in this situation god god is about
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to basically send his people up to the whole nations
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that are against him
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and they're giants they have cities walled up to heaven they say meaning they have huge fortresses right strongholds
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that you cannot overcome you know this is pointing directly to jesus christ to god
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and how jesus is going to overcome those strongholds right how he's going to overcome
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that stronghold that you know fortress of addiction
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that you're you're struggling with basically right and what's really beautiful is these people
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which took a 13 -day track right it was supposed to take 13 days ended up taking 40 years is
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because God is showing us that they were able to trust what they saw instead of what God said, different S's.
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When you trust what you see versus what God says, that's when you get derailed.
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So a lot of us are always wondering, why is God not blessing us according to our timing?
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Nine times out of 10, it's because we see and we don't believe what he says.
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We see and believe what we see versus believing what he says
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and what we see never matches what he says when you can't handle it
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and god agrees with them yes these are giants he even professes yeah they're huge
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but what you forgot was i'm the one that's supposed to handle
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it not you right that's the unlock here now many of us what do we do
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when we see a situation especially
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because we're taught this in church you must overcome you must work
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it out you must do this you must do that now
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when you're doing that though what happens you fail right
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so what god wants us to learn is no no you know
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that it's too big for you what are you supposed to do run to the thing that's bigger than you
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and bigger than that problem right a lot of people say they go to god with their problems right All right.
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and they tell God, look at how big my problem is.
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I have intrusive thoughts.
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I have emotional, you know, imbalances.
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I have chemical imbalances.
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I have ADHD.
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I have things.
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I have lust.
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I have addiction.
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They go to God and show God how big their problems are, right?
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But our job is to go to our problems and show our problems how big God is.
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Do you guys understand?
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It has to be flipped.
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But a lot of us, we do the opposite, right?
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We don't tell our problems that God is greater we tell God that our problems are greater than us.
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God is trying to remind them, hey, remember, I led you out of Egypt.
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I did everything.
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And so this is the reason, and these verses are the reason why God is telling us, you keep trying to fix it yourself,
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but that was never your job.
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You keep trying to get over the addiction.
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You keep trying to get over the gossip.
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You keep trying to get over the lust, the envy, the hate, the jealousy, the unforgiveness, the bitterness, the resentment,
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whatever it is, you trying to get over it, it was never your job to get over it.
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The reason why you can't beat your addictions, the reason why you can't beat any of the problems in your life right now,
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and you're in a hard season right now, is because it was never meant for you to do it.
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Because if you could do it, you wouldn't need a savior, you wouldn't need him to do it.
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And then God says in Deuteronomy 9, I will go before thee.
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He says it here, I'm going to go before you, meaning ahead of you.
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I'm going to do it, essentially.
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And what is he going to do?
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I'm going to destroy them and bring them down so that everyone knows who I am.
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For his sake, basically.
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Your only job is to believe, wow, God is ahead of me.
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Sure, it may be overtaking me now, but I'm not going to place a period where God places a comma.
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God already said he will go before me.
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Now I have a choice.
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Am I going to trust my thoughts?
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thoughts that make sense but lead me to misery thoughts the same exact thoughts
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that are dropping me into intrusive thoughts the bondage of anxiety depression loneliness emptiness
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or am i going to trust the word of god
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that doesn't make sense but is the truth just
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because something makes sense to you does not mean
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that it's true understand and just
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because it doesn't make sense to you doesn't mean
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it's not true right the bible is very clear i'm gonna go before you
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but the enemy does though is he tries to make you fight for victory right
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but the bible has already told us
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that no we're victorious through jesus christ unfortunately we don't believe
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that that's why our addiction is such a big problem to us
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and remember your problems are only problems to you they're not problems to god
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and the bible says
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we are more than conquerors through who through christ who strengthen us right let's go to Zechariah 4 6
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then he answered
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and spake unto me saying this is the word of the Lord Zerubbabel saying not by might not by power
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but by my spirit saith the Lord of hosts so
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when you think about this it's not about your might it's not about your power
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it's not about your intelligence your emotional intelligence your spiritual intelligence your physical intelligence it's by what god's spirit
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that we overcome right so god is telling us
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that it's not nothing that you can do truly if god doesn't give you the heart to overcome things
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then you're you're only going to be dragged that's what god is saying he has to come to your rescue
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so our job is to lean on him you guys got
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that right so when you think
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when you look at let's go to first samuel as well
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he also talks about something very very amazing here first samuel 17 47
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and all this assembly shall know that the lord saveth not with sword and spear
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for the battle is the lord's
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and he will give it into our hands you know god is saying what i don't need to use sword
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and spear either way i'm gonna win
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and i'm gonna give it to you i'm going to give you the dub
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so many times we have to make a decision we trust
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and believe our thoughts or do we trust
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and believe the word of god when you trust
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and believe your thoughts then your thoughts become your god
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and then you get dragged and you start to serve your thoughts as god
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so you'll serve and you'll think about depression loneliness all day
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if you trust it you'll think about crippling anxiety all day
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we have to make a choice either we trust the word
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that the word says we're gonna i'm gonna take care of it
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or you trust your thoughts that says no you have to take care of it
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and then when you do
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that you fail i guess a couple questions i want
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you guys to ask yourself in this in just these couple chapters
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it's a couple verses i'm sorry is what giant have you been straining to beat in your with your own strength
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what giant in your life is it a depression is it a anxiety is it addiction what are you doing
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that you're not giving up to god to defeat
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but you're trying to defeat
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and then i want you to go a little bit deeper than
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that and go why am i trying to defeat this
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and nine times out of ten it's because of ego
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and pride what i mean by that is you want to defeat it
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so that you look like you defeated it you want to defeat it
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because it glorifies you to then make you a good christian who overcame
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and now you have a testimony
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because you went through the test now you have a message
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because you went through the mess
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but all you guys have to realize is all testimonies have to point back to jesus all victories are jesus
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and won by jesus understand
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but nine times out of ten what we do is yes it's for jesus
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but it's also for me right
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because god doesn't look at your depression he doesn't look at your giants in your life your sin
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and is shocked by it and overwhelmed and disappointed
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that you can't overcome it he made it that way so
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that you could never save yourself therefore you can never boast in yourself therefore you can never glorify yourself
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and that's actually mercy right let's let's go back to deuteronomy 9
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and let's start with verse 4 again speak not thou in thine heart after
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that the lord thy god has cast them out from before
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thee saying for my righteousness the lord hath brought me into possesses land
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but for the wickedness of these nations the lord doth drive them out before thee
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Not for thy righteousness or for the uprightness of thine heart Dost thou go to possess their land
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But for the wickedness of these nations
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The Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee
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And that he may perform the word which the Lord swore
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Unto thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Verse 6
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Understand therefore that the Lord thy God giveth thee
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Not this good land to possess
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it for thy righteousness for thou are a stiff -necked people
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do you guys know what the most dangerous lie in the bible is
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and the dangerous lie that the bible talks about
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and bible calls dangerous it's the lie
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that you're a good person what god is saying in deuteronomy 9 is hey don't forget it's not
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because you're good or you're righteous it's because i'm righteous and i'm good that's why i'm giving you this land
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That's basically what he's saying here, right?
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But you think good things come to you because you're good.
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What is God saying?
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The opposite.
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No, you're actually wicked.
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I just bestowed mercy and grace and pity unto you.
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Because the moment something good happens to you, right?
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There's a whisper that starts in your head.
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Wow, I earned this.
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I deserve this.
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Wow, I'm so good.
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You even get goosebumps and you get chills
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if you're being real right i'm a good person
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so of course good things have to happen to me but
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when you when you hear that heart underneath it is pride everybody has
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that voice and that's why in deuteronomy 9 verse 4 god cuts it off before you could even say
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that he cuts it right away he says don't ever think it's you who did something well i'm good
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and i imputed my righteousness unto you god says speak not thou in thine heart
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so before it even comes out of your mouth the feeling
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because heart is where the container that stores the feelings right
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makes sense he's saying don't even feel it because
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that feeling is only there because of me don't ever think it's
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because of you that's what he's saying
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that's the biggest deception is satan plants the feelings of hey
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you're great hey you're good you are amazing that's why you're blessed and then
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when you don't get blessed you tie your blessings to identity oh
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i didn't get blessed today i didn't hear from god today
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there must be something wrong with me oh i got blessed by god today yeah i'm doing good today
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that is a performative faith that is a performative spiritual life
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that is a transactional faith and a transactional spiritual life
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which god doesn't want for my righteousness the lord hath brought me in right make sense do not ever say
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that do not ever think
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that that's what he's saying never think your righteousness none of us are righteous in front of god
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there's none righteous no not one we have to remember that
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so a person if you think about it who's caught in sin will not say
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that they're righteous because they cannot that's why god allows us to fail
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but a person who overcomes sin starts to think
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that they overcame sin with their own willpower
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and that's why they judge other people and become religious
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and legalistic they forget that they also needed grace and mercy and i love this because If God only blessed good people,
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let's say, then nobody would ever get blessed because none of us are good to God's standard.
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So you got to stop believing the most flattering lie about yourself, which is I'm so great and I'm so obedient.
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That is main character energy that is actually demonic and egotistical.
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You're not blessed because you're good.
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You're blessed because god is good that's what we need to write down write
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that down right now i'm not blessed because i'm good i'm blessed
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because he is good and a lot of the times you know
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when i was reading this verse too these verses
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i was thinking why does god still bless people who don't deserve
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it well this is why this is why god blesses people who don't deserve the blessing right now
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if we're being honest it kind of bothers everybody why do the rich get richer and the poor get poorer right
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We tend to kind of do that, right?
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We go around and when we look and we go, that guy doesn't deserve blessing.
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He straight up goes against the church.
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He doesn't even listen to the church.
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He's still living in his sin and God allows him to live, gives him blessings.
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So why does God keep blessing those types of people?
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Well, Deuteronomy 9 answers this, right?
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Look at how God describes the people.
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He's about to hand this land and inheritance to.
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He says, thou art a stiff -necked people, verse 6, right? right stubborn stiff neck meaning doesn't bow no respect
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and it's true god gave them manna fire pillars of you know clouds to cover them rain
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when they needed it water when they needed it
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and they still were like did you bring us out here to die sound familiar he's saying
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you guys are stubborn but i'm not you guys are unholy
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but i'm not that's the difference here
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and i am a god of mercy a god of redemption a god of reconciliation what does
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that mean i have to do the things only i can do
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because none of you guys would bless other people the way i can
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and that's why romans four
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or five tells us for god died for the ungodly not godly people ungodly people we are ungodly
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that's just how it is right so you bring to the table a stiff neck stubbornness pride ego
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expectations ungratefulness what does god bring mercy righteousness
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and all of it through the cross this is why we say he is good not
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that we are good if you think that god should only bless good people
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or people who deserve it then you can't add yourself into
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that list because you may think you deserve it
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but god tells us you're only deserving of what hellfire
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that's why all of us in 100 years won't be here
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because it's insured it's guaranteed we're gonna die so
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when i think about it i'm very thankful god very simply blesses the people who don't deserve it because
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if he only blessed people who deserved
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it none of us would would would be alive none of us would receive blessings
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and definitely none of us would be in heaven
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so god is a merciful god
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so you gotta quit trying to deserve it essentially right you never will
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and you never had to genuinely right from the jump it was grace
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and that's why ephesians 2 8 to 9 tells us for
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by grace are ye saved through faith not of works lest any man boast should we continue here
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i think that's good i think we'll wrap
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it here uh for the free session i think
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we got a lot a lot of unlocks here for those
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of you guys who want to join please download core of
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our daily app uh available on every app store play store
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we're gonna go very deep in this chapter um
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it's gonna talk about rebellion it's gonna talk about what god does uh
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it's gonna talk about jesus we're gonna show jesus in every line as well
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i'll see the rest of you guys in the zoom all right free people see you later Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “19 Minutes To Make Your Problem Look Stupid”. This video has 293 sentences and 3330 words to shadow. The speech runs for 19:07. The speaker talks at a natural 174 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bless verb | /blɛs/ | To make something holy by religious rite, sanctify. |
| verse noun | /ˈvɝs/ | A poetic form with regular meter and a fixed rhyme scheme. |
| overcome verb | /ˌəʊ.vəˈkʌm/ | To surmount (a physical or abstract obstacle); to prevail over, to get the better of. |
| addiction noun | /əˈdɪkˌʃən/ | A state that is characterized by compulsive drug use or compulsive engagement in rewarding behavior, despite negative consequences. |
| blessing noun | /ˈblɛs.ɪŋ/ | Some kind of divine or supernatural aid, or reward. |
| mercy noun | /ˈmɝsi/ | Relenting; forbearance to cause or allow harm to another. |
| righteous adjective | /ˈɹaɪt͡ʃəs/ | Free from sin or guilt. |
| anxiety noun | /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/ | An unpleasant state of mental uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension and obsession or concern about some uncertain event. |
| possess verb | /pəˈzɛs/ | To have (something) as, or as if as, an owner; to have, to own. |
| stiff adjective | /stɪf/ | Rigid; hard to bend; inflexible. |
| spiritual adjective | /ˈspɪɹɪt͡ʃuəl/ | Of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul. |
| unlock verb | /ʌnˈlɑk/ | To undo or open a lock or something locked by, for example, turning a key, or selecting a combination. |
| essentially adverb | /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/ | In essence: by nature. |
| pray verb | /pɹeɪ/ | To direct words, thoughts, or one's attention to a deity or any higher being, for the sake of adoration, thanks, petition for help, etc. |
| remind verb | /ɹəˈmaɪnd/ | To cause one to experience a memory (of someone or something); to bring to the notice or consideration (of a person). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| get over verb | To overcome. |
| go through verb | To travel from one end of something to the other. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
| go around verb | To move or spread from person to person. |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
| pass over verb | To bypass or disregard in favour of someone or something else. |
| write down verb | To produce or set (something) down in writing; to record something. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- What do you do when the problem is bigger than you?
- You wouldn't need him to do it.
- It's hard for us to understand.
- What do you mean?
- Am I going to trust my thoughts?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result | if you could do it, you wouldn't need · if you trust it you'll think |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who are · person who overcomes · yourself, which is |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has faced · has dealt · has already told |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be flipped · was never meant · be dragged |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 118 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/, strengthen /ˈstɹɛŋ(k)θən/, thankful /ˈθæŋkfəl/, tithe /taɪð/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: addiction /əˈdɪkˌʃən/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, shock /ʃɔk/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/, redemption /ɹɪˈdɛmpʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: anxiety /æŋˈzaɪ.əti/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, testimony /ˈtɛstɪmoʊni/, genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, disappointed /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnɪd/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like bless, verse, overcome.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.