Musings from Graceland

IN A VALLEY?
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Our pastor, Freddie Brown, has been preaching powerful sermons the last few weeks. And they've been so on target with what God has been speaking to my heart about. The last couple of weeks he centered in on Moses and that God did not forget him nor the plans he had for him even when Moses seemed to be forgotten at the backside of the desert tending his father-in-law's sheep. Today he spoke about David and Gideon---two ordinary young men who in the world's eyes didn't have that much to offer. But by saying "yes" to God and His purpose, changed the world around them.

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Here are some of the highlights from the sermon that stood out to me:

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"For every valley there is a cause.

For every cause there is a champion.

For every champion there is a giant.

For every giant there is a stone."

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Jeremiah 29:11 tells us about God's plans for our lives. And Brother Freddie reminded us that "you will never be fully satisfied or completely successful until you are living the dream that God has prepared for you."

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He quoted from Bruce Wilkerson with this---"The reason people wish they were someone else is because they are not being who God created them to be."

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And lastly, "when the potter looks at a lump of clay, He doesn't see the clay, He sees the work of art that is in it."

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No matter your scars, no matter your sins, no matter your past, no matter your lack, God values you. He loves you. He wants to not only be in relationship with you and grow you in the likeness of His son, but He desires to use you, warts and all, to bring light into the darkness. He knows you're going to fail. But He will never fail. He will always be there for you.

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You might be in a valley right now. You might feel forgotten, insignificant, or that you've messed up so bad there's no hope that you can ever do anything worthy. That's a lie from the pit of hell and it smells like smoke.

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Its never too late to live for God. Its never too late to live for others. We all have passions...issues that excite us or perhaps even break out hearts. Maybe its the homeless or fatherless boys or lonely nursing home residents or autistic children and their parents. Whatever it is that you are drawn to, God will use you to be a champion for that cause. And when you face the giants that want to defeat you...and you WILL face giants...know that GOD will give you the stone needed to not only survive the conflict, but be the victor.

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To listen to Freddie Brown's series, go to Restoration Church's website and click on the SEND THE FIRE sermons.