00:00You know, this is a tough one because I don't think anybody really wants to hear this.
00:07Nobody likes being told you're a bad decision maker or, you know, all this complaining you're doing about your life right now and where you are and all the problems you have.
00:19Well, those are a direct result of the decisions that you've made.
00:24But you are right where you are because that's where you've decided to be.
00:30If you wanted to be somewhere else, you'd decide to go there instead.
00:37You know, there's a spiritual principle at work in every human life.
00:41And many people never consciously recognize it, yet we all experience it.
00:48You want different results? Do different things.
00:52You want different results? Make different decisions.
00:58The results you're getting right now are the results of the decisions you're making.
01:02You want to change your life? You're going to have to change your life.
01:07And every pattern in your life will repeat until you learn this lesson.
01:13You see, God will not rush your growth.
01:16He does not shortcut transformation.
01:18And he does not remove lessons just because we're tired of experiencing them.
01:25He repeats what we refuse to understand.
01:29And this is not punishment, my friends.
01:32It is mercy.
01:34Because God is far more interested in who you are becoming than in how comfortable you feel along the way.
01:43Many of us pray for God to change our circumstances.
01:48But God is often waiting for us to change our choices.
01:52We ask him to move mountains while he asks us to climb.
01:58We ask him to rescue us while he asks us to mature.
02:04And so the same seasons keep returning, different faces, different years, different locations, doesn't matter.
02:16It's the same emotions, the same disappointments, the same regrets.
02:23Friends, this is not bad luck.
02:26God loves you.
02:27This is not fate.
02:29God loves you.
02:31You see, Scripture tells us that God disciplines those he loves, not to harm them, but to train them.
02:47Disciplining the Bible is not about punishment.
02:51It is about instruction.
02:54It is about shaping character so that we can carry what God wants to give us.
02:58Think about how often we confuse relief with growth.
03:05Relief removes pressure.
03:08Growth removes weakness.
03:12God often withholds relief so he can complete growth.
03:17That's why the Israelites wandered in the wilderness far longer than needed.
03:22Their journey should have been short.
03:25God had already promised the land.
03:27He had already shown his power.
03:32He had already provided everything they needed.
03:36But every time fear showed up, they chose doubt.
03:41Every time pressure came, they chose complaint.
03:46Every time responsibility appeared, they longed for the past.
03:51Now, Egypt was painful, but it was familiar.
03:59And familiarity feels safer than faith.
04:02So, the wilderness continued.
04:06Now, some of us are stuck in our own wilderness, right?
04:10Because we keep choosing what feels familiar over what leads forward.
04:16We keep responding the same way.
04:19We keep reacting instead of reflecting.
04:23We keep repeating the same inner conversations, the same excuses, the same coping mechanisms.
04:32And then we wonder why nothing changes.
04:36Here is a truth that will stretch you.
04:40But it will also free you.
04:43The problem is rarely the situation.
04:47Patterns repeat because God is patient enough to wait until you're ready to learn.
05:01And learning almost always requires discomfort.
05:04We want God to remove the pain, but God wants to transform the pattern that produces the pain.
05:14That pattern might be how you handle conflict.
05:18It might be how you choose relationships.
05:22It might be how you speak to yourself.
05:26It might be how you avoid obedience when it might cost you something.
05:32Jesus spoke directly to this.
05:34When he said that a house built on sand cannot stand.
05:40The storms are not the issue.
05:43Storms come to every house.
05:45The foundation determines the outcome.
05:49Patterns reveal foundations.
05:52If your foundation is fear, fear will keep shaping your decisions.
05:58If your foundation is pride, well, pride will keep sabotaging connection.
06:05And if your foundation is insecurity, insecurity will keep pulling you backward.
06:13Change does not happen because you want different results.
06:18Change, it happens because you build on a different foundation.
06:23And this is where faith becomes practical.
06:26Faith is not just believing God can change things.
06:31Faith is trusting God enough to change how you respond.
06:37The moment you choose differently, the loop ends and growth will begin.
06:43Now, that moment often feels small.
06:48It doesn't usually arrive with fireworks and a big explanation and a pat on the back.
06:55But it is holy.
06:57It might be the moment you pause instead of reacting.
07:02The moment you forgive instead of rehearsing bitterness.
07:08The moment you obey instead of delay.
07:12The moment you walk away instead of explaining yourself.
07:16The moment you pray instead of panic.
07:21You see, growth rarely announces itself loudly.
07:27It usually whispers.
07:29This time, choose differently.
07:33Scripture tells us we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.
07:38Not by changing circumstances.
07:41And not by changing people.
07:43But by changing how we think.
07:48Because once the mind changes, behavior follows.
07:52And once behavior changes, patterns break.
07:57Now, Peter is an excellent example of this.
08:00I want you to think about this for a second.
08:03Peter loved Jesus.
08:05We know that.
08:07But he also relied on his own strength.
08:10He spoke boldly.
08:13But when pressure came, fear took over.
08:17And one night, Peter denied Jesus three times.
08:23Three failures.
08:25Three moments of fear.
08:27Three deep wounds of regret.
08:31But after the resurrection, Jesus did something extraordinary.
08:36He didn't confront Peter with condemnation.
08:40He didn't lecture him.
08:42And he didn't shame him.
08:44He asked him the same question three times.
08:49Do you love me?
08:52Why did he repeat it?
08:54Because healing happens where repetition once lived.
08:59Jesus replaced a pattern of failure with a pattern of restoration.
09:04And when Peter responded with humility instead of self-confidence, the loop ended.
09:13The man who denied Jesus went on to boldly proclaim him.
09:18Same person.
09:20Different choice.
09:22Different future.
09:24And God does not waste your mistakes.
09:28But he will allow you to stay trapped in them forever.
09:32And at some point, he will ask you to choose differently.
09:37And that choice, well, it may cost you comfort.
09:42It may cost you approval.
09:44It may cost you familiarity.
09:48But it will lead you to freedom.
09:51Here's the good news.
09:52Every loop has an exit.
09:56Scripture promises that God always provides a way to escape.
10:01But escape requires movement.
10:03You cannot think your way out of a cycle.
10:07You must act your way out through faith.
10:11Faith moves first.
10:13Understanding follows later.
10:15God is not asking you to fix everything today.
10:42He's asking you to take one step in a new direction.
10:49Because growth does not require perfection.
10:53It requires willingness.
10:57Willingness to listen.
10:59Willingness to learn.
11:01Willingness to trust God more than your instincts.
11:05Willingness to trust God more than your instincts.
11:06And once the lesson is learned.
11:09Once the lesson is learned.
11:11God does something beautiful.
11:14He promotes you.
11:16Not always to a bigger platform.
11:19But to deeper peace.
11:22Not always to louder success.
11:25But to stronger character.
11:27Not always to an easier life.
11:31But to a freer one.
11:35Make different choices.
11:37Get different results.
11:40Not by striving harder.
11:42But by surrendering deeper.
11:45The loop ends when faith replaces familiarity.
11:50And growth begins when you finally say.
11:54Lord.
11:55Teach me what I need to learn.
11:58So I don't have to live this lesson again.
12:04I believe in you.
12:06And so does God.
12:09Truth.
12:11God bless you my friends.
12:13God bless you my friends.
12:40Bye.
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