Faith on the Go: The Games We Play with God: Unlocking the Cost of Disobedience

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Welcome, beautiful people, and welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman Podcast.

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A woman podcast, it's only just me. I'm your host, Connie Morris,

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and I'm so excited to kick out this new series, The Games We Play With God.

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In this series, we'll explore the ways we play games with God through disobedience,

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pride, impatience, and more, and the spiritual consequences that come from it.

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But don't worry, we'll also dive into the hope and redemption that God offers

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us when we turn back to Him.

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Today we're starting with game number one, the cost of disobedience.

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Our focus will be on the story of Adam and Eve, the very first instance of disobedience,

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and how it continued to resonate in our lives today.

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I'm going to go to Genesis chapter 3.

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I'm going to read verses 1 through 7 from the NLT translation.

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And I just want you to listen to what was going on with this conversation in

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the garden regarding the disobedience of Adam and Eve before we go into some

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key insights on how to not play games with God.

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The serpent was the shortest of all the animals the Lord God had made.

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One day he asked the woman, Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from

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any of the trees in the garden?

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Of course, we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, the women replied.

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It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat.

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That's that fear of missing out, right?

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So questioning God and then that little doubt about it's only that one we can't have.

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God said we must not eat or even touch it.

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If you do, you will die. So adding more story to it. You won't die,

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the serpent replied to the woman.

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God knows that your eyes will be open as soon as you eat it,

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and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.

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We see here that she's trusting what the word of the devil more than the word of what God says.

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Did God say that?

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The woman was convinced. She saw the tree was beautiful, and its fruit looked

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delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her.

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So she took the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband who was

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with her, and he ate it too.

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And at that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame in their nakedness.

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So they sold fig leaves together to cover themselves.

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We can go through that. That'll take us a whole episode, but we're going to

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move along. We see here that Eve responds to the serpent started with doubt.

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The enemy didn't come with a blatant lie. He came with a question designed to

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make her second guess God.

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And we in our own lives can really go back. We can do that probably just tomorrow,

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just yesterday, when God asks you to do something and then you begin to doubt.

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You doubt it. I want you to give your whole tithe,

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And you go like, ooh, I won't have enough to do this. And then you start to

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doubt. You start to doubt.

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Or he tells you to do something and you don't write it down.

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And then you don't write it down immediately.

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And then you go back and you kind of ad-lib it. And it's not the whole truth, right?

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So the enemy doesn't come with a blatant lie. He comes with kind of a lie, like a made-up lie.

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He didn't tell you. Did he really tell you that?

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Did he really tell you that? He began, he came with a question designed to make

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her second guess God's word.

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So I remember God's word going to come. Second thing is, did he really say that?

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The doubt led to disobedience. Eve followed by Adam ate the fruit God explicitly told them not to eat.

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This wasn't just a tiny mistake. It was a choice to go against God's explicit

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instructions, and the consequences were monumental,

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separation from God, pain, toil, and the introduction of sin into the world.

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You know, I just want to just kind of look at this again, because Satan doesn't

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have any new tricks, so we have to think about this.

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So we know from the beginning of the verse, it says that he was a shrewd as

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animals. So we know the shrewdest meaning he even watching what really entertained

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Eve. And this is just my thinking.

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So Eve probably spent a lot of time watching that tree.

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Just like we spent a lot of time women, you know, shopping online,

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looking at stuff we can't afford.

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Right. And then they say free credit card. I'm just saying.

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And you get that credit card and you get that item. It's not exciting as you

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thought it would be, but you got that big old bill. But did God really say you

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needed that new pair of shoes or boots?

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You know, or he said, if you wait, I will get it for you. Did God really say that?

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And then the woman was very pacific. He said, no, he didn't say it.

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He just said, don't touch, don't even touch it.

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So God, we're not supposed to add to his word.

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And that made it seem like God was leaving something out.

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God just said, don't eat from that tree. If you're not going to eat from that

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tree, you're definitely not going to touch it, right?

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But that one tree out of probably all the trees in the garden,

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Eve was kind of focused on.

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You ever been so focused on something that you're like, I want that.

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Why? Because you can't have it. You want that.

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And then the idea says you won't die.

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Or I will die. If you touch it, you will die. Okay.

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And you know how women, we drama, we're going to die. So when Eve touched that

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tree, she didn't die right away, did she?

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Then she bit it. She didn't die right away. And then she gave it to her husband, and he ate of it too.

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And then at that moment, they both knew they were naked.

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And so the games we play with God, you can list that out. What kind of games

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do we play with God when it comes to being disobedient to his word?

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Disobedience always starts with a seed of doubt about God's word.

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When we entertain that doubt, we open the door to actions that take us away from his will.

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The spiritual cost of disobedience.

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Disobedience is costly, and Adam and Eve's story shows us why.

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Number one is separation from God. After sin, Adam and Eve hid from God's presence.

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Genesis 3 verses 8 through 10.

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Disobedience creates a gap between us and God.

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But here's the good news. He always seeks to restore us when we turn back to him.

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So right away, the cost of disobedience is a separation from God.

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Adam knew Eve didn't know

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but I'm quite sure they talked about it but Eve

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Adam was right there Adam could have just flapped

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that apple or that fruit right out of Eve's hand matter of fact take that snake

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and toss him across the ground too and that story would have ended differently

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right so it wasn't just Adam doubting Eve doubting it was Adam doubting that

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curiosity we hear kills the cat.

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But we also know that curiosity equals that disobedience equals that separation from God's presence.

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And so then they felt they were naked. What was the consequences?

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Eve was told that she would experience pain in childbirth.

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And Adam was told he would toil for his substance.

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So we know that, and that's found in Genesis 3, 16 to 17.

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Disobedience often Brings struggles When we could have avoided If we have trusted God,

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Number three, a broken world. Their disobedience introduced sin into the world,

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affecting not just them, but all of humanity.

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Our choices don't just impact us. They can ripple through our families and communities.

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So let's bring this home. How does the ancient story apply to our lives today?

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Have you ever ignored an explicit instruction from God because you thought you knew better?

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Maybe it's just staying in a relationship

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God told you to leave or take a shortcut you knew wasn't right.

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These decisions often lead to heartache, stress, separation from the peace that God wants us to have.

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Isaiah 119-20 says this, If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good

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things of the land. But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.

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God's blessing comes with obedience, but rebellion leads to unnecessary struggle.

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So how do you overcome disobedience?

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How do you stop playing this game of disobedience? Number one, know God's word.

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Eve's downfall began with a misunderstanding of what God said.

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Spend time in scripture so you can recognize and stand on his truth.

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Psalms 119.05 says, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

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And so we see here that knowing God's word, trusting in his word.

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And if you're in doubt, don't move.

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Don't move until you say, wait, I'm going to wait for the Lord.

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I thought he said this, but I'm going to wait until I actually confirm that this is really him.

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So that means you are really seeking him to know if that was him or not.

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And you would know right away, I don't think that didn't feel right.

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That wasn't God. He's not going to lead you wrong.

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Trust God completely. Disobedience often stems from not fully trusting God's

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plan. Remind yourself of his faithfulness.

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Proverbs 3, 5 reads, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding.

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When it says trust God completely, what did Eve do?

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Eve had that little bit of doubt.

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When you have that little bit of feces in your Kool-Aid, that's enough to lead

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you down the wrong trail.

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So you wait until you get to truth.

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He's, ah, this doesn't feel right.

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I'm not going to go. I'm just going to wait.

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It doesn't cost you nothing to wait.

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It doesn't cost you nothing to wait. And Eve would have just paused and asked

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Adam, said, Adam, what do you think?

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He could have said, well, you know, let's not do it. And then that would have

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been the end of a different story, right?

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You know, just that pause. If you don't know for sure, disobedience is when

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you're just going to do it anyway, right?

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So Eve already was going to do it because he didn't. I'm just saying it could all end it differently.

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But if you want to not have this playing games with God and walk in disobedience,

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you can walk in obedience just by pausing and asking.

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Just take a pause. is this you?

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Or if he tells you to do something and it's like he says, I want you to give

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this amount and you go like, oh my God, that's a lot.

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Do it anyway. Because they ain't going to have you give money, right?

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He ain't going to say give that amount to you.

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No, he's going to have you keep it because he's going to make you afraid that

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if you give it, you're not going to have enough.

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So you have to know God's voice, but you want to fight that disobedience.

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And the last one is Repent and return.

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If you haven't been disobedient, if you have been disobedient,

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it's never too late to turn back to God. He's always ready to forgive.

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If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and

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to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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So we know that if we know God's word, when in doubt, wait it out.

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Trust God completely. Just trust him, don't lean to your own understanding,

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and repent in return. If you slip or make a mistake, repent immediately and get it right with God.

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So let's declare some truths over our lives.

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I declare, I decree, I'm sorry, I decree that I trust God's word and reject

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every doubt and lie from the enemy.

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I decree that I will walk in obedience, knowing that God's plans are good for my good.

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And I decree that when I stumble, I will repent quickly and return to God's grace. Wow.

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This week, I want you to take time and reflect in areas where you might be playing

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the game of disobedience.

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Ask yourself, where have I ignored God's instructions?

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What steps can I do to realign with his will?

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Write down one step of obedience you'll commit to this week,

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whether it's spending time in prayer, addressing a habit, or following through

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on something God has been calling you to do.

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He's bugging you to do it, but you haven't done it. That's disobedience.

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If he asked you to do it and you haven't done it, that's disobedience.

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So let's close out in prayer. Father God, in the name of Jesus,

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I thank you for your word that guides us and protects us.

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Forgive us for the times we've chosen disobedience over trust.

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Help us to stand firm in our promises and walk in obedience.

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Knowing that your plans are always for our good.

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Give us the strength to follow you. hold heartily. Amen.

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So thank you for joining me on this first episode of the Games We Play With God series.

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If this message resonated with you, share it with someone who might need this.

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And I look forward to seeing you on our next episode.

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Thank you so much. Bye-bye.