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Dare to Hope

Live with Passion with Father Cedric

August 25, 2019

27:31

Live with Passion with Father Cedric

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Dare to Hope

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God isn't such that He's just out there somewhere.
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He's intricately and intimately involved.
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Did you hear what I'm saying?
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God is the potter.
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And we are the clay.
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Behind the scenes, at work, getting muddy,
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focused on you and me.
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That's hope
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(inspirational music)
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Hi, I'm Father Cedric Pisegna,
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the host of Live With Passion.
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I'm so glad that you tuned into the program.
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This program is about hope.
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I call it dare to hope.
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And when you hope for something good in your future,
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when you hope that God is at work in your life,
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it opens a door for God to work in your life.
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And I want God working in your life in powerful ways.
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Let me share with you this scripture.
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Comes from the prophet, Jeremiah chapter 18.
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The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from God.
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Go down to the potter's house.
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There you will hear my words.
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So I went down to the potter's house
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and he was working at the wheel.
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And the vessel he was making of clay
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was spoiled in the potter's hand.
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And he reworked it into another vessel,
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as seemed good to him.
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Then the word of the Lord came to me,
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can I not do this with you, O house of Israel,
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just as the potter has done, says the Lord.
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For as the clay in the potter's hand,
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so you are in my hand O house of Israel.
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The word of the Lord, thanks be to God.
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I remember leading a pilgrimage to Rome
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and I had about 30 people with me.
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And one of the places that we went is called the catacombs.
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Catacombs, of course, are those underground tunnels
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beneath the city of Rome where in the early Christianity,
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the early days of Christianity,
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probably around the year 200, 300,
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the believers in Christ used to actually
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hide out down in those tunnels
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and they used to worship God in those tunnels,
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because the city state of Rome was persecuting them.
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So we went down into the catacomb.
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It was dark and damp and deep.
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And we were down there, we celebrated mass.
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And then I saw on the wall one of the earliest
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Christian symbols, and it was that of an anchor
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with a little cross on the top.
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It was etched right into the wall.
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Comes from Hebrews chapter 6.
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It says we have this hope as an anchor for our soul.
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You know what an anchor is?
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An anchor is something that a boat has,
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when the storm comes, they will drop anchor
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and that anchor will hold the ship,
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the boat fast when the storm is raging
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so that the boat will not sink or be moved.
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In the same way, our hope in eternal life,
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and this is why they had that etched into the wall,
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the early Christians, our hope in eternal life
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that we have a glorious future ahead of us,
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can anchor us, fortify us, strengthen us,
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when the storms of life hit us,
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when our boat is being rocked.
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So I want you to know that hope is
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one of the three things that lasts forever.
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Faith, Hope, and Love, the Bible tells us.
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And in fact, it's not just hope that we have.
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We have a living hope that comes right from First Peter.
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So hope fortifies us and strengthens us,
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so when the journey is getting hard,
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when there's all kinds of trials and tribulations,
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when we can't see the road ahead of us,
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we can be anchored and strong and fortified by hope.
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we can be anchored and strong and fortified by hope.
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Our hope in the glorious future in heaven
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that we all have.
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But also, hope is for right now, not just for the hereafter,
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but for the here and now.
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I like to tell this story of an Austrian psychologist.
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His name is Viktor Frankl, maybe you've heard of him.
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If you ever wanna read a good book,
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it was really influential in my life,
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Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.
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He was an Austrian psychologist.
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He got captured by the Nazis in Nazi Germany
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and he was put into a prison camp.
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I believe it was Auschwitz.
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So Viktor Frankl was a psychologist,
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so he observed what happened in the prison camp.
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And he noticed that basically there were
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two types of people.
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In the most desperate of all situations,
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when they were deprived of food and warmth and family
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because they're all taken away
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and many of them were gonna be killed.
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In the most desperate situation he determined
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that hope was the dividing factor.
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People that lost hope, gave up.
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And they would let their bodies go down to nothing.
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And they would let their bodies go down to nothing.
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Or they'd throw themselves into the electric fence.
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But people that had hope, survived.
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And Viktor Frankl was one of them.
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And this is what he did.
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He hoped in the midst of that awful situation,
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he kept clinging to the memory of his wife
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and believing that one day they would have a reunion.
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And that hope anchored him, kept him strong,
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fortified him in the worst of situations.
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He has a saying, "You can deal with any what,
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"if you have a why."
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You can deal with any hard situation if you have hope
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and the why that we're talking about is believing
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that something good is in your future.
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If you lose hope, you will end up in depression.
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But if you have hope, you will have passion.
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And I want you to hope because as I said
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at the beginning of the program,
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hope opens up a door for God to work in your life.
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Sometimes it doesn't seem like it,
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you don't feel the hands.
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But trust me, He's working.
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I remember one time I went to Mexico.
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And when I was in Mexico, I went to a pottery store.
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And I was looking at the jars and the jugs
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and the cups and the dishes and the plates.
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As I was looking, I noticed behind the curtain,
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I saw a man back there with a light.
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And I took a peek behind the curtain,
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and there behind the scenes was the potter.
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And you could see he had his hands
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and they were all dirty.
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The wheel was spinning and the clay was all
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muddy and wet and dirty, and his hands were all mucky
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as he was forming the clay into something
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like a dish or a pot.
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And I was struck by his focus.
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He was focused right on his work,
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even though I was peeking around and looking,
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he didn't even notice me.
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And I was also struck by the fact
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that it was behind the scenes.
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Most people didn't even know he was back there.
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And I was also struck by the fact
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that his hands were completely dirty
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in that situation.
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And then it occurred to me that just like that potter,
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that's the way God is.
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First of all, He's behind the scenes.
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You know, when we're going through things
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and journeying in our journey of life,
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doesn't seem like God is working.
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Sometimes it seems like God is far away.
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But we have to trust that behind the scenes,
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even though we don't see it, God is at work.
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You remember the story of Footprints.
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Of course, I like to tell that.
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This man has a dream, there's two sets of footprints.
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And then he goes through a hard time,
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there's only one set of footprints.
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And he goes to the Lord, he goes later after the journey.
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He goes, I don't understand it.
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When things were going well you were right beside me.
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When I was going through the hard times,
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there was only one set of footprints.
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What was going on?
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God told him, you've misjudged.
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When you saw the one set of footprints, that was mine.
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I was carrying you.
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So sometimes in the hardest situations of our life,
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even when it doesn't feel like it,
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God is carrying us, God's working our life.
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The other thing I noticed about the potter, of course,
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was that he was focused on his work.
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And that's something that Jesus taught us in the gospel.
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He said every hair on your head is counted.
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In other words, God is intimately
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and intricately involved in your life.
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Isn't that beautiful?
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May not seem like it, don't always feel it,
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but we have a God who is able to work in our life
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in intricate, intimate ways who even knows
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how many hairs we have on our head.
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The other thing that I wanted you to get
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about the potter that we heard from Jeremiah,
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Jeremiah chapter 18, was that I noticed
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that he didn't mind getting his hands dirty.
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That's God's MO.
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If you go back to the book of Genesis,
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God is playing in the mud.
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He breathes into the mud and creates a human being.
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And this is what He's doing now.
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He's still playing in the mud of our life.
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And He's recreating us.
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Even though the mud in the pot was spoiling,
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Even though the mud in the pot was spoiling,
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God reformed it, He told Jeremiah,
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and He reshaped it and that's what He's doing in our life.
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He's conforming us into the image of Jesus.
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And even in the muddy areas of our life,
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the mucky areas such as addictions,
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such as unemployment, such as abuse,
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things that we're all going through
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in various different ways, the muddy areas,
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the dirty stuff, God is willing to get His hands
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dirty in our life.
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God isn't such that He's just out there somewhere.
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He's intricately and intimately involved.
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Did you hear what I'm saying?
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God is the potter and we are the clay.
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Behind the scenes, at work, getting muddy,
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focused on you and me.
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That's hope.
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And I want you to get this.
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I want you to believe and that's a close relative of hope.
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Faith, hope, and love, the three that last forever.
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I want you to believe that God is at work in your life.
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Even if it doesn't feel like it,
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even if it doesn't seem like it, He so loves you
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that He'll get the hands, His hands dirty in your life.
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And so I think about my own life
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and I've shared this before but I remember
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when I was a teenager, it didn't seem
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like God was working in my life,
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but I had a breakup with a girl
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and I mean I had this wonderful conversion.
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Through the messiness of that breakup with a girl
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and everything that we did together,
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through that messiness, God's hands were getting
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dirty in my life and He was working in my life
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in a very powerful way, led me to conversion.
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Led me to a rebirth.
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Like a phoenix I rose from the ashes of my life.
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And it was God, the potter, working in me.
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So that's what hope is.
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I want you to believe that right now,
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even if you're steeped in an addiction,
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even if you're angry, if you're bitter,
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if you're doubting God, I want you to believe
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that God is so good and so loving
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and so focused on your life that He is working
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in your life right now.
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Believe that hope, that's a dare to hope.
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I dare you, hope.
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Because God is at work.
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So hope is believing that God is at work
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and God certainly is working in our life.
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But He also works in your family.
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Here's something I wanna proclaim to you
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because our holy father Pope Francis
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in the Catholic church has really tried
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to focus on the family.
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And how God is working in family life,
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because you know, we're all very much attuned
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to a personal relationship with God,
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but it's also communitarian.
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And God works in our families.
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I just read a book called Josiah's Fire.
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Josiah was a little boy born to parents,
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grew up in, as he's growing up, he's about two years old
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and all of a sudden he had trouble relating to the world.
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He seemed spaced out, couldn't relate
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to his parents anymore.
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So he was diagnosed with autism.
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The parents were devastated.
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I mean, here all of a sudden they have an autistic child.
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Autism, if you know anything about it,
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is when the young person, boy or a girl,
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can't relate to people and they can't relate
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to their environment.
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It's some kind of a social, mental disease.
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So the parents were devastated,
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but then something started to happen.
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God got His hands dirty in the mess.
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God the Potter, was working in the family's situation.
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And this little boy with autism, Josiah,
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again the book is Josiah's Fire,
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began to get a fire from God.
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He began to get messages from God full of wisdom
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that not only changed Josiah,
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but it changed his whole family, changed his parents
00:13:14.250 --> 00:13:17.190
and people that would hear him.
00:13:17.190 --> 00:13:19.230
Now he still has autism, but things have changed.
00:13:19.230 --> 00:13:24.200
And that's what I wanna proclaim to you.
00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:25.280
Maybe you don't have an autistic child,
00:13:25.280 --> 00:13:27.290
but maybe you have a child with ADD.
00:13:27.290 --> 00:13:30.150
Or maybe you have a child who's addicted,
00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.220
or a child who's fallen away from the faith.
00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:37.050
And I want you to know that you can hope,
00:13:37.050 --> 00:13:40.270
dare to hope, believe beyond all believing
00:13:40.270 --> 00:13:45.270
that God is at work in their situation, in your family.
00:13:47.100 --> 00:13:51.220
Because God is intimately and intricately
00:13:53.010 --> 00:13:55.200
involved in our life.
00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:57.030
And he's involved in your children's life,
00:13:57.030 --> 00:13:58.240
He's involved in your family life.
00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:00.100
Maybe you got a struggling marriage.
00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:01.280
It doesn't seem like God's working,
00:14:01.280 --> 00:14:03.270
but I can tell you that behind the scenes, God is at work.
00:14:03.270 --> 00:14:07.200
Dare to hope, don't give up on God
00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:09.220
and say oh it's always gonna be the same.
00:14:09.220 --> 00:14:11.060
No, dare to hope.
00:14:11.060 --> 00:14:13.040
Believe that God's at work.
00:14:13.040 --> 00:14:15.200
It opens a door for God to work when you do that.
00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:18.060
So in the struggling marriage, it may not seem like it,
00:14:18.060 --> 00:14:20.020
but God is willing to get dirty,
00:14:20.020 --> 00:14:21.270
right in the mess of your life.
00:14:21.270 --> 00:14:23.280
So hope opens a door for God to work.
00:14:23.280 --> 00:14:27.230
And no matter what situation you're dealing with,
00:14:27.230 --> 00:14:30.130
God is working in your life.
00:14:30.130 --> 00:14:34.110
If you have hope, if you have faith,
00:14:41.020 --> 00:14:42.230
remember they're close relatives,
00:14:42.230 --> 00:14:44.260
if you have hope and faith you can say to this mountain,
00:14:44.260 --> 00:14:49.060
be uprooted and cast into the sea and it will obey you.
00:14:49.060 --> 00:14:53.250
Can you imagine?
00:14:53.250 --> 00:14:55.160
Most people don't talk to their mountains,
00:14:55.160 --> 00:14:58.080
they talk about their mountains.
00:14:58.080 --> 00:14:59.220
Well I have unemployment, I have money problems,
00:14:59.220 --> 00:15:01.200
I have marital struggles, I have an addiction.
00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:03.230
And they just yap about it, it's never gonna get better,
00:15:03.230 --> 00:15:06.120
it's always gonna be the same.
00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:07.100
They talk about their mountains.
00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:08.280
I love what Jesus said, this is what hope is,
00:15:08.280 --> 00:15:11.060
you talk to your mountains.
00:15:11.060 --> 00:15:13.210
I don't know if you ever heard the story
00:15:13.210 --> 00:15:15.030
about Mount Everest.
00:15:15.030 --> 00:15:16.070
You know, Mount Everest is over 29.000,
00:15:16.070 --> 00:15:18.260
it's the highest mountain in the world in the Himalayas.
00:15:18.260 --> 00:15:21.110
It's over 29.000 feet high.
00:15:21.110 --> 00:15:24.270
And Sir Edmond Hillary wanted to climb it.
00:15:24.270 --> 00:15:26.280
No one had ever conquered Everest,
00:15:26.280 --> 00:15:29.060
and he said, I'm gonna be the first.
00:15:29.060 --> 00:15:32.100
So on his first attempt, he tried to do it and he failed.
00:15:32.100 --> 00:15:36.010
Had to turn back.
00:15:36.010 --> 00:15:37.250
Harsh conditions, really hard.
00:15:37.250 --> 00:15:40.210
And then on his second attempt, he tried to do it
00:15:40.210 --> 00:15:43.080
and he failed again.
00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:45.130
Then on his third attempt, he tried to climb Mount Everest
00:15:45.130 --> 00:15:49.060
and he failed again.
00:15:49.060 --> 00:15:50.110
Even though he failed three times,
00:15:50.110 --> 00:15:52.170
the Queen of England decided to have
00:15:52.170 --> 00:15:54.080
a knighting ceremony for him.
00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:56.160
And at the knighting ceremony, as he went in,
00:15:56.160 --> 00:15:58.100
he was about to be knighted,
00:15:58.100 --> 00:15:59.220
he went in and he saw a portrait of Everest on the wall.
00:15:59.220 --> 00:16:02.150
And this is what, he talked to his mountain.
00:16:02.150 --> 00:16:04.180
You know what he said?
00:16:04.180 --> 00:16:05.200
He said, you've defeated me,
00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:07.250
but I'm gonna return and defeat you.
00:16:07.250 --> 00:16:11.030
You can't get any bigger, but I can.
00:16:11.030 --> 00:16:13.070
And do you know, that he went back to Everest.
00:16:13.070 --> 00:16:16.140
On his fourth attempt, he was the first person ever
00:16:16.140 --> 00:16:20.280
to conquer Everest.
00:16:20.280 --> 00:16:22.200
And he climbed Mount Everest
00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:23.280
and the date was May 29th, 1953.
00:16:23.280 --> 00:16:27.010
And I'm telling you, don't talk about your mountains,
00:16:27.010 --> 00:16:30.090
talk to your mountains.
00:16:30.090 --> 00:16:32.110
You can conquer them.
00:16:32.110 --> 00:16:34.080
And we all have mountains and adversities and hardships
00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:37.130
and difficulties and trials and problems.
00:16:37.130 --> 00:16:39.270
Here's what I've discovered.
00:16:39.270 --> 00:16:41.110
That your adversities can be to your advantage.
00:16:41.110 --> 00:16:44.150
Your obstacles can be opportunities.
00:16:44.150 --> 00:16:47.200
Your problems can lead to promotion.
00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:50.220
That's what happens in school.
00:16:50.220 --> 00:16:52.250
You have problems, then it leads to promotion.
00:16:52.250 --> 00:16:55.150
And your challenges, and I wrote a book about this,
00:16:55.150 --> 00:16:57.160
your challenges can make you a champion.
00:16:57.160 --> 00:16:59.280
Dare to hope.
00:16:59.280 --> 00:17:01.240
Mountains can be moved.
00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:03.200
Don't let the obstacles and the stuff of your life stop you.
00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:07.030
Dare to hope because all things are possible for God.
00:17:07.030 --> 00:17:10.250
We serve a God who is majestic and almighty
00:17:10.250 --> 00:17:14.060
and great and worthy of all praise.
00:17:14.060 --> 00:17:18.030
I remember one time I went to a dinner
00:17:18.030 --> 00:17:19.190
and it was in Detroit.
00:17:19.190 --> 00:17:21.120
We have retreat centers, Detroit, Sacramento,
00:17:21.120 --> 00:17:23.240
Los Angeles, Houston, New York, Florida,
00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:27.000
many different retreat centers around the country.
00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:29.070
We, being the Passionists.
00:17:29.070 --> 00:17:30.280
I'm a religious priest, a Passionist.
00:17:30.280 --> 00:17:33.200
And one of our ministries is having people
00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:36.020
come to us on retreat.
00:17:36.020 --> 00:17:38.080
Well anyway, I'm at our Detroit retreat center.
00:17:38.080 --> 00:17:41.040
We had a big dinner there.
00:17:41.040 --> 00:17:42.160
And at the dinner, probably about 100 people,
00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:46.000
50 lay people, 50 priests, I didn't know many
00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:49.190
of the lay people that were there.
00:17:49.190 --> 00:17:51.060
And I see a man sitting at a table that I didn't know,
00:17:51.060 --> 00:17:53.260
so just try to be hospitable.
00:17:53.260 --> 00:17:56.110
So I walked over, shook his hand.
00:17:56.110 --> 00:17:58.200
I said, hey I'm Father Cedric, nice to meet you.
00:17:58.200 --> 00:18:00.270
And I was gonna sit and talk with him.
00:18:00.270 --> 00:18:02.180
And as I shook his hand he looked at me
00:18:02.180 --> 00:18:04.210
and he says, I know who you are.
00:18:04.210 --> 00:18:06.180
Well I said, well how do you know who I am?
00:18:06.180 --> 00:18:08.010
He said, well a few years ago, Father Cedric,
00:18:08.010 --> 00:18:10.090
about five years ago, you came to our parish,
00:18:10.090 --> 00:18:13.070
our church in Louisville, Kentucky
00:18:13.070 --> 00:18:15.130
and you preached a revival, you preached a parish mission.
00:18:15.130 --> 00:18:18.020
He said, at that time in my life,
00:18:18.020 --> 00:18:20.180
I was stuck spiritually.
00:18:20.180 --> 00:18:23.190
Going through the motions, going to mass.
00:18:23.190 --> 00:18:26.130
Had a prayer life, but nothing was happening.
00:18:26.130 --> 00:18:28.220
God just seemed so distant.
00:18:28.220 --> 00:18:30.220
I wasn't really involved.
00:18:30.220 --> 00:18:31.270
I was kind of a Catholic that just went
00:18:31.270 --> 00:18:34.100
to church through obligation.
00:18:34.100 --> 00:18:36.190
But what you had to say at that mission about hope,
00:18:36.190 --> 00:18:40.270
so inspired me to believe that God is at work in my life,
00:18:40.270 --> 00:18:45.230
that I could have a personal relationship with God.
00:18:45.230 --> 00:18:49.040
And I began to pray in a new way.
00:18:49.040 --> 00:18:51.240
And in time, I discovered a personal relationship
00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:56.060
with Jesus Christ, now I've changed.
00:18:56.060 --> 00:18:57.210
I don't just go to church once in a while.
00:18:57.210 --> 00:18:59.250
I'm involved in the church and that's why
00:18:59.250 --> 00:19:02.210
I'm at this dinner here at your retreat center.
00:19:02.210 --> 00:19:05.100
And I said, whoa.
00:19:05.100 --> 00:19:07.030
What a beautiful witness.
00:19:07.030 --> 00:19:08.070
And what was that?
00:19:08.070 --> 00:19:09.180
That was God the Potter, working in his life.
00:19:09.180 --> 00:19:14.180
And that's exactly what hope is.
00:19:15.140 --> 00:19:17.040
That no matter what your issue,
00:19:17.040 --> 00:19:19.290
no matter what your difficulty,
00:19:19.290 --> 00:19:22.140
no matter what your problem, could be spiritual,
00:19:22.140 --> 00:19:26.000
could be an addiction, could be, as I said,
00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:29.280
a struggling marriage, could be unemployment,
00:19:29.280 --> 00:19:33.210
past abuse, anger, whatever it is, grieving,
00:19:33.210 --> 00:19:37.180
loneliness, depression, despair, doubt.
00:19:37.180 --> 00:19:41.080
Whatever it is, you have to understand
00:19:41.080 --> 00:19:43.210
the greatness of our God.
00:19:43.210 --> 00:19:46.160
That He is intimately and intricately at work in your life.
00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:51.150
And that's what hope is, believe not only that God exists,
00:19:52.270 --> 00:19:55.040
but believing that God's at work in your life.
00:19:55.040 --> 00:19:57.100
And you don't have to stay stuck in your spiritual life.
00:19:57.100 --> 00:20:01.020
You don't have to stay stuck anywhere.
00:20:01.020 --> 00:20:03.190
Because I love what Ephesians 3:20 says.
00:20:03.190 --> 00:20:07.050
God is able to do far more
00:20:07.050 --> 00:20:11.150
than we can ever dare to ask, think, or imagine.
00:20:11.150 --> 00:20:16.040
Did you get that?
00:20:16.040 --> 00:20:17.110
Most people kind of pray puny prayers.
00:20:17.110 --> 00:20:20.180
But God is able to do far more than we can ever
00:20:20.180 --> 00:20:22.200
dare to ask, think, or imagine.
00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:24.190
And I'm discovering that in my own life.
00:20:24.190 --> 00:20:26.110
And I'm not gonna limit God by my doubts.
00:20:26.110 --> 00:20:28.100
I'm gonna dare to hope.
00:20:28.100 --> 00:20:30.080
I'm gonna keep believing.
00:20:30.080 --> 00:20:32.040
Because our God is an amazing God.
00:20:32.040 --> 00:20:34.080
I love astronomy.
00:20:34.080 --> 00:20:36.050
I remember in college, I took a course on astronomy
00:20:36.050 --> 00:20:39.030
and I'm fascinated by our solar system, by our planet,
00:20:39.030 --> 00:20:43.180
by the universe, by our galaxy.
00:20:43.180 --> 00:20:47.170
Of course we have the solar system,
00:20:47.170 --> 00:20:48.280
then we have the Milky Way galaxy,
00:20:48.280 --> 00:20:50.290
then we have the universe.
00:20:50.290 --> 00:20:53.240
And as you know, years ago they sent up NASA
00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:58.070
and the engineers sent up the Hubble telescope.
00:20:58.070 --> 00:21:01.120
And the vivid, clear images that occurred
00:21:01.120 --> 00:21:04.250
were just outstanding.
00:21:04.250 --> 00:21:07.070
So what scientists did is they wanted
00:21:07.070 --> 00:21:09.040
to take a picture just of some arbitrary place
00:21:09.040 --> 00:21:12.030
out in outer space to see what they could get.
00:21:12.030 --> 00:21:15.060
About the size of a straw, they just took a picture
00:21:15.060 --> 00:21:18.170
in some arbitrary direction.
00:21:18.170 --> 00:21:21.070
Size of a straw, little teeny opening.
00:21:21.070 --> 00:21:24.220
And this is what they found when they took the picture.
00:21:24.220 --> 00:21:26.250
They found a thousand, not planets,
00:21:26.250 --> 00:21:30.200
not solar systems, galaxies.
00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:35.200
In that little, teeny, itsy bitsy,
00:21:36.250 --> 00:21:39.040
do you understand the Milky Way galaxy,
00:21:39.040 --> 00:21:41.110
our galaxy, 186.000 miles across, light years across,
00:21:41.110 --> 00:21:46.110
excuse me, not miles.
00:21:47.030 --> 00:21:47.240
It's actually 100.000 light years across.
00:21:48.290 --> 00:21:53.100
Light travels at 186.000 miles per second.
00:21:53.100 --> 00:21:58.100
In the time it takes for light to get across our galaxy
00:21:59.220 --> 00:22:01.240
is 100.000 years, that's just one galaxy.
00:22:01.240 --> 00:22:06.220
When they looked out there they saw 1.000 galaxies.
00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:11.040
Do you see how huge that is?
00:22:11.040 --> 00:22:12.250
We sent up the Voyager Space Crafts 40 years ago,
00:22:12.250 --> 00:22:16.230
two of them.
00:22:16.230 --> 00:22:18.000
They're traveling at 38.000 miles an hour.
00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.190
Finally they've left our solar system after 40 years.
00:22:20.190 --> 00:22:23.190
Traveled about 14, 12 billion miles in 40 years.
00:22:23.190 --> 00:22:28.190
To get to the closest star,
00:22:29.150 --> 00:22:31.060
traveling at 38.000 miles an hour,
00:22:31.060 --> 00:22:34.070
that's about as fast as we can go,
00:22:34.070 --> 00:22:36.060
it's gonna take them 40.000 years
00:22:36.060 --> 00:22:39.220
to get to the closest star.
00:22:39.220 --> 00:22:41.210
So what I'm trying to depict to you
00:22:41.210 --> 00:22:43.130
is how large our universe is.
00:22:43.130 --> 00:22:45.200
And the universe is telling us about the greatness,
00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:50.100
the grandeur of our God.
00:22:50.100 --> 00:22:52.110
Not only the universe and its expanse
00:22:52.110 --> 00:22:54.110
and how big this is, 7.6 billion, and growing daily,
00:22:54.110 --> 00:22:59.110
people on the face of the earth.
00:23:00.090 --> 00:23:02.100
And God is intimately and intricately involved
00:23:02.100 --> 00:23:04.130
in everybody's life.
00:23:04.130 --> 00:23:06.260
So I'm trying to depict to you the power
00:23:06.260 --> 00:23:09.280
and the majesty and the grandeur of our God.
00:23:09.280 --> 00:23:14.240
and the majesty and the grandeur of our God.
00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:16.010
That's why Jesus, when He taught, said for God
00:23:16.010 --> 00:23:19.110
all things are possible.
00:23:19.110 --> 00:23:20.280
And as I said, raised people from the dead,
00:23:20.280 --> 00:23:25.130
calmed storms, brought healing to people,
00:23:25.130 --> 00:23:29.220
multiplied loaves, turned water into wine.
00:23:29.220 --> 00:23:33.110
Jesus tapped into that beautiful, wonderful power of God.
00:23:33.110 --> 00:23:37.090
And I want you to tap into that power of God,
00:23:37.090 --> 00:23:39.280
and you can by hoping.
00:23:39.280 --> 00:23:41.290
Dare to hope.
00:23:41.290 --> 00:23:43.060
Hope is believing that something good
00:23:43.060 --> 00:23:45.130
is gonna happen in your future.
00:23:45.130 --> 00:23:47.080
Hope is a living hope that we're gonna live forever
00:23:47.080 --> 00:23:49.230
with God in heaven.
00:23:49.230 --> 00:23:51.040
But most of all, as I have proclaimed to you,
00:23:51.040 --> 00:23:53.130
hope is believing that God is working in your life right now
00:23:53.130 --> 00:23:57.090
and in your family.
00:23:57.090 --> 00:23:59.030
Behind the scenes, doesn't always feel like it,
00:23:59.030 --> 00:24:02.160
but God is focused on you.
00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:04.280
And He's willing to get His hands dirty in your life.
00:24:04.280 --> 00:24:09.130
Dare to hope because when you hope,
00:24:09.130 --> 00:24:12.160
it opens up a door for God to work.
00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:14.130
And don't just live, Live with Passion.
00:24:14.130 --> 00:24:17.260
Dare to hope, I want you to believe that God
00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:24.220
is at work in your life and in your family
00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:26.140
as I said in the program.
00:24:26.140 --> 00:24:28.080
Got a letter from a woman and listen to this.
00:24:28.080 --> 00:24:30.220
I credit Father Cedric's TV programs
00:24:30.220 --> 00:24:32.250
for sparking my faith.
00:24:32.250 --> 00:24:34.170
Brought me back to mass and now I go daily.
00:24:34.170 --> 00:24:38.110
I took my young son to mass with me daily,
00:24:38.110 --> 00:24:40.230
and now he's beginning his third year
00:24:40.230 --> 00:24:43.140
as a seminarian for the Diocese of Dallas.
00:24:43.140 --> 00:24:46.100
Well that so blesses me.
00:24:46.100 --> 00:24:47.220
You know what that is?
00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:48.290
That's God working in that familial situation.
00:24:48.290 --> 00:24:51.120
God the Potter, we the clay.
00:24:51.120 --> 00:24:53.130
And I can do this, I can reach out through television
00:24:53.130 --> 00:24:55.250
and my motto is touching lives, saving souls.
00:24:55.250 --> 00:24:59.190
I can do this because I have a lot of partners
00:24:59.190 --> 00:25:01.150
praying for me and a lot of partners
00:25:01.150 --> 00:25:03.160
who are financially supporting me.
00:25:03.160 --> 00:25:05.250
I'm a priest with a vow of poverty,
00:25:05.250 --> 00:25:07.130
I have no other motivation than to reach out to people.
00:25:07.130 --> 00:25:10.010
100% of your money will go directly
00:25:10.010 --> 00:25:11.280
toward the airing of Live with Passion
00:25:11.280 --> 00:25:14.170
and the production of Live with Passion.
00:25:14.170 --> 00:25:16.160
So would you consider being a partner with my ministry?
00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:19.010
Listen, my announcer will tell you more,
00:25:19.010 --> 00:25:21.120
but don't just live, live with passion.
00:25:21.120 --> 00:25:24.050
- [Announcer] Don't just live, live passionately.
00:25:24.050 --> 00:25:26.230
Jesus came to bring us abundant life,
00:25:26.230 --> 00:25:28.170
a life filled with joy, hope, and purpose.
00:25:28.170 --> 00:25:31.280
For over a decade Father Cedric Pisegna
00:25:31.280 --> 00:25:34.070
has been sharing the life changing message of hope
00:25:34.070 --> 00:25:36.180
with people around the world.
00:25:36.180 --> 00:25:38.040
As a priest with a vow of poverty,
00:25:38.040 --> 00:25:40.020
Father Cedric's programs and resources
00:25:40.020 --> 00:25:42.010
are created with one purpose in mind, to change lives.
00:25:42.010 --> 00:25:45.070
Would you consider calling and giving today?
00:25:45.070 --> 00:25:47.170
It's only because of generous people like you who give,
00:25:47.170 --> 00:25:49.200
we are able to reach multitudes every day.
00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:53.190
We hear life changing testimonies from people
00:25:53.190 --> 00:25:55.240
who watch us on television.
00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:57.090
As always, we treasure the support of our partners.
00:25:57.090 --> 00:26:00.110
As a priest with a vow of poverty,
00:26:00.110 --> 00:26:02.080
you can know that 100% of your donation
00:26:02.080 --> 00:26:04.230
will go directly toward producing
00:26:04.230 --> 00:26:06.180
and airing Live with Passion.
00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:08.120
To partner with us, call 844-FATHERC.
00:26:08.120 --> 00:26:11.130
That's 844-328-4372 or go to fathercedric.org.
00:26:11.130 --> 00:26:16.020
Write us at Father Cedric Ministries.
00:26:16.020 --> 00:26:18.260
430 Bunker Hill Road,
00:26:18.260 --> 00:26:20.130
Houston, Texas 77024.
00:26:20.130 --> 00:26:23.060
Thank you.
00:26:23.060 --> 00:26:24.130
Jesus died on the cross and rose again
00:26:24.130 --> 00:26:26.110
so that we might be saved and have eternal life.
00:26:26.110 --> 00:26:29.010
The greatest and most influential event
00:26:29.010 --> 00:26:30.280
in human history was Jesus' resurrection.
00:26:30.280 --> 00:26:33.100
But the resurrection wasn't just one historical moment.
00:26:33.100 --> 00:26:36.030
A resurrected life can happen everyday.
00:26:36.030 --> 00:26:39.040
In Father Cedric's book, Rise,
00:26:39.040 --> 00:26:41.180
you can learn how to embrace the risen life.
00:26:41.180 --> 00:26:44.020
A life of passion, stability and healing.
00:26:44.020 --> 00:26:46.230
Father Cedric's book, Rise, reveals how to live
00:26:46.230 --> 00:26:49.220
a fulfilled life, how to conquer addictions,
00:26:49.220 --> 00:26:52.000
how to overcome your past and rise from indifference
00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.190
to make a difference.
00:26:55.190 --> 00:26:57.020
In this book you'll learn
00:26:57.020 --> 00:26:58.210
how to experience resurrection today.
00:26:58.210 --> 00:27:01.090
Call right now to get this special offer.
00:27:01.090 --> 00:27:04.080
Call 844-FATHERC.
00:27:04.080 --> 00:27:06.120
That's 844-328-4372 or go to frcedric.org.
00:27:06.120 --> 00:27:11.080
That's 844-328-4372 or go to frcedric.org.
00:27:11.080 --> 00:27:12.140
Or write us at Father Cedric Ministries.
00:27:12.140 --> 00:27:14.240
430 Bunker Hill Road,
00:27:14.240 --> 00:27:16.110
Houston, Texas 77024.
00:27:16.110 --> 00:27:19.020
100% of your donations will be used
00:27:19.020 --> 00:27:21.130
to produce and air Live with Passion.
00:27:21.130 --> 00:27:24.170
(soft music)
00:27:24.170 --> 00:27:27.020

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