WEBVTT 00:00:13.130 --> 00:00:17.190 So the lesson is helping someone overcome tribulations. 00:00:17.309 --> 00:00:20.269 If someone's going through difficulty or tribulations, 00:00:20.289 --> 00:00:23.289 it could be anything. Loss of a loved one, loss 00:00:23.289 --> 00:00:26.030 of a job, financial, addiction, health concerns, 00:00:26.149 --> 00:00:28.449 whatever trials or tribulations the person's 00:00:28.449 --> 00:00:31.370 going through. We're going to talk about how 00:00:31.370 --> 00:00:34.710 we can help that person deal with it and help 00:00:34.710 --> 00:00:38.710 them get to a good place. Scripture says, which 00:00:38.710 --> 00:00:41.299 you will not find anywhere on this page, Consider 00:00:41.299 --> 00:00:43.340 it pure joy when you face all manner of trials 00:00:43.340 --> 00:00:46.380 and tribulations. Taking that verse to somebody 00:00:46.380 --> 00:00:48.320 who's going through difficulty and saying, hey, 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:50.500 you know, the Bible says you should have joy. 00:00:50.840 --> 00:00:52.619 You should be happy. Things aren't going right. 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:56.520 That's not very helpful, right? In fact, I would 00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:58.960 highly recommend that you don't do that. You 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:01.119 want to use that for yourself? You want to say, 00:01:01.179 --> 00:01:03.630 hey, I'm going through difficulties. I'm going 00:01:03.630 --> 00:01:06.370 to count this as joy. That's something you can 00:01:06.370 --> 00:01:09.010 do. But to go and try to tell other people that 00:01:09.010 --> 00:01:10.870 they should have joy in the middle of tribulations 00:01:10.870 --> 00:01:14.090 is hard. It's hard to deliver that message. It's 00:01:14.090 --> 00:01:16.250 hard to receive that message. Okay? So we're 00:01:16.250 --> 00:01:18.549 going to work through some things that are actual 00:01:18.549 --> 00:01:21.150 practical steps that you can take. They're all 00:01:21.150 --> 00:01:23.829 biblical. And we'll have lots of verses. And 00:01:23.829 --> 00:01:28.049 so I can read. Kashawn can read. Right, Kashawn? 00:01:28.290 --> 00:01:30.709 Yep. Okay, make sure you have your Bible accessible. 00:01:31.290 --> 00:01:33.799 Josh can read. We'll get it done. Anybody else 00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:36.540 wants to read? Everybody can read if they want 00:01:36.540 --> 00:01:38.760 to. All right? So you're right on the top of 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:42.319 the page number one. Okay? And so the blanks 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:53.280 are not filled in. Okay. So you see it says compassionate 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:55.799 presence there. So what do you think the B and 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:59.219 the W are? Okay, that would be good. Blessed 00:01:59.219 --> 00:02:05.140 with or begin with. compassionate presence. So 00:02:05.140 --> 00:02:08.659 presence is being there, not complicated, except 00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:11.240 that we're not good at it in our current society 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:14.319 because like, for example, we have laws not to 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:15.979 use your cell phone while you're driving and 00:02:15.979 --> 00:02:17.620 you look at the screen because people are not 00:02:17.620 --> 00:02:20.340 present while they're driving, for example, sometimes. 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:23.259 Things like that. So we really lack. We'll go 00:02:23.259 --> 00:02:25.139 to dinner. Sharon and I went out to dinner and 00:02:25.139 --> 00:02:26.879 we were just talking about how people don't spend 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:29.060 time together. And we looked around and there 00:02:29.060 --> 00:02:30.939 were like nine other tables that we could see 00:02:30.939 --> 00:02:32.460 where the people were, instead of talking to 00:02:32.460 --> 00:02:33.719 each other, they were looking at their phones. 00:02:35.020 --> 00:02:37.120 They're all on their phones. So we have a rule 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:39.639 on date night. We don't get on our phones when 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:43.139 we sit down because we're present. We're there. 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:47.379 And then compassionate means caring and wanting 00:02:47.379 --> 00:02:50.650 to do something about what's going on. Compassion 00:02:50.650 --> 00:02:53.930 is you care, and compassionate means you're in 00:02:53.930 --> 00:02:57.129 the state of caring. So it's a presence. It's 00:02:57.129 --> 00:02:59.770 a compassionate presence. And then to begin with 00:02:59.770 --> 00:03:01.050 that, that's what we're going to start with. 00:03:01.969 --> 00:03:04.750 So we've got the scripture. If it's a New Testament 00:03:04.750 --> 00:03:06.770 book and it starts with the letter R, what do 00:03:06.770 --> 00:03:10.469 you think? Romans. Romans is correct. And it's 00:03:10.469 --> 00:03:13.509 Romans, and it says D -O -Z under the number. 00:03:14.349 --> 00:03:20.300 So it's Romans 12. 15, very good. It's Romans 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:24.439 12, 15. Okay? Does anybody know what Romans 12, 00:03:24.479 --> 00:03:26.539 15 says? As soon as I read it, I think I might 00:03:26.539 --> 00:03:33.900 have heard that before. Okay. Romans 12, 15, 00:03:34.060 --> 00:03:36.599 I can almost quote it from memory, but not quite, 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:42.680 says, Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:45.620 those who weep. So when you show up at somebody's 00:03:45.620 --> 00:03:48.900 house, For dinner, hanging out, whatever. If 00:03:48.900 --> 00:03:53.259 they're happy, be happy. If they're sad, be sad. 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:57.780 This is especially pointed toward the church. 00:03:57.819 --> 00:03:59.719 It's a biblical standard Christians are supposed 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:04.240 to do. Then we're going to keep going down. It 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:07.979 says LM. So if you're having a compassionate 00:04:07.979 --> 00:04:09.840 presence and you're with them, you're going to 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:16.079 listen more. The LM is listen more. So normally 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:18.800 you hang out with somebody and you're talking 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:21.399 and listening and talking and listening. You 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:24.620 tell a lot of stories, maybe half the stories. 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:28.160 Somebody says something and you say, hey, yeah, 00:04:28.339 --> 00:04:30.740 that same thing happened to me back when my dad 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:32.819 and I were fishing. This happened, right? Or 00:04:32.819 --> 00:04:35.240 there was a blue one and oh yeah, I saw a red 00:04:35.240 --> 00:04:37.060 one, right? And you're back and forth and it's 00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:42.120 like 50 -50. They talk, you talk. Now, to show 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:45.569 compassionate presence, you talk less. Let them 00:04:45.569 --> 00:04:49.930 talk more. It's not about you. So just listen 00:04:49.930 --> 00:04:52.569 more to what they're saying and talk less than 00:04:52.569 --> 00:04:54.990 what you normally do. Now if they ask you a question, 00:04:55.050 --> 00:04:57.430 don't sit there in silence. That's rude. But 00:04:57.430 --> 00:05:00.189 be aware that they might ask you a question that 00:05:00.189 --> 00:05:02.009 they don't want an answer to. Like they might 00:05:02.009 --> 00:05:05.750 say, why is this happening to me? And if you 00:05:05.750 --> 00:05:08.209 have an answer of why this is happening, probably 00:05:08.209 --> 00:05:10.470 any answer you would give is not going to be 00:05:10.470 --> 00:05:13.959 a good answer. For example, they say, why does 00:05:13.959 --> 00:05:15.160 this happen to me? And you say, well, you know, 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:17.360 stuff happens. Well, that's not a good answer. 00:05:17.779 --> 00:05:19.439 Well, why does this happen? Well, you did do 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:21.439 something wrong and you're being punished. Well, 00:05:21.480 --> 00:05:23.839 that's definitely not a good answer. Well, why 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:25.959 does this happen to me? Well, because, you know, 00:05:25.980 --> 00:05:28.139 into every life a little rain must fall. Not 00:05:28.139 --> 00:05:29.860 a good answer. What answer are you going to give? 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:33.060 Right? So sometimes there are questions that 00:05:33.060 --> 00:05:34.480 they may ask that they're really not looking 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:37.100 for an answer to. And either the things that 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:38.459 we're going to learn here in a minute that you 00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:41.220 can say that will answer that question, you probably 00:05:41.220 --> 00:05:42.980 don't want to say them when the question is asked. 00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:45.199 Because when they say, why is this happening 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:47.040 to me? They're not really looking for an answer. 00:05:47.459 --> 00:05:49.639 But later, a few minutes later, an hour later, 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:51.519 whatever, in the conversation, you might be able 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:54.319 to explain why it's happening. But when they 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:56.939 ask that question, if you answer, you might hurt 00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:58.740 their feelings, you might cause them to stumble, 00:05:58.899 --> 00:06:02.279 that kind of thing. So listen more, talk less. 00:06:03.139 --> 00:06:08.300 And then after the slashes, If I give you the 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:11.579 P, which is pain, would you take a stab at what 00:06:11.579 --> 00:06:23.920 the A and the M might be? No. Say it again. No. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:26.639 We definitely don't want to add more pain, right, 00:06:26.699 --> 00:06:29.720 or amplify moderate pain. We don't want to add. 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:35.269 So the words are avoid. And then you can use 00:06:35.269 --> 00:06:39.350 an M word, but I use minimizing pain. So here's 00:06:39.350 --> 00:06:42.009 what you'll have happen. You're talking to them 00:06:42.009 --> 00:06:43.709 and they'll say, well, I shouldn't be upset, 00:06:43.889 --> 00:06:47.930 right? I have no reason to be upset. I'm hurt, 00:06:48.110 --> 00:06:51.850 but should I even be hurt? You don't want to 00:06:51.850 --> 00:06:54.550 minimize their pain. Don't tell them that they 00:06:54.550 --> 00:06:56.750 shouldn't be feeling pain. Don't tell them that 00:06:56.750 --> 00:06:59.449 they shouldn't be hurting. So they lost their 00:06:59.449 --> 00:07:01.370 job, they lied, they cheated, they stole on the 00:07:01.370 --> 00:07:03.779 job, now they lost their job. and you go sit 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:06.879 with them, and they're aggravated, and they're 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:09.279 upset, I should have done that, and I wish that 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:11.579 hadn't happened, and they're feeling like they're 00:07:11.579 --> 00:07:14.300 dying because they lost their job, don't minimize 00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:16.420 their pain and just say, well, just don't do 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:18.860 it again next time. It's really no big deal. 00:07:18.899 --> 00:07:21.480 You'll find another job. We don't want to minimize 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:24.480 the pain that they're feeling because those are 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:27.720 real emotions that they're having. So avoid minimizing 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:31.399 their pain. And then over to the right, it says, 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:34.550 your presence, What do you think your presence 00:07:34.550 --> 00:07:41.370 reflects? God's nature? Or God's nearness? Right? 00:07:41.509 --> 00:07:44.509 Either one? So you being there, what does God 00:07:44.509 --> 00:07:48.709 do for his people? He never abandons us. So you 00:07:48.709 --> 00:07:51.129 being there is like him being there. And you're 00:07:51.129 --> 00:07:54.009 there to represent him, but also you're there 00:07:54.009 --> 00:07:56.180 to make a statement about how he's there. And 00:07:56.180 --> 00:07:59.120 we won't go and read Job 2 .13, but Job 2 .13 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:01.459 is that passage where it says that Job's friends, 00:08:01.540 --> 00:08:03.579 they all came and stayed with him and they sat 00:08:03.579 --> 00:08:06.399 there with him for over a week and said nothing. 00:08:08.220 --> 00:08:10.920 They had nothing to say. And it says because 00:08:10.920 --> 00:08:13.980 they saw his suffering was horrible. He was having 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:17.120 horrible suffering. So they're really, when another 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:20.040 person's having suffering, maybe you just need 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:22.300 to be there. I can't tell you, probably now, 00:08:22.420 --> 00:08:24.980 probably seven or ten times I've been with somebody. 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:27.879 who either just lost a loved one or they themselves 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:31.579 were in the process of some pretty terrible suffering. 00:08:32.120 --> 00:08:34.539 And my just being there was the whole thing. 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:37.059 That was it. I didn't have any great answers 00:08:37.059 --> 00:08:41.860 or anything. I was just with them. And if that's 00:08:41.860 --> 00:08:46.000 all you do, you'd be getting it right. Because 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:48.700 your presence reflects God's nature or God's 00:08:48.700 --> 00:08:50.919 nearness. Okay, then we'll go on to number two. 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:53.059 I know that's a funny looking thing. That's an 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:55.970 anchor. Right there, next to the two. Sorry, 00:08:56.049 --> 00:08:57.909 Hannah, to insult your great artistic abilities. 00:08:58.889 --> 00:09:01.590 I should have had you draw the anchor, huh? Anyway, 00:09:02.669 --> 00:09:07.029 that's an anchor. And so the A is anchor. The 00:09:07.029 --> 00:09:11.950 A is anchor. And so what we want to do is anchor 00:09:11.950 --> 00:09:17.350 them in God's goodness. So the whole point, when 00:09:17.350 --> 00:09:20.529 people are suffering, they're shaking. They're 00:09:20.529 --> 00:09:22.590 in fear, they're in anger, they're troubled. 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:26.639 doubt, whatever, and we need to get them back 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:29.879 into and solidly put them in God's goodness. 00:09:30.059 --> 00:09:33.320 That's the goal. Even though, yes, bad things 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:35.100 have happened or are happening, we're not denying 00:09:35.100 --> 00:09:37.600 that, but the goal is to get them back into God's 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:41.159 goodness. And then this is an Old Testament book 00:09:41.159 --> 00:09:43.980 that starts with the letter L. Lamentations. 00:09:44.139 --> 00:09:51.100 That's right. Lamentations. L -A -M -E -N -T. 00:09:52.569 --> 00:09:57.350 A -T -I -O -N -S. Now, somebody tell me what 00:09:57.350 --> 00:09:59.830 Lamentations means. What does the word Lamentations 00:09:59.830 --> 00:10:05.409 mean? Cry. Yeah. It's cries out. Plural cries. 00:10:05.529 --> 00:10:09.590 Many cries. More than one cry. Out. Okay? So, 00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:13.830 Lamentations is written by... Can you stab at 00:10:13.830 --> 00:10:16.669 it? Deshawn, who wrote the book of Lamentations? 00:10:21.949 --> 00:10:26.549 Jeremiah. Jeremiah the prophet. Jeremiah was 00:10:26.549 --> 00:10:29.330 called the weeping prophet because he went through 00:10:29.330 --> 00:10:31.309 some real hardships. In fact, the last thing 00:10:31.309 --> 00:10:33.429 we hear about him was they put him in chains 00:10:33.429 --> 00:10:36.029 and drug him off to Egypt because his prophecy 00:10:36.029 --> 00:10:38.629 said he would never go back to Egypt. So then 00:10:38.629 --> 00:10:40.929 to prove him wrong, they threw him in chains 00:10:40.929 --> 00:10:43.929 and drug him off to Egypt. But he'd been thrown 00:10:43.929 --> 00:10:48.110 in a well, beaten, threatened, everything. He 00:10:48.110 --> 00:10:50.750 was treated horribly. So he's called the weeping 00:10:50.750 --> 00:10:53.070 prophet. And the book of Lamentations is written 00:10:53.070 --> 00:10:55.629 by Jeremiah and it has a lot of weeping in it. 00:10:56.710 --> 00:11:02.389 Okay? And Lamentations 3, 31 through 33 says 00:11:02.389 --> 00:11:06.110 as follows. For the Lord will not reject us forever. 00:11:06.490 --> 00:11:10.049 Even if he causes suffering, he will show compassion 00:11:10.049 --> 00:11:13.350 according to his abundant faithful love. For 00:11:13.350 --> 00:11:17.029 he does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering 00:11:17.029 --> 00:11:22.970 on mankind. Okay? And so then, the next one is 00:11:22.970 --> 00:11:25.750 a New Testament book. It starts with an H. Hebrews. 00:11:26.850 --> 00:11:36.230 Right? So, Hebrews 13 .8. 13 .8 is the reference. 00:11:36.549 --> 00:11:39.649 Let me see if I can get it from memory. The Lord 00:11:39.649 --> 00:11:43.909 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and 00:11:43.909 --> 00:11:59.240 forever? know if I got that right. Anyway, the 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:05.639 point is he's the same. So over here to the right 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:09.259 you see it says gently remind. So these are the 00:12:09.259 --> 00:12:11.139 things we're going to gently remind the person 00:12:11.139 --> 00:12:13.620 of. The first one is GL. What do you think it 00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:18.200 is? God's love. That's exactly it. God's love. 00:12:18.299 --> 00:12:21.860 Perfect. Got that easy. The next one's an S. 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:25.919 It's harder. Sovereignty. God's sovereignty. 00:12:27.379 --> 00:12:29.899 So we've got God's love and God's sovereignty. 00:12:31.539 --> 00:12:33.960 And then we have an M. If I said I'm going to 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:36.299 remind you of God's, and it starts with an M, 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:39.879 what would you say? It's a trait of God and it 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:43.159 starts with an M. Yes, but that's not the one. 00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:48.000 Mercy. God's mercy. So as we're dealing with 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:49.179 somebody who's in the middle of suffering or 00:12:49.179 --> 00:12:53.450 tribulation, We want to remind them of God's 00:12:53.450 --> 00:13:04.610 love, of God's sovereignty. Okay, I'm going to 00:13:04.610 --> 00:13:08.389 give you that right now. So how would you remind 00:13:08.389 --> 00:13:11.970 a person of God's love, sovereignty, and mercy? 00:13:12.090 --> 00:13:15.129 What tools do we have that we can remind them? 00:13:15.690 --> 00:13:18.970 Starts with a T. Yeah, you could teach them. 00:13:19.149 --> 00:13:21.029 So if you're going to teach them, what would 00:13:21.029 --> 00:13:25.529 you use to teach them? The Bible. Okay. So the 00:13:25.529 --> 00:13:31.110 Bible talks about situations where people were 00:13:31.110 --> 00:13:34.850 suffering 2 ,000 years ago and 3 ,000 years ago 00:13:34.850 --> 00:13:37.730 and 5 ,000 years ago. But what's something that's 00:13:37.730 --> 00:13:40.129 a little bit more close to home that we could 00:13:40.129 --> 00:13:42.029 use that might have to do with that person or 00:13:42.029 --> 00:13:46.870 have to do with yourself? Testimonies. Okay. 00:13:47.389 --> 00:13:49.730 1 John 1 .3 says, We proclaim what we have seen 00:13:49.730 --> 00:13:51.070 and heard, that you may have fellowship with 00:13:51.070 --> 00:13:52.730 us, and our fellowship is with God the Father 00:13:52.730 --> 00:13:55.029 and His Son, Jesus Christ. So we tell them about 00:13:55.029 --> 00:14:00.210 what we have seen and heard. Like an example, 00:14:00.690 --> 00:14:04.870 Sherry and I had a pretty horrible experience 00:14:04.870 --> 00:14:07.409 where her grandfather passed away, and we were 00:14:07.409 --> 00:14:11.070 going to visit him, and they had called the family 00:14:11.070 --> 00:14:12.950 in like a week before, and so he could have passed 00:14:12.950 --> 00:14:14.980 away at any time. And we were going to visit 00:14:14.980 --> 00:14:17.039 him. And we had a softball game that night. And 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:19.059 we played the softball game. And then right afterwards, 00:14:19.220 --> 00:14:20.559 we arranged for somebody to take the kids home 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:21.759 and put them to bed. And we were going to go 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:23.460 out and visit her. And as we were leaving the 00:14:23.460 --> 00:14:27.120 ballpark, we heard that he passed away. And, 00:14:27.179 --> 00:14:29.700 you know, we were already mourning his loss because 00:14:29.700 --> 00:14:31.340 he was very close to death and it was rough. 00:14:31.460 --> 00:14:33.379 But we were literally leaving the ballpark to 00:14:33.379 --> 00:14:35.860 go visit him and heard that he passed away. So 00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:40.000 we went home. Kids are in bed. And that night, 00:14:40.139 --> 00:14:43.139 we were lamenting to God. We were just expressing 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:45.419 how sad we were to God. And I wound up just holding 00:14:45.419 --> 00:14:49.039 her. I didn't really have anything to say. There 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:52.019 was no comfort other than God's comfort, you 00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:54.460 know, that kind of thing. And then some years 00:14:54.460 --> 00:14:58.820 later, we had other experiences that were bad. 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:04.519 Judy died. My dad died. Things like that. We 00:15:04.519 --> 00:15:07.120 had a horrible situation where Sherry... She 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:08.779 had to jump ship and leave the company that she 00:15:08.779 --> 00:15:11.519 was in because she helped start the company and 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:13.279 built it from the ground up, and then she had 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:14.919 to leave there and go be at another company because 00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:17.779 the guy was just running it into the ground. 00:15:17.879 --> 00:15:19.539 The other partner was running it into the ground. 00:15:19.559 --> 00:15:20.799 She had to get out of there. It was a horrible 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:23.179 situation. We've had other situations. Well, 00:15:23.200 --> 00:15:25.840 that situation of us lamenting to God, us hanging 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:27.980 out that night, and about 2 o 'clock in the morning 00:15:27.980 --> 00:15:29.980 just crying together, praying together, and looking 00:15:29.980 --> 00:15:33.679 to God, we look back at that situation of how 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:36.100 God got us through that situation. Does that 00:15:36.100 --> 00:15:39.159 make sense? So we can bring up, see how God saw 00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:40.799 us through that. Now we can talk about how God 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:43.259 saw us through when Judy died, how God saw us 00:15:43.259 --> 00:15:45.820 through when my dad died, how God saw us through 00:15:45.820 --> 00:15:47.500 when we had to leave that job all of a sudden. 00:15:47.580 --> 00:15:50.220 So we can talk about those things that we have 00:15:50.220 --> 00:15:53.440 experienced, and that gives us strength. The 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:56.679 tool is testimonies. That is the primary tool 00:15:56.679 --> 00:15:59.019 you're going to use. The truth is you may have 00:15:59.019 --> 00:16:01.639 never felt suffering like what they're feeling. 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:06.399 You're not testifying saying, Here I have this 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:09.379 story that's bad. You have this bad thing you're 00:16:09.379 --> 00:16:11.419 going through. My bad thing over here was worse, 00:16:11.460 --> 00:16:13.120 and God got me through it, so he's going to get 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:15.580 you through it too. Never do that. Don't compare 00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:18.799 your story to their story. But if you can say, 00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:22.120 God loves us. Let me tell you how I know God 00:16:22.120 --> 00:16:24.320 loves us, because I had this experience, and 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:27.259 out of that, I know God loves me. God has mercy. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.720 I really screwed up, and this bad thing was happening. 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:32.440 My life was falling apart, and I turned it over 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:35.639 to God, and God did this. God has mercy. God 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:37.500 is in charge. One time I thought I was going 00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:40.679 to get away with something, and I did this, and 00:16:40.679 --> 00:16:42.620 then I realized, oh, you know, God saw it, nobody 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:45.279 else saw it, and then God exposed it, so everybody 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:48.120 saw it. God is in charge. So you have testimonies 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:51.419 to testify to God's love, God's sovereignty, 00:16:51.580 --> 00:16:54.299 and God's mercy. Not to tell them what they're 00:16:54.299 --> 00:16:56.759 going through is somehow less. So never compare 00:16:56.759 --> 00:16:58.759 what your experiences were to their experiences, 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:01.559 but use your testimonies to talk about the character 00:17:01.559 --> 00:17:08.200 of God. Okay? Alright. There is another little 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:12.140 point under this. So if you take your pen right 00:17:12.140 --> 00:17:14.940 now and start next to where it says tools, and 00:17:14.940 --> 00:17:17.660 go over toward the right edge of the page, and 00:17:17.660 --> 00:17:19.519 then go all the way down, you're going to cross 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:21.460 the mountain. You see a little mountain sticking 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:25.819 out there. And you see a phrase, and it says, 00:17:25.880 --> 00:17:28.579 suffering is not abandonment, and then circle 00:17:28.579 --> 00:17:32.809 it. This is the interactive part. So you start 00:17:32.809 --> 00:17:35.250 with tools, you go over to the right, all the 00:17:35.250 --> 00:17:36.950 way down the side of the page, cross the mountain, 00:17:36.990 --> 00:17:42.829 and circle. Suffering is not abandonment. And 00:17:42.829 --> 00:17:45.970 that is a key part of anchoring them in God's 00:17:45.970 --> 00:17:48.869 goodness. Because if their suffering means that 00:17:48.869 --> 00:17:52.789 God has abandoned them, then is God good? No. 00:17:52.990 --> 00:17:55.009 God is not good. If God has abandoned me in my 00:17:55.009 --> 00:17:58.369 darkest hour, then God is not good. So a key 00:17:58.369 --> 00:18:00.450 part of them recognizing and being anchored in 00:18:00.450 --> 00:18:02.630 God's goodness is to understand that God has 00:18:02.630 --> 00:18:06.549 not abandoned them and facing suffering is not 00:18:06.549 --> 00:18:10.670 abandonment. So why did I put it way down there 00:18:10.670 --> 00:18:14.390 and make you draw the line, do you think? What's 00:18:14.390 --> 00:18:20.809 the symbolism of that? Yeah, it's got a point 00:18:20.809 --> 00:18:26.450 to it. We got a point to it. Has anybody here? 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:30.579 had an experience of real suffering? I know you 00:18:30.579 --> 00:18:32.900 have. Anybody want to share one briefly? Just 00:18:32.900 --> 00:18:35.279 give us a one -liner. Say, this happened to me. 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:47.059 I'll do one for you. So, all of a sudden, my 00:18:47.059 --> 00:18:50.740 parent died. I lost my parent. Wasn't expected, 00:18:50.819 --> 00:18:52.460 wasn't coming. All of a sudden, it happened. 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:58.559 Okay? When that happens, do I feel like God is 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:03.460 with me? Not really, right? I mean, you're focused 00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:05.759 on how bad things are. You're dealing with it. 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:10.500 You're coping. So in the midst of their suffering, 00:19:10.660 --> 00:19:15.920 it's going to feel like God is far away. If they 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:19.839 turn to God, focus on Him, pray, as you said, 00:19:19.859 --> 00:19:22.680 read the Bible, listen to your testimonies, those 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:26.640 things, God will feel less far away, right? And 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:29.039 maybe they will feel his presence and they'll 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:30.299 get anchored in his goodness. And they might 00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:31.940 even do that all on their own. You can do it 00:19:31.940 --> 00:19:34.279 all on your own as you just turn to God when 00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:39.339 things are difficult. But your job is to recognize 00:19:39.339 --> 00:19:42.799 when suffering is causing them to feel abandoned 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:46.180 or far from God and help them search around and 00:19:46.180 --> 00:19:49.960 find God again. And you might have to go kind 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:52.750 of far to do that with your testimonies. You 00:19:52.750 --> 00:19:54.869 might have to tell 10 stories or 20 stories. 00:19:55.470 --> 00:19:57.630 You might have to listen to 20 stories that they 00:19:57.630 --> 00:20:00.130 tell. They might talk about being angry with 00:20:00.130 --> 00:20:02.029 God. They might cuss God out in your presence, 00:20:02.109 --> 00:20:05.369 and they might do that five times. And if you 00:20:05.369 --> 00:20:07.089 say, hey, if you talk like that when I'm around, 00:20:07.210 --> 00:20:09.309 I'm going to leave. I'm not going to stay. And 00:20:09.309 --> 00:20:10.809 they do it the third time, and then you leave. 00:20:11.609 --> 00:20:15.650 Well, then it's over. Your helping them through 00:20:15.650 --> 00:20:17.990 their tribulations is over. So you might have 00:20:17.990 --> 00:20:20.450 to put up with a lot of crap, basically, while 00:20:20.450 --> 00:20:23.049 they're going through stuff. Ideally you don't, 00:20:23.049 --> 00:20:27.809 but you might have to. So the point is, you might 00:20:27.809 --> 00:20:29.829 have to root around and figure out how you can 00:20:29.829 --> 00:20:32.450 help them see that suffering is not abandonment. 00:20:32.450 --> 00:20:34.690 Now we're on three, number three, under the eagle. 00:20:36.029 --> 00:20:41.170 So we have the word encourage. So we're going 00:20:41.170 --> 00:20:44.109 to encourage three things. One is an H, one is 00:20:44.109 --> 00:20:46.829 a P, and one is an L. Anybody know any of them? 00:20:47.690 --> 00:20:51.190 Hope is the first one. Very good, sir. Hope. 00:20:51.529 --> 00:20:54.250 So we want to encourage them to have hope. And 00:20:54.250 --> 00:20:57.970 you might do that by saying, you know, yeah, 00:20:58.069 --> 00:21:00.289 you feel bad. Of course you do. I mean, it's 00:21:00.289 --> 00:21:02.170 a horrible thing that you're going through. But, 00:21:02.230 --> 00:21:04.829 you know, with time, the pain that accompanies 00:21:04.829 --> 00:21:08.589 this will ease. You are going to be okay. You're 00:21:08.589 --> 00:21:11.829 going to make it through. No one's rushing you. 00:21:12.380 --> 00:21:14.380 You can suffer for a while. You can hurt. You 00:21:14.380 --> 00:21:16.660 can ache. And I ache with you. I know I don't 00:21:16.660 --> 00:21:18.059 have the same ache that you have, but I have 00:21:18.059 --> 00:21:21.900 ache too. You feel this pain. That's fine. It's 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:24.859 right that you should feel pain. But it could 00:21:24.859 --> 00:21:27.140 get better. It will get better. Please see that 00:21:27.140 --> 00:21:29.579 it will get better. So that's hope. Encouraging 00:21:29.579 --> 00:21:33.039 hope. How about the P? Prayer. That's right. 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:36.900 You're going to encourage prayer. Okay? You may 00:21:36.900 --> 00:21:39.039 or may not know this, but the... Probably the 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:41.160 place in the Bible you'll find the most examples 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:44.599 of other people's prayer is in Psalms. And in 00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:46.839 the book of Psalms, you'll find examples of all 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:49.740 kinds of prayer. Some of the prayers are pretty 00:21:49.740 --> 00:21:52.660 bad. They're pretty harsh. Pretty wicked. Like, 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:55.980 I'm really suffering. This really sucks. Dash 00:21:55.980 --> 00:21:58.559 the heads of my enemies' babies against the rocks. 00:21:58.700 --> 00:22:02.519 Destroy them. Burn them alive. I mean, it's terrible. 00:22:02.740 --> 00:22:07.740 The prayers are bad. So why pray? when your heart 00:22:07.740 --> 00:22:09.759 is like that? Well, because you're committing 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:13.740 the outcome to God. So yes, they said dash the 00:22:13.740 --> 00:22:15.559 heads of the babies against the rocks, and that 00:22:15.559 --> 00:22:17.319 is a horrible thing, but what were they really 00:22:17.319 --> 00:22:18.740 doing? They were putting it in the hands of God. 00:22:18.900 --> 00:22:20.680 They were saying, we're not going to dash the 00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:23.059 babies' heads against the rocks, but if that's 00:22:23.059 --> 00:22:25.380 what's appropriate, then you do that, God. So 00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:26.859 they were submitting it into God's hands, as 00:22:26.859 --> 00:22:29.059 horrible as that is. So we're going to encourage 00:22:29.059 --> 00:22:31.420 hope and prayer. And the last one's a little 00:22:31.420 --> 00:22:34.819 bit tricky, but we've already had it. It is not 00:22:34.819 --> 00:22:43.500 love. Say again? Nope. Nope. It's lament. Right? 00:22:43.619 --> 00:22:47.380 So that's like from lamentations. So you want 00:22:47.380 --> 00:22:51.059 them to say out loud, to express their emotions 00:22:51.059 --> 00:22:55.460 out loud what they're feeling. Right? If they 00:22:55.460 --> 00:22:58.779 think I'm super sad, I'm going through this crap 00:22:58.779 --> 00:23:01.440 basically, and they turn all that inward and 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:03.500 feel horrible about themselves, that results 00:23:03.500 --> 00:23:10.029 in anxiety, depression, PTSD, lashing out later, 00:23:10.230 --> 00:23:14.849 explosive anger, every kind of disorder under 00:23:14.849 --> 00:23:18.690 the sun. So it's better to kind of express it. 00:23:18.730 --> 00:23:21.130 Now, it's a lament, meaning we're going to express 00:23:21.130 --> 00:23:25.170 it to God, ideally. Right? So the goal is for 00:23:25.170 --> 00:23:28.069 them to express to God how they're feeling. And 00:23:28.069 --> 00:23:29.549 you'll notice there's a little arrow that goes 00:23:29.549 --> 00:23:33.789 down from there under the word lament. And it 00:23:33.789 --> 00:23:40.559 says, F in. And the words are faith in struggles. 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:45.859 That's what a lament is. So when you say to God, 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:49.359 God, I am really hurting here. This is horrible. 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:52.000 I can't believe I'm going through this. God, 00:23:52.180 --> 00:23:54.640 help me. Bring this to an end. Get me out of 00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:57.539 this. Give me strength. I am really hurting. 00:23:57.980 --> 00:24:00.660 When you do that and lament to God that way, 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:03.500 You are expressing your faith, trusting in God, 00:24:03.559 --> 00:24:08.160 in the middle of your struggles. Okay? And it 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:12.240 says in Psalm 62, 8, Rest in God alone, my soul, 00:24:12.460 --> 00:24:16.700 for my hope comes from Him. And so, He is the 00:24:16.700 --> 00:24:19.880 one who really can provide for you. Josh, can 00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:24.220 you get Philippians 4, 6 -7? He is the one who 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:29.539 really can provide it for you. Okay, Josh is 00:24:29.539 --> 00:24:32.839 looking up Philippians 4, 6 through 7 for me. 00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:36.839 And then that next line says, the P is pray. 00:24:38.779 --> 00:24:42.420 And then there's a W. And then it says not. And 00:24:42.420 --> 00:24:45.660 there's a JFT. Anybody got a gut feeling of what 00:24:45.660 --> 00:24:48.779 that might say? You're going to pray. It's a 00:24:48.779 --> 00:24:58.579 W, not JFT. Pray. Okay, the W is with. Pray with 00:24:58.579 --> 00:25:10.839 not. And then JFT. Not just for them. Here's 00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:14.299 the thing. There is great advantage to them expressing 00:25:14.299 --> 00:25:19.579 out loud what they're feeling. Praying to God. 00:25:19.859 --> 00:25:22.180 Like if you say, I'll pray for you, I'll pray 00:25:22.180 --> 00:25:23.619 for you. And then you go away and pray for you. 00:25:23.619 --> 00:25:25.890 They don't even hear the prayer. If you stand 00:25:25.890 --> 00:25:27.210 there with them and you say, I'll pray for you, 00:25:27.250 --> 00:25:30.349 and you pray, and you pray, Lord, I'm begging 00:25:30.349 --> 00:25:32.930 you for strength for Bob. Bob lost his dad. Bob 00:25:32.930 --> 00:25:35.430 lost his job. Bob just got diagnosed with stage 00:25:35.430 --> 00:25:37.990 4 cancer. Bob's struggling with addiction. I'm 00:25:37.990 --> 00:25:39.609 begging you for strength for Bob. Well, how do 00:25:39.609 --> 00:25:42.630 you know Bob is praying for strength? What if 00:25:42.630 --> 00:25:44.690 that's not what Bob is praying for? It's a thing 00:25:44.690 --> 00:25:46.849 he should be praying for, but you're praying 00:25:46.849 --> 00:25:49.069 for strength for him. He may not be in a place 00:25:49.069 --> 00:25:52.079 where his heart wants strength. Or you pray, 00:25:52.180 --> 00:25:54.559 give Bob wisdom, Lord, to deal with what he's 00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:56.779 going through right now. What if Bob isn't praying 00:25:56.779 --> 00:26:00.279 for wisdom? Or Bob doesn't want wisdom, right? 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:03.799 So you want to pray with them, listen to them, 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:06.019 and then pray with them. They say, for example, 00:26:06.039 --> 00:26:07.500 if they're crying out, why is this happening? 00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:08.880 I can't believe this is happening. And they're 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:10.640 talking around all these different ideas of why 00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:13.099 it might be happening. Then praying for wisdom, 00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:15.740 you say, Bob, can we pray for wisdom? You know, 00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:17.740 maybe God will give you some answers to these 00:26:17.740 --> 00:26:19.039 questions that you're answering. You pray for 00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:22.410 wisdom. And Bob says, yeah, let's do that. And 00:26:22.410 --> 00:26:24.309 then pray with them and say, well, here, I'll 00:26:24.309 --> 00:26:28.210 lead and you can repeat after me. God, please 00:26:28.210 --> 00:26:30.910 give me wisdom. Bob says, God, please give me 00:26:30.910 --> 00:26:34.549 wisdom. Or you say, how about I'll pray and then 00:26:34.549 --> 00:26:37.529 you pray and then I'll close. That way you can 00:26:37.529 --> 00:26:40.589 end in Jesus' name. And if they are willing to 00:26:40.589 --> 00:26:42.269 do that, that's great. Then they're praying out 00:26:42.269 --> 00:26:44.170 loud what they're going through. And tell them, 00:26:44.190 --> 00:26:45.910 say, tonight when you're laying in your bed and 00:26:45.910 --> 00:26:47.950 you're really suffering, you can cry out to God. 00:26:48.490 --> 00:26:50.170 When you feel like you can't go on, you can say, 00:26:50.190 --> 00:26:53.150 God, I feel like I can't go on. And tell them 00:26:53.150 --> 00:26:55.809 that and help them verbalize what they're going 00:26:55.809 --> 00:26:59.890 through. Okay, Josh, you got it? Be anxious for 00:26:59.890 --> 00:27:02.950 nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication 00:27:02.950 --> 00:27:05.529 with thanksgiving, let your requests be made 00:27:05.529 --> 00:27:08.910 known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses 00:27:08.910 --> 00:27:11.250 all comprehension, will guard your hearts and 00:27:11.250 --> 00:27:15.190 your minds in Christ Jesus. So very simply, and 00:27:15.190 --> 00:27:17.039 there's a lot... there we could unpack, right? 00:27:17.339 --> 00:27:19.480 What the verses that he just read are saying 00:27:19.480 --> 00:27:24.180 is that peace comes with the prayer of expression 00:27:24.180 --> 00:27:28.900 of the need to God. It doesn't come because God 00:27:28.900 --> 00:27:31.240 does a miracle and you get what you want or because, 00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:32.940 you know, if you're praying for peace, then that 00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:34.940 would be the miracle, right? But otherwise, let's 00:27:34.940 --> 00:27:36.779 say you're praying for a new job because you're, 00:27:36.779 --> 00:27:38.480 oh man, my bills are coming due, my water's going 00:27:38.480 --> 00:27:40.059 to get shut off, all this, and you're praying 00:27:40.059 --> 00:27:43.259 for a new job. And if God gives you the new job, 00:27:43.380 --> 00:27:47.079 that's not going to give you peace. Right? Because 00:27:47.079 --> 00:27:49.339 now you've got to work the job. First paycheck 00:27:49.339 --> 00:27:51.180 doesn't come for a week or two weeks. You've 00:27:51.180 --> 00:27:52.420 got to get the budget balance. You've got to 00:27:52.420 --> 00:27:53.880 find the money you need. You've got to organize 00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:55.400 everything. You're stressing, running around, 00:27:55.480 --> 00:27:57.640 trying to figure it all out. Talking to family 00:27:57.640 --> 00:27:59.119 members, can I get an extra 50 bucks just to 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:01.359 get me through until my paycheck? That's not 00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:07.079 peace. Right? But the fact that you express your 00:28:07.079 --> 00:28:11.980 need of the job to God There's some peace in 00:28:11.980 --> 00:28:14.019 that just because I can't control whether I get 00:28:14.019 --> 00:28:15.859 a job or not. I can take the steps. I can do 00:28:15.859 --> 00:28:17.920 those things. If God wants me to get a job, I'm 00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:19.259 going to get a job. If God doesn't want me to 00:28:19.259 --> 00:28:21.480 get a job, I'm not going to get a job. Even if 00:28:21.480 --> 00:28:23.839 I do everything I'm supposed to. If God wants 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:25.279 me to have enough money to pay my bills, then 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:26.500 I'm going to have enough money to pay my bills. 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:28.240 And if he doesn't, then I'm not going to. See, 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:31.019 there's peace in that. Peace in letting the outcome 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:34.680 not be on you. You still have to do all the things 00:28:34.680 --> 00:28:37.240 you're supposed to do, but putting the outcome 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:40.019 on him yields peace. And there, of course, is 00:28:40.019 --> 00:28:41.539 a lot more in those verses that we could unpack. 00:28:42.039 --> 00:28:44.839 But we're using it for that right now. So you're 00:28:44.839 --> 00:28:46.900 going to pray with that person, not just for 00:28:46.900 --> 00:28:52.099 that person. And then the next one, you're going 00:28:52.099 --> 00:28:55.579 to normalize. That's a big word. You probably 00:28:55.579 --> 00:28:57.960 wouldn't have guessed that with a million tries. 00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:04.920 Normalize expressing, expressing, E -X -P -R 00:29:04.920 --> 00:29:11.329 -E -S -S -I -N -G, expressing. So they're talking 00:29:11.329 --> 00:29:14.029 about grief. And people who are going through 00:29:14.029 --> 00:29:16.869 grief go through a phase of denial. They go through 00:29:16.869 --> 00:29:19.029 a phase of anger. And they go through a phase 00:29:19.029 --> 00:29:22.150 of blame. And when you're facing tribulations, 00:29:22.230 --> 00:29:24.069 you'll go through phases just like you're going 00:29:24.069 --> 00:29:25.950 through grief. Even though it might not be grief. 00:29:26.029 --> 00:29:27.849 That might not be the tribulation. It might be 00:29:27.849 --> 00:29:31.349 something else. So the point is, you're going 00:29:31.349 --> 00:29:34.089 to normalize expressing what they're going through. 00:29:34.250 --> 00:29:38.579 Tell them it's okay. to say what they're experiencing. 00:29:40.339 --> 00:29:44.960 But the goal, notice, is to express that grief 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:47.640 to God. So it shouldn't just be, I'm going around 00:29:47.640 --> 00:29:51.160 telling all my friends, or I'll tell my counselor, 00:29:51.259 --> 00:29:54.299 but I won't tell anybody else. It should be expressing 00:29:54.299 --> 00:29:57.680 the grief to God. And you want to show that that's 00:29:57.680 --> 00:29:59.880 normal. You can say, well, I'm here with Bob, 00:30:00.019 --> 00:30:03.440 I'm feeling pain, and you pray to God, God help 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:05.079 me, this pain that I'm feeling, this hurt that 00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:07.769 I'm feeling for Bob, It's so much. I know it's 00:30:07.769 --> 00:30:09.130 not as much as what Bob's going through right 00:30:09.130 --> 00:30:11.910 now, but please help me to deal with this pain. 00:30:12.109 --> 00:30:13.930 Help me to deal with this struggle. Help me to 00:30:13.930 --> 00:30:16.170 have wisdom and strength here today. And now 00:30:16.170 --> 00:30:18.809 they see your example, right? You didn't pray 00:30:18.809 --> 00:30:21.630 for Bob. You prayed for yourself. But they see 00:30:21.630 --> 00:30:25.089 your example. Now, ultimately, they need to get 00:30:25.089 --> 00:30:26.869 to the point where they can express their grief 00:30:26.869 --> 00:30:32.609 to God. Okay? And then the next part says, peace. 00:30:35.120 --> 00:30:40.180 Often. That is C -A -S. Anybody have a, want 00:30:40.180 --> 00:30:45.980 to take a guess? Comes. Peace often comes. It's 00:30:45.980 --> 00:30:52.119 after. Peace often comes after. Think about the 00:30:52.119 --> 00:30:57.279 Bible. Peace often comes after. Yes, but we're 00:30:57.279 --> 00:30:59.220 looking, we're thinking simpler. Say it again. 00:31:01.140 --> 00:31:03.259 The peace kind of is serenity, sort of like that. 00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:06.980 It's surrender. The word is surrender. And Jane, 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:08.539 you were on the right track because salvation 00:31:08.539 --> 00:31:12.339 is surrender, right? But it's surrender of your 00:31:12.339 --> 00:31:14.779 eternal condition, your whole self, so you can 00:31:14.779 --> 00:31:17.500 be saved. In theory, hopefully we're talking 00:31:17.500 --> 00:31:19.539 about a saved person. But if you're not talking 00:31:19.539 --> 00:31:21.440 about a saved person, then I would go to salvation 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:23.420 then at that point. But if you're talking about 00:31:23.420 --> 00:31:24.920 a saved person that's going through tribulations, 00:31:25.119 --> 00:31:29.200 then you're talking about surrender, right? Notice 00:31:29.200 --> 00:31:33.000 peace often comes after surrender, not, what 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:42.200 do you think that E is? It's explanation. So 00:31:42.200 --> 00:31:46.640 during trials, tribulations, and struggles, everybody 00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:51.700 wants to understand. And if you would understand, 00:31:52.259 --> 00:31:55.400 like you can get down to every variable. Well, 00:31:55.519 --> 00:31:58.519 this happened because... When Bob was younger, 00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:01.440 Bob did this, this, and this, and now they said 00:32:01.440 --> 00:32:03.539 that affected his heart. Nobody ever knew. He 00:32:03.539 --> 00:32:07.079 passed away at 45 because these are the factors. 00:32:07.339 --> 00:32:12.180 Or when the company closed down, the reason the 00:32:12.180 --> 00:32:14.140 company closed down is because they invested 00:32:14.140 --> 00:32:16.180 in these properties, and the properties all went 00:32:16.180 --> 00:32:20.539 under, and now the company didn't have the money 00:32:20.539 --> 00:32:22.779 to pay their bills. They started not paying their 00:32:22.779 --> 00:32:24.500 employees, and the employees were suing them. 00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:26.559 Understanding all that is not going to bring 00:32:26.559 --> 00:32:29.420 you peace. Understanding the details of why somebody 00:32:29.420 --> 00:32:31.519 died, why did they get cancer? They got cancer 00:32:31.519 --> 00:32:32.940 because they smoked from the time they were nine. 00:32:33.579 --> 00:32:35.319 There's no peace in that. Is there peace in that? 00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:40.000 Where's the peace? At best, you could say, well, 00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:42.420 I guess that means I probably won't get cancer 00:32:42.420 --> 00:32:44.059 because I didn't smoke from the time I'm nine. 00:32:44.099 --> 00:32:45.660 But now I still have to deal with the loss of 00:32:45.660 --> 00:32:48.740 my loved one or my job or whatever. There's no 00:32:48.740 --> 00:32:52.160 peace in it. Peace comes after surrender. Most 00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:53.779 of the time. It's not always, but most of the 00:32:53.779 --> 00:32:56.099 time. So once you turn it over to God, that's 00:32:56.099 --> 00:32:58.720 when you get the peace. Not the understanding. 00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:02.539 And the truth is, there's a question after a 00:33:02.539 --> 00:33:05.059 question after a question after a question. Like, 00:33:05.059 --> 00:33:06.740 if it came out, he smoked since he was nine, 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:08.480 well then why back in the 50s did they let everybody 00:33:08.480 --> 00:33:11.380 start smoking when they were nine? Why was it 00:33:11.380 --> 00:33:14.579 like that? Why is smoking not illegal? That's 00:33:14.579 --> 00:33:16.619 a question that you can't answer. I mean, you 00:33:16.619 --> 00:33:20.000 can, but there's no real answer. Alright? So 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:25.019 we're on four. It says point to God's purpose. 00:33:26.440 --> 00:33:30.619 Without going in there, do we know what is God's 00:33:30.619 --> 00:33:36.640 main purpose for trials and tribulations? Yes, 00:33:36.940 --> 00:33:40.180 to teach, to learn. But not to learn specific 00:33:40.180 --> 00:33:43.259 lessons that are attached to those trials. Let's 00:33:43.259 --> 00:33:47.019 go to the very first one. The T is trials. And 00:33:47.019 --> 00:33:58.390 then it says equals what? Kind of, but... Say 00:33:58.390 --> 00:34:02.309 it again. That's true, but that's not what we're 00:34:02.309 --> 00:34:06.470 looking for. The Bible says that trials eventually 00:34:06.470 --> 00:34:10.349 equals steadfastness. And that's a weird word, 00:34:10.429 --> 00:34:13.969 so it's okay. Steadfastness. And steadfastness 00:34:13.969 --> 00:34:21.769 means you stick. You stay the course. So I'm 00:34:21.769 --> 00:34:23.389 going to give you like a real life example. Let's 00:34:23.389 --> 00:34:28.530 say you wanted to run a marathon in 2028. What 00:34:28.530 --> 00:34:33.730 are some things you might do? Train, prepare, 00:34:34.170 --> 00:34:40.510 practice, eat right, hydrate, sleep. As it got 00:34:40.510 --> 00:34:43.090 closer, you probably would work less and run 00:34:43.090 --> 00:34:47.070 more, right? So the main idea of a marathon, 00:34:47.150 --> 00:34:51.380 you've got to run 26 miles. And lots of people 00:34:51.380 --> 00:34:53.539 set out to run a marathon of 26 miles and never 00:34:53.539 --> 00:34:58.179 do it. They'll quit at 20 or 10, right? Because 00:34:58.179 --> 00:35:01.679 they just don't know what kind of steadfastness 00:35:01.679 --> 00:35:04.059 it's going to take to do that. And that marathon 00:35:04.059 --> 00:35:05.659 then becomes a picture of all kinds of things. 00:35:05.719 --> 00:35:07.880 What if you wanted to start a business? You know, 00:35:07.940 --> 00:35:09.480 I'm going to start a business and my business 00:35:09.480 --> 00:35:12.059 is going to do X and I'm eventually going to 00:35:12.059 --> 00:35:15.170 make $50 ,000 a year. through this business. 00:35:15.190 --> 00:35:16.730 It might take me 20 years, but I'm going to get 00:35:16.730 --> 00:35:18.409 there. And I'm going to turn it over to my kids 00:35:18.409 --> 00:35:20.550 when I die. And they're going to start out with 00:35:20.550 --> 00:35:23.050 a business making $50 ,000 a year. And that's 00:35:23.050 --> 00:35:24.869 your vision. But it's going to take 20 years 00:35:24.869 --> 00:35:27.150 to get there. That's going to take steadfastness. 00:35:27.210 --> 00:35:29.650 You have to stay the course. So the time between, 00:35:29.750 --> 00:35:33.630 let's say you're going to run a marathon in 2028 00:35:33.630 --> 00:35:35.269 and you start doing all those things you said 00:35:35.269 --> 00:35:37.800 you were going to do. And so every day you're 00:35:37.800 --> 00:35:38.960 getting up and you're eating right, drinking 00:35:38.960 --> 00:35:40.679 plenty of water, going to bed on time, getting 00:35:40.679 --> 00:35:43.380 up on time, and you're working out the muscles 00:35:43.380 --> 00:35:45.239 that you'll need, and you're losing weight, slimming 00:35:45.239 --> 00:35:47.179 down, adding muscle mass, doing all those things, 00:35:47.239 --> 00:35:49.239 right? And then about three months from now, 00:35:49.400 --> 00:35:53.639 you stop doing those things. And about three 00:35:53.639 --> 00:35:55.579 months later, you start doing them again, and 00:35:55.579 --> 00:35:57.260 about three months later, you stop doing them. 00:35:57.780 --> 00:35:59.860 And the last year before the marathon, you just 00:35:59.860 --> 00:36:02.559 kind of do it periodically, a little bit, here 00:36:02.559 --> 00:36:05.139 and there. How do you think the marathon's going 00:36:05.139 --> 00:36:08.260 to go? Not great. You think you're going to be 00:36:08.260 --> 00:36:10.199 one of the people that stops at 15 miles or 20 00:36:10.199 --> 00:36:12.519 miles? On the other hand, if you put yourself 00:36:12.519 --> 00:36:14.960 through those trials between now and 2028 and 00:36:14.960 --> 00:36:18.039 you never stop eating right, never stop sleeping 00:36:18.039 --> 00:36:19.920 right, never stop drinking plenty of water, never 00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:21.980 stop working out every day, you go to run one 00:36:21.980 --> 00:36:23.679 mile in a month, you're running a mile a day. 00:36:23.820 --> 00:36:25.599 In six months, you're running five miles a day. 00:36:25.739 --> 00:36:28.059 In a year, you're running 10 miles a day. And 00:36:28.059 --> 00:36:29.639 in a year and a half, you're running 20 miles 00:36:29.639 --> 00:36:32.159 a day. And the marathon comes and you're going 00:36:32.159 --> 00:36:34.340 to run the whole marathon. Because trials... 00:36:35.289 --> 00:36:38.030 Equals steadfastness. What you put yourself through. 00:36:38.190 --> 00:36:41.889 Makes you able to stay the course. And in this 00:36:41.889 --> 00:36:44.730 case it's what God allows us to go through. Trials 00:36:44.730 --> 00:36:48.289 equals steadfastness. Okay. And then the G there 00:36:48.289 --> 00:36:54.269 is growth. And it's growth without denying pain. 00:36:54.869 --> 00:36:58.650 So the purpose of the trial. There is a point 00:36:58.650 --> 00:37:02.420 here. And we're pointing to God's purpose of 00:37:02.420 --> 00:37:04.400 the trial. The purpose of the trial is growth. 00:37:05.300 --> 00:37:08.039 But we're not telling you you can't have pain. 00:37:08.559 --> 00:37:12.739 It's fine to have the pain. But down the road, 00:37:12.780 --> 00:37:14.539 you're not going to allow the pain to stop you. 00:37:15.480 --> 00:37:18.780 Growth without pain. Without denying the pain. 00:37:19.739 --> 00:37:22.300 And then we have a certain kind of perspective. 00:37:23.280 --> 00:37:30.179 The E is what? Effort, presence, bubbly perspective. 00:37:30.599 --> 00:37:35.619 No. Sorry. It's eternal. Eternal perspective 00:37:35.619 --> 00:37:39.559 over temporary suffering. So we've got to think 00:37:39.559 --> 00:37:42.239 about how as much as this sucks right now and 00:37:42.239 --> 00:37:44.159 we're really experiencing pain and like that, 00:37:44.280 --> 00:37:47.039 we're going somewhere. God's taking us somewhere 00:37:47.039 --> 00:37:50.940 where all of this will be gone. All the tears 00:37:50.940 --> 00:37:52.760 we're experiencing now, someday we're going to 00:37:52.760 --> 00:37:55.159 be in a place where there's no tears. All the 00:37:55.159 --> 00:37:56.420 pain and suffering that we're going through now, 00:37:56.480 --> 00:37:59.019 someday we're going to be beyond it, past it, 00:37:59.099 --> 00:38:02.099 right? And we're thinking about eternal perspective. 00:38:02.340 --> 00:38:05.059 So we want steadfastness. Because if all the 00:38:05.059 --> 00:38:07.900 suffering goes out of your life, in a few years, 00:38:08.059 --> 00:38:11.320 you won't be living for God. That's just a reality. 00:38:11.559 --> 00:38:13.360 You say, no, I will because I believe in Jesus 00:38:13.360 --> 00:38:15.199 and the Holy Spirit and blah, blah, blah, blah, 00:38:15.239 --> 00:38:19.119 blah. Okay, but biblically speaking, trials equal 00:38:19.119 --> 00:38:23.090 steadfastness. So if there are no trials, You 00:38:23.090 --> 00:38:25.030 wouldn't be living for God. You don't need to. 00:38:25.210 --> 00:38:27.570 You don't want to. You won't have that. You'll 00:38:27.570 --> 00:38:30.150 be embracing the things that are going on. You'll 00:38:30.150 --> 00:38:33.030 be driving one of your 17 Lamborghinis, living 00:38:33.030 --> 00:38:36.190 in your 40 ,000 square foot house, running your 00:38:36.190 --> 00:38:40.050 businesses, or on the floor with your grandkids. 00:38:40.170 --> 00:38:42.289 But would you be going to church? Would you be 00:38:42.289 --> 00:38:44.269 giving 10 % of your income? Would you be serving? 00:38:44.469 --> 00:38:49.010 Would you be cleaning up puke? Would you be flushing 00:38:49.010 --> 00:38:51.170 toilets? You say, well, no, I'm not going to 00:38:51.170 --> 00:38:52.690 do any of that because I'm a multi -billionaire. 00:38:52.690 --> 00:38:55.170 I'll just pay people to do that. Yeah, see? But 00:38:55.170 --> 00:38:56.909 if those are things that God calls you to do, 00:38:56.929 --> 00:38:58.650 you wouldn't be doing any of them. Eternal perspective 00:38:58.650 --> 00:39:02.230 over temporary suffering. And then trials equals 00:39:02.230 --> 00:39:06.309 shaping, not punishment. So as we're with them, 00:39:06.329 --> 00:39:08.969 we do not want to be saying, even if a person 00:39:08.969 --> 00:39:12.530 sinned against God and the sin is clearly what's 00:39:12.530 --> 00:39:15.349 causing their punishment. Right? They clearly 00:39:15.349 --> 00:39:18.380 sinned. They're clearly paying for it. It's not 00:39:18.380 --> 00:39:20.460 your job to sit there and go, you clearly sinned, 00:39:20.500 --> 00:39:22.320 you're clearly paying for it. You just got to 00:39:22.320 --> 00:39:25.380 wait it out. That is not the goal. We need to 00:39:25.380 --> 00:39:28.400 think of it as shaping. We're learning from this. 00:39:28.440 --> 00:39:30.699 We're growing beyond this. We're staying the 00:39:30.699 --> 00:39:35.420 course. And then, of course, encourage hope and 00:39:35.420 --> 00:39:38.639 prayer and lament. It is completely okay to lament 00:39:38.639 --> 00:39:43.000 the fact that God is punishing you for sin. If 00:39:43.000 --> 00:39:45.099 you don't do that, you're not being very realistic. 00:39:45.920 --> 00:39:48.079 Right? You're like, but I'm mad. I'm upset. I'm 00:39:48.079 --> 00:39:51.179 sad that God is punishing me. Like when a child 00:39:51.179 --> 00:39:54.679 lies and then gets a spanking, are they supposed 00:39:54.679 --> 00:39:56.900 to be happy while they're getting spanked? I'm 00:39:56.900 --> 00:39:58.320 going to spank you now. This is going to hurt 00:39:58.320 --> 00:40:01.000 me more than it hurts you. Don't you dare frown 00:40:01.000 --> 00:40:03.840 at me. Don't you dare cry. I mean, they're getting 00:40:03.840 --> 00:40:07.619 a spanking. They should be upset. Right? And 00:40:07.619 --> 00:40:10.860 if they're laughing and smiling, we think, oh, 00:40:10.920 --> 00:40:13.980 well, they're not really concerned. I don't have 00:40:13.980 --> 00:40:16.440 to spank them harder. Or call it a better punishment. 00:40:16.719 --> 00:40:22.340 Right? Alright. Now we're on five. Less blanks 00:40:22.340 --> 00:40:24.619 from here on out. We're on the down slope. Walk 00:40:24.619 --> 00:40:30.400 with them toward hope and restoration. Remember 00:40:30.400 --> 00:40:33.860 this is all compassionate presence. That was 00:40:33.860 --> 00:40:35.880 where we started at. We're trying to anchor them 00:40:35.880 --> 00:40:38.380 in God's goodness. Encourage hope and prayer 00:40:38.380 --> 00:40:41.500 and lament. Point to God's purposes for what 00:40:41.500 --> 00:40:44.449 they're going through. Not specific purposes, 00:40:44.590 --> 00:40:48.309 but shaping to have an eternal perspective, that 00:40:48.309 --> 00:40:52.329 they would grow, have steadfastness. And then 00:40:52.329 --> 00:40:54.889 we're going to walk with them toward hope and 00:40:54.889 --> 00:40:58.070 restoration. Anybody want to read Isaiah 40, 00:40:58.170 --> 00:41:00.550 31? There's another one that some people memorize. 00:41:05.329 --> 00:41:07.809 And then somebody else can get Revelation 24. 00:41:16.650 --> 00:41:26.829 Now I'll grab Galatians 6 .9. If somebody's got 00:41:26.829 --> 00:41:34.489 it, just let me know. Isaiah 40 .31 first. Yet 00:41:34.489 --> 00:41:36.789 those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. 00:41:37.050 --> 00:41:39.590 They will mount up with wings like eagles. They 00:41:39.590 --> 00:41:42.250 will run and not get tired. They will walk and 00:41:42.250 --> 00:41:45.519 not become weary. Okay, so one action point, 00:41:45.619 --> 00:41:50.480 exactly one. Did you catch it? Wait for the Lord. 00:41:51.960 --> 00:41:55.579 If you wait for the Lord, then you get stronger. 00:41:57.099 --> 00:42:02.139 You're more able. And you'll go on. You'll have 00:42:02.139 --> 00:42:06.079 steadfastness. So it is our job to walk with 00:42:06.079 --> 00:42:09.079 them toward hope and restoration. That's what 00:42:09.079 --> 00:42:13.030 we want to do. And say, look, this sucks. Not 00:42:13.030 --> 00:42:15.489 denying your pain, but there is an opportunity 00:42:15.489 --> 00:42:20.090 coming. Just let me be quiet and just listen 00:42:20.090 --> 00:42:22.409 to that. Usually what happens is they spiral 00:42:22.409 --> 00:42:24.030 through. If it's grief, for example, they'll 00:42:24.030 --> 00:42:26.389 spiral through the different phases seven times, 00:42:26.530 --> 00:42:28.750 ten times, twenty times. And eventually they 00:42:28.750 --> 00:42:31.989 get tired. They wear themselves out. I'm tired 00:42:31.989 --> 00:42:34.489 of denying it. I guess it is true. I'm tired 00:42:34.489 --> 00:42:36.010 of being angry. That's not helping anything. 00:42:36.510 --> 00:42:38.030 And they're going to get down to like, okay, 00:42:38.070 --> 00:42:42.829 now what do I do? The key is to wait on the Lord. 00:42:44.210 --> 00:42:48.349 Okay. Revelation 21 .4. Kishon. Oh, go ahead. 00:42:48.429 --> 00:43:04.329 Go ahead. Amen. Kishon, you want to find Galatians 00:43:04.329 --> 00:43:10.380 6 .9? While he's doing that, I'll give you the 00:43:10.380 --> 00:43:14.219 blanks below it. It says, hope is not, you should 00:43:14.219 --> 00:43:18.000 know this one by now. Denial of pain. Exactly. 00:43:18.199 --> 00:43:23.400 Hope is not denial of pain. When you see somebody 00:43:23.400 --> 00:43:24.719 and they're struggling, they're in the pain, 00:43:24.840 --> 00:43:28.940 whatever, it does not mean that they cannot have 00:43:28.940 --> 00:43:33.280 hope. And that people will resist having hope 00:43:33.280 --> 00:43:35.079 because they say, but I'm hurting, but I'm hurting. 00:43:35.280 --> 00:43:37.940 It's okay to be hurting and also to have hope. 00:43:38.349 --> 00:43:41.469 You can do both. Okay, Kishon, you got it? Go 00:43:41.469 --> 00:43:54.449 ahead. Amen. So, I think this verse works both 00:43:54.449 --> 00:43:57.909 ways. It encourages us to stand in there and 00:43:57.909 --> 00:43:59.250 do the right thing with somebody who's suffering 00:43:59.250 --> 00:44:02.969 tribulation. It also encourages them to stay 00:44:02.969 --> 00:44:08.090 the course and to make it through. Okay? So it 00:44:08.090 --> 00:44:10.949 says there it is not about fixing. So if somebody 00:44:10.949 --> 00:44:13.510 complains to you that they're hurting, I get 00:44:13.510 --> 00:44:16.309 this frequently, where some people say, well, 00:44:16.349 --> 00:44:19.630 I don't have X. I don't have money. I don't have 00:44:19.630 --> 00:44:22.110 a job. I don't have a car. Things like that. 00:44:23.809 --> 00:44:26.269 And it seems like a pretty easy solution there 00:44:26.269 --> 00:44:29.909 would be to give them money, a car, a job, right? 00:44:29.949 --> 00:44:32.389 That's a pretty easy solution, right? Does that 00:44:32.389 --> 00:44:35.329 actually solve the problem, the real problem? 00:44:35.800 --> 00:44:39.239 Does it achieve the real goal? It does not. Because 00:44:39.239 --> 00:44:41.579 the trials equal steadfastness. But if you keep 00:44:41.579 --> 00:44:45.559 coming along and erasing the trials, no steadfastness 00:44:45.559 --> 00:44:48.440 develops. In fact, what actually winds up happening 00:44:48.440 --> 00:44:52.460 is people don't have any steadfastness. They 00:44:52.460 --> 00:44:56.760 leave behind what they have. And so it is not 00:44:56.760 --> 00:44:59.179 about fixing the problems or the suffering or 00:44:59.179 --> 00:45:02.420 the trials that they're going through. Sometimes 00:45:02.420 --> 00:45:05.719 it is. When it's a matter of surviving. If they 00:45:05.719 --> 00:45:08.539 have no food, for example. And providing them 00:45:08.539 --> 00:45:11.059 with food is a very good thing. But the best 00:45:11.059 --> 00:45:12.739 thing to provide them with is your presence. 00:45:13.099 --> 00:45:16.000 Well, I don't have a car with you that I can 00:45:16.000 --> 00:45:17.480 give you, but I'm not going to abandon you either. 00:45:17.739 --> 00:45:20.000 Nor is God. Just because you don't have a car 00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:21.739 and I can't give you a car doesn't mean we can't 00:45:21.739 --> 00:45:26.880 win in this situation. Right? And then you walk 00:45:26.880 --> 00:45:31.380 beside them while God does redemptive work. So 00:45:31.380 --> 00:45:33.519 we're going to walk it out. So usually when people 00:45:33.519 --> 00:45:35.000 are struggling with transportation issues, I 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:38.199 usually say, well, I can get you to church Tuesdays 00:45:38.199 --> 00:45:43.019 and Sundays. I'll pick you up. Doctor's appointments 00:45:43.019 --> 00:45:45.260 sometimes. Here's ways you can get doctor's appointments. 00:45:46.840 --> 00:45:48.119 Here's ways you can get to the grocery store. 00:45:48.619 --> 00:45:52.980 But I don't say, well, here's a car. People are 00:45:52.980 --> 00:45:55.059 looking for a job. Then I help them search for 00:45:55.059 --> 00:45:56.800 a job. I don't have a job. All of a sudden, we'll 00:45:56.800 --> 00:45:59.099 help them search for a job. And I might give 00:45:59.099 --> 00:46:02.769 references. Do you have clothes for the interview? 00:46:03.250 --> 00:46:06.269 You know, things like that. People are grieving 00:46:06.269 --> 00:46:09.150 the loss of a loved one. You can't bring their 00:46:09.150 --> 00:46:12.349 loved one back. Revenge won't do it. You can't 00:46:12.349 --> 00:46:14.510 punish the person that killed them. None of that's 00:46:14.510 --> 00:46:16.369 going to help. But you can be there with them 00:46:16.369 --> 00:46:18.469 and walk beside them as God does his redemptive 00:46:18.469 --> 00:46:20.789 work. And then you'll notice there is a little 00:46:20.789 --> 00:46:22.769 box over on the right. Did you see it before 00:46:22.769 --> 00:46:25.969 you put your folder up? It says, stay engaged. 00:46:27.869 --> 00:46:31.679 Encourage healthy steps. Notice that God's final 00:46:31.679 --> 00:46:37.579 word is healing. Revelation 21, in the end, we 00:46:37.579 --> 00:46:42.119 are healed of all of it. People pray to be healed 00:46:42.119 --> 00:46:45.039 so they can walk in heaven, they dance. Or fly. 00:46:45.480 --> 00:46:47.840 When the new heaven and new earth comes, they'll 00:46:47.840 --> 00:46:49.139 disappear in one place and appear in another. 00:46:49.420 --> 00:46:51.480 They'll only walk if they feel like walking. 00:46:51.800 --> 00:46:53.619 And fly if they feel like flying. Otherwise, 00:46:53.679 --> 00:46:54.920 they'll just be in one place and then be somewhere 00:46:54.920 --> 00:46:56.820 else. Because they'll have completely new bodies 00:46:56.820 --> 00:47:01.429 that are like that. There is a final word of 00:47:01.429 --> 00:47:04.610 healing that is coming. Even in this lifetime, 00:47:04.909 --> 00:47:09.210 Job, the devil, worked through circumstances 00:47:09.210 --> 00:47:13.090 to take everything he had. And in the end, because 00:47:13.090 --> 00:47:15.869 Job stayed steadfast through all trials, God 00:47:15.869 --> 00:47:18.369 gave him back everything he had multiple times 00:47:18.369 --> 00:47:21.090 over. And you see that all throughout the Bible. 00:47:21.369 --> 00:47:25.090 So God's final word is healing. If you live long 00:47:25.090 --> 00:47:27.889 enough, you will overcome the trouble that you're 00:47:27.889 --> 00:47:31.010 going through right now. And not only that, but 00:47:31.010 --> 00:47:32.929 then you can use this that you've been through 00:47:32.929 --> 00:47:37.889 to help others and do the same thing. Okay? Questions? 00:47:41.510 --> 00:47:47.070 Concerns? Alright. I'm going to... So, the teenagers 00:47:47.070 --> 00:47:49.570 18 and under... See how I did that, Natalie? 00:47:50.929 --> 00:47:55.010 And soon Mike. I'll be 18 soon, right? If you 00:47:55.010 --> 00:47:56.969 meet me by the prize bin in the office, I have 00:47:56.969 --> 00:48:00.239 prizes. I'll give you prizes. Instead of throwing 00:48:00.239 --> 00:48:03.460 candy today. And then we have chips and dip in 00:48:03.460 --> 00:48:08.059 the cafeteria. Praise the Lord. Homemade dip. 00:48:09.360 --> 00:48:12.500 Slightly more chaotically made than was intended, 00:48:12.679 --> 00:48:13.400 but effective.