WEBVTT

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One day you'll understand, and I'll say it one

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more time Thank you. You are my God, Jesus. I

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will shout your name before the earth. I will

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lift your name on high. I will show the world

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your goodness. As I live my life, I shout your

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name. As I live my life, Good morning. Good morning.

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Good morning. Thank you all for coming this morning.

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So a couple announcements. Football players and

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watchers. Spectators. The game will be going

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on as planned regardless of weather. So bundle

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up. Bring your rain poncho. It'll be a lot of

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fun. So the game starts at 530. Coaches arrive

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at 5. Players at 515. um if you've seen on what

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is it the hall what is it called hall of a lot

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of fun so on october 31st um opposite trick -or

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-treat time we will have uh our what is normally

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like our fall festival is going to be in the

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hallway it's called hull of a lot of fun um so

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it'll be candy and prizes and more candy all

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right and if i don't think there's any more announcements

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am i missing anything All right. Mr. Michael

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Brister, will you open us up in prayer, please?

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Father God, I want to thank you for this time

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we've come together to worship you and learn

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more about you, God. As you bring us to our services,

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as we continue to worship you and teach you as

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a young kid, as this dedication has been taking

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place, God, I ask that you bless that and bless

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the family. All right, if you'd like to stand

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and sing with us, we have an oldie but a goodie,

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and then the next one after this is a new one,

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but I'm sure you've all heard it. in our day

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understands the concept of baby dedication not

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everybody who worships God in the church understands

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the concept of baby dedication baby dedication

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is not about making a baby into something that

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a baby wasn't yesterday it's not about making

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a baby holy it's not about making a baby clean

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or anything like that babies are innocent and

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clean and perfect in God's eyes already that's

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already been done I know that people are born

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into original sin, but there is an age of innocence

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in which these babies that we dedicate to God

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exist. Parenting is the problem, really. For

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those of you who are parents who have had experience

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with small children, you realize that parenting

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is the difficult part. Parenting is the part

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you've got to kind of figure out as you go along,

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especially when it's your first child. You've

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got to say, How on earth am I supposed to do

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this? In the middle of the night, when you're

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tired, when the baby's crying, it won't stop,

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you can't figure out why, you've been down your

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checklist, you've passed your limit. Parenting

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is the trouble, the difficulty, if you will.

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And that's really what baby dedication is about.

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Scripture doesn't define this as just like, is

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the baby dedicated or is the baby not dedicated?

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There are sort of like parameters. When I was

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younger, we used to play night ball tag in our

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yard, and the first thing we'd be doing when

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we'd get together to play night ball tag, someone

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would say, okay, what's the boundaries? What

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are the limits? How far can we go? Which neighbor's

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got a shotgun and comes out whenever someone's

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in their yard after dark when they're playing

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in their yard? How far can we go into the woods

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or past the woods, or can we go in the woods

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at all? Things like that. Scripture talks about

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parenting in the light of boundaries, parameters

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that are set up. I want to highlight just a few

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of those very briefly and very quickly. You can

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go and read the stories later and pick the principles

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out if you want to, but I'm going to just highlight

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a few of them. And they may surprise you a little

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bit. Scripture teaches us that when a baby is

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born into a family, that the story remains the

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parent's story. In fact, even as the baby grows,

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becomes a teenager and a young adult, it's still

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the parent's story. From the story of Jacob and

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Joseph, when Joseph is in Egypt and serving in

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front of Pharaoh, it is actually Jacob's story

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that's being told. All of Joseph's story is contained

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inside of Jacob's story. And then when Jacob

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arrives in Egypt, and as he grows to old age

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and he is trusting God and so on, eventually

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he sort of moves back out of the light and it

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becomes Joseph's story to a degree. So this story

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that's being told today, It's not really the

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child's story. It's part of the parent's story.

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However, these children can very much so pay

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the price for the actions of their parents inside

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their own story. 2 Samuel 12, David has sinned

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against God. And a child is born out of that

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sin. And the prophet Nathan comes to confront

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David. and David is told that the baby will die.

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That baby never did anything. That baby was innocent.

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That baby didn't sin against God. That baby was

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innocent. And yet, because of David's sin, the

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baby would die. So while the babies are inside

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the story of their parents, those babies, those

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children can very much, and we see this very

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real in the world today, those children can suffer

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because of the choices of their parents. And

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I submit to you that that extends to the immediate

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family, it extends to those who are influences

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in the lives of the child, which means it extends

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to the church. Preparing the child then becomes

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a huge and important step. Failure to prepare

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the child can actually bring about the end of

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the story of the adults in the life of the child.

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In the story of Moses, we know Moses, right?

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You may remember his story from Exodus 4. It

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doesn't begin there by any means, but God calls

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him out of the burning bush and says, I want

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you to go into Egypt and call my people out of

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Egypt. But the part of the story that you may

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not remember is they pick up, he and his wife

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pick up, and their baby, and they get ready to

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go into Egypt as commanded. And along the way,

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Moses meets God. depending on your translation

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of the Bible, whether it's God in person, and

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the original text simply says God, but we know

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that angels represent God, or whether it was

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an angel. But anyway, he meets the opposition

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of God. After God calls him out and says, go

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and do this, go into Egypt and save my people

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and call them out of Egypt, he meets God, and

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God is going to kill him. God commissions him

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and says, go and do it. And mind you, he did

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make some excuses and so on. But God says, okay,

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now you're going to go and do it. And then he

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meets God and God is going to kill him. And his

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wife quickly rushes, Zipporah, she quickly rushes

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to circumcise their child. And she throws the

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bloody foreskin of her child at the feet of Moses

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and Moses is spared. Failure to prepare your

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child to have a relationship with God. could

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bring an end to your story. Moses, the whole

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story, right? The ten plagues, the parting of

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the Red Sea, all of that is an amazing story.

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I mean, like some amazing actors have played

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Moses in amazing movies over the years. Amazing

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story. And all of it could have come to an end

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right there in the beginning if Moses and Zipporah

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had not prepared their baby for his relationship

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with God. One of the greatest steps that we're

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called to in the Bible is for our children to

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see us. Your child must see you. They probably

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see you in the midst of struggles eventually.

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As a parent, I have tried really hard not to

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let my children see me struggle. I don't talk

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to them about some of the things that people

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say to me or do in my presence or the difficulties

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of certain things that I face. I do, unfortunately

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for her, share that with my wife most of the

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time, but I don't share that with my children.

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And we have tried really hard not to let our

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children see us struggle. But the fact is, for

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all your efforts, they will eventually see you

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struggle. In Genesis 32, in the story of Jacob,

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Jacob wrestles with the angel all night long,

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and finally he sent his entire family across

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the river, sitting over there, and the sun comes

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up, and they see him still wrestling, and he

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has not won. He is still in the midst of his

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struggles. And he knows they're about to see

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him in the midst of his struggles. He knows that

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they're going to see him having wrestled all

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night long and not having won. And the angel

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entreats him and says, just let me go. It's fine.

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It's over. Just let me go. And Jacob says to

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the angel, no, I have not lost. Why shouldn't

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I win? And he continues to struggle. And he wins,

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in a sense. And God blesses him. But at the same

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time, the angel pinches his hip and he limps

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for the rest of his life. our children will eventually

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see us struggling. The young people in our lives

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will see you going through difficulties. And

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whether or not you are able to say that even

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though I am in the midst of the greatest trial

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of my life, why shouldn't I win? Why shouldn't

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I continue? Why shouldn't I persevere? Why shouldn't

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I get up again this time? It is crucially important

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that a child see that you are able to get up

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when you fall down. Otherwise, we may breed children

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Who think our lives are their story. We may end

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our story prematurely. Our children may pay the

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price for the things that we have done. And they

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may not learn to get up themselves when they

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face struggles. And they will. The creations,

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groanings, the struggles of men, the sins of

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this world, they are a reality. until Jesus comes

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again. This is the purpose for baby dedication.

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It is for us to remind ourselves, for us to entreat

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God and appeal to God and say, God, please, here

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you have blessed us for children are a heritage

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from the Lord, Psalm 127. Here you have given,

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despite what some people think, it is not man's

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choice whether children are born or not. It is

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God's choice. I know this very well. I have seen

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people who have tried and tried and tried and

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tried to have children and could not. And I've

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seen people who have tried and tried and tried

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not to have children and couldn't stop. It is

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God's choice. But we say, God, here is a child.

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We recognize she is our heritage from you. You

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have given her to us as a blessing. And we appeal

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to God to allow us. To work within these parameters

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that he has set forth. To be a light to this

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child. To be a light to each other. To be his

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representative. And to prepare her, in this case,

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for a relationship with him. That's what baby

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dedication is all about. That's why we gather

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today. To worship and honor God always. That's

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why we gather on Sunday. but truly to worship

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and honor God and praise Him and to appeal to

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Him, to have His will on earth as it is in heaven,

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that His kingdom may come. And so we proceed

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then to dedicate Rayleigh Jo Gribble, her life

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and her times, which we fully understand are

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a part of Chris and Carrie's story and a part

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of our story, unto God. At this time then, we're

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going to have the family, the extended family,

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and the godparents come forward. And so if those

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of you who are on the front row, you may want

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to move off the front row because you're going

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to be right in your face and the governor might

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get upset. And then we're going to kind of gather

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from here over. There's a number of folks. You'll

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need your script if you don't have it. Leave

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it at your seat and grab it. Okay, if you don't

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have a script, there are scripts out there. The

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goal is to make it through the script as readily

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as possible without having too many stops and

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miscues. Wherever you stand is fine. You're fine.

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They don't need me other than I'm going to read.

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That's all they need from me. All right. But

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we can see, and we are blessed to see already,

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because it's not just those who are standing

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in the front, but it's everyone in this room

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that God has put together a pretty amazing team

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for Rayleigh Joe. And aren't we blessed? Okay?

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So I will begin to read. I'm going to read the

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part that says Pastor Dan. The parents will read

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the part that says parents. If you're a member

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of the extended family, you will read the part

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that says extended family. If you're a member

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of the congregation, that is those who are gathered

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here today, then you would read that part. So

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that's everybody that's still in the chair right

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now, whoever you may be. If you are the godparents,

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you will read together the part that says godparents.

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And then we'll kind of start again with me. Right

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after I read, like a second later, we're going

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to start the next part. It's especially hard

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if you happen to be the godparents, for example,

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because you kind of need to be together. So right

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after the congregation reads, as soon as they're

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done, there's a silence of like one second, and

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then you read. And just in case anybody is nervous

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about public speaking, this is being recorded.

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So going out over the internet and all that good

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jazz. All right, here we go. Are we ready? Here

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we go. God has entrusted you with a magnificent

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responsibility. We lovingly accept this responsibility.

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We will help you. God has given you the gift

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of life. We will also protect and nurture this

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gift. We will help you. God expects you to teach

00:25:57.480 --> 00:26:00.440
a child through the example of a godly life.

00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:04.619
We will strive to live lives consistent with

00:26:04.619 --> 00:26:08.480
God's word before our child. We will also strive

00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:11.799
to live lives consistent with God's word before

00:26:11.799 --> 00:26:16.119
her. We will provide godly examples before the

00:26:16.119 --> 00:26:20.380
child as well. We will also strive to live lives

00:26:20.380 --> 00:26:23.640
consistent with God's word before her. Very good.

00:26:24.359 --> 00:26:27.579
A child is like a clean slate. A child must learn

00:26:27.579 --> 00:26:30.299
right from wrong and how to hear the direction

00:26:30.299 --> 00:26:33.980
of God. We dedicate ourselves to the teaching

00:26:33.980 --> 00:26:36.920
of the ways of Christ and the love of His church

00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:41.880
to our child. We will assist you. We will assist

00:26:41.880 --> 00:26:45.799
you as well. We will assist you as well. Okay,

00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:47.579
and then we're going to pray. I'm going to reach

00:26:47.579 --> 00:26:54.019
in here. Here we go. Pray with me. Father God,

00:26:54.099 --> 00:27:00.359
you have blessed us. In a day where someone might

00:27:00.359 --> 00:27:05.799
look around and see darkness, we see light. We

00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:10.460
see love and mercy and kindness and grace. We

00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:17.140
see your patience with men. We see beauty. We

00:27:17.140 --> 00:27:22.200
see that all bundled up in Rayleigh Joe. We see

00:27:22.200 --> 00:27:28.900
your investment in our stories, your gift, and

00:27:28.900 --> 00:27:32.799
we praise you for it. We adore you, Heavenly

00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:37.819
Father, because you have loved us, because you

00:27:37.819 --> 00:27:41.339
have given, because it is what we are created

00:27:41.339 --> 00:27:47.619
for. Thank you, God. At the same time, we confess

00:27:47.619 --> 00:27:52.920
a life is a long time. We realize that this dedication,

00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:55.420
this effort, these steps that we're taking today

00:27:55.420 --> 00:27:57.519
and the promises that we've made, the commitments,

00:27:57.619 --> 00:28:04.619
that they are very, very important. It's not

00:28:04.619 --> 00:28:12.220
like buying a house or even committing to ministry.

00:28:14.700 --> 00:28:17.279
It's more like committing to you. It's more like

00:28:17.279 --> 00:28:20.519
accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. It's right

00:28:20.519 --> 00:28:22.480
up there with the most important things we've

00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:27.099
ever done. And the truth is we stop and think

00:28:27.099 --> 00:28:29.200
about how we might have to make difficult choices

00:28:29.200 --> 00:28:32.559
to protect Rayleigh from seeing something that

00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:34.279
we don't want her to see or that we don't understand

00:28:34.279 --> 00:28:37.180
or that she won't understand. That we might have

00:28:37.180 --> 00:28:39.539
to preserve her innocence through great effort.

00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:43.420
That we might have to protect her from the wiles

00:28:43.420 --> 00:28:48.779
of this world. Lord, we know we need your help.

00:28:49.640 --> 00:28:52.480
We are entreating you today to bless this child

00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:55.859
and the people that would come on her behalf.

00:28:56.740 --> 00:28:59.940
Help us, God, to divorce ourselves, to just let

00:28:59.940 --> 00:29:02.519
go of those things that would hold us back from

00:29:02.519 --> 00:29:05.920
honoring these commitments. And we know we need

00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:09.039
your help. We thank you again for this beautiful

00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:12.000
gift and for the army of folks that you have

00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:14.240
put in this world who love this child and are

00:29:14.240 --> 00:29:17.779
willing to stand up for her. And we ask you,

00:29:17.799 --> 00:29:21.920
Lord, We ask You for our nation, for our people,

00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:24.000
for people who are hurting, for people who are

00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:26.420
struggling. We ask You for ourselves and not

00:29:26.420 --> 00:29:29.119
in a selfish way. We ask You, Lord, to let us

00:29:29.119 --> 00:29:35.220
represent You well in our lives which You've

00:29:35.220 --> 00:29:37.960
now made Rayleigh Jo a part of. We ask You to

00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:39.640
bless her from the top of her head to the bottom

00:29:39.640 --> 00:29:41.539
of her toes and that's a distance that will be

00:29:41.539 --> 00:29:45.140
growing for a long time. And with every breath

00:29:45.140 --> 00:29:47.680
and with every bit of growth, we pray that You'll

00:29:48.220 --> 00:29:52.019
You'll fill her up, show her love, and give her

00:29:52.019 --> 00:29:56.539
strength. We pray for Carrie. We pray for Chris.

00:29:57.220 --> 00:29:59.619
We pray, Lord, for a Holy Spirit power to be

00:29:59.619 --> 00:30:04.480
the parents that they truly desire to be. And

00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:08.099
then we pray for the true desire to be the parents

00:30:08.099 --> 00:30:12.799
that Your Holy Spirit can make them. Help us,

00:30:12.819 --> 00:30:16.539
God. We know that it's just what You want to

00:30:16.539 --> 00:30:22.420
do. And we're claiming your promises today. We

00:30:22.420 --> 00:30:26.259
pray all this in Jesus' name. And all God's people

00:30:26.259 --> 00:30:29.259
said? Amen. Thank you very much. You can be seated.

00:47:36.880 --> 00:47:38.260
I feel like the sermon's already been preached

00:47:38.260 --> 00:47:44.739
today. He's been so good. So we're going to do

00:47:44.739 --> 00:47:46.679
something a little bit differently. Something

00:47:46.679 --> 00:47:49.340
different I don't do very often. I don't know

00:47:49.340 --> 00:47:51.460
if I've ever done it before. In just a moment,

00:47:51.519 --> 00:47:52.940
I'm going to give you all three points of the

00:47:52.940 --> 00:47:56.380
sermon in advance. And so if somebody had to

00:47:56.380 --> 00:47:58.099
sneak out, they'd have the most important parts

00:47:58.099 --> 00:48:00.320
already taken care of. But we're going to do

00:48:00.320 --> 00:48:02.179
that in just a moment. First, I want to tell

00:48:02.179 --> 00:48:04.340
you a story that the Lord laid on my heart as

00:48:04.340 --> 00:48:06.139
I was looking at this passage of Scripture today.

00:48:06.650 --> 00:48:08.210
And I had totally forgotten about it. This is

00:48:08.210 --> 00:48:11.090
a true life experience. So when I was about 11,

00:48:11.190 --> 00:48:13.389
12 years old, my parents and I, my mother and

00:48:13.389 --> 00:48:16.050
my father, drove to Fort Wayne, Indiana. There

00:48:16.050 --> 00:48:19.010
used to be a mall in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I don't

00:48:19.010 --> 00:48:21.369
know if it's still there or not. I know last

00:48:21.369 --> 00:48:24.030
time I was there, which was a good 15, 20 years

00:48:24.030 --> 00:48:25.610
ago, it had pretty well emptied out, so it may

00:48:25.610 --> 00:48:29.469
not still be there. But in this day, it was still

00:48:29.469 --> 00:48:31.769
there, and it was a double -story mall. It was

00:48:31.769 --> 00:48:33.610
two stories. The mall had a lower story, which

00:48:33.610 --> 00:48:38.199
was partly underground, you know five six feet

00:48:38.199 --> 00:48:39.599
above ground and then a higher story that was

00:48:39.599 --> 00:48:41.539
on top of that and so it even looked like two

00:48:41.539 --> 00:48:43.539
stories from the street and in the middle of

00:48:43.539 --> 00:48:46.460
the mall and the one part was a skating rink

00:48:46.460 --> 00:48:48.199
they had a huge skating rink in the middle of

00:48:48.199 --> 00:48:50.460
this mall and around it was the food court tons

00:48:50.460 --> 00:48:52.780
of different kinds of food and stuff and then

00:48:52.780 --> 00:48:54.980
around the mall not in the mall or in the parking

00:48:54.980 --> 00:48:56.900
lot but near the mall was a couple flea markets

00:48:56.900 --> 00:48:59.500
and so we would drive to fort wayne indiana and

00:48:59.500 --> 00:49:00.940
we would go visit the flea markets and then we'd

00:49:00.940 --> 00:49:02.719
go to the mall and we'd walk around the mall

00:49:02.719 --> 00:49:05.980
it was cool it's a really big mall We never skated

00:49:05.980 --> 00:49:07.619
in the skating rink, but we ate in the food court

00:49:07.619 --> 00:49:10.599
an awful lot. On this particular time, my parents

00:49:10.599 --> 00:49:12.559
and I went. I didn't take a friend along, which

00:49:12.559 --> 00:49:14.219
turned out to be a good thing. We were driving

00:49:14.219 --> 00:49:18.019
a little, it was called a Horizon. It was a little

00:49:18.019 --> 00:49:20.760
hatchback car called a Horizon. Interesting thing

00:49:20.760 --> 00:49:23.079
about those Horizon hatchbacks is that in the

00:49:23.079 --> 00:49:25.000
middle of the transmission, as best as my understanding,

00:49:25.099 --> 00:49:26.980
I'm not a big automotive person, but in the middle

00:49:26.980 --> 00:49:31.219
of the transmission was a plastic gear. and at

00:49:31.219 --> 00:49:32.900
a certain number of miles, it was relatively

00:49:32.900 --> 00:49:36.559
common for that gear to go bad. And that's what

00:49:36.559 --> 00:49:38.940
happened to us. As we were arriving in Fort Wayne,

00:49:39.019 --> 00:49:42.219
Indiana that day at about noon, 1 o 'clock, something

00:49:42.219 --> 00:49:45.000
like that, on a Sunday afternoon, my parents

00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:48.059
did not do church. I didn't get saved until I

00:49:48.059 --> 00:49:50.860
was 25 years old, so this is a long time before

00:49:50.860 --> 00:49:53.920
that. And we arrived about noon on a Sunday,

00:49:54.099 --> 00:49:57.900
and already the car was acting up. And so we

00:49:57.900 --> 00:50:00.360
went all over town looking for a mechanic who

00:50:00.360 --> 00:50:01.960
could look at the car and figure out why it was

00:50:01.960 --> 00:50:03.480
acting up. We stopped at a bunch of different

00:50:03.480 --> 00:50:06.179
places, and lo and behold, as probably doesn't

00:50:06.179 --> 00:50:07.980
come as a real surprise to anybody, there were

00:50:07.980 --> 00:50:11.420
no mechanics open on Sunday at noon or 1 or 2

00:50:11.420 --> 00:50:15.139
o 'clock. And so we ate, and we skipped all the

00:50:15.139 --> 00:50:18.780
flea marketing and so on. And then about 3 o

00:50:18.780 --> 00:50:20.599
'clock in the afternoon, my dad said, well, it

00:50:20.599 --> 00:50:22.400
could take us forever to get home at this rate

00:50:22.400 --> 00:50:25.280
because the car would only go so fast. and every

00:50:25.280 --> 00:50:27.360
time it would try to shift up out of second gear.

00:50:27.940 --> 00:50:29.760
Sometimes it would, sometimes it wouldn't, and

00:50:29.760 --> 00:50:31.019
then it would try to go out of third gear. It

00:50:31.019 --> 00:50:32.760
would never go out of third gear, so best to

00:50:32.760 --> 00:50:34.079
get into third gear, and every time you stopped

00:50:34.079 --> 00:50:35.760
at a stoplight, you had that whole process repeating

00:50:35.760 --> 00:50:39.260
over again. So we're driving home, limping home

00:50:39.260 --> 00:50:41.139
from Fort Wayne, Indiana, which is a couple -hour

00:50:41.139 --> 00:50:44.139
drive anyway, and we started at 3 o 'clock. Come

00:50:44.139 --> 00:50:47.619
9 .30 at night, it's dark, and we're on the back

00:50:47.619 --> 00:50:52.769
road still about 45 minutes from home. We're

00:50:52.769 --> 00:50:55.030
driving down the back roads at about 15, 20 miles

00:50:55.030 --> 00:50:57.510
per hour. I was a little bit of a mathematician

00:50:57.510 --> 00:51:00.150
even then. I had figured out that the roughly

00:51:00.150 --> 00:51:03.829
45 miles away that we still were, at 15 miles

00:51:03.829 --> 00:51:05.389
an hour, we were going to get home about 1 o

00:51:05.389 --> 00:51:07.909
'clock in the morning, except that it was only

00:51:07.909 --> 00:51:10.639
getting worse, constantly getting worse. And

00:51:10.639 --> 00:51:12.639
so by about 10 o 'clock, the fastest the car

00:51:12.639 --> 00:51:15.059
would go is about 10 to 11 mile per hour. And

00:51:15.059 --> 00:51:17.840
it was basically second gear wasn't really working

00:51:17.840 --> 00:51:20.539
at that point. So in first gear, and every time

00:51:20.539 --> 00:51:23.539
it would wind up, the RPMs would wind up, the

00:51:23.539 --> 00:51:26.219
car would slow down. And that's the way it would

00:51:26.219 --> 00:51:29.800
go. So about 10, 30, 11 o 'clock at night, we're

00:51:29.800 --> 00:51:32.599
still driving, still a good 30, 40 miles from

00:51:32.599 --> 00:51:37.599
home still. Let me get my directions right. Way

00:51:37.599 --> 00:51:39.719
west in Ohio. I think we'd made it into Ohio,

00:51:39.960 --> 00:51:42.219
but we were driving on the back road. Couldn't

00:51:42.219 --> 00:51:43.920
get on the expressway. Couldn't get on the turnpike.

00:51:44.039 --> 00:51:46.679
It was just limping along at about 10 miles an

00:51:46.679 --> 00:51:50.780
hour. We're driving along, and finally, stop

00:51:50.780 --> 00:51:53.079
at a stop sign, get ready to go again. My dad

00:51:53.079 --> 00:51:54.960
stepped on the gas, and the car just would not

00:51:54.960 --> 00:51:58.300
go at all. It's going, whoo! You can make a humming

00:51:58.300 --> 00:52:00.539
noise, real kind of high -pitched, whoo! inside

00:52:00.539 --> 00:52:02.559
the transmission or whatever. And it was going

00:52:02.559 --> 00:52:05.369
like two, three miles an hour. Right away, I

00:52:05.369 --> 00:52:07.969
calculated that. I said, Dad, at this rate, we're

00:52:07.969 --> 00:52:09.590
going to get home tomorrow. We're not going to

00:52:09.590 --> 00:52:11.730
make it. I think it's only getting worse. My

00:52:11.730 --> 00:52:13.570
dad's like, I know that. I know that. You think

00:52:13.570 --> 00:52:15.130
I know that? They were stressed, and they were

00:52:15.130 --> 00:52:17.050
arguing with each other. I'm not going to sit

00:52:17.050 --> 00:52:19.670
back. I'm just going to be quiet. We're creeping

00:52:19.670 --> 00:52:23.849
along the road about two miles an hour at about

00:52:23.849 --> 00:52:27.570
1230 in the morning. We're driving, and we see

00:52:27.570 --> 00:52:29.630
some lights on the side of the road. There's

00:52:29.630 --> 00:52:31.750
a big open door and a bunch of cars sitting around

00:52:31.750 --> 00:52:33.269
the lights. I'm thinking, we can stop there.

00:52:34.230 --> 00:52:36.070
Something. See if they got a phone. Make a phone

00:52:36.070 --> 00:52:38.389
call. Something. This is before cell phones.

00:52:39.329 --> 00:52:43.929
I'm really dating myself. But anyway, lo and

00:52:43.929 --> 00:52:45.670
behold, we pull up alongside next to this and

00:52:45.670 --> 00:52:47.389
we're doing probably like one, two mile an hour

00:52:47.389 --> 00:52:49.210
in this car and I'm sitting in the back fuming

00:52:49.210 --> 00:52:51.150
because I can't say a word. I'm hungry. I haven't

00:52:51.150 --> 00:52:53.690
had anything to eat in like seven hours and I'm

00:52:53.690 --> 00:52:57.590
mad. My dad's mad, my mom's mad, and she's burying

00:52:57.590 --> 00:52:59.210
her face on the side. She's not going to say

00:52:59.210 --> 00:53:00.449
nothing, and we're creeping along a couple of

00:53:00.449 --> 00:53:03.670
miles. Here we go along the road, and we pull

00:53:03.670 --> 00:53:05.409
up, and I'm reading the sign on the building,

00:53:05.449 --> 00:53:09.469
and it says, Mechanic. Creeping along, creeping

00:53:09.469 --> 00:53:12.469
along. My dad's just driving. He's just driving

00:53:12.469 --> 00:53:14.230
along, and the sign says, Mechanic, and the lights

00:53:14.230 --> 00:53:15.989
are on. There's people in there working on cars.

00:53:16.150 --> 00:53:18.429
I'm going like, and I'm afraid to say anything.

00:53:18.670 --> 00:53:21.449
You know what I'm saying? He's driving along

00:53:21.449 --> 00:53:23.960
about two miles an hour. He was going to drive

00:53:23.960 --> 00:53:25.780
right by the mechanic. I mean, like, he was not

00:53:25.780 --> 00:53:27.139
going to pull into the park. And we're like,

00:53:27.139 --> 00:53:30.199
we're passing the driveway. And as we're passing

00:53:30.199 --> 00:53:32.480
the driveway at like two mile an hour, a tow

00:53:32.480 --> 00:53:34.380
truck comes up to the front. And I'm thinking

00:53:34.380 --> 00:53:36.900
like, if we don't talk to the guy now, then,

00:53:36.960 --> 00:53:38.320
you know, he's just going to be towing us from

00:53:38.320 --> 00:53:40.559
a few miles down the road anyway. And he pulls

00:53:40.559 --> 00:53:42.360
up and he stops. And there goes my dad. He's

00:53:42.360 --> 00:53:44.579
going to drive right past the tow truck. And

00:53:44.579 --> 00:53:46.239
so the tow truck pulls out on the side of the

00:53:46.239 --> 00:53:49.679
road. We're basically driving on the brim, not

00:53:49.679 --> 00:53:51.300
even on the actual road because we're going so

00:53:51.300 --> 00:53:54.440
slow. And he pulls over, and the passenger rolls

00:53:54.440 --> 00:53:55.619
down the window. There's two guys in the tow

00:53:55.619 --> 00:53:58.320
truck. And the tow truck driver says to my dad,

00:53:58.420 --> 00:54:02.739
he says, do you need help? And my dad says, no.

00:54:04.659 --> 00:54:06.940
And my mom hit my dad. It was the only time I

00:54:06.940 --> 00:54:09.139
ever seen my mom hit my dad. Actually, he physically

00:54:09.139 --> 00:54:11.119
hit him in the side of the head, and he went,

00:54:11.159 --> 00:54:12.719
ah, and he looked at her with anger, and then

00:54:12.719 --> 00:54:16.420
he realized what he had just done. And my dad

00:54:16.420 --> 00:54:17.579
said that the tow truck driver said, I think

00:54:17.579 --> 00:54:19.900
it's the transmission that's going out. And the

00:54:19.900 --> 00:54:21.800
tow truck driver kind of laughed. He goes, yep,

00:54:21.860 --> 00:54:25.559
I think you're right. And he said, we're right

00:54:25.559 --> 00:54:28.019
here, and we're about 25 feet past the driveway

00:54:28.019 --> 00:54:29.780
to the mechanics. We're right here. He said,

00:54:29.820 --> 00:54:33.550
we'll help you get turned around. and you just

00:54:33.550 --> 00:54:35.349
need to get in there. And so we pulled in there,

00:54:35.510 --> 00:54:38.369
and they kept the car, and they drove us home

00:54:38.369 --> 00:54:41.150
in another vehicle. They drove us home, dropped

00:54:41.150 --> 00:54:42.489
us off at home, and they kept the car, and they

00:54:42.489 --> 00:54:44.650
were going to fix the car. And oh, wow, I don't

00:54:44.650 --> 00:54:47.590
know, Thursday or Friday of that week, they actually,

00:54:47.789 --> 00:54:49.730
actually, it was like Tuesday of that week, they

00:54:49.730 --> 00:54:51.110
said, we can't actually fix it. It's going to

00:54:51.110 --> 00:54:52.250
have to go to the dealer, so we are going to

00:54:52.250 --> 00:54:54.389
tow it to the dealer for you, and then the dealer

00:54:54.389 --> 00:54:55.949
will fix it. And then like Thursday or Friday

00:54:55.949 --> 00:54:57.409
of that week, it was actually fixed, and we got

00:54:57.409 --> 00:54:59.449
the car back for the next weekend, and we did

00:54:59.449 --> 00:55:02.409
not go to Fort Wayne that weekend. In fact, we

00:55:02.409 --> 00:55:04.309
didn't go to Fort Wayne for months, maybe years

00:55:04.309 --> 00:55:05.389
after that. I can't remember how it was. A long

00:55:05.389 --> 00:55:06.949
time anyway, because that trip to Fort Wayne

00:55:06.949 --> 00:55:09.750
became almost like a nightmare for us. I want

00:55:09.750 --> 00:55:12.010
you to bear that in mind then as we look at the

00:55:12.010 --> 00:55:14.150
text of Scripture today. I do want to tell you

00:55:14.150 --> 00:55:16.849
that you're jumping into a sermon series, and

00:55:16.849 --> 00:55:18.369
I had prayed about it. I thought about it. Some

00:55:18.369 --> 00:55:20.670
folks are not going to be here who haven't been

00:55:20.670 --> 00:55:23.690
with us today. And so I want to explain to you

00:55:23.690 --> 00:55:26.230
that the author of Hebrews, as we read the chapter

00:55:26.230 --> 00:55:29.260
11, the author of Hebrews today, He's not just

00:55:29.260 --> 00:55:31.179
writing about the faith that you're familiar

00:55:31.179 --> 00:55:34.199
with from Sunday school class when you were a

00:55:34.199 --> 00:55:36.559
little kid or the first time you ever heard about

00:55:36.559 --> 00:55:41.000
it. This is faith after you've been saved. This

00:55:41.000 --> 00:55:43.179
is faith after you have accepted the fundamentals

00:55:43.179 --> 00:55:46.099
of Christianity. Okay? So that's really all you

00:55:46.099 --> 00:55:47.639
need to know, and then you've not missed anything.

00:55:48.000 --> 00:55:49.699
If you want to listen to the sermon series, they

00:55:49.699 --> 00:55:52.340
are online. You can listen to them. But I'm going

00:55:52.340 --> 00:55:53.960
to give you all the points of the sermon now.

00:55:54.000 --> 00:55:54.980
I promised you I would do that. I'm going to

00:55:54.980 --> 00:55:56.599
do that. And then we're going to go into the

00:55:56.599 --> 00:55:58.559
text. And the reason I'm going to do that is

00:55:58.559 --> 00:55:59.860
because as we go through the text, you're going

00:55:59.860 --> 00:56:02.380
to see the points constantly throughout the text.

00:56:02.920 --> 00:56:04.840
And I may or may not be able to remind you every

00:56:04.840 --> 00:56:07.219
time they come up. I probably won't. So I want

00:56:07.219 --> 00:56:09.139
you to just be able to do that yourself and see

00:56:09.139 --> 00:56:12.500
them, okay? So the first thing is that not yet

00:56:12.500 --> 00:56:17.760
seen things are motivators. So people who think

00:56:17.760 --> 00:56:20.530
something good is coming up. They get motivated

00:56:20.530 --> 00:56:22.650
about that good thing, right? So kids who are

00:56:22.650 --> 00:56:25.510
six, teenagers who are six months away from graduation,

00:56:25.849 --> 00:56:28.130
they're like, yay, I'm going to graduate. People

00:56:28.130 --> 00:56:29.829
are saving up money for a car and they're getting

00:56:29.829 --> 00:56:31.670
close. Yay, I'm going to get a car, right? So

00:56:31.670 --> 00:56:35.329
not yet seen things are motivators, okay? I think

00:56:35.329 --> 00:56:37.210
that's a fairly obvious truth, but it really

00:56:37.210 --> 00:56:40.369
speaks a lot when we talk about faith. The second

00:56:40.369 --> 00:56:44.789
thing is the passage says faith or else. But

00:56:44.789 --> 00:56:47.309
it's not quite simple, not quite that simple.

00:56:47.489 --> 00:56:50.840
It says faith. or else, and because it's faith

00:56:50.840 --> 00:56:53.119
or else, we just have to deal with what comes,

00:56:53.300 --> 00:56:57.159
right? So faith or else. And then the last one

00:56:57.159 --> 00:57:01.960
is the then building block. As we make our decisions,

00:57:02.019 --> 00:57:04.800
as we fundamentally build our lives, there is

00:57:04.800 --> 00:57:07.619
a building block called then, okay? And I want

00:57:07.619 --> 00:57:10.679
you to see it. All right, so usually we hoot,

00:57:10.679 --> 00:57:12.800
we holler, we say amen. If you can just kind

00:57:12.800 --> 00:57:16.590
of shake off some of your... restrictions a little

00:57:16.590 --> 00:57:18.969
bit for a second. This is God's Word, and when

00:57:18.969 --> 00:57:21.150
we go to it and read it, we will be changed if

00:57:21.150 --> 00:57:23.190
we allow it to be so. So maybe give me some kind

00:57:23.190 --> 00:57:25.710
of noise as we go to Hebrews chapter 11. Thank

00:57:25.710 --> 00:57:28.730
you. I wasn't kidding. We actually do do that

00:57:28.730 --> 00:57:31.289
here. People are like, I don't think they do

00:57:31.289 --> 00:57:33.349
that. But yeah, we actually do. So this is God's

00:57:33.349 --> 00:57:35.289
Word. Here we go. Hebrews 11, beginning in verse

00:57:35.289 --> 00:57:39.030
1. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped

00:57:39.030 --> 00:57:44.880
for, the conviction of things not seen. I want

00:57:44.880 --> 00:57:46.380
you to understand, if somebody ever asks you

00:57:46.380 --> 00:57:49.559
to define faith, don't define it that way. That

00:57:49.559 --> 00:57:52.179
is not a definition of faith. Those are characteristics

00:57:52.179 --> 00:57:55.099
of faith. Faith is basically believing. That's

00:57:55.099 --> 00:57:57.760
what faith is, very simply put. But this faith

00:57:57.760 --> 00:58:00.420
that takes place after a person is already saved

00:58:00.420 --> 00:58:04.960
is the assurance of things hoped for and conviction

00:58:04.960 --> 00:58:07.900
of things not yet seen. We know what we know.

00:58:08.059 --> 00:58:10.480
We know where we're going because of this faith.

00:58:11.500 --> 00:58:14.869
Verse 2. For by it the men of old gained approval.

00:58:15.389 --> 00:58:17.570
God said, you did a good job because they had

00:58:17.570 --> 00:58:20.570
faith. By faith we understand that the worlds

00:58:20.570 --> 00:58:23.710
were prepared by the word of God so that what

00:58:23.710 --> 00:58:26.050
is seen was not made out of things which are

00:58:26.050 --> 00:58:28.750
visible. See, this is an equation that mostly

00:58:28.750 --> 00:58:31.010
the world doesn't understand. Most of what you

00:58:31.010 --> 00:58:33.650
see was actually made out of something that you

00:58:33.650 --> 00:58:36.769
could never have seen. You follow that logic?

00:58:37.690 --> 00:58:39.969
In the beginning, God created everything and

00:58:39.969 --> 00:58:42.119
he made it out of nothing. X in the helio. There

00:58:42.119 --> 00:58:43.760
was nothing. He created everything. And then,

00:58:43.820 --> 00:58:47.019
by the way, after, or before, I should say, one

00:58:47.019 --> 00:58:48.340
of the first things he created, I should say,

00:58:48.440 --> 00:58:51.139
was light. So before there was light, you couldn't

00:58:51.139 --> 00:58:52.559
see anything even if there had been anything,

00:58:52.679 --> 00:58:54.619
but there wasn't anything. Right? You understand,

00:58:54.780 --> 00:58:56.760
we see by light. So there wasn't anything to

00:58:56.760 --> 00:58:58.340
see. So literally everything that we're seeing

00:58:58.340 --> 00:59:00.280
today was made out of nothing. So if everything

00:59:00.280 --> 00:59:01.679
that we're seeing today was made out of nothing,

00:59:01.780 --> 00:59:03.219
then it's reasonable to expect that there are

00:59:03.219 --> 00:59:04.860
other things that could be made out of nothing.

00:59:04.960 --> 00:59:07.510
Right? That's what... The writer of Hebrews is

00:59:07.510 --> 00:59:09.269
saying, By faith we understand that the worlds

00:59:09.269 --> 00:59:11.110
were prepared by the word of God, so that what

00:59:11.110 --> 00:59:13.150
is seen was not made out of things which are

00:59:13.150 --> 00:59:16.309
visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better

00:59:16.309 --> 00:59:19.809
sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained

00:59:19.809 --> 00:59:22.449
the testimony that was righteous, God testifying

00:59:22.449 --> 00:59:24.849
about his gifts, and through faith, though he

00:59:24.849 --> 00:59:28.710
is dead, he still speaks. Talking about Abel,

00:59:28.750 --> 00:59:34.710
right? Continuing on. By faith Enoch... That's

00:59:34.710 --> 00:59:36.909
an old guy in the Old Testament who never died.

00:59:37.150 --> 00:59:39.769
Enoch was taken up so that he should not see

00:59:39.769 --> 00:59:42.630
death. And he was not found because God took

00:59:42.630 --> 00:59:45.869
him up. For he obtained the witness that before

00:59:45.869 --> 00:59:50.289
his being taken up, he was pleasing to God. So

00:59:50.289 --> 00:59:53.650
it is possible to please God, you follow? That

00:59:53.650 --> 00:59:57.349
is a possible thing. And without faith, it is

00:59:57.349 --> 01:00:00.039
impossible to please God or to please him. For

01:00:00.039 --> 01:00:02.980
he who comes to God must believe that he is and

01:00:02.980 --> 01:00:05.079
that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

01:00:05.219 --> 01:00:06.860
So in other words, you have to believe that God

01:00:06.860 --> 01:00:08.539
exists and you have to believe that God is a

01:00:08.539 --> 01:00:10.619
rewarder of those who seek him. And if you can't

01:00:10.619 --> 01:00:12.280
believe that God exists and you can't believe

01:00:12.280 --> 01:00:14.760
that God rewards those who seek him, then that

01:00:14.760 --> 01:00:18.340
means you don't have faith. Right? And if you

01:00:18.340 --> 01:00:19.960
don't have faith, then you can't please God.

01:00:20.059 --> 01:00:22.739
It's a circle. You can't actually do it if you

01:00:22.739 --> 01:00:25.420
don't even believe that he exists. It's very

01:00:25.420 --> 01:00:28.719
simple. By faith, Noah, being warned by God about

01:00:28.719 --> 01:00:30.719
things not yet seen, here we are with the not

01:00:30.719 --> 01:00:34.239
yet seen things, in reverence prepared an ark

01:00:34.239 --> 01:00:37.019
for the salvation of his household, by which

01:00:37.019 --> 01:00:39.420
he condemned the world, and he became an heir

01:00:39.420 --> 01:00:41.559
of the righteousness which is according to faith.

01:00:42.900 --> 01:00:45.699
By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed

01:00:45.699 --> 01:00:48.239
by going out to a place which he was to receive

01:00:48.239 --> 01:00:51.059
for an inheritance. And he went out not knowing

01:00:51.059 --> 01:00:54.250
where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien

01:00:54.250 --> 01:00:56.969
in the land of promise, as in a foreign land,

01:00:57.230 --> 01:01:00.110
dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow

01:01:00.110 --> 01:01:04.750
heirs of the same promise. For he was looking

01:01:04.750 --> 01:01:07.730
for the city which has foundations, whose architect

01:01:07.730 --> 01:01:11.190
and builder is God. So not the city that he was

01:01:11.190 --> 01:01:14.309
living in. Not another city somewhere else on

01:01:14.309 --> 01:01:17.429
the earth. But he was looking for something then,

01:01:17.570 --> 01:01:20.190
something that he couldn't see on this earth.

01:01:20.309 --> 01:01:23.070
He was believing in a city which has foundations,

01:01:23.110 --> 01:01:25.630
whose architect and builder is God. Verse 11.

01:01:25.869 --> 01:01:28.389
By faith, even Sarah herself received ability

01:01:28.389 --> 01:01:31.250
to conceive even beyond the proper time of life,

01:01:31.409 --> 01:01:34.329
since she considered him faithful who had promised.

01:01:34.630 --> 01:01:38.219
Therefore also there was born of one man. And

01:01:38.219 --> 01:01:40.519
him as good as dead, I think it's funny how they

01:01:40.519 --> 01:01:42.340
call Abraham as good as dead. That verse always

01:01:42.340 --> 01:01:44.519
kind of makes me chuckle because he was old enough

01:01:44.519 --> 01:01:46.599
that he really couldn't have children anymore.

01:01:46.679 --> 01:01:48.199
But he was as good as dead, but God gave him

01:01:48.199 --> 01:01:52.179
another son. That cracks me up. And him as good

01:01:52.179 --> 01:01:54.980
as dead at that. As many descendants as the stars

01:01:54.980 --> 01:01:57.940
of heaven in number and innumerable as the sand

01:01:57.940 --> 01:02:01.139
which is by the seashore. The seashore, that

01:02:01.139 --> 01:02:03.599
which is given to Abraham, was described as that.

01:02:04.199 --> 01:02:06.760
Descendants innumerable as the sand which is

01:02:06.760 --> 01:02:10.159
by the seashore. Verse 13. All these, all these

01:02:10.159 --> 01:02:12.659
people that we're so far discussing, died in

01:02:12.659 --> 01:02:15.159
faith without receiving the promises. Say, we're

01:02:15.159 --> 01:02:16.820
looking for something then. We're looking for

01:02:16.820 --> 01:02:20.170
something not yet seen. But having seen them,

01:02:20.309 --> 01:02:23.389
the promises, and having welcomed them from a

01:02:23.389 --> 01:02:25.929
distance, so they saw, they believed it was coming,

01:02:26.030 --> 01:02:28.489
and they welcomed their coming, even though they

01:02:28.489 --> 01:02:31.489
never received them. And having confessed that

01:02:31.489 --> 01:02:34.030
they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

01:02:34.510 --> 01:02:36.909
For those who say such things make it clear that

01:02:36.909 --> 01:02:39.329
they are seeking a country of their own. And

01:02:39.329 --> 01:02:41.110
indeed, if they had been thinking of that country

01:02:41.110 --> 01:02:42.730
from which they went out, they would have had

01:02:42.730 --> 01:02:44.690
opportunity to return. They could have gone back

01:02:44.690 --> 01:02:47.760
where they were. But as it is, they desire a

01:02:47.760 --> 01:02:50.300
better country that is a heavenly one. Therefore

01:02:50.300 --> 01:02:52.659
God is not ashamed to be called their God, for

01:02:52.659 --> 01:02:55.519
he has prepared a city for them. You see, if

01:02:55.519 --> 01:02:57.340
you are looking for something here on earth,

01:02:57.380 --> 01:02:59.179
if you're waiting for God to do something here

01:02:59.179 --> 01:03:02.820
on earth, your target is off. That's what the

01:03:02.820 --> 01:03:04.929
writer of Hebrews is saying. A lot of times we're

01:03:04.929 --> 01:03:06.349
waiting for God to do something here on earth.

01:03:06.389 --> 01:03:08.250
Talk about people would pray for healing and

01:03:08.250 --> 01:03:10.730
believe for healing. Believe and receive and

01:03:10.730 --> 01:03:12.789
you'll get the healing. If you're waiting for

01:03:12.789 --> 01:03:15.329
something here on earth, that's not the target

01:03:15.329 --> 01:03:17.969
that was Abraham's target. That's not what he

01:03:17.969 --> 01:03:20.070
was looking for. He wasn't looking for something

01:03:20.070 --> 01:03:21.909
here on earth. Now God blessed him here on earth,

01:03:21.989 --> 01:03:23.670
but why did he bless him here on earth? Because

01:03:23.670 --> 01:03:25.730
he was not looking for something here on earth.

01:03:25.809 --> 01:03:28.150
He was looking for the city whose architect is

01:03:28.150 --> 01:03:32.230
God. Verse 7. By faith Abraham, when he was tested,

01:03:32.289 --> 01:03:35.190
offered up Isaac. and he who had received the

01:03:35.190 --> 01:03:38.949
promises was offering up his only begotten son.

01:03:39.150 --> 01:03:42.050
It was he to whom it was said, In Isaac your

01:03:42.050 --> 01:03:43.710
descendants shall be called. So Isaac was the

01:03:43.710 --> 01:03:47.170
one that God had told Abraham would be, he would

01:03:47.170 --> 01:03:49.489
be the one that all the people would arise out

01:03:49.489 --> 01:03:52.949
of, right? He was the heir of promise, and yet

01:03:52.949 --> 01:03:55.889
Abraham was willing to sacrifice him. He considered

01:03:55.889 --> 01:03:58.949
that God is able to raise men even from the dead,

01:03:59.130 --> 01:04:01.949
from which he also received him back as a type.

01:04:02.650 --> 01:04:05.070
So in a way, he's saying, in a way, he received

01:04:05.070 --> 01:04:06.409
him back from the dead, but he really didn't

01:04:06.409 --> 01:04:08.150
because he didn't have to die in order and be

01:04:08.150 --> 01:04:11.710
resurrected. Verse 20. By faith, Isaac blessed

01:04:11.710 --> 01:04:14.309
Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.

01:04:14.369 --> 01:04:16.730
By faith, Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each

01:04:16.730 --> 01:04:18.530
of the sons of Joseph and worshiped, leaning

01:04:18.530 --> 01:04:21.449
on the top of his staff. By faith, Joseph, when

01:04:21.449 --> 01:04:24.250
he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the

01:04:24.250 --> 01:04:27.090
sons of Israel. See, he said, in time, it's going

01:04:27.090 --> 01:04:29.250
to come. You're all going to go out and go. back

01:04:29.250 --> 01:04:30.869
to the land that God has promised. So he told

01:04:30.869 --> 01:04:32.989
them, don't you bury my bones here in Egypt,

01:04:33.230 --> 01:04:36.349
is what he's saying. And he gave orders concerning

01:04:36.349 --> 01:04:39.030
his bones. By faith, Moses, when he was born,

01:04:39.110 --> 01:04:41.949
was hidden for three months by his parents. Because

01:04:41.949 --> 01:04:44.030
they saw he was a beautiful child and they were

01:04:44.030 --> 01:04:46.670
not afraid of the king's edict. The Pharaoh was

01:04:46.670 --> 01:04:48.949
having all the male children killed and they

01:04:48.949 --> 01:04:51.789
hid Moses. Verse 24. By faith, Moses, when he

01:04:51.789 --> 01:04:53.809
had grown up, refused to be called the son of

01:04:53.809 --> 01:04:56.170
Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure

01:04:56.170 --> 01:04:59.469
ill treatment with the people of God than to

01:04:59.469 --> 01:05:02.429
enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. There it

01:05:02.429 --> 01:05:05.730
is for sure. Very clearly said in verse 25. 26,

01:05:05.949 --> 01:05:08.630
considering the reproach of Christ greater riches

01:05:08.630 --> 01:05:11.170
than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking

01:05:11.170 --> 01:05:15.070
to the reward. Verse 27, by faith he left Egypt,

01:05:15.130 --> 01:05:17.190
not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured

01:05:17.190 --> 01:05:21.050
as seeing him who is unseen. By faith he kept

01:05:21.050 --> 01:05:23.349
the Passover and the sprinkling of blood so that

01:05:23.349 --> 01:05:26.269
he who destroyed the firstborn might not touch

01:05:26.269 --> 01:05:30.409
them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea

01:05:30.409 --> 01:05:32.750
as though they were passing through the dry lands

01:05:32.750 --> 01:05:35.429
and the Egyptians. When they attempted it, were

01:05:35.429 --> 01:05:38.309
drowned. By faith, the walls of Jericho fell

01:05:38.309 --> 01:05:40.750
down after they had been encircled seven days.

01:05:40.849 --> 01:05:43.889
By faith, Rahab the harlot did not perish along

01:05:43.889 --> 01:05:46.050
with those who were disobedient after she had

01:05:46.050 --> 01:05:50.690
welcomed the spies in peace. Okay, so now we're

01:05:50.690 --> 01:05:52.570
going to kind of get a little bit of a summation

01:05:52.570 --> 01:05:54.889
here and we're going to start to talk about the

01:05:54.889 --> 01:05:57.570
darker side of the same thing. Okay, we're almost

01:05:57.570 --> 01:06:02.210
done. And what more shall I say? For time will

01:06:02.210 --> 01:06:05.570
fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah,

01:06:05.570 --> 01:06:08.110
or David and Samuel and the prophets who by faith

01:06:08.110 --> 01:06:10.769
conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness,

01:06:11.090 --> 01:06:12.989
obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,

01:06:13.230 --> 01:06:15.469
quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge

01:06:15.469 --> 01:06:17.869
of the sword, from weakness were made strong,

01:06:18.110 --> 01:06:21.110
became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.

01:06:21.800 --> 01:06:23.780
Women received back their dead by resurrection

01:06:23.780 --> 01:06:26.699
and others were tortured, here we go, not accepting

01:06:26.699 --> 01:06:28.619
their release in order that they might obtain

01:06:28.619 --> 01:06:31.179
a better resurrection. And others experienced

01:06:31.179 --> 01:06:34.239
mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and

01:06:34.239 --> 01:06:36.940
imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn

01:06:36.940 --> 01:06:40.139
in two. They were tempted. They were put to death

01:06:40.139 --> 01:06:42.860
with the sword. They went about in sheepskins

01:06:42.860 --> 01:06:45.139
and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill

01:06:45.139 --> 01:06:47.849
-treated. men of whom the world was not worthy,

01:06:48.010 --> 01:06:50.610
wandering in deserts and mountains and caves

01:06:50.610 --> 01:06:52.849
and holes in the ground, and all those having

01:06:52.849 --> 01:06:55.409
gained approval through their faith did not receive

01:06:55.409 --> 01:06:58.050
what was promised. Do you hear that? Everything

01:06:58.050 --> 01:07:00.329
they did. We like to do things for the result,

01:07:00.469 --> 01:07:03.309
don't we? Everything they did, they did for a

01:07:03.309 --> 01:07:05.650
future city that they could not yet see, and

01:07:05.650 --> 01:07:07.889
they did not receive the promise in their lifetime.

01:07:09.159 --> 01:07:14.280
All that suffering, the sawing, the lack of proper

01:07:14.280 --> 01:07:16.539
clothing. So we would say they probably were

01:07:16.539 --> 01:07:18.900
pretty much okay with goat skin and sheep skin.

01:07:19.079 --> 01:07:21.960
But the bottom line is they didn't have during

01:07:21.960 --> 01:07:27.239
this lifetime and they waited on God. And all

01:07:27.239 --> 01:07:29.000
these having gained approval through their faith

01:07:29.000 --> 01:07:32.920
did not receive what was promised. And here's

01:07:32.920 --> 01:07:35.960
why. Because God had provided something better

01:07:35.960 --> 01:07:41.949
for us. So that apart from us, they should not

01:07:41.949 --> 01:07:45.429
be made perfect. See, it's not that we'll be

01:07:45.429 --> 01:07:47.869
made perfect, that that's what's better. That's

01:07:47.869 --> 01:07:51.130
not what's better, right? It's better that we'll

01:07:51.130 --> 01:07:53.170
be made perfect than that we won't be made perfect.

01:07:53.650 --> 01:07:55.650
It's not better for them that we would be made

01:07:55.650 --> 01:07:57.929
perfect. It's better for us that we would be

01:07:57.929 --> 01:08:00.889
made perfect. They would be made perfect, and

01:08:00.889 --> 01:08:03.489
now this is what's even better, that we also

01:08:03.489 --> 01:08:05.949
can be made perfect with them through this faith

01:08:05.949 --> 01:08:07.789
that God is calling us to. Just three verses

01:08:07.789 --> 01:08:11.219
left. The author of Hebrews says this, Therefore,

01:08:11.400 --> 01:08:14.099
since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding

01:08:14.099 --> 01:08:18.159
us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and

01:08:18.159 --> 01:08:20.859
the sin which so easily entangles us, and let

01:08:20.859 --> 01:08:23.439
us run with endurance the race that is set before

01:08:23.439 --> 01:08:26.539
us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and

01:08:26.539 --> 01:08:29.739
perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before

01:08:29.739 --> 01:08:33.380
him endured the cross, despising the shame, and

01:08:33.380 --> 01:08:35.399
has sat down at the right hand of the throne

01:08:35.399 --> 01:08:43.380
of God. by sinners against himself so that you

01:08:43.380 --> 01:08:46.659
may not grow weary and lose heart. You hear it

01:08:46.659 --> 01:08:53.060
now? The not yet seen things, they are motivators.

01:08:53.680 --> 01:08:56.399
We are motivated by what we want the results

01:08:56.399 --> 01:08:59.380
to be. We plan for it, plot for it, work for

01:08:59.380 --> 01:09:02.770
it. Pile into it and try to get there because

01:09:02.770 --> 01:09:06.029
that's what motivates us, the unseen things,

01:09:06.250 --> 01:09:08.369
that we have an inkling of where we may be going.

01:09:08.609 --> 01:09:12.590
Paul said, press toward the goal. We have a job

01:09:12.590 --> 01:09:15.630
to do in this lifetime. It is not to build ourselves

01:09:15.630 --> 01:09:18.590
a kingdom to get people to look to us. It is

01:09:18.590 --> 01:09:21.350
not to be better off, to do better, to have better

01:09:21.350 --> 01:09:23.069
health, to have better money. That is not our

01:09:23.069 --> 01:09:26.210
job. Our job is to prepare for a future kingdom

01:09:26.210 --> 01:09:29.130
coming, the architect of which is not us, but

01:09:29.130 --> 01:09:32.689
Jesus. God. You cannot imagine the house that

01:09:32.689 --> 01:09:34.829
you might get to live in in heaven. You could

01:09:34.829 --> 01:09:36.529
live in the best house you would ever live in.

01:09:36.529 --> 01:09:38.090
You could work your butt off to make sure you

01:09:38.090 --> 01:09:40.310
got three quarter inch copper plumbing in every

01:09:40.310 --> 01:09:42.149
bathroom. I had that once by the way and the

01:09:42.149 --> 01:09:44.130
water would run hot in all three bathrooms. I

01:09:44.130 --> 01:09:45.390
didn't put it there. It was there well before

01:09:45.390 --> 01:09:47.930
me. But the bottom line is you can do that. You

01:09:47.930 --> 01:09:50.470
can get bay windows. You can get skylights. You

01:09:50.470 --> 01:09:53.029
can get towers and castles and walls and servants.

01:09:53.680 --> 01:09:54.979
I was watching a show last night. They said,

01:09:55.000 --> 01:09:57.760
here's the Duke and the Duke's cousin and the

01:09:57.760 --> 01:10:00.340
Duke's mother. And all their servants went, and

01:10:00.340 --> 01:10:03.039
there were 250 servants all around taking care

01:10:03.039 --> 01:10:07.779
of their house in 100 years ago England. You

01:10:07.779 --> 01:10:10.760
can get all of that. And it will by no means,

01:10:10.760 --> 01:10:13.939
in no way, compare with that which God is trying

01:10:13.939 --> 01:10:16.359
to prepare for you. I go to prepare a place for

01:10:16.359 --> 01:10:18.720
you. And if I go to prepare a place for you,

01:10:18.760 --> 01:10:20.720
I will come again and I will take you there to

01:10:20.720 --> 01:10:24.479
be with me. Our job is not to build a better

01:10:24.479 --> 01:10:27.199
kingdom on earth. It is not to live better. It

01:10:27.199 --> 01:10:29.319
is not to fix the problems that we perceive.

01:10:29.640 --> 01:10:33.060
You don't get to go out and push people to be

01:10:33.060 --> 01:10:36.739
what you want them to be. You can entreat people

01:10:36.739 --> 01:10:38.779
to come to God. You can share the gospel and

01:10:38.779 --> 01:10:40.579
the truth and the hope and the faith and the

01:10:40.579 --> 01:10:42.020
mercy and the love and the forgiveness that is

01:10:42.020 --> 01:10:44.079
available through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

01:10:44.340 --> 01:10:46.899
And nothing, nothing at all is really going to

01:10:46.899 --> 01:10:50.260
change a person permanently except for an experience

01:10:50.260 --> 01:10:55.060
with the living Savior. Our job is not to seek

01:10:55.060 --> 01:10:58.600
out the things that, hang on, I said we're motivated

01:10:58.600 --> 01:11:01.659
by the things we... Don't yet see, right? And

01:11:01.659 --> 01:11:03.520
I mentioned graduation. I mentioned a bigger

01:11:03.520 --> 01:11:05.100
house. I mentioned a car, right? Those are all

01:11:05.100 --> 01:11:06.579
things that we don't yet see, except guess what?

01:11:07.279 --> 01:11:11.600
When we're motivated by them, we actually do

01:11:11.600 --> 01:11:14.079
see them, right? I mentioned six months before

01:11:14.079 --> 01:11:15.779
graduation, a high school senior going, yeah,

01:11:15.800 --> 01:11:18.520
I'm going to graduate. It's because they actually

01:11:18.520 --> 01:11:21.119
do see that, isn't it? That they're motivated

01:11:21.119 --> 01:11:23.600
by it. Now, God is asking us not to be motivated

01:11:23.600 --> 01:11:26.220
by earthly goals or steps that we can take, but

01:11:26.220 --> 01:11:28.840
rather to be motivated by that which we cannot

01:11:28.840 --> 01:11:31.909
see. Why do you think we're not supposed to make

01:11:31.909 --> 01:11:33.470
a picture of heaven? Because there's no picture

01:11:33.470 --> 01:11:36.229
of heaven that would ever represent what God

01:11:36.229 --> 01:11:39.729
is truly doing. It's beyond our imagination.

01:11:39.810 --> 01:11:41.930
We can imagine what it will be like two years

01:11:41.930 --> 01:11:43.630
from now, five years from now when we get promoted

01:11:43.630 --> 01:11:45.729
on our job, our wages are better, we're prepared

01:11:45.729 --> 01:11:47.590
for retirement. We can imagine what it will be

01:11:47.590 --> 01:11:48.770
like when we don't have to get up and go to work

01:11:48.770 --> 01:11:50.250
anymore. We can serve the Lord every day of the

01:11:50.250 --> 01:11:52.930
week. Or we can just sit in our garden and sip

01:11:52.930 --> 01:11:56.239
our tea. wonderful things that we can imagine,

01:11:56.340 --> 01:11:59.460
but you can't imagine what God is doing for you.

01:11:59.520 --> 01:12:01.340
You can't. You say, well, I know God is helping

01:12:01.340 --> 01:12:03.020
me. God is giving me strength. God is making

01:12:03.020 --> 01:12:05.399
me a better person each day. I do things now

01:12:05.399 --> 01:12:07.920
I could never do before. Yes, but if you look

01:12:07.920 --> 01:12:10.619
back at your Christian life, how often have you

01:12:10.619 --> 01:12:13.300
gone and you said, well, I'm not going to tell

01:12:13.300 --> 01:12:16.619
this lie now so that in a few weeks from now,

01:12:16.659 --> 01:12:20.260
I'll avoid telling that lie then. That's hard

01:12:20.260 --> 01:12:21.899
to do because you don't even know what the circumstances

01:12:21.899 --> 01:12:24.149
are going to be in a few weeks, right? You don't

01:12:24.149 --> 01:12:25.729
know how you're going to avoid doing something

01:12:25.729 --> 01:12:27.829
that you shouldn't do in a few weeks. You just

01:12:27.829 --> 01:12:30.069
have to make the decision now. There is just

01:12:30.069 --> 01:12:33.590
exactly one ingredient left. Just exactly one

01:12:33.590 --> 01:12:37.689
ingredient left in God's recipe of your eternity.

01:12:38.770 --> 01:12:44.189
And it is your today. God is asking you to live

01:12:44.189 --> 01:12:47.090
in light of that which you cannot see then, that

01:12:47.090 --> 01:12:49.569
he is building everything and taking care of

01:12:49.569 --> 01:12:52.680
it. And he's asking you to chip in the one thing

01:12:52.680 --> 01:12:55.100
that you have that he wants for that recipe.

01:12:55.239 --> 01:12:58.140
And that is your today. He wants you to make

01:12:58.140 --> 01:13:01.479
your today about the things that you cannot yet

01:13:01.479 --> 01:13:04.560
see. And that's what they did. And they were

01:13:04.560 --> 01:13:07.819
found pleasing. They were applauded by God. And

01:13:07.819 --> 01:13:10.760
yes, some of them were sawn in two. And yes,

01:13:10.779 --> 01:13:12.899
some of them were poor. And yes, some of them

01:13:12.899 --> 01:13:14.979
were sick. And yes, some of them received their

01:13:14.979 --> 01:13:19.029
dead back to life. God is asking us to make our

01:13:19.029 --> 01:13:22.329
today about the things that we cannot yet see.

01:13:24.050 --> 01:13:26.649
And when we do that, our today is added in the

01:13:26.649 --> 01:13:30.590
recipe of the eternal project, if you will, that

01:13:30.590 --> 01:13:38.149
He has for us. But it's faith more else. You

01:13:38.149 --> 01:13:40.729
see, they received back their debt, the healings

01:13:40.729 --> 01:13:42.350
that took place, all the things that they did,

01:13:42.449 --> 01:13:44.449
and all the being found pleasing by God, it was

01:13:44.449 --> 01:13:48.210
all based on their faith. Because they believed

01:13:48.210 --> 01:13:50.750
God. They took God at his word. God said, I'm

01:13:50.750 --> 01:13:54.010
going to do this. And they said, okay, I believe

01:13:54.010 --> 01:13:56.989
you. And I am going to live as if you are going

01:13:56.989 --> 01:13:59.550
to do that. So, for example, if I say God is

01:13:59.550 --> 01:14:01.710
going to prepare an amazing place for you, then

01:14:01.710 --> 01:14:04.430
you shouldn't have to fuss or worry so much about

01:14:04.430 --> 01:14:06.369
the color of carpet or exactly the way things

01:14:06.369 --> 01:14:09.630
look or exactly the neighborhood that God wants

01:14:09.630 --> 01:14:11.710
you to live in or your certain circumstances,

01:14:11.989 --> 01:14:14.310
right? Because God is going to prepare the right

01:14:14.310 --> 01:14:16.609
place for you. And the truth is, no matter what

01:14:16.609 --> 01:14:18.149
you do and how hard you work at it, the things

01:14:18.149 --> 01:14:19.510
that you make right here and right now, they're

01:14:19.510 --> 01:14:20.930
always going to be flawed because they're made

01:14:20.930 --> 01:14:23.050
out of things that you can see. They're made

01:14:23.050 --> 01:14:25.630
out of creation, which is struggling, waiting

01:14:25.630 --> 01:14:29.520
for redemption, waiting for Jesus. To come again.

01:14:31.180 --> 01:14:34.800
Believe or else. Believe or else, lose out. Believe

01:14:34.800 --> 01:14:40.000
or have your story not equal someone that joins

01:14:40.000 --> 01:14:42.020
the witnesses. What would the witnesses say?

01:14:42.460 --> 01:14:44.439
And remember there was such a cloud of witnesses.

01:14:44.640 --> 01:14:46.399
What have they said to us? Well, they have said,

01:14:46.460 --> 01:14:51.560
I believed and God took care of it. I believe

01:14:51.560 --> 01:14:54.750
the promises and the promises... were held in

01:14:54.750 --> 01:14:56.829
reservation, yes, so that you too could believe,

01:14:56.930 --> 01:14:58.609
so you too could come into it, but they were

01:14:58.609 --> 01:15:03.710
ultimately fulfilled. The witnesses would say

01:15:03.710 --> 01:15:07.869
to you, be motivated by the not yet seen things,

01:15:08.010 --> 01:15:10.029
the things that you can't even really imagine.

01:15:11.189 --> 01:15:14.750
Be motivated by faith. Believe in God and trust

01:15:14.750 --> 01:15:19.350
in God. The then building block is a little bit

01:15:19.350 --> 01:15:25.310
more tricky. It's a little bit harder to use.

01:15:27.569 --> 01:15:29.550
You've got to think about who you were before

01:15:29.550 --> 01:15:32.210
you met Jesus Christ. You've got to think about

01:15:32.210 --> 01:15:34.409
the hole that was in your heart that nothing

01:15:34.409 --> 01:15:37.569
could fill. You've got to think about the things

01:15:37.569 --> 01:15:40.609
that you did that were wrong. Now, God doesn't

01:15:40.609 --> 01:15:42.729
use regret. I'm not talking about regret and

01:15:42.729 --> 01:15:45.869
I'm not talking about guilt. But if you can...

01:15:46.140 --> 01:15:48.539
Imagine that you made a transition from who you

01:15:48.539 --> 01:15:51.140
were before you met Jesus to who you are now

01:15:51.140 --> 01:15:54.720
that you have met Jesus, assuming you have met

01:15:54.720 --> 01:16:00.680
Jesus. That's an inkling. That gives you an idea

01:16:00.680 --> 01:16:03.920
of the awesome nature of the transition that

01:16:03.920 --> 01:16:06.720
is next coming when Jesus comes again or when

01:16:06.720 --> 01:16:10.380
we go to heaven. Say, I was lost. When I was

01:16:10.380 --> 01:16:17.300
24 years old, my wife and I were, young couple

01:16:17.300 --> 01:16:22.439
and I wasn't very good to her. I wasn't a very

01:16:22.439 --> 01:16:26.039
good man in general. I was a manipulator and

01:16:26.039 --> 01:16:29.779
a liar. I would have been a thief, but I was

01:16:29.779 --> 01:16:33.840
too afraid to steal anything. I was afraid of

01:16:33.840 --> 01:16:36.140
a lot of people. I was afraid of talking to strangers.

01:16:36.300 --> 01:16:37.939
I would go to a restaurant and I would order

01:16:37.939 --> 01:16:39.659
a sandwich and I'd be afraid to order it without

01:16:39.659 --> 01:16:41.960
mayo, which I just absolutely hated. So then

01:16:41.960 --> 01:16:43.399
I just wouldn't go to a restaurant and order

01:16:43.399 --> 01:16:45.159
a sandwich. The reason I was afraid to order

01:16:45.159 --> 01:16:46.699
is because I was afraid of what that person working,

01:16:46.779 --> 01:16:48.560
making minimum wage behind the counter would

01:16:48.560 --> 01:16:49.840
think of me if I ordered my sandwich without

01:16:49.840 --> 01:16:57.579
mayo. I've been changed. Am I complete? No. Has

01:16:57.579 --> 01:16:59.319
everything been fixed about me? Do I still make

01:16:59.319 --> 01:17:02.380
mistakes? Yes. But I know that a transformation

01:17:02.380 --> 01:17:05.600
has taken place. I've begun a journey on a road

01:17:05.600 --> 01:17:08.140
that's going somewhere. And if you have done

01:17:08.140 --> 01:17:12.520
so as well, then how can you not today trust

01:17:12.520 --> 01:17:14.680
that the transition that God is going to do,

01:17:14.739 --> 01:17:17.239
the promised coming of Christ, the moment that

01:17:17.239 --> 01:17:19.880
the trump shall sound, and the church shall go

01:17:19.880 --> 01:17:22.920
to be with Jesus, that heaven is revealed in

01:17:22.920 --> 01:17:24.939
its final construction, that the new heavens

01:17:24.939 --> 01:17:27.159
and the new earth are the final thing. How can

01:17:27.159 --> 01:17:30.920
you not expect that to be? albeit outside our

01:17:30.920 --> 01:17:35.199
understanding, absolutely incredible. And if

01:17:35.199 --> 01:17:41.060
it is, then that thought, the nature of what

01:17:41.060 --> 01:17:44.800
it just might be like, has to figure in your

01:17:44.800 --> 01:17:48.020
decision -making process today. It's called the

01:17:48.020 --> 01:17:50.920
then building block. Then it will never be like

01:17:50.920 --> 01:17:53.399
that anymore, or then it will always be like

01:17:53.399 --> 01:17:56.239
that. The next time you're in true sorrow, you're

01:17:56.239 --> 01:17:58.159
broken over having lost a loved one or you're

01:17:58.159 --> 01:18:00.020
broken over having lost a situation or somebody

01:18:00.020 --> 01:18:01.960
really cut you to the quick that you thought

01:18:01.960 --> 01:18:05.539
you could trust, we say, oh, now what am I going

01:18:05.539 --> 01:18:08.300
to do? And we go into mourning and we're recovering

01:18:08.300 --> 01:18:10.159
and we're working through it and hopefully you're

01:18:10.159 --> 01:18:11.720
entreating God to help you to work through it

01:18:11.720 --> 01:18:13.399
and you're step by step working through the process

01:18:13.399 --> 01:18:15.840
until you can be whole enough again to begin

01:18:15.840 --> 01:18:18.750
to function in your life again. But don't do

01:18:18.750 --> 01:18:20.970
that without the then building block. That's

01:18:20.970 --> 01:18:22.850
when you remember that when we get there, it

01:18:22.850 --> 01:18:27.770
will never be like that again. No more sorrow.

01:18:28.470 --> 01:18:31.329
Even if there should be a reason to cry, God

01:18:31.329 --> 01:18:34.810
himself will wipe away your tears. When you're

01:18:34.810 --> 01:18:36.470
struggling and you're working and you're in pain

01:18:36.470 --> 01:18:39.310
and your body's failing you or you're not strong

01:18:39.310 --> 01:18:41.930
enough to lift it or you're not strong enough

01:18:41.930 --> 01:18:45.479
to stay up and do it or whatever it is, realize

01:18:45.479 --> 01:18:47.819
that there's coming a moment in time in heaven

01:18:47.819 --> 01:18:51.359
where all of that is gone. What we're facing

01:18:51.359 --> 01:18:55.380
today, when we don't like it, it is to remind

01:18:55.380 --> 01:18:59.119
us that when we get there, it's not going to

01:18:59.119 --> 01:19:02.560
be like here. We're not going to face it. God

01:19:02.560 --> 01:19:06.720
forbid. I hate that hundreds of thousands of

01:19:06.720 --> 01:19:10.619
people have died in the pandemic. I hate it.

01:19:10.659 --> 01:19:13.970
It sucks. But so does God. God hates it too.

01:19:14.550 --> 01:19:16.710
God let it happen, right? Now God can't hate

01:19:16.710 --> 01:19:18.550
it because He let it happen. No. It's the groanings

01:19:18.550 --> 01:19:22.090
of creation awaiting Jesus coming again and it's

01:19:22.090 --> 01:19:24.489
only been allowed to happen because God is patient

01:19:24.489 --> 01:19:27.789
that all men might come to repentance. We are

01:19:27.789 --> 01:19:32.750
suffering. They were suffering then. Jacob, one

01:19:32.750 --> 01:19:33.989
of the fathers of the faith who's named here,

01:19:34.050 --> 01:19:35.949
lived during the worst drought in the Middle

01:19:35.949 --> 01:19:40.710
East history so that he sent... His sons to Joseph

01:19:40.710 --> 01:19:42.829
to buy food because everybody, literally everyone

01:19:42.829 --> 01:19:44.529
was starving, but they had money because God

01:19:44.529 --> 01:19:46.149
had taken care of us. They sent silver to buy

01:19:46.149 --> 01:19:48.970
food in one of the worst droughts to ever hit

01:19:48.970 --> 01:19:52.050
the Middle East. And it says for five more years,

01:19:52.109 --> 01:19:54.369
there would be no rain and no one would eat.

01:19:54.609 --> 01:19:56.369
And obviously they had things that they could

01:19:56.369 --> 01:19:57.810
eat, but they couldn't eat anything that they

01:19:57.810 --> 01:19:59.710
could grow. And that was the sustenance. That

01:19:59.710 --> 01:20:05.119
was their livelihood. But Jacob was the... God

01:20:05.119 --> 01:20:07.460
named him Israel. He was the child of God. He

01:20:07.460 --> 01:20:09.840
was to found the nation of Israel. He shouldn't

01:20:09.840 --> 01:20:12.600
have had any suffering, right? No. Everyone is

01:20:12.600 --> 01:20:14.640
going to suffer because we live in a failing

01:20:14.640 --> 01:20:17.520
creation. The question is not whether or not

01:20:17.520 --> 01:20:19.220
we're going to suffer. The question is, what

01:20:19.220 --> 01:20:21.699
are we going to do with the suffering? Are we

01:20:21.699 --> 01:20:24.060
going to build a then component into working

01:20:24.060 --> 01:20:27.300
through what we're going through today? And we

01:20:27.300 --> 01:20:30.420
come to the conclusion. And the conclusion is

01:20:30.420 --> 01:20:34.439
simply that question. What do the witnesses say?

01:20:36.300 --> 01:20:39.859
In the court of appeals over whether or not you

01:20:39.859 --> 01:20:44.220
can have faith in the worst hours of your life,

01:20:44.380 --> 01:20:50.859
the witnesses say this, I had faith in the worst

01:20:50.859 --> 01:20:55.479
hours of my life and it worked. It paid off.

01:20:55.760 --> 01:21:00.229
God brought me home. God gave me a child when

01:21:00.229 --> 01:21:02.569
I believed there was no way, and He said I would.

01:21:02.590 --> 01:21:05.050
I just trusted Him and He gave it to me. God

01:21:05.050 --> 01:21:10.010
raised my so -and -so from the dead. I died in

01:21:10.010 --> 01:21:14.250
the pit. I died sawn in two. I died hung on a

01:21:14.250 --> 01:21:17.649
cross. I died burned alive. But in a moment,

01:21:17.689 --> 01:21:20.590
I was transported from that instant, that horrible

01:21:20.590 --> 01:21:24.550
experience, into a bliss that was well worth

01:21:24.550 --> 01:21:30.779
it. I preached a sermon about a couple months

01:21:30.779 --> 01:21:35.920
ago called Almost Done. This is the paradigm

01:21:35.920 --> 01:21:40.500
that Jesus has set up. He put the church and

01:21:40.500 --> 01:21:42.520
all those who trust in Him, all of God's people,

01:21:42.600 --> 01:21:44.640
if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and

01:21:44.640 --> 01:21:46.760
Savior and live for Him going forward, then He

01:21:46.760 --> 01:21:49.619
puts you at the moment in time, forever at the

01:21:49.619 --> 01:21:53.439
crux, on the edge, at the precipice, almost done.

01:21:55.539 --> 01:21:58.039
But done comes after almost done and we all want

01:21:58.039 --> 01:22:00.140
done. We dream about it. The fact is we lust

01:22:00.140 --> 01:22:02.619
after it. We want it. We want it to be nice.

01:22:02.680 --> 01:22:04.579
We want it to come together. We want it to stop

01:22:04.579 --> 01:22:06.960
being a problem. We want the person that we love

01:22:06.960 --> 01:22:09.039
to say exactly what we want them to say. We want

01:22:09.039 --> 01:22:11.159
the doctor to give the right rendering, etc.

01:22:11.619 --> 01:22:14.260
That's what we want. We're living in almost done.

01:22:14.300 --> 01:22:18.600
Not done. And we'll be in heaven if we've accepted

01:22:18.600 --> 01:22:21.699
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If we've believed

01:22:21.699 --> 01:22:24.439
that He was God's Son. That He died on the cross

01:22:24.439 --> 01:22:26.619
to pay for our sins and that God raised Him from

01:22:26.619 --> 01:22:28.640
the dead. He has right to be Savior. It means

01:22:28.640 --> 01:22:30.340
He paid the price. He has right to be Lord. It

01:22:30.340 --> 01:22:31.779
means He tells us what to do. If we believe that,

01:22:31.899 --> 01:22:36.260
then we will be done. And that knowledge, that

01:22:36.260 --> 01:22:39.119
forehand knowledge, that gift to you, that gift

01:22:39.119 --> 01:22:43.159
to me of knowing that we will be done, that's

01:22:43.159 --> 01:22:47.319
the then component. Maybe you're here today and

01:22:47.319 --> 01:22:50.479
you're in a really rough spot. You've been through

01:22:50.479 --> 01:22:54.100
some stuff. Maybe someone put you in the spot.

01:22:54.220 --> 01:22:57.260
Maybe you put yourself in the spot. Maybe you're

01:22:57.260 --> 01:23:00.199
looking at the world going, holy cow, what is

01:23:00.199 --> 01:23:05.539
even going on? So many people, so much violence,

01:23:05.619 --> 01:23:08.800
so much sickness, so much chasing after money.

01:23:14.640 --> 01:23:16.859
And a lot of it gets swept under the rug and

01:23:16.859 --> 01:23:18.819
then thrown up in our faces all of a sudden and

01:23:18.819 --> 01:23:21.079
it comes like a surprise. Oh, holy cow, what

01:23:21.079 --> 01:23:25.609
is that? Did you know that in 2019, before the

01:23:25.609 --> 01:23:28.670
pandemic ever came, that in our nation, tens

01:23:28.670 --> 01:23:31.649
of thousands, almost 100 ,000 people died of

01:23:31.649 --> 01:23:36.289
opiate overdoses? While we're all pretty freaked

01:23:36.289 --> 01:23:37.949
out by the number of people that have died to

01:23:37.949 --> 01:23:42.390
COVID -19, I was a little freaked out by the

01:23:42.390 --> 01:23:45.119
number of people that died. to opiate overdoses.

01:23:45.119 --> 01:23:47.500
We had a young man, 15 years old, walking home

01:23:47.500 --> 01:23:49.880
from Madhouse one night, walking down Main Street,

01:23:49.979 --> 01:23:51.600
because they walk in from all over the neighborhood

01:23:51.600 --> 01:23:53.560
to come to a youth group, and he was walking

01:23:53.560 --> 01:23:55.279
down Main Street, and a car stopped in the middle

01:23:55.279 --> 01:23:56.640
of an intersection, and him and his friends went

01:23:56.640 --> 01:23:58.420
out to see what was going on. And there's a guy

01:23:58.420 --> 01:24:00.100
sitting in the front seat in the middle of the

01:24:00.100 --> 01:24:03.140
Star and Main intersection, Star and East Broadway

01:24:03.140 --> 01:24:08.060
intersection, overdosed on opiates. He was driving

01:24:08.060 --> 01:24:10.140
his car. And that's when it hit him. And he's

01:24:10.140 --> 01:24:11.600
sitting there overdosed on opioids. And they

01:24:11.600 --> 01:24:13.119
called the police. And the police came. And the

01:24:13.119 --> 01:24:14.699
ambulance came. And they gave the guy the shot.

01:24:14.979 --> 01:24:17.420
And his life was saved. But listen, it's not

01:24:17.420 --> 01:24:20.760
somewhere else. Evil is not somewhere else. Suffering

01:24:20.760 --> 01:24:23.420
is not somewhere else. Difficulty is not somewhere

01:24:23.420 --> 01:24:25.659
else. It's right here. And if you are looking

01:24:25.659 --> 01:24:28.319
at what you can see, imagining things getting

01:24:28.319 --> 01:24:30.439
better, imagine things being okay, imagine things

01:24:30.439 --> 01:24:33.039
being alright, then you're actually kind of kidding

01:24:33.039 --> 01:24:34.720
yourself is what you're actually doing. What

01:24:34.720 --> 01:24:36.899
you really need to look at are the things that

01:24:36.899 --> 01:24:38.600
you can't see. The world will tell you you need

01:24:38.600 --> 01:24:40.039
to look at the things that you can't see. Deal

01:24:40.039 --> 01:24:42.260
with what's right in front of you. But God says

01:24:42.260 --> 01:24:44.640
just the opposite. Look at what you can't see.

01:24:44.720 --> 01:24:46.800
I know where you want to be. I know what you

01:24:46.800 --> 01:24:48.760
want to do for the rest of eternity. I know where

01:24:48.760 --> 01:24:50.479
you don't want to be for the rest of eternity

01:24:50.479 --> 01:24:54.260
and I can get you there, says God. I have paid

01:24:54.260 --> 01:24:56.819
the price. I've taken care of it. Build into

01:24:56.819 --> 01:24:59.340
your life the then component. What that's going

01:24:59.340 --> 01:25:01.619
to be like then. Realize when you're suffering,

01:25:01.680 --> 01:25:04.300
when you're struggling, when you're saying something

01:25:04.300 --> 01:25:06.659
that's not nice, when you're hurting someone

01:25:06.659 --> 01:25:08.560
else, you're just a product of the struggling

01:25:08.560 --> 01:25:10.579
of creation. You're giving in to be the kind

01:25:10.579 --> 01:25:15.220
of person that you should never be because in

01:25:15.220 --> 01:25:18.720
that moment, instead of thinking about the then

01:25:18.720 --> 01:25:21.300
component, you're thinking about getting what

01:25:21.300 --> 01:25:25.579
you want right now. God is asking us to trust

01:25:25.579 --> 01:25:28.399
Him. Not just with our salvation. If you've never

01:25:28.399 --> 01:25:30.079
accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior,

01:25:30.140 --> 01:25:35.020
you need to do that. But then after that, because

01:25:35.020 --> 01:25:36.739
we're still going to live here until it's over,

01:25:36.920 --> 01:25:39.520
until it's actually done, He's asking you to

01:25:39.520 --> 01:25:42.779
trust Him with your every day. And think about...

01:25:43.800 --> 01:25:46.560
How the not seen things, how the things you can't

01:25:46.560 --> 01:25:48.239
see, the things that you can't understand, the

01:25:48.239 --> 01:25:49.880
things that you can't get there by using Google

01:25:49.880 --> 01:25:57.399
Maps or whatever the iCloud version is. Jesus

01:25:57.399 --> 01:26:02.420
will take you there. He got there. Oh, and just

01:26:02.420 --> 01:26:06.039
on a side note, how did he get there? He died

01:26:06.039 --> 01:26:10.180
on a cross. But somehow we think we're better

01:26:10.180 --> 01:26:13.850
than him. Like we're going to avoid that. and

01:26:13.850 --> 01:26:17.569
get there anyway. Gratefully, we probably will

01:26:17.569 --> 01:26:21.390
not die on a cross. But if Jesus doesn't come

01:26:21.390 --> 01:26:25.069
again first, we will die. And if you're going

01:26:25.069 --> 01:26:26.970
to get mad on the day that your car breaks down,

01:26:27.069 --> 01:26:28.229
if you're going to get upset on the day that

01:26:28.229 --> 01:26:29.449
you don't have the money that you want, if you're

01:26:29.449 --> 01:26:30.569
going to get upset on the day that your relationship

01:26:30.569 --> 01:26:33.090
doesn't quite go the way you want it to, how's

01:26:33.090 --> 01:26:37.270
the day you're going to die going to go? The

01:26:37.270 --> 01:26:40.149
day when you're literally on the doorstep to

01:26:40.149 --> 01:26:42.289
the mansion that Jesus has prepared for you?

01:26:43.210 --> 01:26:46.010
Will you be fussing and throwing a fit? I hope

01:26:46.010 --> 01:26:50.390
not. Because then, the then will be really close.

01:26:52.409 --> 01:26:55.729
Maybe it's closer than we think. I ask you today,

01:26:55.789 --> 01:26:57.710
if you've never accepted Jesus Christ as Lord

01:26:57.710 --> 01:27:00.869
and Savior, listen to these witnesses. Listen

01:27:00.869 --> 01:27:03.069
to God and His Holy Spirit and the love that

01:27:03.069 --> 01:27:06.430
He has for you. And that He did everything to

01:27:06.430 --> 01:27:08.689
bring you into relationship with Him. It's all

01:27:08.689 --> 01:27:11.789
done. That part's done. Accept that and say,

01:27:11.829 --> 01:27:14.250
okay God, I accept the salvation that You paid

01:27:14.250 --> 01:27:17.510
for for me. I accept You as Lord of my life.

01:27:17.649 --> 01:27:20.909
And I know I'll probably screw up, but I'll trust

01:27:20.909 --> 01:27:24.310
You to teach me when I do. And then every day,

01:27:24.449 --> 01:27:28.149
add the then component. He's taking me there.

01:27:29.010 --> 01:27:33.390
He's taking me then. And if you're already a

01:27:33.390 --> 01:27:35.829
follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm asking

01:27:35.829 --> 01:27:37.890
you to live not for the house that you would

01:27:37.890 --> 01:27:44.060
build or that the rich man could build, or that

01:27:44.060 --> 01:27:46.979
the church could build, but only for the house

01:27:46.979 --> 01:27:49.479
that God can build. I'm going to pray with you

01:27:49.479 --> 01:27:50.939
briefly and then we'll have the praise team come

01:27:50.939 --> 01:27:53.720
and lead us in a song of invitation and final

01:27:53.720 --> 01:27:59.100
hymn of our service. Father God, how easy it

01:27:59.100 --> 01:28:08.619
is to fall under the flood these days. Pressed

01:28:08.619 --> 01:28:14.880
to either, A, think, This creation is so messed

01:28:14.880 --> 01:28:17.920
up. How can God be in charge? How can God let

01:28:17.920 --> 01:28:25.159
that happen? Or what am I going to do? To feel

01:28:25.159 --> 01:28:27.899
hopeless and despair because of so much pressed

01:28:27.899 --> 01:28:34.199
on us in this day. Or to say we're going to take

01:28:34.199 --> 01:28:35.960
it in our own hands and we're going to fix it.

01:28:36.020 --> 01:28:37.300
We're going to make it right. We're going to

01:28:37.300 --> 01:28:41.180
raise our voices. Or if necessary, get violent.

01:28:41.460 --> 01:28:46.300
Or withdraw. Pull back. Push people away. Or

01:28:46.300 --> 01:28:48.319
say just the right thing or do just the right

01:28:48.319 --> 01:28:51.560
thing to make everyone around us know that we

01:28:51.560 --> 01:28:56.159
are right. And when I listen to the witnesses

01:28:56.159 --> 01:29:01.859
of Scripture, those who have the favor of God,

01:29:01.979 --> 01:29:05.680
those who are called pleasing to God, I hear

01:29:05.680 --> 01:29:09.260
that neither one of those methods are the method

01:29:09.260 --> 01:29:12.840
that you would have us to live by. But rather,

01:29:12.920 --> 01:29:17.399
that we would today submit this day and our choices

01:29:17.399 --> 01:29:21.539
into your hands. That we would live always, even

01:29:21.539 --> 01:29:24.140
with your Holy Spirit in us, showing us more

01:29:24.140 --> 01:29:29.100
than we ever knew before. We could live knowing

01:29:29.100 --> 01:29:31.539
that there are things that we don't know yet.

01:29:32.880 --> 01:29:35.800
And that the things that we truly desire will

01:29:35.800 --> 01:29:40.979
be made out of that which we do not see. Lord,

01:29:41.039 --> 01:29:43.659
we want to believe. Help us with our unbelief.

01:29:44.560 --> 01:29:46.600
If there is someone here today who has not accepted

01:29:46.600 --> 01:29:49.039
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they know. They've

01:29:49.039 --> 01:29:50.779
heard the story. They know that Jesus died on

01:29:50.779 --> 01:29:55.680
the cross, rose again on the third day. They

01:29:55.680 --> 01:29:58.899
know that He claimed to be God in the flesh and

01:29:58.899 --> 01:30:01.779
that He backed that up with miracles and teachings

01:30:01.779 --> 01:30:04.380
of such authority that no one would deny it except

01:30:04.380 --> 01:30:06.819
for those who truly wanted to stand against Him.

01:30:10.090 --> 01:30:13.710
They know that story. But maybe they haven't

01:30:13.710 --> 01:30:19.789
said, okay God, I surrender. I submit. I turn

01:30:19.789 --> 01:30:21.930
away from who I was and I turn only to you so

01:30:21.930 --> 01:30:26.449
you can take care of it. I pray Lord that they'll

01:30:26.449 --> 01:30:31.369
do that. Or that they already have. And that

01:30:31.369 --> 01:30:34.369
they'll make it public. That they'll boldly say

01:30:34.369 --> 01:30:38.760
that I'm living for my God. And the future that

01:30:38.760 --> 01:30:43.539
he has prepared for me, not myself. I'm making

01:30:43.539 --> 01:30:49.100
today better. Father, if there's somebody here

01:30:49.100 --> 01:30:50.520
who would say, I already am a follower of the

01:30:50.520 --> 01:30:54.279
Lord Jesus Christ. I believed, and so I got saved,

01:30:54.600 --> 01:30:58.800
and so everything is settled. I pray, Lord, that

01:30:58.800 --> 01:31:06.399
they would let you show them. wherever it is

01:31:06.399 --> 01:31:10.439
in their life, wherever it is in my life, that

01:31:10.439 --> 01:31:16.100
we need to trust you and proceed with diligence

01:31:16.100 --> 01:31:20.119
as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ to be found

01:31:20.119 --> 01:31:25.420
faithful even through suffering and trials, to

01:31:25.420 --> 01:31:28.640
add the then component to our thinking every

01:31:28.640 --> 01:31:33.659
now. Help us, Jesus. It's in your name we pray.

01:31:34.180 --> 01:31:36.390
Amen. I ask the praise team to come forward at

01:31:36.390 --> 01:31:38.029
this time. We're going to have a closing hymn.

01:31:38.270 --> 01:31:39.890
This is the closing hymn of our service, but

01:31:39.890 --> 01:31:41.350
it's also an opportunity for you to respond.

01:31:41.770 --> 01:31:43.329
If you feel like the Lord has spoken to your

01:31:43.329 --> 01:31:44.750
heart and you need to say something, you can

01:31:44.750 --> 01:31:46.470
just get my attention by raising your hand right

01:31:46.470 --> 01:31:47.710
where you're at. You don't actually have to walk

01:31:47.710 --> 01:31:50.449
forward to the room, in front of the room, or

01:31:50.449 --> 01:31:53.050
if you want to, you can. Right here, there really

01:31:53.050 --> 01:31:54.569
is no front of the room. You just kind of all

01:31:54.569 --> 01:31:56.029
face one direction because it's more convenient

01:31:56.029 --> 01:31:58.350
that way. So wherever you are, that's where God's

01:31:58.350 --> 01:32:00.789
working. If He speaks to you, then you let us

01:32:00.789 --> 01:32:02.369
know that and we'll let you speak in a moment.

01:32:02.730 --> 01:32:04.829
after we sing, okay? Would you, if you're comfortable

01:32:04.829 --> 01:32:06.829
and able to do so, would you stand and sing this

01:32:06.829 --> 01:32:09.670
song with us and let the Lord work in your heart

01:32:09.670 --> 01:35:37.119
as you sing. housekeeping things there is a football

01:35:37.119 --> 01:35:39.920
game for the five to ten year olds play football

01:35:39.920 --> 01:35:40.180
team