1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,000 Welcome to In The Seams, a podcast by Broken and Mended. 2 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:22,480 And now your host, David Heflin. 3 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:23,480 Welcome back to In The Seams. 4 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,880 I know it's been a while since we recorded an episode. 5 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:32,240 That is because we are in a time of transition with Broken and Mended, where I'm actually 6 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:36,880 moving out of the governance side of Broken and Mended, where I've been the president 7 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:41,240 and on the board of directors since the beginning of Broken and Mended as a nonprofit back in 8 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:42,240 2021. 9 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:46,660 It actually goes back to 2018 when we started this as a ministry. 10 00:00:46,660 --> 00:00:51,200 But now I'm moving into becoming the full-time executive director. 11 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:56,000 There's a lot to do, but in theory, it ought to give me an opportunity to be more consistent 12 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:57,000 with content. 13 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:01,600 And so we have some plans, even though this is February 28th, and we're recording, I'm 14 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:03,080 recording this on the last day of February. 15 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:07,920 It's hard for me to believe we've already had two months, but I believe in the next six 16 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:10,320 weeks or so, there will be three different podcasts. 17 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:14,120 So I'm going to share mine today, which is a recording from the Diamonds Conference, 18 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:18,280 a session that I gave there just back in January. 19 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:21,200 And then we're going to also upload Timothy Gunnels. 20 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:26,360 He's been a guest and also a host on this show, a time or two. 21 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:33,440 And Tim is going to be sharing his recording from the Diamonds Conference. 22 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:37,320 And so I want to go ahead and lead into mine today. 23 00:01:37,320 --> 00:01:42,640 And I want to let you use your time to listen to the talk more than me, talk it to death 24 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,000 before we even get into it. 25 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,200 But I did want to just give you a little bit of orientation about what the session was 26 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:51,880 about and what my talk was about. 27 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:55,320 And so hopefully that will convince you to go ahead and listen to it. 28 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,760 The name of my talk is Finding Joy Through Courage. 29 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:05,800 And the theme of Diamonds Conference 2025, and I may not have this exactly right, but 30 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,320 it had to do with courage, courage for the journey or something like that. 31 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:15,920 And so I decided to focus on the fact that there can be joy and we can find joy through 32 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:20,880 experiencing courage in our walk with chronic illness. 33 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,840 And that may seem like something that's nearly impossible to attain because there's not a 34 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,560 lot of joy that comes in hurting. 35 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:32,520 But so in my talk, I kind of talk about that a little bit and about why joy can be elusive 36 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:38,760 and how it gets mixed up with more worldly concept of happiness and that even in times 37 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:44,160 of sadness, there's still a joy in connection with our relationship with God and our relationship 38 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:50,000 with others that is something that is transcendent to our circumstances. 39 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,240 And that's maybe easier said than done. 40 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:57,400 And so I kind of, in other words, when we feel unhappy, joy may seem very distant. 41 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,360 I'm not saying they're unrelated to one another, but they're not exactly the same thing. 42 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:03,520 So I'll talk through that a little bit in this talk. 43 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:08,280 Talk about some of Paul's passages in Philippians where he says, Rejoice in the Lord always. 44 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:12,920 And again, I say rejoice and what he means about that. 45 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:17,000 But then I move into talking about the false promises of happiness. 46 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:25,600 And that has to do a lot with the prosperity gospel and actually how harmful that can be. 47 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:30,760 One of the books that one of the lines I quote from a book from a prosperity gospel preacher 48 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,400 is God wants us to enjoy every single day of our lives. 49 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:38,400 Well, that puts a lot of pressure on people that are dealing with chronic illness or depression 50 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:41,240 or any number of difficult things. 51 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:45,760 And so talk about that and how that misleads us and how harmful that can be. 52 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,560 And I actually end up talking about Lord of the Rings. 53 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:53,320 And so if you're not a Lord of the Rings fan, you might want to stop when I get to that 54 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:56,360 part in the talk or maybe not. 55 00:03:56,360 --> 00:04:00,680 Maybe you can understand, maybe you can understand why it's so important to so many people, why 56 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:01,960 it's been important to me. 57 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:08,480 But the reason why I appeal to it in this case is because it has a lot to do with seeing 58 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:13,920 how Tolkien envisioned his characters on a perilous journey, a journey they never would 59 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:18,000 have chosen a journey where happiness in its in the true sense of that word would have 60 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:19,280 been impossible. 61 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:23,240 And yet how they still find joy in the togetherness of their mission. 62 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:28,280 So the fact that they're doing something meaningful, even against all odds, and yet that they're 63 00:04:28,280 --> 00:04:32,840 doing it together, they're still joy in their relationships with one another, even in the 64 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:34,160 midst of the danger. 65 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:40,240 So I'm making an appeal there for us not to be in isolation and how that we can find joy 66 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:45,360 through, we find courage, I think, only in the joy fellowship. 67 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:48,160 If hopefully that makes sense as we get into the talk. 68 00:04:48,160 --> 00:04:51,240 I, in other words, I think it's pretty hard to be courageous alone. 69 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:57,200 I think that eventually usually puts too much pressure on ourselves and doesn't allow us 70 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:01,240 to experience the true joys God intended for us to have it. 71 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:07,920 And so I think both courage and joy come come in greater proportions when we are not isolated 72 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:08,920 from one another. 73 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:14,000 We'll talk about how chronic illness can isolate us and what we can do in response to that 74 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,040 using some of the tools available to us today. 75 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:21,600 So I hope that it is a edifying talk. 76 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:26,000 And you know, certainly if you like it, you'll go ahead and rate the episode also follow 77 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:31,880 us on as one of one of your podcasts and rate in the same as if you would, that would be 78 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:33,760 very helpful to us. 79 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:38,600 And be sure to check out brokenamended.org and either resources there, there are ways 80 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:43,440 you can get connected to people, you know, that are struggling with a similar thing that 81 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:45,160 you are. 82 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:49,560 And anyway, I look forward to sharing more in the near future with you. 83 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:53,200 And as I said, I hope this is a blessing to you. 84 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:58,280 Well, I'm very glad to get this opportunity to get to speak to you again. 85 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:02,840 As Sarah mentioned, I've been able to speak in previous Diamond's conferences, I think 86 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:05,200 too, this is my third. 87 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,120 I always look forward to it. 88 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,360 I look forward to it. 89 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,720 Not only because I get to share some things, maybe it's been going on in my mind and my 90 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:18,840 heart and always in step with this great theme like we have this year on courage, but also 91 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:20,920 because I get to hear from so many of you. 92 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:26,720 I just finished like most of you listening to Tim, such a powerful session, such incredible 93 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:32,160 humility, which I just think enhances the boldness of the words when he says them and 94 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:33,320 sharing his story. 95 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:37,840 I was able to hear an earlier one by Amber, I missed the middle one, that's what Sarah 96 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:38,840 and I were talking about. 97 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:42,800 I had to pull away to work on a sermon, but I hope to go back and listen to that and catch 98 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:45,240 as many of these as I can. 99 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:49,840 But my session is called Finding Joy Through Courage. 100 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:54,600 And so I want to begin a little bit by talking about the Apostle Paul because he commands 101 00:06:54,600 --> 00:07:00,000 the Philippian Christians to rejoice in the Lord always, several times he says this in 102 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:04,000 Philippians, and then he even doubles down in one place, at least one place, Philippians 103 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,240 4-4, he says, I will say it again, rejoice. 104 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:09,600 So he's pretty direct about it. 105 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:14,440 And many have pointed out that Paul is writing this while he's in a prison cell, it's one 106 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:19,760 of the prison epistles, and kind of make the point that therefore the joy he commands is 107 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,680 not dependent on circumstances. 108 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:25,920 And I think whether he was writing from a prison cell or not, that would have been pretty 109 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,040 clear by the content and the context of what he was writing. 110 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:34,480 He's not talking about a circumstantial joy, which we more commonly call happiness. 111 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:38,360 But I think I guess the fact that he is writing it from a prison cell underscores the point 112 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:43,400 that he is personally committed to this idea of being able to rejoice in the Lord, no matter 113 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,480 what he's facing, no matter what he's going through. 114 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:52,680 A closely connected theme is contentment, and a few verses later in verse 12, chapter 115 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:58,720 4, Paul writes, I have learned the secret of being content in every situation. 116 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:03,680 And that secret, he doesn't keep it a secret, which I'm thankful for, because he says in 117 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:08,480 Philippians 4-13, and you know this verse, that he can do all things through Christ who 118 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:10,920 gives him or through him who gives him strength. 119 00:08:10,920 --> 00:08:16,440 Now that latter verse is often kind of ripped out of its context, and to make it sound like 120 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,400 Paul was talking about some form of American triumphalism. 121 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:25,120 So you'll maybe hear someone quote this, I can win a football game, or I can score a 122 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:32,440 perfect score on my ACT, because I can do all things through him who gives me strength, 123 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:34,440 or him who strengthens me. 124 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:40,640 But if that were what Paul meant, it would turn contentment and its companion joy back 125 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:44,320 into a circumstantial based reality. 126 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:48,400 So I don't think it's really that difficult logically to understand what Paul means, that 127 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:54,440 joy is rooted in the contentment of being united with Christ in all things. 128 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:59,000 It's why Paul can say just a chapter earlier in Philippians 3-8, he says he counts all 129 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:05,760 things as laws compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord. 130 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:08,280 So I can understand that logically. 131 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:09,280 Sounds good. 132 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:13,640 I can tell you that in my experience, my experience of joy does not always match my understanding 133 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:14,840 of it. 134 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:18,720 Even before I had chronic illness, I struggled with joy. 135 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,240 And sometimes I thought maybe there's something wrong with my faith. 136 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:27,680 You know, if you really believe what you say you believe, then you would have more joy 137 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:33,480 as the accusing voice was shouting into my consciousness. 138 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:35,320 And I've always just had a hard time. 139 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:39,720 I think maybe because my mind is so analytical anyway, but I just have a hard time pushing 140 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:45,440 away this foreboding feeling that something is going to go wrong and ruin even the most 141 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:46,940 joyful occasions. 142 00:09:46,940 --> 00:09:51,840 It's just kind of been a little bit of a difficulty, a burden that I've carried in my life even 143 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:55,360 before chronic illness entered into my life. 144 00:09:55,360 --> 00:10:03,000 But I was a minister and still am, but I was a minister and I was fearful of being judged. 145 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:09,360 And so I kept this secret, I kept this a secret from even those that were close to me because 146 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:13,840 I thought one of two things, right, they could judge me for you really shouldn't be a minister 147 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:18,480 if you're having these struggles or that I might somehow inadvertently cause them to 148 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:24,080 struggle with their faith because maybe someone they looked up to as a minister was admitting 149 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:29,280 that he was struggling with this very important Christian concept of joy. 150 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:31,120 But then I began to hurt every day. 151 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:36,600 And as the days became weeks, as the weeks became months and then the months became years, 152 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:41,200 I really withdrew to the lonely places of doubt in my heart. 153 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:44,920 And as I look back on it now, I know as a way of protecting myself almost like trying 154 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:51,960 to control the situation by keeping people away from me and not adding to my emotional 155 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:55,560 pain that was already going with my physical pain. 156 00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:59,600 And what it felt like to me, again, this is more retrospective than in the time, but it 157 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:00,600 now look back on it. 158 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:05,280 I felt like the, you know, the world was spinning, but somehow I was outside of it. 159 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:07,360 Somehow I was watching it. 160 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:12,800 It was like living life, but it really felt like I was watching it and I wasn't really 161 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,360 participating in it. 162 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:19,760 And if what I'm describing to you sounds like depression, well, you're right. 163 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,640 I didn't start just because you struggle with some things. 164 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:23,640 Does it mean you're depressed? 165 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:25,960 But eventually it did become that for me. 166 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,560 You know, and depression is a complex problem. 167 00:11:28,560 --> 00:11:34,280 It has many different causes, but all the numbers say that people with chronic illness, 168 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:39,480 chronic pain, that they suffer from depression, which with a much higher percentage than the 169 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:43,240 general population overwhelmingly so. 170 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:49,600 And so depression can make it harder to experience Christian joy, but it does not eliminate it. 171 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:55,520 And I want to say this, that you are not sinning because you are depressed in case someone 172 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:57,320 has told you otherwise. 173 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:02,840 And again, I, you know, just hearing from Amber again today and talking about mental 174 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:07,840 health, she's just such a good job of addressing those, those issues and some of the attitudes 175 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:11,200 that people have in the church about it and really how wrong they are. 176 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:16,680 And so I, you know, I've struggled with depression at times and maybe you have to, and maybe 177 00:12:16,680 --> 00:12:21,400 you are right now, and we've talked about anxiety some in these sessions. 178 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:25,280 And you know, it's, it's not because you're, you're sinning any more than you have your 179 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:28,000 chronic illness because of sin. 180 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:34,120 Ultimately I have learned though, in my experience since all this took place, that joy is not 181 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:37,600 about avoiding the worst struggles of life. 182 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:42,720 It is about the Lord of all creation meeting us in those struggles. 183 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:46,640 And the first thing that we have to do if we're going to hold on to this transcendent 184 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:53,440 joy is to stop believing the lies about joy from the world. 185 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:57,640 In a popular book from a well-known author that you would, a preacher actually that you 186 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:02,240 would probably know, I'm almost certain you would, a prosperity preacher. 187 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:09,120 The book itself is, is not subtle, but there is a subtly misleading statement that comes, 188 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:13,560 well, I was just, I happened to be looking at it just recently, but he said, this is 189 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:15,920 a statement I want to talk about. 190 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:21,400 He said, God wants us to enjoy every single day of our lives. 191 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:23,780 And it's subtle because it sounds right. 192 00:13:23,780 --> 00:13:27,640 We think, well, well, yeah, well, wouldn't God want us to enjoy every single day of 193 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:29,080 our lives. 194 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:33,480 And it's amazing how such a message then begins to infiltrate the church as if that's the 195 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,840 most important thing that we enjoy every day of our lives. 196 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:42,760 And the fallout to that message infiltrating the church has been extensive. 197 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:48,560 The chapter that boasts that statement was called, choose to be happy. 198 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:54,800 By happy the author means he doesn't, and I quote, he doesn't want you down in the dumps, 199 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:58,040 defeated and depressed because we have problems. 200 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:03,520 Now I happen to be reading the Beatitudes on the same day I came across these words 201 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:05,160 in this chapter. 202 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:11,680 And Jesus strikes a decidedly different chord when instead of chastising the so-called unhappy 203 00:14:11,680 --> 00:14:17,200 people down in the dumps, what he says instead is blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs 204 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:18,920 is the kingdom of heaven. 205 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:22,840 Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. 206 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:28,200 And the blessings then from Christ and being in this kingdom do not come in our present 207 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:36,200 day attitude, but rather in the blessings of God that will outlast this age. 208 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:42,640 Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us that God wants us to enjoy every single day in 209 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:43,800 our lives. 210 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:49,160 And that is an unrealistic expectation to put on any of us in a fallen world. 211 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:54,320 And it also misses the fact that the most difficult seasons of our lives can be our 212 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:56,040 most character forming. 213 00:14:56,040 --> 00:15:01,000 This is what Paul teaches us in Romans 3, I'm sorry, 5, 3 through 5. 214 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:06,600 He says, and not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions because we know that affliction 215 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:12,920 produces endurance, endurance, proven character, and proven character produces hope. 216 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:18,120 This hope will not disappoint us because God's love has been poured out in our hearts through 217 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:24,600 the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 218 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:32,640 God's call to pick up our cross and follow him also must mean that we're not going to 219 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:35,760 find every day enjoyable. 220 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:42,720 But particularly to those of us who struggle with incredible pain and life-altering illness, 221 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:45,240 this is a cruel expectation. 222 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:51,720 And crueler yet if you teach hurting people that this is what God expects of you. 223 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:57,800 The prosperity gospel has exchanged worldly happiness for godly joy because despite all 224 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:04,760 of our talk about Christ's kingdom not being of this world, we really still love the things 225 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:06,720 of this world very much. 226 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:12,520 And too often we would rather have the comfort of health and wealth instead of the comfort 227 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:14,440 of God. 228 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:20,440 God's comfort in times of suffering leads to inexpressible joy and peace that has nothing 229 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:25,160 to do with the happiness of health and wealth. 230 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:32,400 So ironically one of the reasons we are missing out on Christian joy is that we actually want 231 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:35,880 worldly happiness instead. 232 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:41,040 Worldly happiness is all about what we can see, what we can experience in the moment. 233 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:49,120 But our Christian faith teaches us a different focus as the apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 234 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:57,320 4, 17 through 18, our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable 235 00:16:57,320 --> 00:17:00,000 eternal way to glory. 236 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,880 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. 237 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:10,120 For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 238 00:17:10,120 --> 00:17:14,320 Paul's not saying that our afflictions are light in themselves. 239 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:19,200 If we hear him say it that way, we would think Paul is being cruel or dismissive and it is 240 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:20,700 not that at all. 241 00:17:20,700 --> 00:17:27,880 He is just saying that when you compare them to eternal glory, that they truly are light 242 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:33,000 and momentary. 243 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:38,080 Paul even says, it is kind of an interesting word choice I think, they are producing this 244 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:39,600 eternal glory for us. 245 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:44,840 Now if we read enough of the apostle Paul and Bible in general, we know that Paul does 246 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:51,240 not mean that our suffering earns us eternal life, but perhaps he means that it is preparing 247 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:53,040 us for it in some way. 248 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:59,560 Now happiness tries to capture a moment in the present and then hold on to it for a long 249 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:03,560 time even after it becomes part of the past. 250 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:10,800 Joy embraces the hope of an eternal future that transcends all the circumstances of our 251 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:12,560 present. 252 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:18,680 And the reason it takes courage to live in joy is because it points forward to what 253 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:20,840 we cannot see. 254 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:31,840 In other words, it takes faith to embrace joy and faith always requires courage. 255 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:36,480 We know we all feel sorry for ourselves sometimes. 256 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:41,160 Again I think back to Ambrose talks, he reminded us of Elijah when he was at that despondent 257 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:44,720 point in his life, where he couldn't see anything else but his own suffering. 258 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:50,920 It is okay to be there sometimes, but getting stuck there can undermine our capacity to 259 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:53,360 live in God's joy. 260 00:18:53,360 --> 00:19:01,800 And it takes courage to admit that many of the things that used to make us happy are 261 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:09,120 no longer attainable and believe that greater joy is possible when we embrace what God offers 262 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:11,720 us through Jesus Christ. 263 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:19,960 Though Christian joy is more real to me now than ever, because I let go of the pressure 264 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:25,760 of being happy and receive the gift of joy as God's grace. 265 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:31,400 If you've seen the study guide you read the takeaways that I put in there, this is the 266 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:38,520 part that some of you will be really excited about and some of you may roll your eyes, 267 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:43,160 but if you roll your eyes I can't see you anyway, so no worries there. 268 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,360 But yes I want to talk about Lord of the Rings for a minute. 269 00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:52,080 Lord of the Rings is something that's helped me a lot in a lot of ways and I'll try to 270 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:53,840 explain that a little bit. 271 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:59,040 But Lord of the Rings and other talking works, you know of course they're fantasy literature, 272 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:04,000 but they've helped me understand something about the connection between joy, fellowship, 273 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:05,000 and courage. 274 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:11,000 And for those of you who you're not fans, you get tired of people who are fans of Lord 275 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,800 of the Rings, always talking about Lord of the Rings, believe me I've had to kind of 276 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:19,040 censor myself here as I preach at church because I can't use the illustration every week from 277 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:20,040 Lord of the Rings. 278 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,040 But for those of you that feel that way I want to appeal to you for a moment and I'm 279 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:27,640 not trying to make you read the books, certainly not for everyone, but I think it would be 280 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:32,520 good to invest at the time to at least watch the movies. 281 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,920 I'm talking about the original trilogy, not the Hobbit movie so much, but the Lord of 282 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:42,000 the Rings movies from Peter Jackson and you will at least understand some of the references 283 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,760 and I think you will understand just by even if it's not really your thing and you would 284 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:52,160 at least understand the appeal of the story. 285 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:55,040 And so I would encourage you to do it. 286 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:59,120 It takes you a little while because you probably could read a short book anyway in the amount 287 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:01,120 of time it would take you to read Lord of the Rings. 288 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:03,600 I mean watch Lord of the Rings but it's worth it. 289 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:05,080 I think you ought to do it. 290 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:10,120 But the question whether you're a fan or not is why does Lord of the Rings, why won't it 291 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:14,200 go away after all these years, what keeps drawing people back to it? 292 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:19,480 If you're a Lord of the Rings fan, I meant to bring these two books with me in here but 293 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,360 I left them in my office. 294 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:26,440 I'm in the Lord Church library right now so anyway I'll mention them to you and hopefully 295 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:28,960 you can be able to look them up if you are interested. 296 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:35,200 But I read two books in preparation for this talk and I recommend both of them actually. 297 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:40,880 The first one is called The Gospel According to Tolkien and it's by Ralph C. Wood and the 298 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:46,560 second one is called Finding God in the Lord of the Rings and that's by Kurt Brunner and 299 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:48,200 Jim Ware. 300 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:54,800 The former is a deeper theological work so the one that's called The Gospel According 301 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:59,440 to Tolkien and the latter is really more of a devotional book. 302 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:00,760 I like them both. 303 00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:06,160 I sometimes like the deeper reflection more than the devotional stuff but I thought they 304 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:08,520 were both valuable. 305 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,520 But here's what you need to know about Lord of the Rings for this talk. 306 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:16,960 The story is driven by the fellowship of nine characters who represent the fate of all Middle 307 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:18,200 Earth. 308 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:22,480 If you think about something similar like the Knights of the Round Table it's really 309 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:26,560 only superficially similar because the Knights of the Round Table are in a lot of ways they're 310 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:28,480 all Knights, they're all alike. 311 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:33,200 But in the fellowship of the Ring the nine people that are brought together are actually 312 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:34,200 different races. 313 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:40,120 Yes, they're fantasy races so to speak but you have an elf and a dwarf and they don't 314 00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:43,200 like each other traditionally or historically. 315 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:49,800 In Tolkien's world anyway you got four men, I'm sorry two men and those two men are at 316 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:53,680 odds one another two for a different reason I won't get into right now and then you got 317 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:58,400 the four hobbits that are with them. 318 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:03,440 And so they're varied, they're very diverse, they even have some enmity between them or 319 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:09,320 at least their peoples do and yet what brings them together is a quest to save Middle Earth 320 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:14,680 from absolute tyranny by the enemy of all free people Sauron. 321 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:22,640 And Tolkien presents their task as hopelessly defeated at several junctures but their courage 322 00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,640 is always bolstered by their love for one another and for their love of what is good 323 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:35,320 and beautiful in a world that seems hell bent on eradicating those virtues. 324 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:41,800 The plot revolves around several friendships but at the heart of those friendships is the 325 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:47,280 relationship between Sam and Frodo and again if you don't know the story you won't get 326 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:53,200 the reference as much but it's a very very special friendship and when Sam reflects on 327 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,320 the past heroes who face mortal danger this is what he tells Frodo. 328 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:04,480 He says but I expect they had a lot of chances like us of turning back only they didn't and 329 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:11,240 if they had we shouldn't know but they had been forgotten. 330 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:17,080 We hear about those as just went on and not all to a good end mind you. 331 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:23,000 At least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end and that's 332 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:27,240 kind of you know that's how Sam talks it can be a little hard to follow grammatically but 333 00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:32,720 his point is that we go on because that's what we need to do even when we don't know 334 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:38,280 what the outcome of going on is going to look like because it's right because it's courageous 335 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:43,000 and it's what is required of us whatever is going to happen to us but there's another 336 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:48,000 quote from the return of the king it's not Sam speaking but it's made about Sam and 337 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:52,760 he was in the evil wasteland of Mordor in other words when he was at his highest point 338 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:59,000 of danger I like this even better and it points back to the reason why we can't turn back 339 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:05,880 even when all appearances for hope have vanished says there peeping among the cloud rack above 340 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:13,960 a dark tour high up in the mountain sound and Sam saw a wide star twinkle for a while 341 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:19,400 the beauty of it's most heart he looked up out of the forsaken land and hope returned 342 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:26,240 to him for like a shaft clearing cold the thought pierced him that in the end the shadow 343 00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:34,920 was only a small and passing thing there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach 344 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:42,760 Christian joy is having the courage to believe that the light can never be swallowed up in 345 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:50,800 darkness no matter how dark the moment is it's seeing that one star high above the clouds 346 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:57,200 and knowing that the truest light the light of the world cannot be vanquished nor those 347 00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:04,600 who walk in it by owning this truth or but owning this truth is not about lone ranger 348 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:09,560 kind of courage Frodo could not have made it could not have completed the quest without 349 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:16,480 Sam nor Sam without Frodo and neither of them without the courage of the fellowship and 350 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:22,120 the other friends who fought just to give them a chance this is not accidental for Tolkien 351 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:26,600 when he puts this in the book Tolkien who was a devout Catholic he gives us a vision 352 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:32,520 of the collective courage of the body of Christ through the fellowship of the ring so would 353 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:38,280 the first book I mentioned about the gospel according to Tolkien he wrote this about 354 00:26:38,280 --> 00:26:42,840 Lord of the Rings and about this idea of the body of Christ being reflected in the fellowship 355 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:49,360 he says even when faith is an act of knee bent confession alone in one's own room it 356 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:56,800 is not a solitary and individual and private thing faith is both enabled and sustained 357 00:26:56,800 --> 00:27:07,880 by the body of Christ called the church the community of God's own people I have a habit 358 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:11,160 sometimes trying to put too much into one talk and I'm sure that I've done that this 359 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:18,320 time but here's my conclusion stated negatively we cannot embrace joy without the courage 360 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:25,320 to look forward and we cannot have courage without each other isolation so I've been 361 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:30,560 talked about today but it is the greatest detriment to Christian joy and Christians living with 362 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:35,800 chronic illness are at great risk it would take a whole other talk to discuss all the 363 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:43,560 reasons why this has happened this debilitating isolation but for now I'll just say we can 364 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:52,080 only control what is ours to control and the more isolated you are the more Satan's plan 365 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:59,040 for chronic illness in your life will win over God's plan for you so what can we do 366 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:03,200 well you're already doing it by being here and I this weekend or even if you watch this 367 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:09,240 later you're taking a step because you're refusing to be alone you're finding solidarity 368 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:13,400 with other fellow sufferers and other people who are committed to following Jesus in their 369 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:19,760 suffering and there are other ways to extend that fellowship some of those have been mentioned 370 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:23,360 you know where you could have a more frequent connection whether it be discord or you find 371 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:28,000 a social media group broken amended has Facebook group to appreciate it Tim mentioning our 372 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,040 resources a moment ago I'm not sure if you mentioned the social media Facebook group 373 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:39,760 that we have but support groups like we have with broken amended or one way as well virtual 374 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:44,680 technology of course allows us to meet in meaningful ways like we are right now even 375 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:51,560 when we can't be together in person in other words I think isolation 30 40 years ago maybe 376 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:58,760 even 20 years ago was even it was harder to overcome than it is now and we have some tools 377 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:03,200 that can really help us now I think the best scenario the ideal scenario is to be in a 378 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:08,120 supportive church that wants to stay connected with its hurting members and forms a support 379 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:14,360 group around that commitment or at least a robust visitation program you heard me say 380 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:19,840 it's the ideal situation I know it is not the reality for a lot of people so if you 381 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:23,320 can't have that because your church just isn't there for some reason then there are still 382 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:28,120 ways to connect to so many of the ministries that you'll hear about this weekend and this 383 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:33,360 was mentioned already to by amber and also I think by Tim a little bit this idea of taking 384 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:37,200 a step you don't try to do everything at once you can't try to be belong to 15 different 385 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:42,120 communities at the same time that you haven't been a part of before but maybe take a step 386 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:47,480 to be part of a meaningful Christian community and then I would say and I've heard this issue 387 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:52,560 raised today but in some of the comments about friendship where people feel like and you don't 388 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:58,560 have any friends in your life that could understand your struggle if that's true then I encourage 389 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:04,720 you to pray that God will remedy that and you can ask right we have to ask God I would 390 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:09,680 ask God to lead you to your Sam in your life which is a friend who will never leave your 391 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:17,920 side nor you his or hers courage comes from Christian fellowship that helps us live in 392 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:25,400 the moment by embracing the transcendent joy of Christ while believing in the eternal future 393 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:29,560 he has promised us it's pretty wordy last statement so I want to read it one more time 394 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:34,720 just see if we can digest it a little bit courage comes from Christian fellowship that 395 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:40,680 helps us live in the moment by embracing the transcendent joy of Christ while believing 396 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:47,680 in the eternal future he has promised us when it closed with the final verse of Psalm 16 397 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:57,200 then I'll pray and I understand we'll have some we'll have some quick Q&A you reveal 398 00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:04,520 the path of life to me in your presence is abundant joy at your right hand our eternal 399 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:09,560 pleasures let's pray God I'm grateful for the time they've had to be able to share 400 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:16,000 what's you've been stirring in my heart God these most of the time God I know we were 401 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:22,840 kind of leaning from the words of the apostle Paul who did not did not duck away from the 402 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:27,200 subject of suffering in fact he embraced it for himself as a way of sharing in the fellowship 403 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:32,920 Christ and he embraced it as a way of looking to a future with you where suffering will 404 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:38,720 be no more it takes courage to live that way God because it's so easy to stay focused on 405 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:43,680 just every bad thing that's happening around us and to think things won't get better or 406 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:49,320 we won't make it for some reason so I I just pray that you give us the strength give us 407 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:55,040 the give us the courage and to recognize God that we don't possess those things by ourselves 408 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:59,760 that we possess those things as a part of the body of Christ and as a gift from the 409 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:06,200 Holy Spirit so God we thank you for this eternal joy that these eternal pleasures that are 410 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:10,800 at your right hand and I pray while we wait for that God that already in a way we can 411 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:15,880 start to experience that through these abundant joys that are in your presence help us to 412 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:41,840 learn to be in your presence more and more we pray this in Jesus name Amen.