WEBVTT 00:00:01.330 --> 00:00:03.950 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton, 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:07.269 the official podcast of Cross Christian Fellowship, 00:00:07.290 --> 00:00:10.769 Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 00:00:10.990 --> 00:00:14.150 where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:17.250 here. Well, good morning, everybody. Welcome 00:00:17.250 --> 00:00:20.510 to the Cross 66. As we get started, let us pray. 00:00:21.190 --> 00:00:23.989 Lord, we ask that you open our hearts and minds 00:00:23.989 --> 00:00:25.510 to everything that you have to speak to us today 00:00:25.510 --> 00:00:28.070 and help us to apply it to our lives as we go 00:00:28.070 --> 00:00:29.410 out into the world from here. In Jesus' name, 00:00:29.510 --> 00:00:38.159 amen. Getting all our fancy tablets up here going. 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:41.640 Of course, we're going through our series. We're 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:44.679 actually midway through it. Of course, the series 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:46.659 is misquoted. The whole thing is basically how 00:00:46.659 --> 00:00:48.439 the Bible is taken out of context. We're looking 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:51.759 at specific verses that are frequently taken 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:54.079 out of context by various groups or various, 00:00:54.200 --> 00:00:57.329 unfortunately, as much as I hate to say it. Some 00:00:57.329 --> 00:00:59.070 pastors even take it out of context and try to 00:00:59.070 --> 00:01:01.429 twist it to fit their narrative. But more often 00:01:01.429 --> 00:01:02.969 than not, these are things that are taken out 00:01:02.969 --> 00:01:05.629 of context by the world and how they try to put 00:01:05.629 --> 00:01:08.989 a spin on it as well. So that's definitely something 00:01:08.989 --> 00:01:13.569 to keep in mind as we go through here. Our goal 00:01:13.569 --> 00:01:15.650 is definitely to... to be more like the Bereans, 00:01:15.670 --> 00:01:18.989 to study this and to get it back into the context 00:01:18.989 --> 00:01:22.049 that we know what's going on here. Really, you 00:01:22.049 --> 00:01:23.810 know, we need to know what the word is truly 00:01:23.810 --> 00:01:26.489 saying so that we don't get ensnared by those 00:01:26.489 --> 00:01:29.370 traps of the enemy. You know, the word puts it 00:01:29.370 --> 00:01:32.890 a couple of ways. In Psalm 119, verse 11. You 00:01:32.890 --> 00:01:35.469 guys want to go ahead and open your Bibles. So 00:01:35.469 --> 00:01:40.450 Psalm 119, verse 11. And I'm going to go through 00:01:40.450 --> 00:01:43.920 these first couple real quick. It says, I have 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:47.439 your word I have hidden in my heart that I might 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:55.180 not sin against you. And in 2 Timothy 2, verse 00:01:55.180 --> 00:02:00.719 15, puts it like this. Be diligent to present 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:04.040 yourself approved to God, a worker who does not 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:07.319 need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:10.879 of truth. In other words, the more you know, 00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:15.479 the less likely you are to stumble. It's also 00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:17.979 why I encourage everybody to read and study the 00:02:17.979 --> 00:02:20.819 Word outside of church as well. When you're at 00:02:20.819 --> 00:02:23.680 home or you have some free time somewhere, when 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:26.479 we say study the Word, it's not just open it 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:28.909 up and read it. It's good to get some historical 00:02:28.909 --> 00:02:30.909 context, too. What was going on in the world 00:02:30.909 --> 00:02:32.569 at that time? What was going on in that area? 00:02:32.710 --> 00:02:35.050 How were things run? All that kind of stuff, 00:02:35.129 --> 00:02:38.389 because it actually helps to form a better picture 00:02:38.389 --> 00:02:40.310 of what was happening and why things were being 00:02:40.310 --> 00:02:41.729 done the way they were, why things were being 00:02:41.729 --> 00:02:44.990 said the way they were, and why, you know, the 00:02:44.990 --> 00:02:48.669 cause and effect was what it was. So it really 00:02:48.669 --> 00:02:50.009 is a beautiful thing. So we're going to jump 00:02:50.009 --> 00:02:52.650 right into the passage that we're going to be 00:02:52.650 --> 00:02:56.110 focusing on today, and that's going to be in 00:02:56.110 --> 00:03:02.669 James 1. Verses 2 through 4. So James chapter 00:03:02.669 --> 00:03:14.870 1, verses 2 through 4. All right, James 1, 2 00:03:14.870 --> 00:03:18.030 through 4, the word states, My brethren, count 00:03:18.030 --> 00:03:21.009 it all as joy when you fall into various trials, 00:03:21.250 --> 00:03:24.729 knowing that the testing of your faith produces 00:03:24.729 --> 00:03:28.860 patience. But let patience have its perfect work, 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:31.900 that you may be perfect and complete, lacking 00:03:31.900 --> 00:03:37.099 nothing. Now, I know some of you are thinking, 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:39.120 this is pretty straightforward. This is a very 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:41.360 straightforward verse, right? And you're not 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:44.780 wrong. It is a very straightforward verse. It's 00:03:44.780 --> 00:03:47.159 not trying to hide anything. There's no mystery 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:50.099 about it or anything like that. Unfortunately, 00:03:50.500 --> 00:03:53.719 there are... far too many people, especially 00:03:53.719 --> 00:03:56.639 here in our culture, here in the U .S., that 00:03:56.639 --> 00:04:03.259 tend to look at God and religion as this interchangeable 00:04:03.259 --> 00:04:09.680 thing and as being this therapeutic thing. It's 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:12.340 not. We have a relationship. We know it's not. 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:15.979 But unfortunately, that's the way it's put. In 00:04:15.979 --> 00:04:20.189 other words, like I said, One, God and religion 00:04:20.189 --> 00:04:23.410 are looked at the same thing, but then two, God 00:04:23.410 --> 00:04:25.389 and religion is this thing that's supposed to 00:04:25.389 --> 00:04:30.069 make me feel good, no matter what. Basically, 00:04:30.129 --> 00:04:33.009 it's like this pill that we take, and overnight, 00:04:33.110 --> 00:04:36.709 all of our ills are cured instantly, like everything. 00:04:37.569 --> 00:04:40.129 You know, life is going to be good. We're going 00:04:40.129 --> 00:04:42.410 to be walking a golden road every day, handed 00:04:42.410 --> 00:04:45.050 roses. Nothing's ever going to go wrong. It's 00:04:45.050 --> 00:04:47.009 just going to be this beautiful thing, right? 00:04:49.370 --> 00:04:51.170 Unfortunately, that is not the truth. That's 00:04:51.170 --> 00:04:54.709 quite the opposite of the truth, is it not? You 00:04:54.709 --> 00:04:57.990 know, the truth is when we think of this and 00:04:57.990 --> 00:05:00.310 when it's put out there like this, it's this 00:05:00.310 --> 00:05:03.230 therapeutic thing, it actually pushes people 00:05:03.230 --> 00:05:06.569 away from God because here they are thinking, 00:05:06.709 --> 00:05:09.110 hey, I've got this instant cure -all, but then 00:05:09.110 --> 00:05:12.250 it doesn't happen. So they're thinking, you know, 00:05:12.269 --> 00:05:14.730 they've bought into something from a used car 00:05:14.730 --> 00:05:18.839 salesman. You know, I'll give you an example 00:05:18.839 --> 00:05:22.759 from my own life. My father, he had a lot of 00:05:22.759 --> 00:05:25.079 physical ailments. He had issues with pain medications. 00:05:25.379 --> 00:05:29.579 So he had a lot of pains, right? And then somebody 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:32.019 came along and sold him on the idea, hey, you 00:05:32.019 --> 00:05:34.819 go to church, you do all the things, you tithe, 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:38.959 and everything's going to be fine. Your pain 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:42.920 and all that's just going to go away. So we did. 00:05:42.980 --> 00:05:45.139 We got up. We went down the street to church. 00:05:45.790 --> 00:05:49.250 For a little while. And then he realized, no, 00:05:49.410 --> 00:05:53.170 that's not what this is. And he felt he'd been 00:05:53.170 --> 00:05:56.230 lied to and sold a bum scoop. And other than 00:05:56.230 --> 00:05:59.850 going to a funeral, he never set foot in a church 00:05:59.850 --> 00:06:04.009 again. Oh, maybe a wedding, right? But he never 00:06:04.009 --> 00:06:11.639 went back. How sad is that? That's how a lot 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:13.000 of people view the church, though, and that's 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:14.779 how a lot of people walk into it and walk right 00:06:14.779 --> 00:06:20.720 back out. It doesn't take long for people to 00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:24.259 go in and realize that this is a bum scoop. The 00:06:24.259 --> 00:06:26.180 truth of the matter is Jesus was a servant leader. 00:06:27.939 --> 00:06:31.040 He's also one that we can say is our suffering 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:36.139 Savior, right? And he's called all of us to pick 00:06:36.139 --> 00:06:43.300 up our crosses and follow him. We go into Matthew 00:06:43.300 --> 00:06:52.000 16, verses 24 through 26. Matthew 16, verses 00:06:52.000 --> 00:07:01.240 24 through 26. All right, and the word says, 00:07:01.579 --> 00:07:05.959 Jesus said to his disciples, if anyone desires 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:09.180 to come after me, let him deny himself and take 00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:12.500 up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires 00:07:12.500 --> 00:07:15.639 to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:20.160 his life for my sake will find it. For what profit 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:24.439 is it to a man if he gains the whole world and 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:28.100 loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in 00:07:28.100 --> 00:07:31.819 exchange for his soul? There's a lot of weight 00:07:31.819 --> 00:07:33.600 behind these words. They're pretty heavy, are 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:38.060 they not? They're really heavy. Our soul is priceless. 00:07:40.629 --> 00:07:43.589 Not even just to us, but to God. It's a priceless 00:07:43.589 --> 00:07:48.149 thing. And these are words that the disciples 00:07:48.149 --> 00:07:52.350 knew very well. Because pick up your cross and 00:07:52.350 --> 00:07:54.029 follow me. Deny yourself, right? Because there's 00:07:54.029 --> 00:07:55.970 certain things that we want, we know that they're 00:07:55.970 --> 00:07:58.170 not good for us. Right? It's like we want to 00:07:58.170 --> 00:07:59.389 lose some weight, we know we should probably 00:07:59.389 --> 00:08:03.730 put down the McDonald's. I'm probably being a 00:08:03.730 --> 00:08:09.389 little generous there. Right? How many of us 00:08:09.389 --> 00:08:12.449 want to run? Not many of us. I've been saying 00:08:12.449 --> 00:08:14.370 for years, if you see me running, you should 00:08:14.370 --> 00:08:18.149 be too. Right? I think a few people can agree 00:08:18.149 --> 00:08:21.870 with that. Life is going to be hard. It's going 00:08:21.870 --> 00:08:24.110 to have obstacles. But you look at it from the 00:08:24.110 --> 00:08:27.970 view of the disciples. And it's talking about 00:08:27.970 --> 00:08:30.509 crucifixion here. Because they knew good and 00:08:30.509 --> 00:08:34.549 well crucifixion was the common method of Roman 00:08:34.549 --> 00:08:38.909 execution. If they got into trouble and they 00:08:38.909 --> 00:08:41.620 were going to be... put to death, it was going 00:08:41.620 --> 00:08:47.460 to be a horrible death. And then not only that, 00:08:47.580 --> 00:08:49.519 those who were condemned to this punishment, 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:53.779 as if being crucified wasn't bad enough. I mean, 00:08:53.799 --> 00:08:56.360 think of our death row inmates right now. They're 00:08:56.360 --> 00:08:58.059 sitting there. They know that they have a date 00:08:58.059 --> 00:09:00.059 coming, and they're getting closer and closer. 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:03.460 They actually know the date, whether it's gas 00:09:03.460 --> 00:09:05.559 chamber, electrocution, whatever. The different 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:07.480 states have different stuff. Different places 00:09:07.480 --> 00:09:09.019 in the world have different things going on, 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:12.960 right? A bit gruesome. But here they are. They 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:15.700 had to literally pick up their cross, just like 00:09:15.700 --> 00:09:19.080 Jesus, and lug this thing through the streets. 00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:21.100 Usually after they've already been beaten and 00:09:21.100 --> 00:09:26.419 tortured, right? Not an easy task. Think of the 00:09:26.419 --> 00:09:30.320 mental anguish that this had on them. Right? 00:09:32.899 --> 00:09:34.759 It's like, not only am I going to be put to death, 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:38.429 but I'm having to carry the tools to do it. That's 00:09:38.429 --> 00:09:40.330 like being told, hey, not only are we going to 00:09:40.330 --> 00:09:42.289 hang you, but you have to build the gallows. 00:09:44.970 --> 00:09:46.370 We're going to electrocute you, but you're going 00:09:46.370 --> 00:09:47.730 to build the chair and you're going to run the 00:09:47.730 --> 00:09:56.769 current to the chair. And people say the death 00:09:56.769 --> 00:09:59.470 penalty is pretty harsh these days. Yeah, it 00:09:59.470 --> 00:10:01.289 might be harsh, but it's nowhere near what it 00:10:01.289 --> 00:10:08.009 was. The mental torture that came with that was 00:10:08.009 --> 00:10:10.470 intense. And the disciples, they knew that there 00:10:10.470 --> 00:10:13.570 was a very real possibility that that was going 00:10:13.570 --> 00:10:18.889 to be their future. And as history records, with 00:10:18.889 --> 00:10:22.250 the exception of John, all of them did indeed 00:10:22.250 --> 00:10:28.990 face a gruesome death. Various disciples were 00:10:28.990 --> 00:10:32.090 crucified in different ways, stabbed, beheaded. 00:10:33.269 --> 00:10:36.299 John himself, they tried to put to death. Boiled 00:10:36.299 --> 00:10:39.360 alive, but by the grace of God, he survived. 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:45.059 And as far as we know, he died of old age. There's 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:47.600 not a whole lot out there with it, but that's 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:52.340 the understanding, right? Of course, Judas himself, 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:56.980 what, hung himself, right? It's like, with the 00:10:56.980 --> 00:10:58.759 exception of one, we can't say that any of these 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:05.100 guys had a good death. Not at all. But even John 00:11:05.100 --> 00:11:07.820 himself, after the attempt to kill him failed, 00:11:08.100 --> 00:11:14.399 he was still exiled. That takes a toll. So don't 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:15.720 let there be any mistake that as a Christian, 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:19.320 you may have to pay with your life. We take that 00:11:19.320 --> 00:11:23.639 for granted, especially here in the U .S. Tess 00:11:23.639 --> 00:11:27.639 mentioned her homeland, the Philippines. I was 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:31.159 there over 20 years ago. There was a missionary 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:34.110 couple that was taken hostage. Tried to escape. 00:11:35.429 --> 00:11:40.210 Didn't fare well for them. You go to the Middle 00:11:40.210 --> 00:11:42.769 East, they'll take you out and make a spectacle 00:11:42.769 --> 00:11:44.230 of you. They'll behead you in front of the whole 00:11:44.230 --> 00:11:49.950 village. And they're not in a nice way. You'll 00:11:49.950 --> 00:11:54.690 feel it all. And here in the U .S., unfortunately, 00:11:54.789 --> 00:11:57.169 there are people who are killed for their faith, 00:11:57.230 --> 00:11:59.210 for their beliefs, because there are a lot of 00:11:59.210 --> 00:12:01.519 evil, nasty people out there. that are given 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:05.519 into the God of this world, right? So something 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:07.299 that we need to keep in mind. I'm going to give 00:12:07.299 --> 00:12:12.620 you some stats here. Last year, Open Door published 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:17.220 the results of their research. On average, more 00:12:17.220 --> 00:12:19.799 than 13 Christians are killed each day for their 00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:23.860 faith. That means almost every two hours a believer 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:29.159 is killed. It's roughly 5 ,000 people each year. 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:33.940 4 ,125 Christians were detained without trial. 00:12:35.100 --> 00:12:36.759 And that's just what they were able to find. 00:12:36.840 --> 00:12:43.360 The number of that is probably much higher. So 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:45.799 out of that number, they were detained without 00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:50.539 trial, obviously arrested, sentenced, and many 00:12:50.539 --> 00:12:55.440 of them imprisoned. 3 ,906 believers were abducted. 00:12:56.110 --> 00:12:58.649 More than 3 ,200 Christians were raped, sexually 00:12:58.649 --> 00:13:01.330 harassed, or forced to marry non -Christians. 00:13:03.029 --> 00:13:07.750 42 ,849 followers of Jesus were physically or 00:13:07.750 --> 00:13:12.070 mentally abused. And nearly 300 ,000 Christians 00:13:12.070 --> 00:13:15.470 were forced to leave their homes, go into hiding, 00:13:15.610 --> 00:13:23.649 or flee their country of origin. As many of you 00:13:23.649 --> 00:13:26.279 know, I've been... I'm at the Shepherd School 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:31.179 every week. We have a guy there. He came, let's 00:13:31.179 --> 00:13:33.399 see, his last semester? Maybe his last year, 00:13:33.460 --> 00:13:36.360 during the first year. He's a student who joined. 00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:39.740 This is not his first seminary school that he's 00:13:39.740 --> 00:13:43.399 been a part of. He's from Africa. And he came 00:13:43.399 --> 00:13:47.000 to share his testimony of when he became a Christian. 00:13:47.799 --> 00:13:49.840 He lives in a part of Africa that's still very 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:54.409 heavily Muslim -dominated. He came to Christ. 00:13:54.450 --> 00:13:57.169 He found Christ. He was saved. He wants to profess 00:13:57.169 --> 00:13:59.889 his faith, right? Do what we're all called to 00:13:59.889 --> 00:14:04.289 do, share the good word. He goes home, and here 00:14:04.289 --> 00:14:09.990 he is, barely a teenager. He's like 12, 13, right 00:14:09.990 --> 00:14:13.889 around that age, right? His dad gave him a choice. 00:14:15.509 --> 00:14:18.250 Get rid of that Bible and forget this Christian 00:14:18.250 --> 00:14:21.490 nonsense, or get out of my house and don't ever 00:14:21.490 --> 00:14:26.440 come back. He's in his 30s now, and he hasn't 00:14:26.440 --> 00:14:30.179 seen his dad or his family since that day. And 00:14:30.179 --> 00:14:32.539 he's been working in ministry, working with orphans 00:14:32.539 --> 00:14:40.600 all around Africa. The toll that can be had is 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:47.059 huge. And the day is coming, the Bible tells 00:14:47.059 --> 00:14:51.600 us, when Christians will be chased down, right? 00:14:54.239 --> 00:14:55.740 There's a whole section in there that talks about 00:14:55.740 --> 00:14:57.259 the mark of the beast and even being able to 00:14:57.259 --> 00:14:59.220 go out and buy simple supplies, things that we 00:14:59.220 --> 00:15:02.720 take for granted like food. And Christians, we 00:15:02.720 --> 00:15:04.259 don't take that mark. We're not going to be able 00:15:04.259 --> 00:15:08.679 to do any of that. Does the thought of starving 00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:12.059 to death appeal to anybody? I don't think so. 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:16.679 Most of us get a little hangry just sitting through 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:21.259 service. She laughs because sometimes it's me. 00:15:24.609 --> 00:15:27.370 But going back to our passage in James, you know, 00:15:27.370 --> 00:15:29.090 it's pointed out that even as Christians, we'll 00:15:29.090 --> 00:15:31.470 have to face trials. We'll have to face tribulations. 00:15:31.889 --> 00:15:34.509 You know, in reference to this, you know, as 00:15:34.509 --> 00:15:37.309 he writes, he says, you know, brothers and sisters. 00:15:37.590 --> 00:15:39.850 So he's clearly identifying the fact that he's 00:15:39.850 --> 00:15:43.570 talking to fellow Christians, right, fellow believers. 00:15:44.470 --> 00:15:46.570 God's plan for us is not that we're going to 00:15:46.570 --> 00:15:51.870 avoid suffering. It's actually quite the contrary. 00:15:53.119 --> 00:15:56.700 If we follow him, not only are we going to have 00:15:56.700 --> 00:15:59.620 the trials and tribulations of just going through 00:15:59.620 --> 00:16:02.240 life, because life can be a little bumpy sometimes, 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:06.419 right? But the enemy doesn't want us going to 00:16:06.419 --> 00:16:08.419 God, and he's going to do everything he can to 00:16:08.419 --> 00:16:10.700 come at us to try to get us to turn and walk 00:16:10.700 --> 00:16:13.220 away. So we're going to be actually facing more 00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:18.860 trials and more tribulations for that. The closer 00:16:18.860 --> 00:16:21.200 you get to God, the harder and the more frequently 00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:23.360 the enemy is going to attack you. And he's going 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:25.799 to do it through friends and loved ones that 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:29.659 he's already won over. He's going to do it through 00:16:29.659 --> 00:16:32.419 your job and your means of being able to provide 00:16:32.419 --> 00:16:36.220 for yourself and your family. He's going to come 00:16:36.220 --> 00:16:40.159 after your vehicle. You're going to have a breakdown 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:41.919 that you shouldn't have, that you weren't expecting. 00:16:41.980 --> 00:16:46.580 Everything was good and dandy. Happened to Albert. 00:16:47.259 --> 00:16:50.519 This poor guy, on his birthday, his battery dies. 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:53.820 He goes out. He gets a new battery. He gets his 00:16:53.820 --> 00:16:57.120 car fixed. He gets it home. The very next day, 00:16:57.159 --> 00:17:06.220 what happens? Flat tire. It's a rough birthday 00:17:06.220 --> 00:17:10.059 week. For those of you who don't know, his birthday 00:17:10.059 --> 00:17:11.720 was Thursday. So if you haven't said happy birthday, 00:17:11.859 --> 00:17:17.059 feel free. He'll appreciate that. I told him 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:19.019 we'll line up outside afterwards and we'll give 00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:21.200 him a proper birthday hosing. We just got to 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:23.920 hook the hose up to the fountain. Just kidding. 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:32.180 Tess is over there ready to whip him. Blessings. 00:17:32.180 --> 00:17:36.259 Okay. Just kidding. We love him. I love you, 00:17:36.259 --> 00:17:41.380 man. But, yeah, no, life is going to be hard. 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:42.940 And the closer you get, the harder it's going 00:17:42.940 --> 00:17:48.839 to be, you know. Unfortunately, to say otherwise, 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:50.480 it's more like some of the prosperity preaching 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:53.519 that we hear that if, you know, you're going 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:55.180 to be guaranteed things, you're going to be guaranteed 00:17:55.180 --> 00:17:57.099 promises that aren't. You know, there's a lot 00:17:57.099 --> 00:17:59.420 of false teaching out there. We talked about 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:01.920 some of this recently where we like to, you know, 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:03.880 try to say, oh, hey, this promise was made for 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:05.900 us as the U .S. And it's like, no, this was a 00:18:05.900 --> 00:18:08.420 promise that was made strictly to Israel and 00:18:08.420 --> 00:18:13.640 the Israelites, right? You remember that? But 00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:15.200 we all try to, you know, we try to claim that 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:18.039 as if it belongs to anybody else, like it belongs 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:20.920 to us, you know, or, you know, Canadians do the 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:23.480 same thing, the French do the same thing, you 00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:25.279 know, and all these other places. Fortunately, 00:18:25.420 --> 00:18:27.299 it just doesn't apply. It's taken out of context. 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:29.220 So we have to be very careful, and we have to 00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:31.740 recognize things for what they are. Now, we're 00:18:31.740 --> 00:18:32.980 not going to read through it for time's sake, 00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:36.440 but in John 15, verses 18 through 25, Jesus said, 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:38.240 the world will hate you just as it hated him. 00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:44.349 And you look at what the world did to him. You 00:18:44.349 --> 00:18:47.809 know, he was crucified. He was crucified, he 00:18:47.809 --> 00:18:51.869 was buried, and God's plan for us is that we're 00:18:51.869 --> 00:18:54.329 going to have to endure that suffering. We're 00:18:54.329 --> 00:19:00.430 going to have times of hardship. If we go to 00:19:00.430 --> 00:19:04.789 Genesis, chapter 50, verse 20, it's almost the 00:19:04.789 --> 00:19:10.809 front of your book. This is the beauty part of 00:19:10.809 --> 00:19:12.819 it. And I love the fact that it's one of the 00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:14.259 first things that we get to see in the Bible 00:19:14.259 --> 00:19:15.480 because Genesis is right there at the front, 00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:19.920 right? The word states, but as for you, you meant 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:24.740 evil against me, but God meant it for good in 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:29.079 order to bring it about as it is this day to 00:19:29.079 --> 00:19:34.099 save many people alive. God's going to take those 00:19:34.099 --> 00:19:35.779 hardships that you're going to have to face, 00:19:35.859 --> 00:19:37.920 those hardships you're going to have to endure 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:40.450 and walk through. And as painful as they may 00:19:40.450 --> 00:19:44.890 be at the time, he will use them for good. Because 00:19:44.890 --> 00:19:47.529 he's going to use them to mold you and shape 00:19:47.529 --> 00:19:51.769 you and form your character. Because all of us, 00:19:51.829 --> 00:19:55.230 our character needs to be molded into who we 00:19:55.230 --> 00:19:58.289 were meant to be. He's preparing us every day 00:19:58.289 --> 00:20:01.730 a little bit more so to conform to the image 00:20:01.730 --> 00:20:05.950 of Jesus Christ. He's preparing us more so for 00:20:05.950 --> 00:20:07.650 the day that we can enter the gates of heaven. 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:11.720 Because as we are right now, we're just not ready 00:20:11.720 --> 00:20:18.019 yet. Romans chapter 5. I know I'm skipping around 00:20:18.019 --> 00:20:22.420 a bit here this week. But Romans chapter 5, verses 00:20:22.420 --> 00:20:31.519 3 through 5. So Romans 5, 3 through 5. The word 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:36.420 puts it this way. And not only that. But we also 00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:40.119 glory in tribulations knowing that tribulation 00:20:40.119 --> 00:20:43.279 produces perseverance and perseverance character 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:47.099 and character hope. Now, hope does not disappoint 00:20:47.099 --> 00:20:50.099 because the love of God has been poured out in 00:20:50.099 --> 00:20:52.819 our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to 00:20:52.819 --> 00:21:00.940 us. We're being molded. We're being formed. We're 00:21:00.940 --> 00:21:03.279 being taught and showed how to be more Christ 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:07.640 -like all the time. But the world tries to twist 00:21:07.640 --> 00:21:09.200 that and throw a little something more abstract 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:13.220 at us. In fact, the sociologist Christian Smith 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:17.880 coined the term moralistic therapeutic deism. 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.619 Moralistic meaning God wants me to be a good 00:21:21.619 --> 00:21:26.099 person. Therapeutic meaning God or religion should 00:21:26.099 --> 00:21:38.799 make me feel good. Essentially, the belief of 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:42.480 many, especially teenagers, is exactly this, 00:21:42.539 --> 00:21:44.960 that there's a God. He just wants us all to get 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:47.680 along, be happy, go along through life, that 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:48.960 if you're a good person, you're going to get 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:53.460 to heaven no matter what, right? And that you 00:21:53.460 --> 00:21:54.880 don't really need God to be involved in your 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:58.819 life with exception of a few very important, 00:21:58.900 --> 00:22:00.619 very hard things that you're going to have to 00:22:00.619 --> 00:22:03.700 face in life, right? That's what it's saying. 00:22:06.080 --> 00:22:08.160 Unfortunately, we know it's just not true. There's 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:10.380 going to be a whole lot of good people that aren't 00:22:10.380 --> 00:22:12.980 going to make it to heaven because they don't 00:22:12.980 --> 00:22:15.460 have a relationship with Jesus. They don't do 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:17.039 the things that he's told us that we need to 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:19.880 do, right? And it's not a matter of legalism 00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:21.559 or, oh, you have to do this and you have to do 00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:23.539 that or you're not going to make it. It's once 00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:26.339 we have that relationship with Christ, we want 00:22:26.339 --> 00:22:30.039 to do these things. They actually bring us that 00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:33.119 joy from God that makes us feel good and gives 00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:38.380 us that purpose. In our lives. That hole starts 00:22:38.380 --> 00:22:40.380 to get filled more and more by the Holy Spirit 00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:43.420 because all this other stuff that the enemy's 00:22:43.420 --> 00:22:49.720 put in us is getting pushed right back out. You 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:52.779 know? If we fall into the trap of what the world's 00:22:52.779 --> 00:22:56.460 telling us with this kind of stuff, it's basically 00:22:56.460 --> 00:22:58.990 saying that Jesus... did not need to come and 00:22:58.990 --> 00:23:01.529 show us an example. He did not need to teach 00:23:01.529 --> 00:23:03.750 us anything. He did not need to go to the cross 00:23:03.750 --> 00:23:07.349 and die, let alone rise again or ascend to heaven 00:23:07.349 --> 00:23:10.430 with the promise of coming back for us. It makes 00:23:10.430 --> 00:23:15.529 it all a moot point as the word says exactly 00:23:15.529 --> 00:23:18.670 the opposite. So we have to keep that context 00:23:18.670 --> 00:23:23.769 going. It falls back on that mentality of the 00:23:23.769 --> 00:23:30.200 world of if it feels good, do it. Well, sometimes 00:23:30.200 --> 00:23:32.400 it might feel good to reach out and smack my 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:34.059 brother right upside the head. Does it mean I 00:23:34.059 --> 00:23:39.339 should do it? No. Sometimes it might be funny, 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:42.440 you know, Three Stooges comedy, but he doesn't 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:43.859 appreciate it, especially if there's no real 00:23:43.859 --> 00:23:46.519 reason for it, other than the fact that he's 00:23:46.519 --> 00:23:49.859 annoying me. Who has siblings? Pretty much everybody 00:23:49.859 --> 00:23:53.380 in here, right? Sometimes you just want to make 00:23:53.380 --> 00:23:59.880 like AT &T and reach out and touch someone. But 00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:01.319 we shouldn't do that. That's not Christlike. 00:24:01.380 --> 00:24:02.700 That's not what we're called to do. That's not 00:24:02.700 --> 00:24:07.579 loving on people. You know, we can't trivialize 00:24:07.579 --> 00:24:10.660 God and try to make him into this abstract thing. 00:24:11.700 --> 00:24:17.740 We have a concrete creator. Concrete. And I'll 00:24:17.740 --> 00:24:21.460 break it down like this. I want everybody to 00:24:21.460 --> 00:24:24.440 take a second and visualize the most beautiful 00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:28.019 painting or picture you've ever seen in your 00:24:28.019 --> 00:24:35.900 life. Just take a second. All right, everybody 00:24:35.900 --> 00:24:40.440 got it? All right, that's abstract, and I will 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:44.039 tell you why. Because pretty much every single 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:46.380 person in here has a different picture in mind. 00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:53.759 We might have the Mona Lisa over here, American 00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:57.539 Gothic over here, dogs playing poker over here, 00:24:57.680 --> 00:25:09.339 right? Maybe a video game. Who knows? I'm looking 00:25:09.339 --> 00:25:11.079 at Brian now. He's kind of smiling. He's probably 00:25:11.079 --> 00:25:15.740 thinking World of Warcraft. I don't know. But 00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:17.880 that's abstract. Everybody has this different 00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:20.819 image in mind. That's what makes it abstract. 00:25:22.339 --> 00:25:25.980 You know? I got Albert over here looking at me. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:27.880 He's probably thinking of a Marine eating a crayon 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:30.119 out in the heat so it's melting all over his 00:25:30.119 --> 00:25:33.680 hand and his face. Remember, purple's the best 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:39.279 flavor. So let's make it concrete now. So this 00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:41.039 time I'm not going to give everybody the option. 00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:44.400 So I already mentioned American Gothic, all right? 00:25:44.420 --> 00:25:46.259 So Grant Wood's American Gothic. Everybody can 00:25:46.259 --> 00:25:47.980 picture this. In case you don't know what that 00:25:47.980 --> 00:25:50.240 is, that's that image of the farmer standing 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:51.920 in front of the house with his pitchfork with 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:53.339 either his daughter or his wife kind of a little 00:25:53.339 --> 00:25:57.180 bit behind kind of looking at him, right? That's 00:25:57.180 --> 00:25:58.759 coming to everybody's mind now, right? Everybody's 00:25:58.759 --> 00:26:01.299 picturing the same thing. It's concrete. We know 00:26:01.299 --> 00:26:04.880 the picture I'm talking about now. It's there. 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:08.240 It's all put together. So we all have the same 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:11.900 thing. Now let me tell you, we have a concrete 00:26:11.900 --> 00:26:16.460 picture of God. We have a concrete picture of 00:26:16.460 --> 00:26:18.500 God, and a lot of people don't even realize it. 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:20.220 And I'm going to go through these verses really 00:26:20.220 --> 00:26:25.720 quick, especially for time's sake, so I can paint 00:26:25.720 --> 00:26:29.859 this image for you. So first things first. I 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:31.680 don't think anybody really has to flip through 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:34.700 their Bibles to get to this one, which is probably 00:26:34.700 --> 00:26:36.559 a good thing. Apparently I missed a slide on 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:39.400 it. John 3 .16. For God so loved the world, he 00:26:39.400 --> 00:26:41.279 gave his only begotten son. Whoever believes 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:43.220 in him should not perish but have everlasting 00:26:43.220 --> 00:26:48.819 life. Right? What's the first thing that should 00:26:48.819 --> 00:26:52.220 come to everybody's mind when we hear that? Jesus 00:26:52.220 --> 00:26:57.500 on the cross is one of the first things if we're 00:26:57.500 --> 00:27:00.470 trying to get that image. because of what He 00:27:00.470 --> 00:27:06.670 did for us. Remember what I said, our suffering 00:27:06.670 --> 00:27:09.869 Savior? It's one of the things that we should 00:27:09.869 --> 00:27:14.329 think of anyway. Then we go to Isaiah 53, verse 00:27:14.329 --> 00:27:19.049 3. The Word says, He is despised and rejected 00:27:19.049 --> 00:27:22.170 by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with 00:27:22.170 --> 00:27:26.829 grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from 00:27:26.829 --> 00:27:30.740 Him. He was despised and we did not esteem him. 00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:35.019 Tortured and killed for our sin and our inequity. 00:27:37.380 --> 00:27:39.779 Hardship, trials, tribulations, right? He faced 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:42.980 it all. But in it all, he sacrificed himself 00:27:42.980 --> 00:27:46.799 for us and love. He paid the bill that none of 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:53.319 us would ever be able to pay. Not one. And then 00:27:53.319 --> 00:27:57.039 the final touch is on this picture. Colossians 00:27:57.039 --> 00:28:02.849 1. Verse 15. So Colossians 1, verse 15. He is 00:28:02.849 --> 00:28:05.970 the image of the invisible God, the firstborn 00:28:05.970 --> 00:28:14.190 over all creation. The firstborn over all creation. 00:28:16.109 --> 00:28:18.710 Go back to John 1 .1 and we'll see it real quick. 00:28:19.970 --> 00:28:25.069 Right? We don't get to create God in whatever 00:28:25.069 --> 00:28:29.440 image that we want. We don't get to create a 00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:32.640 picture of God that fits the narrative that we 00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:42.019 like. To do so is blasphemy. We have a concrete 00:28:42.019 --> 00:28:45.039 God that's been revealed to us in the person 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:49.319 of Jesus Christ. It's not a fictional character. 00:28:51.119 --> 00:28:53.599 You want to worship a fictional character? Disney 00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:56.339 is more than happy to appease that. They've taken 00:28:56.339 --> 00:28:58.220 plenty Grimm's fairy tales and turned them into 00:28:58.220 --> 00:29:02.720 a happily ever after. Right? Not just them. There's 00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:04.440 other places. I'm just going to kind of throw 00:29:04.440 --> 00:29:13.559 the shoe at them right now. But to have... Oh, 00:29:13.779 --> 00:29:17.079 that was interesting, whatever that was. But 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:20.240 having a real definitive relationship with Jesus 00:29:20.240 --> 00:29:26.950 Christ... It's going to cause hardship. Jesus 00:29:26.950 --> 00:29:33.970 Christ, he loves you. He loves you. He has treasure 00:29:33.970 --> 00:29:35.569 stored for you in heaven beyond anything that 00:29:35.569 --> 00:29:38.170 any of us can ever imagine, right? He's already 00:29:38.170 --> 00:29:39.970 told us he's gone to prepare a place for us. 00:29:45.250 --> 00:29:47.349 And to follow him is going to cause hardship. 00:29:47.890 --> 00:29:52.269 It's going to cause some pain. Being molded, 00:29:52.269 --> 00:29:54.960 right? Being formed. It's going to cause a little 00:29:54.960 --> 00:30:03.720 pain because change needs to happen. We're not 00:30:03.720 --> 00:30:05.839 good just as we are. We have a lot of things 00:30:05.839 --> 00:30:07.779 that need to change in our lives from the inside 00:30:07.779 --> 00:30:12.299 out. You know, a lot of people, they like to 00:30:12.299 --> 00:30:14.400 take the imagery of, you know, a blacksmith out 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:17.500 there, you know, forging a sword or an axe, right? 00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:19.099 And he's heating the metal up and he's cooling 00:30:19.099 --> 00:30:22.839 it and he's smacking it. He's grinding it and 00:30:22.839 --> 00:30:26.160 all that kind of stuff. Guess what? We're no 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:29.160 different. We're that piece of marble in front 00:30:29.160 --> 00:30:31.839 of an artist who's chiseling away and knocking 00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:34.200 those little pieces off of us and forming us 00:30:34.200 --> 00:30:37.140 and shaping us because he already sees what that 00:30:37.140 --> 00:30:39.539 marble needs to be, what that marble is supposed 00:30:39.539 --> 00:30:42.980 to be. And he's bringing out what it's always 00:30:42.980 --> 00:30:48.420 intended to be. If I get him to chisel off a 00:30:48.420 --> 00:30:50.240 little bit more in this region, I'd be very happy. 00:30:52.839 --> 00:30:56.980 My wife agrees. She gave the thumbs up on it. 00:30:57.599 --> 00:31:03.480 I love you too. But we need to recognize that. 00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:06.920 We need to be prepared. That hardship, that purpose, 00:31:06.980 --> 00:31:08.460 it's going to mold you and grow you into the 00:31:08.460 --> 00:31:10.880 person God intended you to be. And it's going 00:31:10.880 --> 00:31:13.279 to be a person who's prepared to enter the kingdom 00:31:13.279 --> 00:31:17.799 when that time comes. A person who's ready to 00:31:17.799 --> 00:31:20.500 praise and worship him. For eternity, a person 00:31:20.500 --> 00:31:24.680 who's ready to sit at the table and dine with 00:31:24.680 --> 00:31:29.599 the Father. You're never going to know your true 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:33.099 strength until it's been tried under pressure. 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:37.880 We all like to say, if that happened, I would 00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:43.400 do this. If that happened, I would do that. Military, 00:31:43.480 --> 00:31:47.329 we hear it a lot. There's a lot of machismo there, 00:31:47.369 --> 00:31:50.789 a lot of bravado, right? Ah, we go out, we do 00:31:50.789 --> 00:31:55.329 this. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. And then you go out 00:31:55.329 --> 00:31:57.410 there, and you get in the heat of the moment, 00:31:57.549 --> 00:32:00.329 and you find some of these guys with the biggest 00:32:00.329 --> 00:32:08.529 mouths are frozen in fear. They don't do very 00:32:08.529 --> 00:32:11.809 well, and they have to be picked up and helped 00:32:11.809 --> 00:32:18.880 along. And some of the guys, especially some 00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:20.319 of the guys that you didn't expect a whole lot 00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:24.500 from, surprise you. And they become the heart, 00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:27.480 the unit, and they carry everyone through. They 00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:31.720 boost morale. They're God's light in the darkness. 00:32:35.700 --> 00:32:40.420 And we're all caught in a spiritual war. All 00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:42.259 of us need to be that guy who surprises everybody 00:32:42.259 --> 00:32:46.079 else. And stop talking the talk and start walking 00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:54.079 the walk. It's not going to be easy. But that's 00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:58.200 the nice part of being tested. About being put 00:32:58.200 --> 00:33:00.720 under pressure and having these trials and tribulations. 00:33:01.559 --> 00:33:04.019 Because it brings about the things inside of 00:33:04.019 --> 00:33:07.539 you that quite often we don't even know is there. 00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:11.440 Sometimes for the good. but a lot of times so 00:33:11.440 --> 00:33:13.900 that we can learn what we need to change in our 00:33:13.900 --> 00:33:17.799 lives, what we need to go to God for and humble 00:33:17.799 --> 00:33:21.880 ourselves and ask for help. And that's really 00:33:21.880 --> 00:33:24.460 what it's all about. It's not doing it on our 00:33:24.460 --> 00:33:26.559 own. It's realizing we can't do it on our own. 00:33:28.200 --> 00:33:30.380 We need the people that God's put in our lives, 00:33:30.440 --> 00:33:33.819 but more importantly, we need Jesus because he 00:33:33.819 --> 00:33:40.740 is our way to get through those hardships. And 00:33:40.740 --> 00:33:43.140 then on top of that, when we get in these hardships, 00:33:43.460 --> 00:33:45.680 and it's really easy, I'm just as guilty as anybody 00:33:45.680 --> 00:33:48.019 else in this room or anybody else on this planet. 00:33:48.680 --> 00:33:51.000 Sometimes things happen, and we like to moan 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:54.220 and grumble a bit. But we need to take some time 00:33:54.220 --> 00:33:57.000 and realize, my wife's real good at reminding 00:33:57.000 --> 00:34:01.019 me sometimes. I'm calling her out a lot today. 00:34:01.119 --> 00:34:06.000 I love her. But it's not always, you know, what 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:08.300 we're seeing in front of us. It's, hey, what 00:34:08.300 --> 00:34:10.559 can I learn from this? How can this help me grow? 00:34:10.679 --> 00:34:16.000 How can this help my relationship with God? Because 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:21.059 it's that pressure that's molding. And at the 00:34:21.059 --> 00:34:23.500 end of it, as long as we trust in God, we're 00:34:23.500 --> 00:34:25.400 going to be better for it, and we're going to 00:34:25.400 --> 00:34:28.840 be conformed more to the image of Jesus. Nothing 00:34:28.840 --> 00:34:34.760 worth having has ever come easy. Everything that 00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:36.780 we appreciate the most is stuff that we've had 00:34:36.780 --> 00:34:41.099 to work for. From material things to relationships. 00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:48.300 And when I say relationships, it's not just friendships, 00:34:48.579 --> 00:34:53.139 it's marriages. It's all of our relationships. 00:34:54.420 --> 00:34:56.199 Sometimes it's that relationship with Jesus because 00:34:56.199 --> 00:34:57.699 he's going to tell us things that we don't like 00:34:57.699 --> 00:34:59.159 and we don't want to listen to, we don't want 00:34:59.159 --> 00:35:03.460 to hear. But we're being told it for our own 00:35:03.460 --> 00:35:06.280 good. It's going to hurt, it's going to be painful. 00:35:08.309 --> 00:35:12.650 There's going to be a thorn in our side. But 00:35:12.650 --> 00:35:14.449 we have to listen and realize that the Father 00:35:14.449 --> 00:35:17.510 is telling us, hey, make that adjustment. Trust 00:35:17.510 --> 00:35:21.369 me. And more often than not, when we give in 00:35:21.369 --> 00:35:24.590 and we make that adjustment and we trust in him, 00:35:24.710 --> 00:35:27.769 we find out, oh, I should have been listening 00:35:27.769 --> 00:35:34.469 a little bit sooner. The plus side of it all. 00:35:35.559 --> 00:35:37.840 is God is right there with us. Jesus is walking 00:35:37.840 --> 00:35:41.599 alongside the whole time. He wants to see us 00:35:41.599 --> 00:35:45.780 succeed. And we get to that part where we can't 00:35:45.780 --> 00:35:49.639 walk, we crawl, we can't crawl. He's more than 00:35:49.639 --> 00:35:52.300 happy to pick us up. And if we're still kicking 00:35:52.300 --> 00:35:53.659 and screaming, he'll drag us, and you'll have 00:35:53.659 --> 00:35:57.840 a long groove going behind you. I know there's 00:35:57.840 --> 00:35:59.139 points in my life where that groove is pretty 00:35:59.139 --> 00:36:04.039 long. But it's going to be all right. So let 00:36:04.039 --> 00:36:06.639 us pray. Father, we thank you for continuing 00:36:06.639 --> 00:36:08.539 to work on us and to mold us into the image of 00:36:08.539 --> 00:36:11.760 your son, Jesus, and reminding us to study your 00:36:11.760 --> 00:36:13.179 words so that we're better prepared for what 00:36:13.179 --> 00:36:17.860 this life has for us and the next. We ask you 00:36:17.860 --> 00:36:22.019 to use us to share your light and appoint others 00:36:22.019 --> 00:36:26.019 to you and your kingdom and your ways. We ask 00:36:26.019 --> 00:36:29.780 that you help us not to be afraid of those painful 00:36:29.780 --> 00:36:34.179 times when you're working within us. And just 00:36:34.179 --> 00:36:38.159 remind us that pressure brings about beautiful 00:36:38.159 --> 00:36:42.579 things just as coal turns to a diamond. We thank 00:36:42.579 --> 00:36:44.980 you for being with us. We thank you for all you've 00:36:44.980 --> 00:36:46.519 done for us and all that you're going to do for 00:36:46.519 --> 00:36:49.639 us. In Jesus' name, amen. Remember, as you leave 00:36:49.639 --> 00:36:51.320 here today, you are loved and you are blessed. 00:36:51.400 --> 00:37:22.820 So go and be the church. Until next time, take 00:37:22.820 --> 00:37:24.380 care and God bless.