1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 Well, hallelujah, give the Lord a good praise in his house. 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,840 Hallelujah. 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,800 If you have your Bibles with you, 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:18,120 please turn with me to the book of Job, chapter 7. 5 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:23,620 Job 7. 6 00:00:23,620 --> 00:00:27,620 I echo with Pastor Brian the gratitude 7 00:00:27,620 --> 00:00:29,360 that we have for you being here today. 8 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:33,200 And if you're visiting with us, thank you so much 9 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,340 for choosing Hopewell Church of God 10 00:00:36,340 --> 00:00:39,040 for your place of worship this morning. 11 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:43,440 There's, I think, anywhere around 100 different places 12 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,380 you could be in Bradley County this morning. 13 00:00:46,380 --> 00:00:51,120 And so I count it an honor that you came here today. 14 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:55,760 And if you haven't already been touched and blessed 15 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:59,920 by the Spirit of the Lord, your blessings broke. 16 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:05,960 And so what I'm about to do is nowhere near in comparison 17 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:07,360 to what we've just encountered. 18 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:12,340 So if you've not been blessed up to this point, 19 00:01:12,340 --> 00:01:14,640 I don't know what to do. 20 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,680 It may get rough from here on. 21 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:23,120 But the word of the Lord is our strength, isn't it? 22 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,560 It provides for us daily. 23 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,660 So with that, let's read verses 1 through 4 24 00:01:29,660 --> 00:01:30,800 in the seventh chapter. 25 00:01:34,860 --> 00:01:36,660 I would call it the Gospel of Job. 26 00:01:40,500 --> 00:01:46,940 Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? 27 00:01:46,940 --> 00:01:51,540 Are not his days like the days of an hireling? 28 00:01:51,540 --> 00:01:54,020 As a servant earnestly desires the shadow, 29 00:01:54,020 --> 00:01:59,160 and as a hireling looks for the reward of his work, 30 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:03,420 so am I made to possess months of vanity, 31 00:02:03,420 --> 00:02:07,640 and wearisome nights are appointed to me. 32 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:12,760 When I lie down, I say, when shall I rise, 33 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:15,840 and the night be gone? 34 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:20,440 And I am full of tossings to and fro 35 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,880 unto the dawning of the day. 36 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:25,720 With the help of the Lord today, it's a very simple thought. 37 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,480 I'm going to preach to us on the thought of just tossing 38 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:34,160 and turning, tossing and turning. 39 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:36,560 I'll pray for you if you pray for me. 40 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:37,820 Father, we love you. 41 00:02:37,820 --> 00:02:39,860 Thank you so much for your goodness and your mercy 42 00:02:39,860 --> 00:02:42,400 and abundance of your love. 43 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,940 For what we have encountered thus far this morning, 44 00:02:45,940 --> 00:02:48,380 we praise you for your touch. 45 00:02:48,380 --> 00:02:52,200 We praise you for your presence, for you are here. 46 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:54,180 Now, Father, I ask upon your word, 47 00:02:54,180 --> 00:02:56,780 as your word is blessed, that it bless the ears of us 48 00:02:56,780 --> 00:02:58,620 who have heard it. 49 00:02:58,620 --> 00:03:00,480 And I pray an anointing upon every ear 50 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:03,260 that has received it today. 51 00:03:03,260 --> 00:03:04,860 And truly, as your word proclaims, 52 00:03:04,860 --> 00:03:08,620 let we that have ears to hear, hear what the Spirit's saying 53 00:03:08,620 --> 00:03:10,500 unto the church. 54 00:03:10,500 --> 00:03:12,160 Now, Lord, as a servant of yours, 55 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:14,460 I yield my members to you. 56 00:03:14,460 --> 00:03:17,060 Stir that anointing and that unction 57 00:03:17,060 --> 00:03:21,800 that you placed in us to proclaim, thus saith the Lord. 58 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,100 And we'll praise you together in Jesus' name. 59 00:03:25,100 --> 00:03:28,880 The church said, as your neighbor, you tossing and turning. 60 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:40,020 I think I got the right word for the right bunch. 61 00:03:40,020 --> 00:03:41,100 I can hear it in the room. 62 00:03:41,100 --> 00:03:44,480 Of course, we don't expect anything less from the Lord, 63 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:45,540 do we? 64 00:03:45,540 --> 00:03:46,880 He knows where we are. 65 00:03:49,420 --> 00:03:54,420 It has been said that nothing can stop a person 66 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:58,760 with the right mental attitude from achieving 67 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:01,200 whatever goal they set before them. 68 00:04:02,500 --> 00:04:05,860 But it's also been said that nothing can help a person 69 00:04:05,860 --> 00:04:07,740 with a wrong attitude. 70 00:04:07,740 --> 00:04:09,240 Attitude matters. 71 00:04:11,340 --> 00:04:16,340 If any person ever had a right to have a mental attitude 72 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:18,920 one way or the other, it would be Job, 73 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:20,920 and another would be the Apostle Paul. 74 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,060 From a Philippian jail, he wrote a letter, 75 00:04:27,060 --> 00:04:29,920 and in it, he said, rejoice. 76 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:33,560 And again, I say rejoice. 77 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:38,560 Rejoice, and again, I say rejoice. 78 00:04:39,700 --> 00:04:43,680 Rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say rejoice. 79 00:04:45,380 --> 00:04:48,180 There's not always in life things that we deem 80 00:04:48,180 --> 00:04:49,880 worthy of rejoicing over. 81 00:04:53,220 --> 00:04:58,120 You see, attitude is a mental disposition or an outlook. 82 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:02,920 Attitude is a way of looking at yourself and the world. 83 00:05:04,060 --> 00:05:06,020 It can also be defined as a mental, 84 00:05:06,020 --> 00:05:08,120 emotional, physical posture, 85 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:13,600 which means that life is lived from the inside out. 86 00:05:16,660 --> 00:05:20,040 Our level of joy that we experience in our lives 87 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,240 are based on what is going on within us 88 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,160 rather than what's going on around us. 89 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:31,120 Rejoice in the Lord always, and one more time, 90 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:32,420 I say rejoice. 91 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:37,360 You see, our attitude reflects what's going on within us, 92 00:05:38,460 --> 00:05:40,560 not what's going on around us. 93 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:45,600 I've said it many times, joy and happiness 94 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,880 are two totally separate things. 95 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:52,440 I can have joy and not be happy at the same time. 96 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:54,040 You see, joy comes from the Lord. 97 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,620 Happiness is determined by circumstances. 98 00:05:57,620 --> 00:06:00,480 Joy comes regardless of the circumstance. 99 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:01,920 Well, hallelujah. 100 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:10,520 Joy is a unconquerable sense of gladness. 101 00:06:13,940 --> 00:06:15,440 It can't be defeated. 102 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,000 It can't be defeated. 103 00:06:21,580 --> 00:06:23,480 It overcomes adversity. 104 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:25,140 It overcomes disappointment. 105 00:06:25,140 --> 00:06:27,980 Joy will overcome tragedy. 106 00:06:27,980 --> 00:06:32,260 It overcomes failure, and it will also overcome 107 00:06:32,260 --> 00:06:37,260 the difficult and harsh experiences that life deals us. 108 00:06:37,260 --> 00:06:39,600 Sometimes life simply stinks. 109 00:06:41,900 --> 00:06:44,700 You know, it rains on the just and the unjust, 110 00:06:44,700 --> 00:06:45,960 and it's raining that every now and then 111 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:47,340 we're all gonna get wet. 112 00:06:48,700 --> 00:06:51,700 That means trouble's gonna come to see us all. 113 00:06:51,700 --> 00:06:53,600 Trouble's gonna visit all of our homes. 114 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:56,240 Adversity, you see, when we get saved, 115 00:06:56,240 --> 00:07:00,380 the Lord didn't say nothing's gonna ever touch you again. 116 00:07:00,380 --> 00:07:03,720 He said, in this world you shall have tribulation. 117 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,220 But then he said, get happy, be cheerful. 118 00:07:07,220 --> 00:07:08,220 Why? 119 00:07:08,220 --> 00:07:10,020 Because he has overcome the world for us, 120 00:07:10,020 --> 00:07:13,760 and greater is he that's in us than he that is in this world. 121 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:18,100 God be for you then, who or what can be against us? 122 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:23,840 So joy overcomes failure and harsh experiences. 123 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:27,000 It enables us as believers to, 124 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,940 as Isaiah, the eagle-eyed prophet would put it, 125 00:07:30,940 --> 00:07:34,140 it enables us to run and not grow weary 126 00:07:34,140 --> 00:07:35,840 and to walk and not faint. 127 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,660 It enables us to mount up on wings like the eagles 128 00:07:39,660 --> 00:07:43,080 and to soar above the adversity. 129 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,060 It doesn't necessarily remove the adversity, 130 00:07:46,060 --> 00:07:48,620 but it empowers the believer. 131 00:07:48,620 --> 00:07:52,140 Joy empowers you and I to look at the opposition, 132 00:07:52,140 --> 00:07:53,540 to look at the affirmative, 133 00:07:53,540 --> 00:07:56,160 to look at the harsh treatment of life 134 00:07:56,160 --> 00:08:00,240 and with joy within us say, I shall overcome. 135 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:01,580 Why? 136 00:08:01,580 --> 00:08:04,200 Because we can have a testimony that joy rises up, 137 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:08,380 the declaration of the psalmist, I shall not be moved 138 00:08:08,380 --> 00:08:13,380 for I am planted like a tree by the rivers of water. 139 00:08:13,380 --> 00:08:16,820 I am established and my roots run deep. 140 00:08:16,820 --> 00:08:19,500 And we could hear Isaiah one more time say 141 00:08:19,500 --> 00:08:21,800 in that 12th chapter that we should draw deep 142 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:24,800 from the well of joy, hallelujah. 143 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:26,840 Because it's from the well of joy 144 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:30,040 that our salvation flows and stems through 145 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:33,000 in spite of everything, in spite of what's happening, 146 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,240 in spite of what's transpiring. 147 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:38,740 And we can hear Joe begin to relate to us a message 148 00:08:38,740 --> 00:08:41,520 as he dreads the going down of the sun. 149 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:43,580 He dreads the nighttime coming 150 00:08:43,580 --> 00:08:45,860 because he knows it's gonna be a long night 151 00:08:45,860 --> 00:08:47,380 and in dreading the night coming, 152 00:08:47,380 --> 00:08:51,120 he's longing for the dawning of the next morning. 153 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:52,560 Would this night surely pass? 154 00:08:52,560 --> 00:08:55,300 I know I'm not the only one in this room 155 00:08:55,300 --> 00:08:57,260 that has dreaded the darkness and the time 156 00:08:57,260 --> 00:08:59,500 to lay your head upon your pillow 157 00:08:59,500 --> 00:09:02,900 as you've tossed and turned all the living night on, 158 00:09:02,900 --> 00:09:05,200 wishing for the dawning of the day. 159 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:09,080 Where Job is at in his desperate condition of life. 160 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:12,080 He's lost his wealth, he's lost his family, 161 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:14,340 he's lost everything that he has. 162 00:09:14,340 --> 00:09:17,720 He's even beginning to lose the confidence of his spouse 163 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:19,080 as she would look at him and say, 164 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:23,560 Job, why don't you just go ahead and curse God and die? 165 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:27,320 And he said, how can we not rejoice when God is good? 166 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,420 But when calamity comes our way, 167 00:09:29,420 --> 00:09:32,360 that we cannot still rejoice in God. 168 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:35,700 I will refuse to lose the integrity 169 00:09:35,700 --> 00:09:38,600 that I have in the hope of the joy that God, 170 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:40,840 how can we take good at God's hand? 171 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:42,680 And then when adversity comes, 172 00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:44,480 we wanna turn our back on him. 173 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:47,980 But Job said, I can't wait till the daylight comes 174 00:09:47,980 --> 00:09:51,120 because I lay here and I toss and I turn, 175 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:53,820 dreading every minute that the clock turns by, 176 00:09:53,820 --> 00:09:57,560 every grain of sand, he could count through the hourglass 177 00:09:57,560 --> 00:09:59,760 and waiting for the dawning of the day. 178 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:03,060 Can you hear me today, church, in the dawning of the day? 179 00:10:03,060 --> 00:10:06,360 We know that the hope comes, we know the joy comes, 180 00:10:06,360 --> 00:10:09,800 but joy is with us and resides us every minute, 181 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:12,240 every hour of every day. 182 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:16,400 Well, glory. 183 00:10:18,340 --> 00:10:20,440 Do I have any tossers in the room? 184 00:10:21,820 --> 00:10:23,120 Where you at right now? 185 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:26,620 Anybody turning through the night? 186 00:10:26,620 --> 00:10:30,600 I'm waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, 187 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:32,600 waiting, longing for the dawn. 188 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:37,600 He said, when I lay down, I say, when shall I rise? 189 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:41,080 And the night be gone. 190 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:43,840 I am full of tossing to and fro 191 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:47,520 unto the dawning of the day. 192 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:49,280 What will the tomorrow bring? 193 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,860 What is tomorrow gonna hold? 194 00:10:51,860 --> 00:10:55,320 Understand for the believer, joy is the promise of God 195 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:59,360 and the work of the Holy Ghost in our hearts. 196 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:02,360 When we turn over our trials to God, 197 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:05,400 through faith and through believing and through prayer, 198 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:08,280 and we live in the confidence that he will do 199 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:11,140 all the things for us and not all things, 200 00:11:11,140 --> 00:11:15,080 but he will do all things well for us on our behalf. 201 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,620 We know the end of Job's story, we know the outcome, 202 00:11:18,620 --> 00:11:20,780 we know the friends who sat and looked at him 203 00:11:20,780 --> 00:11:23,560 for seven days and then days on end 204 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:25,560 and then God began to accuse him. 205 00:11:25,560 --> 00:11:29,320 We see Job and his frustration begin to question God, 206 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:31,920 God, how long are you gonna leave me in this mess? 207 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,300 God, how long do I have to be here? 208 00:11:34,300 --> 00:11:36,360 And then Job would answer, he said, 209 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:38,660 I know that one of these days, 210 00:11:38,660 --> 00:11:41,940 I'm gonna see my Redeemer with these two eyes, 211 00:11:41,940 --> 00:11:44,680 because I know that my Redeemer live 212 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:48,040 and one day will stand upon the face of this earth. 213 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:50,520 And the next thing you know, he's complaining again, 214 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:52,880 he's whining again, hallelujah. 215 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,080 He's regretting the very day that he was born. 216 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:58,880 He said, oh, that they would write it in a book, 217 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:03,000 take a pen, carve it in stone, fill it with lead, 218 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:06,000 and regret the day that it was announced 219 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:07,840 that a man child was born. 220 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:11,200 He was regretting the very day he was born. 221 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,000 And then the next thing, he would come up 222 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,440 with some of the most powerful stuff 223 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:19,080 that we still hang on today, 224 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,240 though the skinworms devour this old body. 225 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:25,640 And I know with these eyes, I'll see him for he lives. 226 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,680 Hallelujah, didn't that give you joy? 227 00:12:28,680 --> 00:12:31,360 He said, I'm gonna tell you what I'm gonna do, honey. 228 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:33,880 The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, 229 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:35,820 but blessed be the name of the Lord. 230 00:12:35,820 --> 00:12:37,420 And I'm just gonna worship him 231 00:12:37,420 --> 00:12:38,900 out of the darkness of the night. 232 00:12:38,900 --> 00:12:42,100 I'm just gonna glorify him while I toss and turn, 233 00:12:42,100 --> 00:12:44,140 even though others look down on me, 234 00:12:44,140 --> 00:12:45,840 even though others won't help me, 235 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:47,800 I'm looking for a friend to comfort me. 236 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:52,800 Oh God, when will you speak to me? 237 00:12:54,180 --> 00:12:56,980 Job hears from God later on in the book. 238 00:12:59,980 --> 00:13:04,980 In that 38th chapter, when he hears God say, 239 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:10,760 Job, stand up, hack up your britches, 240 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,460 gird up your lawns, what the old KJV says. 241 00:13:16,460 --> 00:13:19,660 Hack up your britches, get yourself straight 242 00:13:19,660 --> 00:13:21,200 and stand in front of me. 243 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:23,740 I've got something to say to you. 244 00:13:23,740 --> 00:13:27,800 I've listened to your complaint for 37 chapters now. 245 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,000 My God, I don't know what chapter I'm on. 246 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,480 I don't know where I'm at in the book of life, 247 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,640 but I've sure wedged and labeled my complaint 248 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:37,820 before the Lord. 249 00:13:37,820 --> 00:13:40,880 And I'm ready for the whirlwind of God's glory 250 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,680 to come and require again. 251 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:46,820 He said, stand up like a man, Job, 252 00:13:46,820 --> 00:13:49,820 gird up your lawns, and out of the whirlwind, 253 00:13:49,820 --> 00:13:51,420 he began to speak to him. 254 00:13:51,420 --> 00:13:55,400 Where were you when I put the earth on its axis? 255 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:58,860 Oh my God, I'm here to tell somebody tonight, 256 00:13:58,860 --> 00:14:02,240 it's okay to complain, it's okay to tell God. 257 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:03,940 Then you're tossing and you're turning, 258 00:14:03,940 --> 00:14:05,780 it's okay to let God know, 259 00:14:05,780 --> 00:14:08,080 because out of the whirlwind of his glory 260 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:11,340 and the power is mine, he will establish his glory 261 00:14:11,340 --> 00:14:14,120 and he will reestablish his power. 262 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:14,960 Amen. 263 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:15,780 Amen. 264 00:14:15,780 --> 00:14:16,620 Amen. 265 00:14:16,620 --> 00:14:17,460 Amen. 266 00:14:17,460 --> 00:14:18,280 Amen. 267 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:19,120 Amen. 268 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:19,960 Amen. 269 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:20,800 Amen. 270 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:21,620 Amen. 271 00:14:21,620 --> 00:14:22,460 Amen. 272 00:14:22,460 --> 00:14:24,960 Sometimes we gotta realize that we get in some 273 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,800 of the messes that we're in of our own accord, 274 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:32,000 but sometimes God allows us to get in these messes. 275 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:35,840 Why does he do that, pastor? 276 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:43,680 Because he has confidence in your faith in him. 277 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:46,820 Satan appeared with the angels, 278 00:14:46,820 --> 00:14:50,180 and he come and stood before God. 279 00:14:50,180 --> 00:14:59,060 God says to Satan, have you considered my servant Job? 280 00:14:59,060 --> 00:15:01,460 Have you thought about him? 281 00:15:01,460 --> 00:15:03,360 And there's an answer, well yeah, I've thought about him, 282 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,940 but I can't even get close to that old boy. 283 00:15:06,940 --> 00:15:07,780 Heh. 284 00:15:07,780 --> 00:15:08,600 Heh. 285 00:15:10,340 --> 00:15:12,180 You got a hedge built around him, 286 00:15:12,180 --> 00:15:14,880 I cannot even approach him. 287 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:17,480 Well I trust him, so I'm gonna let you get a little close to 288 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:20,480 him, but I'm drawing the line, my. 289 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:23,500 Hey, let me hock up my britches. 290 00:15:23,500 --> 00:15:34,260 Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, 291 00:15:34,260 --> 00:15:37,540 I'm gonna get you to let you get a little close to him, 292 00:15:37,540 --> 00:15:40,800 because I got confidence in my servant Job. 293 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:44,280 You see, his testimony, he was a righteous man. 294 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:46,680 He loved God, honored God with all of his wealth, 295 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,540 that's the reason God was blessing him. 296 00:15:49,540 --> 00:15:52,780 He says, I'm drawing a line, devil. 297 00:15:52,780 --> 00:15:54,760 You can't cross. 298 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:56,480 I'm here to tell somebody in the midst, 299 00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:58,660 if you're tossing and you're turning, 300 00:15:58,660 --> 00:16:02,140 there's a line in the heavens that I've been drawn, 301 00:16:02,140 --> 00:16:04,260 and he can't come crossin'. 302 00:16:04,260 --> 00:16:07,060 Don't lose your hope, don't lose your faith, 303 00:16:07,060 --> 00:16:10,580 don't give up on your joy, he can come against you, 304 00:16:10,580 --> 00:16:13,240 he can touch everything you own or possess, 305 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:15,980 but he can't take you out, my God. 306 00:16:15,980 --> 00:16:17,640 God says his life. 307 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:22,980 His life belongs to me. 308 00:16:22,980 --> 00:16:28,020 Your life belongs to him in the midst 309 00:16:28,020 --> 00:16:29,560 of your tossing and turning. 310 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:33,860 Let your heart be sunk low into the well of joy, 311 00:16:33,860 --> 00:16:36,100 because joy provides for you. 312 00:16:36,100 --> 00:16:40,800 Don't have a whole lot to be happy about, preacher. 313 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:45,580 If you've got the Lord, you've got everything you need. 314 00:16:45,580 --> 00:16:52,020 He does all things well for us, 315 00:16:52,020 --> 00:16:55,720 and when we rely on the depths of that joy, 316 00:16:55,720 --> 00:17:01,860 we can experience what Nehemiah would explain to us in 8 and 10, 317 00:17:01,860 --> 00:17:08,260 when he declared the joy of the Lord is your strength. 318 00:17:08,260 --> 00:17:11,340 You see it come at a close of a day. 319 00:17:11,340 --> 00:17:13,940 They had risen up a pulpit. 320 00:17:13,940 --> 00:17:19,600 They had found the law of God, and he was on the podium. 321 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:23,040 I think that's where we get our sanctuary model from, 322 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:25,140 is from Nehemiah's day. 323 00:17:25,140 --> 00:17:29,180 The podium was lifted up, and he would stand at the podium 324 00:17:29,180 --> 00:17:33,060 and read from the law of God, and when he opened the book, 325 00:17:33,060 --> 00:17:36,060 there was no request, would you please stand at your feet? 326 00:17:36,060 --> 00:17:37,620 You need to go read it. 327 00:17:37,620 --> 00:17:39,420 Read Nehemiah 8. 328 00:17:39,420 --> 00:17:42,500 When he opened the book, the people stood. 329 00:17:42,500 --> 00:17:45,160 He didn't ask them to stand to reverence the reading 330 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:46,740 of the law of God. 331 00:17:46,740 --> 00:17:49,140 There was this automatic reverence in them. 332 00:17:49,140 --> 00:17:52,380 They sprang to their feet, and they didn't just hear four 333 00:17:52,380 --> 00:17:55,780 verses, but they stood there to the noon of that day 334 00:17:55,780 --> 00:17:58,640 while he read from the book of the law, 335 00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:00,940 and when he finished reading, their hearts 336 00:18:00,940 --> 00:18:04,060 were so tender that they were weeping with tears, 337 00:18:04,060 --> 00:18:07,220 but he told them not to weep, don't to cry, 338 00:18:07,220 --> 00:18:10,860 because the joy of the Lord is your strength, people. 339 00:18:10,860 --> 00:18:14,600 The word that we're hearing strengthens us day by day, 340 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:16,740 so in the midst of the midnight hour, 341 00:18:16,740 --> 00:18:19,060 there's something on which we can draw 342 00:18:19,060 --> 00:18:22,000 when we let our bucket into the well of our salvation. 343 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,380 It goes into the strength of the joy 344 00:18:24,380 --> 00:18:28,080 that comes from on high, your strength. 345 00:18:29,740 --> 00:18:31,840 You see, joy in the face of depression says 346 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:35,260 all things work together for good to those who love God. 347 00:18:35,260 --> 00:18:40,260 That's what joy says. 348 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:44,500 Joy declares in the face of suffering, 349 00:18:44,500 --> 00:18:48,300 as Joe would say, though God slay me yet, 350 00:18:48,300 --> 00:18:49,340 will I trust him. 351 00:18:50,540 --> 00:18:52,480 Do you trust him? 352 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:55,040 If he goes ahead and takes you out of this life, 353 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:57,120 do you still trust him? 354 00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:00,380 If he don't raise you up, do you still trust him? 355 00:19:00,380 --> 00:19:05,380 All that Job had been through, joy spoke out loud. 356 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:10,860 Though God slay me, yet shall I trust him. 357 00:19:12,020 --> 00:19:13,360 That's, let me tell you something, 358 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:16,100 that's more than a casual relationship with God. 359 00:19:16,100 --> 00:19:17,560 Hello? 360 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:21,000 That's more than just a casual visit to church 361 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:22,560 from time to time. 362 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,740 That's a depth of relationship that lets us know 363 00:19:25,740 --> 00:19:28,480 that Job understood in whom he could believe, 364 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,240 and no matter what came his way, if the Lord gave 365 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:33,620 and the Lord took away, it's blessed be the name 366 00:19:33,620 --> 00:19:34,940 of the Lord. 367 00:19:34,940 --> 00:19:37,080 If I happen to be that which he decides to take away, 368 00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:39,020 it's still blessed be the name of the Lord, 369 00:19:39,020 --> 00:19:40,280 for I trust him. 370 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:44,500 Though he slay me yet, shall I trust him. 371 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:46,720 We gotta trust him. 372 00:19:47,860 --> 00:19:50,540 We gotta have complete trust and joy in the face of fear 373 00:19:50,540 --> 00:19:53,700 says, yay, with the psalmist, though I walk through 374 00:19:53,700 --> 00:19:57,540 the valley of the shadow of death. 375 00:19:57,540 --> 00:19:59,540 Now I tell you, we about got this whole place 376 00:19:59,540 --> 00:20:01,780 over covered with the shadow of death. 377 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,980 Because in the last four and a half months, 15, 378 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:12,920 15 funerals related to our church, 15 related to our church, 379 00:20:16,620 --> 00:20:19,220 either on the peripheral or immediate family members, 380 00:20:20,460 --> 00:20:25,460 15 funerals in four and a half months have come against us. 381 00:20:25,460 --> 00:20:27,100 And our spirits get heavy. 382 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:28,800 Amen? 383 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:31,600 Death carries a toll with it. 384 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:37,600 But we can declare from joyous, yay, though I walk 385 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,880 through the valley of the shadow of death, 386 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:45,880 I will fear no evil for thou art with me. 387 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,520 Just don't get with brother Frank, he'll have you asking 388 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,120 for your membership and going to another church somewhere. 389 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:54,520 He asked me at the funeral home, he said, 390 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:56,560 we've been doing this awful lot lately, 391 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:58,360 too many at our church. 392 00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:01,700 He said, I think I need a transfer, you're burying too many 393 00:21:01,700 --> 00:21:03,160 and I don't wanna be next. 394 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,440 He came in the other day, he said, you starting again? 395 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,080 I said, we hadn't stopped. 396 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:17,080 Oh Lord, but yay, though we're walking through that valley 397 00:21:18,340 --> 00:21:19,920 where the shadow of death is, 398 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:23,280 we're walking through that valley where the shadow 399 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,560 of death abides for those of us who have joy. 400 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:29,600 We know what awaits for our loved ones who have known 401 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:33,460 Christ in the fullness of his saving grace. 402 00:21:33,460 --> 00:21:37,640 We know that they await us in a place of beauty and splendor. 403 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:41,140 We know that they await us in the serenity of his peace 404 00:21:41,140 --> 00:21:43,740 and in the bosom of his arms, hallelujah. 405 00:21:43,740 --> 00:21:47,040 And they know why we toil here on earth, 406 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:48,680 that if we'll just keep the faith, 407 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:52,240 we too shall rejoice in the serenity of his grace 408 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:54,620 and the glory of his presence. 409 00:21:54,620 --> 00:21:58,560 To be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord. 410 00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:02,160 And we are awaiting, my ears are tuned for the shout 411 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:05,200 of the archangel and the tune up of the trumpet 412 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:08,760 so that we all can meet together. 413 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,540 I'm ready to see Jesus. 414 00:22:11,540 --> 00:22:16,540 I told a little east and that this morning, Jesus is coming. 415 00:22:18,380 --> 00:22:20,820 He stopped by to see me in the office this morning. 416 00:22:22,220 --> 00:22:24,720 I'm ready to see Jesus. 417 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:29,360 While I toss and turn, my ears are tuned. 418 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:32,120 Could this be the hour? 419 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:32,960 Woo! 420 00:22:34,900 --> 00:22:36,660 Lord, are you stirring me awake 421 00:22:36,660 --> 00:22:38,240 so that I don't miss the alarm? 422 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,640 I think that's one alarm that all children of God 423 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:45,400 won't miss because there's no snooze 424 00:22:48,580 --> 00:22:49,420 for the trumpet. 425 00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:51,940 Hello? 426 00:22:56,420 --> 00:22:58,420 In the face of impossible situations, 427 00:22:58,420 --> 00:23:03,060 joy declares with God, all things are possible 428 00:23:03,060 --> 00:23:05,060 to those who believe. 429 00:23:05,060 --> 00:23:08,460 If you don't believe, then it's not possible for you. 430 00:23:08,460 --> 00:23:11,140 With God, all things are possible. 431 00:23:11,140 --> 00:23:15,240 So it doesn't matter what you're tossing and turning over. 432 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:16,440 Trust in God. 433 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:22,240 I trust in God, my savior, the one right. 434 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:28,180 You trust him in the middle of every opposition 435 00:23:28,180 --> 00:23:33,160 that comes against you that you have no power over. 436 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:35,400 And it looks impossible and you're tossing 437 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:37,400 and you're turning about the situation, 438 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:38,920 the impossibilities of it. 439 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:42,860 Trust in God and draw from the will of your joy. 440 00:23:42,860 --> 00:23:45,940 In the face of failure, joy will declare to you, 441 00:23:45,940 --> 00:23:49,440 though I have fallen, I shall arise, Micah 7 and 8. 442 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:51,280 But I like the first part of that verse 443 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:53,200 even as much as I hear that. 444 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:56,820 Don't stand over me and look down on me, devil. 445 00:23:56,820 --> 00:23:58,920 Don't look down on me, oh, my enemy. 446 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:01,520 I may be down, but I'm not out. 447 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,280 I may be down here, but I'm coming up. 448 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:06,820 You may have me sealed in a dark room, 449 00:24:06,820 --> 00:24:09,660 but the light of the glory of the Lord's gonna find me. 450 00:24:09,660 --> 00:24:13,760 And when I get up from here, and when I get up from here, 451 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:17,260 you're gonna be put firmly under my feet. 452 00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:24,780 I may be down, but don't you dare count me out. 453 00:24:24,780 --> 00:24:31,540 Because I'm singing while I'm down. 454 00:24:31,540 --> 00:24:35,980 Joy declares it, I shall arise. 455 00:24:35,980 --> 00:24:37,460 Amen. 456 00:24:37,460 --> 00:24:39,660 The psalmist in 37 and 25 put it this way 457 00:24:39,660 --> 00:24:41,760 in financial distresses. 458 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:46,860 Joy says I have never seen the righteous forsaken 459 00:24:46,860 --> 00:24:49,800 nor his seed begging bread. 460 00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:53,200 But I like the front part of that verse too. 461 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:55,440 It's a testimony of the psalmist. 462 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:58,000 I was young. 463 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,940 Some of you already said amen. 464 00:25:00,940 --> 00:25:06,380 I was young, but now I'm old. 465 00:25:06,380 --> 00:25:09,160 You are. 466 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:20,320 We're there, but I have never seen the righteous forsaken. 467 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:26,500 I've seen the righteous in all manner of hardship. 468 00:25:26,500 --> 00:25:31,000 I've seen the righteous hemmed up in a corner by the enemy. 469 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,140 Oh, come on. 470 00:25:33,140 --> 00:25:36,340 I've seen the righteous in every situation 471 00:25:36,340 --> 00:25:38,480 you can see the righteous in. 472 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:42,480 I've seen the righteous broke. 473 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:46,160 I've seen the righteous in abundance. 474 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:50,160 I've seen the righteous at every point in between. 475 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:55,100 But what I have not seen is the righteous forsaken. 476 00:25:55,100 --> 00:25:58,840 I've not seen his seed begging. 477 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,860 I have heard and witnessed testimony 478 00:26:01,860 --> 00:26:05,100 where he dispatched the grocery messenger 479 00:26:05,100 --> 00:26:07,100 before what they got now. 480 00:26:07,100 --> 00:26:09,680 What is it called? 481 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:11,720 I think people bring you groceries. 482 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:13,820 Randy, what is it? 483 00:26:13,820 --> 00:26:17,620 DoorDash, thank you. 484 00:26:17,620 --> 00:26:23,080 DoorDash, I've heard the testimony of the Holy Ghost 485 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:26,620 move on somebody, get a sack of groceries, 486 00:26:26,620 --> 00:26:31,200 and set it on Sister So-and-So's porch. 487 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,960 Not forsaken, broke, busted, and probably disgusted, 488 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:36,660 but not forsaken. 489 00:26:36,660 --> 00:26:38,540 Hallelujah, not begging. 490 00:26:38,540 --> 00:26:40,940 He's not going to allow you to get to the place 491 00:26:40,940 --> 00:26:42,580 where you have to beg. 492 00:26:42,580 --> 00:26:44,040 The psalmist declared it. 493 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:45,740 The word proclaims it. 494 00:26:45,740 --> 00:26:48,380 Hold on by faith, hold on by faith. 495 00:26:48,380 --> 00:26:51,880 Let joy rise up in you and hear the word of the Lord. 496 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:54,620 I was this, but now I'm this. 497 00:26:54,620 --> 00:26:57,420 I was that, but now I'm this. 498 00:26:57,420 --> 00:27:02,100 I was old, but now I'm going to get better. 499 00:27:02,100 --> 00:27:04,660 I was old and glory awaits me. 500 00:27:04,660 --> 00:27:10,940 I was old, then eternity is my home. 501 00:27:10,940 --> 00:27:13,100 Joy declares this over our life. 502 00:27:13,100 --> 00:27:16,040 In the midst of your tossing and your turning, 503 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:19,280 in the middle of the night, in those wayward watches, 504 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:24,480 in that fourth watch, in the darkest before the dawn, 505 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,620 know that He's not forsaken you. 506 00:27:27,620 --> 00:27:35,360 If He didn't forsake Job, He sure hadn't forsaken us. 507 00:27:35,360 --> 00:27:36,920 He's not forsaken you. 508 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:38,660 I know it feels that way sometimes. 509 00:27:38,660 --> 00:27:42,900 I've felt that way. 510 00:27:42,900 --> 00:27:46,300 I feel like Job, sometimes I need to hear from him. 511 00:27:46,300 --> 00:27:52,140 Now, I don't think he was really wanting what he got. 512 00:27:52,140 --> 00:27:57,680 You know, God can kind of get serious with us, can't He? 513 00:27:57,680 --> 00:27:59,120 Stand up, son. 514 00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:03,920 You wanted me, you got me. 515 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,560 Failure, I shall arise. 516 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,520 Financial loss, I will not beg. 517 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:12,860 My God shall supply all of our need according to His riches 518 00:28:12,860 --> 00:28:15,500 and glory by Christ Jesus. 519 00:28:15,500 --> 00:28:19,840 In the faith of death, joy says, oh, death, where is thy sting? 520 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:23,340 And, oh, grave, where is thy victory? 521 00:28:23,340 --> 00:28:26,980 The sting of death is sin. 522 00:28:26,980 --> 00:28:31,120 And sin's only victory is the law, 523 00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:36,780 but it's been swallowed up. 524 00:28:36,780 --> 00:28:43,500 It thanks me unto God, who gives us that victory. 525 00:28:43,500 --> 00:28:45,160 In the face of unanswered prayer, 526 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:50,960 joy will call on you to declare, where he did, 527 00:28:50,960 --> 00:29:01,380 dictated to the Apostle Paul, my grace is sufficient for you. 528 00:29:01,380 --> 00:29:14,220 And grace is sufficient for you, and weakness, I provide my strength. 529 00:29:14,220 --> 00:29:20,260 I know we feel weak from time to time. 530 00:29:20,260 --> 00:29:26,460 In the middle of those watches, waiting for the dawn of the day, 531 00:29:26,460 --> 00:29:29,340 the prayers that we have proclaimed, 532 00:29:29,340 --> 00:29:32,640 do you feel as though we're unanswered? 533 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:35,680 Hear me tonight, this morning, 534 00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:40,380 in the middle of your tossing and turning, 535 00:29:40,380 --> 00:29:51,420 never equate an unanswered prayer to an unheard prayer. 536 00:29:51,420 --> 00:29:53,560 Don't allow the enemy to tell you that. 537 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:54,560 Well, he hadn't even heard you. 538 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:57,900 Yes, he has. 539 00:29:57,900 --> 00:29:58,900 He doesn't even see you. 540 00:29:58,900 --> 00:29:59,900 Yes, he does. 541 00:29:59,900 --> 00:30:03,000 The eyes of the Lord goes to and fro over the face of the earth. 542 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,500 And his ears ever turn to earthward. 543 00:30:05,500 --> 00:30:11,540 Never, never, ever allow the enemy to deceive you into believing 544 00:30:11,540 --> 00:30:14,820 that an unanswered prayer is an unheard prayer, 545 00:30:14,820 --> 00:30:18,660 because your prayer answer is on its way. 546 00:30:18,660 --> 00:30:23,380 He answers every single prayer. 547 00:30:23,380 --> 00:30:28,660 We just don't like the answers. 548 00:30:28,660 --> 00:30:31,860 There's three pat answers with God. 549 00:30:31,860 --> 00:30:44,100 Yes, no, and the one we all love, wait. 550 00:30:44,100 --> 00:30:49,140 Children love that one, just wait. 551 00:30:49,140 --> 00:30:51,420 I've learned something. 552 00:30:51,420 --> 00:30:54,520 Pets are almost like children. 553 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:55,520 We have two. 554 00:30:55,520 --> 00:31:00,860 Sister Kathy and I thought it'd be nice to treat them. 555 00:31:00,860 --> 00:31:08,960 We bought this sack of dog treats, put it out there where they could see it, 556 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:10,160 give them one. 557 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:14,180 You don't think, I don't think dogs are as intelligent as what I'm finding out they can 558 00:31:14,180 --> 00:31:17,140 be. 559 00:31:17,140 --> 00:31:21,740 Mine can count. 560 00:31:21,740 --> 00:31:30,120 Birds can tell time. 561 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:39,140 I set those treats over by them and at 11 o'clock I give them a treat. 562 00:31:39,140 --> 00:31:46,100 Well at about 10.30, 10.45 they start. 563 00:31:46,100 --> 00:31:50,660 It's not 11, but they start. 564 00:31:50,660 --> 00:31:54,340 I let them out the other day, do their business. 565 00:31:54,340 --> 00:32:00,060 I got the missing my dog, Kathy don't claim him, won't claim him. 566 00:32:00,060 --> 00:32:06,540 I call him stupid, that's not his name. 567 00:32:06,540 --> 00:32:10,860 So he disappears into the garage. 568 00:32:10,860 --> 00:32:15,340 Normally when we get back close to the house, they go right where they're supposed to go. 569 00:32:15,340 --> 00:32:19,100 And I thought, well, what's he into? 570 00:32:19,100 --> 00:32:20,100 Here he came out. 571 00:32:20,100 --> 00:32:29,220 He got the bag down, reached in and got one by the end, pulled it out of the bag. 572 00:32:29,220 --> 00:32:30,460 Like he'd really done something. 573 00:32:30,460 --> 00:32:31,460 Here he come out the yard. 574 00:32:31,460 --> 00:32:34,460 I said, what are you doing? 575 00:32:34,460 --> 00:32:37,460 It's not 11 o'clock. 576 00:32:37,460 --> 00:32:43,180 Wait, we don't like wait. 577 00:32:43,180 --> 00:32:49,580 And over and over and over the scripture tells us, wait on the Lord. 578 00:32:49,580 --> 00:32:53,380 And still and see the salvation of the Lord. 579 00:32:53,380 --> 00:32:58,620 Joy helps us wait when the answer is not yet. 580 00:32:58,620 --> 00:33:02,540 Joy keeps us focused on the hope that we have in God. 581 00:33:02,540 --> 00:33:06,500 When we feel inadequate, joy says, I can do all things through Christ. 582 00:33:06,500 --> 00:33:10,300 When we face challenges, joy says, God gives us the victory. 583 00:33:10,300 --> 00:33:14,120 And when we understand the reality of those victories and what the grace of God can bring 584 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:17,340 into our lives, joy begins to fill up in our heart. 585 00:33:17,340 --> 00:33:21,940 And even though we toss and we turn and we're tormented through the night, we can be like 586 00:33:21,940 --> 00:33:28,500 the psalmist who declared weeping endures for the night, but joy comes in the morning. 587 00:33:28,500 --> 00:33:29,500 Hallelujah. 588 00:33:29,500 --> 00:33:30,980 There's a dawning of your day. 589 00:33:30,980 --> 00:33:33,260 I don't know how long your night's going to last. 590 00:33:33,260 --> 00:33:35,260 I don't know how long it's going to be dark. 591 00:33:35,260 --> 00:33:39,860 I don't know how long you're going to have to talk or turn in the midnight hour. 592 00:33:39,860 --> 00:33:45,140 But I do know this, if the darkness comes, there's a dome that's following it. 593 00:33:45,140 --> 00:33:49,220 It is the repercussion of night and day that the Lord put in. 594 00:33:49,220 --> 00:33:52,460 It repeats itself even in the life of the believer. 595 00:33:52,460 --> 00:33:58,340 It may be dark now and it may be dark for a day or two days or a week or a month, but 596 00:33:58,340 --> 00:34:04,820 this I do know, there's a dawn declared over your situation and he'll bring it into your 597 00:34:04,820 --> 00:34:09,540 life. 598 00:34:09,540 --> 00:34:12,220 It's not perpetual darkness. 599 00:34:12,220 --> 00:34:21,820 I know it feels that way sometimes, but it's not. 600 00:34:21,820 --> 00:34:32,700 Can you tell I'm preaching out of my own midnight? 601 00:34:32,700 --> 00:34:44,180 Reassuring my own self that the dawn's coming. 602 00:34:44,180 --> 00:34:50,780 So if we can endure the night tossing and turning, who knows what tomorrow God has promised 603 00:34:50,780 --> 00:34:53,380 for us? 604 00:34:53,380 --> 00:35:00,820 Problems will turn into praise, trials into triumphs, worry into victories and wins, testimonies. 605 00:35:00,820 --> 00:35:06,220 No longer the victim, but the victor. 606 00:35:06,220 --> 00:35:09,140 That's the reason David could declare it. 607 00:35:09,140 --> 00:35:12,940 Weeping endures through the night, but joy comes. 608 00:35:12,940 --> 00:35:17,060 For us today, stand with me, I'm closing. 609 00:35:17,060 --> 00:35:22,540 For us this morning, I feel like the Lord won't own me to tell myself, but to tell anybody 610 00:35:22,540 --> 00:35:29,120 who'll listen, he sees your tossing and turning. 611 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:31,060 He knows what you're going through at home. 612 00:35:31,060 --> 00:35:35,500 He knows what's been happening between you and your children. 613 00:35:35,500 --> 00:35:38,380 He knows how they've been treating you on your job. 614 00:35:38,380 --> 00:35:42,820 He knows how some of your friends have been talking about you. 615 00:35:42,820 --> 00:35:52,300 He knows what's been going on in your finances, but hold on a little longer. 616 00:35:52,300 --> 00:35:59,540 We have to thank Job for going through the trial. 617 00:35:59,540 --> 00:36:04,780 We have to let Job know that he's been an encouragement to those of us who must continue 618 00:36:04,780 --> 00:36:07,940 going through times of suffering and trial. 619 00:36:07,940 --> 00:36:19,580 It's not always because we're sinful, but sometimes just to know that God trusts us 620 00:36:19,580 --> 00:36:24,740 to be faithful. 621 00:36:24,740 --> 00:36:33,220 Thanks Job for letting us look behind the curtain at God's process and to know that 622 00:36:33,220 --> 00:36:38,540 God endures through our complaining. 623 00:36:38,540 --> 00:36:44,480 He knows we're just created beings. 624 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:51,900 He knows you're just flesh dealing with worldly problems, hardships and heartaches. 625 00:36:51,900 --> 00:37:00,620 He knows the enemy that you face day in, day out. 626 00:37:00,620 --> 00:37:11,820 He knows, but chapter 14, in the 14th verse, near the end of that verse, Job says this, 627 00:37:11,820 --> 00:37:26,220 all of my appointed time, I will wait until my change comes. 628 00:37:26,220 --> 00:37:34,740 That word change means an alteration, an alteration of the course. 629 00:37:34,740 --> 00:37:46,180 I don't know how long my appointment is with this trial, but I'm going to wait until my 630 00:37:46,180 --> 00:37:51,420 change comes. 631 00:37:51,420 --> 00:37:57,960 It's a confession to let us all know that change is coming. 632 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:04,500 It can't always stay this way. 633 00:38:04,500 --> 00:38:09,700 It won't always be what it's being. 634 00:38:09,700 --> 00:38:16,460 But all of my appointed time, I'm going to wait until my change comes. 635 00:38:16,460 --> 00:38:23,220 I might have to spend a few more sleepless nights, but I'm going to wait. 636 00:38:23,220 --> 00:38:28,380 I may be talked about, made fun of for a few more days, but I'm going to wait. 637 00:38:28,380 --> 00:38:29,380 Right? 638 00:38:29,380 --> 00:38:33,380 I might have to suffer a few more aches or pains in my body, but I'm going to wait until 639 00:38:33,380 --> 00:38:35,580 my change comes. 640 00:38:35,580 --> 00:38:40,620 I may be broke today, but I'm going to wait. 641 00:38:40,620 --> 00:38:47,300 My marriage may be on the rocks today, but I'll wait. 642 00:38:47,300 --> 00:38:51,940 Some church folk may not be speaking to me, but I'll wait. 643 00:38:51,940 --> 00:38:55,540 I may be lied on, criticized. 644 00:38:55,540 --> 00:39:02,020 I may feel lonely and outcast, but I'm going to wait. 645 00:39:02,020 --> 00:39:11,900 I wait until my change comes because joy, joy resides. 646 00:39:11,900 --> 00:39:18,540 Isaiah 55 and 12 says, for you shall go out with joy and be led forth with praise. 647 00:39:18,540 --> 00:39:24,540 The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the fields, 648 00:39:24,540 --> 00:39:31,620 the trees of the fields shall clap their hands. 649 00:39:31,620 --> 00:39:34,220 Verse 8 says, my thoughts are not your thoughts. 650 00:39:34,220 --> 00:39:35,940 My ways are not your ways. 651 00:39:35,940 --> 00:39:36,940 Right? 652 00:39:36,940 --> 00:39:42,180 Verse 11 says, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. 653 00:39:42,180 --> 00:39:47,340 It will accomplish that which I send it to accomplish, and it shall not return unto me 654 00:39:47,340 --> 00:39:49,540 void. 655 00:39:49,540 --> 00:39:52,020 Joy. 656 00:39:52,020 --> 00:39:59,060 Toss and turn, but do it with joy. 657 00:39:59,060 --> 00:40:02,100 You say, that's a hard thing to do, pastor. 658 00:40:02,100 --> 00:40:04,100 Yes, it is. 659 00:40:04,100 --> 00:40:08,960 But the hope that we have is in the help that we receive, and the help that we receive comes 660 00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:11,260 from the Lord. 661 00:40:11,260 --> 00:40:17,940 So in the midst of your tossing and turning, don't lose your joy. 662 00:40:17,940 --> 00:40:19,500 You don't have answers. 663 00:40:19,500 --> 00:40:22,640 You've got Jesus. 664 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:23,980 They can't figure it out. 665 00:40:23,980 --> 00:40:27,380 You've still got Jesus. 666 00:40:27,380 --> 00:40:28,820 You don't know what to do. 667 00:40:28,820 --> 00:40:32,300 You've still got Jesus. 668 00:40:32,300 --> 00:40:45,060 No matter how long the darkness lasts, your change is going to come if you'll wait. 669 00:40:45,060 --> 00:40:49,540 Simple altar call this morning. 670 00:40:49,540 --> 00:40:55,660 If you're in that tossing and turning, and you want to see your change come, join me 671 00:40:55,660 --> 00:40:59,940 down here in this altar. 672 00:40:59,940 --> 00:41:26,940 Come on.