1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,080 If you have your Bibles, we'll be in Ephesians chapter three. 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:05,080 I missed you all last week. 3 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:10,320 Thank you for your prayers, for allowing us to go back to Texas for a few days for a 4 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:13,560 funeral and grateful for our staff. 5 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:18,720 James who kind of filled in while I was gone and kind of dropped that on them last minute 6 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,720 and Drew had a great message and James I'm sure did a great job as well. 7 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:27,000 I hope to not go back there for a while, especially for another funeral. 8 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:28,000 All right. 9 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:29,000 If you have your Bibles Ephesians three. 10 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:34,200 We're going to do two verses today as opposed to the one that we initially had planned. 11 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:36,240 But we'll start here in verse 12 here in just a minute. 12 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:42,000 When I was in college, I was part of a ministry called BSM that was on campus. 13 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:49,000 And one year they asked me to be a part of a service project they wanted to do. 14 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,120 And so they asked me to take the lead on that. 15 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:58,160 And once I did, I wanted to make sure that I, as I started to outline a plan, I realized 16 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,120 that I wanted the school to be involved in order to help us. 17 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,120 So I tried to schedule a meeting with the Dean. 18 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:07,800 Now I understand that people are busy, but I kept getting put off. 19 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:09,920 I kept getting rescheduled. 20 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,760 In my opinion, it shouldn't be that hard to get 20 minutes of somebody's time. 21 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:19,240 But nonetheless, weeks went by and I kept getting rescheduled over and over. 22 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:23,200 So I had to take matters into my own hands. 23 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:29,360 It was homecoming week and our university had just purchased a whole bunch of flags 24 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:34,560 to hang around campus, similar to what North Scott does on game days. 25 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:42,280 Now I don't want to condone or encourage my next steps, but understand that I felt like 26 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:44,240 this was my only option. 27 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,800 So me and a friend of mine waited until it was dark. 28 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:54,160 And we drove around campus and stole well over 50 flags that were hanging around campus. 29 00:01:54,160 --> 00:02:01,080 It was quite a feat because they were not just, you know, we had to pull up a pickup 30 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,280 and put a ladder in the pickup to be able to get up that high. 31 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:09,440 Anyway, a couple of days later when we realized that no one knew where the flags went, I sent 32 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:15,920 an email to the Dean telling her that I had information regarding the flags. 33 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:18,100 Guess what? 34 00:02:18,100 --> 00:02:25,240 I got a meeting with her that day and then I proceeded to ask her for help for our service 35 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:26,240 project. 36 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:33,280 Now, of course, she wasn't happy about this, but desperate times call for desperate measures. 37 00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:35,640 All right, don't forget that. 38 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:40,320 If you were to go to Hardin Simmons now during homecoming week, you would see the flags that 39 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:44,200 were in my possession for a short time, but you will also see that they now have locks 40 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,920 on them where you cannot get them off. 41 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:52,120 It's one of those lasting impressions I had. 42 00:02:52,120 --> 00:03:01,000 Anyway, I think at times when we think about God, we don't understand that we don't have 43 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,360 to make an appointment with Him. 44 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:07,880 We don't have to wait until we mess up before we approach Him. 45 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:13,760 Ephesians 312 reads, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith 46 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:14,760 in Him. 47 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:23,080 I want you to think of that boldness as a little kid walking into your bathroom unannounced. 48 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:24,480 That is a boldness. 49 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:30,760 They will walk in there with boldness and confidence, don't they? 50 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:32,840 They don't need to knock. 51 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:34,760 They don't care what you're doing. 52 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:41,080 It doesn't matter how many times you fall to the ground and the hide while you're changing. 53 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:49,080 They're walking into that room with some authority, but as they get older, they learn to knock, 54 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:50,280 don't they? 55 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:55,040 They learn that it's not appropriate to stick their fingers underneath the door. 56 00:03:55,040 --> 00:04:00,280 They know when not to bother you, and so that boldness kind of goes away. 57 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:03,000 Now they knock or they just flat out don't bother you. 58 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:08,520 As my kids have gotten older, we have to go out and find them because they've locked themselves 59 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:11,060 in their room. 60 00:04:11,060 --> 00:04:17,080 As we get older and as we begin to understand the Lord more, we should be more bold and 61 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:20,640 more confident as we approach God. 62 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:22,480 We don't need to knock. 63 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,960 There isn't certain times that He doesn't want to be bothered. 64 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:33,520 I have known people who will hide from God in a sense until He gives them a sign, until 65 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:37,240 He comes and knocks on their door. 66 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:43,120 That isn't how it should work because of Jesus, you just knock the door down. 67 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:48,240 And our passage here in Ephesians, that word translated boldness, is a word that indicates 68 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:55,280 a formal introduction, a formal introduction into the presence of a king in much the same 69 00:04:55,280 --> 00:04:59,800 way that not just anyone can approach the President of the United States. 70 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:04,720 In the ancient world, no one could enter into the presence of the king unless they had been 71 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:12,440 summoned and were brought into the presence of the king by one of his court officials. 72 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:16,960 Perhaps you remember the story of Esther in the Old Testament. 73 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:22,920 After she had learned of Haman's plot to kill the Jews, she couldn't just go into the king, 74 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,600 into his presence and tell him the plan, even though she was the queen. 75 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:32,040 She either had to wait until she was summoned by the king or hope that if she chose to enter 76 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:37,160 without being summoned, that the king would hold out his golden scepter. 77 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:41,680 Because if he didn't hold out his golden scepter, she would be killed. 78 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:47,080 Now, fortunately, because of God's providence, the king did hold out his golden scepter when 79 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:52,440 Esther took the risk of entering into his presence without being summoned. 80 00:05:52,440 --> 00:06:00,400 For those of us who are God's children, Jesus serves as our introducer who escorts us into 81 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:02,520 the presence of the king. 82 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:06,040 And he's the only one who has authority to do that. 83 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:11,600 And just to make sure that we don't miss this principle, Paul ends verse 12 with one more 84 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:17,520 reference to the fact that Jesus is the one who has gained access on our behalf. 85 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:27,480 We have boldness, not because we're awesome, but because Jesus has made the introduction. 86 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:32,840 And our faith in Jesus is all that we need. 87 00:06:32,840 --> 00:06:39,360 The golden scepter is constantly held out for us because Jesus made the introduction 88 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:43,040 when you put your faith in him. 89 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:47,440 Paul mentions where our confidence should come from in his letter to the church in Corinth. 90 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:52,360 He says, such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 91 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,440 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything is coming from us, but our 92 00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:00,600 sufficiency is from God. 93 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:11,080 When was the last time that you busted down the door to get to the Lord? 94 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:16,440 Confidence changes the situation, doesn't it? 95 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:21,880 If you act like you know what you're doing, no one seems to stop you if you're confident 96 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:22,880 enough. 97 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:24,320 Am I right? 98 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:30,000 Back in college, I took a trip with some friends of mine to California, one of my friends, 99 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:35,480 his family had a beach house in Malibu, and so we went to go spend a week there. 100 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:42,960 While we were there, somehow we were able to acquire some tickets to American Idol. 101 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:47,840 Now I don't remember what number of season it was, but it was the one where Fantasia 102 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:50,720 was the winner, whatever season that was. 103 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:57,680 The reason I remember was because after the filming of the show, they have everyone escorted 104 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:00,720 out by row. 105 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:06,840 Where we were seated in the auditorium allowed us the opportunity, gave me an opportunity 106 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:10,640 that I wasn't going to let slide by. 107 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:15,320 So a couple of us stayed behind and we went the opposite direction of where everyone else 108 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:16,320 does. 109 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,080 I just told my friends, I was like, just act like you're doing, nobody's going to stop 110 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:20,080 us. 111 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:22,120 Just, just, anyway. 112 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:27,800 So we made our way to the front of the stage, we made our way onto the stage, and then we 113 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:32,640 found cables just like we have here, and we just started rolling those things up. 114 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:38,240 Just started rolling them up, and once we had some cables and they were all done, we 115 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:42,420 actually started looking around to see somebody who actually worked there, who actually knew 116 00:08:42,420 --> 00:08:47,000 what they were doing, and we went up to them and be like, okay, where do these go? 117 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:50,360 And he said, well, just go in the back, behind the stage, there's a container there, just 118 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:51,760 put them in there. 119 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:55,480 So now we're backstage. 120 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:59,280 So we go put the cables there, and we grab some other equipment, and then we go down 121 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:00,280 the hallway. 122 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:03,960 And we're just carrying stuff that has no idea of what we're doing. 123 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:09,160 Long story short, we meet Fantasia, we meet Ryan Seacrest, who happens to be talking to 124 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:10,800 Randy Jackson. 125 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:14,080 Now there's some pictures out there somewhere of this little endeavor, but this was before 126 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:15,360 smart phones. 127 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:20,760 And so they're printed somewhere, I'm not exactly sure where, but walking in confidence 128 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:25,720 gave us an experience that nobody else in that auditorium got. 129 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,280 Walking in confidence gave us an experience that nobody else got. 130 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:36,360 When it comes to the creator of the universe, Jesus gives us that confidence. 131 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,480 We can boldly approach His throne. 132 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:45,220 Hebrews chapter four tells us to boldly approach the throne of grace with confidence. 133 00:09:45,220 --> 00:09:51,040 When you do, when you approach it with confidence, you get to experience what a lot of people 134 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:52,040 don't. 135 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:53,760 He is approachable. 136 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:55,200 He is gentle. 137 00:09:55,200 --> 00:10:01,200 He is always accepting, because when He sees you, He sees His Son. 138 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:05,640 Be bold and confident in your relationship with the Lord. 139 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:12,560 Next, once you are in God's presence, be yourself. 140 00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:15,400 Once you are in His presence, be yourself. 141 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:21,680 When God first created Adam and Eve, they had access into the presence of God. 142 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:26,440 And even though we don't get a lot of details from the accounts and Genesis, there is every 143 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:31,920 indication that they felt free to be themselves in the presence of God. 144 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:36,920 For instance, the Bible records that they were both naked and felt no shame. 145 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:43,240 But when they sinned, everything changed because of their guilt. 146 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:47,080 Adam and Eve ran. 147 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:48,960 They hid from God. 148 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:54,680 And from that moment forward, man's relationship with God was forever changed. 149 00:10:54,680 --> 00:11:00,360 Before Jesus, no one had continuous access to God. 150 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:06,400 From time to time, God would choose to appear to leaders like Moses or the prophets. 151 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:12,360 That God decided when and where and how to do that. 152 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:19,160 But even though no one had unrestricted access to God, God wanted to manifest Himself and 153 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:22,080 manifest His presence amongst the people. 154 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:24,400 He chose to do that in the tabernacle. 155 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:26,760 Later on, He chose to do that in the temple. 156 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:29,960 But the reality is that isn't the case anymore. 157 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:35,440 The word translated here in Ephesians chapter 3 is a word that originally conveyed the idea 158 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:37,800 of freedom of speech. 159 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:43,920 What I think Paul means here is that we can approach God with confidence and we can also 160 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:47,600 have the freedom to speak openly with Him. 161 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:56,760 Occasionally, I am found in a situation where I don't feel the freedom to be myself. 162 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:02,120 Have you ever seen the videos or maybe you've done it where the people are greeted by the 163 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,800 Queen of England or I guess now the King of England? 164 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:09,360 They have to bow or curtsy. 165 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:14,840 There's all these rules that they have to follow in order to not be offensive to the 166 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:16,640 King or Queen. 167 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:22,560 Now if you see the same people later on that day who just bowed and curtsy to the Queen, 168 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:27,400 I guarantee you that they are not bowing to their friends when they greet one another. 169 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:32,480 I doubt the wife will curtsy when her husband gets home from work. 170 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:35,960 At least my wife doesn't. 171 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:42,240 We have to put on a different persona when we meet certain people. 172 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:55,960 My sweet wife is constantly, not constantly, frequently, giving me the look and telling 173 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:59,760 me, you can't say that. 174 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:00,760 People might hear you. 175 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:03,880 Daniel, you need to stop talking. 176 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,360 Like she's pretty frequently. 177 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:13,120 The other day we're sitting at a baseball game, which is what we do now all the time. 178 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:17,960 And there was a five or six year old little boy that would not sit down and kept getting 179 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:20,960 in my line of sight as I'm trying to watch the game. 180 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:25,080 Now I fully understand how difficult it is for a five or six year old little boy to sit 181 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:28,400 still for a long period of time. 182 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:31,760 I understand because I have one and I get it. 183 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,560 So I wasn't mad at anything. 184 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:35,560 I wasn't frustrated. 185 00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:40,400 I was just simply stating the fact that I could not see because this kid kept getting 186 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:41,600 up and down and moving all around. 187 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:44,440 It's like just go stand somewhere else. 188 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:45,440 That's what I'm saying. 189 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:51,680 Sina kept telling me to stop mentioning it because his parents might get offended because 190 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:53,560 they might hear you. 191 00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:59,600 Now I wasn't saying anything offensive, but Sina knows that in our culture it is possible 192 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:04,400 that they could get mad and take offense that I couldn't see. 193 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:10,080 And so just one of those times I just had to keep my mouth shut. 194 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:14,880 With God, with God I can be myself. 195 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,760 I don't have to hide my feelings. 196 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:22,160 I don't have to watch what I say in regards to offending Him. 197 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:25,360 When I'm angry at Him, I let Him know that. 198 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:30,920 When I'm sad or joyful or frustrated, I don't hold any punches. 199 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:37,440 When I'm at a funeral for a 35 year old and I see her five year old daughter sobbing in 200 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:42,960 her daddy's arms and I have all these kinds of questions to God is why would you allow 201 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:44,720 this to happen? 202 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:46,200 He already knows them. 203 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:48,520 He already knows my thoughts. 204 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:53,760 So I just give them to Him because I know that He can handle it. 205 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,480 Be yourselves before God. 206 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,440 You don't have to clean yourself up. 207 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:03,360 You don't have to put on a fancy dress or suits. 208 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:14,960 Just be yourself in your stained sweatpants and your team building exercise 1999 t-shirt. 209 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:17,840 There's so much freedom in that. 210 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:19,840 So much peace. 211 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:21,360 Be yourself. 212 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:23,800 Now maybe other people can't handle it. 213 00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:26,800 Maybe other people can't handle who you are. 214 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:28,400 But God can. 215 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:29,400 Be yourself. 216 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:33,960 Finally we learn from verse 13 that God will use your suffering. 217 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:36,160 He will use your suffering. 218 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:45,000 The word translated sufferings indicates something that is under extreme pressure. 219 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:50,640 So Paul is not describing some minor problems here. 220 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:57,720 He is writing about the kinds of troubles that press against us, that weigh on us. 221 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:03,480 This morning many of you potentially may be experiencing that kind of suffering in your 222 00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:05,920 life right now. 223 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:13,840 For some of you it may be some physical affliction where you're in constant pain. 224 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:17,320 You're not able to do the things you once did. 225 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:23,760 For some of you it might be the crushing emotional stress of a broken relationship or the unending 226 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:26,600 pressure of a stressful job. 227 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:33,080 I know that I can't even begin to describe this morning all the different types of crushing 228 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:36,960 suffering that you might be going through right now. 229 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:42,680 But suffering reveals what's inside of us. 230 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:50,600 When you put metal under immense heat where it melts all the impurities come to the surface. 231 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:53,480 They're easily scraped off. 232 00:16:53,480 --> 00:17:00,400 When you are under intense pressure what comes out a lot of times is what needs to be removed 233 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:02,280 from your life. 234 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:07,720 Every time I think I've grown in patience where I feel like I'm nailing patience I am 235 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:14,120 reminded that I still have a long way to go once I'm put in a stressful situation. 236 00:17:14,120 --> 00:17:18,480 That still comes up in me at times and the Lord has to deal with it. 237 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:24,720 So take your suffering or take your times of extreme pressure to realize that God is 238 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:28,800 trying to remove some of the impurities in your life. 239 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:30,600 He's trying to sanctify you. 240 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:36,600 Take that as an opportunity to confess, to get help from somebody, to draw near to his 241 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:40,040 throne so that you can find healing. 242 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,680 Paul saw his suffering as a way that God works. 243 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,800 He says in Philippians chapter 1, starting in verse 12, he says, I want you to know brothers 244 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:52,380 that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel so that it has become 245 00:17:52,380 --> 00:17:58,040 known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is 246 00:17:58,040 --> 00:17:59,840 for in Christ. 247 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:06,200 And most of the brothers having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment are much more 248 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:10,360 bold to speak the word without fear. 249 00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:12,360 How cool is that? 250 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:18,440 Maybe a good question to ask yourself, to ask God, is what is God trying to do through 251 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:21,920 my suffering? 252 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:25,480 Oftentimes we suffer for the benefit of others. 253 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:33,920 My friend, Alyssa, passed away last week and I don't know why her little girl and her husband 254 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,080 have to suffer right now. 255 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:41,000 But I do know that at her service the gospel was preached. 256 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:47,000 I do know that Ryan is standing firm in his faith as a testimony of the goodness of God. 257 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:52,280 I do know Alyssa well enough to know that if one person came to faith because of her 258 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:56,720 accident, she would say it was worth it. 259 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:03,400 Our friend Pam, who many of you met a couple weeks ago, lost her 16-year-old son in a car 260 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:06,120 accident a few years ago. 261 00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:13,120 Pam and her husband Quinton are such a testimony to the goodness of God that there is no doubt 262 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:18,400 in my mind that through their suffering there have been lives changed. 263 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:25,000 We were talking in our living room last week or whatever about the joy that she feels knowing 264 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:30,720 that we will see, that she will see people in heaven that are there because of the death 265 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:32,720 of her son. 266 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:36,160 That is an eternal perspective. 267 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:40,880 Paul says in Romans chapter 8 that our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared to 268 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:44,080 our future glory. 269 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:51,040 There's a clear connection here that between God's glory and the future glory that will 270 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:54,960 be experienced by all of God's children. 271 00:19:54,960 --> 00:20:00,080 Paul writes that it is God's glory that will one day be revealed in us. 272 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:05,880 That sufferings we go through are just a part of the process. 273 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:13,000 In 2 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul writes that our unveiled faces reflect the Lord's glory. 274 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:19,500 We are able to reflect the glory of the Lord because we have unrestricted access into His 275 00:20:19,500 --> 00:20:22,400 presence through Jesus. 276 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:24,520 Right now we are being transformed. 277 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:29,360 The stage that all of us are in is we are being transformed into the likeness with ever 278 00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:30,840 increasing glory. 279 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:33,680 It's the process of sanctification. 280 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:40,920 And that process is leading to the day when we will experience the glory of God in full. 281 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,700 That will be glorification. 282 00:20:43,700 --> 00:20:51,520 Because it is in the sanctification where suffering happens and high stressful things 283 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:55,080 happen and immense weight happens. 284 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,360 A lot of times we wish we could skip that part. 285 00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:02,680 We wish we could just get to the glorification part, right? 286 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:05,400 But that's not how God has chosen to work. 287 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:11,280 Last week while we were gone in Texas, there was a storm here, right? 288 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:18,680 And there is, I saw numerous pictures of a double rainbow that followed that storm. 289 00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:23,680 That rainbow though, as beautiful as it was, came with a prize, didn't it? 290 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:25,520 There was some hail damage. 291 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:27,880 There was some more flooding. 292 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,680 There was trees falling down. 293 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:38,000 The key to enjoying the rain is to look at it as part of the process of producing that 294 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,280 rainbow. 295 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:44,320 Most of us really don't like to suffer either. 296 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:52,360 But the key to suffering, the key to dealing with your suffering is to view it as part 297 00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:55,400 of God's eternal plan. 298 00:21:55,400 --> 00:22:00,680 We need to view our troubles as God's work in our lives and in the lives of others so 299 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:04,080 that we can share in His glory. 300 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:11,120 Moms, you have a hard job, a thankless job, a lot of times. 301 00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:17,080 Times where you are suffering and doubting if you are doing things right. 302 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:27,120 The rainbow is coming if you will continually and boldly approach the throne of grace. 303 00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:32,800 When you were frustrated, when you were at the end of your rope, when you were broken 304 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:39,040 boldly and confidently knocked down the door just like your five-year-old does when he 305 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:41,520 is looking for you. 306 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:43,520 That's how we approach the Lord. 307 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:50,200 If there has been anything that has caused me to seek after the Lord more, it would 308 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,280 be having children. 309 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,440 There are so many unknowns. 310 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:00,880 So many times that I begin to doubt that are we doing the right things? 311 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:09,680 I am so grateful that we have God who will guide us and lead us. 312 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:11,960 The rainbow is coming. 313 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:12,960 The rainbow is coming. 314 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:20,000 So if you are in the midst of intense pressure right now, if you are in the midst of some 315 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:26,040 sort of suffering, whether it be physical or emotional, my encouragement to you is to 316 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:31,080 boldly approach the throne of grace. 317 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:36,440 Confidently understand that He hears you and He is near because that is where you will 318 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:37,440 find peace. 319 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:41,080 I am going to pray for us and then we will sing one more song. 320 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:47,680 Father God, thank You for this day. 321 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:55,720 Thank You for Your presence in this place. 322 00:23:55,720 --> 00:24:05,400 I pray, God, that as we sing, I pray that You will just minister to our hearts. 323 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:11,280 I pray that Your Spirit will just dwell right here at this altar. 324 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:14,480 I pray, God, that You give us a confidence to approach You. 325 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,080 Help us understand that You accept us just as we are. 326 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:22,360 It's not some future version of us, but You accept us just as we are. 327 00:24:22,360 --> 00:24:28,760 And so, God, we thank You for Jesus. 328 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:33,000 We thank You that He has made the way for us to be able to even be in Your presence. 329 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:40,120 And so, Father, this morning I pray that You will give us all a boldness, that You will 330 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:44,640 give us a confidence to just storm into Your presence right now. 331 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,000 And I pray, God, that You will minister to our hearts. 332 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,480 I pray, God, that You speak. 333 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:53,560 I ask all these things in Jesus' name. 334 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:54,560 Amen. 335 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:56,960 I'm going to encourage You this morning. 336 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:03,920 I'm going to encourage You to come boldly into His presence. 337 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:10,680 It doesn't say to be timid about it. 338 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:12,840 Boldly, humbly. 339 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:19,920 And so, I'm going to ask You, however You need to respond. 340 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:21,520 That's getting on Your knees at Your seat. 341 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:26,840 If that's coming to this altar, let's boldly come into His presence and see what He does 342 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:30,720 because there's peace there and healing there. 343 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:31,720 All right? 344 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:32,720 That's all you. 345 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:58,500 P shaking.