WEBVTT

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I'm going to just ask you one question. And on

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the surface, the one question that I am about

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to ask you may seem a little foolish. Yes, a

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little silly. But I'm going to ask it just the

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same. Do you ever talk back to yourself? Oh,

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somebody says, now you're carrying us a little

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too far, Catherine Kuhlman. For once, with your

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little heart -to -heart talks, you're carrying

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it a little too far when you talk about talking

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back to oneself. We had a neighbor, Catherine

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Kuhlman, that talked back to himself and they

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put him away. Well, now, that's not just exactly

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the kind of talking back to oneself that I'm

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talking about. But I... I found this thing to

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be very practical. Looking oneself directly in

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the face. But when you do, you have to be dead

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honest with yourself. And then talk back to yourself.

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Maybe nobody will hear you. Just you. But it

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can be mighty beneficial, believe me. I'm going

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to read just a few words of scripture. That 42nd

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Psalm, the 5th verse. Why art thou cast down,

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O my soul? It's a question. I'm the man who...

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wrote those words was probably a Levite who had

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loved the ceremony of the temple and longed wistfully

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for it. And scholars think it reasonable to assume

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that he was in exile near the source of the Jordan

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where the deep called unto the deep. And perhaps

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his mind just continually retreated to that which...

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Once was, he was living in the past, he was still

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dreaming in the past. But of one thing we are

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certain, he was a man who had a burden on his

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soul. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Sometimes

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we're depressed like that for no apparent good

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reason. And the mood produces some rather weird

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conclusions. Don't ever tell me that you're never

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depressed. Don't ever tell me that there's never

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a time when you are not cast down. I don't care

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how spiritual you may be. I don't care what your

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spiritual experiences may have been. You may

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even be one who has been born again if you are

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a part of humanity. If you right now are living

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and breathing and there's life in your body,

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and if you'll be dead honest, you will admit

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that there are times when you feel depressed

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and you feel cast down. Oh, sure, you say, but

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I already have my remedy. I go for a pep pill.

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That's exactly what's wrong with this generation.

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We're pill to death. We need to stop and be honest

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with ourselves. And when we look at this thing

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of being depressed, there are times when, for

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no apparent good reason, we're depressed. We

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just know that the family is trying to plague

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us. We just are sure that the man driving the

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car in front of us is deliberately trying to

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hold us up in traffic. And why can't that clerk

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get it to her head what you want when you go

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shopping? And why does the man in the parking

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lot mock us with his good warning and you say

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under your breath what's good about it, you know?

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Why do we even bother to get up? Is there anyone

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who, at best, has not had to beat off an attempted

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invasion of that kind of a mood. We don't know

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from whence it comes or of what stuff it's made.

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We only know that it's annoying. And we know

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that there are moments like that. Oh, of course,

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there are other times when there would appear

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to be sufficient cause for such a behavior. Perhaps

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we've had a death in the family. And loneliness

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can be a burden. Or regardless of how hard we've

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worked in business, there's been too much red

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ink of late. Or we have just been to the doctors

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and there are some things wrong with us that

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could be serious. Or even the very state of the

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world can be depressing, a very depressing thing.

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after you've finished reading your newspaper,

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after you've just finished hearing a newscast,

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then perhaps these things have left you very

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depressed. It's a great truth that comes from

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this psalm. If we're to be healthy, mentally

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and spiritually, there are times when we must

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talk back to ourselves. We have to. Sometimes

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it's a matter of challenging ourselves with truths

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that we've known a long time, but we've forgotten.

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How often, for instance, it's necessary to remind

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ourselves of the human weakness of arriving at

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conclusions before all the returns are in. There's

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so much of the Jacob in us. You recall that he

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was certain that Joseph was dead. He was sure

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that Joseph was dead. dead. He had terrifying

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fears about Benjamin. And he said, all these

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things are against me. Yet at that very moment,

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the light was breaking through his darkness.

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Even though he knew it now, he never dreamed

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of the victory that was ahead. All he saw was

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the darkness. But at that very moment, When it

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was the very darkest for him, the light was breaking

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through, even though he did not know it. It was

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through the things that he thought were against

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him that his family would be saved from starvation

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and the children of Israel would be brought into

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contact with the most advanced civilization of

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that ancient period. It is true they were made

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slaves. But in slavery, they developed an intense

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love of freedom. Jacob had despaired too hastily.

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If only he had known, if only he could have seen,

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he would have rejoiced instead of going down

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in despair. And so it happens to many of us.

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And we need to talk back to ourselves ask ourselves

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just how much of our trouble is fact and how

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much of our trouble is imagination. And an awful

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lot of our troubles are nothing more or less

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than imagination. And sometimes they are the

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greatest things that could possibly happen to

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us, but they're in disguise. We may need it.

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Ask ourselves, too, how much of our trouble is

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due to the fact that we are completely worn out.

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How dark the world looks to a very tired man,

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a very tired woman. And God help the family when

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that tired person comes home and takes it out

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on the family. So many of the worries the world

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had been born and nurtured and brought to Maturity

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in fatigue. We oppressed these bodies and we

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pushed our nervous systems beyond all common

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sense and reason until the houses of our minds

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become filled with shadows. Shadows that jump

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out at us from every corner. In this age of sleeping

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pill sickness. Don't we need to talk back to

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ourselves and ask if we're unable to sleep because

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of our troubles? Or have we troubles because

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we've not given these bodies of ours a little

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more time to sleep? If you are addicted to sleeping

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pills, just stop and ask yourself. Talk back

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to yourself and ask yourself, Why you're having

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to take those sleeping pills? Why? Just why?

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Why are you addicted to the cigarette habit?

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Why? Why do you have to smoke that pack, two

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packs of cigarettes a day? There's a reason for

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it. Talk back to yourself. What art thou cast

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down, O my soul? It needs to be challenged. Right

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now, you need to face the issue before it goes

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any further. Sometimes we need to talk back to

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ourselves and remind ourselves that we are Christians,

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and because we are Christians, we believe in

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a God. through whom life takes on a different

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look. Those were great words that Paul gave in

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2 Corinthians when he said, We are troubled on

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every side, yet not distressed. We're perplexed,

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but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken.

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Cast down, but not destroyed. Paul understood

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all of these things. He was human like any one

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of us. There was still the weakness of the flesh.

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He was still an old material world. Oh, sure,

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he said. We're troubled on every side. Yet we're

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not distressed. We're perplexed. but not in despair.

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I love those words. They were great words that

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preceded these words. For in one verse he says,

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We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that

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the excellency of the power may be of God. In

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another he spoke of the God who commanded the

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light to shine out of darkness. If one is a Christian,

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in time of trouble, he will remind his soul of

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a God who knows no defeat. When you talk back

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to yourself and you are a Christian, remind yourself

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that he's still God Almighty. Remind yourself

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that he's your Heavenly Father. You belong to

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him. He knows you as an individual. If you are

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a Christian, if you are living in the center

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of his will, a surrendered life unto him, nothing,

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absolutely nothing can come into your life but

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what he allows and he permits. And he'll... always

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bring the light. No matter how dark the night,

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the light will come through. The morning will

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come. Morning always comes. If we're worried

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about our health, for instance. Let us remember

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that God does work in mysterious ways and can

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bring that thing out for his glory. He works

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beyond our poor little puny minds. You know,

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in the darkness of the hour. Cast off your fears

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and stop your grumbling. Be still and remember

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God. I like the story of the old gentleman who

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lived to be a ripe old age and he was asked the

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secret. He thought a minute and he replied that

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He thought it was because he always got a good

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night's sleep at night. Then he was questioned

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further as to how he accomplished it. He'd always

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been a man with great responsibilities. Always.

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Then he thought a little longer, and this was

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his reply. Well, he said, long ago I learned

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that I have a god. who neither slumbers nor sleeps.

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And there's just no point in both of us staying

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awake at night. There are times when we need

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to talk back to ourselves like that, you know

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it? Oh, I do not mean that one should lazily

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turn all of his troubles over to God. After we

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get ourselves in a mess, blame God for it and

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say, here, get me out of this thing. Now I got

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myself into it. Now you get me out of it. First

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of all, don't get yourself into these messes.

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Before you make decisions, ask for God's wisdom

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and God's leadership. We have no right. after

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we deliberately get ourselves into a jam, then

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call on God and say, now get me out of it. I'm

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not talking about that kind of a life. I am talking

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about having the leading of the spirit. I'm talking

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about living a consecrated life unto him. I'm

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talking about so living that daily life that

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when... You come to the end of a day and you're

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lying on your bed. You can look up and honestly

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say, Dear Lord Jesus, I've done the best that

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I know how today. I tried to do a good job. Sincerely,

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you and I both know that I tried to do my best.

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Now, if there's anything more to be taken care

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of, and if I failed, then please, I turn those

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failures over to you. You work them out. But

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I'm going to sleep. I tell you frankly, I do

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it every night of my life. Yeah? And it's just

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like that. Jesus said, In the world you shall

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have tribulation, but be of good cheer. Why?

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I have overcome the world. And through faith

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in God the Father, faith in Jesus his Son, faith

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in the Holy Spirit, we also can overcome. In

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the dark moments, let us not forget to say to

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that soul of ours, Why art thou cast down, O

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soul? Why art thou disquieted within me? Hope

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thou in God. And this is the victory. Even our

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faith. Oh, somebody says, but you don't know

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my troubles. It looks so easy to say, talk back

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to yourself. But you don't know my troubles.

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Pause a minute. I know of no one who had greater

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troubles than Job. His cattle were rustled by

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cattle rustlers. His horses were stolen by horse

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thieves. His cowboys were killed by the rustlers.

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His sheep were struck by lightning. and his shepherds

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were all killed, all but one. His camels were

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stolen, and all but keepers were killed, except

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one. His sons, his daughters were all killed

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by a cyclone. Read that 20th verse of the first

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chapter of Job. He rent his garments, he shaved

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his head, he fell on the ground. In despair?

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No. In worship unto God. Continue the next verse.

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He sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. His

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body was covered with ulcer -like boils. ashes

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to soak up secretion. And then finally, the last

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straw, his wife said unto him, why do you hold

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on to your faith? Curse God and die. Doesn't

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that sound just like a woman? Doesn't that sound

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just like a nagging woman? Oh, I don't know why

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she had to add on to it and curse. But she did.

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Only a woman would say a thing like that. And

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then Job's friends rebuked and forsook him. It

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was dark. It was very dark. Did he despair? He

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looked up and continued to worship God. Me thinks

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he said to himself, God is still there. God loves

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me. God cares for me. No affection, no sorrow,

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no suffering. I don't care how big these boils

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get. They'll never separate me from the love

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of God. Though everything be taken away from

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me, These things will never separate me from

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the love of my God. My faith is in him and he

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loves me. What was the result? He was blessed

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with twice what he had before. That, my friend,

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is the love and the mercy of our Heavenly Father.

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It may be dark now, but the light will break

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through.