WEBVTT 00:00:04.720 --> 00:00:07.360 Hey, welcome back here to the Semi -Seminarium, 00:00:07.379 --> 00:00:10.080 another week, another episode of the Bible Study 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:12.640 Series. We like to call it the Bible for Grownups. 00:00:12.740 --> 00:00:16.679 Tonight, we're going to wrap up this idea of 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:22.219 how we fake out parts of our lives. We put on 00:00:22.219 --> 00:00:27.559 a mask and we just pretend. And we've looked 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:30.620 at ways in which we fake out ourselves. We looked 00:00:30.620 --> 00:00:33.960 at ways in which we try to fake out our sins. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:40.960 Tonight, we're going to look at how we are just 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:48.679 trained to fake out our hurts. Put on a mask. 00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:53.340 Pretend everything's okay. When people ask us, 00:00:53.679 --> 00:01:01.539 are you okay? I'm okay. That's not true. Anyway, 00:01:01.619 --> 00:01:07.760 I'll see you on the other side. You guys mind 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:10.379 if I go ahead and get started? Tonight I'm kind 00:01:10.379 --> 00:01:12.200 of wrapping up these, we've done these like two 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:14.640 or three times where what we've been doing is 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:19.859 and the idea kind of comes from the saying that 00:01:19.859 --> 00:01:24.180 many of you have heard. Maybe not everybody, 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:27.180 but many of you have, and maybe many of you have 00:01:27.180 --> 00:01:30.920 said it. Many of you have said it and lived it, 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:35.299 or at least tried to live it. I have. And that 00:01:35.299 --> 00:01:37.980 is the saying, have you ever heard the phrase, 00:01:38.260 --> 00:01:42.719 fake it until you make it? Fake it until you 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:47.799 make it. Is that a, is it possible to fake it 00:01:47.799 --> 00:01:49.959 until you make it? You know, I've been thinking 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:53.500 about it. There's a part of me that feels like 00:01:53.500 --> 00:01:56.159 I'm standing in front of you right now as proof 00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:58.319 that faking it until you're making it works. 00:02:00.819 --> 00:02:05.019 But I think that we can have short -term success 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:09.340 faking it. But I think the reality that we all 00:02:09.340 --> 00:02:14.240 know is eventually the faking catches up to us. 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:18.240 It distorts our reality. It changes the lens 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:20.439 by which we see the world, the way we see ourselves, 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:24.780 the way we see our relationship with God, our 00:02:24.780 --> 00:02:30.520 ideas of sin. All of those things are affected 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:35.360 when we put on a mask and try to fake out who 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:39.060 we really are. So today, I'd like to talk about 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:44.419 hiding our hurts and to show my age. For many 00:02:44.419 --> 00:02:46.060 of you of a certain age who won't even get this 00:02:46.060 --> 00:02:49.139 reference, it doesn't really matter, but there 00:02:49.139 --> 00:02:52.479 was a legendary coach in the NFL a long time 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:55.319 ago by the name of Bum Phillips. And Bum Phillips 00:02:55.319 --> 00:02:57.500 was quite a character. He was a very funny guy, 00:02:57.780 --> 00:03:00.800 had a big cowboy hat, Houston Oilers a whole 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:04.280 bit. And one of the things that Bum Phillips 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:08.539 is kind of famous for saying is, he said there 00:03:08.539 --> 00:03:13.300 are only two types of coaches in the NFL. those 00:03:13.300 --> 00:03:17.259 who have been fired, and those who will be fired. 00:03:18.500 --> 00:03:24.419 And I could say the same thing to us, that there 00:03:24.419 --> 00:03:29.240 are two types of people in the world. Those that 00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:32.780 have been hurt significantly in their life, and 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:37.460 I hate to say it, But those of you who may not 00:03:37.460 --> 00:03:39.819 have been significantly hurt in your life, the 00:03:39.819 --> 00:03:44.000 chances are incredibly unfortunately that you 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:52.860 will. So, because the truth is, we live in a 00:03:52.860 --> 00:03:57.539 sinful world. It's a reality we as Christians 00:03:57.539 --> 00:04:02.120 acknowledge. As a result of it being this sin 00:04:02.120 --> 00:04:05.879 -filled world, it's also very... Pain -filled 00:04:05.879 --> 00:04:13.039 as well. Jesus says in John 16 and 33, he says, 00:04:13.060 --> 00:04:15.300 I've told you these things so that in me you 00:04:15.300 --> 00:04:19.120 may have peace. Okay? But then he goes on to 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:23.300 say, he's kind of making a promise. In me, you 00:04:23.300 --> 00:04:25.759 will have peace, right? Because Jesus just doesn't 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:28.579 say stuff willy -nilly. We've learned that as 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:31.759 we study the words of Jesus. He was very careful 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:36.089 about what he said. When he said it, why he said 00:04:36.089 --> 00:04:39.790 it, all that stuff. And we kind of take it as 00:04:39.790 --> 00:04:44.250 a rule around here that when Jesus said it, he 00:04:44.250 --> 00:04:49.970 meant it. Right? So he says, yes, in me you'll 00:04:49.970 --> 00:04:52.250 have peace. But then he also says something else 00:04:52.250 --> 00:04:55.350 that seems to be a guarantee in life. And that 00:04:55.350 --> 00:04:57.970 he says, in this world, you'll have trouble. 00:04:58.730 --> 00:05:04.139 But take heart, I've overcome the world. Statistics 00:05:04.139 --> 00:05:06.620 and surveys show, if you can imagine, that even 00:05:06.620 --> 00:05:11.079 in a setting like this, one that people might 00:05:11.079 --> 00:05:14.779 consider intimate, one in three people in the 00:05:14.779 --> 00:05:17.980 crowd are probably hurting significantly. One 00:05:17.980 --> 00:05:21.899 in three. Reality is probably one in three of 00:05:21.899 --> 00:05:24.740 you are going through something very, very, very 00:05:24.740 --> 00:05:27.160 painful in your life right now. Because the truth 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:32.500 is, in this sinful... and pain -filled world, 00:05:32.660 --> 00:05:36.339 many of us go through difficult times. And because 00:05:36.339 --> 00:05:39.100 we like to try to fake it till we make it as 00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:41.879 we go through these difficult times, we feel 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:45.720 like it's just natural that we should hide our 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:50.060 hurts, to try to fake it other people out, to 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:54.399 even fake ourselves out, that what's really hurting 00:05:54.399 --> 00:06:00.519 us, destroying us, ain't. In fact, Just real 00:06:00.519 --> 00:06:02.560 quick, take a look around. Just look around the 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:05.259 room. Take a look around, right? To your left, 00:06:05.259 --> 00:06:11.680 your right. What you see, people like me, people 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:17.120 like you, too, who are skilled at trying to fake 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:23.060 it, wearing that mask, not because we're bad 00:06:23.060 --> 00:06:27.180 people, rest assured, but because we're hurting. 00:06:28.269 --> 00:06:32.009 And the society in which we live has trained 00:06:32.009 --> 00:06:37.649 us to hide those hurts. So I'd like to call it 00:06:37.649 --> 00:06:40.170 out, identify it, talk about it tonight, hiding 00:06:40.170 --> 00:06:43.449 our hurts, so that maybe if we recognize it in 00:06:43.449 --> 00:06:46.769 ourselves, we can drop that mask. Now, I also, 00:06:46.889 --> 00:06:49.170 talking about Jesus and his promises, I want 00:06:49.170 --> 00:06:51.790 to make a promise that no matter what your hurt 00:06:51.790 --> 00:06:54.930 is, please hear this, if you're hurting today, 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:59.040 Or maybe, unfortunately, you'll be hurting in 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:02.420 the future. No matter what or when your hurt 00:07:02.420 --> 00:07:05.600 is, where it comes from, there is one thing that 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:08.939 we all have in common with our hurts. Never, 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:11.279 please, do not forget this. Be encouraged by 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:16.000 this. No matter what your hurt is, there is and 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:21.699 there always is hope behind that hurt. There's 00:07:21.699 --> 00:07:25.350 always hope behind a hurt. Let me read to you. 00:07:25.389 --> 00:07:27.949 We were talking about David writing these psalms 00:07:27.949 --> 00:07:33.350 of sorrow and asking for forgiveness. Here's 00:07:33.350 --> 00:07:36.930 one, I think, David looking for peace. This is 00:07:36.930 --> 00:07:40.709 Psalm 62. It's verses 5 through 8. And essentially 00:07:40.709 --> 00:07:45.449 what this is, is David crying out to God. He 00:07:45.449 --> 00:07:50.050 says, Find rest, O my soul, in God alone. My 00:07:50.050 --> 00:07:54.680 hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and 00:07:54.680 --> 00:07:59.420 my salvation. He is my fortress, and I will not 00:07:59.420 --> 00:08:03.379 be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend upon 00:08:03.379 --> 00:08:08.920 God, for He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:11.459 in Him at all times, O people. Pour out your 00:08:11.459 --> 00:08:17.160 hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. So there 00:08:17.160 --> 00:08:19.319 is hope behind the hurt, and the good news is 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:23.060 God has blessed you. With, I mean, a tremendous 00:08:23.060 --> 00:08:26.819 pastor who can help you explain this truth. So 00:08:26.819 --> 00:08:29.259 that we can all drop the mask, reveal the hurt, 00:08:29.339 --> 00:08:32.340 and find the God who is waiting there with that 00:08:32.340 --> 00:08:36.840 hope behind our hurt. So, how do we do it? Right? 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:41.659 If you were the one hurting, how do we let God 00:08:41.659 --> 00:08:45.279 heal us? Well, this is our first thought for 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:49.139 tonight. We find hope and we find healing in 00:08:49.139 --> 00:08:53.080 God. We find our hope, our healing, our comfort 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:57.919 in God. Okay? And you say, what does that mean? 00:08:58.039 --> 00:09:01.559 It means we so often go looking for that hope, 00:09:01.659 --> 00:09:04.419 that solace or whatever when we're hurting, and 00:09:04.419 --> 00:09:08.379 just about anything else we can think of but 00:09:08.379 --> 00:09:13.559 God. Right? Often we find ourselves at the bottom 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:16.100 of the river with the anchor tied around our 00:09:16.100 --> 00:09:19.179 neck, and then we go, maybe it's time to turn 00:09:19.179 --> 00:09:24.039 into God. I've tried looking everywhere else 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:29.460 to find this hope when God was here all along. 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:34.960 So I want us to make sure we orient our thoughts 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:40.820 in that direction first as we continue. And in 00:09:40.820 --> 00:09:44.980 thinking about that, we also need to remember 00:09:44.980 --> 00:09:48.679 God never promised us that we wouldn't get hurt. 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:52.659 This is... I think as someone that considers 00:09:52.659 --> 00:09:56.179 himself an apologetic, apologetic in the church 00:09:56.179 --> 00:09:59.960 is someone who like, I like to try to meet people 00:09:59.960 --> 00:10:03.240 who have questions about faith or Christianity 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:06.460 or might have their doubts. And I like to meet 00:10:06.460 --> 00:10:08.580 with them in a space where I can at least get 00:10:08.580 --> 00:10:11.740 them to consider some things I'm trying to lay 00:10:11.740 --> 00:10:14.919 down, right? And what I find in talking with 00:10:14.919 --> 00:10:19.299 people so often is they are rejecting a God. 00:10:20.840 --> 00:10:24.220 that I don't worship, that I don't even think 00:10:24.220 --> 00:10:27.899 exists. Right? And then you wonder why they're 00:10:27.899 --> 00:10:31.440 disillusioned. Well, one of the disillusionment, 00:10:31.539 --> 00:10:35.539 one of the parts of disillusionment people often 00:10:35.539 --> 00:10:39.360 have comes from this kind of thought that, wait, 00:10:39.460 --> 00:10:42.179 I thought if I believed in God and I started 00:10:42.179 --> 00:10:44.720 to go into church kind of regularly that everything 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:49.259 was going to be okay. Right? And I want to say, 00:10:49.299 --> 00:10:54.779 who told you that? That's not in there. Right? 00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:59.419 I don't believe in that God either. If I did, 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:03.039 it would be gravy, right? I mean, everybody wins 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:07.539 the lottery. There are no red lights. I don't 00:11:07.539 --> 00:11:10.039 know how we avoid having wrecks because God's 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:12.320 got his hand on us as we drive. Somehow or another, 00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:14.200 we don't bump into each other. Right? That's 00:11:14.200 --> 00:11:21.289 crazy talk. Nobody's promising that. So God doesn't 00:11:21.289 --> 00:11:23.149 promise that there isn't trouble, that you aren't 00:11:23.149 --> 00:11:24.990 going to hurt. Unfortunately, that's why I can 00:11:24.990 --> 00:11:28.629 say it with certainty. God doesn't promise that 00:11:28.629 --> 00:11:30.929 there won't be pain, but God promises that through 00:11:30.929 --> 00:11:34.330 that pain, you'll never leave us. And that's 00:11:34.330 --> 00:11:36.769 the thing that makes God different than any other 00:11:36.769 --> 00:11:40.370 thing. As parents, if you have a parent, you've 00:11:40.370 --> 00:11:43.330 been around kids. When our kids get hurt, there 00:11:43.330 --> 00:11:45.940 are things that kids do. There are things kids 00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:51.460 don't do. Right now, my son, when my son gets 00:11:51.460 --> 00:11:55.200 hurt, he doesn't, most kids wouldn't come up 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:58.000 and say, Dad, can you please tell me the specific 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:00.759 diagnosis of my pain so that I can believe God 00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:05.240 for a supernatural healing? My kid doesn't say 00:12:05.240 --> 00:12:07.100 things like that. Our kids don't come up to us 00:12:07.100 --> 00:12:10.139 and say, Hey, Mom, can you please teach me three 00:12:10.139 --> 00:12:13.620 indisputable laws? of the universe to make sure 00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:17.480 I can't and won't ever get hurt again? They don't 00:12:17.480 --> 00:12:22.460 ask that. Our kids don't ask questions like, 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:27.559 why do bad hurts happen to good people when they're 00:12:27.559 --> 00:12:31.720 children? When our kids get hurt, they only want 00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:35.039 one thing. They want a safe place. They want 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:39.100 a soft shoulder to cry on. They want someone 00:12:39.100 --> 00:12:44.360 to... recognize their pain. And there may be 00:12:44.360 --> 00:12:46.360 somebody here, you're carrying a wound that you've 00:12:46.360 --> 00:12:49.759 masterfully been hiding, and I mean masterfully. 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:52.879 My prayer is you'd have the courage, rather, 00:12:52.940 --> 00:12:56.340 to run into the arms of a loving Father who will 00:12:56.340 --> 00:12:59.919 find that He is with you in that hurt, and He 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:02.799 won't leave you, and He cares about your hurt. 00:13:04.340 --> 00:13:07.820 Okay? Sounds pretty good. So how do we go from 00:13:07.820 --> 00:13:10.690 here? I'm going to ask you to take a step this 00:13:10.690 --> 00:13:13.830 evening. I'm going to ask you to acknowledge 00:13:13.830 --> 00:13:18.750 what it is. In your head, for some of you, it 00:13:18.750 --> 00:13:21.570 might be a subtle wound, a subtle hurt, or a 00:13:21.570 --> 00:13:25.370 subtle betrayal. For others of you, I can assure 00:13:25.370 --> 00:13:27.429 you there will be no mistaking about what that 00:13:27.429 --> 00:13:30.850 hurt is. It is so profound, and it has affected 00:13:30.850 --> 00:13:35.269 your life in about every single way, and you 00:13:35.269 --> 00:13:38.590 don't know how you'll ever get over it. Let's 00:13:38.590 --> 00:13:42.149 think about that hurt in our thoughts right now. 00:13:44.309 --> 00:13:47.049 Some of us, we find that life may have unexpectedly 00:13:47.049 --> 00:13:51.049 thrown us a curveball. Maybe you're unemployed. 00:13:51.370 --> 00:13:54.149 Maybe whatever it is. Maybe your wound is towards 00:13:54.149 --> 00:13:57.450 God. Because maybe you do. You feel like maybe 00:13:57.450 --> 00:13:59.610 somehow or another God has let you down. That 00:13:59.610 --> 00:14:03.629 God has failed you. Right? And you know what? 00:14:04.070 --> 00:14:07.299 That's okay. If you're hurt right now because 00:14:07.299 --> 00:14:09.639 of your past, it might be, you know, right now 00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:15.039 my wound is towards God. That I don't feel like 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:19.799 God has given me a square deal. That's real. 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:22.100 That's okay. You do not have to run from that. 00:14:23.100 --> 00:14:26.159 Others, you know, there's been infidelity, cheating 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:30.419 on people, somehow, you know, betrayal, right? 00:14:30.500 --> 00:14:35.039 And you almost don't want to forgive. And you'd 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:39.720 rather just endure the pain and never trust again. 00:14:40.820 --> 00:14:42.840 Right? Because somehow or another, that might 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:48.580 just seem easier to do than confronting it. And 00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:50.980 I wish this wasn't the case. Statistically, I 00:14:50.980 --> 00:14:55.379 know that it is. There are those of us here, 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:57.460 someone listening to this message, at some point 00:14:57.460 --> 00:15:01.000 in your life, you were betrayed by somebody you 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:05.320 trusted. You were taken advantage of. And you 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:08.860 know what? It wasn't your fault. And to this 00:15:08.860 --> 00:15:11.519 day, you might find it nearly impossible to trust 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:15.200 somebody. I want to encourage you to take a bold 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:18.220 step. And in your heart, call that out for what 00:15:18.220 --> 00:15:22.639 it is. Acknowledge it. Because I believe that 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:25.960 God wants to do business today. Spiritually speaking, 00:15:26.100 --> 00:15:28.299 I think God's come here to sell some cars today. 00:15:29.179 --> 00:15:33.399 Right? So how do we... How does God heal us from 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:35.740 these wounds that we carry? Well, there's a couple 00:15:35.740 --> 00:15:38.580 of ways, millions of ways, but I'd like to talk 00:15:38.580 --> 00:15:41.200 about a couple of ways this evening. One, and 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:44.639 this is something I want to, I just really try 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:46.860 every Wednesday night to really reinforce this, 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:49.940 but I hope you share this idea with me too, because 00:15:49.940 --> 00:15:52.340 community, Christian community that we're supposed 00:15:52.340 --> 00:15:57.360 to live in, it does not happen in rows. It happens 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:01.659 in circles, just like this. And you know what? 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:05.820 These are opportunities where God can heal you 00:16:05.820 --> 00:16:10.179 through other people. God heals us through God's 00:16:10.179 --> 00:16:14.480 people. When we're kids, right? Like I was talking 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:16.419 about kids instinctively, when they get hurt 00:16:16.419 --> 00:16:18.740 immediately, immediately they make a beeline 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:22.379 to the person they trust the most. Why? Because 00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:24.279 they're hurt and they feel the most vulnerable. 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:27.340 And they know that because of that trust, they 00:16:27.340 --> 00:16:30.370 can be comforted. And that their heart can be 00:16:30.370 --> 00:16:35.029 healed. But as we grow up, something changes. 00:16:36.629 --> 00:16:40.769 And the hurts come and keep on coming. And the 00:16:40.769 --> 00:16:45.629 betrayals happen one after another. Instead of 00:16:45.629 --> 00:16:48.990 running to the people we should trust the most, 00:16:49.110 --> 00:16:53.889 we often find ourselves running from them. We 00:16:53.889 --> 00:16:59.179 isolate ourselves and we put on that mask. We 00:16:59.179 --> 00:17:03.580 say things like, oh, I'm good. Right? How you 00:17:03.580 --> 00:17:07.019 doing? I'm good. The biggest Christian lie in 00:17:07.019 --> 00:17:11.339 the church. How you doing? Good. More than likely 00:17:11.339 --> 00:17:12.940 you are not doing it. Statistically speaking, 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:17.700 we just talked about it. You're not. You know, 00:17:17.740 --> 00:17:20.279 I'm not really carrying around a serious wound. 00:17:20.539 --> 00:17:23.500 It's not that big of a deal. It's just a flesh 00:17:23.500 --> 00:17:27.519 wound, right? God wants to heal you. God wants 00:17:27.519 --> 00:17:29.680 to heal me through his people, through the greatest 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:32.240 blessings, particularly in our lives right now, 00:17:32.259 --> 00:17:35.299 sitting to your left or to your right. God wants 00:17:35.299 --> 00:17:38.000 us to do what Paul calls us to do in his letter 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:40.579 to the Roman church in chapter 12 and 15 of that 00:17:40.579 --> 00:17:43.380 epistle. Scripture says rejoice with those who 00:17:43.380 --> 00:17:48.099 rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. In that 00:17:48.099 --> 00:17:52.440 way of bearing one another's burdens, find healing 00:17:52.440 --> 00:17:59.059 and make no mistake. I mean, whatever you are 00:17:59.059 --> 00:18:03.759 facing, God won't waste it. God does not waste 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:08.059 a single hurt. Paul says in Corinthians 2, in 00:18:08.059 --> 00:18:13.779 the first chapter of that letter, he says, Why? 00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:21.960 Why does God comfort us? Well, Paul says, remember 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:27.480 from Sunday we were doing these? He says, We 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:30.519 can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort 00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:34.140 we ourselves have received from God. And this 00:18:34.140 --> 00:18:36.460 is the biggest truth. It's just going to happen. 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:39.359 Don't worry about it. This is the biggest truth 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:42.779 in the world. I hope that through the experience 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:45.640 of your spiritual maturity, I know some of you 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:49.660 have. You now have hurts in your past that maybe 00:18:49.660 --> 00:18:53.259 you're celebrating from or you don't feel chained 00:18:53.259 --> 00:18:56.430 by anymore. And you very well might have used 00:18:56.430 --> 00:18:58.769 that experience to help another through a very 00:18:58.769 --> 00:19:02.130 similar thing. Right? I know for sure some of 00:19:02.130 --> 00:19:05.329 you have. That's what I'm talking about. God 00:19:05.329 --> 00:19:10.670 healing others through you. God heals us through 00:19:10.670 --> 00:19:14.329 other people. God also heals us through His presence. 00:19:15.490 --> 00:19:22.859 We have become as a people gifted, skilled. at 00:19:22.859 --> 00:19:27.220 developing incredibly complex coping mechanisms 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:32.059 to deal with our pain. And I want to tell you 00:19:32.059 --> 00:19:36.940 with respect, but boldly, that the presence of 00:19:36.940 --> 00:19:40.380 the Almighty God is infinitely better than whatever 00:19:40.380 --> 00:19:43.839 you're doing, you shouldn't be doing, and wish 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:48.559 you weren't. Whatever your coping mechanism is, 00:19:48.619 --> 00:19:53.339 whatever is just not that big a deal, the presence 00:19:53.339 --> 00:19:58.319 of God is better. Scripture tells us in the Old 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:00.579 Testament, Hebrew Scripture, to repent and turn 00:20:00.579 --> 00:20:05.220 to God, that times of refreshment might come 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:09.140 from the presence of the Lord. God heals us with 00:20:09.140 --> 00:20:13.299 his presence. We've been talking about David. 00:20:13.460 --> 00:20:15.819 We talk about all the parts of David's life. 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:21.019 Before the big important parts, before David 00:20:21.019 --> 00:20:25.380 was king, he actually spent quite a bit of time 00:20:25.380 --> 00:20:31.980 on the run in the desert for his life. His entire 00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:37.500 life up to this point was honestly marked by 00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:42.509 just trying to stay alive. Why? Because the current 00:20:42.509 --> 00:20:45.650 king, King Saul, had released more men than you 00:20:45.650 --> 00:20:49.309 could ever imagine to try to kill David. Why? 00:20:50.029 --> 00:20:54.630 Because Saul knew the truth about David, and 00:20:54.630 --> 00:20:57.849 he wasn't super excited about giving up his throne 00:20:57.849 --> 00:21:01.829 to this kid. And in all fairness, put yourself 00:21:01.829 --> 00:21:08.529 in Saul's golden sandals, right? So David's on 00:21:08.529 --> 00:21:11.829 the run. constantly in danger, constantly being 00:21:11.829 --> 00:21:14.569 accused of all kinds of horrific things by others, 00:21:14.730 --> 00:21:18.829 and yet in the 71st Psalm, in the 14th verse, 00:21:19.130 --> 00:21:24.210 he says, but as for me, I will always have hope, 00:21:24.410 --> 00:21:28.990 and I will praise you more and more. But as for 00:21:28.990 --> 00:21:33.509 me, I understand not everybody's going to be 00:21:33.509 --> 00:21:36.849 like this. I understand people might look at 00:21:36.849 --> 00:21:40.319 me and say, What are you hoping for? This is 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:46.920 hopeless. Not me. I'm going to trust in God all 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:53.599 the more. I'll praise you all the more. And remember, 00:21:53.740 --> 00:21:57.039 I'm trying to be the apologetic guy. I can just 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:59.720 sit, maybe someone sitting here saying, you're 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:01.579 listening to this and say, Jim, how can you say 00:22:01.579 --> 00:22:06.579 that? How can you say that I can and always will 00:22:06.579 --> 00:22:09.849 have hope? Because people have betrayed, people 00:22:09.849 --> 00:22:13.130 have abused, people have been cheated on, people 00:22:13.130 --> 00:22:16.269 have been extorted. Do you have the audacity 00:22:16.269 --> 00:22:19.990 to stand there and say there's always hope? Yes, 00:22:20.069 --> 00:22:26.390 I do. Because there is. Psalm 46 and 1 says, 00:22:26.450 --> 00:22:29.210 God is our refuge and our strength, and ever 00:22:29.210 --> 00:22:34.769 -present help in trouble. And for that reason, 00:22:34.849 --> 00:22:37.759 we should always have hope. The prophet Isaiah 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:41.759 says in the Old Testament, right? And remember, 00:22:41.880 --> 00:22:45.980 Isaiah is writing at a time when the city of 00:22:45.980 --> 00:22:48.539 Jerusalem is about to fall and the temple is 00:22:48.539 --> 00:22:51.160 about to be destroyed and everything that the 00:22:51.160 --> 00:22:53.599 people thought about as Jews and the way they 00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:55.759 saw the world and God and other people and all 00:22:55.759 --> 00:23:00.220 of that was about to crumble to ruins. Isaiah 00:23:00.220 --> 00:23:04.039 is a prophet. Isaiah, this prophet of God, has 00:23:04.039 --> 00:23:06.720 come to the people to tell them, what is about 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:10.779 to happen, right? And look, if Isaiah didn't 00:23:10.779 --> 00:23:13.440 believe in what he was saying, speaking truth 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:16.400 to the power, like going up to the king and calling 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:19.380 him sinner man, right, back in the day would 00:23:19.380 --> 00:23:23.180 have been a sure death sentence. So I believe 00:23:23.180 --> 00:23:27.680 that Isaiah believed what he said. And he says 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:32.799 this in his prophecy. He says he, and a lot of 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:35.589 people believe, that he is prophesying about 00:23:35.589 --> 00:23:39.609 Jesus in the future. He was pierced for our transgression. 00:23:39.650 --> 00:23:42.890 He was crushed for our iniquities. Punishment 00:23:42.890 --> 00:23:47.569 that brought us peace was upon him. And therefore, 00:23:47.690 --> 00:23:53.589 by his wounds, we're healed. We will always have 00:23:53.589 --> 00:23:57.369 hope. Hebrews 13 and 5 says, because God said, 00:23:57.450 --> 00:23:59.750 never will I leave you and never will I forsake 00:23:59.750 --> 00:24:03.769 you. Psalm 147, he is... Healed the brokenhearted, 00:24:03.809 --> 00:24:08.109 He binds up their wounds. The 91st Psalm says, 00:24:08.210 --> 00:24:09.990 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High 00:24:09.990 --> 00:24:13.589 will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will 00:24:13.589 --> 00:24:16.670 say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, 00:24:16.809 --> 00:24:22.250 my God in whom I trust. There's always hope. 00:24:23.049 --> 00:24:26.829 And we Christians hopefully are convinced that 00:24:26.829 --> 00:24:32.640 that hope has a name, and it's Jesus. Some of 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:37.160 us still, though, find ourselves hiding. Still 00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:39.380 trying to fake it. Still hiding behind the hurt, 00:24:39.420 --> 00:24:42.720 behind the wounds. You feel and you know that 00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:45.019 in some way it does in fact separate you. It 00:24:45.019 --> 00:24:50.319 veils you from God. Faking it, it steps in the 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:52.619 way of the intimacy you should have with God. 00:24:52.740 --> 00:24:56.140 And I pray that God can breathe His Spirit into 00:24:56.140 --> 00:24:59.960 you. Like Paul says in Romans 8, for I'm convinced. 00:25:00.569 --> 00:25:04.470 that neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, 00:25:04.750 --> 00:25:10.869 the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither 00:25:10.869 --> 00:25:16.849 height nor depth, nor anything else in all of 00:25:16.849 --> 00:25:20.250 creation will be able to separate you from the 00:25:20.250 --> 00:25:25.029 love of God that is in Christ Jesus. He's our 00:25:25.029 --> 00:25:28.329 God. He's our comforter. He's our friend. Six 00:25:28.329 --> 00:25:30.690 closer to us than a brother or a sister, a sibling. 00:25:30.809 --> 00:25:33.470 He's our refuge, our fortress, our high tower, 00:25:33.710 --> 00:25:38.210 our deliverer, the healer of our hearts. Friend, 00:25:38.289 --> 00:25:40.490 know that He's here today. He's saying to you, 00:25:40.670 --> 00:25:43.910 those of you that at least, some of you that 00:25:43.910 --> 00:25:47.250 might be courageous enough to run into His arms, 00:25:47.529 --> 00:25:52.769 you might say, I'm here. I've got you. You're 00:25:52.769 --> 00:26:05.849 going to be just fine. Amen? Thanks, guys. Well, 00:26:06.529 --> 00:26:10.869 I don't know. What do you think? I think the 00:26:10.869 --> 00:26:18.809 idea of faking it until you make it is very similar 00:26:18.809 --> 00:26:25.890 to I don't know, trying to Live your life and 00:26:25.890 --> 00:26:29.849 pay your bills using a credit card that you can't 00:26:29.849 --> 00:26:35.569 pay off. Oh, it works for a while and it can 00:26:35.569 --> 00:26:41.910 actually be a lot of fun. But eventually, eventually 00:26:41.910 --> 00:26:44.609 you can't run from the bill. You can't run from 00:26:44.609 --> 00:26:49.630 the truth. You can't run from the reality of 00:26:49.630 --> 00:26:56.789 life. And as we've certainly discovered, one 00:26:56.789 --> 00:27:02.170 of the realities of our lives is sometimes it 00:27:02.170 --> 00:27:09.890 hurts. And sometimes it's not even our fault. 00:27:12.730 --> 00:27:18.509 There's no reason to hide that hurt. In fact, 00:27:18.730 --> 00:27:22.529 through God, I think we can learn to embrace 00:27:22.529 --> 00:27:27.039 it. Learn from it. Become stronger because of 00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:31.519 it. Anyway, that's something to think about. 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:35.420 Until next week, friend, be blessed.