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Unless my eyes are failing me, I won't take any comments on that.

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I think I see R. Dickinson back there.

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Art, it's good to have you back after several weeks of traveling representing the Evangelical

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Alliance mission in the Far East.

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I thought of you when the plane went over the edge of the runway in Hong Kong this week.

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I'm glad you made it out of there.

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Next to this, Chapter 13 is the focus of our message today and, as it turns out, next week

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as well.

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Having prepared the message earlier on in the week, God has laid some additional things

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on my heart that I want to share with you this morning, so we're going to take a couple

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of weeks to look at the subject today, which is provisions for the pilgrimage.

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If God were angry with America, how do you think He would express that?

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How long do you think it would take God to bring the mightiest nation in the world to

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its knees?

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In the fifteenth century before Christ, it took God only a matter of months to bring

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to its knees the world's mightiest nation in that day, Egypt, and to humble her dictator,

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Pharaoh.

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Through a series of ten judgments culminating with the death of the firstborn throughout

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the whole land, He brought that pagan, worldly, and proud nation to a point of brokenness

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until it was willing to obey His word, let my people go.

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On that night of the final plague, we noted last week that the firstborn of the Jews did

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not die if the family had believed God's promise and had trustingly sacrificed the

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Passover lamb.

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For the blood of that lamb having been applied on the door as God commanded, that home was

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then spared from the judgment of death.

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The killed lamb was the substitute who died in place of the firstborn.

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And as we studied last week, that is a beautiful, dramatic, and prophetic picture of the death

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of Christ, the Lamb of God.

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For His death on the cross was in the place of the sinner, and His death provides for

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the sinner an escape if he will believe on the Christ who died for Him and rose again.

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The blood of Christ provides protection from deserved judgment of eternal damnation and

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death.

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Those protected by Him are guaranteed safety, and those not protected by His death face

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guaranteed punishment.

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It's that clear.

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That night, the resident population of Egypt was further reduced by the departure of some

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two million people as the Israelites left Ramesses and journeyed as a large mass of

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people toward the southeast.

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Let's read about that in Exodus, backing up first at chapter 12 and verse 37.

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The sons of Israel journeyed from Ramesses to Sukkoth, about 600,000 men on foot, aside

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from children, and I might add women.

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So if you add the children of women with the 600,000 men, you'd come up with about two

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million people, most probably.

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And a mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large

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number of livestock.

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They baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into cakes of unleavened bread,

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for it had not become leavened since they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay

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nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

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The time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years, and it came about at

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the end of 430 years to the very day that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the

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land of Egypt.

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That is, 430 years from the time that Jacob went down to Egypt, being provided for, as

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you recall, by his son Joseph, whom God had sent before him.

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It goes on to say, it is a night, this night of the Passover, to be observed for the Lord

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for having brought them out from the land of Egypt.

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This night is for the Lord to be observed by all the sons of Israel throughout their

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generations.

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You will notice that accompanying the two million Israelites was a mixed multitude,

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it says in verse 38.

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These were other Semitic peoples, not Jews, not sons of Jacob, but Semites, and there

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were also probably some Egyptians who left with them.

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This mixed multitude later caused problems by bringing division to the nation of Israel.

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They attached themselves to this migration or this movement, but they did not share the

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calling or the vision that God had given to Israelites.

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Throughout their time as a part of this people, they remained on the fringe, they wanted to

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share in the blessings of getting away from Egypt, but they did not want to commit themselves

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to the vision that God had given the nation of a promised land.

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In the release, God brought his people out of bondage and into freedom, but that was

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not the end of their problems or their trials.

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Indeed, they still had much to learn about God, and most of what there is to learn about

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God cannot be learned in seminary or in a Bible study.

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It's fine to learn the facts there, and that's where we begin, but we learn to know

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God in the crucible of our life's experiences.

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And so God is now about to take the people of Israel through experiences to teach them

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of himself.

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He has told them something about himself.

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He is Yahweh, the self-existent one who is able to provide for their needs, but now they

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must learn that in their own experience.

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You see, redemption is only the beginning of God's dealings with his own, just the

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first step.

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Charles Swindoll has said, the conversion of the soul is the miracle of the moment,

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but the making of a saint requires a lifetime.

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As we look in these next chapters at what God is doing with Israel, he is attempting

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to make a nation of saints.

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They have been redeemed by the blood of the Passover Lamb, but they have very much to

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learn of him.

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They were at this point beginning a long pilgrimage toward the promised land, and their faithful

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covenant-keeping Yahweh, the Lord, Jehovah, would provide for them along the way.

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The lesson that I want us to see primarily is this, that the Lord provides yet today

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for his own as we face our pilgrimage in this world.

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It seems to me that pilgrims have several basic needs.

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They would include encouragement, protection, guidance, and certain reminders.

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Pilgrims need encouragement for their trials, because trials are a part of the experience

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of every alien and pilgrim in the land.

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Pilgrims need protection from their enemies, for they have them.

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Pilgrims need guidance for their way, because they are not at home.

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That's why they're called pilgrims.

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And pilgrims need reminders for their forgetfulness, because pilgrims, like all humans, tend to

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be forgetful.

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I want you to notice that God provides all four of these for the people of Israel, and

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I hope that we'll learn as well that God provides them for us too.

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First of all, notice with me that God gave them His promise to encourage them.

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And now we look in chapter 13 and verse 5.

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Moses is speaking for God, and it says in verse 5, and it shall be when the Lord brings

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you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite,

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which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you

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shall observe this right in this month.

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Now verse 11.

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Now, it shall come about when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore

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to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you.

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I want you to notice that right up front of their pilgrimage, God here gave them again

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His promise.

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God says through Moses, through your fathers, I swore to give you the land of the Canaanite,

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a land with agricultural prosperity where all of your needs in that realm will be met.

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I swore it to them, and I swear it to you, He is saying.

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God gives them His promise to encourage them, because God knew what lay ahead.

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God knew the discouragements that would tempt them, so He reiterated His promise to them.

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He did not want them to become discouraged along the way.

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Discouragement is one of the devil's greatest tools, especially against the newly saved,

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the newly redeemed, but not just the new converts either.

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There are few diseases of the spirit which are more effective in crippling our effectiveness.

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Have you ever faced it?

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Have you ever faced the temptation to discouragement and yielded to it?

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Well, if anyone here would deny that, he would have to confess some other sins in his life,

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because all of us have faced that and have yielded to it from time to time.

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Discouragement, that cold and clammy condition of the soul, where it is perpetually cloudy

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and grisly, where no sunshine ray seems to come through.

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We've all been there.

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And for the Israelites, the first discouragement was right on schedule.

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If you look in chapter 14, you'll find the record of the children of Israel being trapped

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beside the Red Sea.

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And it says in verse 10, and as Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked and behold,

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the Egyptians were marching after them and they became very frightened.

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So the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.

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Then they said to Moses, is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken

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us away to die in the wilderness?

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That is biting sarcasm.

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For the Egyptians were famous for their graves.

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And now they're saying, weren't there enough graves in Egypt?

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Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt?

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Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt?

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Didn't we tell you, Moses?

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Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians.

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For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.

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Now before you point your finger too hard at them, remember you might have said the

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same things if you had been there.

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For here they are, newly released from the land of Egypt, and behind them come the armies

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of Pharaoh.

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They are dismayed and discouraged.

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But God gave His promise to them.

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Notice in verses 13 and 14 what those promises were.

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Basically it was, don't be afraid.

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Stand still.

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God is going to fight for you while you keep quiet.

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The promises of God put an end to discouragement.

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Now we could trace that some more if we had the time this morning, but we don't.

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The answer to discouragement though is a review of the promises of God.

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For Israel it was the purpose of God to bring them to the land of promise, to Canaan.

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Now what about us and our discouragements?

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Are there promises that can lift us from that pit?

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Are there promises that can cause the clouds to break up and the sun to shine through?

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Well of course there are.

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Promises like Romans 8.28, which we're going to look at tonight in our message.

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Promises like 1 Thessalonians 5.24.

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All is He who called you who also will do it.

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I want you to notice that in light of the promise that God gave, Moses at least took

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a step of faith.

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Here in chapter 13 once more I want you to notice what he did according to verse 19.

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As they were about to leave it says, Moses took the bones of Joseph with him.

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For he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear saying, God shall surely take care of

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you and you shall carry my bones from here with you.

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Moses took a step of faith on that day that they left because he dug up the bones of Joseph,

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now dead long centuries, and took that sarcophagus with him out of the nation of Egypt.

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Why?

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Because he knew that eventually they would arrive back in the promised land and he would

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be able to bury those bones where it had been promised they would be buried.

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There in the land that God swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

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What a great statement of faith this was on the part of Moses.

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All of us face temptation to discourage them from time to time.

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This morning I want to share with you a very personal note and illustration regarding that.

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I do this not easily and with some fear and trepidation, but I do it because I've been

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exhorted to share more of how I feel with the congregation.

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I want to do that though I don't find it naturally easy.

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I also do it with some fear and trepidation because what I'm going to say can be so easily

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misunderstood.

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When you try to say something in a matter of a few short minutes, it's easy for it

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to be imbalanced in its presentation and it's easy for it to be taken out of context by

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the hearers.

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So with all of that in mind and asking your pardon and your mercy, please hear me out

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as I talk about what I need to talk about this morning to be obedient to the hand of

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God upon me.

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And believe me if I didn't sense His hand upon me strongly to say these things, I would

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never say them in this forum.

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But I need to tell you that I have faced temptation to discouragement in the past three months

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regarding the ministry of Grace Church Roseville.

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I did not say that I had yielded to it because I don't believe that I have, but I have been

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faced with the temptation toward discouragement with the ministry in this place.

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It has been the lowest time of my seven and a half years of ministry here because of disappointments

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that I as your pastor have felt very keenly.

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Suddenly got very quiet in here, didn't it?

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I have spent a lot of time evaluating my ministry here over the last three months and I'm not

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finished doing that yet.

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You say, well pastor, what has caused the temptation to discouragement?

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Let me share it with you.

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There are a number of factors and some of you will not appreciate some of the things

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I'm going to say, but that's the way it will have to be I guess.

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First of all, I must tell you that I was personally disappointed with the results of the Sharing

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the Vision campaign.

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Now I've tried to be upbeat about the campaign and there are some very strong points to be

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upbeat about.

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And we've emphasized those.

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That I am opening up to you and being transparent this morning and I expect to receive flack

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for doing that.

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But I need to be honest with you and tell you that I was disappointed.

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I was encouraged by the fact that there were 300 or so who did the very best they could

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in the response and I believe that with all I'm worth.

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But frankly I was disappointed that there were a goodly number who apparently, while

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coming to our church, have so little commitment to the ministry that God has called us to,

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that they wouldn't or didn't return any of their commitment cards.

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Not even to pray or to serve or to give.

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I'm not speaking about 10 or 20 but I'm speaking about a couple of hundred individuals

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or families in our church, some of you sitting right here this morning.

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Now several people have said to me, well I didn't turn my cards in but I intend to

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do that and I appreciate that.

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During the campaign I have heard several critical remarks.

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I find these dismaying very frankly.

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I've heard some say we didn't get enough information.

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There wasn't enough communication.

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And yet as I have tried to go back and as objectively as I possibly could I've tried

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to evaluate what we did in the campaign.

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The number of letters that went out to the congregation as a whole, the testimonies that

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were given on Sunday night all through the month of April.

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The personal remarks that were made each Sunday morning except one during the month of April.

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The other brochures that were printed and given to the congregation.

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Communication is a two-way street.

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There must be a speaker but there must also be a faithful hearer who will listen.

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I find it difficult to accept that criticism that there wasn't enough communication because

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I believe it was there had it been heated.

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And then I've heard the criticism that it was a slick presentation.

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That it was too professional.

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And my response to that is had it been sloppily done and we have done some things sloppily

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around here there would have been the criticism that it was slip shot and not well done.

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And when something is finally done well there are at least a few who say it was too slick

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a presentation.

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I find that distressing frankly.

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And then there were those who said there was too much of an emphasis on money.

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We seem to be talking about ministry and all of a sudden money was mentioned.

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And my response to that has been multi-fold and I can only share part of it with you.

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Thus you probably won't get a fully balanced response to that statement from my heart.

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But I wonder if people realize that ministry takes money.

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Organized ministry takes money to operate.

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What was the point in the presentation?

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Now there were those who felt that the cluster meetings were too over-emphasized on money.

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And if you look at that one evening as the only presentation perhaps that would be the

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case.

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And it was rightly so.

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Because the purpose of that night was to explain what commitments were being asked for.

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And the one part of the commitment that needed the most explanation was the money aspect,

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the financial aspect.

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And thus a thorough explanation was given in that area.

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Some of you are not comfortable with this, I'm sorry, but I have to say it to you to

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be honest.

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If you look at the financial emphasis in the campaign as a whole you will find that there

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was absolutely less of an emphasis on money than upon any of the other things that we

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talked about.

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The negative remarks by those within our congregation that have shared those, the lack of response

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from a broader group makes me wonder.

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It makes me wonder why when the very same approach has been used by the same organization,

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Nehemiah Ministries, in hundreds of other churches, why it is in 99% of the others there

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were no such negative remarks as those.

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Why is it in our church there is that one out of a hundred that makes those kinds of

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critical and negative remarks?

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It makes me wonder why that's the case.

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I'm curious about that and frankly I don't have the full answer to it.

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We met a couple of weeks ago as leaders, a broad group of leaders from various aspects

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of our church to evaluate the campaign.

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It was a very positive session because the results in one perspective are very positive.

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There are a few things that we think should have been done differently, but there are

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some.

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I think that would be inevitable.

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I thought that our consultant gave us an interesting concept and input when he said that in their

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experience with the cities here in Minnesota, the Twin Cities, that they have yet to have

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what they would call a successful campaign on the St. Paul side of the Twin Cities.

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When asked to elaborate upon that, he said, and I tend to agree with him, that there seems

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to be a spiritual stronghold of Satan on this side of town.

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Why that is the case, more than perhaps in other areas, I don't know.

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But it's something we need to pray about and attack with spiritual weapons.

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I have sensed that to be the case.

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Whether there is as much church swapping on the other side of town as there is on this

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side, I don't know.

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I suspect there may be.

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The fact is that the same campaign done in several other churches at the very same time

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this spring in other parts of the city had very different results, very positive responses

294
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in every area.

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The reason that we got into the campaign was to determine what the future ministry of Grace

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Church Roseville should be, how we're going to continue to minister effectively to people.

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The limited facilities that we have are crippling us.

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Now, there are some people who disagree with that, but I must say I believe those people

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have not thought it through nor evaluated the facts carefully.

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We felt that as a result of the campaign, if God blessed and we were enabled to reduce

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our indebtedness in three years, that would allow us then to move ahead.

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But the results of the campaign are a bit ambivalent in that way, and frankly I'm not

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sure what the campaign tells us at the end.

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I do rejoice in the fact, as I said before, that there were over 300, almost 300 people

305
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:11,360
who responded and did the very best that they could.

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And the result of that is going to be a significant reduction in our indebtedness.

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But it doesn't free us in three years and allow us to move ahead in ministry.

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Another temptation to discouragement, frankly, that I have faced as your pastor is hearing

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statements like these.

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We talk too much about becoming a larger church.

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We need just to be concerned about who's here, about being a strong church and a Bible-believing

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church.

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Now I can identify with some of those remarks.

314
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I believe that we must be a strong church and a Bible-teaching church, and we cannot

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compromise those things.

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I'm committed to the principle that if we build deep, God will take care of the breadth

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of it.

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But there seems to be an underlying thought in that statement that I'm hearing, which

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says we're all that we want to be.

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We don't need to reach any more people.

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We don't need to be a larger church.

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The only reason that we need to think in terms of being a larger church is so that more individuals

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can be reached and helped who need the message that we have to give.

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To some, it must seem unspiritual to think in terms of an expanding ministry, but I don't

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believe that to be the case.

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The larger a church becomes, the more fragile it becomes.

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Although it does seem to some that that would be the opposite, and that would seem to be

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the natural reasoning, but it's not the case.

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The larger any church becomes, the more fragile it becomes.

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But also, the more effective it can become in reaching not just a community, but a region.

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From the very beginning of our ministry here in 1981, God gave us a vision to fully develop

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this location.

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This room was not built to be a sanctuary, except for a few years.

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Our vision has been from the beginning to expand and fully develop this location while

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at the same time branching out.

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And that continues to be my vision.

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That's why I'm discouraged about hearing statements like that, or tempted toward discouragement.

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And it changed gears a bit.

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I'm tempted toward discouragement over some matters of ministry in our church.

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00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:09,280
It seems that we have so few who are willing really to commit themselves to one of the

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most critical aspects of our ministry.

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I'm talking about the children's ministry.

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I don't know how you feel about your children or your grandchildren, but I know how I feel

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about mine.

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I want them to have committed people working with them.

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I want them to be in that kind of a church.

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But we are finding in our church an attitude that says, I'll work with the children's

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ministry for a quarter, then let somebody else do it.

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Or I'll fill in until you can find somebody else.

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Ladies and gentlemen, children need somebody who will be committed to them.

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Not for a quarter, not until somebody else can fill in.

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But they need adults who will pour their lives out for them.

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And we're not there.

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I thank God that we are there with a number of people.

355
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There are some people who have actually burned themselves out in our children's ministry.

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Some who are getting out this fall because they have been in there for five and six years

357
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and they are completely exhausted and drained.

358
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I can only respect their desire to do something else for a while.

359
00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:42,000
But I wonder where the commitment is to ministry, especially to our children.

360
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:48,960
I'm tempted to discouragement about that.

361
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:53,160
This morning there are 20 slots open in our children's ministry.

362
00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:55,840
I'm not talking about theory.

363
00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:59,680
I'm saying there are 20 places where teachers and assistants and helpers need to be this

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morning.

365
00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:06,280
There are 16 places in Iwanta clubs that are not filled.

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00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:14,000
And yet that ministry is supposed to start in two weeks.

367
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Now I realize not everyone's called to be a part of the children's ministry of Grace

368
00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:18,760
Church or any other church.

369
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We have to be gifted and called to do that.

370
00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:26,880
But my question is where are the people that God has called and gifted to be a part of

371
00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:39,360
our children's ministry and where is the commitment to that?

372
00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:47,920
And I feel led of God to say one more thing regarding my own battle with discouragement.

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It is the criticism that has been leveled toward by some, only some, but only some can

374
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affect a whole congregation.

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00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:02,120
A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

376
00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:07,160
The criticism leveled by some against our elders.

377
00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:13,520
Men that I know to be humble.

378
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:19,640
Men that I know to be searching God for His wisdom for our church, His will.

379
00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:27,640
Men who are full of integrity and honesty, but who by some are not trusted.

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00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:32,160
Now I recognize that that comes out of the background of some people.

381
00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:38,580
I know that some have come to our church carrying a lot of emotional baggage from past situations.

382
00:33:38,580 --> 00:33:39,720
I'm sorry about that.

383
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I truly am.

384
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I grieve for some of the stories that I hear, but I beg of you, do not drop your bags in

385
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:52,160
this church.

386
00:33:52,160 --> 00:34:00,400
If you have brought baggage with you regarding an attitude about elder leadership in a church,

387
00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:03,080
do not drop your bags here.

388
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They're not welcome.

389
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:13,720
From the very beginning, our church has been organized in such a way that we commit to

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00:34:13,720 --> 00:34:21,080
those men that God raises up in our church major decisions regarding its ministry and

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00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:22,240
its future.

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We have done that because it is biblical.

393
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It's biblical.

394
00:34:28,980 --> 00:34:33,760
We have not done it because there are some who desire to usurp authority in the church

395
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or to run off with the church or to have their way in the church.

396
00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:47,160
Our elders frankly have talked very frankly about the fact that there has not been good

397
00:34:47,160 --> 00:34:52,120
communication between elders and congregation.

398
00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:56,640
We have tried in the past, folks, to take some steps in that direction, and we have

399
00:34:56,640 --> 00:35:03,960
been met halfway by very few people.

400
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:09,520
We have some other ideas that we're going to try this fall that I trust will be helpful

401
00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:11,240
in opening up communication.

402
00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:16,360
All of the elders' meetings are open, including the one this Tuesday night.

403
00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,040
Anyone can come and participate.

404
00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:24,980
There is nothing in secret except those matters of discipline and some matters of personnel

405
00:35:24,980 --> 00:35:29,160
that for appropriateness must be in secret.

406
00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:32,160
But there is nothing in secret.

407
00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:40,440
But it has been disappointing to me to see the attitude of some people regarding the

408
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:44,760
kind of church leadership that from the beginning we've had here in our church.

409
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:49,240
We are not going to change that.

410
00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:53,600
We believe it's biblical, and that's what we intend to practice here by God's grace.

411
00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:56,160
We want to practice it well.

412
00:35:56,160 --> 00:36:01,480
Undoubtedly there are some ways in which we can prove it, and communication is one.

413
00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:08,160
But we're committed to that kind of leadership in our church.

414
00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:09,600
I've been very frank with you this morning.

415
00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:14,720
I've not been so frank with you in eight years.

416
00:36:14,720 --> 00:36:19,800
And there may be some of you who are so offended that you're angry at me.

417
00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:26,960
Perhaps you feel that you can't even come back.

418
00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,240
I'm sorry if that's the case.

419
00:36:29,240 --> 00:36:30,240
I truly am.

420
00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:31,240
I am not angry with you.

421
00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:36,160
What I have said this morning has not been one wit and anger.

422
00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:38,960
I am not angry.

423
00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:44,200
But I am very transparently saying to you as your pastor that I have struggled more

424
00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:51,160
than I have ever struggled in this ministry with disappointment and discouragement in

425
00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:55,400
the past three months.

426
00:36:55,400 --> 00:37:01,760
And I don't feel that I've given in to discouragement for a couple of reasons.

427
00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:08,440
Very practically in the first place I got some vacation time and was able to rest, which

428
00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:10,600
I needed very badly.

429
00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:15,640
And I thank God for the physical and emotional energy and refreshment that that has given

430
00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:16,640
to me.

431
00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:20,240
Had I not had that, I'm not sure that I could have stood here this morning and said

432
00:37:20,240 --> 00:37:23,400
the things to you that I have, very honestly.

433
00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:29,840
But I've not given in to discouragement for a second reason, and this is the key reason.

434
00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:35,240
And that is because I believe the promises of God.

435
00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:43,360
You see, God gives us His promises to encourage us so that when we struggle with discouragement

436
00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:50,360
and the enemy comes with his full load against us, we're able to stand in that day of evil

437
00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:55,360
and having done all to stand firm.

438
00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:57,880
I am not discouraged today.

439
00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:01,320
In fact, I must say to you in spite of what I have shared with you, and I know it's

440
00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:05,400
been kind of heavy, that I am actually encouraged.

441
00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:12,560
I'm encouraged as I look to the fall and I see the ministries that are in place and

442
00:38:12,560 --> 00:38:14,520
about to be in place.

443
00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:20,820
Some brand new ones that we've not had before, like the single parents, for example.

444
00:38:20,820 --> 00:38:24,640
I am excited because of the prospects that are before us.

445
00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:31,880
I am encouraged by the promises of God that faithful is He who has called us, who also

446
00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:34,680
will do it.

447
00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:43,240
What He has called us to do, He will enable us to accomplish.

448
00:38:43,240 --> 00:38:54,240
But I struggle within with the knowledge that we as a church are at Kedish Barnea today.

449
00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:58,400
We're at a point of making a decision as a congregation as to whether we as a group

450
00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:04,880
are going to trust God and move ahead and get past some of these things that I've

451
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:10,560
talked about this morning and some others and go on and get on the positive and see

452
00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:18,000
what God can do and believe God for big things or we're going to go the other direction.

453
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:22,560
We are seeing the beginning of the pilgrimage for a generation as we come to Exodus chapter

454
00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:24,360
2, verse 13.

455
00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:30,080
This generation with the exception of two people never made it to what God called them

456
00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:31,080
to.

457
00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:39,580
Because of criticism, because of gossip, because of unbelief, because of grumbling and complaining,

458
00:39:39,580 --> 00:39:47,360
they died in the wilderness under the judgment of God and never realized what God wanted

459
00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:51,200
them to have.

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00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:59,360
I pray that all of us would stand with Caleb and Joshua and that we would be able to say

461
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at our Kedish Barnea, Lord God, there are enemies.

462
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There are temptations to discouragement.

463
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There are some things that need to be better.

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But God, you're faithful and you're able.

465
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And today I will trust you.

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I will be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.

467
00:40:23,720 --> 00:40:28,720
Let's bow together.

468
00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:36,840
I'm not exactly sure where this message leaves us today, except that I hope it leaves all

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00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:43,440
of us pensive and thoughtful.

470
00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:47,640
Because I know some of you have struggled with discouragement just as I have.

471
00:40:47,640 --> 00:40:54,040
Some of you leaders in our church, some of the staff and elders, some of the small church

472
00:40:54,040 --> 00:41:02,320
leaders, some of the Sunday school leaders and other leaders, I know you've struggled.

473
00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:10,120
And others of us are struggling with discouragement at home or at work.

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00:41:10,120 --> 00:41:16,520
I plead with all of us today to get our eyes on the promises of God so that when the temptation

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00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:30,120
to discouragement comes, when we enter that trial, we will not fall, but go on and endure.

476
00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:34,680
I wonder if by the uplifted hand there would be some who would join me today and say, yes,

477
00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:38,640
I'm going through a battle with discouragement.

478
00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:44,280
Now maybe you've fallen to it and you've been discouraged or maybe you haven't.

479
00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:46,640
You're struggling with it.

480
00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:51,320
But would you say this message has caught me at a point in my life where I need a fresh

481
00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:54,320
view of God's promises?

482
00:41:54,320 --> 00:42:02,200
Would you lift your hand and put it down?

483
00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:05,320
Many, many, many.

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00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:13,280
Father, I thank you this morning for the liberty that you've given to me to be very transparent

485
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:16,880
with the congregation.

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00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:25,560
And I pray for some who undoubtedly are reacting within to some of the things I may have shared.

487
00:42:25,560 --> 00:42:31,800
And I pray that you will say to them whatever you in love would say to them.

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00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:37,760
May all of us have an ear open to your voice as we respond to what you want us to do and

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00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:41,280
to be.

490
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:46,960
May we be people of the Book, people who believe the promises, people who are ready to march

491
00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:55,400
ahead, people who are willing to be and ready to be all that you've called us to be.

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00:42:55,400 --> 00:43:04,200
For you're faithful, the one who has called us, and you will do it.

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In Jesus' name, amen.