1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 This, the thirteenth chapter, is we talk about provisions for the pilgrimage. 2 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:16,920 God calls his chosen out that he might bring them in. 3 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:24,640 God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees that he might bring him into the land that 4 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,840 he would show him. 5 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:34,840 God called Israel out of Egypt that he might bring them into Canaan, the promised land. 6 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:42,560 And today God is calling out the church from the world that he might bring her into his 7 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:44,960 heavenly kingdom. 8 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:50,960 God calls us out that he might bring us in. 9 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,500 But that process doesn't happen in an instant. 10 00:00:53,500 --> 00:00:56,900 It takes a lifetime. 11 00:00:56,900 --> 00:01:02,540 We leave our past association and we journey on toward our future destiny as the children 12 00:01:02,540 --> 00:01:04,840 of God. 13 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:11,840 But in the meanwhile, like Abraham and the patriarchs, we are pilgrims. 14 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:17,960 We are in the world, but we are not of the world. 15 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:24,960 We live among citizens in this earthly realm while being partakers of a heavenly calling. 16 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:31,960 And we find our true identity in life's realities in that realm, the heavenly one. 17 00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:39,960 We live out our pilgrimage in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. 18 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:46,960 But we do so as the children of God, as strangers and aliens who no longer fit into the mold 19 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,960 of the present order of things. 20 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:59,960 I remind you of these words from the writer of Hebrews as he writes regarding the patriarchs 21 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:04,080 of old. 22 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:11,080 All these died in faith without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having 23 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:19,240 welcomed them from a distance and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the 24 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:24,560 earth, for those who say such things, what? 25 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,720 That they're exiles and strangers. 26 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:34,720 Those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 27 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:39,760 And indeed, if they, the patriarchs, had been thinking of that country from which they went 28 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,280 out, they would have had opportunity to return. 29 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:49,920 But as it is, they desire a better country that is a heavenly one. 30 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:56,920 Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a 31 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:58,280 city. 32 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:05,280 When you and I get to the place of feeling comfortable in the world, when we're at ease 33 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:12,280 with its standards, its morality, its goals, its motivating forces, and if we are children 34 00:03:13,940 --> 00:03:20,780 of God, we have become worldly and we have forgotten that we have been called out that 35 00:03:20,780 --> 00:03:25,020 God might bring us in. 36 00:03:25,020 --> 00:03:31,180 Before being saved, we were aliens from God and strangers to the covenants of promise. 37 00:03:31,180 --> 00:03:33,260 We had no hope. 38 00:03:33,260 --> 00:03:36,740 We were without God in the world. 39 00:03:36,740 --> 00:03:43,740 But now, having come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, if that be your case, having come 40 00:03:43,900 --> 00:03:50,900 to Him, having been saved by His grace, we are now strangers to the world system that 41 00:03:51,420 --> 00:03:54,060 was once our home. 42 00:03:54,060 --> 00:04:01,060 And we journey as God's pilgrims toward that place that He is preparing for us. 43 00:04:01,060 --> 00:04:08,060 The Lord graciously provides what His pilgrims need for their journey in this world. 44 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:16,040 Last week we looked at the truth that God gives us encouragement. 45 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,900 Today we want to see that God gives us protection. 46 00:04:19,900 --> 00:04:23,480 Later on we'll see that God gives us guidance and reminders. 47 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:27,520 You see, pilgrims need all of those things. 48 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,680 Pilgrims need encouragement for the trials they pass through. 49 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:33,360 Pilgrims need protection from their enemies. 50 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:37,000 Pilgrims need guidance for their way because they're in a strange land. 51 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:44,000 And pilgrims need reminders because, like all people, pilgrims can be forgetful. 52 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:52,680 We discussed last week the fact that God gave His promise to encourage us. 53 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:54,440 He did to the ancient Israelites. 54 00:04:54,440 --> 00:05:00,380 He reminded them at this time of their departure from Egypt that He was taking them to a land 55 00:05:00,380 --> 00:05:05,800 that flowed with milk and honey, which is an expression that indicates the agrarian 56 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:12,380 prosperity in that land that He would bring them to. 57 00:05:12,380 --> 00:05:15,520 God gives us His promises to encourage us. 58 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:21,520 And I shared with you very transparently and honestly last week some of the disappointments 59 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:26,040 that I have struggled with over the last three months and the discouragements that I have 60 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,180 been tempted with. 61 00:05:29,180 --> 00:05:35,120 My point in doing that was to testify to you that I am not discouraged in my ministry, 62 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:41,240 but I am encouraged because of the promises of God. 63 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:46,800 God gives us His promises to encourage us. 64 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:51,280 Now today as we look further in Exodus chapter 13, I want us to notice that God gives us 65 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:53,560 His protection to keep us. 66 00:05:53,560 --> 00:06:00,560 I would like for you to read with me verses 17 and 18 which say, It came about when Pharaoh 67 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:08,080 had let the people go, that God did not lead them by the way of the land the Philistines, 68 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,240 even though it was near. 69 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:18,240 For God said, Lest the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to 70 00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:19,240 Egypt. 71 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:25,560 In this instance, God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea, 72 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:32,560 and the sons of Israel went up in martial array, that means in an ordered form, nothing 73 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:39,560 military necessarily there, in an ordered form in march from the land of Egypt. 74 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:45,080 God gave His people His protection to keep them. 75 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:52,080 You see, the danger was in this instance, the likelihood of war had they approached 76 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:56,880 the border area with the Philistines. 77 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:01,560 Whether that fighting would have come from the Egyptian border guards or from the Philistines 78 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:06,240 who would have been concerned about two million people knocking on their door, we are not 79 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:08,040 told. 80 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:14,040 But God knew that if they went that way, that they might be tempted to return to Egypt. 81 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,720 Therefore, God led them a different way. 82 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:22,000 Notice it says that, God led them a different way for that very reason. 83 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:29,000 He did not want them to be subjected to a trial that might cause them to be overwhelmed. 84 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:36,440 He protected them from that. 85 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:42,440 God knew that this would be too great for them at this point in their pilgrimage. 86 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:48,520 Oh, later God did lead them to some enemies and they fought some battles as you know. 87 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:50,800 But this is too early. 88 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:52,280 This is too soon. 89 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:56,960 Therefore, God protected them from that danger. 90 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,960 It was a shortcut to go through the land of the Philistines. 91 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:05,400 My it would not have been a long journey at all just to go up along the seashore there 92 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:07,600 to the land of Canaan. 93 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:14,600 But God led them a different way to protect them, to keep them, so that they might not 94 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:23,640 be overwhelmed by the warfare they would encounter and decide to return to their bondage in Egypt. 95 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:31,040 Beloved, God knows when the apparent shortcuts that we would like to take would end up in 96 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:38,040 spiritual disaster for us too. 97 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:44,580 You see, God can see what's ahead. 98 00:08:44,580 --> 00:08:50,160 God can see what's around the bend in the road. 99 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:57,160 There are times we wonder why God leads us the long way, why God takes us the hard way, 100 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:04,160 when there is a shorter, easier route to our destination. 101 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:12,760 God knows when the shortcuts would mean disaster spiritually and He protects us by leading 102 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:16,520 us the long way and the hard way. 103 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:23,520 C.H. McIntosh wrote, the Lord in His condescending grace so orders things for His people that 104 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:30,520 they do not at their first setting out encounter heavy trials which might have the effect of 105 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:35,520 discouraging their hearts and driving them back. 106 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:42,520 God knew His people Israel could not take it at this point in their pilgrimage. 107 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:49,560 Do you believe that God knows you so well that He knows what you can take and what you 108 00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:51,080 cannot take? 109 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:58,080 Do you believe that God knows what you can take and what you cannot take? 110 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:04,040 The Psalm 103 verses 13 and 14 mean it when it says, 111 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:11,040 Just as a father has compassion on his children, so Yahweh, so the Lord, has compassion on 112 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:14,100 those who fear Him. 113 00:10:14,100 --> 00:10:17,500 For He Himself knows our frame. 114 00:10:17,500 --> 00:10:22,120 He is mindful that we are but dust. 115 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:28,080 Does God know your frame? 116 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:32,160 Does God know the kind of dust that you are made out of like He knows the kind of dust 117 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:33,600 I am made out of? 118 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:36,720 Of course He does. 119 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:43,720 And God in His loving care for us and in His sovereign plan is not going to take us a route 120 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:48,720 that would spell certain disaster for us. 121 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:53,720 Because God gives us His protection to keep us. 122 00:10:55,720 --> 00:11:02,720 But the fact is if we insist on our own way, if we rebel against Him, if we refuse His 123 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:09,720 leading, and we go the way that looks best to us, then we may have to learn some lessons 124 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:14,720 the hard way. 125 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:21,720 We may in fact go to a disaster, spiritually speaking. 126 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:28,720 How much better, how much wiser it is for us to allow God His leading in our lives. 127 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:35,720 So that He can protect us from the trials that would leave us exasperated and vulnerable 128 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:39,720 to the enemy's temptations. 129 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:46,720 Oh, if only Lot had let God choose for him in Genesis chapter 12. 130 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:53,720 You remember the occasion, don't you? 131 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:58,720 Lot and Abram could not dwell together any longer. 132 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:00,720 Their herds were too great. 133 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:04,720 The herdsmen were bickering and battling with each other. 134 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:09,720 Abraham graciously, the servant of God graciously said to Lot his nephew, 135 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:14,720 You pick first and I'll take what's left over. 136 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:21,720 The scriptures tell us that Lot looked down on the plains and saw the sea. 137 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:25,720 Lot looked down on the plains of Zor, 138 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:29,720 plains down there by the Dead Sea as we call it today. 139 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:35,720 At that time they were green and lush and prosperous. 140 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:41,720 And he looked the other way and saw the hills of Judea. 141 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,720 And he said, I want that. 142 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:50,720 He chose for himself what he thought was the best. 143 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:51,720 He chose what he wanted. 144 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,720 He had his own way. 145 00:12:54,720 --> 00:13:00,720 And it spelled disaster for him and for his family. 146 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:02,720 You know the rest of the story, don't you? 147 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:05,720 Because they went to live in the city of Sodom 148 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:10,720 where he became something akin to the mayor of the city of Sodom. 149 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:16,720 If you can believe that. 150 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:21,720 He lost his wife in the great conflagration that came upon Sodom. 151 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:26,720 His sons-in-law, apparently being involved in the sins of the city, 152 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:30,720 burned in that city. 153 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,720 And his two daughters who escaped the fire in Brimstone 154 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:38,720 and who went with him away from there, 155 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:40,720 ended up committing incest with him. 156 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:42,720 They got him drunk. 157 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:49,720 It's a sordid story. 158 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:55,720 And he ended up living in a cave the last time that we see Lot in the Bible. 159 00:13:55,720 --> 00:14:02,720 There's the tragic example of a man who said, I want to live life my way. 160 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:07,720 I'll make my own choices, God, thank you. 161 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:11,720 And it spelled disaster for him and for his family. 162 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,720 And all that he hoped to gain and to live for in life, 163 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:22,720 he ultimately lost, being the only caveman I know in the Bible. 164 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,720 Because that's, as far as I know, where he died. 165 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:32,720 He lost everything. 166 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,720 Lot would have been wise to have listened to God at that point 167 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:42,720 when Abram gave him the choice. 168 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:44,720 1 Corinthians 10 13 says, 169 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:48,720 No temptation has overtaken you, 170 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:51,720 but such as is common to man. 171 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:56,720 And God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted 172 00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:59,720 beyond what you are able, 173 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:04,720 but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, 174 00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:09,720 that you may be able to endure it. 175 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:13,720 What is the temptation spoken of by Paul in this text? 176 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:16,720 The word, the same word, perosmos, 177 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:23,720 can be understood to be a test, to prove as good, 178 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:30,720 or can mean, the very same word, can mean a solicitation to evil. 179 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:35,720 We have to look at the context to figure out which meaning that particular word has. 180 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:41,720 In the context there it seems that it may well refer to both. 181 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:45,720 Both thoughts may be embraced here. 182 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:51,720 There is no trial that has taken you, but such as is common to man. 183 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:54,720 That's true. 184 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,720 But if you look at it the other way, there is no temptation to evil. 185 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:03,720 That has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. 186 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:07,720 That's true, is true. None of us is unique. 187 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:11,720 We often think we are the only ones facing this trouble. 188 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,720 We are the only ones who have ever suffered this heartache. 189 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:21,720 No one else knows. Yes they do. 190 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:26,720 Or we think there is no one else who faces the temptations that I face. 191 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,720 All the evil within me. 192 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:39,720 Yes, there are others who know, because none of that is unique to any of us. 193 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:41,720 It's all common to man. 194 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:52,720 The idea there being that it's characteristic of humanity that we experience these things. 195 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:57,720 But God is faithful it says. Isn't that a great truth? 196 00:16:57,720 --> 00:17:00,720 We sing the hymn, Great is thy faithfulness. 197 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:08,720 And here in the midst of a verse about both temptation and trial, it says, God is faithful. 198 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:17,720 Now tell me, how many times can God fail and still be termed faithful? 199 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,720 God is ultimately and completely faithful. 200 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:24,720 The word describes Him fully. 201 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:33,720 Not once has He ever come short of being completely faithful. 202 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:38,720 It says He will not allow you to be tempted or tested beyond what you are able, 203 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:43,720 but with the temptation, the test will provide the way of escape also, 204 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,720 that you may be able to endure it. 205 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,720 What is that way of escape? 206 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,720 Well, literally it says the way out. 207 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:58,720 He will provide the way out, says the apostle. 208 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:03,720 There are some who see the way out as a side door somewhere in the midst of it. 209 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:05,720 You can slip out the side. 210 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:10,720 Or an escape hatch, so you just pull the lever and God's going to get you right out of the midst of that whole thing. 211 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:14,720 That isn't the way out, beloved. 212 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:22,720 The way out is through the trial. 213 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:25,720 That's God's plan. 214 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:27,720 The point is that there is a way out. 215 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:32,720 It's not going to last forever. 216 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:40,720 God not only measures the intensity of it, He measures the duration of it. 217 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:46,720 And God provides the door out of that trial as you pass through it. 218 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:53,720 We must not look for short cuts in our trials. 219 00:18:53,720 --> 00:19:02,720 We must realize that God's plan is that in the midst of that trial we learn endurance, James chapter 1. 220 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:09,720 And it says when endurance has done its perfect work, it will bring to us spiritual maturity. 221 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,720 You see, that is God's goal. 222 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:19,720 Causing us to grow up spiritually, to be mature. 223 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:25,720 And the way that God does that is through trials. 224 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:35,720 He brings trials into our lives, just like the one that some of the family this morning are passing through. 225 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:43,720 We cannot understand all that God is doing, but we know this much, it's a trial. 226 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:49,720 And what God wants to teach all of us who are involved in this trial is endurance. 227 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:52,720 Hanging in there. 228 00:19:52,720 --> 00:20:03,720 Not becoming rebellious, not grumbling and complaining, but in faith, standing strong and believing God. 229 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:09,720 It says that when we have learned to do that, we will be growing up to spiritual maturity. 230 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:13,720 And God says, that's what I want. 231 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:21,720 There are times we say, Lord, how am I to react in this trial? What am I supposed to do? 232 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:28,720 James says, if any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. 233 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:34,720 We can come to God in faith, not wavering, but in faith and know that He will not withhold. 234 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:42,720 He will give us wisdom to know how to respond to the trials of life. 235 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:44,720 But be clear of this. 236 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:48,720 God does not solicit us to evil. 237 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:51,720 That does not come from God. He has never tempted anyone to evil. 238 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:54,720 He Himself cannot be tempted to evil. 239 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,720 Therefore, He will not tempt us to evil. 240 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,720 Where do the evil temptations come from? 241 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,720 We have to think too long for the answer to that, do we? 242 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:07,720 It comes from the enemy. 243 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:11,720 You see, the trials that God brings into our lives are for our good. 244 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:17,720 They're to test us, to prove us as the children of God, and to make us grow. 245 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:27,720 But Satan uses those same trials often to tempt us to evil. 246 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:31,720 He solicits us to follow him, and he says, oh yeah? 247 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:37,720 So that's the way God treats you. 248 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:42,720 When I walked into the house last night at the Johnson's, they had just gotten the phone call 249 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:48,720 after an initial call about the accident saying that Karen was unconscious. 250 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:55,720 They had just gotten the call that the doctors had pronounced her dead. 251 00:21:55,720 --> 00:22:05,720 And almost the first words out of Muriel's mouth, so characteristically, were, God is good. 252 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:10,720 I don't know how far the devil must have flown when he heard that, 253 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:15,720 because that isn't what he wanted her to say. 254 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:20,720 He was trying to whisper in her ear, I'm sure, because it's just like him. 255 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,720 So this is the way God treats you. 256 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:27,720 You faithfully serve him. 257 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:30,720 What do you think of God now? 258 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:34,720 God is good. 259 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:46,720 When Job lost everything except his wife, what was his response? 260 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:54,720 The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. 261 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,720 Blessed be the name of the Lord. 262 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:04,720 That's the response. 263 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:09,720 God does not put us into trials that will break us. 264 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:13,720 We have to believe that. 265 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:18,720 Everything within us says, I'm about to break. 266 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:20,720 We feel like we can't go on. 267 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:24,720 But remember, those are feelings. 268 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:31,720 We don't live by our feelings, we live by our faith. 269 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:34,720 And what God takes us into, he will bring us through, 270 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:42,720 because that's the way out that he will faithfully provide at the right time. 271 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:47,720 We must endure in faith. 272 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:51,720 I don't know what trial you may be passing through today. 273 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:55,720 It may be a family problem of some sort. 274 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:59,720 Perhaps there are tensions between you and your spouse, 275 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:03,720 between you and your parents, or you and your children. 276 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:05,720 A trial. 277 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:10,720 Perhaps it's a trial of financial difficulty or school problems. 278 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:13,720 It may be that you've come to college this year, 279 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:17,720 and you have no idea how you're going to stay in college financially. 280 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:22,720 Perhaps it's health problems that you're facing or someone you know might be facing. 281 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:26,720 Perhaps it's business setback that you've had. 282 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:28,720 Whatever that trial, child of God, 283 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:33,720 will you believe today that God is bigger than the circumstances? 284 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:36,720 He is. 285 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:38,720 And he's faithful. 286 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:40,720 He's faithful to you. 287 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:42,720 He will protect you from being overwhelmed. 288 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:49,720 Now, if you rebel and resist him, expect to be overwhelmed. 289 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:58,720 But if you yield to him and trust him in that trial, you will be preserved. 290 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:02,720 He is not going to bring you into a trial that's going to break you. 291 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:06,720 He's going to make you. 292 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,720 You say, well, I look back on the Old Testament, and I look at Abraham, 293 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:15,720 and God even told him to offer up his son, Isaac. 294 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:17,720 Yes, my friend, that was a trial. 295 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:25,720 Who can imagine what went on in Abraham's heart as he struggled with that? 296 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:30,720 But remember that God gave him that trial at the end of his pilgrimage, 297 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:33,720 not at the beginning. 298 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:37,720 Perhaps Abraham couldn't have taken it then. 299 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:41,720 You see, he endured and was faithful. 300 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:47,720 God knows when he can put us through the trials. 301 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:54,720 And if God has you in a trial today, I want to suggest three things for you to do. 302 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:59,720 Number one, I want to suggest you to pray. 303 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:04,720 Please, give it to God. 304 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:14,720 I want to urge you today to give it to Him, and to give it to Him in faith. 305 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:19,720 Take it to the mercy seat, and know that there is a high priest who stands there 306 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:25,720 who perfectly knows you and understands and sympathizes with all your feelings, 307 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:30,720 and believe that he intercedes before the Father on your behalf, because he does. 308 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:32,720 Pray. 309 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:33,720 That's the first thing. 310 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:38,720 Secondly, think. 311 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:41,720 Often we get so wrapped up in our feelings in the midst of trials, 312 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:46,720 and our emotions begin to waver back and forth. 313 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,720 So I urge you to think. 314 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,720 Use your mind in your trial. 315 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:58,720 And as you use your mind, focus on Jesus Christ. 316 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:02,720 Remember what is said about Him, Hebrews chapter 12. 317 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:04,720 For consider Him. 318 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,720 The word consider means use your minds. 319 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:09,720 Put Him into your minds. 320 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:16,720 Consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, 321 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:20,720 so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. 322 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:27,720 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin. 323 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:33,720 My friend, the answer from losing heart, the answer against weariness, is considering Him. 324 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:35,720 Think. 325 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:41,720 Put into your mind the person of Jesus Christ, the truth about Him, what God's promises say. 326 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,720 Think. 327 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,720 And then finally share. 328 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:53,720 Find someone to share what you're going through with. 329 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:55,720 We all need that. 330 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:59,720 God has not created us to stand independently. 331 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:05,720 He has made us like pieces of a puzzle that are interdependent. 332 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:15,720 Find someone, a pastor, a leader of your group, a teacher at school, a friend, 333 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:25,720 someone who knows Christ, who is walking with God and share what you're going through. 334 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:34,720 I'm reminded of Peter on that night when he boasted that he would never deny Jesus. 335 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,720 Remember that? 336 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:46,720 And Luke tells us that Jesus said to him, and Satan desired him, but he said, 337 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:53,720 I prayed for you, Peter, that your faith will not fail. 338 00:28:53,720 --> 00:29:00,720 If Jesus prayed that, do you think his faith would ever fail? 339 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:04,720 Jesus knew that there was a trial coming that night for Peter, 340 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,720 and Jesus knew because he is God what the result would be, 341 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:15,720 so I prayed for you that your faith not fail. 342 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:21,720 Now Peter was pretty self-confident. 343 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:25,720 I'm sure he didn't exactly say this, but he may have felt it. 344 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:27,720 Well, Lord, why do you need to pray for me? 345 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,720 I can handle it. 346 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:32,720 But he couldn't. 347 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:35,720 And when those words came, you're one of them, aren't you? 348 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,720 Three times he said, I don't know the man, 349 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:44,720 and finally cursed, saying, I am not a part of him. 350 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:52,720 And only Luke tells us what happened when the rooster finally crowed. 351 00:29:52,720 --> 00:30:00,720 It says Jesus turned and he looked at Peter who was standing in the courtyard. 352 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:03,720 Can you believe that? 353 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:07,720 In that mass of people, Jesus knew exactly where Peter was, 354 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:12,720 and Jesus knew what was going on, though he was suffering, he was on trial. 355 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:17,720 He knew exactly what was taking place with his beloved disciple. 356 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:23,720 At that moment when Peter failed, Jesus turned and looked at him, 357 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:33,720 and it says that Peter fled in tears, weeping, 358 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:37,720 because he knew he had blown it. 359 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:41,720 We've all experienced blown trials, 360 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:43,720 and we have failed in the midst of them, 361 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:46,720 and that may be where you are today. 362 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:49,720 Perhaps self-confident or self-willed, 363 00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:52,720 you entered into the trial thinking you could do it on your own, 364 00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:57,720 and now you find yourself in over your head and you are defeated. 365 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:01,720 My friend, Jesus looks at you today. 366 00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:08,720 Not eyes of condemnation and accusation, and I told you so, 367 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:13,720 but he looks at you today and he says, my child, I love you. 368 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:15,720 I know that you've blown it. 369 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:19,720 I know that you've failed. 370 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:23,720 But I love you. 371 00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:28,720 And if that doesn't break your heart and bring you to repentance, 372 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:35,720 then I fear for your soul. 373 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:42,720 If you're one of God's today whose heart is just overwhelmed with defeat, 374 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:47,720 will you know that Jesus Christ today invites you to come to himself 375 00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:52,720 and surrender to his Lordship, fresh and new in your life? 376 00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:59,720 Will you do that? 377 00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:03,720 John Bunyan, of course, wrote Pilgrim's Progress, 378 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:09,720 and in that beautiful story he writes of Christian and hopeful 379 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:16,720 who fell asleep in a field that belonged to the giant that he named Despair. 380 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:20,720 You may recall that the giant found them in his field 381 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:25,720 and he took them captive to his castle that was called Doubting Castle. 382 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:31,720 And there he put Christian and hopeful into a dungeon 383 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:36,720 that was dark and smelled without food or water. 384 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:45,720 On his wife's advice, the giant Despair beat the two of them 385 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:53,720 mercilessly, and then he suggested to them that they commit suicide. 386 00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:56,720 And then the giant turned around and left, 387 00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:00,720 and the two companions discussed what they could do. 388 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:06,720 And finally Christian remembers that in his pocket he has a key. 389 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:12,720 He said, I have a key in my bosom called Promise, 390 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:19,720 that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle. 391 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:22,720 And sure enough as he put the key into the lock of the dungeon, 392 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,720 it opened it, and the next door it opened, and the next door it opened, 393 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:31,720 and until finally they were out of the castle of doubt 394 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:38,720 and once more resumed their journey on the King's Highway. 395 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,720 Are you on the highway today? 396 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:45,720 The King's Highway? Are you saved? 397 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:49,720 Can you trust in Christ? 398 00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:50,720 What is your need today? 399 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:53,720 The Savior loves you, my friend, and He wants to meet that need. 400 00:33:53,720 --> 00:34:01,720 Let's bow together. 401 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:09,720 Will you talk to the Lord right where you are seated? 402 00:34:09,720 --> 00:34:12,720 Just give it to Him. 403 00:34:12,720 --> 00:34:19,720 Release your hold on it. 404 00:34:19,720 --> 00:34:26,720 Join Peter in repentance. 405 00:34:26,720 --> 00:34:35,720 If you are not a Christian, would you trust the Savior today as your own? 406 00:34:35,720 --> 00:34:40,720 Would you bow the knee and receive Him into your life, 407 00:34:40,720 --> 00:34:49,720 recognizing that He is the Lord Jesus Christ? 408 00:34:49,720 --> 00:34:56,720 Whosoever believes on Him, the Scriptures say, will be saved. 409 00:34:56,720 --> 00:35:00,720 That's the promise that will get you out of your dungeon, 410 00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:11,720 and get you on the King's Highway. 411 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:21,720 Father, I thank you today for the practical nature of your Word, 412 00:35:21,720 --> 00:35:30,720 and for meeting us just where we are this Sunday. 413 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:33,720 Thank you for the trials you make us to pass through. 414 00:35:33,720 --> 00:35:43,720 As James tells us, we want to count them all joy, but oh, how we need wisdom. 415 00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:48,720 Show us, I pray, how to make the most of the trials that we are passing through, 416 00:35:48,720 --> 00:36:04,720 and how we might endure by faith and experience maturing unto true spiritual adulthood. 417 00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:12,720 Thank you, Lord, for your willingness to restore the Peters who have blown it. 418 00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:20,720 I pray that you will wrap your arms around those today who, like Peter, have repented and confessed, 419 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:27,720 and come anew to worship you. 420 00:36:27,720 --> 00:36:32,720 Thank you for meeting with us in this hour. 421 00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:34,720 Thank you for loving us. 422 00:36:34,720 --> 00:36:36,720 We love you. 423 00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:38,720 We love you. 424 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:41,720 Amen. 425 00:36:41,720 --> 00:36:46,720 Please stand together with me, please.