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Jason Ellison is an old man at 15 years of age.

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Already he has lived beyond the normal life expectancy

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of one suffering from progeria. Progeria is a

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disease that wildly accelerates some aspects

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of the aging process. Jason's story is told in

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the current issue of Life Magazine. His appearance

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is that of a very old and frail man. He is just

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four feet tall and weighs 41 pounds. He looks

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quite different, even odd. In fact, there are

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only 15 children in the whole world that look

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like Jason does. Like most progerians, Jason

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is highly intelligent. In a recent school essay,

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he wrote these words. When I look in the mirror,

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I see a person like no other persons around me.

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I see someone who is bald, a cricked nose, no

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front teeth, no eyebrows, no eyelashes, and pointed

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ears. Someone who has crooked legs and a very

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tiny body for his age. I want people to look

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at me and see past my looks and see who I really

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am. Not a freak, but a wonderful human being

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who loves life and his fellow man. I think this

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is who I am. Although my looks are so different,

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I did not choose to look the way I do, or to

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have a life that could be over tomorrow. I'm

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just here to love life," he wrote. And though

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he is here to love life, he has experienced rejection

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in these 15 years of life. He is surrounded by

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a loving family. Joe, his 10 -year -old brother,

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says, people make fun of Jason. They call him

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things like alien, Martian, skinhead. Joe went

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on to describe how he fought people who called

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Jason those things. The article in Life magazine

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relates how, on one occasion, Jason calmly stared

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at an adult store manager who had looked up and

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seen Jason before him. and began shrieking, it's

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a monster, it's a monster. Perhaps the most painful

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experience that a human being can endure is that

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of rejection. To be refused by someone who is

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meaningful to us in our lives. Whether rejection

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comes from a parent or a peer, an employer or

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an employee, a sibling or a spouse, when it strikes,

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it tears at the delicate fabric of one's esteem,

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and it rips apart one's ideas about one's self,

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one's worth, one's meaning, one's positive contribution

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to the world. Rejection is especially hard when

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it comes to a child. that cannot understand or

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defend itself. I suppose all of us have at some

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time in our childhood experienced rejection.

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I remember when I was in the first grade, I went

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to a small country school in Kansas, and another

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small country school came to play us in a game

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of softball. I think that at that time there

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were 18 of us in the whole school, scattered

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over eight grades. And as they began to choose

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up the teams, I was one of the last one picked.

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And I remember how I felt at that moment, that

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I wasn't good enough to play. Now I was a first

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grader, but first graders don't understand things

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like that. And to this day, I do not like to

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play ball because of that experience. But a more

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difficult time for me personally was when I was

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an older child, about 11. My father had died

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three years before and the next man in our family

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that meant something to me was my grandfather.

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But my grandfather rejected me. He wouldn't talk

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to me. more than just a few words when he had

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to. He was a quiet sort of a person anyway. But

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I remember how painful it was to me to be rejected

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by the one man in my family that should have

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loved me at that point. I can't blame him for

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that because I think frankly that he was so deeply

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hurt over my father's death that he withdrew

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into himself. Probably every person in this auditorium

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could come up here this morning if given the

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opportunity and could share some experience of

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rejection in his or her life. Jesus Christ experienced

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the depths of being forsaken and rejected. We

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turn to our scripture today in Psalm 22 and we

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find a prophetic word regarding that experience

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of our Lord. In fact, he quoted from the first

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verse of Psalm 22 when he was on his cross, my

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God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? More

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than any other person, because of his keen sensitivity,

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unaffected by personal sin, he knew the acute

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painfulness of being rejected and forsaken. He

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was rejected by his own family, who did not believe

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on him. Ultimately, he was rejected by the multitudes

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and finally forsaken by his own disciples. Then

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on the cross, he was forsaken by his God. This

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Messianic psalm prophesies of the rejection,

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suffering, and death of Christ in verses 1 through

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21. And then in the second part of the psalm,

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verses 22 through 31, it speaks of Christ's deliverance

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and victory. In the first part of the psalm we

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have crucifixion. And as we'll see this morning

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as we read some of the verses, it's graphically

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depicted a thousand years before it happened.

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In the last part of the psalm we have resurrection.

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In the first part of the psalm, pain and death.

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In the last part, praise and deliverance. In

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the first part, Messiah's rejection. In the last

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part, Messiah's reign. The lesson that I see

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in Psalm 22 that I'd like to apply to our lives

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today is this. Overriding the sharp pain of rejection

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comes the sure promise of God that He will never

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forsake His own. As we think about this, I'd

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like for us first to look at the complaint of

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the one who is forsaken and then the conviction

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that he likewise had. His complaint, the complaint

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is very clear in verses 1 and 2. It is that God

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is silent. He goes on to say in verse 1, far

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from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.

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Oh my God, I cry by day. But thou dost not answer,

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and by night, but I have no rest." This prophetically

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speaks of the Lord Jesus. By day, by night, during

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the daylight, the nighttime of the cross, that

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supernatural darkness that came upon it, he cried

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out, and God was, as it were, silent to him.

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But notice that three times he calls God, my

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God. Although God is silent, he does not throw

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over his faith or his confidence in God. He says,

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my God, my God, my God. And yet his God appears

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to reject him and seems and seems not to respond

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to his cries. Does God ever seem that way to

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you in the pain that you're going through? Can

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you identify with the psalmist and his complaint,

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God is silent and I cry out and I groan and my

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deliverance is far away? He not only complains

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that God is silent, but in verses 6 -8 he complains

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that man is scornful of him. I am a worm, he

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says, and not a man. I am a worm is perhaps the

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forgotten I am of Jesus. I am a worm, not a man.

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The other day I was doing some digging. in order

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to plant some shrubs. And as I did, I uncovered

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a worm. And in light of this text that I knew

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I was going to be preaching today, I picked up

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that worm and looked at it closely. I think my

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spade had missed him. He looked rather whole.

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But I got down real close to him in my palm and

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I looked at him. And then I looked over the worm

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to the world around. Have you ever looked at

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the world from the perspective of a worm? Everything

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is overwhelming to a worm. And what the psalmist

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David is saying about his experience, which is

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fully fulfilled in Christ, is that through this

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experience of rejection and being forsaken, he

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had utterly lost a sense of self -worth. He recognized

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himself as frail and helpless, just like a worm.

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He says, a reproach of men, despised by the people,

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all who see me sneer at me. They separate with

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the lip, which is roughly a way of saying they

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stick out the tongue at me. They wag the head

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back and forth saying, commit yourself to the

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Lord, let him deliver him, let him rescue him

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because he delights in him. Words of mockery

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and scorn in verse 8 from man. The ridicule and

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derision that are recorded here are not uncommon

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experiences to the godly person. Jesus heard

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them at the cross. In fact, this This text is

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almost fulfilled verbatim in Matthew chapter

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28 by those who stood around his cross as they

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scorned him. Saying, let him come down from the

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cross. He says that God is his father. Let God

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deliver him. If he's a son of God, come on down.

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So he knew the scorn of men. And so does any

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person who desires to live godly in Christ Jesus.

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And usually the point of scorn is the faith of

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the godly man. You say you're a Christian and

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God treats you like that? So the complaint of

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the psalmist who is forsaken is that God is silent

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to me and man is scornful. There's a third complaint,

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verses 11 through 18. He complains that his enemy

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is strong. He compares his enemies to bulls,

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vicious bulls, strong bulls that have encircled

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him. He says they open wide their mouths. They

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are like a lion that is ravening and roaring,

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ready to devour him. In verse 16, he compares

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those around him to dogs, scavengers. who are

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out hunting for him. So he complains that his

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enemies are strong and they encircle him, ready

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to tear him to pieces and destroy him. Do you

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see how this applies to Jesus? Can you see the

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scene at the cross from his perspective as he

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hangs there, suffering in pain, and looks down

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at the circle of people around him, mocking,

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scorning, deriding him? Those who are, as it

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says in verse 18, dividing his garments, casting

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lots for his clothing. You see how that was fulfilled

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in Christ? Notice that he says, I am poured out

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like water. All my bones are out of joint. My

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heart is like wax. It is melted within me. My

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strength is dried up like a potsherd. Jesus said,

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I thirst. My tongue cleaves to my jaws, thou

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dost lay me in the dust of death. They pierced

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my hands and my feet. I count all my bones, they

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look at me, they stare at me. David wrote these

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words, remember, in his lifetime. but they were

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fulfilled in the Son of David, our Lord as He

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hung at the cross. And in that position of crucifixion

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with its agony, His body stretched out in torture,

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unable to get His breath, the irregular rhythm

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of His heart, the profuse sweating. The thirst

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that would come to him, the piercing of his hands

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and his feet before the Jews knew anything about

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crucifixion. That was a torture of the Romans.

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The Romans were not even on the scene when David

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wrote these words. How prophetically the Holy

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Spirit causes David to write. Jesus is the forsaken

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one who sees his enemy as strong and yet Any

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of us who have been through the experience of

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rejection can identify with some of these words.

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For the one who has forsaken, everything seems

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to be pathetic. All is lost. There is no hope

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for him, so it seems. But in the last part of

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the psalm, the whole tenor, the whole theme of

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the psalm changes. We come now to the conviction

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of the one who has forsaken. His conviction.

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We have seen his complaint as it is expressed,

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but now let's look at his conviction in the midst

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of his complaint. There are three matters of

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conviction that he has. The first one is what

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God is like. Notice that even as he cries out

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in verse 1, my God, why have you forsaken me?

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He answers his own question in verse 3, thou

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art holy. His first conviction about God is that

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God is holy. And Messiah knew as he hung upon

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the cross that the reason that God turned his

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back on his son was because his son had become

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sin as he bore your sin and mine in our place

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to die for it. Thou art holy Messiah says. His

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hope is in God. A God who is holy, a God who

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is exempt from all the shortcomings of man. Are

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you complaining at God today? Perhaps you haven't

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spoken it, but are those feelings bubbling within

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you because of being forsaken? Remember that

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God is holy, my friend. God is exempt from all

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the shortcomings that plague you and me. He is

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different than we are. He is holy. Be careful

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of complaining against him. God wants our honest

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feelings to be expressed, but as we express them,

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we must do so with a certain reverence and fear

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of God, for he is holy. And then in verses four

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and five we learn that he has a conviction that

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God is faithful. In thee our fathers trusted,

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they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. To

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thee they cried out and were delivered. In thee

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they trusted and were not disappointed. The psalmist

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looks to the past and he sees that in the past

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the people of God seemed trapped also. In the

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past they had been encircled as it were by those

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who were opposed to them. And yet God knew that

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situation. He delivered them. We think of Egypt

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immediately. In their slavery, they cried out

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to their God, and God sent Moses. Then they were

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trapped at the Red Sea, the mountains on one

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side, the sea on the other, the Egyptian army

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coming at them, trapped. And they cried out to

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God, and Moses lifted the rod as God told him

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to and the waters parted. God intervened. God

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is faithful. That was his conviction. There's

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a third conviction he had about God found in

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verses 9 and 10 that God is omniscient. God knows

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everything. God even knew the psalmist in his

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infancy. Thou art he who didst bring me forth

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from the womb. Thou didst make me trust when

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upon my mother's breasts. Upon thee I was cast

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from birth. Thou hast been my God from my mother's

00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:55.519
womb." He says, God, you have known me from the

00:19:55.519 --> 00:19:58.440
time that I was an infant and you know my present

00:19:58.440 --> 00:20:02.799
plight. That's the point. He had convictions,

00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:06.279
you see. The first area of conviction was what

00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:11.160
God is like. God is holy. God is faithful. God

00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:14.500
is omniscient. God knows what I'm going through.

00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:20.960
That's true with you, too, friend. And the second

00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:25.460
matter of conviction was what God will do. We

00:20:25.460 --> 00:20:27.960
see this, for example, in verse 11. Be not far

00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:31.019
from me, for trouble is near. There is none to

00:20:31.019 --> 00:20:36.940
help. But then he says in verse 19, but thou,

00:20:37.079 --> 00:20:41.000
O Lord, be not far off. O thou my help, hasten

00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:44.559
to my assistance. Deliver my soul from the sword,

00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:48.319
my only life, from the power of the dog. Save

00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:50.779
me from the lion's mouth, and from the horns

00:20:50.779 --> 00:20:55.680
of the wild oxen thou dost answer me." His conviction

00:20:55.680 --> 00:21:00.019
is what God will do. God will help him. God will

00:21:00.019 --> 00:21:05.299
not fail him. Why? Because God knows him. God

00:21:05.299 --> 00:21:09.240
knows him. Not just that God is aware of him,

00:21:09.259 --> 00:21:15.759
but God knows him. There is a relationship between

00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:22.440
this psalmist and his God. And then he is convicted,

00:21:22.619 --> 00:21:27.099
thirdly, about what God deserves. In light of

00:21:27.099 --> 00:21:29.920
the fact of what God is like and what God will

00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:32.940
do for him in helping him and assisting him,

00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:35.779
He has an area of conviction dealing with what

00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:40.779
God deserves and basically it's worship. He says,

00:21:41.079 --> 00:21:43.920
God deserves my worship. You will find the term

00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:48.940
praise used in this psalm from verses 22 on some

00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:53.460
four times. Worship is used twice. Fear is used

00:21:53.460 --> 00:21:57.400
twice. Also the word glorify or stand in awe

00:21:57.400 --> 00:22:01.119
or pay vows or bow before. All of these phrases

00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:04.500
deal with worship. What does God deserve? Worship.

00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:08.380
He says, I will worship God. I will tell of thy

00:22:08.380 --> 00:22:11.740
name to my brethren, says Messiah, verse 22.

00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:15.480
In the midst of the assembly, I will praise thee.

00:22:16.079 --> 00:22:18.680
The writer of Hebrews says that this verse is

00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:21.720
fulfilled in the resurrection of Jesus and his

00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:25.359
proclamation to the church that he is raised

00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:28.920
from the dead, that he lives evermore to save

00:22:28.920 --> 00:22:32.640
those that will come to God by him. I will tell

00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:35.460
of thy name to my brethren." What a wonderful

00:22:35.460 --> 00:22:39.180
way for Messiah to speak of us. And he does.

00:22:39.220 --> 00:22:44.519
He calls us his family. The psalmist says, I

00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:46.920
will worship God and others will join in. Verse

00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:50.339
23, he invites those who fear the Lord to praise

00:22:50.339 --> 00:22:54.000
him. All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him.

00:22:54.099 --> 00:22:57.559
Stand in awe of him. All you descendants of Israel.

00:22:58.539 --> 00:23:01.500
What does God deserve? God deserves worship.

00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:06.299
God deserves worship because he has heard the

00:23:06.299 --> 00:23:10.099
cry of his people. Look at verse 24. He invites

00:23:10.099 --> 00:23:14.019
others to worship, for he has not despised nor

00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:17.559
abhorred the affliction of the afflicted. Neither

00:23:17.559 --> 00:23:20.579
has he hidden his face from him, but when he

00:23:20.579 --> 00:23:26.119
cried to him for help, he heard. What wonderful

00:23:26.119 --> 00:23:31.420
words God heard There are some of you this morning

00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:35.019
that are going through excruciating pain of rejection

00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:40.579
you have been forsaken by others and You sense

00:23:40.579 --> 00:23:43.339
that even God has forsaken you and you cry out

00:23:43.339 --> 00:23:46.119
and God is silent and others seem to turn their

00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:50.200
backs on you and your circumstances are strong

00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:54.599
against you and you feel like crawling in a hole

00:23:54.599 --> 00:24:00.660
and pulling it over the top of you. Where's your

00:24:00.660 --> 00:24:05.819
conviction this morning, child of God? What is

00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:12.160
God like? Remember that God is faithful. That

00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:15.099
God is holy. He is not like man. He's different

00:24:15.099 --> 00:24:19.900
than us. And God knows what you're going through.

00:24:20.269 --> 00:24:24.130
And God hears, and because He hears your cry,

00:24:24.589 --> 00:24:28.569
the proper response, even in the midst of your

00:24:28.569 --> 00:24:36.410
pain, is worship. Worship God. Bow before Him.

00:24:36.589 --> 00:24:44.230
Reverence Him. Trust Him. Worship Him because

00:24:44.230 --> 00:24:49.039
He's heard and He hears. God deserves worship

00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:51.480
from all people says the psalmist look at verse

00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:55.740
27 all the ends of the earth Will remember and

00:24:55.740 --> 00:24:58.259
turn to the Lord and all the families of the

00:24:58.259 --> 00:25:02.500
nations will worship before thee The psalmist

00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:04.740
is writing again prophetically and there is a

00:25:04.740 --> 00:25:06.640
day coming when all of the earth will worship

00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:08.700
before our Savior It doesn't mean everybody's

00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:13.279
going to be saved someday This is not a proclamation

00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:17.700
of universal salvation But the point is that

00:25:17.700 --> 00:25:20.700
people from every nation will turn to the Lord.

00:25:21.759 --> 00:25:25.400
From every race, every tribe, every tongue, there

00:25:25.400 --> 00:25:28.960
will be those who will worship Messiah. In every

00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:31.700
nation, he says, the kingdom is the Lord's and

00:25:31.700 --> 00:25:35.740
he rules over all the nations. People in every

00:25:35.740 --> 00:25:39.240
condition, he says, the prosperous of the earth

00:25:39.240 --> 00:25:41.319
will eat and worship and all those who go down

00:25:41.319 --> 00:25:44.099
to the dust, that's the opposite of prosperity,

00:25:44.180 --> 00:25:48.720
those going to death. He says, all will bow before

00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:52.000
him, even he who cannot keep his soul alive.

00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:56.099
He says that the Lord is to be worshiped not

00:25:56.099 --> 00:26:00.140
only by all peoples, but for all time. Verses

00:26:00.140 --> 00:26:04.359
30 and 31, posterity will serve him. It will

00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:06.900
be told of the Lord to the coming generation.

00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:10.539
They will come and will declare his righteousness

00:26:10.539 --> 00:26:14.480
to a people who will be born that he has performed

00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:18.859
it. You and I are part of that generation that's

00:26:18.859 --> 00:26:22.319
spoken of here. And yet if the Lord tarries,

00:26:22.519 --> 00:26:24.779
there will be generations after us that need

00:26:24.779 --> 00:26:29.720
to hear the message of Messiah's rejection, but

00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:33.700
also His resurrection. His death and pain for

00:26:33.700 --> 00:26:36.819
our sin, but His resurrection from the dead that

00:26:36.819 --> 00:26:44.710
we might be saved through Him. You and I who

00:26:44.710 --> 00:26:46.769
are alive on this earth today should worship

00:26:46.769 --> 00:26:50.750
Him and invite others to worship Him as well

00:26:50.750 --> 00:26:55.670
for all time, for He alone is worthy. Can you

00:26:55.670 --> 00:26:58.930
worship Him today where you are in your circumstances?

00:27:00.869 --> 00:27:04.690
You say, I'm not sure if I can. Maybe the better

00:27:04.690 --> 00:27:10.750
question is, will you worship Him? For you see,

00:27:10.829 --> 00:27:15.579
worship comes not just when we feel like it but

00:27:15.579 --> 00:27:20.539
when we choose to worship despite how we feel.

00:27:22.140 --> 00:27:25.619
Just three quick closing observations. One is

00:27:25.619 --> 00:27:28.579
this, that being forsaken is a universal human

00:27:28.579 --> 00:27:33.519
experience. There is no one who escapes from

00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:37.220
even many episodes in life of being forsaken

00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:40.700
for one reason or another. How wonderful then

00:27:40.700 --> 00:27:45.140
to have a God who has promised us, I will never

00:27:45.140 --> 00:27:50.660
leave you or forsake you. Someone says, yes,

00:27:50.680 --> 00:27:54.599
but he forsook Jesus. He forsook Jesus that he

00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:59.680
might never forsake you. And he has promised

00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:03.339
that he would never leave you, that he will never

00:28:03.339 --> 00:28:09.410
disown you in any respect. No, not ever. A second

00:28:09.410 --> 00:28:12.710
observation I make is that when forsaken, the

00:28:12.710 --> 00:28:17.049
child of God can commit his feelings to a high

00:28:17.049 --> 00:28:22.630
priest who can fully sympathize. The writer of

00:28:22.630 --> 00:28:26.049
Hebrews again reminds us of this truth when he

00:28:26.049 --> 00:28:29.329
writes as he does in the fourth chapter of the

00:28:29.329 --> 00:28:35.250
book of Hebrews. We do not have a high priest

00:28:35.250 --> 00:28:39.220
who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. But

00:28:39.220 --> 00:28:42.619
one who has been tempted in all things as we

00:28:42.619 --> 00:28:46.680
are yet without sin Let us therefore draw near

00:28:46.680 --> 00:28:50.579
with confidence to the throne of grace Do you

00:28:50.579 --> 00:28:52.960
understand that today friend there sits on the

00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:57.500
throne of grace in heaven? one who has experienced

00:28:57.500 --> 00:29:03.910
the depths of the pain that you know And since

00:29:03.910 --> 00:29:06.569
we're talking about rejection today, understand

00:29:06.569 --> 00:29:09.210
that He knows what it means to be rejected of

00:29:09.210 --> 00:29:13.289
men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.

00:29:14.769 --> 00:29:17.230
He not only knows what it's like because He's

00:29:17.230 --> 00:29:20.490
God and knows everything, He knows because He's

00:29:20.490 --> 00:29:30.230
been here and He has experienced it. So He understands

00:29:30.230 --> 00:29:36.420
the hot tears that flow down your cheeks. And

00:29:36.420 --> 00:29:38.940
he's able to identify with those feelings that

00:29:38.940 --> 00:29:42.420
conflict within you and the confusion that comes

00:29:42.420 --> 00:29:45.019
to your mind because of what you're passing through,

00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:50.500
he knows. And because he is the God of all comfort,

00:29:50.700 --> 00:29:54.440
he is able to give you grace and comfort in all

00:29:54.440 --> 00:29:58.400
of your tribulation. Remember this too, that

00:29:58.400 --> 00:30:00.640
the experiences of rejection that you're going

00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:04.769
through are tests for you. to determine and to

00:30:04.769 --> 00:30:08.410
prove the foundation of your life. The psalmist

00:30:08.410 --> 00:30:12.670
wrote here in the midst of his rejection experience,

00:30:12.690 --> 00:30:16.569
whatever it was, that God was still his God.

00:30:22.130 --> 00:30:24.150
There's a third observation that I make and that

00:30:24.150 --> 00:30:28.289
is the pain of rejection sensitizes us to the

00:30:28.289 --> 00:30:36.569
hurt of others. It's very easy to say, I know

00:30:36.569 --> 00:30:42.569
just how you feel, isn't it? But the fact is

00:30:42.569 --> 00:30:45.329
that we don't know just how somebody else feels

00:30:45.329 --> 00:30:48.910
until we've been in their moccasins, until we've

00:30:48.910 --> 00:30:53.970
walked that mile where they've been. When you

00:30:53.970 --> 00:30:56.190
and I have gone through the experience of being

00:30:56.190 --> 00:31:03.099
forsaken by someone, It sensitizes us to others

00:31:03.099 --> 00:31:05.859
who are going through or will go through similar

00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:09.799
experiences. And we then, because we have had

00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:12.660
comfort from God, are able to share that comfort

00:31:12.660 --> 00:31:16.500
with them. We then become God's channels, if

00:31:16.500 --> 00:31:20.500
you please, of His comfort to others. So that

00:31:20.500 --> 00:31:25.940
then we can say, I know how you feel. And it

00:31:25.940 --> 00:31:30.500
communicates because we've been there. And we

00:31:30.500 --> 00:31:33.819
can quote that verse of scripture, that from

00:31:33.819 --> 00:31:37.279
the tongue of some would sound trite, but because

00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:40.279
that scripture has been our strength in a similar

00:31:40.279 --> 00:31:44.359
experience, it comes through with power to that

00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:49.859
other person. And we can put the arm around them

00:31:49.859 --> 00:31:53.180
and maybe say nothing, but there's that sense

00:31:53.180 --> 00:31:56.059
of empathy because we have truly been there.

00:31:57.730 --> 00:32:00.130
Remember that the pain you're going through is

00:32:00.130 --> 00:32:06.990
preparation. Yeah, it hurts. No, I can't say

00:32:06.990 --> 00:32:13.009
that God caused that to happen to you. But I

00:32:13.009 --> 00:32:16.849
can say God allowed it. Because whatever the

00:32:16.849 --> 00:32:19.250
situation is, God is bigger than the situation.

00:32:21.750 --> 00:32:24.670
And He's allowed you to go through that to prepare

00:32:24.670 --> 00:32:28.609
you. For something he has for you in the future

00:32:28.609 --> 00:32:34.150
you hang on to this and never forget it God never

00:32:34.150 --> 00:32:40.970
wastes a single experience in your life Not one

00:32:40.970 --> 00:32:47.430
And that experience you're passing through now

00:32:47.430 --> 00:32:54.319
God has shaped and fashioned and planned so that

00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:59.380
He might prepare you for some greater work. And

00:32:59.380 --> 00:33:01.680
so in the midst of your rejection and your being

00:33:01.680 --> 00:33:08.619
forsaken, worship Him. He's faithful. He knows.

00:33:09.420 --> 00:33:13.740
He's heard. And in ways that maybe now you can't

00:33:13.740 --> 00:33:29.779
tell, He's there. And He's your God. our Lord

00:33:29.779 --> 00:33:37.019
and our God. How grateful we are today for your

00:33:37.019 --> 00:33:40.099
Word which speaks to us right where we're living.

00:33:42.339 --> 00:33:44.480
And there are a number of people listening in

00:33:44.480 --> 00:33:48.279
this congregation this morning that I know are

00:33:48.279 --> 00:33:52.619
going through this experience of being rejected.

00:33:53.420 --> 00:33:55.279
And there are others undoubtedly that I don't

00:33:55.279 --> 00:34:00.829
know. that are also passing through it. And yet

00:34:00.829 --> 00:34:03.029
there are other struggles that every one of us

00:34:03.029 --> 00:34:05.390
is passing through. Thank you for the application

00:34:05.390 --> 00:34:09.989
of your word. And I pray, Father, that in the

00:34:09.989 --> 00:34:12.230
midst of our pain we will be able to look up

00:34:12.230 --> 00:34:20.449
to you and say, Father, my Father, I choose to

00:34:20.449 --> 00:34:27.869
worship you in the midst of my sorrow. In the

00:34:27.869 --> 00:34:33.409
midst of my anguish, in the midst of my suffering,

00:34:35.409 --> 00:34:40.510
I worship you and I surrender to your purpose

00:34:40.510 --> 00:34:46.869
in all of this. For Lord, we know that as we're

00:34:46.869 --> 00:34:53.269
able to respond that way and will, that you are

00:34:53.269 --> 00:34:58.449
greatly pleased. Help us to remember that you

00:34:58.449 --> 00:35:00.849
loved us so much that you sent your son who gave

00:35:00.849 --> 00:35:06.210
his life for us And if you've given your son

00:35:06.210 --> 00:35:11.849
Will you not with him freely give us all things

00:35:11.849 --> 00:35:17.429
Even what we need right now in this hour Thank

00:35:17.429 --> 00:35:19.829
you Amen