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Well, good morning. It is always a pleasure to be in the house of God, to speak with you,

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to learn with you, to go through God's Word with you. And I'm excited to see what the

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Lord says. And I find that those expressions of wanting God to speak to us, how often we

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actually say that. There are no less than five times during the worship set and prayer

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where I kept either wanting to say or actually did say, God speak to us, which is funny because

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my study this morning, a message to you, has to do with when God doesn't speak, right?

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But that's within us, the desire to hear His voice, the desire to receive instruction directly

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from Him, guidance, interpretation, you know, an explanation of what's going on and why.

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That's something that we want. To hear His voice is something that we crave, and that's

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a beautiful thing. But it's not what happens all the time. And we're going to be going

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through that today. As Pastor Nathan alluded to and as I've kind of led up to, the title

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of our study this morning is The Sound of Silence. And no, I am not going to sing that

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song. And no, I did not do a rewrite of that song. Probably should have, but I didn't.

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But didn't want to get distracted by that either. But what we're talking about is the

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sound of God being silent. We're not going to park at any one passage of Scripture this

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morning, but while I'm kind of letting you know where we're going to be going, you can

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turn in your Bibles to Psalm 28, because we'll be kicking off from Psalm 28.

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One of the other things I just want to go ahead and let you know is that, you know,

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when I'm studying and I'm preparing for something like this, it's just my habit to have different

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Bible versions kind of in front of me in parallel so that I can see what it says maybe in the

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CSB, which is what we use here in the sanctuary, or the NASB as well, or my current like is

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maybe the Amplified Bible, just because each one of those, you know, while they say the

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same thing, they do have a different take sometimes on certain passages and certain

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turns of words or definitions of words. Sometimes you'll read one version and then in the footnotes

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it'll say a different word, a very similar word, but a different word, but then you go

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to another version like say the NASB, and that will actually use that word. So, you

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know, it just has to do with when they're pulling together the interpretation of the

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original language and they want to give you all the tools possible, but sometimes I just

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like it to be easier and better for my brain if I can see it kind of laid out in a certain

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way. And then depending on what specific thing that the Lord may be trying to tell me to

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tell you, I may see a version that says something in a very specific way that maybe another

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version doesn't. And so I'll choose that version. So this morning when you're looking in your

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Bible what is going to be on the screen may be different, but it'll be noted. You'll see

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a little note. I think they're only pulling from two versions this morning, and that'll

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be either the CSB or the Amplified Bible. So if you're reading along with me and you

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go, oh, wait, that's not what's in my Bible. Don't worry about it. Roll with it. You know,

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it'll be fine. The difference in language will give you food for thought. This is all

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about studying God's Word. That's part of studying God's Word. Don't let it throw you.

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There's no hidden meaning behind it. It's just that we want to give you all the tools

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necessary for your study of God's Word as you get to know Him better. So there you go.

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Explain that. So now you're all in Psalm 28, correct? All right. So I want to read this

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to you because it kind of underscores a lot of where we're going to jump off from when

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we talk about the sound of silence. So in Psalm 28, David says, Lord, I called to you,

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my rock, do not be deaf to me. If you remain silent to me, I will be like those going down

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to the pit. Listen to the sound of my pleading when I cry to you for help, when I lift up

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my hands towards your holy sanctuary. You know, the desired paradigm, I know this is

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true for me and I suspect that it's true for many, if not really all of you, is this. And

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I'm going to start off by posing a question for you to kind of put in the background of

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everything that's said today. And that question is this, would you rather that your journey

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and walk with God be one in which He speaks to you or one in which He is silent? Would

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you rather that He speaks to you day in, day out, or would you rather that He be silent?

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And I don't know about you, but I know about me. And more often than not, I want the first

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one, right? I would say my journey and walk with God is best when He is speaking to me.

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Now, let me define speaking to me because that's important. Speaking to me in the way

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of, God, I want you to speak revelation to me. I want you to give me guidance. I want

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you to speak into my life in such a way that I know the direction that I'm going, right?

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So it's a very, very specific action that I'm talking about when I say speak to me,

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right? Different than say maybe the word, God, show me, right? Speaking and show are

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slightly different. We are specifically talking about speaking this morning. So, but from

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my perspective, I feel like I'm more confident, more effective, and more in tune, and definitely

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more enabled to accomplish God's work when He is speaking to me. There's like a holy

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synergy that I feel, and I desire, and I want, right? It's me and God tackling the world,

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right? I feel unstoppable at that point. And I feel like in those moments, I thrive. When

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I don't feel like God is speaking, I feel like King David as he expressed in Psalm 22.

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In Psalm 22, he says in verse 1, my God, my God, why have you abandoned me? In the Amplified

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Bible, it's phrased, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from my deliverance?

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Or why are you so far from helping me? And from my words of groaning, you seem so far.

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My God, I cry by day, but you do not answer by night, yet I have no rest. And it's Psalm

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22. It's in moments like that where I feel like something is wrong with me, when I'm

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not hearing God directly. There's something wrong. Something's off. And I start asking

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myself, where have I messed up? Because obviously, that's the problem. Somewhere along the line,

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I have failed God. If he's not speaking to me, I start asking, am I being punished or

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am I being corrected for something? Is he withholding his voice from me because of me,

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something that I have done? And you know, in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament,

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but also in the New, I find that I'm not alone in that feeling. We can see many examples.

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We're going to go over a few of them right now. The first example in the Old Testament

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that I would point out would be Job. Now, for those of you who may not remember or know

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who Job was in the Old Testament, Job was a righteous man. Job was a man who God had

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blessed in all areas of his life, whether it be his family life, his financial life,

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his property, all of it. God had given him great blessing. And he had done that because

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Job was a righteous man. He loved God. He exhibited that in his life. And what happens

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in the book of Job is that Satan comes before the Lord and says, he only loves you because

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you gave him all this stuff. Let me start taking these things away and you'll see who

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he really is. And so God allows Satan to do those things. He starts taking away his cattle.

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He starts taking away his financial security. He starts taking away his family, his servants,

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all of it. He takes away his health. He takes everything away from Job. But Job bears most

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of his trials and afflictions without hearing directly from God as you move through that

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story. God does not offer him any explanation saying, well, I'm doing this because, you

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know, yes, it's a test, but I know you're going to pass the test. How comforting that

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would have been to Job, right? This is a temporary thing, Job. Don't worry about it. It'll pass.

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But is that what God did? No. He didn't say anything to Job. In Job chapter 23, Job says

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the following. In verse 1, it says, then Job answered and said, even today my complaint

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is contentious. His hand is heavy despite my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might

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find him, that I might even come to his seat. I would present my cause before him and fill

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my mouth with arguments. I would lean, I would learn the words which he would answer and

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understand what he would say to me. Would he contend against me with his great power?

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No. Surely he would give attention to me. There the righteous and upright could reason

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with him, so I would be acquitted forever by my judge. Behold, I go forward to the east,

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but he is not there. I go backwards to the west, but I cannot perceive him. To the left,

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to the north, he turns, but I cannot behold him. He turns to the right hand, the south,

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but I cannot see him. Our next example in the book of Genesis would be Abraham, the

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father of the Jewish nation. Abraham received the promise of God that through Abraham, a

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mighty people, a nation would be established, God's people, and that they would number greater

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than the stars in the sky or the sands on the shore. So God gives this promise to him,

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but then the rest of his life takes over, right? Life happens, and he and his wife remain

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childless for many years. God does not say anything to him in that time. Oh, he fulfills

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the promise, but not in the way Abraham would have dreamed or possibly even thought would

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be the path forward to create a great nation, right? But up until that point, that answer,

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God doesn't address it again. Silence. The next person is also in the book, in the Old

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Testament, and it's somebody that we've talked about. We talked about this person on Mother's

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Day, and that's Samuel's mother, Hannah, in the book of Samuel. You remember Hannah? In

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Samuel chapter 1, what is Hannah doing? She is coming before the Lord, and she's asking

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God to intervene in her life because she was barren and give her a son, give her a child.

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And this was not one time that she asked for this. This was year after year after year

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after year. And what happens to Hannah before God answers? That's many, many, many years

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of silence. She doesn't even get a promise from God like Abraham, right? She just has

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silence. There is no answer to Hannah until God speaks.

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Next example, again in the Old Testament, again in the book of Genesis, is Joseph. Joseph,

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as you recall, had many dreams that God had given him, many visions about the outcome

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of his life. You know, he had those dreams of the…what are they called? The bushels

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of wheat, right? And how there were just many bushels of wheat and how they were bowing

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down to Joseph, right? And how the moon and the stars were bowing down to Joseph. And

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these visions that he was having were speaking of what was going to come about in Joseph's

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life, how God was going to call him out, set him aside, and bless him. And those bowing

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things were representative of his own family. They were going to bow to him. But that didn't

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happen right away, right? He receives these visions. And then what happens to him? Well,

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his brothers attempt to kill him. But instead, they sell him into slavery. And then he ends

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up in Egypt, a slave. And then he ends up in prison, a slave in prison. And it's not

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until 22 years later that God again speaks to him. And after that, he brings about the

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answer to the prophecies that he had given about his life, and he becomes an overseer

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in Egypt so that he can save his family from famine, which was really the whole point of

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what he was going, what God was going to do. But can you imagine 22 years of having received

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a word from the Lord and then nothing? No other voice, no reminder, nothing, just life.

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And right after that, the same thing or similar thing happens to the Jews in general, the

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very people that God saved through Joseph. What happens to them? They become slaves in

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Egypt. You know, they were slaves in Egypt for over 200 years. 200 years of the people

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of God crying out to God, save us, redeem us, deliver us. No answer. 200 years. How

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many people lived out full lives? How many people died without hearing God's voice? It's

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astounding when you think of it. 200 years of crying out to the Lord, but silence. And

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then we again look at the nation of Israel. In Amos chapter 8, if you want to turn there,

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you can. In Amos chapter 8, the prophet Amos delivers God's message to the nation of Israel

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of a coming period of silence from God. Amos chapter 8 verse 11, it says, look, the days

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are coming. This is the declaration of the Lord God. When I will send a famine through

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the land, not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the

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Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and roam from north to east seeking the word

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of the Lord, but they will not find it. This prophecy was fulfilled 349 years after it

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was given. That's a pretty long period of time, but you know, God was still speaking

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for those 349 years. So thank you, Lord. Right? But after 349 years, through the prophet of

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Malachi and foretold by the prophet of Malachi, Malachi, if you recall, that is the last prophet

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listed in the Old Testament, right? It is at the close of that period. And what Malachi

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then is given a word of from the Lord is that Israel faces judgment once again. And this

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is a very heavy judgment. And so that judgment takes place after Malachi. This judgment lasts

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400 years. And since it's the fulfillment of the prophecy that Amos gave 350 years before

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that, that is 400 years of God's silence. 400 years. And you know what happened during

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that time. You know, the people were dispersed, the temple was destroyed. They had no home.

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They were captive in other lands. No word from the Lord. No other prophet for 400 years.

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At the end of 400 years, you had the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus, who is the

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word of God. But 400 years of crying out to the Lord for a deliverer, for salvation, for

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a word, nothing. Silence for 400 years. And really quickly in the New Testament, there

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are two examples that I can think of very easily. I think we've spoken of them before.

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And that is, the first one is the woman who had the issue of blood, whatever that might

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have been, that Jesus healed, right? So you remember that story. It is this woman, she

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had this health problem, this issue of blood. How many years did she have that for? 12.

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12 years of asking of the Lord for something, a word, healing, whatever, and not receiving

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a word. 12 years before the Lord healed her, she cried out to him. And then the second

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person in the New Testament is the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda. How many years did

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he have his problem? 38. 38 years of not hearing from the Lord. Certainly he's crying out,

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and his parents crying out for a word from God, a healing, something, an explanation,

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nothing, silence, until that moment when Jesus came. All this to say that if like me you

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have ever felt that God is silent, you're definitely not alone. Look around you today.

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I'm confident that if you were to speak to people in this room, most here could share

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with you a story of when this has been the same case in their own life. Something has

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happened. They take it before the Lord, and there's no answer. None. You know, I think

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that there are different seasons of life where, that can give rise to times of silence from

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the Lord. And none of this is perfect, but it just helps sometimes just to kind of categorize

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and try to see, well, what does God do in X and what does God do in Y and what is he

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doing in, you know, Z? And so we're going to look at four periods of life that I think

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that this type of silence from God seems to come up in you guys' experience from time

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to time. The first season, I'm going to say, is seasons of calamity and pain. These include,

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you know, severe accidents, medical problems, the death of dear family members and friends,

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or some other traumatic personal life event. These are the moments when we often cry out

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to God, desperate for an answer, and usually that cry is, why? God, why? We cry out and

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we question, but more often than not, there is no discernible answer from the Lord that

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explains it all. And if there is an answer, it's sometimes not until much later, just

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like we saw in the lives of other people in the Old and New Testament. I think Job is

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our poster child for experiencing calamity without an explanation from God. But as you

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study the life of Job and his response to these heavy trials and his losses, you find

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that behind it all, Job is Job. He remains who he was before, in that Job recognizes

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something very crucial, and that is God is God, and he, Job, is not.

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In Job chapter 13, this is what Job declares in verse 15, Job 13-15, even though he kills

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me, I will hope in him. Nevertheless, I will argue my ways to his face. I love that verse.

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Job is very human, and yet, very much in the right place with God. God can even bring him

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to death, and his hope is not moved. His hope is still in God. Nevertheless, I'm going to

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tell him, and I'm going to speak with him, because these are the things that are on my

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heart, and I'm his child. He says, though the worst things happen to me, I'll keep my

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hope and trust in God, even while my hurt heart is before him, pleading for answers.

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That's an acceptable place to be. In fact, it's the right place to be. This is a relationship

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that you have with a holy and a righteous God, and yes, he owes us no explanation whatsoever.

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Let me make that clear. God owes me no answer, and I, as his creation, my right position

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is to say, amen. Holy is the Lord. Mighty is the Lord. Strength and power and majesty

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be unto the Lord. But he has created a relationship, and so I can come to him, and he wants me

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to come to him, and lay my heart before him. Silence in the seasons of pain and calamity

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often bring us to a relationship of greater reverence, a greater reverence for God, and

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a trust in who God is. He speaks, even though he's silent. He speaks by being who he is

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and revealing that to you and having you move in that. The next season I would talk

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about would be seasons of change. Now, I hate change. I really hate change. I mean, I'm

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a person who likes setting up systems, getting the systems to work great, and then saying,

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don't touch my system. Why would you touch my system? It runs great. It gets the job

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done. It may be antiquated, but it gets the job done. Do not touch my system. Those who

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know me, you know me well. But the types of changes that we're talking about, yes, we're

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talking about whether it's a loss of a job or a new job opportunity, financial distress

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or financial opportunities, home losses or moving opportunities or decisions that are

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needed for child or parental care, which is a big one that we all face. Those of us who

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are now adults and our parents are older or we have children who have issues and problems,

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how do we deal with those? Decisions would be so much easier if God would answer my plea

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for help and guidance, right? God, if you're going to change the nice working paradigm

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that has been developed, could you please just tell me then how to negotiate this change

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that I hate? This even extends to times of distress when our backs are up against the

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wall and there is nothing that we can do to change anything. I really hate being in that

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position. All the while we're waiting for God to speak as the vice tightens, but sometimes

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he doesn't. So what do we do when he doesn't speak in these moments of change, these uncomfortable

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moments? If you're like me, you have a propensity to get upset, to get frustrated and even angry

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with God and angry with those around you. You often ask, like I do, and not so gently,

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why are you doing this to me? God, I know you can fix this, but you don't. You know,

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we can often read in the Psalms where King David expresses some of these same thoughts

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himself. In Psalms 13, Psalms 13 verse 1, this is what King David writes, How long,

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O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long

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will I store up anxious concerns within me? Agony in my mind every day? How long will

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my enemy dominate me? Now, let's be honest, there's a lot of attitude to unpack in those

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verses, right? But for time's sake, let's just kind of skip over that because there

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are things that need to be dealt with when I have that attitude towards the Lord, when

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I'm using that accusatory type of language with him. And believe me, God does deal with

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that, right? But for what we're talking about today, let's just point, let's skip to the

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end of that. That is, there's only one way out of that swamp, right? And that swamp,

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out of that swamp, is to again, to act like Job. Act like Job and see God as the Almighty

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and place our hope and our trust fully in him. That may sound easy and maybe you're

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sitting there going, come on, you're kind of glossing over a lot of real life there.

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But I would contend that I'm not because at the end of the day, if your perspective is

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in line with who God really is, that changes everything. Not just confessing it with my

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mouth, but believing it with my heart. I've said this many times and it applies to many

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things that if we truly believe that God is who God says he is, our lives would be radically

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different. In this case, that applies as well. Despite me feeling like God has abandoned

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me that he's causing these things or letting these things happen to me, these calamities,

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whether it's enemies or problem people coming on me or I have real life problems that are

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going on in my family or whatever it might be, if I stop and do the very real and necessary

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thing of saying, enough, God is God. God is Almighty. You know what it does to all that

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stuff and feelings that I'm having? It banishes it because it's now really irrelevant. My

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hope and trust is in God. If he is allowing these things to happen, glory be to God. I

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may never understand it. I don't have to because he is God and I hope and I trust him. So doing

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that is key and it's paramount. And additionally, I would actually say it's necessary and advisable

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to be like King David in another way. And that is who throughout the book of Psalms,

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he repeats at least three phrases time and time again. Those phrases are, he is my fortress.

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He is my unchanging rock and I will put my hope and trust in God. You can find them in

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Psalms 18 and 91 if you want to look them up later. But it's throughout the book of

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Psalms you find those three things. He is my fortress. He is my rock. I will put my

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hope and trust in him. In fact, we can even go back to Psalm 13, which we just read where

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he was kind of railing against the Lord saying, how long, how long, how long. And at the conclusion

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of that same Psalm, Psalm 13, this is what David says in verse 5, 13 verse 5, but I have

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trusted in your faithful love. My heart will rejoice in your deliverance. I will sing to

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the Lord because he has treated me generously. Doesn't even sound like the same guy, does

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it? No, because he has been transformed by the realization of who God is, a belief that

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he is holding onto with everything that he's got, that God is almighty and that his hope

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and trust is rightly placed in him. Silence and seasons of change often redirect us to

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cling to God all the more. For he is Lord of all and our hope and trust is rightly placed

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in him and he is worthy of songs of praise and remembrance. The next season is the season

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of consequence. And there's no way around this one. Sometimes God is silent or doesn't

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act in a way as to relieve us of the consequences of our poor judgment, our bad actions, or

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our sin. Let me be clear, I am not talking about forgiveness of sin. That is not the

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silence that I'm talking about. God hears every call out to him, call asking for forgiveness.

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The repentance that is freely given. God is never withholding that ever. What I'm talking

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about is when you are his son and daughter and you do things out of poor judgment, out

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of poor actions, or you're in sin. What we're talking about is the natural fallout from

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our actions. I mean, God surely is abundantly gracious and merciful and we've seen it and

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experienced it more times than we're worthy of. But sometimes, and for only reasons that

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he knows, he allows the chips to fall where they may. Again, our call is to believe that

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he is who he says he is and to place our hope and trust in who he has demonstrated to us

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that he is. This is why we spend so much time in our Christian study and our Christian walk

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looking back to the people in the Old Testament. You know, if you ever wondered, why are we

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studying people who were alive thousands of years ago? Why are we looking at their history?

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What does that have to do with anything? Well, in the New Testament, Paul exhorts us to do

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just that, to look back at what God has done. You know, I'm not looking necessarily to see

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what they did. What I'm looking at is to see what God did in and through them, right? So

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that's how we look and we see the goodness of God played out over centuries, right? I

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can then recall them at moments like this when I am being called to put my hope and

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trust in him. He's like a loving parent, right? He allows us to learn through the actions

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of our sin and bad decisions, but also like a loving parent, we see throughout the Old

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Testament that we can trust that God extends grace if we walk humbly and with thanksgiving.

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He has adopted us into his family and now calls us his sons and daughters. He has demonstrated

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his great and boundless love towards us time and time again. He may be silent as we work

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through our sin, but he's never absent. Silence during times of consequence teach us to believe

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in his authority as the Almighty and remember his justice, grace, and mercy as is shown

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in his word and to put all of our hope and trust in him. Are you seeing a pattern? Hope

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and trust in him always seen who he is always seen that he is Almighty God always believing

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he is who he says he is. The last season that I want to talk about is what is often referred

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to as a season of calling. And this one hits me particularly hard and it hits me directly

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because it's the journey that I am currently on. So let me share with you just how we arrived

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at today and actually how we're arriving at this very moment right here and now. So several

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weeks ago, Pastor Nathan asked me if I would be willing to share while he was on vacation.

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And I am thrilled and overjoyed at any opportunity to share with all of you from the word of

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God. It is my joy and I love being used that way if the Lord sees fit. Right? So of course

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my answer was yes. Of course. No problem. And there is a process that is developed over

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time other times when whether it's been Pastor Nathan asking me to speak or whether it's

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been speaking at a youth function which I've done in the past or whatever. There's a process

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that God kind of has used. I've come to expect this process and like I said I like setting

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up systems and then maintaining the system and when the system breaks I don't like it

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at all. Right? So the system basically kind of goes like this. Unbeknownst to me Pastor

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Nathan is going to ask me to speak. Well that works out great when he does because usually

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God has already put something on my heart whether it's through my personal Bible study

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that I'm doing something that's just kind of grabbed me and no at the time I don't I

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don't know why that particular thing is hitting me in a certain way so I just kind of keep

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it there and it just doesn't go away and then the opportunity comes up and it's like oh

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God prepared that. How wonderful. You know? And then as I'm preparing it's like God says

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yes and now X and now Y and now Z and this is how it all goes together and this is what

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I want to say through you and it's a huge blessing. Right? It's not that it doesn't

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work but it's a huge blessing. So the thing is with this particular request I'm expecting

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the same thing. Right? So he asks I have plenty of time. God's got plenty of time. Right?

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But zero. I got nothing. I got nothing in the back to pull. Right? I'm going through

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all my Bible studies that I'm going through and there's just nothing that God has really

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pulled out. They've been great, great studies that I'm going through but nothing's hitting

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me and hasn't hit me that I would say great I'm going to put that aside and remember that.

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Zero. I'm like okay. Well, God you got time. You know? Let's see what you do. A week goes

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by, two weeks go by, three weeks go by. Nothing. Silence. You want to get my attention really

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fast? Change something in the room. Right? That's just the way I'm built. If there's

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a problem I'm always looking to see where the problem is before the problem happens.

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Right? So I'm getting there. Right? I'm going I don't understand God. What is it? Okay.

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Well, I'll keep praying and keep my eye out for whatever it is that you're going to reveal

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to me like you had before. We get all the way to this week and it's a big fat zero.

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And I'm freaking out. You can ask my assistant at work how much I'm freaking out. I'm like

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we can't have this God. This ain't going to work. It's like why? Why are we doing that?

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And so I start going through it. There's something what is it God? What is it in here that is

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giving rise to your silence? Because let's fix it. I mean let's fix it now. And stuff.

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And so you know I'm cataloging going through junk that I accumulate like everybody else

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you know. It's like okay let's take this off. Let's take this off. Let's take this off.

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That's great. And should do that all the time. Right? But yeah didn't affect anything. Silence.

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Not a word. And now I'm just dying. Oh my God. I just I need something God. I need to

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hear your voice. And so what happened was I didn't have any grand revelation. Not like

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before. The only thing that I could say that happened was there was this slight nudge in

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the background. And it was a nudge to kind of examine things that have gone on in my

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life. You know whether it's a month ago, several months ago, a year ago, two years ago. And

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the truth is is that there is there is something that has gone on, is going on, continues to

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go on in the life of my family. It's nothing tragic but it affects our outside ministry.

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Outside ministry work. And it affects it in a huge way. And I'm like okay well there is

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that. There is that thing. Right? What do I do with that thing? I mean that's just a

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big terrible thing. I don't really want to deal with that in a Bible study. Okay so you

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don't want to deal with that in a Bible study but what is it about that? I'm like okay well

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God certainly has done things with me over the course of those two years. And I'd love

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to say that he's fixed me in how I react to things and how I react to people. But no I

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don't have any big happy story about that. But God certainly has changed me. But it's

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hard work change. I mean I have to be deliberate in how I think about things, how I talk about

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things, how I pray for things. And so yeah okay God has done something like that but

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God how is that encouraging? You know? Well what else is there? And then it was kind of

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like aha. I know what it is. It's his silence. Because the thing that I rail about most to

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God in that circumstance is Lord why are you not doing anything? Why are you not saying

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anything? All you have to do is speak. This whole thing could be taken care of. All you

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have to do is move. And at the very least God couldn't you just speak to me to let me

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know that you hear me. And that it's going to be alright. And that you've got this. And

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it's going to work out. Right? Those are the things that I'm actually contending with.

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Is contending with the silence of God. It's funny. So I'm like okay. That's it. That's

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what I'm going to talk about. And you would hope and you would think that once that was

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settled what I was going to talk about that I would just begin to get grand revelation

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and God once again he's right there with me going yeah yeah and I'll say this and say

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this and say this. Nope. This has been one of the hardest studies that I have had to

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dig for. I mean dig for. So that I can come before you and say this is what God is. He's

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revealing to me and I know it's not perfect and it's probably like putting lipstick on

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a pig but this is it. This is what he's working on in my own life. This is real life. Right?

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And this is how he's moving me through it and no I'm not great at moving through it

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at all. Wish I could tell you that I was. But no I'm right there with you. These are

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hard things. Hard relationships. Hard obedience lessons. Hard changes. And I'm dealing with

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it just like you. And if anything I hope that that's encouraging. Right? We're all right

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there. We're all right in his hand. We're all working through it. But he's the same.

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Right? The call is the same. No matter who we are. So. I think what it's done is it

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kind of broadens my outlook on what God's silence is in our larger walk. And I hope

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that it's applied to my preparation for today's Bible study. And I think that it hits both

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a season of change for me and a season of calling. Because here's the thing. In the

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season of calling and how this applies to that as well is God in being silent in preparation

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for this Bible study wanted to teach me something else. And that is He shouldn't have to tell

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me every little thing to do. To say. To give to you. At some point in all of our lives

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we reach different levels and sometimes at that level is God is like you know who I am.

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You know what I've done. You know that I'm faithful and true. You know what my word says.

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You know what your testimony is. Do I really need to tell you exactly what to say or how

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to present it. Do you not know me. And I said well of course I know you. And so God just

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sits there. And what He's saying by not saying anything is Ron I want a greater intimacy

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with you. And this is the image that came into my head. The example that came into my

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head. And that is the relationship that I have with my wife Debbie. Right. We've been

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married over 30 years. Right. In those 30 years I know my wife. I can be sitting with

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her in silence. I can walk into a room that I haven't been in all day long. And I can

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tell how she feels. I can tell whether she's happy or whether she's sad. I can tell whether

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she needs something or whether she wants to be left alone. Right. That is a level of intimacy

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that you develop with your partner. Right. She doesn't need to tell me or I should say

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she shouldn't need to tell me. Right. But she doesn't need to tell me most of the time.

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That's kind of what God is telling me. You have a relationship with me Ron. We've been

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together long enough and I've given you every picture of me every example of me. I've given

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you unfettered access to me. Do you know me? If you know me I don't need to tell you everything

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because I've already told you. I've already shown you. You have all of this knowledge

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and all of this experience with me to draw on, to share with people. I just want to sit

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with you and I want you to know me as you have been known by me. That is the level of

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intimacy that God is trying to develop often when there is a period of silence in a time

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of your call. It's that leveling up type thing. It's that growing up type of thing. The things

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that he wants me to know, things that he wants me to grow in during this season are the trusting

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again. And then I'm going to say the same thing, trusting that he is God Almighty and

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that he has demonstrated his authority, his sovereignty and his power in accomplishing

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what he wants to accomplish. And that it may not be what I think will bring him joy or

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glory, but it is in the way that he desires. He also teaches me that my desires and assessments

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of a situation are not relevant if they end up being apart from his plan. And lastly,

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he's not obligated to reveal his plan to me one bit. He does desire for me to cry out

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to him though and to express my hope and my trust in him in all things. And all that leads

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to me express my love and my praise and thanksgiving to the Lord of all who loves me and he knows

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my name. Imagine doing all this with a Bible study, all this of him being silent, just

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to make these things clear to me as I try to make them clear to you about how he works

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and how he's working in my own life and hoping that that would be an encouragement to you.

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And in him is not easy, but it is necessary for all who would call him Father and Savior

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and Spirit and Lord. So let me give it to you in a nutshell just as I try to wrap all

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this stuff up. I know we're running a little late, but when there are times of silence,

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examine your walk, repent and make any correction. That should be obvious, right? You want to

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get rid of the clutter. If it's clutter that's acting as the barrier, deal with the clutter,

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right? But the next thing you got to move to right away because it changes everything

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is to accept God's power and authority. And then you got to listen to what he has said

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and what he's done in the past and you got to listen to what he is saying and what he's

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doing now in the present. Remember who he is in his word always and in the testimony

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that is now a part of your life and the lives of others. Ladies, we talked about this way

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back in Mother's Day about singing your song, right? That's what we're talking about. That

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song is your testimony projected to others. This is where it comes into play. And then

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recognize that the silence can sometimes be an act of intimacy between you and the Lord.

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It's not because of a problem. It's not because of judgment. It's not because of anything

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other than God wants to sit with you and have that level of intimacy with you where words

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are not necessary. You know each other. And then lastly, always keep talking to him through

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Thanksgiving, praise, and petition. Your prayer life, don't stop that. Put no barrier to that

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ever. How can you know somebody if you don't talk to them? He desires you to talk with

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him always. In closing closing, and I promise, promise this time, I want you to turn to 1

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Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. You know the Word of God is always the

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best. And so I'm going to let it speak for itself. So in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, go

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with me to verse 16. This is what it says. Rejoice always and delight in your faith.

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Be unceasing and persistent in prayer. And in every situation, no matter what the circumstances,

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be thankful and continually give thanks to God. For this is the will of God for you in

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Christ Jesus. Do not quench, subdue, or be unresponsive to the working and guidance of

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the Holy Spirit. Do not scorn or reject gifts of prophecy or prophecies spoken or prophecies,

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spoken revelations, word of instructions, or exhortation or warning. But test all things

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carefully so you can recognize what is good. Hold firmly to that which is good. Abstain

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from every form of evil. Withdraw and keep away from it. Verse 23. Now may the God of

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peace himself sanctify you through and through. That is, separate you from profane and vulgar

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things. Make you pure and whole and undamaged, consecrated to him, set apart for his purpose.

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And may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and be found blameless in the coming

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of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithfully and absolutely trustworthy is he who is calling you to himself

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for salvation. He will do it. He will fulfill his call by making you holy, guarding you,

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watching over you, and protecting you as his own. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for

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your word and Lord we ask that we would remember always and that you would bring to our remembrance

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always who you are and that is Lord God Almighty, creator of all. It is in you that all power

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resides. It is in you that our very breath has been given. It is in you that all things

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were made. And because of who you are God, how could we not put our hope and trust completely

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in you. We walk by faith in that God and hope to see you face to face soon and very soon

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until then God, yes, we ask that you speak. But we also understand God that in the silence,

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in that sound of silence, you are still there and you do still speak. It may not be in the

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way that we think or the way that we are used to or even the way that we want, but it is

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in the perfect way just as you are perfect. God, let us trust in that. Let us move forward

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in that. Let us joy in that as you bring us to yourself for greater intimacy God so that

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we know you as you know us. God fill us with your spirit and fill our mouths with the joy

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of the words of salvation that have been given to us as we speak to others, our testimonies

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and of the words of life that will bring eternal life and forgiveness to those who need you.

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God thank you and it is in Jesus name we pray. Amen. I bless you guys.