Trials & Tribulations (07/23/2017)

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Dr. Myron Golden

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Hello, I'm Lee Michaels, and I want to welcome you to our Park Meadows Church services with guest speaker
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Myron Golden I Like what a good friend of mine pastor in Savannah State.
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He said three points in a poem about trials Point number one
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I got One number two you got point number three everybody's got point number four our poem
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Adam so Everybody has trials and what we're going to do is we're just going to look at how we should go through those trials
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As we are as we are going through our life And we face difficulty because we all face difficulty
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Can I get a witness and when we do we want to make sure we do that according to the principles of scripture?
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So let's look first James chapter 1. We're gonna read the first eight verses just follow along with me silently as I read out loud
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It says James a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad
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Greetings my brethren count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations Knowing this that the trying of your faith work with patience
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But let patience have her perfect work that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing
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If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and with great ignominy shall be given him But let him ask in faith nothing wavering for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed
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For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord a double -minded man is unstable in all his ways
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Now let's look at Daniel chapter 3 Daniel chapter 3 beginning with verse number 14, and this is the story of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego and how
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Nebuchadnezzar had made an idol of himself and commanded that all nations and people bow down and worship this idol and There were probably there were at least tens of thousands of people who bow down and worship maybe hundreds of thousands and there were three people that were still standing
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Shadrach Meshach and Abednego and They reported to the king that they didn't bow and here's where it picks up Nebuchadnezzar talking to them
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Nebuchadnezzar speak unto them Is it true? Shadrach Meshach and Abednego do you not serve my gods a little
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G? Worship the golden image which I have set up now if ye be ready That at what time ye hear the sound of the corn of the flute the sack of the psaltery the bells of work and all kinds
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Of music you fall down and worship the image which I have made well But if not, but if ye worship not ye shall be cast the same hour
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Into the mint of the burning fire affirming and who is that God capital G that shall deliver you out of my hands
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And Shadrach Meshach and Abednego answered and said unto the king. Oh Nebuchadnezzar.
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We are not careful to answer thee In this manner if it be so our
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God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace And he will deliver us out of thy hand
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O king But if not be it known unto thee O king we will not serve thy gods nor worship the golden image
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Which thou has set up then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury in the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach Meshach and Abednego and Therefore he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was want to be heated
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And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach Meshach and Abednego And cast them into the burning fiery furnace these men were bound in their coats and their hoses their hats and their garments
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Were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace therefore because the king's commandment was urgent And the furnace exceeding hot the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach Meshach and Abednego And these three men
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Shadrach Meshach and Abednego fell down bound in the midst of the burning
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Fiery furnace father. Thank you for your word. Thank you for this truth. We pray that you open our eyes and help us to behold
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Wonderful things out of your word help us to be able to be an example To other believers help us to be a light in a dark world as we go through our trials with joyfulness
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And we thank you for the work you will do in us the work you desire to do through us in the name of Yeshua All right
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So I want to speak to you this morning on this subject all joy for all tribes all
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Joy for all tribes. It seems it seems like a very very challenging command
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My brethren count it all joy when you go through diverse temptations first thing We notice here is who's writing this letter
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James who was both the brother of Christ the half -brother of Christ and He was the pastor of the
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Church of Jerusalem during this time the Church of Jerusalem was being persecuted They were being they were being people who were believers of Christ.
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They were they were being arrested. They were being tortured They were being they were being thrown into the arena
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Sewn up in lambskins and goatskins and being eaten by lions and James writes this letter now
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We've got some problems and some challenges and some trials, but we haven't had them at this magnitude.
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Can I get a witness? And and James writes a letter. It says my brother.
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This is James a servant of God the Lord Jesus Christ I love the fact that that's where he starts. He didn't say
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James Senior pastor most righteous He didn't say
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James the brother of the Lord he said James a servant of God and of the
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Lord Jesus Christ if James the brother of Christ if James the Senior pastor at the
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Church of Jerusalem in his mind his most important identifying factor Is the fact that he is a servant of God and the
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Lord Jesus Christ we could learn something from that. Amen More important than our title more important than our position more important than our background more important than our ethnicity more important than our gender
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More important than our political party. The thing that we should be most Representing is the fact that we are servants of God and of the
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Lord Jesus Christ And then he says to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad
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I want you to understand that when James wrote this letter to the Christian Church the
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Christian Church was made up of a lot of Jewish believers and I think if there's one thing that There are many things but there but if I think there's one thing that really hinders the average modern -day
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Christian believer in Adhering to so many of the doctrines of the scripture to live a fulfilled life
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It's the fact that we we get up so much influence within the modern -day
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Christianity from the Catholic Church and we don't get nearly enough from the culture of the Hebrews from the
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Jewish people and the Catholic Church was greatly influenced by Greek mythology and so Unfortunately a lot of modern -day
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Christians see the Bible more as a magical book than a practical book But the
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Bible is a book to be practiced. It's not a book of magic. It's a book of practice Things we are supposed to do and the
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Apostle James was right. He said I want you to go do these things He said my brother
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Counted all joy when he fallen divers temptation. The first thing I want you to understand about all joy
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For all trials is that we this is written to a unique group of people
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We are a unique group of people. We are the only group of people followers of Yeshua followers of Christ we are the only people on earth who have the ability and The assignment to live in a state of perpetual joyfulness
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Nobody else can do that. Like I can no matter what's going on in my life. I can't have joy
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How do I know I can have joy because God never gives a command without first giving the capacity to fulfill the command
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He never gives an assignment without first giving us the ability to fulfill the assignment
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So when God tells me to do something I already know I can do it because I'm not under the law
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But under grace now a lot of people misunderstand what that means when it says we're not under the law
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But we're under grace see when I was under the law I didn't have the power to do the things that were contained in the law.
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Can I get a witness? Amen. Brother Ron come help me sir. On the Bible. That was easy.
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So you got to understand We're going to pretend Brother Ron's hand Brother Ron's hand is a sinner
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And he is under the law He's under the condemnation of the law He's under the curse of the law And the law says do the right thing
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And guess what the sinner says I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing I can't do the right thing
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I can't do the right thing Genesis 1 Genesis 1
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Genesis 1 Genesis 1
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Genesis 1 Genesis 1 Genesis 1 Genesis 1
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Genesis 1 Genesis 1 Genesis 1 Genesis 1 Genesis 1 Genesis 1
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Genesis 1
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Genesis 1
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Genesis 1 First Corinthians chapter 10, verse number 13, here's what it says, there's no temptation taken, but such as God would demand.
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But God is faithful, who will not suffer or allow you to what, be tempted above that ye are able.
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You will never go through a trial when you can't handle it. See, see, God only gives you your trials.
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Don't you love the Bible that it's so complete, it's so full? There are no isolated doctrines in scripture, y 'all do understand that, right?
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There's no isolated doctrine. Every script, every doctrine in scripture is supported by every other doctrine in scripture.
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And we see this over and over and over and over and over and over again.
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You know, we live in an age where preachers love talking about the anointing.
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There's an anointing on your life. But I want you to understand, an anointing is not an empty thing.
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Whenever someone in scripture received an anointing, let me, even before I go there, let me tell you what an anointing is.
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An anointing is when God revealed a person's purpose to them and the people around them.
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So when God sent Samuel to anoint David, he was revealing to David and to David's family and to those around David, this man's gonna be the next king.
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So understand that whenever there is an anointing, that anointing is for an appointment.
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There is no such thing as an anointing without an appointment. So when I get an anointing, I know it's for what?
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An appointment. But here's the problem, the mistake we make is we love, as human beings, rushing the washing machine.
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We like to skip cycles. We like to leapfrog the boot camp.
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We like to leapfrog the difficult. Even though, here's what we have to understand, even though every anointing is for an appointing, between the season of anointing and the season of appointing there's this preparation season.
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It's called the season of disappointment. And God, you won't find in scripture a person who receives an anointing for an appointing who doesn't go through a season of disappointment.
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It doesn't matter if it's Joseph, Joseph has a dream. Joseph's dream came true, but not before his nightmare came true.
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David spent over a decade, maybe almost two decades, 13 to 17 years running from King Saul after he was anointed.
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We have a unique perspective. We can assign joyfulness to difficulty regardless of the difficulty.
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And when we resist assigning joyfulness, there are so many places in scripture like this.
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I'm gonna tell you something, it is our natural human sinful tendency to wanna be miserable.
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Amen. You ask somebody, how are you doing? Try it today at the gas station.
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If you stop and get gas, we'll be right home soon. It's such a great day. Oh yeah, but it's so hot. And if it was cold, guess what?
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Yeah, but it's so cold. If it hadn't rained, I'm gonna say, yeah, but we need the rain. If it's raining, yeah, but it's so wet out there.
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We just love to create some misery to wallow in. But as followers of Yeshua, we are commanded over and over and over and over again in scripture to live in a state of perpetual joyfulness, which means we can.
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Here's what it says, one of my favorite verses. I call this the most redundant verse in the Bible.
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I know you've heard me talk about this before, but I like talking about it, and I like hearing about it, so I'm gonna talk about it. Philippians chapter four, verse four.
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It says, rejoice in the Lord always. It doesn't say rejoice in the Lord until. It didn't say until, did it?
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What did it say? Always, and again, I say rejoice. Now, here's what's really interesting. The prefix re - means to do again.
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Like, if you say to your child, I want you to go re -wash those dishes, that doesn't mean they didn't wash them.
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That means you want them to wash them again. So when Jesus, when the
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Apostle Paul said rejoice under the inspiration of all the disciples, rejoice in the Lord, he said, again, have joy in the
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Lord. And then he says, and again, I say, rejoice. Or in other words, again, have joy in the
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Lord, and again, I say, have joy. Have joy always in the
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Lord. And again, I say, again, have joy. I don't know, he didn't leave much space in there for misery, did he?
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No. Say, but, brother of mine, you don't know what's going on in my life. It doesn't matter.
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When God inspired the Apostle Paul to write that, he knew what was going on in your life.
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He knew what was gonna go on in your life. See, what's a moving picture to us is a snapshot to God. He didn't say,
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I am the, he didn't say, I am the, I was. He didn't say, I am the, I will be. He said,
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I am the, I am that I am. That's pretty present tense. Well, we have a unique perspective.
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That unique perspective gives us the ability to have all joy in all trials. I understand that you're going through something, but my objective of this message is not to make you feel bad for feeling bad while you're going through your trial.
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My objective of this message is to help you understand that you don't have to feel bad while you're going through your trial.
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You can have joy. How do we know? He told us that. It's a unique perspective.
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Here's what he said. He said, my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptation. I want you to understand now, he didn't say if you fall into diverse temptation.
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He didn't say, well, just in case, one day you might happen to fall into a trial.
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He didn't say that, did he? He said, my brethren, count it all joy when, here's what that means, trials are coming, amen.
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So you might as well go ahead and prepare yourself for the trial that's coming.
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But I hear what you're saying, but how do I count it all joy? I'm glad you asked that question.
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But before I answer it, let me read this to you. First Peter chapter four, here's what it says. First Peter chapter four, verse 12.
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Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try, as though some strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice.
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Isn't it amazing? The Bible doesn't just say something one place, it says it over and over and over again. He said, but rejoice inasmuch that ye are partakers of Christ's suffering, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye shall be glad also with exceeding joy.
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If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye, for the spirit of the glory of God resteth upon you on their part, he is evil spoken of, but on your part, he is glorified.
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Glorified when you go through the trials. You gotta understand, remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace?
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Do you remember, the king was so mad, I love that you talked about tolerance. You know, when I think about the word tolerance, brother
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Mark, the first thing that comes to my mind is the word tolerance is an intolerant word. The word tolerance, when they say tolerance, like when they say, well, you're just not tolerant.
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What they mean is, you have to tolerate me, but I don't have to tolerate you. That's what the word tolerance means.
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Tolerance is an intolerant word, right? It's like you're building a set of rules for somebody else to play by.
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Anyway. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace.
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How many times did gold have to go into the furnace in the finding pot before it was pure gold?
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Seven times, isn't that fascinating? Seven's the number of completion, you know, there's seven days a week, there's seven colors in the rainbow, there's seven notes on a musical scale, and the gold, when it was being refined, had to go into the finding pot, into the furnace, seven times.
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Now you have to, if you don't understand the significance of that, let me help you. Here's what would happen. The refiner would take the gold, which has value, and it's precious, but it's still got some draws in it.
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It's still got some imperfections in it. It's still got some impurities in it. So here's what he would do. He would put it in this metal refining pot, and he would put that finding pot in the oven.
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The oven was hot enough to melt the gold, but not hot enough to melt the finding pot. So the gold would become molten, and when it became molten, vroom, vroom, vroom, you got this golden spot, vroom, vroom, vroom, and when it boiled, all the draws, all the imperfections would rise to the top.
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He'd take it out, he'd set it aside for a few minutes. Well, more than a few minutes, long enough for it to cool down.
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Once it cooled down and got hard, he would take a sharp instrument, and he would scrape one thin layer at a time of that draws off of the top of that finding pot.
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Guess where he did that? The first time, he put it back in the oven again. He'd heat it up, vroom, vroom, vroom, whoop, whoop, whoop, that's the best.
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That's the golden thing. Takes it out, sets it aside.
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After it cools, one thin layer off the top. One thin layer, another thin layer.
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Okay, he got down to the bowl again, put it back in the furnace. He did that seven times. After the seventh time, guess what the refiner would do?
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He'd take it out, he'd scrape those thin layers of draws off the top, he'd throw all the draws away, and then he would look into the finding pot, and guess what he would see?
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He would see a perfect reflection of himself without a spot. Do you understand that's what
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God's doing with you? Do you understand when you go into a trial, that one of the reasons you can count all joy is because you understand that he's removing draws from your life.
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That's one of the reasons, that's not the only reason, but that's one of the reasons. He's removing, he's making you more like him.
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It says, count it all joy. Count means perspective.
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And then he said, you've got a unique perspective. I want you to look at this like I look at this.
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Remember the anointing and the disappointment? Even Jesus himself, after his anointing, y 'all remember what happened in Matthew chapter three, don't you?
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Jesus was baptized, came up out of the water, what happened then? Heaven's open, the spirit descends on him like a dove.
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The voice from heaven, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. That's his anointing.
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What happened right after that? This scripture says, then was
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Jesus led of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was afterwards anointed.
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When did that happen? Right after his anointing. So he said, we have a unique perspective when we have a unique perception.
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Here's what he said, count it all joy, knowing this. He said, the only way you can count like you're supposed to count is if you know what you're supposed to know.
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See, when folk go through trials and they don't count it all joy, the reason they don't count it all joy is because they don't know how to count it all joy.
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And the reason they don't know how to count it all joy is because they don't understand the purpose for the trial. But God's telling us the purpose for the trial.
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Here's the purpose for the trial. Here's what it says. Here's what it says, knowing this. Oh, that's so beautiful.
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So if you know this, hmm, I wonder what this is. I wonder what he's gonna say next.
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He says, my brethren, count it all joy when you follow the diversity of patience, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
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You all know the word patience. Patience is persistent, consistent, endurance.
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Patience is not a little bit of endurance every now and then. Patience is not a little bit of endurance from time to time.
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Patience is persistent, consistent, endurance.
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Here's what it means. It means the trying of your faith gives you the ability to endure the trying of your faith worketh patience.
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Persistent, we need persistence. We gotta have persistence. Here's why we have a requirement in our life for persistence, because our assignment is hard.
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Your assignment's hard, my assignment's hard, which means if I'm weak, I will not be able to fulfill my assignment.
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So what does God do? God has ordained trials for our life to get us ready for what he already has ready for us.
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God has trials for our life to prepare us for what he already has prepared for us. So when
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I'm counting it all joy, when I fall in a diverse temptation, I'm not counting, oh, God, just send me some more trials, hallelujah.
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That's not what I'm saying. I'm not rejoicing because I love trials. I'm rejoicing because the
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God of the universe who set the whole universe in motion, who holds all things by the word of his power, that same
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God is preparing me for something that he has for me to do. The God of the universe has a desire to use me.
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The God of the universe has a design in which he uses me and he's getting me ready for the thing that he already has ready for me.
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Thank you, God, for using me. I can count it all joy because God is using me.
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And if he's not using me right now, he's getting me ready so he can use me. When I'm going through a trial, and that must mean
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I'm not strong enough for the work that he has for me. I'm not prepared enough for what he has prepared for me.
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So when I go through this trial, I can have joy. Myron, why are you so joyful when all this stuff's happening to you?
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Because I know he's getting me ready for what he already has ready for me. Amen. We are a unique people because we have the ability to count it all joy.
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We have a unique perspective. We're called to perpetual joyfulness. That is your calling. If you are a follower of Yeshua, the
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Mashiach, Jesus, the Christ, then you are called to perpetual joyfulness.
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Okay. This is so amazing. I wasn't gonna go back here, but I gotta go back here.
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Remember the verse in Philippians chapter four? Where it says, Rejoice in the
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Lord all the way, and again, I say rejoice. How am I supposed to do that? What's amazing is it tells us in the next verse.
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It tells us exactly how to do it. No, no, no, exactly. That's what the next verse says.
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And when I was a teenager, I read this verse. I thought, why did he say that right there? I thought, well, that doesn't fit.
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The next verse says, Rejoice in the Lord all the way, and again, I say rejoice.
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Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is with you. Let your moderation, moderation means self -control.
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What does self -control have to do with joyfulness? I mean, was anybody else ever confused by that verse or was it just me? Okay, two of us.
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All right, so. So, where's Mark? We're just gonna start. I told the folks in my pent -up embarrassment,
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I said, I'm a remedial reader. One of them was I get so much out of myself, I read so slow,
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I'm bound to pick something up eventually. Okay, anyway, it says, it says, let your moderation be known unto all men.
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The Lord is with you. He's talking about joy, and then he's talking about self -control. Here's what he's telling us.
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Verse four is telling us to be joyful. Verse five is telling us to be willful. Let your moderation be, use your self -control, here's what it says, the
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Lord is with you. Use your self -control. Use your discipline, use your moderation to remind yourself that the
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Lord is present with you even when you're going through a trial. Now, why, what does reminding myself that the
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Lord is present in my trial have to do with joyfulness? Only everything. Amen.
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Why? Because the scripture says, in his presence is fullness of joy.
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And what that means is when I'm going through a trial, if I'm more aware of the presence of the
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Lord than I am of the trial, I am gonna be joyful because I'm in his presence. So do you understand the
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Lord is always present, but you are not always aware? Amen.
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Did I say that too fast? He's always present. Yeah, no, no, no, no. I understand that the car broke down and it's hot in Texas.
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Boy, is it hot in Texas. Sheesh, I don't know if I mentioned this, but it's hot in Texas.
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Amen. But the Lord is present. It doesn't matter if you're standing in the unemployment line, the
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Lord is present. If you're lying in a hospital bed, the Lord is present. If you're going through difficulty at work, the
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Lord is present. If you're standing beside a casket, the Lord is present.
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Amen. And you can be more aware of the situation or more aware of the presence of the
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Lord. You wanna use your discipline for something? Use your discipline to remind yourself that the Lord is present.
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Don't use your discipline to make yourself do something. Use your discipline. Okay, you ain't in this by yourself.
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You ain't in this by yourself. You ain't in this by yourself. You ain't in this by yourself. Jesus is here, Jesus is here. And by the way, being aware of the presence of the
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Lord works under the most challenging of circumstances. Let me go back and read it to you in case y 'all missed it when
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I read it at the beginning. Daniel chapter three. I'm glad God gives us
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Old Testament illustrations for the New Testament doctrine. Daniel chapter three. Verse number 14, it says,
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Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, that ye do not serve my gods nor worship the golden image which
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I have set up? He said, I like y 'all so much. I'm gonna, verse 15, I like y 'all so much, I'm gonna give you another chance.
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And if you bow down this time, everything will be all right. Now, if you'd be ready at that one time that you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the sackcloth, the psaltery, the bell -strummer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the image which
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I have made, well, but if you worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace.
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And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? I love their answer.
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They said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answer the Son of the King, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
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Isn't it interesting that they used the word careful? Absolutely. Because what does the next verse in Philippians say?
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After it says, let your moderation be known unto all men, the Lord is in heaven, what does it say right after that? And be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto
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God, and the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep or guard your hearts and minds by Christ Jesus.
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They said, we're not careful. We're not worried about what you're gonna do to us. Here's what they said.
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They said, our God, you know what that means? They could rejoice in trials because their God was personal. He didn't say our
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Father's God. He didn't say the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He didn't say Joseph's God. He didn't say David's. They said our
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God, whom we serve. One of the things they realized about the God is that he was personal. But not only was he personal, notice what it says, he is able.
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Not only is he personal, but he's also powerful. Wow, this is so awesome.
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And he will deliver us out of our hands. Not only is he personal and powerful, but he's also willing.
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He said he will deliver us out of our hands. And then here's what they did. They acknowledged the sovereignty of God.
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They said, but if not, and here's what the world could stand to see. Here's what the church could stand to be in 2017.
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We could stand to have some but if not Christians. God can deliver me, and he will, but if he doesn't,
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I'm still gonna be faithful to God who's faithful to me. I love what the
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Bible tells us. I think it's in Psalm 115, verse three. It says, but our God, he is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath wished.
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Then it says, then it says, but if not, be it known unto thee, but if not, be it known unto thee, okay, that we will not serve thy
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God, for we're going in which we thou set up. Verse 19, then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury. The form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
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Therefore, he spake and commanded the furnace, one seven times more than was wont to be heated, and he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind
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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the burning fire of the furnace. Then because, then these men were bound in their coats and their hats and their other garments were cast into the burning fire of the furnace because the king's command was urgent and the furnace was exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, this was a hot fire.
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Nebuchadnezzar said, I want y 'all to make this fire hotter, seven times hotter than it needs to be. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, y 'all are good now.
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I'm gonna kill y 'all seven times deader than anybody's ever been killed. That's it, that's it, just a fire by itself is not enough.
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Standing for right will make people who preach tolerance lose their hunger. And all we gotta,
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I don't watch the news, but if you turn on the news, you can see that all over the place. Anyway, the whole other sermon for a whole other day.
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How are you doing? How are you doing? He said, I'm gonna kill you seven times deader. And the fire was so hot, the men that threw them into the fire, the fire killed them.
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And then it says in verse 23, that these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound in the midst of the burning fire of the furnace.
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There's nothing wrong with falling down in the midst of your fire. When you're in your trial, sometimes trials can be overwhelming.
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There's no, I'm not saying that you should never mourn. I'm not saying that you should never be sad. That's not what
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I'm saying. I'm saying that your eternal, long -term perspective is one of joyfulness, because you're not just looking at the blue picture that's in front of you, but you're looking at the big picture on the side where we are.
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And then it says in verse 24, the Nebuchadnezzar, the king, was astounded and rose up in haste and smite and said unto his counselors, did not we cast three men down into the midst of the fire?
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They answered and said unto him, true, O king. He answered and said, lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt, in the form of the fourth, his wife, son, and god, amen.
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They practiced the presence of the Lord so clearly that they caused the people who were watching them to see the
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Lord while they were going through the trial. Isn't it interesting? Let your moderation be known unto all men.
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Why? The Lord is a king. They didn't make
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Shadrach, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't make Nebuchadnezzar see how great they were. They lived a life where they were so focused on practicing the presence of the
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Lord that even Nebuchadnezzar, a godless king, saw their doubt, delivered them from that fire, amen.
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We have a unique perspective because we have a unique perception, and we have a unique prayer.
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Here's what it says. I'm gonna go back to James now. It says, but let patience have her perfect work.
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I love the fact that it says that. We have a unique kind of patience, too. The Bible says, let patience have her perfect work.
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You know what that means? That means as soon as you get in the trial, you're not supposed to say, Lord, get me out of the trial.
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We spend almost all of our time trying to run out of the firmness. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't attempt to run out of the firmness at all.
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They just fell down that hole in the fire. Lord, oh Lord, deliver me from this trial.
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The Lord said, I just delivered you to that trial. The trial's not done doing the work the trial was set to do.
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That's why it says, but let patience have her perfect work. Become more interested in getting from the trial to what
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God desires for you to get from the trial than you are getting out of the trial. But let patience have her perfect work.
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She may be perfect or mature, lacking nothing. Then it says, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men the will and the grace of God in each of you.
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When the Bible says many of you lack wisdom, in the context in which the verse is written, it is telling us that if we lack wisdom on how to count it all joy when we go through the trial, let us ask of God, dear
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God, give me the wisdom to count it all joy while I go through this trial. Help me to be more aware of your presence that I am the presence of this disaster in my life, this difficulty in my life, this trial in my life.
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Give me the wisdom to have your perception so that I can have the proper perspective while I go through this trial.
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That is the prayer that we should be praying. That's why it's so, we've got it so confused.
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God is not a genie in a Bible. He is a king on a throne.
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And what he desires for us to do is for us to be yielded to him as his royal subjects, as his children, and as his servants.
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We are yielded to Christ. Oh God, get me out of this. You don't understand, it's not about you.
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It's not about me. It's about the king of kings. It's about the Lord of lords. Even when the disciples came to Christ and they said,
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Lord, teach us to pray. Jesus said, after this manner, therefore, pray ye.
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That's not the Lord's prayer, by the way. That's the model prayer. Here's what Jesus said, pray like this.
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Earlier he said, don't pray like this. The hypocrites pray. We love to be heard by men. So Jesus is saying, pray like this, not like that.
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That's what he was saying. Here's how you pray. Our father, which art in heaven. Is that about me or God? That's what he was saying.
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What about that? Hallowed be thy name. Is that about me or God? Okay, thy kingdom come.
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Is that about me or God? By the way, that's not talking about praying that Jesus comes back. That's talking about praying for God's kingdom to come into your life.
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Here's what that means. God's dominion over your life. That's what you're supposed to be. Lord, be the king of my life.
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Right? The kingdom of God is not physical. It's not mean and drinkable. It's what, righteousness, peace, and joy in all that goes. Amen. Yeah. Thy kingdom come.
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Thy will be done. Is that about me or God? Man, I'm praying for a long time. I haven't got to me yet. Isn't that fascinating?
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We think prayer is all, well, prayer changes things that have changed God. Well, prayer will change God. He said,
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I'm the Lord. I change nothing. Amen. Okay, I'm gonna fast forward. Thy will be done. Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
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Then he says, give us this day our daily bread. Oh, it finally got to me. But by the time
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I got to me, I am so aware of who he is that I only desire for me the things that he desires for me.
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Right. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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And then we go back to God again. For thine is the kingdom. There he is again. And the glory. There he is again. And the honor. Forever and ever.
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Amen. So, do you understand it's all about him? And when we yield to him, we can live in a state of perpetual joyfulness.
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And when we don't know how to do that, pray and ask God to give us the wisdom to do it.
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Lord, help us. Help us to be a people. Practice your presence so much that we have all joy for all tribes.
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Joy when we're sick. Joy when we're tired. Joy when the car breaks down.
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Joy when there's no money. Joy when there's no help. Joy when we get bad news from the doctor. Joy, joy, joy.
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Help us to live in a state of perpetual joyfulness. Let's practice your presence so much that even the most godless of men, when they look at our lives, they will see joy in it.
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Can you throw three of your men into the fire? I see four men. Loose. Form or form.
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With light. I give some to God. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you that it is truth.
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And I pray that you help us to practice your presence because in your presence, there's fullness of joy. May we have the joy of the
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Lord that is our strength and may it put a spring on our step regardless of what we're going through. A song in our heart, praise on our lips, and we thank you for getting us ready for what you already have ready for us.
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Thanks again for joining us at Park Meadows. We hope your heart has been encouraged and that you'll join us again soon.