Upside Down Rejoicing (pt-2) - [Matthew 5:10-12]

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There's a man named William Hunter, he was 1553, and he went to London as a silk weaver.
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About at the same time, King Edward VI died, and a lady who became known as Bloody Mary took over.
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He lost his job because he would not take communion at the local Roman Catholic Church. Of all things, he was found by a priest reading the
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Bible. Later, his brother recorded this. What meddlest thou with the
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Bible? The priest asked William. Can thou expound the Scriptures? Father, I take not upon me to expound the
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Scriptures, but I find the Bible here when I came, and I read it to my comfort.
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I perceive your mind well enough. You are one of them that mislikest the Queen's laws. You must turn another leaf, or else you and some sort more heretics will broil for this gear
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I warrant you. God give me grace that I may believe his word and confess his name, whatsoever may come thereof.
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The priest stormed out, arrested 19 -year -old William, and sent him to a London prison.
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Over the next nine months, he refused to recant 12 times. Bloody Mary then signed his death warrant, and on March 26th, 1555, it was dark as William was led to the stake erected in the center of Burntwood.
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His brother recounted his last moments. His father spake to his son, weeping and saying,
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God be with thee, son William. And William said, God be with you, good father, and be of good comfort, for we shall meet again when we shall be married.
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William then kneeled down and recited the 51st Psalm. Then said the sheriff, here is the letter from the
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Queen. If thou will recant, thou shall live. No, the 19 -year -old
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William said, I will not recant. William rose and went to the stake and stood upright to it.
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Then his brother said, came the bailiff and made fast the chain about William. Then William said, pray for me while you see me alive, good people, and I will pray for you.
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Son of God, shine on me. And immediately, the historian said, the sun and the element shone out of a dark cloud so full in his face that he was constrained to look another way.
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Whereat the people mused because it had been so dark a little time earlier. The fire was made.
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William cast his psalter into his brother's hand, who said, William, think on the passion of Christ and do not be afraid.
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I am not afraid. Lord, Lord, receive my spirit.
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Casting his head down into the smoldering smoke, he yielded up his life for reading the
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Bible. If you visited William in his prison cell, March 25th, 1555, and you wanted to give him encouragement or comfort, what would you tell him?
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Tomorrow William, you'll be burned at the stake for your faith. What would you tell that man to encourage him, to comfort him, to move him, to be bold for the truth?
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This morning, I'd like to share from the Bible what you could tell him, what I would tell him, what the
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Word of God would tell him to encourage him, to comfort him, to make him think properly and biblically about the situation.
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I would say that's almost the key to our trials and our suffering and ultimately persecution for Christ is that we think properly.
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If you'll turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5, we're continuing in our verse -by -verse exposition of the
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Beatitudes, the first section of the Sermon on the Mount, and we want to make sure that we think properly, biblically.
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What does God think? Harry Blamers, as you're turning to Matthew 5, wrote a book called
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The Christian Mind and he said, how should a Christian think? Chapter 1, there's no longer a
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Christian mind. Christians don't seem to think properly and I would say to you that God wants us to think properly and biblically whether we're in a trial or we're not in a trial.
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Henry Ford said, thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.
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IBM's founder, Thomas Watson Sr., made little placards put in the wall of the offices in 1914 and said, one word on it, think.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson said, what is the hardest task in the world? To think. George Bernard Shaw, only 5 % of the people think, only 15 % think they think, the other 80 % would rather die than think.
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And Moses giving the great Shema in Deuteronomy chapter 6, to love the Lord God with all your heart and soul and strength.
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To a Jew, the heart was the mind. And then Jesus later makes that explicit when he says, you're to love the
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Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and your strength. Christianity is a thinking religion.
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And when it comes to persecution, Jesus wants you to think properly. The situation may not change, but the way you think about it must.
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To give you the review of the Beatitudes, I'll just read them starting in Matthew chapter 5, verse 3. There are eight in total.
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Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
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Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. We begin to see the solution, verse 6.
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Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. God changes a person and begins to do things differently.
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Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see
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God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. And then
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Jesus even said, verse 10 through 12, the last Beatitude, the general statement in 10 and then the amplification of that in 11 and 12.
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Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
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Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great. For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
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Before we go any farther, let's bow together in prayer. God would you bless the preaching of this word.
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Who is adequate for these things? Who is sufficient to be a preacher and to be a mouthpiece for you?
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Yet Lord, we would agree that you have ordained preaching and we would ask that you would help us to grow.
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That you would help us to think properly when we are persecuted. That you'd help us to think of Jesus Christ, the one who never failed to act righteously when he was persecuted.
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And Father, we'd ask that as we learn about you and your word, that you'd conform us to the image of Christ Jesus as you have promised in your word.
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So be it, in Jesus' name, amen. Here there's a strange blessing for persecution.
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God says I approve that kind of attitude that when you're persecuted for my sake,
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I commend that. Physical persecution, mental, with words.
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You see there in verse 11 with insults, people say things to your face. People say things behind your back, falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
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They revile people for Christ's sake, they reproach people for Christ's sake. And Jesus said, that's a blessing.
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He said in Luke 6 .22, blessed are you when men hate you and ostracize you and insult you and scorn your name as evil for the sake of the son of man.
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And the supernatural response is in verse 12 as we saw last week. How do we respond? Bitterness, complaining, downcast, rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great.
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For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Calvin used to say, persecutions are the seal of your adoption to Christ Jesus.
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The converted jailer and his entire household in Acts 16 .34, does this ring a bell?
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And he brought them into his house and set food before them and rejoiced greatly having believed in God with his whole household.
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Lutheran commentator Lenski said, the wounds and hurts are medals of honor. They attest that we belong to Christ and not the world.
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He was asking me last week, well then how can we rejoice and be glad? That's almost a supernatural thing, is it?
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Is it supernatural to say, I'm going to be persecuted and I respond with gladness? With joy?
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Absolutely supernatural. That's why Galatians 5 says, the fruit of the spirit is love. What's the second one? Joy. God commands us to have joy, yet we know it's only the spirit of God supplying that.
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It's worth it. Your reward in heaven is great. You're in a long line of noble followers, sufferers, in good company.
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And there was a man who heard the sermon that I don't think ever forgot about the sermon and his name was Peter. And if you'll turn the Bible that you have in front of you to 1
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Peter, I'm going to spend some time looking at the book of 1 Peter because the
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Sermon on the Mount seeps into 1 Peter. It flows into it.
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I don't think Peter ever forgot what Jesus taught. And he's even written, Peter, a whole book about suffering.
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This is almost an amplification of the beatitude of suffering and persecution.
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As a matter of fact, if you look at 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 14, you'll see that, and it's going to sound exactly like Jesus.
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Certainly, the Holy Spirit is the author of all scripture. But here in a way that shows even
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Peter and his connection to Jesus, there's a good summary of 1
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Peter. It's a good summary of the eighth beatitude we've looked at in Matthew. 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 14, but even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are what?
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You don't even have to read 1 Peter. You already know that. You're blessed if you suffer for Christ's sake. For the rest of the time this morning,
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I want to give you several reminders, several charges so that you think about God properly when you're in a trial.
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I could put it this way. If you had to meet William the night before he was burned, what would you tell him? Let me give you some charges for what you would say to him.
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And here's going to be the good news. Whether your trial is, I'm going to be killed for Christ's sake, or any other trial, these charges, these exhortations will work.
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They'll be beneficial. Thinking properly about trials, suffering, and persecution is crucial, and so let me give you several charges to think properly, helpful exhortations.
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When you're in a trial, you're suffering, are persecuted, you'll think properly. Charge number one, when you're persecuted, would you think about the sovereignty of God?
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When you're persecuted, or anything less than trials or suffering, remember the sovereignty of God.
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Now 1 Peter's written about suffering. It's written with an eye toward senior Savior Christ Jesus who submitted himself to God the
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Father and suffered. 1555, flashback, it's
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March 25th, we go to William, and here's what we tell William. I want to encourage you, William. I know you're going to die tomorrow.
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I know you're not going to recant. And let me tell you the first thing that's going to encourage you about the situation and about God.
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What would you tell him? Everything's going to be okay, hope it'll turn out all right, maybe he'll get off the hook.
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Don't recant. What would you tell that young man? 19, you've got a whole life ahead of you.
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Other people have recanted and then secretly been believers, it's okay, we'd understand. How about this?
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When Peter writes to the Christians who are scattered, suffering, huddled in little corners because they knew they were going to be the next to be killed by Nero, literally, what was the first thing
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Peter told them? I don't think this way. I would imagine you don't think this way.
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You have to tell someone, I know you're suffering, and I want to remind you about something. What's the first thing Peter reminds them about?
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Hint, it's doctrine. What would you remind someone of before they were going through any trial?
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You say, I want to know, Mike. Tell me. I know I'm trying to build it up. Not because it needs any buildup, but we don't think this way.
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We don't think, okay, somebody's going to die tomorrow for the faith, how do I encourage them, then let me do what
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Peter does. We just don't think that way. But I want us to think that way, and this is the $64 ,000 question.
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At least in my day it was $32 ,000, then the show went to $64 ,000, and now it'd probably have to be a $64 million question.
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What do you tell someone who is hurting and suffering, and this book, 1
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Peter, is written to that kind of group? What's the first thing you tell them?
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How about this? You are elect. Is that what you tell somebody?
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Well, we don't want to talk about election, because election's one of those things where, you know, as people grow in Christ, we'll tell them later.
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It's kind of a divisive thing, you know, election and predestination, and we'll tell them later.
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We don't want to cause any kind of division in the church or anything like that. Peter, from the get -go, says, you know how
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I can encourage you? You are chosen. It is absolutely amazing.
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Look at 1 Peter 1, verse 1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus, the
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Messiah, Christ, to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout
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Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen.
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I'm going to get your eyes right on God, Peter says. Yes, you're going to die for your faith.
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Yes, you've already been persecuted for your faith. But what you need, scattered people and saints, is you need a good fixation on the greatness and majesty and sovereignty of God.
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That's what you need. It's absolutely amazing to think about.
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God is sovereign. God has elected you in eternity past.
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Before He made the world, before He made Nero king, before He made any of these things, and He has said, in eternity past,
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I've set my love on you. So do you think now something in time can interrupt that love for you?
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Do you think persecutions in time can undo what I have done before time began?
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If God has set His love on you in eternity past, do you think some man who might be powerful on earth,
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Nero, but who is moved any way the king of the universe, God, moves his heart?
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He starts off right from the get -go, you are sovereign. Why would
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He do that? By the way, I think most of these people, if you do your study, can't even read.
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Your literacy rates were super high. And here He says from the get -go, let me tell you something doctrinal, because doctrine is important and doctrine is crucial.
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You are chosen. You're elect. The word means picked out.
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The word means selected. Here's a bunch of apples, and I pick out four. I pick those.
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How would you encourage a suffering church? He said, you're chosen, chosen by God for salvation. As God chooses
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Israel out of all the nations, not because they were bigger or wiser or greater, but He picked them because He loved to pick them.
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God says, I have no other reason except I love you and I choose to pick you. You say, well, then He didn't pick others.
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Don't ever forget, on a side note, conversation. He didn't have to pick anybody and He still would have been just, right?
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But He chose some, and He said, out of you some, do you think I've loved you in eternity past and I don't love you now?
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You say, well, God just looked down the corridors of time, and He saw what they would do, He saw that they would believe, and He said, well, therefore,
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I'll pick you, because look it, right there, it says it in verse 2. Mike, you should just practice what you preach and read 1 Peter 1 -2.
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According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, He knew ahead of time, therefore, that's how He chose.
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Friends, number one, it is very important not to think of the word foreknowledge as knowing ahead of time, when that's not how the word is used.
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Let me prove it. Go down to verse 20, if you would, please, in 1 Peter 1 -20.
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The exact same word is used. Of Christ, by God the
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Father, before all of creation. And do you mean to tell me, 1 Peter 1 -20, is
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God the Father knowing the Son ahead of time? Looking down the corridors of time to know the
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Son? Verse 20 of 1 Peter 1, for He was foreknown, Jesus, before the foundation of the world.
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You mean to tell me that He knew His Son ahead of time? By the way, foreknowledge in Romans 8 and in 1
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Peter 1, both times is not used of knowing ahead of time what people will do.
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Oh, they believe, therefore, I foreknew them. No, it is used in this way. Not foreknowing what people do or think or believe, but it's used of foreknowing what?
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It's used of knowing the people. This is just Old Testament language, to love them ahead of time.
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To focus His attention ahead of time. A predetermined choice to love. To forelove.
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God foreknows them. Not the actions, but them. This is Hebrew thought.
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Here's how several commentators would translate this, and I just revel in this that God knows this about me.
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Those on whom His eyes are fixed from all eternity with love, whom He eternally contemplated and discerned as His.
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Stifler, He took note of them. Forrester, carries with it the idea of fellowship or approval.
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Griffith Thomas, God fixed His regard on them, noted them with favor.
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Haldane, the great commentator of Romans, He before loved or acknowledged. Barnes, God's choice is part of His predetermined plan and is not based on any merits in those who are elected, but solely on His grace and love for them before creation.
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And lastly, Wiest, have in regard for, are centering one's attention on. Suffering church, persecuted church, let me remind you that God has loved you and known you from eternity past, and He's not going to stop.
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It's all about God, think about God. Look at verse 3 of 1 Peter 1. It's all there too.
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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He can't contain Himself. We're chosen.
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We're blessed for what reason? According to His great mercy. It was God's favor.
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We have no right to claim this favor of God. He owes us and has caused us to be born again.
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He has begotten us. He births us. When little Laurita was born, Laurita was born
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Sunday night at 6 .31 p .m. Is that close? Okay. Her new birth was something that was caused, not by herself.
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The metaphor and the language of to be born again is good language. Because when we're born again, it's something that God does to us.
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It's His mercy and we are recipients of that. We are not initiators. We are passive. We are not active.
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By the way, I'll talk about it tonight in the sermon. You must be born again. Is that statement biblically true or false?
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You must be born again. How many times is it said? A thousand dollar question today.
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Is it an imperative or a command? Either way you answer, you're wrong. Is it an imperative or is it a statement of fact?
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Is it a command or is it an indicative? Do you know you must be born again is not a command? How can it be a command?
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Because you can't do it. It's a statement of fact. You must be born again. But He's not saying you yourselves make yourself born again.
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But you must be born again. Here, people, you're suffering. You're going through trials. Any kind of thing.
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The text in 1 Peter, certainly Matthew text in chapter 5 verses 10 through 12, is about persecution for righteousness sake.
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But these same principles apply for any trial you're in. God is sovereign. And even though your situation somehow makes you think
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He might not be, you go back to eternity past and say, but He's loved me. He's given mercy to me.
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He's given grace to me. He's made me born again. So now He's going to stop loving me now?
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And Peter just pours it on. It's all about God. When you're in a trial, you need to get your eyes off your own trials and exalt it up into the heavens.
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Unto a lively hope He causes to be born again, to a living hope. Not a hope so, not a maybe so, but a living hope to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
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And what do we get even though we suffer now? To obtain an inheritance. What kind of inheritance would those people receive back in those days?
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No inheritance because they're scattered all around. They've moved. They're running. When you have to run for your lives, what do you bring?
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As much as you can carry and that's it. They have no inheritance. They have nothing. Their inheritance was back there in Jerusalem, and now they're scattered in Athenia and Cappadocia, and they're just running.
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What's your inheritance? Well, if the God of the universe loves you, there's a great inheritance. And if you take a look at the passage, it is imperishable.
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It is undefiled, will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.
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Perfect tense, by the way, for the Greek scholars out there. It means it is reserved and it's always reserved.
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It starts with reservation here and it continues on and on and on, always reserved in heaven for you.
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You're persecuted for Christ's sake. You remember the sovereignty of God who has promised you inheritance.
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Verse 5, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
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Shielded, literally, is the word protected. It's a military term. To hem in, to protect, to mount as a guard, as a sentinel.
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And so what's the response? If God loves you in eternity past, what's your response? Verse 6, this is just like the language of the beatitude.
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In this you greatly what? Complain. How could you, God? The day
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I repented, I was in this for the health, wealth, gospel, and I'm here for what I get.
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In this you greatly rejoice. Even though now for a little while in comparison, if necessary, it is necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, first season, so that the proof, verse 7 of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to the result in, now get this, praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
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When you're in suffering, you tend to think this because I do the same thing and I've never really been persecuted that much for righteousness sake, not up to the point of William dying at the stake.
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Just all been minor. It's not about me. Newsflash, Christianity, it's not about you.
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How's that? It's not about us at all. But God, the great triune
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God, God the Father, Son, and the Spirit, gets great glory and honor as His people suffer and still sing
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His praises. Do you believe that? How would you like to be Job? Well, I'd like to be
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Job now, he's in heaven. Job didn't even have the book of Job to know what was going on.
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He didn't know there was an object lesson. It'd be one thing to be told. You're going to be used as an object lesson and Satan is going to try to sift you, but I'll prevent him from killing you, but he can do everything else including all your children.
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And this is all to show that when God saves a man, when God grants faith that saves, that man will honor
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Him. Maybe not perfectly, but he will honor Him. And Job didn't even know. He didn't know what was going on.
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When we suffer, the issue is not about, look what's happening to us, but look as a reflector, we are showing the glory of God as we say,
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I can rejoice. Who do you know that's an unbeliever that can rejoice when they're suffering? Nobody.
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It's fake. By the way, when
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Peter was told by Jesus in John 21, by the way, I'm going to tell you what kind of death you're going to die.
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Remember he signified what death he would die and you're going to have your hands stretched out, someone's going to gird you and they're going to bring you where you don't want to go.
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How do you think Peter felt by that? About that? I think he was happy.
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I think he was rejoicing. You think, who are you? What do you mean? Peter heard from God himself after Peter had just denied
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Jesus on several occasions. Now Jesus says, you know what? You are going to suffer and you are going to die and you are going to be persecuted for my sake and by the way, you'll make it.
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You're going to make it. You won't deny me again.
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And it says in verse 8 of 1 Peter, And though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not see him now, but believe in him, you greatly will rejoice with joy inexpressible.
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That's just language similar to Matthew 5. And full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
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It's all about the sovereignty of God. You're chosen. You're made born again. You have a living hope.
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I like in 1 Thessalonians 3, verse 3, it says, So that no one would be disturbed about these afflictions.
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For you yourselves, Thessalonican church, know that we, Paul and others, have been destined for this.
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We are destined to suffer trials. Destined. As God predestines believers,
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He also destines them to serve while they suffer. God is sovereign and He has declared, even through Paul and Barnabas, through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.
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God is in the heavens and He does whatsoever He, what? Pleases. My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure.
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Isaiah 46 .10 God is in charge. You think God fell off the throne when
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William was in jail? When Bloody Mary took over? You think He just kind of thought,
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Whoops, I'm just over here juggling all these other issues in Mesopotamia and I forgot about that. I love the titles of sovereignty in the
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Scripture. Lord, Most High, King, Sovereign, Almighty.
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You think about the images. The times are in His hands. He sits on a throne.
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He has a reign. He has a dominion. He has a rule. He has a decree. He ordains. He commands.
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He appoints. He establishes. He chooses. He foreordains. And, for the second newsflash of the day,
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God is not worried. And if God's not worried,
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I don't know why we would be. God is the only blessed and sovereign, as Paul says in 1
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Timothy chapter 6. He is not sweating, wringing His hands, biting
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His nails. I'm restraining myself about comments.
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Nail biters. He's happy. He's content. He's fulfilled.
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One man said, When used in reference to God, the word blessed describes His lack of unhappiness, frustration, and anxiety.
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He is content, satisfied, at peace, fulfilled, and perfectly joyful. While some things please
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Him and other things do not, nothing alters His heavenly contentment. He controls everything to His own joyous ends.
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It's about God's honor and praise, not about us. And I could say, whether it's your job, lack thereof, your health, lack thereof, et cetera, et cetera,
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God is sovereign. And your supernatural response is joy. If God is sovereign over this, should we be surprised that suffering has to occur?
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No. Look at chapter 4, if you would, of 1 Peter. God has ordained suffering.
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Jesus has suffered. The suffering servant Jesus has servants who suffer. We should not be surprised when we suffer.
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Our response should be joy, and gladness, and prayer, and other things, but it should not be, What is going on?
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This is foreign. This is strange. I don't understand this. I can't believe this just happened to me.
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What does 1 Peter 4 .12 do? It gives us a verse so we can override our feelings that have the tendency to say what?
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Beloved, let me just hear the pastor in him, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you.
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That was a literal fire for many of them, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you.
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It's not strange. It's part of the test. Remember Jesus' words, through his apostolic ministers, and indeed all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
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For everyone who hates evil, hates the light, and does not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed, John 3 .20,
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the world hates righteousness. So look at verse 6 of 1
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Peter 5. It shows us, as we just kind of take a look at 1
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Peter, here's a good response to the sovereignty of God. Here's what Peter, inspired by the
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Holy Spirit, said to these sufferers, humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he might exalt you at the proper time.
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Literally, allow yourselves to be humbled. Don't fight it. Don't quarrel.
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Don't buck the system. Don't think God's fallen off his throne. It's God's will.
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When Jonathan Edwards' wife died from a, excuse me, when Jonathan Edwards died from a smallpox vaccination, his wife said this,
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What shall I say? A holy and good God has covered us with a dark cloud. Oh, that we may kiss the rod and lay our hands on our mouths.
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The Lord has done it, but as my God lives and he has my heart, we are all given to God.
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Peter is calling for a voluntary acceptance of the circumstances, since God is sovereign.
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God is so sovereign, he could immediately deliver you from that situation, but he allowed it. And look at the expression there in verse 6, under the mighty hand of God.
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That's the Old Testament just coming, burning through. Deuteronomy 5 .15 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the
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Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty and an outstretched arm.
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God's got his arms there, and you're not under God's thumb, his arms are under you.
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This is submission, holy submission. There's a payday, it won't last forever, that he may exalt you at the proper time, until God sees best to release you or send you to heaven.
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What a person who is suffering for Christ needs to hear is that God is sovereign.
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Secondly, what does a person need to hear is that God loves them. To think about the sovereignty of God, number one.
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To think about the love of God, number two. Because it kind of doesn't feel like you're being loved by God when you're in persecution, or suffering, or a trial.
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Charles Spurgeon said, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you find yourself, divine love would have placed you there.
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That will turn your life upside down. That will get you to think properly. Had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you find yourself, divine love would have placed you there.
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God loves his people. If he loved them in eternity past, he loves them now. He's not fickle, he doesn't fall out of love, he doesn't break up.
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When he falls out of love with you and you're crushed, God's love is not that way at all. If you look at verse 7 of 1
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Peter chapter 5, following the passage of the sovereignty of God in verse 6, casting all your anxiety upon him because he cares for you.
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That's wild too. It doesn't seem like he cares because I just lost my father to the lions.
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It doesn't seem like he cares because one of my daughters didn't make it and she's been tarred by Nero and lit and put on a stake.
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It doesn't seem like it. Casting all your anxiety upon him because he cares for you. Cares, present tense.
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He literally keeps on caring all the time. He doesn't stop caring. He cares and he cares and he cares.
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If you're in Christ, he loves his son perfectly all the time. He loves you too. God is not far away in suffering.
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He's not a stoic. He didn't wind up the universe and say, well, it's just not kind of working out too well but it will win in the end.
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No, God's care is steadfast and unfailing for his people. This one convicted me this week.
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A man named Keithley said this. Anxiety is a self -contradiction to true humility.
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Anxiety is a self -contradiction to true humility. Unbelief is, in a sense, an exalting of self against God in that one is depending upon self and failing to trust
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God. Why worry, therefore, if we are his concern? He is more concerned about our welfare than we could possibly be.
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So all the anxiety, 1 Peter 5, 7 says, goes on him. We weren't meant to carry anxiety.
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We can't carry anxiety. And as the word shows that they threw their garments on the colt, we throw our anxieties on the
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Lord. Almost right from the psalm. Cast your burden upon the
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Lord and he will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. Casting all your anxiety.
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Just keep a little bit. Is that what it says? The whole of your care. All of it. That's anxiety and that's a concern.
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That's good worries and bad worries. If you turn over to Romans chapter 8, a very famous passage, but you might not know it has something about suffering in here.
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And let's continue talking about how God loves us. Can suffering present God from loving us?
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Can it undo the eternal decree of God as he has chosen us, as the Son has died for us, the
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Spirit has sealed us? Can anything separate us from that love? And you know the answer, but I just like to preach it because I know my heart needs it.
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We have a hands -on, close, familiar God. In verse 32 he talks about he gives us the greatest gift, his
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Son. He's going to also freely give us other things. And then in verse 35 with the trumpet he declares,
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Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Is there a contradiction between God's love for his people and suffering?
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I suffer, therefore there can't be any love for me? Because how could God let them suffer?
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Will bad circumstances show that God does not care for me? How can
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God love me and let this happen? Nothing shall separate us from the love of God.
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The word there means to split. The word there means to divorce. The word there means to take a space and another space and make a space in between it.
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It can't be separated, it can't be divided. And aren't you glad? I'm almost going to turn to Southern Baptists for a second.
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For the glory of God, aren't you glad, beloved, that it doesn't talk about our love for God, it talks about God's love for?
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That's what it's talking about here, the love of Christ. It's not our love for Christ. How's your love for Christ today?
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Will it keep you close to God? That's why I like God -centered songs and that's why we try to sing most of those songs here.
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Because throughout the week, I don't love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. My relationship with God was determined by my love.
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I don't think I'd make it, would you? But here, what can separate us from God's love for us?
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That's the key. Our love, ebb and tide and waver and falter and flicker. It's weak.
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No, our love for God is not the issue, His love for us. What can separate God's eternal decree of love before all time and us?
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Well, let's throw out a few. Tribulation? External pressure? No. Distress?
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Internal pressure. It means to take a narrow space. You're put in a narrow space and it has to do with mental pressure.
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Same word for stenosis we get of the arteries, this narrowness of place. Anguish?
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How about persecution? Well, we know that. We've just been talking about it. Famine? How about those people in 1
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Peter running up there and around and having no food? Deprivation of food.
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Nakedness? No clothing. Destitute would be a good metaphor for that.
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Peril? Any kind of danger? How about a sword? How about an assassin's sword? Violent death is the metaphor.
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God's love doesn't change. Princeton theologian Charles Hodge said, it is no ground of confidence to assert or even to feel that we will never forsake
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Christ. But it is the strongest ground of assurance to be convinced that His love will never change.
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Bloody Mary killed Cranmer. She killed Latimer. She killed Ridley. But could she kill the love of Christ for those three men?
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Why should we be surprised? Verse 36, quoted right out of Psalm 44 .22. Why is this put in here?
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I don't like this verse. I don't want it to be there. I like 35 -37. That's what
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I like. Just kind of go 35 -37. It's kind of like, I've got the Bible that's for me.
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It's kind of like the latest Vision New England thing for ladies. And the title says, Are you tired of hand -me -down revelation?
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God speaks to you personally and privately. This old stuffy Bible, who wants that? We need special teaching.
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Well, there's another thing going around, too. You've got to interpret your dreams as a Christian. Well, if I was a
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Christian, and I wanted to interpret my dreams, my dream would be, get rid of 36. I have a dream.
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Get rid of 36. I don't want 36 in there. The error with that whole dream thing, by the way, is
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God has spoken through dreams in time past. But He doesn't do it today, and His Word is sufficient today.
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And actually, thankfully, as I was being hyperbolic, I'm glad 36 is in here.
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Because it makes all the sense in the world. Why do I need to be reassured of God's love for me when everything's going fine?
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But just as it is written, and just as it always stands written, God's people always undergo trials.
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For thy sake, we are being put to death all day long. Constantly, continually, all day long.
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We were to be considered as sheep to be slaughtered. The enemies just look at us, and they go, you know what?
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We kill sheep all the time. Sheep slit the throat, slit the throat, slit the throat, and you kill so many sheep, you don't even care anymore.
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You know, for us, we think, well, what about a dog? If we had to kill our dog, and, you know, the men in Endurance and Shackleton, they had to eat their dogs.
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And it was just so part of culture. Sheep just die all the time.
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And here, the Apostle is quoting Psalm 44 .22, saying this is descriptive of what happens to Christians.
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Christians may expect persecution and hatred, and there's nothing that can restrain it, but what can happen is you can remember who
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God is. God loves and cares for His people, verse 37. But in all these things, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
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God's people always undergo trials, but they're part of His plan, and it doesn't separate God's love. Matter of fact, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
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They don't separate us from the love of God by no means. We are preeminently, the Greek would say, conquerors.
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We have super invincibility. Like one old scholar, he said, we gain the victory.
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That is, we have not power to subdue us. They have not power to subdue us, to alienate our love and confidence, to produce apostasy.
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We are the victors, not they. And it's again through Him who loved us.
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It's not by ourselves. Then he just keeps going on, verse 38. For I'm convinced,
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I'm persuaded, I stand convinced, I'm firm about this, I have full and strong confidence.
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The Vulgate translates it, I am certain, unwavering trust, that neither death, and he lists ten things, life, good angels, bad angels, things present, things to come, time can't change
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His love, powers, maybe that's Satan and demons. Verse 39, height nor depth, whether you're thinking that is metaphorical, or you think it's solar system kind of thing, or you think astral religions, no matter what it is, no created thing, by the way, you are created, true or false.
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People say, well, I can separate myself from the love of God, because even though no one can snatch me out of Jesus' hand, the
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Father's hand, in John chapter 10, I can jump out myself. Well, here it is, no created thing.
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If you're a Christian, you can't even separate yourself from the love of God. By the way, if you could, you would, so would
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I. God is sovereign and God loves
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His people. Number three, the last thing you should say, and I have many more things to say about number two, but we're going to just have to skip right to the end.
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I usually preach with about 30 pages of notes, and today, just if you're checking, I've got about 53, so we're going to finish up.
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God's sovereign, God loves them, and number three, we would tell the persecuted, the suffering people, to remember the example of Christ Jesus.
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Back to 1 Peter chapter 2, please. We can't take our eyes off the Lord. 1 Peter chapter 2.
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If I were to meet a man who had to die the next day for his faith, I would say, God is a sovereign
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God, He's in control. God loves His people, and if you're in Christ, He loves you. And God has given us an example.
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I think the whole WWJD deal has been overblown, and I'm glad, like every other fad, it comes and then it goes just as fast as it got here, although a lot of people are rich for it.
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What would Jesus do? And so many times it's wrong, WWJD. I always like to come up with my own, W -W -J -A -T -Y -T -D.
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What would Jesus' apostles tell you to do? Because not everything Jesus does, you want to do.
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Talk to Satan. Fast. Cast out demons.
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Crucify. W -W -J -A -T -Y -T -D.
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What would Jesus' apostles tell you in His inscripturated word? That's kind of a good slogan.
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Let's get some T -shirts. But in this particular case, what would
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Jesus do is right, because in the epistle of 1 Peter, it tells us through the inspired message of the
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Holy Spirit through 1 Peter, this particular area of suffering, you be like Jesus.
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You follow His example, 1 Peter 2 .21. For you have been called for this purpose.
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There it is again. God's sovereignty has said, you are going to suffer. Why are we so surprised?
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Since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.
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The word example means to write under. I'm old enough to know what carbon paper is. So is
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Steve Nelson. And the carbon paper goes under. And for illustration,
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Jesus is the top sheet, and we're the bottom sheet. And as the awls of persecution are pushed down with pressure on Jesus, they go through underneath and make an imprint upon us.
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And when they make that imprint, we need to make sure we follow
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His steps. And what were His steps? They were prophetic. Verse 22 of 1
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Peter 2 is right from Isaiah 53. The suffering servant who committed no sin.
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We're not to sin when we suffer. Nor was any deceit found in His mouth. We weren't to say things that we ought not to.
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Satan the slanderer would love to get us to say things about, God doesn't care, and where's God, and who do you think you are, and how can you be a child of God?
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But Jesus, in verse 23, is an example for us. And while being reviled, He did not revile in return.
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He could have filleted them alive with His words. While suffering, He uttered no threats.
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He could have, when He's giving us an example. He could have said, it's a fearful thing to fall in the hands of a living
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God. But kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.
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There's the example. And if you look down a little bit farther in 1 Peter 4, verse 1, you see the same thing.
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Therefore, since Christ had suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because He who has suffered in the flesh has ceased to sin.
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And then a little farther in the same chapter, 1 Peter 4, verse 19, as Jesus entrusted Himself to the
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Father, do you think it makes sense then for Him to say in verse 19, Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.
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That's what we're to do. God, You're sovereign, and I know You could easily get me out of this, but You have ordained it.
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God, You love me because it's an eternity past. You're not going to have persecution separate me from the love of God.
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And I believe in Your Savior and Your Son, and You've made me born again. And also look to see how
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Christ did it. He suffered according to the will of God, and He didn't have to finagle. He didn't have to try to get out of it.
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He entrusted His soul to a faithful Creator. A man came to Tertullian one day with a problem.
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His business interests had been conflicting with his loyalty to Jesus Christ. He told
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Tertullian the problem, and he ended by saying, What can I do? I must live. And Tertullian said two words,
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Must you? As Peter says in 1
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Peter 4 .19, To entrust their souls to a faithful Creator, to commit themselves to God.
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It is so similar when Jesus says on the cross, I commit my soul to You, God.
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I commend myself to You, a faithful Creator. God's love and faithfulness and God's power to get them out as a
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Creator, powerful. Loving the persecutors.
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Praying for them. Blessing them. Never paying back evil to anyone.
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The suffering servant has servants who suffer. Did you notice the theme of today?
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You're in a trial. You're suffering. Our Matthew 5 .10 -12. You're persecuted for righteousness sake.
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Your thoughts should all be about God. Not the circumstances. Not your friends.
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Not what you deserve. Not questioning God. But they should all go back away from the problems down in your life up to this exalted
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God who is sovereign, who loves and who has given us an example. That's how we can respond to any trial.
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And the good news is other people have been before us. And they've been faithful to the very end. John Chrysostom, the great preacher in the 4th century, he preached against sin and they persecuted him.
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And Emperor Arcadius threatened him with banishment. Sir, you cannot banish me for my world is the
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Father's house. Then I'll slay you, Arcadius said. Nay, but you cannot for my life is hid with Christ in God.
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Your treasures will be confiscated. Sire, that cannot be either.
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My treasures are in heaven where none can break through and steal. Then I'll drive you from man. You'll have no friends left, he said in desperation finally.
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That you cannot do either. For I have a friend in heaven who have said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
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Banished first to Armenia and then on the way in the Black Sea before he reached his final banishment, dies.
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And God who is sovereign, loving and showing the example of how to suffer for his son's sake said your reward in heaven is great.
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Sometimes I can't imagine that I get to serve a God such as this. The great
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God of the universe who loves me with an everlasting love and who is sovereign over my life and who loves me more than I could love myself is my captain and my king.
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And I want by the Spirit's power in my life to respond with gratitude and submission.
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And I want you to as well. Let's pray. Father, we commend our souls to you now.
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We would recognize that you're sovereign even when we don't think circumstances show it.
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But just like in Genesis 37 to 50 in Joseph's life, everything's going according to your good pleasure.
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And Joseph maybe couldn't see it, but we can see it. You've given us the word. Thank you for that. Help us not to settle for anything less than the word which will help us to think properly.
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And Lord, who knows what persecution we might endure at this church. But we pray that you and your son would receive the honor and the praise and the glory because we would respond properly by your strength.