Jeff Durbin: You Will Have Trouble & He Has Overcome It

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If you would turn your Bibles to the gospel according to John my favorite gospel gospel according to John Chapter 16 starting in verse 29

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John 16 29 Here now the word of the living and the true

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God his disciples said ah Now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech

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Now we know That you know all things and do not need anyone to question you

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This is why we believe that you came from God Jesus answered them.

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Do you now believe? Behold the hour is coming Indeed, it has come when you'll be scattered each to his own home and Will leave me alone

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Yet, I am not alone For the Father is with me. I Have said these things to you that in me you may have peace in the world

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You will have tribulation But take hearts. I have overcome the world thus far as the reading of God's holy and inspired wordless praises people

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Lord Jesus You tell the truth you are the truth and Here in this section of Scripture you've given us such an amazing promise

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You've called us To peace you speak peace over your people

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And you tell the truth about this world that we will have trouble and You have asked us to take heart

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Because you have overcome it And so Lord, you know again our frame

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You are the sovereign God You do according to your will Among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth

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No one can thwart your purposes Lord you are God and we're not

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And so Lord, you know all of our brokenness our fears our hurts

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And so I pray that you would speak today to your church through your word bless us With the peace that you want us to have

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Because you've overcome the world Let these not be the words

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Of just a mere man, but the words of God that proceed from this pulpit today Speak to your church today

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God in Jesus name. Amen So john 16 yes, clearly

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Jesus is speaking to his disciples About what they're about to endure what they're going through but within this moment between Jesus and the disciples

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Jesus Speaks peace over them He promises them the trouble that's ahead of them and of course

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This applies to the people of God. That's the nature of this world. It's a fallen world. There's brokenness We're all going to face it we're all going to endure it and Jesus tells the truth

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He's not a salesman He's not giving a pitch to come follow him. As a matter of fact, you are well aware of this as a body

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To Jesus that we see actually if we read the pages of scripture. It's a Jesus who turns people away from him

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He tells large crowds like a mega church building. He tells them to turn away He says things to them that are so hard that he cuts them off and they walk away because Jesus Is the truth he's looking for those who love him truly

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He's not looking for false converts mere professions of faith. And so Jesus tells the truth In his ministry, he turns people away from him.

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He says the hard things He says the cutting things and in a moment like this with his people he speaks peace over them

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He wants them to experience the peace That God calls us to and he tells them in this world

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You will have trouble And he says but be of good cheer He wants our hearts to be encouraged.

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He wants us to be filled with joy. He says I have overcome the world That's what he speaks to us and it's right on the tail end of all the promises of the spirit of God being poured out

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He's telling his followers that he's going And he says the spirit of truth is going to come he will guide you into a truth

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He's going to convict the world of sin and righteousness. He will be in you And so he's encouraging his followers.

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I'm going to go i'm going to depart but I will not leave you he says as orphans I'm not going to leave you as orphans

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God's going to be in you And in this moment here, he tells his disciples.

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He says That he wants them to have peace In the midst of I promise you trouble

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Because i've overcome the world And then this shifts right into if you haven't read it make sure you do before the end of the night

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It shifts right into john 17 and that amazing high priestly prayer that prayer that jesus prays

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If you know him, he's praying to the father on your behalf about you

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If you love jesus that prayer is a prayer that jesus is praying for his people intimately on your behalf but it's

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It's interesting because this is you know where it's on the story this is before the betrayal the abandonment the abuse the torture the brutalization the murder of jesus

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And they had this promise. I want you to have peace You will have trouble

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I promise you you're not going to miss it, but I have overcome the world be of good cheer take heart

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That's what jesus says to his people and maybe the reason people fall into apostasy

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Maybe the reason so many false professions of faith are finally revealed

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Is because we're not actually reading and understanding and listening to The actual son of god in the pages of holy scripture.

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We think coming to jesus Means that what we've accomplished this big thing now. I have eternal life and forgiveness.

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God loves me And so that must mean that things are going to go well for me so much perverse theology

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Is has infected the west So much is wrong behind the pulpit in terms of how we're selling jesus

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We're selling the christian life If you would just come to jesus all is well for you If you just come to jesus, you'll be happy healthy and rich and wealthy all is going to go well for you

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That's not the message of jesus He actually tells you the opposite. He inverts that you will have trouble.

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You're going to have trouble tribulation in your job with your health in your life in your church

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You're going to have trouble and culture all around you in society You're going to have trouble and jesus doesn't say you're not going to have trouble or ignore the trouble

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He says you will have tribulation But his promise is this be of good cheer

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I Have overcome the world That's the foundation and so jesus speaks to you as his child.

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Do you know him? Do you know him? Do you love him? Do you belong to him? He says to you peace

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You're going to have trouble He's lying to you and he says but be of good cheer. I have overcome the worlds

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That's his promise to his people he has the integrity and the honesty not to sell you something not to lie to you

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Not to over promise and under deliver. Jesus tells you you will have trouble but he speaks peace and he says because He has overcome the world and you might be thinking as you're listening right now to this message from this pulpit about jesus and peace and overcoming the world might be thinking yes, but I'm poor

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I Could barely pay my bills. I'm poor I'm struggling to find a way to feed my family or feed myself.

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I'm poor Maybe you're facing down homelessness. Maybe you're living out of your car right now

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You might be seeing saying yes, he's overcome the world, but i'm hurting I'm, actually hurting

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You might be saying yeah, I know he's overcome the world, but i'm devastated I'm devastated.

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You don't know what i'm going through right now. I am devastated. You don't know my life. You don't know my plights

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Yes, but i'm alone I feel like god's not listening I feel like he's abandoned me.

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I feel like i'm in a pit I feel like god doesn't love me. I feel like he doesn't care you might be saying

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Yes overcome the world, but i'm depressed. How can I? Love jesus know jesus.

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How can I actually have a relationship with god? And be in this darkness that I constantly feel in my life.

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I'm depressed Or you might be saying yeah, he's overcoming the world, but i'm dying

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You don't know the diagnosis that I just got You don't know the lump that I just found You don't know what the doctor just told me

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He's overcoming the world, but i'm dying Or he's overcoming the world yes, but i'm completely confused

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I I don't see how god Can cause all things to work together for me When my marriage is the way that it is right now

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I don't see how god is causing all things to work together for good When you look at my checking accounts where you know what's happening in my life.

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I'm confused. It feels like god Hates me Hates me Yeah, he's overcome the world but They're lying about me

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You don't know about these people who seem to have it out for me. They hate my soul. They're lying about me

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Every day, I wake up to new slander to new gossip. They're lying about me

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Yeah, he's overcome the world But i've lost everything Or yeah, he's overcome the world, but i'm so afraid

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I'm afraid constantly. I'm anxious every day. I'm fearful of the future

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And he says over all of that Peace Peace You see when you first face this down this problem of trouble this problem of tribulation

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You have to start with the foundation first and foremost because yeah, all those things are true People are poor people are hurting people are devastated people are alone.

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They're depressed. They're dying. They're confused all of this is true But when you want to face this down and actually experience the peace that god gives

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And he wants you to have you want to experience the encouragement in your heart of jesus overcoming the world you have to face this down seriously and critically the problem of trouble in the world

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Philosophers call this the problem of evil You have sophisticated ways to speak, you know speak about this the odyssey and the problem of evil

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And if god is all good and all powerful, why there's why is there evil in the world? You have to start this conversation of tribulation and trouble addressing the problem of evil

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Let me just do it quickly right now In your trouble in your tribulation right now in your pain that I don't want to minimize

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I want you to embrace it right now. I want you to embrace it the confusion

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The tribulation the pain the hurt The fear embrace it and i'll address it right now the problem of tribulation the problem of trouble or the problem of evil

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Here's my quick answer and you have to embrace it if you want the path to peace There is no problem of evil without jesus

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There is no problem of evil without jesus your pain Your suffering your misery is only meaningful

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It's only meaningful and it only has purpose if jesus is who he claimed to be

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Now stop there for a moment because I know That in a room this size and with people listening to this message all around the world right now

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I know that you could probably throw some Devastatingly evil things at me that you've experienced

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Maybe it was physical abuse Sexual abuse emotional abuse

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Loss Your health brokenness. I understand I'm asking you to embrace it

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I'm, not asking you to hide from it or run from it. I'm asking you to face it down like jesus says you will have trouble

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Embrace it and understand something that that only has meaning And value to it if jesus is who he claimed to be because if you and I are cosmic accidents

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Then there is no real trouble That's not how it's defined It's just stuff bumping into one another stop crying

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Stop complaining Stop bickering. You're in a cosmically indifferent universe. So what?

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now If you know The reality of your pain, you know that that is not true

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You know, you feel you sense it. That is not true This is real pain that was real evil done to me

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And so what i'm going to say is now you've stood on the foundation where all of that matters Jesus You are in the image of god

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There is an absolute standard of good god's own character. There is real evil and sin in this world.

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This world really is broken When you feel the weight of evil and tribulation and trouble in your life

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It's right to say this is truly not the way that it ought to be It truly is wrong it truly is evil

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So here's the answer to tribulation and trouble in the world whereas some people experience it and they flee from christ

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They descend into an abyss a pit of meaninglessness Whereas i'm calling you in christ to peace

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To the one who overcomes the world and promises you that tribulation and says to you that there's meaning in it in him

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Flee to christ in the midst of the tribulation and the trouble he speaks peace over the tribulation he does

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You know, I I some i've mentioned before some of you are familiar that when we first planted apology a church

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We were sent from another church where I was the shepherd I was the pastor they laid hands on me

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We sort of stepped off into what felt like an abyss like all right lord, we'll trust you you're clearly calling us to do this

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We'll do it But the the context that we were ministering in was a really really challenging context of people who were like at the worst

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Place of their life. You've heard me say many times people in half the church is in halfway houses. They lost their family.

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It's totally broken So pastor luke and I are ministering 24 hours a day

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Essentially going to scoop people off the street who fell back into their heroin addiction or whatever the case may be

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We were on call 24 hours a day And part of my day was dedicated to being actually at the hospital itself where I was also the full -time chaplain and I readily confess

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I readily confess those were some of the hardest years of my entire life On my family on me

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Luke's family in terms of poverty Barely making ends meet looking for coins

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And couch cushions to figure out how we're going to get dinner that night all while Sacrificing and pouring out and trying to chase people down and give them christ and disciple them

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And every day it would be the worst of the worst. It'd be a huge struggle and it was big moments of Glory to god and big moments of great heartache and I confess

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That there was a period of time while I was the chaplain at the hospital where every day I was just getting the worst

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It was like an onslaught of the worst the world has to offer I'm sitting in front of people face to face

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Who had just od'd Who had gone through the worst this world has to offer

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I heard stories that I could never ever repeat Over this pulpit truly stuff that I when

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I heard That it had happened to this person and it drove them to the drugs and alcohol addiction

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Stuff that I didn't even knew humans could do to one another now imagine Life is difficult

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It's challenging and all i'm getting every day is the worst of the worst the worst stories the worst situations

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And I went into a state of very serious depression and darkness I did

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This is where All of the apologetics arguments had to finally take root Within me that there is only meaning in jesus christ

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It's only truly evil if god is who he claims to be And I remember even leaving the hospital and before I went home

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I would stop in a parking lot and just sit and cry I remember we would have

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Leadership meetings as a church and some of the guys will tell you they were there for those We're in the middle of a pastor and deacon meeting and all of a sudden

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I just broke out in tears started sobbing and left the room And I had to come through a period myself where I really

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Embrace the reality of what jesus says right here In this verse so some of you guys may have even seen this week

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I posted about this particular verse and I said, I don't know what I would do without this promise from jesus And I meant it

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These are the words that healed my heart Healed my life And brought the reality of his promises into my life to be able to view

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All of the evil and trouble that I was in the midst of in a way that actually brought me peace

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And I could take comfort and courage He speaks peace over our tribulation

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He says because he has overcome it You see when you throw out all that I did a moment ago the list the poor the hurting

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The devastated the alone the depressed the dying the i'm confused they're lying about me.

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I've lost everything He speaks peace over it and says i've overcome i've overcome the world

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But more than that jesus actually is the one Who demonstrates his love for his people and not only speaking peace over them

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Not only pursuing them and dying for their sins victory over sin and death in their lives and in this world

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But jesus is the god the eternal god Who takes on flesh?

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You say to him in your tribulation jesus i'm poor How could you say you love me when i'm poor?

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Jesus is also the one that said foxes have holes the birds of the air have nests

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But the son of man has nowhere to lay his head He's the one who's not only overcome the world

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For your benefits for your salvation, but he's experienced all the tribulation and trouble that you and I have

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On levels that we could never even understand A magnitude we can never understand. So you say you're poor

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Let's think about the ministry of jesus. He's saying I don't have a home. I have nowhere to lay my head

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Why why are there miracles being performed with fishes and loaves?

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Why because this isn't a ministry that is just filled up with money no private jets

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No fleet of cadillacs black cadillacs, this is jesus Who is living in the midst of ministry with very little?

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And no place to lay his head You say but i've been betrayed i've been lied about Jesus speaks peace over you and he says i've overcome the world and more than that.

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Jesus is the one who is betrayed Betrayed Betrayed In a treacherous way by somebody who was close to him who was in the ministry with him for years plotted against jesus sold out for nothing for nothing

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Betrayed by somebody closest to him betrayed by his own people He came to his own and his own received him not his own people betrayed him his own people turned away from him

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So you say but jesus I have trouble I feel all this pain There are people who are lying about me and then jesus enters into that pain says i've overcome the world and on the way

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Of speaking peace to us and overcoming the world He was slandered

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Jesus is the righteous one He's the only one that could say in the midst of friends and enemies and family which of you accuses me of sin

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He's the blameless one. He's righteous His followers died gruesome deaths saying that he was god incarnate.

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He was the righteous one He was the perfect sacrifice and they knew his life and yet those on the outside Slandered him lied about him said he's a drunkard and a glutton

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They told stories they told tales about jesus You might say that yes i'm having trouble in tribulation.

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I don't know how I can have peace in the midst of that I have people who legitimately hate me

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And jesus speaks peace over you and he says i've overcome the world and on the way jesus was hated

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They tried to kill jesus For speaking the truth to them How many times can you remember where jesus is in the midst of a controversy?

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They're trying to trip him up They're trying to catch him in his words. They're trying to turn him over to the authorities or jesus says who he clearly is

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Before abraham was echo a me I am And what happens they pick up stones to kill him

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More than once he's hated You might be saying I don't know how

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I can have peace in the midst of all this legal trouble that i'm in right now And jesus speaks peace over us and he enters into our pain and jesus faces down Legal trouble on a magnitude.

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None of us will ever taste or understand jesus faced false accusations

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Malicious lying witnesses gathered to testify in court against him to say things that weren't true

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Jesus was tortured Jesus was physically assaulted You might be saying

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I don't know how god can love me I don't know how god is present in my life

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Because i've been physically assaulted people did things to my body They had no permission to do and it wasn't right to do

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I've had such injustice perpetrated upon me in my life. Where's god? Where's god?

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Receiving it into his own body himself So jesus says peace over us

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And jesus tells us in this world. You will have trouble but be of good cheer.

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I've overcome the world You might be saying as you hear this how jesus meets us in our pain and enters into this world of tribulation and trials

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You might be saying asking the question god Why? Why why the abandonment why the betrayal why do you feel so far off?

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You might be tempted at times in your life in the midst of so much pain and confusion and suffering and tribulation

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You might be tempted to say To god you don't understand how much this hurts

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Why are you doing this to me? You don't understand how much this hurts really

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Turn in your bibles to psalm 88 psalm 88 is uh

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It's uh, it's ugly so many psalms

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They're they're glorious right they're beautiful They talk about they swing from Great depravity great broken brokenness great loneliness and they'll swing to the character of god

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His goodness his faithfulness his everlasting love and so the psalm is something you enjoy singing because it just meets you

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Right where you're at and it's just this encouraging divine word from god that speaks to your pain and it

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Reminds you of who god actually is and so the psalm will swing from like darkness to light

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Psalm 22 is like that, right? It's the passion of jesus It tells about what the messiah is going to endure for this for his people for their salvation it goes from like Depravity and darkness and then it swings right back to and all the families of the earth will return to worship.

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Yahweh It goes from brokenness to glory Psalm 88 is not like that Now you might be thinking as As we're getting into this god, why?

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You don't understand how much this hurts me god, you don't understand my heart my pain and psalm 88

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Says this in verse 1. Oh lord god of my salvation. I cry out day and night before you

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Let my prayer come before you incline your ear to my cry For my soul is full of troubles

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My life draws near to sheol I am counted among those who go down to the pit.

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I'm a man who has no strength Like one set loose among the dead like the slain that lie in the grave

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Like those whom you remember no more For they are cut off from your hands You've put me in the depths of the pits in the regions dark and deep

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Your wrath lies heavy upon me and you overwhelm me with all your waves salah

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You have caused my companions to shun me You have made me a horror to them.

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I am Shut in so that I cannot escape my eye grows dim through sorrow every day

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I call upon you. Oh lord. I spread out my hands to you. Do you work wonders for the dead?

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Do the departed rise up to praise you? Is your steadfast love declared in the grave or your faithfulness in abaddon?

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Are your wonders known in the darkness or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But I oh lord cry to you in the morning.

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My prayer comes before you oh lord. Why? Do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?

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Afflicted and close to death from my youth up I suffer your terrors. I am helpless

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Your wrath has swept over me Your dreadful assaults destroy me they surround me like a flood all day long

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They close in on me together. You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me.

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My companions have become darkness And that's where it ends

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That's the psalm Psalm 88 what is it? It's just pain

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It's it's just pain it's just darkness it's just confusion like god, where are you? Well, are you gonna do something?

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Why are you so far off? What are you gonna do? I feel like you've destroyed my life you ever you've done all this to me god

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And the cry of the heart there is this cry of like god, I feel like you're not even listening I feel like you don't care

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I feel like you've put me here Is this some kind of a sick joke? Someone says

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I don't think god understands the cry of my heart and the pain that i'm in well Actually, he does

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And he gave you a song to sing about it He knows your heart and your pain better than you and then beyond that embrace this

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While you might have parts of this psalm That resonate with your hearts and your plight and your pain.

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It's true. That's what it's for Yes, you're going to read this at times in your life when you have tribulation as promised and your heart's going to connect to that You're supposed to cry out to god with this psalm and be honest with god about your feelings in your heart in the dark night of your soul

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It's true. Yes But here's the reality of this psalm this psalm though. It can be sung by you to a degree isn't really about you

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It's jesus who truly endured this This is christ's psalm

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It's his pain So you and I will say yeah, I feel that lord.

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This is where i'm at right now, and you're only Sensing and getting just a moment a blip a small amount

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Of what christ actually endured to overcome the world in your place to bring you to peace christ meets you in this pain but He speaks peace

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Because he says he's overcome Your trials and my trials

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No matter how painful According to jesus according to scripture Are not meaningless

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They are not Without purpose jesus says with all honesty and all integrity to his church

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Throughout all time and generations. He says are you ready? I want you to grab hold of it for when the day comes the dark night of the soul or the pain comes

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I want you to remember that as your brother. I reminded you of your the words of your savior

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Jesus said you will have trouble So don't be surprised when it comes because your savior told you you will have trouble you will have tribulation

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He says peace over it and here's why because i've overcome the worlds The peace that he brings is that in christ because of that cross

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Because of his work on your behalf You have an anchor in history that proves his love for you scripture

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Is replete with the references to you are the beloved you are loved by god loved by god loved by god

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You if you are in christ and I are loved by God and his love isn't like yours and mine fickle changing inconsistent good days bad days

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His love scripture says are you ready is an everlasting? love It's an eternal love

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That's why it's so good because it's not like you It's not like me. Yeah, it doesn't even seem possible at times to love you

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Or to love me You know your failures You know your face plants

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You know the evil within your heart and your minds, you know You've failed as a father and a husband and as a son

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A mother wife and a daughter, you know how you've failed you might be saying at times I don't know how god can love me or why he does and the answer from scripture is

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That he loves you He's called you a child You belong to him And so the peace that jesus speaks over us in the midst of our tribulations always

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Leads to the knowledge that we are loved by god And you'll be loved with an everlasting love that's never going to change

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He's gonna do you understand that he's gonna love you 10 billion years from now with the same

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Fierceness that he loves you with today He's not waiting to love you intensely

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He's not waiting to set his love on you. He loves you with an everlasting love and he demonstrates it in that cross

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You're loved by god The peace that jesus speaks over us and that he overcomes the world leads us to understand

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His promise is true That he'll never lose us He'll never lose us

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And he'll never forsake you Now maybe some of your pain

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Maybe some of your pain Is because of the failed relationships in your life

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Okay Maybe you've had a husband Abandon the covenant abandon the marriage abandon you or a wife

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Maybe you had a derelict father a horrible dad. I get it A father who abandoned his duty to you parents that abandoned their role in your life

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Maybe you know what it's like to have friends that you thought were the real deal You thought you had their heart and they have yours

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And this is going to be a friendship that lasts forever because I really know them they really know me we love one another and then there was betrayal and abandonment and then they

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Left you Maybe you feel that they're being forsaken by loved ones

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All right. Now take the weight of that pain understand it embrace it and know this that jesus says

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I will never forsake you And here's the truth about him that's different than you and I god cannot lie

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That that promise will never be broken It can't Because god cannot lie.

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And so jesus says to his people. I will never leave you I will never forsake you

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You'll never be lost That's the peace that covers us in the midst of our trials and tribulations is that jesus is there

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And we're in his hand. We're in the father's hands. We'll never let be let go He demonstrated his everlasting commitment to me in that cross

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How much does god love me? Look to the cross How much do

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I matter to god look to the cross? How committed is he to me for eternity look to the cross

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The peace that he speaks over me in his overcoming the world Also leads me to understand that he causes all things to work together for good.

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Yes, even your pain Yes, even in the promised tribulation He causes all things to work together for good

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He has overcome sin and death and the world and so he says peace over your tribulation be of good cheer

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Take heart I've overcome the world's Sin and death and the world have already been defeated by jesus.

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It's already done But you will have trouble You will have trouble it's something

36:57

I think we need to pay close attention to because it's in the text and I love that we have So much humanity in the midst of this divine revelation go if you would

37:05

To second corinthians chapter 11, this is from the apostle paul to the church in corinth a struggling church

37:12

Dealing with a lot of issues And the apostle paul Who is this incredible missionary?

37:20

For god's good news and the supremacy of jesus christ You're here today because of his labor by god and by his spirit.

37:28

Here's his experience He's not a salesman either He's not lying to anybody

37:36

He's telling the truth. That's how the christian faith comes truth No sales pitches.

37:42

No whitewashing of things. It's just the hard beautiful truth second corinthians chapter 11 verse 21

37:51

The apostle paul gives a bit of an insight as to what he's dealing with As a follower of jesus, there's no money in this

38:00

There's no fame in this His life is nothing but pain

38:06

It is nothing but heartache and here's what he says. He says this in second corinthians chapter 11 verse 21

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He says to my shame. I must say we were too weak for that But whatever anyone else dares to boast of I am speaking as a fool

38:19

I also dare to boast of that are they hebrews? So am I? Are they israelites?

38:25

So am I? Are they offspring of abraham? So am I are they servants of christ?

38:31

I'm a better one I'm talking like a madman with far greater labors far more imprisonments with countless beatings

38:42

And often near death Five times I received at the hands of the jews the 40 lashes less one

38:51

Three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned three times I was shipwrecked a night and a day.

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I was adrift at sea on frequent journeys in danger from rivers Danger from robbers danger from my own people danger from gentiles danger in the city danger in the wilderness danger at sea danger from false brothers in toil

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And hardship through many sleepless night in hunger and thirst often without food in cold and exposure

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And apart from other things there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches

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Who is weak and I am not weak who's made to fall and I am not indignant

39:35

How's that sound? You want to be a church planter? Right You want to be a church planter like all these uh churches today

39:45

Because of the blessings of the gospel the god is where we are today in this country you do like church planning conferences and church planter like You know

39:53

You're planning to to plant churches with churches and it always just seems so exciting and so fresh and everything's lights and music and happy it's like uh

40:02

Okay share something with you. So many years ago. Um, Uh, we were being asked if we'd be part of one of the largest baptist denominations

40:11

Globally second largest and a bunch of local pastors were like pastor.

40:16

Jeff. We'd love for you to be a part of it Um, and and we want to send you to this pastoral assessment thing

40:22

It's like a week long like it's like hell week for christians, right? It's a week long candy and I had to go and you just get beat

40:31

Up like beat beat up that whole week. It's like seven in the morning till night and by the end of the week

40:36

Uh, everyone's like in tears and crying and all the rest and uh out of the entire group.

40:42

There was 30 30 pastors being assessed Uh to the entire group that one week at the end of the week

40:48

I was the only one that was given approval the only one but I will tell you what was amazing Is that that walking in day one was the was the big plastic smiles, right?

40:58

The perfect marriage the perfect couple perfect pastor big old smile big old teeth and wife is just like the perfect woman

41:06

It's just smiling every smiling by like the end of that day They were fighting with each other teeth and claws coming out all the rest but it was like this it just felt like this atmosphere of like You know, we're gonna plant churches.

41:18

It's gonna be amazing Everyone's gonna love us and we're gonna be just so well received and it's like that's just not how faithful ministry goes

41:25

It is painful. It is hard. There are attacks There's difficulties coming from the outside.

41:31

There's difficulties on the inside False brethren like paul saying like i'm in danger constantly

41:37

I gotta deal with these fools over here trying to attack me and then fake christians and i'm constantly worried for the churches

41:47

Life is hard for paul. This isn't easy. This is who does this from a human perspective who chooses this awful life?

41:54

Who chooses it? all of this In his life a constant struggle.

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What did paul's body look like? He can't remember how many times he's been beaten

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Sometimes near death and he's been lashed Like 40 times less than one five times by the jews.

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What did paul's body look like honestly? What did he gain And so he's saying, you know these people over here these

42:25

These people these fakes these false teachers like what do they have? Look what

42:30

I have endured for the cause of christ, but I want you to see one more thing in second corinthians same book chapter 4

42:37

You see where his heart is. How does he endure this? in second corinthians chapter 4

42:45

Starting in verse 7. Look what he says. Here's the heart of paul. How do you take the beatings paul?

42:51

How do you deal with the false brethren? How do you deal with the apostasy? How do you deal with those attacking you in the church and outside the church?

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How do you deal with this paul says in 4 7? but we Have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to god and not to us

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We're afflicted in every way but not crushed Perplexed but not driven to despair

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Persecuted but not forsaken struck down but not destroyed Always carrying in the body the death of jesus so that the life of jesus may also be manifested in our bodies

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For we who live are always being given over to death for jesus sake

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So the life of jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us but life in you

43:42

Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what was has been written I believed And so I spoke we also believe and so we also speak knowing that he who raised the lord jesus will raise us

43:59

Also with jesus and bring us with you into his presence For it is all for your sake so that as grace extends to more and more people

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It may increase thanksgiving to the glory of god. So we do not lose heart

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Though our outer self is wasting away. Our inner self is being renewed day by day for this light momentary affliction

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Is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison

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As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen for the things that are seen are transient

44:40

But the things that are unseen are eternal. There is how paul can do it There's the peace jesus speaks over him

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He's overcome the world so the tribulation and the trials that paul is facing

44:57

That we will never touch. I don't believe we'll ever understand You see the hearts we don't look at the things that are seen but the things that are unseen these things are temporal

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These things are fading away. We have an eternal weight of glory and all of this all of it

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Is a light and momentary affliction He's going to raise you from the dead

45:21

You have eternal life with god never ending life A love that you will explore in god for all eternity.

45:30

He loves you He's saved you He's promised you eternal life

45:36

It's an eternal weight of glory. Whatever you're struggling with now, whatever betrayals whatever loneliness with utter despair

45:44

Anxiousness whatever health problems death disease decay, whatever the case may be paul says this to you ready light and momentary affliction

45:53

It's just a moment It's it's just a breath It's just a moment.

45:59

It's a vapor. It's here for a moment and then it's gone But you and I say to this

46:09

And our struggles our tribulation that jesus says peace over you you will have tribulation be of good cheer i've overcome the worlds

46:16

You say and admit you do admit you do I will in the midst of these trials we say

46:27

But I can't see it I can't see it

46:33

I know he says it but I can't see it. Of course you can't

46:42

You're a creature made from the dust if you're honest

46:49

You walk into rooms to get something and forget why you went in there to get it Or what it was you went to get

46:57

You can't hold even the smallest things together and you want to look up to the god of the universe and say to him

47:05

I can't see it It's his promises that are true not your feelings

47:11

And your interpretation of the circumstances It doesn't look like Jesus has overcome in my moments in my marriage

47:23

In my struggles in my pain with my health. It doesn't look like jesus has overcome and i'm going to say

47:29

Yeah, that's happened a lot in history It didn't look It didn't look right.

47:35

It didn't look right When god destroyed the world in noah's day

47:42

Think about that absolute overwhelming total destruction of everything

47:51

What we see today in natural disasters and things are just these little local momentary things

47:58

And they pass What happened in noah's day was absolute destruction

48:04

Of everything and you might have said to god in that moment. Uh, this doesn't look right

48:12

How are we going to over how are we going to overcome this? I don't know how we're going to recover from this kind of destruction

48:20

You might say it doesn't look like you've overcome god Because it didn't look right either

48:28

When god asked abraham to sacrifice his son Think about what that must have felt like.

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What do you mean sacrifice my son? What do you mean give him up? You're the one that promised him to me. You you are the one that said

48:40

That he's the son of the promise This is the son that I love. What are you? What are you doing? It didn't look right

48:48

But we know now what that was foreshadowing. It was christ who was going to be crucified on that mountain

48:54

That's where the lamb was going to be provided where god provided his own son the son of his love there It didn't look like it when joseph was in egypt

49:04

My brothers betrayed me lied to my dad said that i've been killed by an animal throw me in a pit

49:10

Sell me into slavery this wicked woman saying that I tried to rape her And now i'm in a dungeon for years

49:19

Joseph had the dark night of the soul for years. He must have had moments where he was like what is going

49:26

On how could you say you love me? Look at where i'm at It didn't look right until of course joseph

49:35

Is ruling essentially over egypt and saving many people's lives god preserved many people alive

49:41

Through that experience in this world. You will have trouble. I have overcome the world

49:47

He always overcomes it didn't look right when israel was in slavery to egypt bondage to egypt.

49:54

It didn't look like It didn't look right when israel was on the beach with nowhere to go with their enemies descending on them

50:02

Can you imagine that moment? Oh, yeah, we're out of slavery promised land they get to be now

50:08

They're sitting there and they're locked in on every side and here comes this most powerful mighty enemy and army

50:15

And it was really like oh great. So moses you bring us out here so we all can just die in this dirt

50:21

You're just gonna it'd be better to collect us here So we can all die together right now

50:27

It didn't look right when pharaoh is coming down To descend upon the people of god to destroy them

50:34

And then god parts the red sea and destroys their enemies behind them But in that sliver of the story, there's a moment where there's tribulation and the people of god think god's abandoned me

50:46

He's not here. He doesn't care his promises aren't true Everyone feels it in that moment

50:54

And god overcomes it And of course, it didn't look like god had overcome the world when jesus was crucified on that tree

51:04

Just consider you got to be honest with the text The disciples though they heard jesus constantly telling them

51:11

They didn't understand it Because they are moping around after the crucifixion after they saw him bloody and dead on a tree

51:19

They're moping around thinking that while all is lost I think he maybe wasn't really the messiah I guess this is all for naught

51:27

They thought it was over. It did not look like the overcoming of the worlds a bloody broken messiah

51:37

Dead does not look right But it was in that crucifixion that jesus was overcoming sin and death in the world

51:50

That's the meaning of that cross That's what scripture says.

51:55

Let me just say it almost never in this life. It almost never looks right

52:04

And jesus says you will have trouble But be of good cheer

52:10

He wants us to experience the peace. I have overcome the world It's always for his purposes.

52:17

It always has meaning He says peace Over your trial and tribulation.

52:24

He says peace over it Now might be tempted we might be tempted jesus says, okay,

52:32

I get it. He wants me to experience peace He says i'm gonna have trouble

52:39

But you know what? This is too much This is too much to ask of me.

52:45

God is too much It's too painful. Why? Why all the trouble all at once?

52:51

Why the financial difficulty? Why the pain? Why the abandonment? Why am I losing everything? How come my children are not trusting in you?

53:01

I did everything I could How come they've abandoned? How come this person? How come my wife left the faith?

53:08

It's too much I demand An answer now you might be tempted.

53:13

I confess i've been there before tempted to come to god and say god I want to have a bit of an interview with you

53:19

I want to I want to have you sit down for a minute god because I have some questions For you. I understand you've overcome.

53:25

I understand you're the sovereign But this is too much And I want to talk to you.

53:30

This has been done before Go to job job 38 in job

53:45

Job's lost everything Job's feeling the weight of this sinful world and the pain the loss his loved ones everything

53:58

He's covered in sores his life is covered in sores He's broken. He's a broken man

54:04

He has every reason humanly speaking to bicker at god to grumble to complain and to demand an answer

54:11

And so he does he comes into god's Face and says I want an answer I want to talk to you and so in chapter 38 of job verse 1 it says

54:22

Then the lord answered job out of the whirlwind and said Who is it that darkens counsel by words without knowledge dress for action like a man

54:32

I will question you And you make it known to me so basically

54:39

God comes to job was like all right Get yourself ready. Um, i'll answer your questions.

54:44

But first I have a few of my own I'm going to ask you some questions first and then we'll we'll get to yours

54:53

So God says to job in the midst of his pain. He says Where were you? When I laid the foundation of the earth

55:01

Tell me if you have understanding Who determines its measurements? Surely, you know

55:07

Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk or who laid its cornerstone?

55:14

When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of god shouted for joy

55:21

Or who shut in the sea with doors? When it burst out from the womb When I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band and prescribed limits for it and said bars and doors and said this

55:33

Thus far you shall you come and no farther And here shall your proud waves be stayed

55:41

In verse 22 it says have you entered the storehouses of the snow or have you seen the storehouses of the hail?

55:47

Which I have reserved for the time of trouble for the day of battle and war What is the way to the place where the light is distributed or the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

55:57

Who has cleft a channel for to the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolts? To bring rain on a land where no man is on the desert in which there is no man

56:08

Verse 34 can you lift up your voice to the clouds that a flood of waters may cover you

56:14

Can you send forth lightnings that they may go and say to you? Here we are

56:22

So this goes on and on this discussion where god's saying I have questions for you

56:29

And he just piles on All of the most powerful things of the creator himself.

56:36

We're talking to god. We're the creatures. Who are you? Who do you think you are to cry to god?

56:45

And complain to god when you're the creature And god's saying okay i'll condescend for a minute to ask you some questions.

56:54

Can you understand any of these things? Were you there? Did you see this?

56:59

Do you have this insight and understanding? And so of course job after this onslaught

57:07

In chapter 40 verse 3 then job answered the lord and said

57:14

Behold I'm of small account What shall

57:20

I answer you I lay my hand on my mouth He covers his mouth

57:27

I've spoken too soon I can't contend with the almighty.

57:33

I can't contend with you god You're right Who am

57:38

I? To pretend to understand your ways Who am I to question your decrees and your purposes

57:48

You're god And i'm not and you know maybe

57:54

The answer to some of our pain and our tribulations Is that we have to Be willing to be wrong as creatures

58:03

And just confess that we don't know we don't understand and we're talking to the all -powerful almighty god

58:09

And that we're the creatures and he's god and that I should trust his promises because i'm not reliable And if he says to me peace and he says to me you will have trouble but be of good cheer

58:21

I've overcome the world. I need to rest in his love and the comfort that that brings by believing in his promises

58:28

Maybe you want an interview With god I can promise you the result will always be the same

58:38

You'll cover your mouth And you'll say i've spoken too soon I can't contend with the almighty

58:48

The book of job is a powerful book and that's kind of the arc Basically pain pain pain tribulation pain loss pain pain pain

58:56

Bad answers bad theology terrible friends and then finally he's so he's so irked by it and he's so angry

59:04

He's like, all right god Get down here so I can talk to you and then god's like all right Just some questions for you for me to you first and then it ends with job going

59:11

That's the answer to the book. Shut your mouth. He's god. You're not That's my commentary.

59:16

By the way, i'm going to sell that with like a big publisher. It'll be one page hard copy So it looks good on a shelf.

59:23

It's just shut your mouth. You're not god Job commentary by sir, jeff durbin.

59:31

I don't know i'll make it look nice I'll make it look nice, but that's basically it you're the creature.

59:37

He's the creator shut up trust him Close your mouth and trust him

59:46

You see jesus and this is the final things I need to say to you. Jesus Says to me he says to you he says to his people he says peace shalom

01:00:00

Real peace Do you believe that he wants that for you? Maybe the reason you struggle so much is because you don't actually believe he wants that for you

01:00:13

Maybe the reason you don't experience it because you don't believe him But he says to his people peace

01:00:20

That's what he wants you to have peace not your anxiousness Peace not your fear peace

01:00:30

Not your depression peace He says you will have trouble

01:00:36

He's not lying to you you will have trouble you will have tribulation I promise But be of good cheer.

01:00:43

I have overcome the world. That's your anchor If I could say one thing to you as a brother,

01:00:50

I don't know all things i'm still growing in my walk with jesus, too if I could say One thing to you that's got to be the anchor for your soul and mine

01:00:57

Is our intimate relationship with jesus christ our savior Our knowledge of our eternal life and hope we have in him has to be the anchor for you from the moment you wake up To the moment you go to bed has to be what your heart leans on every single moment never losing sight of the fact

01:01:19

That you're loved by jesus christ and he gives you eternal life and you belong to him that has to be the anchor

01:01:24

That's where the peace comes from Because you will have trouble I've stood over the dying

01:01:33

And Dead bodies of close friends babies children and even my own mother

01:01:44

And I can still say jesus has overcome There was a moment.

01:01:53

Um This comes to like the realization of salvation and the peace that we have

01:02:03

I Told you to memorize it, please do death has the ability to focus the mind always

01:02:12

So You know fairly recently my mother went to be with the lord gave her the gospel. She came to christ truly came to christ last week of her life

01:02:22

Last couple days were really rough her lung collapsed um

01:02:27

She was in icu. They had to do a surgery It got worse and so she was sort of slowly dwindling

01:02:36

And the very last day that she was alive I just got word a message that something really bad happened.

01:02:44

The lungs are not doing well, especially now And they switched her to a different kind of mask.

01:02:49

It's the kind of mask That's not just pumping oxygen, you know that you would just up the nose or even over the mouth

01:02:56

It's the kind of mask that like goes over your face. You feel, you know claustrophobic and it's it's punching air punching air into your lungs punching it's not

01:03:08

Slowly drifting in it is breathing for you and it's expanding your lungs for you

01:03:13

So it's very uncomfortable. A lot of people go into a very serious panic when it happens

01:03:21

Well, I was told that she's on that mask now hurry up get to the hospital So I rushed over to the hospital.

01:03:26

I saw my mom Couldn't really speak She could nod and she could sort of try to force out a yes or a no in between The breaths of this mask forcing air into her

01:03:41

The doctor came in and the doctor said to me She's not going to make it You need you need to make plans to help her to die comfortably now

01:03:51

Because she's not going to make it. I expected the next couple of hours We're going to be losing her And so the decision had to be made to allow my mother to die naturally

01:04:03

Essentially, she couldn't breathe on her own anymore and they wanted to make her comfortable so she could die naturally So that last day

01:04:11

Was a difficult day because it was family saying goodbye Those are rough moments

01:04:17

But I had near the end of that day Something really special happened and that's that everyone had left and I was in this dark room with my mom

01:04:26

And it was difficult at times to figure out like how much of her is still here. How much is left?

01:04:32

A week before she was terrified of dying and I mean terrified She didn't understand the gospel and the glory of christ and his atonement.

01:04:42

She was trusting in her own works And when she got the gospel she was freed and at peace and she was joyful She said she had more peace in that icu hospital bed than she had in her entire life dying

01:04:57

So i'm in this dark room with my mom And again, i'm not sure how much of her is left how much she's hearing or or what and It was this powerful moment where it's just her and I Dark beep beep beep

01:05:18

The noises the icu It's all around And I thought to myself.

01:05:23

I don't know What else I could do? I've been reading scripture to her. She's not really responsive It's an awful moment and so I turned on old school gospel hymns

01:05:40

Because she grew up, you know in the 50s and 60s and she's well aware of that She's a fan of elvis too, which is the best gospel music in the history of humanity

01:05:51

Prove me wrong. Okay And so I knew she would know that and so She wasn't really there responsive.

01:05:58

And so I just played the garden song. Do you know the garden song? Yes And it was amazing because this is moment of real pain and trouble and tribulation and death we're in an icu she's dying

01:06:11

It's machine is just Forcing air into her lungs and so I started singing the garden song and I was amazed

01:06:47

Because I looked up and this part where you're singing and he walks with me and he talks with me

01:07:03

And he tells me i'm his own and looked over and through this mask

01:07:11

That is forcing air into my mom She's squeezing my hand

01:07:18

And she's singing and you think in a moment like that this is so painful this is like the worst

01:07:31

To see a loved one like this and in so much pain and dying and she was in so much

01:07:40

Peace she had truly so much peace

01:07:48

She was so excited to go be with him and the anchor for her in that moment

01:07:55

Was that he had overcome the world and saved her So in this world you will have trouble but be of good cheer i've overcome the world

01:08:10

I saw it in this world. You will have trouble

01:08:17

I've poured my life as a pastor Into false believers if you're a ministry long enough

01:08:29

You're going to experience that It's devastating to our families, by the way pastors families, by the way, love your pastors families

01:08:36

Please be good to them be gentle and gracious to them because our kids and our families have to endure all the

01:08:43

Hardest and the worst of the church every day of their lives You generally get to come to church experience worship and songs and joyful fellowship

01:08:51

And our the families on the side are experiencing the worst of the church all the time.

01:08:57

So pray for pastors families globally It's painful It's trouble

01:09:04

To pour your life into false believers to give yourself away to people who eventually abandon christ But even in the midst of that trouble

01:09:11

I say jesus has overcome And that's why I have peace I've watched professing believers bite and devour one another

01:09:21

And jesus has overcome I've endured messengers of the enemy

01:09:26

Sent in to tear this church apart from the inside or from the outside And jesus has overcome

01:09:35

Our church has endured so much heartache and pain For the sake of the gospel and jesus has overcome

01:09:44

I've personally seen and heard the worst that this world has to offer hatred betrayal slander rape molestation murder

01:09:54

And jesus has overcome I'm going to leave you with a verse that I believe is one of the foundations for My joy and my hope our joy and our hope and it's it's you might think it's a weird place to end the message, but I I think it truly is the best in luke 10 20 you're probably familiar with this

01:10:31

Jesus has just Had the 72 that were sent out return and they're freaking out

01:10:41

They're freaking out because they say lord even the demons are subject to us in your name

01:10:49

They're seeing some crazy things happening Even the demons have to obey these disciples

01:10:55

And jesus says this I saw satan fall like lightning from heaven Behold i've given you authority to tread on serpents serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall hurt you nevertheless

01:11:10

Do not rejoice in this That the spirits are subject to you but rejoice that your names

01:11:21

Are written in heaven. I believe with all my heart.

01:11:29

That's where it must always go back to you want peace? You want encouragement you want your joy to be full?

01:11:37

You want to experience the comfort the joy and knowing that christ has overcome the world I think the place you and I have to constantly stand is a place that jesus points them to here.

01:11:48

Don't rejoice That the demons are subject to you Don't rejoice at all these externals and the authority and the power and all those things

01:11:57

He says don't rejoice in that don't make that the place of your joy Here's what you need to have is the anchor of your joy in your life in this world

01:12:06

Your name is written in heaven in the end, that's it. That's all

01:12:11

I want I just want jesus I just want him.

01:12:17

He's worth everything Heaven is heaven because jesus is there That's the truth

01:12:25

And the real substance of the christian faith the gospel itself Is not in all the ministries and all the stuff going on and all the apologetics arguments and all the historical stuff

01:12:36

The real substance of it all is this He loves me I know him

01:12:43

He's given me eternal life My name is written in heaven And someday

01:12:51

Lord willing maybe you'll be on that deathbed Being able to sort of like prepare for that death and I want to tell you right now i've seen it with my own eyes

01:13:04

You'll get a sense of that overcoming the world and that peace When the anchor of your soul is that my name is written in heaven.

01:13:11

I'm loved by my savior Because he hasn't just overcome the world for something out there.

01:13:18

He's overcome it for me Let's pray Lord I pray that you'd bless the words that went out from this pulpit today for your glory and kingdom lord allow us

01:13:37

To experience that joyful peace that you want us to have

01:13:44

In the midst of trouble that you promise Because you've overcome the world

01:13:51

Use us As a church to proclaim your excellencies

01:13:58

Because you've saved us You're all we want lord jesus You're all we need