Count It All Joy - [James 1]

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Well, thank you Ruben. I think if there's any small children that like to be dismissed for junior church, they could be dismissed now
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I'm fairly exhausted. I think in the last nine or ten days. I've been to Michigan, Iowa Nebraska Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee and back and so I don't know what time zone
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I'm in but it's a good one Just to give you a quick update on my situation with my mother first of all, thank you for praying
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Thank you for calling and very kind of you and very loving and matter of fact Even two weeks ago when
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I preached the message Ephesians chapter 4 verse 31 and 32 be kind to one another
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Tender -hearted forgiving one another in God just as Christ has forgiven us and that's what we experienced as an
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Abendroth family much kindness much tenderness And so thank you for that Spiritually, my mom is doing great.
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I got to spend time with her as a son and as a pastor and I said mom Finish well
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Suffer. Well, everyone's watching you. Your son is a pastor. Your other son is a pastor me and I Said the
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Lord loves you more than I do. Of course. I want you around She has cancer in her lung and her spleen.
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Maybe her lymph nodes and she said, you know what Mike? That's right. And so people would call the phone
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Carla were very concerned and were worried about you and she would say Well, don't worry about me all my sins have been forgiven by Jesus Christ and I'm worried about you
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And I like to get together and talk with you about your salvation and how to know you can go to heaven And I'm in the background going right on mom
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My father died of lung cancer 15 years ago and my mom saw the chemo and she's like I don't want to have chemo and Chemo is a lot better now than it was 15 years ago.
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I said mom, it's your decision Whatever your decision might be I just asked that you do it to glorify the
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Lord and that if you can be around longer to preach the gospel to More of your friend. She works at a very the the largest retail jewelry store in the country
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I said just made that influence your decision. She said, okay, I will it's just been a real sweet time last week
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I preached on my Bible Church and my brother was standing sitting here next to me and my mom here and I thought
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I have to Preach and what I'm what am I going to do? We're singing some songs about heaven and I'm looking at my mom and I'm thinking
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I'm gonna break down and I need to preach And just was a sweet time and then to top it off. I had to fly from Omaha to Detroit to Atlanta Back to I don't know.
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Where was I going Memphis and I just it was too long of a flight It was an hour and ten minutes direct So I had the final
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Goodbyes with my mom I said I'll see you in heaven or I'll see you in a few weeks and I love you and you cried and then
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I went into the airline terminal and The guy said well, what are you doing going to Memphis?
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Circuitously through Detroit down to Atlanta up and around. I said, oh, I don't know I just got these fares with one day notice and my mom's very sick
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And he said well, we'll fix you up and so he got me an hour and ten minute flight directly to Memphis Which wasn't that big a deal the big deal was
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I quick got on the cell phone and told my brother and mom turn around We're having one more lunch together and I thought what a sweet little gift
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I was just sobbing thinking the Lord was so good that I could just have one more lunch with my mom It was really a sweet time
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Physically, thanks for praying and then we'll get to the message first It was in her lung then spleens then they thought lymph nodes and they said you may have just a month to live or maybe
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Just a little longer. And so that was drop everything get to Omaha since then no Cancer in her bones or her brain and next week they'll be doing surgery to see if it's in her lung lining or if it's in her lymph nodes because there's a debate now and So I have very
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Good hopes that it wasn't as bad as we originally thought it's still the kind of cancer that will kill you But I'm hopefully hopefully we're talking months now instead of not just a month
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So keep praying for Carla and if you want to pray for a healing fine But if you only have one prayer for her pray that she would finish well for God's glory
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And I know God loves her more than I do. And so I'm confident The Lord will take good care of you.
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I don't know about you, but I love gifts you like gifts Christmas gifts Thanksgiving gifts if you give those
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Easter gifts birthday gifts, I just love gifts. I Love giving them but probably honestly,
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I like receiving them better How would you like to have these gifts? Endurance Dependence on the
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Lord Christ likeness Compassion Humility Those be great gifts
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Here's my question to you this morning. Are you sure you really want those gifts? Are you positive that you'd like to receive those gifts?
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Do you know in other words what you're really asking for? God will give you those gifts if you're a
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Christian you would be glad to give you those gifts But they come in kind of a packaging kind of a wrapping that we're not really ready for These gifts are yours
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But they don't come all wrapped in pretty glittery Christmas kind of gifts they come wrapped up through the gift of Suffering and trials.
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Why don't you turn your Bibles to James chapter 1 this morning? And I want to talk about this strange gift that God gives his people called trials this gift of God.
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That is suffering Now the good news is it's just not a gift and God somehow just sitting there watching you suffer
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But God as we know Romans 828 he causes these From our perspective bad things these sufferings to work together for our good and he gets glory out of them as well.
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I Tried this week to study Ephesians chapter 5 verses 1 & 2. I tried But I just couldn't preach it.
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I just couldn't get through it and I thought well Lord I don't know what to preach but I have to preach and you don't call in sick when you preach you crawl in sick and The word has to be delivered and I Thought what do
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I preach and I thought well, I'm going to preach what I've been trying to live by God's grace the last couple Weeks, what do you do when you get that phone call?
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What do you do when the doctor calls you to that little private consultation room and says we have to talk seriously about your life
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What do you do when you walk into a corporate America office and the new vice president says there's no longer a position for you
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What do you do I could ask it this way is there any point to suffering
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What's the purpose? And this message is going to be very very encouraging because I hope that as you see these scriptures
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You will not say to yourself anymore when you're in a trial God why did this happen?
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Are you respond in another negative way? I'm mad at God God How could you know this this passage today and these passages should really be an undergirding for us
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And you can't get out of it. Can you can you get out of a life of suffering? It is a fact of life. This world is cursed and we are tainted and we are all going to suffer
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Jesus said to his disciples expect tribulation in this world Paul said in 2nd
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Corinthians 4 he was troubled on every side And you can be like a
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Christian scientist and just say sin and suffering is just in your imagination And a Christian scientist or like grape nuts, it's not grape and it's not nuts and they're not
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Christians and not scientists so They just ignore these things Illusions don't work
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Sufferings real trials are real Maybe you could say well, I'll just try to flee from my suffering in trials.
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That's what I used to do diversions movies alcohol kind of escapism
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You could say I've got trials and suffering and you could do the faith Healing approach if you've just got enough faith, you'll have it and if you don't have it it's really sin in your life, and it's the kind of name it and claim it and Blab it and grab it
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Which is so disgusting not only to me, but to the Lord But what does the Bible say about suffering and trials and this morning?
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Let's look at nine of these Nine things that God produces not only for you, but in you through trials and suffering nine
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Ways that God produces not only for you But in you things through trials and suffering and if you say well this message isn't for me
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I can just check out because my life is going super fine Well, I'm just giving you a little
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Heads up before it hits Before the trials come knocking at your door Let's look at these this morning and it's not going to be a verse -by -verse
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Expedition today, we usually just walk through a text, but we'll look at several texts We want to see them in context with the theme that trials produce
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That's really the theme of the message trials manufacture. You see a manufacturing line and some end product comes out it's not as if God has just given us trials and suffering to watch us just Cave in he's giving us trials and suffering to exact proportions that we can handle them
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So at the end that God produces something not only for you, but in you Let's look at the first one in James chapter 1 trials and suffering will produce endurance in you
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By the way, if you're not a Christian, I want trials and suffering to produce You falling down on your knees professing
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Jesus Christ as Lord trials should drive you to the cross. But if you're already a Christian let's look at these trials and suffering will produce endurance in you
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Look at James 1 1 to start typical greeting He says James a bondservant of God and the
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Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad Greetings, then he says almost like a bugle call.
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I mean you think he'd waste a little time How you doing? Good to get to know you. Hope everything's okay
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I sent that letter and didn't hear from you, but I mean be out of the gun It is a trumpet blowing counted all joy my brethren when you what?
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You encounter various trials This is like living on a desert island and you finally see that Little bottle come floating up on the sand and you see that little thing rolled up in it.
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You go. Oh, there's a note here's a little note and All of a sudden you open up and read it.
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It's like counted all joy And here he says with your mind with an intellectual
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Kind of a calculating thought count it Not emotionally, but evaluate this trial in such a way that you can count things joy
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This is not a natural response when you get that phone call. It is not who? would be
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This is a deliberate Supernatural thinking that I can count this joy because there's a purpose
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Hebrews 12 11 says no discipline seems pleasant at the time and your trials aren't pleasant and they don't seem pleasant
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It says I want you not to just count it joy, but all joy and all joy in the original language
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That's pushed up to the front of the sentence. That means all joy. Just count it with all you've got just joyful And again, this is internal joy.
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This is not a happy face on it's not that at all
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It's not stoic resignation. Whatever will be will be it's not making the best out of a bad situation
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It's not kind of ignoring like an ostrich who puts its head in the sand No, this is an internal spirit driven thing.
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And it says when you are in a trial you count it joy you calculate God You're still on the throne
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God. You're still good. But in this particular case, it's for a different reason First of all, it gets worse when you encounter our face various trials
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This is like the proverbial wagon train that wakes up in the morning and looks all around and everywhere you go
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There's the enemy circling wherever you turn notice the text says what when you encounter these you will
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You're going to have troubles and more troubles and you mentally evaluate. Yes, I can count this joy Falling in the midst of this.
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It's like the the man of the Good Samaritan parable He fell into the hands of robbers you get that phone call from the doctor and your whole life
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Seems to stop he says there's all kinds of trials. You notice that it's a
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Joseph's coat of many colored trials Every kind of trial you can think of and just when you thought you've been through them all then the other one comes up Variegated trials different kinds of trials, but here's the good news.
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The Bible doesn't stop there There's a purpose God is using the trial in your life for a purpose and what's this particular purpose verse 3 knowing that the testing?
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of your faith produces endurance This is the reason this is the test.
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This is why God is giving you these trials. So you might know what's happening
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One man said to realize the worth of the anchor we need to feel the storm and here
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God uses afflictions as a spiritual helper the testing of your faith
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Doug Moose said quote the idea then is not that trials determine whether a person has faith or not Rather they strengthen the faith that is already present
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That's exactly the context here without diving much deeper. God is testing us to say.
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Yes We have won our faith strengthened Yes, it's true and look at the text.
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It says and it produces or it develops it works in a special way perseverance
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And that's what God wants in you spiritual stamina That's what endurance is
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Spiritual stamina the staying power that says with purpose and resolve.
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I know what the situation is Stick to it enough spiritually you could call this and then he says in verse 4 and let endurance have its perfect result that you may
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Be complete perfect lacking in nothing You get trials and what does
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God produce in your life? endurance perseverance First Corinthians 1013 says no temptation has overtaken you but such as common to man
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God is faithful listen who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you're able But with the temptation will provide the way of escape so you may get out of the trial
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What's God producing in you? That's not what the text says is at all that God may provide the way of escape also that you may be able to endure
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It the way out is the way through Did you get that the way out of the trial is the way through God is working on you remember that song?
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He's still working on me to make me what I ought to be sometimes I'm around the house and I sing he's still working on I Don't like whoo
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He's still working on me. He's still working on my wife and he's working on you and he's going to give you more endurance so when that trial comes
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God is giving you a gift, but it doesn't seem like it's the right gift because it's wrapped up differently If you know my wife by the way, you know
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Romans 5 3 not only this but we also exalt in our tribulations knowing that tribulation brings about Perseverance That's why when you get in trial the first thing that I tend to do if I'm not
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Operating and by the gifts of the Spirit of some not by the gifts of the Spirit operating by the control of the
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Spirit I want to try to figure out how to get out of my trials. What's my little flowchart? Get out a
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Lot of these trials you can't get out. There's nothing you could do except God You're giving me this trial and God if we'd looked at the next verse verse 5
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Give me the wisdom in this trial so I don't lose what you're trying to teach me in this case endurance
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Well, what else do trials give us and most do sufferings give us secondly, not only do they give us endurance
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They also give us a fervent prayer life. I want to seek you early in the morning
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God I don't want to go through rote prayers like the heathens. I want to just pray. I want to have that spiritual surge of prayer
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Well, you know what? We'll do it Trials turn to Hosea chapter 5 verse 15.
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The context is Ephraim and Judah, but it's still the same There is nothing like a trial to get you on your knees
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Where else are you gonna go? Hosea chapter 5 verse 15, you'll find that in the minor prophets if you can't find it.
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That's alright. I'll just read you the verse But there's something about a trial that just makes you seek
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God with passion with fervor. There's no way out The only way out some kind of miraculous thing and if not you have to go to the
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Lord Hosea chapter 5 verse 15. I will go away
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Again, the God is talking about Israel, but you can see how it would be true in our lives I will go away and return my to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face
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And I think this is a universally true truth In their affliction, they will seek me
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What Earnestly are early. There's something about a trial that will make you pray when you're in anguish and affliction.
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You're in a straight Psalm 119 verse 153 says look upon my affliction and rescue me for I do not forget thy law and you can just see
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David The psalmist going God I'm not ignoring you. I'm not ignoring your law.
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God help me And lots of times you're in such a straight and you're in such an affliction in a tight place
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You can't even pray these Acts acronym prayers
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Adoration confession Thanksgiving supplication. It is straight to supplication is my world is upside down God help me
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And that's still a prayer Micah 7 7 but as for me, I will watch expectantly from the
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Lord I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. I will eagerly anticipate
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God's response to this I have nowhere else to go. So you say
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I want a deeper prayer line It's very encouraged by the turnout last Sunday night for corporate prayer.
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There are trials in the church and people come to pray Because we have to go to our father. We have to go to our
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God So you say this trial it really hurts the sufferings. I don't like them But God, thank you for the endurance and thank you that I could pray like I thirdly trials and suffering producing you a greater dependence on Jesus Christ Trials and sufferings produce in you a greater dependence on Jesus Christ, why don't you turn to first Peter chapter 5?
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very familiar passage but when you're under the Gun and you're in a trial you will depend on the
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Lord more This is very much related to the last one prayer, but I've just separated it out first Peter chapter 5 verse 6
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Probably one of the best known passages for all of us when we're suffering and hurting First Peter 5 6 humble yourselves therefore
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Under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you at the proper time casting all your anxiety upon him because he cares for you
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What a gift of God that is and the passage really says this in command form allow yourself to be humbled
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Allow yourself to not try to just get out of it and wiggle out and have everything go your way But allow yourselves to be humbled submit to God and be humbled throughout this procedure
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It's like when Jonathan Edwards one of the greatest minds in America died at 55 years old from a
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Adverse reaction to smallpox and his wife got the news and she just penned this What shall
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I say a holy and good God has covered us with the 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 my God lives and he has my heart we are all given to God Casting all your cares upon the
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Lord because literally it matters to him about you And that little phrase there under the mighty hand of God That means it's the strong arm of God as it were to deliver people out of every situation in the
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Old Testament You know, God could have delivered any situation over you could have had delivered them out of it rather So you sit there and you say
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God? Providentially in a sovereign way you put this together and you could have stopped it from happening
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But I'm going to allow myself to be submitted to your process and I know your strong arm will deliver me when
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I need to be delivered Casting all your cares, by the way, those cares are good cares.
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Those cares are bad cares What do you mean by that their concerns? Oh, I'm just concerned about that and they're anxious worrying frettings.
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He cares All your care. Did you notice? Can't just save that one little thing
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The whole kit and kibbutz of the whole of your care you cast upon the Lord and a care by the way It means division your minds divided.
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You're not sure if God really knows you're not sure if you can get out of situation I don't know if I can make it. So all your divided thoughts you just say
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God I Have to depend on you Where else are we going to go? Psalm 55 verse 22 says cast your burden upon the
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Lord and he will sustain you and he will never allow the righteous to be shaken He cares
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Ongoing continually is the tense Well, let's keep going number four
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Not only have we seen endurance and prayer life and dependence on the Lord But the fourthly trials and suffering producing your life an opportunity for God to show himself when no one else can
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God's going to have to intervene because no one else can the doctors can't the financial planner can't your family can't only
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God and isn't it good if you ever prayed God do something in my life that only You would get credit
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Because I don't want it to be any kind of human thing. God. So answer this prayer where everyone know would know it's you
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Turn to Genesis chapter 22 for this when there's no hope when everything's bleak
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When there's no other way to turn God provides now as you're turning there
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It reminds me of the story of It's found in Corrie ten booms book called tramp to the
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Lord She tells him an old story Excuse me. She tells him a story of an old woman.
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She met in Russia while there was communist oppression and persecution Couldn't be a
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Christian really Unless it was underground Corrie ten boom says the old woman was lying on a small sofa propped up by pillows
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Her body was bent and twisted almost beyond recognition by the dreadful disease of muscular sclerosis Her aged husband spent all his time caring for her since she was unable to move off the sofa
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The only part of her body she could control was her right hand and with the index of that hand
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For that she had for many years. She glorified God by typing on a vintage typewriter beside her
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Her husband would prop her up into a sitting position with pillows around her so she wouldn't topple over as she typed
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All day and far into the night. She would type she translated Christian books into Russian, but always just using one finger
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She typed out the pages portions of the Bible portions of books by Billy Graham and Corrie ten
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Boom, not only does she translate their books her husband said as he hovered close by her during the conversation
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But she prays for these people every day while she types something it takes a long time
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Sometimes it takes a long time for her finger to hit the key or to get the paper in the machine But all the time she is praying for those whose book she is working on Corrie says quote
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I looked at her wasted form on the sofa her head pulled down and her feet curled back under her body Oh Lord, why don't you heal her?
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Her husband sensing my anguish of soul gave the answer God has a purpose in her sickness Every other
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Christian in the city is watched by the secret police But because she has been sick so long no one ever looked in on her
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They leave us alone, and she's the only person in all the city who can type quietly Undetected by the police
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One day Corrie received a letter from her husband in the early morning hours last week
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She left to be with the Lord, but he said she had worked up until midnight that night Typing with that one finger to the glory
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Who else can do that? Who else receives the glory and there are things in your life when the sufferings and trials come where you just think?
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but Only God and the same thing happens here look at Genesis chapter 22 Verse 2 let's start there
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Here's what God says Take your son now your only son who you love Isaac and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there is a burnt offering
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On one of the mountains on which I tell you And I would say that's a trial wouldn't you
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I would say that's a suffering Young blood kind of makes a little fun out of it of this least initially
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God to Abraham take your son I Abraham which one Lord after all I have two sons your only son more specifically
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Whom you love I love both my sons Isaac I Thank you
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Lord now I know exactly what you mean and what shall I do after I go and get him is there something that you will further that Will further your will and purpose in his life
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Go to the land of Moriah a little vacation for us fine. That's great Offer him there as a burnt offer.
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This is the child of promise, isn't it in your seed Abraham? See those sand pebbles over there on the sea side
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Like that see those stars up there Abraham your only son
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John Calvin said as it were not enough to command in one word the sacrifice of his son He pierces as with fresh strokes the mind of the
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Holy Man by calling him his only son He again irritates the wound recently inflicted by the banishment of the other son
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Look down at verse 7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said my father. He said here.
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I am my son He said behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Finally someone beside God speaks and it's not
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Abraham. It's one man said here comes the new instrument of torture
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Abraham said God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering my son.
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So the two of them walked on together God's going to provide Then they came to a place of which
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God had told him and Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood and bound his Son Isaac laid him on the altar on top of the wood
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Here comes his three -day journey thinking the whole time verse 10
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Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to flight slay his son the angel of the Lord called to him from Heaven saying
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Abraham Abraham and he said here I am and he said do not stretch out your hand against the lad and do nothing
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To him for now, I know that you fear me since you have not withheld your son your only son from me
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One man said that was like you imagine what
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Abraham thought then Abraham raised his eyes and looked and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in The place of his son there are times and trials that you will be in and sufferings where you'll have nowhere else to look because the
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Answers won't be inside. The answers won't be outside. The answers are going to come. Well, let's keep going number five
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Endurance prayer life dependence on the Lord opportunities for God to glorify himself Fifthly trials and suffering will produce in you
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Christ likeness. You want to be like Jesus? Well, it will come through trials
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Yes through the word But it will come through trials. First of all, let me just read these verses
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Well, why don't you turn to John 15 while you're turning there? It's Like Christ even to suffer and then we'll talk about how
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God works in you first Peter 2 21 for you have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered leaving you an example for you to follow in the steps
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It'd be a good thing to do next time you preach the gospel to someone and they said I want to be a Christian and You say I just want to let you know
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There's a life of denial a life of hating self a light of picking up your life of picking up the cross and following Christ and it's a life of suffering
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You want to be like Jesus? You'll suffer in this particular case. So John 15 verse 1 and 2
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Larger context with the disciples and dealing with Judas Here you see that God loves his people so much.
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He's not going to let you stay as you are and He uses suffering to fuel prune things away
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John 15 verse 1 I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser Verse 2 every branch in me that does not bear fruit.
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He takes away People who aren't Christians they don't bear fruit they're gone just like Judas would be gone soon and Every branch that bears fruit.
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He prunes it that it may bear more fruit Can I give you a little Abendroth paraphrase? He prunes us so we look more like Christ Isn't it true in Romans chapter 8 verse 29 where it's
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God's will to conform us to the likeness and image of Jesus Christ How does he do that well just I've sanctified you
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I've justified you but I won't make you any more holy I'll just leave you go. No as God is holy.
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We are holy and he he chisels us and chips us through other people He takes care of us through his word in this particular case.
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He prunes us and I believe he uses Suffering in trials to do that look at verse 8
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The same chapter by this my father is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples
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Lot of pruning to bear much fruit Through trials through suffering you hear the hacking and the cutting off and trimming of the dead branches that's why beloved when
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The Bible says we can grieve as Christian if you grieve like an unbeliever grieves
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It ought not be Sixthly we better get through these fairly quickly
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Trials and suffering producing you a compassionate heart for others Trials and sufferings produce in you a compassionate heart for others.
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Let's go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 It's on the airplane flying home to see my mom and these are the chapters
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I read I read chapters 1 through 5 and the Bible says that when we suffer God is preparing for us
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To receive God's comfort so that we might then comfort other people I'll never forget as long as I live.
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My dad's 55 years old He dies of lung cancer and There was a man that I met who came to this church from Boston on several occasions because his father was 55 years old
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And he was dying of what I don't know myself.
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I can't offer much hope and I Have a lot to learn with compassion But as God comforted me when my dad was dying is now gone.
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I could then comfort him And he in a very interesting way as a very understandable way.
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He'd listen to me wouldn't he? If your mom is dying of lung cancer, I want to talk to you because we have a connection
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Now look at this passage here when you receive comfort from God. It's for you Yes, because God loves you, but it's also for other people, too 2nd
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Corinthians 1 chapter 3 and Paul had been through the ringer with this church at Corinth and he's writing to them again He says blessed be the
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God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ the father of mercies and the God of all comfort First he just praises
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God It could be another point someplace but when you're in a trial you want to just praise God I just have kept thinking all week long all last week
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God. I'm going to praise you even if you take my mom God you deserve to be praised and like Job.
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I'll praise you even if you slay me. What else am I going to do? I deserve hell 15 billion times over and I'm going to be mad that that my mom is going to die at 65 years old
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First of all, she's not dead yet. Hope she's not for a long time What do you do he just starts off with praising here's this church
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It's giving him all kinds of problems in isn't that just a wonderful title of God the father of mercies
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And the God of all come he's the kind of God this word comfort says that he comes alongside of you
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He's not up there lecturing you in systematic theology Comfort see comfort. Oh em and just telling you this is the
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God that comes right alongside of you It's like the Holy Spirit one that comes alongside Who comforts us?
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And just those minor afflictions You know in all our affliction and and here's the turn
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So that we might be able to comfort those who are in any affliction With the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God You feel that massive burden at that tense vice kind of grip pressure on you and you go
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Oh, I'm struggling but God you've been so good to me. You've been faithful God. Thank you for this trial
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I'm going to worship you. Anyway, you're a good God. You've given me so much more than I've received. Thank you
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I know you won't give me more than I can actually handle and God would you give me somebody else to tell that to because They need it to Life is a life of suffering for the
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Christian verse 5 for just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance So also our comfort is through the abundance of Christ Said I suffered
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Suffering is is big you want to know how God Paul suffered you can just read about it sometimes I'm sure
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Paul couldn't even walk up to this pulpit without proud I mean have you ever been stoned by rocks and all the bones broken and they didn't have good surgeons and he'd been stoned
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Three times and left for dead and how many times did he? Get just flogged with those cat -o' -nine -tails with metal and glass and rocks at the back and those soldiers knew just how to whip it and bring it right across your back so they could just open up your back and you see
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Some of the organs back there and they were very kind because 40 would be too many. So they just gave you 30 No, you can just imagine
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Paul come walking in and no one could say to Paul you haven't suffered at all Paul was inspired by God, but he also knew too and he said in verse 6
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But if we are afflicted it is for your comfort and salvation I'm just the conduit.
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I'm just the PVC pipe or if we are comforted It's for your comfort, which is effective in patient enduring of the same sufferings, which we also suffer
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It was all about others for Paul And our hope for you is firmly grounded knowing that as you are shares of our sufferings
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So also you are shares of our comfort because God and his people I didn't mean
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Godness people because Paul and his people are comforted by let's turn a few chapters ahead to 2nd
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Corinthians chapter 12 more than a few seventhly the seventh gift that God gives through trials and suffering is
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Humility humbleness He gives us endurance a prayer life more dependence on him opportunities for God to show himself
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Christ likeness compassion and now humility. I Have a question for you.
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Do you think Paul learned more? From the throne room of heaven experience early in the chapter of chapter 12
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Do you think he learned more from the thorn that God gave him in his side? It would never go away even to first of all people that say if you pray
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God will always take things away I hope they don't think they're more holy than Paul I believe that God teaches you more in the trials the thorns and he does the throne room have an experience that Paul had look at 2nd
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Corinthians 12 7 and Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations he went to heaven.
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Can you imagine? He went to heaven and he wasn't supposed to say anything about it when you turn on the TV, by the way beloved
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I just I must say this as a shepherd you turn on the TV and somebody says I went to heaven and came back and I want to tell you about it
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And you just say well you talk through the TV camera because I'm not listening because you're a liar You go to heaven and a guy did say this
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He said I want you to know that heaven is I'm back God took me up there and I'm gonna tell you all about it
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I would have to wear the same tie because it's got the fragrance is the fragrance and aroma of the stockyards
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But we won't talk about that Paul said
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I'm not even going to talk about it because it's so great but here's what I will talk about and Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations for this reason to keep me from exalting myself.
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I've been to heaven There was given me a thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan to buffet me to keep me from exalting myself.
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I Don't know if it was a physical thing. I don't know if it was a person. I don't know if it was his eyesight
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I don't know if it was a demon. We're not sure you can read all about it But I know what it did do it humbled
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Paul He said I prayed verse 8 concerning this.
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I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me God this hurts. It's like Jesus in Gethsemane three times
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God get this off You know If there's any other way and here wonderfully in the trials and the hurts and the sufferings verse 9
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And he said to me you may see red -lettered in your Bible. My grace is sufficient for you for power is perfected in Weakness Most gladly therefore most gladly
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I will rather boast about my weaknesses that the power of Christ may dwell in me when I'm so crushed when
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I'm so weak It's the power of God that has to be in me. Therefore. I'll be glad and I'll say I'm glad I have these
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Trials, I'm glad I have the storm verse 10 therefore After you've been humbled.
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What do you respond with? I am well content I'm content with weaknesses Insults distresses persecutions difficulties for Christ's sake for when
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I am weak, then I am strong I'm a lot nicer than this in my counseling sessions
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At least I hope I am But when people come in and they're complaining about their troubles in their trials
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I take them in this passage and say I'm content to stay underneath the
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Chasing hand of God or the trying hand of God and you can be well content My goal is for you when you get done working through the scriptural principles that you can walk out of this room or walk out of discipleship saying
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One time someone said to me we don't like to go to pastor Avendroth for counseling because he'll just tell us what the Bible says
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I admit maybe I don't have the gift of counseling, but I don't know what else to tell you What Adler says and Maslow and Skinner and Freud?
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I don't know I'll tell you almighty. God says that his grace is sufficient for you in your trial and He may humble you so you have nowhere to look but up but God has not left you.
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He has not forsaken you He still sits on a throne two more number eight
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Trials and suffering producing you a stronger desire for heaven. Let's turn to 2nd Corinthians 4.
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Let's go back a little bit 2nd Corinthians 4 now part of its relief God get me out of here
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I want to be out of this place and want to be in heaven But part of it is kind of a reward in a sense and I want to just walk through this quickly 2nd
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Corinthians 4 17 Paul is again writing almost like a pastoral Epistle in a sense he's writing to this church that he loved
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And I want you to notice the words eternal in the first and the second verses that I'll read which would be verses 17 and 18
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When you're in a trial you're hoping for heaven when I was standing next to my mom and we were singing about heaven I was hoping we were going to be there
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There's something in me that wants to go to heaven. There's something in me that wants to see my kids grow up Something in me that wants to be a grandpa.
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Let my grandkids do whatever Grandfather license Paul Said inspired by the
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Holy Spirit in Philippians chapter 1 for me to live is and look at how he says it here.
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We're 17 for momentary light affliction Is producing for us and now he counters them just as a little bit of affliction by the way
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It wasn't a little bit of affliction for Paul. It was real. They were killing him They were trying to persecute him He was shipwrecked and he was cast in the sea and all these things and so here he just calling all his trials
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I would be I think correct to say more trials than any of us have experienced is Producing for us an eternal look at the contrary momentary eternal weight light heavy light of Glory far beyond all comparison
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When you have the scales here and you have a balance Paul takes all his trials and suffering and Persecutions for the
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Lord's sake and then dumps heaven here and it's just like a seesaw. It's like a teeter -totter He's already said
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Eternal one time in that verse now look at verse 18 for a while We look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal
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But the things which are not seen are Eternal he said I'm taking my gaze and I'm fixing it past my temporal things
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I'm using the earth like a screen door We don't look at the screen door and how it's all put together. You look through it to see something beyond that Spiritually I'm looking and then he goes to the next chapter which isn't a good chapter break it says for We know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down.
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We have a building from God a house that It's not made with hands eternal there's a word again 17 18 now in chapter 5 verse 1 eternal in the heavens.
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This body is like a tent And what do you do with the tent? I'll tell if you put a tent up in your backyard and leave it there all summer your grass will be burned underneath it
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You don't put a tent up for long term put up a tent short term and this body pulses like short term and he says
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Here's all my sufferings. Here's all the weight of God's glory. That's going to give me far beyond all Comprehension and he says
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God's going to reward me for these things Looking forward to getting rid of this body. He says verse 2 for indeed in this house
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We groan and you bet you do so do I longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven?
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This is gonna be nice to get an earthly body, isn't it? No, it's gonna be nice to get a heavenly body Verse 3 and as much as we having put it on shall not be found naked
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You're not gonna be floating around up there like it goes back in Bible You won't be saying that for sure
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But you'll be saying is I got a body a glorified body and as Christ has a glorified body. So will you?
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Lacking the pierces in his hands and his feet He says in verse 4 for indeed while in this we in this tent.
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We grow and being burdened Because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed. We want a body
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We just don't want to float around in order that we thought what is mortal might be swallowed up by by life I'm longing for that Paul says
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Verse 5 now he was prepared us for this very purpose is God who gave us the spirit as a plan pledge
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The payday one day we've got the engagement ring from God. It's going to happen. God's a debtor. He'll pay his debts therefore being
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Knowing that while we are at home in the body, we're absent from the Lord We're afflicted but it's temporal for we walk by faith not by sight
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The love it when you're in the trial and when you're in sufferings, what are you going to do you say one day? I'll be gone one day
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God will pay me for my rewards that where I've honored him through his grace and I don't know what else to do But walk by faith and not by sight
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As simple as John MacArthur saying well, how do you raise all your kids your four kids in in the heart of Los Angeles? So well,
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I walk by faith. I walk by sight. How do you go through sufferings and trials and deaths of loved ones?
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Walk by faith not by sight And there's a longing for heaven, but there's a longing for heaven because we'll get the new bodies and also
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God's going to reward us Said to mom we were just sitting around one day and I said, you know,
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I Know you'll miss us and everything because she said to me She said we're getting all these people to come to church and I'm preaching the gospel to them and everything
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And it's so exciting to work for the Lord and I just want to be around to see what happens All right, if I die,
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I'm not gonna see the all the fruit of it and I said mom You just wrap up all the fruit of this that God has used you for and you'll still be glad heaven will still be gaining
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I Said mom, it's gonna be good to get out of this world, too Because you're never gonna have to bury one of your kids.
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You're never gonna have to bury one of your your parents I mean a grandkids you're never gonna happen while I'm on earth and I still live in 40 40 more years or 50
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Are you do to you are going to have to walk by faith not by sight because you can't undo what God has done It's gonna be a reward and say
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I've suffered and as I suffered I suffered for the glory of God Well, God will pay you back in kind full reward
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That's why when you're suffering suffer Well, because whether you eat or drink or bury your children or your mother or whatever you do for God's glory and in heaven
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It'll be momentary light affliction on earth even the hardest things Compared to that eternal weight of glory and in Hebrew Weight and glory were the same words cove bowed heavy you ever walk into a room with in the talking to 60s people and They go you see the glory of God.
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That's that word. That is heavy. See I've suffered Well, I haven't been perfect, but I've had horrible things happen in my life
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And I still want to honor God and you're gonna just see on earth It seems like that weight scale is like this all your sufferings and pains and trials and crimes and wailings and in heaven
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It's going to be the eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison And I can't convince you but I can say you walk by faith
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You have a good courage verse 8 I say and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be home with the Lord Therefore we have it as our ambition our aim whether home or absent to be pleasing to him
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That's why we as Christians don't grieve like someone else if you're a grieving non -christian, you are a selfish griever
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Everything about you. How what else could you do you have no spiritual resources? but if you're a Christian and you're a griever and you're a herder you say
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I want to glorify God as I grieve and Other saints are watching me and I want to I want to honor the
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Lord as they watch me grieve and it is still about others Number nine.
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It's a quick one. Let's go to Matthew chapter 13. Now. Let's go to 1st Peter 1 1st Peter chapter 1
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Through trials and suffering God gives you endurance fervent prayer life dependence upon him opportunities for him to shine
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Christ likeness compassion humility longing for heaven and number nine an assurance of your salvation and Assurance of your salvation if you can be under the trials of God and still have your faith
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It's a faith worth keeping isn't it? Puritans will say oh somebody says I'm a Christian. Well, that's good
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We'll see in time and we'll see you trial time and trials will show if you're really a Christian lots of people
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Oh, this is great. I'm a Christian Don't have to pay for my sins and I have a purpose in life and I know what to do and all that stuff and then They get crushed by God and they give up their faith
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Because they never had it to be good God gave you your faith.
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You're not going to give it up He won't let you look at 1st Peter 1 6 and 7 before I read that though Let me read you
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Matthew 13 20. So I make my point That the one of whom seen was sowed seen seed was sown on the rocky places
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This is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy Yet he has no firm root in himself
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But is only temporary and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word immediately he falls away
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You hear the word we see with joy and then comes that call to pick up your cross daily and follow
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Christ They can't do it. But here Peter says a little bit differently for six and seven of first Peter one in This you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while It's just it's not eternal.
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It's momentary. It's life. It's passing just as his comrade Paul would say if necessary and in fact it is
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You have been distressed by various trials all different kinds you're hemmed in that the proof of your faith
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Being more precious than gold, which is perishable even though tested by fire May I say from the hand of God through circumstances may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ when you're in a trial and you praise
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God You say you know God you can take away my mother you can take away my friends
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You can take away my family and I'm hurting and I'm grieving. I'm suffering and I'm in a trial and I don't know what to do
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But there's the God alone be the glory
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And if you can say that what harder test could you have to pass in the Christian life now?
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I'll start I'll end the way I started God has all kinds of wonderful gifts for you endurance greater compassion for others dependence on the
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Lord great strong fervent prayer life Testing of your salvation to make sure you're saved
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But very very often I would say most often they come through trials and suffering you could either say
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That's coming from the loving hand of God or you could say somehow I'm wrong and I would say to you
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James 1 17 every good thing bestowed and every gift Every perfect gift is from above coming down from the
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Father of lights with whom there is no variation are shifting shadows And if God didn't spare his son
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Romans chapter 8 verse 32, he won't spare anything else It's anything less, but the best why
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God I'm mad God. I Can't function in my
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Christian life anymore God. I encourage you to look to the
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Lord for the God I'm going to praise you God. I don't deserve anything
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God. I'm gonna glorify you until the day Philippians 3 says
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Do you want the power of the resurrection? But we're not so sure about the next verse it says fellowship
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It's a strange gift that God would give us the gift of trial and the gifts of stuff But I want to receive that gift.
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I remember my grandmother used to give me white socks every year I had to paint that face on thank you grandma for those white socks
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Very appreciative of those gifts and how that's a pretty good gift by the way white socks
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I want to receive that gift from God who never changes in his love for me. He's loved me once He'll love me forever.
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And I want to say God it is not rational It is supernatural, but I will count it all joy because I know you're gonna produce in me endurance and contentment and humility