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Hey everybody, this is Pastor 
John Ewart from Inglewood 

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Baptist Church in Rocky 
Mountain, North Carolina. 

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Thank you so much for tuning in 
to our podcast. 

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You're going to hear from God 
today as we share from his word 

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about important issues facing 
your life that can guide you 

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according to the Bible. 
All right, well, welcome to this

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episode of Core TRAINING. 
Tonight we're going to talk 

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about a very difficult subject, 
to be honest with you, which is 

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why the notes might be a little 
longer. 

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I promise it won't take more 
than 3 1/2 four hours to work 

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through this. 
Now I'm kidding. 

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Next episode, next time 
together, I'm going to talk 

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about spiritual gifts. 
And it's a, it's a very 

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important study that I don't 
know if that rings your bell or 

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not, but we need to talk about 
whether or not all the gifts are

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still active or not. 
So we'll be talking about 

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continuationism versus what's 
called cessationism. 

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Have some of the sign gifts 
cease to exist or they still 

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continue. 
We're going to talk about that 

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next time as well as just some 
more general language about 

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spiritual gifts and how 
important they are. 

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And then I would encourage 
everyone that starting, starting

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this on September 7th, this 
weekend, we are starting our new

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sermon series about 
discipleship. 

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That's vitally important. 
So I just pray that everybody 

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will be there and, and, and 
you'll keep coming. 

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It's really important. 
We're going to be talking about 

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our, our new mission and vision 
statements, even some logo 

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conversations, as well as our 
discipleship definitions and 

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goals. 
So I hope they're there. 

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If you're listening online, 
thank you so much for joining us

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as well. 
For those of you who are live, 

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thank you again for a good group
here as well and that we 

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appreciate you being here. 
So I find myself discussing this

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issue regularly and and I'm sure
that you have at some point in 

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your life or you will, depending
upon your life experience. 

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These are questions that are 
often driven into our lives, 

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whether we want them to be or 
not. 

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And so these are questions like 
why do bad things happen to 

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quote UN quote, good people? 
And I'll explain the quotation 

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marks later. 
Or if God is good, why does he 

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allow evil to exist? 
Why do the innocent suffer? 

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If God is love, why does he 
allow such things? 

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Or how can a loving God send 
people to hell? 

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Why would a person open fire on 
children at a Catholic school? 

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Why is that person healed but my
friend was not, or my spouse was

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not? 
Why, why, why? 

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This is quite a place, this 
Earth, and that's part of the 

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explanation that we'll talk 
about. 

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And sometimes we're never going 
to know the answer to why 

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specific horrific events take 
place. 

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And there's no way tonight I can
satisfy those specific answers. 

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I know that that would require 
specific individual 

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conversations about specific 
individual situations. 

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And so, and probably much more 
time than we have, but, but 

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there are some things that we do
know, there are some things that

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can be shared. 
And I hope that these truths and

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these principles will at least 
give you a framework that's 

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helpful if it's not completely 
satisfactory to you. 

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Because I'm confident that what 
I do know, even though it may 

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not hurt, hurt or satisfy your 
hurt or your pain or your 

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confusions or your questions, 
but I do know that we can 

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understand, at least generally 
from Scripture, why some of 

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these things take place. 
And then we can continue to 

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search further together for more
specific answers about your 

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specific situations. 
So I do strongly encourage you, 

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and this is really important, 
don't cut me off. 

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At some point in this one, you 
need to listen to everything 

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because they tie together. 
And so you're going to sense at 

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times some redundancy. 
You're going to sense at times 

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where you already said that, 
yes, you're right. 

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I'm repeating it on purpose 
because there are different 

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principles, but these are 
related to one another and they 

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often support and or network 
within the next. 

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So I strongly encourage you to 
listen to everything before you 

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turn your ears off because of 
that. 

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And then it will be helped more 
helpful to you. 

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And so to begin, we need to 
acknowledge, and this is may 

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seem interesting to you. 
It may seem weird to you inside 

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the church, but but we even have
to begin in this discussion, 

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especially if we're talking to 
people out in the world about 

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these types of questions. 
We have to begin with even 

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understanding what the 
definition of evil is or what is

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the definition of bad, what is 
the definition of morally wrong?

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Because that's not clear anymore
in our world today. 

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That is so our current world 
that is so subjective, so 

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individualized, and it's 
understanding and definition of 

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truth. 
It's it's and, and the myriad of

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nebulous opinions about what is 
wrong or right that even that 

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definition can be difficult. 
So when someone says why do bad 

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things happen to good people? 
Both the word bad and the word 

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good have to be defined in our 
conversations today. 

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And so for us and our purposes, 
what is considered evil or bad? 

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So for our purposes, because 
we're looking at scripture and 

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scriptural answers, we're simply
going to say this, that evil is 

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the opposite of God and wrong is
the opposite of God's word and 

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will. 
And that's where we have to 

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start. 
So why does evil exist in the 

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1st place, and why do bad things
happen at all? 

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Well, I'm going to share with 
you about 9 different aspects of

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this. 
I don't know that they're 

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separate principles. 
They're probably different views

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of the same thing, sometimes 
from different angles, frankly. 

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But the first thing we have to 
recognize is that we do have a 

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real supernatural enemy who has 
an army and that and that group 

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tempt and war against us. 
The devil is real, Satan is a 

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real thing, and you may or may 
not accept that, but the devil 

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scripturally is a fallen Angel 
and so are his demons that fell 

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with him. 
There are several passages that 

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are attributed to that part of 
theology, and I'll share a 

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couple with you that they 
rebelled against God. 

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They fell from perfection. 
Interestingly enough, one of 

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those passages is at the end of 
the Bible in the Book of 

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Revelation, where it says now 
war arose in heaven, Michael and

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his angels fighting against the 
dragon, and the dragon and his 

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angels fought back, but he was 
defeated and there was no longer

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any place for them in heaven. 
And the great dragon was thrown 

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down, that ancient serpent who 
was called the devil and Satan, 

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the deceiver of the whole world,
he was thrown down to the earth 

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and his angels were thrown down 
with him. 

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There's passages in Isaiah where
the reference to Lucifer or the 

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light bearer are made. 
Scholars debate on whether or 

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not that's even really referring
to Satan or not. 

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Traditional view says yes. 
Some modern views say no but but

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there is this aspect of perhaps 
that he was actually a powerful 

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light bearing Angel at one 
point. 

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But Jude 6 is clear. 
The good thing about Jude is you

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don't have to have chapter 
numbers. 

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Jude 6 says this, and the angels
who did not stay within their 

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position of authority, but left 
their proper dwelling, he has 

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kept an eternal chains under 
gloomy darkness until the 

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judgment of the great day. 
Someday I'll share with you a 

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study that I've often called 
Heaven, Hell, and the hereafter.

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And we talked about heaven and 
hell, obviously, but what I also

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share and talk about angels and 
demons. 

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And it seems that there are some
demons that are so bad that they

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haven't been allowed loose and 
that they've been chained up. 

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And so it's an interesting 
passage. 

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But we do know this from Genesis
that Satan then tempts man in in

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the Garden of Eden and man made 
the wrong choice. 

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Now don't forget that part 
because that's a key part to all

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of this. 
So we we read about the fall of 

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man and then sin entering into 
the creation back in Genesis 

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chapter 3. 
And in the case of the fall of 

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Satan and the case of the fall 
of man, in both cases, what we 

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see is that pride and rebellion 
were both primary issues in both

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of these stories, where Satan 
falls from heaven and where man 

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sins in the garden. 
They both wanted to take the 

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place of God. 
They both wanted to be God 

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themselves. 
They wanted to be able to make 

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the choices that they wanted to 
make. 

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Don't forget that word choice. 
It's a key part of the story. 

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And so, to be honest with you, 
little has changed and little, 

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little will change until time 
itself is gone. 

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Since we studied the Second 
Coming and our previous time 

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together, let me read from 
Second Thessalonians chapter 2 

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where it says this. 
Let no one deceive you in any 

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way, for that day will not come 
unless the rebellion comes 

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first. 
And the man of lawlessness has 

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revealed the son of destruction 
who opposes and exalts himself 

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against every so-called God or 
object of worship, so that he 

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takes his seat in the temple of 
God, proclaiming himself to be 

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God. 
So many would say this is 

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referring to the Antichrist or 
some other eschatological story,

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but what we see is, is that the 
same issues of pride and 

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rebellion, if still run rampant 
ever since the fall of Satan and

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the fall of man. 
So because of that, Satan brings

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as much evil. 
Our enemy, our real supernatural

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enemy, brings as much evil and 
suffering and temptation as he's

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allowed. 
And that word allowed is 

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important to this too, and I'll 
talk more about that later. 

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So we are at war, frankly. 
And the Bible is very clear 

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about that. 
Paul. 

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Paul puts together this portrait
of warfare that we we fight 

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against in multiple letters that
he writes. 

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But we're at war and Satan will 
indeed attack. 

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And so we recognize that 
sometimes suffering, sometimes 

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pain is because we have a real 
enemy and he's seeking to 'cause

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that destruction. 
And we can't discount that part 

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of this, this issue. 
We also, though, sometimes 

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probably give Satan credit for 
things that he didn't or may not

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have done. 
There are also natural 

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consequences that we'll talk 
more about as we walk through 

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this together. 
I mean, if you go without sleep,

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you don't eat, right? 
You go out into a cold rain and 

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get wet and you catch cold, Is 
that Satan's fault? 

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Right. 
But Satan could even use natural

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consequences like that to tempt 
you to do even more evil. 

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And so all these things are 
going to tie together. 

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So we have an enemy. 
We see that one. 

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But the second thing, which is a
significant, real, significant 

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part of the answers to these 
questions, why do bad things 

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happen and why is evil exist, is
number 2. 

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We live in a fallen world where 
sin exists and even the creation

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groans. 
And it's always interesting to 

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me how we don't seem to grasp 
this. 

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I don't know who what that is. 
You all probably all do because 

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you're brilliant people and you 
come to great studies and then 

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you come to these two. 
But but I run into people on an 

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individual basis all the time 
who can't seem to get a hold of 

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this one and I don't know why. 
They just don't want to or 

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something. 
But we got to remember that God 

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created the world in a perfect 
state. 

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In Genesis chapter one, we hear 
that the creation is good, 

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right? 
It's good and there was no sin. 

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And then we are humanity is 
created in the image of God. 

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But you've got to understand 
that part of being created in 

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the image of God includes free 
will. 

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It includes the ability to 
choose. 

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Don't ever miss the how many 
times I'm going to say that kind

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of phrase choice is a major part
of the answer. 

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And so we have the freedom of 
choice now and and one of the 

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reasons for that is that God 
wanted real love from us and 

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real love has to be freely 
given. 

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Forced love is not real love. 
Robots don't love, puppets don't

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love. 
And so the, the issue with that,

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though, there's a problem that 
created and the fact that 

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freedom, that freedom of choice 
also demands and requires the 

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possibility to refuse it. 
It includes the the possibility 

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to reject it. 
It includes the possibility of 

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making the wrong choice. 
And So what we see in that is 

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that Love Actually requires the 
opportunity to hate. 

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It may have to wrap your head 
around that sentence, but free 

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love, freedom of choice, opens 
up the possibility of hate and 

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of rejection and of wrong 
choices. 

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And so the Lord decided in his 
infinite wisdom that that true 

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love, free love, real love, was 
worth the pain. 

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And so, strangely, and this is a
sentence you may or may not 

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00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,440
agree with, but you're going to 
have to think through it before 

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00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:39,960
you tell me you don't agree with
it. 

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00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:46,360
Strangely, God allows pain 
because he loves us and wants us

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00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:50,520
to love him freely. 
That may sound like a weird 

233
00:13:50,520 --> 00:13:54,560
oxymoronic, backward kind of 
statement, but it's at the root 

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00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:58,240
of a lot of the answers here. 
God allows evil in the world 

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00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:02,200
because he loves us, and that 
may seem so counter intuitive to

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00:14:02,200 --> 00:14:06,880
us because of our limited view. 
He allows the same thing today 

237
00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:08,440
though. 
You've got to understand this 

238
00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:11,600
and hopefully you admit it. 
He allows the same thing today. 

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He allowed an Eden. 
He allowed Adam and Eve the 

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00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,040
right to choose. 
In fact, listen to Genesis 

241
00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:24,200
chapter 2, verses 16 and 17. 
And the Lord commanded the man, 

242
00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:27,280
saying, You may surely eat of 
every tree of the garden, but of

243
00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:29,480
the tree of the knowledge of 
good and evil you should not 

244
00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:33,080
eat, for in the day that you eat
of it, you shall surely die. 

245
00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:38,040
But He gave them the opportunity
to choose. 

246
00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:44,880
He allows us to choose. 
So in an interesting way, free 

247
00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:49,840
will is at the root of evil. 
It's it's a, it's wrapped up 

248
00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:52,800
together. 
And we got to, we got to think 

249
00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:53,760
through this. 
I'm not done. 

250
00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,760
Don't leave me yet until you 
hear the whole picture. 

251
00:14:57,280 --> 00:14:58,840
Because he, God loves us so 
much. 

252
00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:01,680
He created us with that ability 
so that we would choose to love 

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him, that we would choose to be 
with him. 

254
00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:10,440
See, but we abuse this freedom 
and we say no to God and this 

255
00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:14,760
hurts him, and then we also say 
no to each other and it hurts 

256
00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:18,360
us. 
So man chose sin in Genesis 

257
00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:21,120
chapter 3. 
And you've got to understand 

258
00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,200
this theologically. 
At that moment, the entire 

259
00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:26,960
creation fell. 
It wasn't just man. 

260
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It's the entire creation. 
And that's where a lot of our 

261
00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:34,920
problems today come from. 
So the entire creation is now 

262
00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:40,280
fallen. 
Disasters, A weakened genome, in

263
00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:45,360
other words, disease, violence, 
are all part of that fallenness.

264
00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:51,160
And so sin and evil are here 
now, and then our sinful nature 

265
00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:53,840
becomes a part of us. 
It's a part of the creation. 

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00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:55,840
We're born now with a sinful 
nature. 

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00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:58,240
Just listen to what the Bible 
says. 

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Listen to Romans 5. 
Therefore, just as sin came into

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00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:06,760
the world through one man, and 
death through sin, and so death 

270
00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,520
spread to all men, because all 
sin. 

271
00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:13,640
For sin indeed was in the world 
before the law was given, but 

272
00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:16,000
sin is not counted where there 
is no law. 

273
00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,360
Yet death reigned from Adam to 
Moses, even over those whose 

274
00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,480
sinning was not like the 
transgression of Adam, who was a

275
00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:27,240
type of the one who was to come.
In the words, we're all sinners,

276
00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,640
we all have a sinful nature. 
We've been that way ever since 

277
00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:34,000
Genesis 3. 
Perhaps a more telling passage 

278
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,320
is in Romans 8. 
For I consider that the 

279
00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:41,080
sufferings of this present time 
are not worth comparing with the

280
00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,080
glory that is to be revealed to 
us now. 

281
00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:46,720
Listen to this verse. 
For the creation waits with 

282
00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:50,760
eager longing for the revealing 
of the sons of God. 

283
00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:55,040
For the creation was subject to 
futility, not willingly, but 

284
00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:58,680
because of Him who subjected it,
in hope that the creation itself

285
00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:02,800
will be set free from its 
bondage to corruption and obtain

286
00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:05,200
the freedom of the glory of the 
children of God. 

287
00:17:05,839 --> 00:17:09,760
For we, we know that the whole 
creation has been groaning 

288
00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:12,800
together in the pains of 
childbirth until now. 

289
00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:16,440
And not only the creation, but 
we ourselves, who have the first

290
00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:20,119
fruits of the Spirit, grown 
inwardly as we wait eagerly for 

291
00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:23,200
adoption as sons, the redemption
of our bodies. 

292
00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:29,960
So creation fell when Adam and 
Eve sinned, so not only did 

293
00:17:29,960 --> 00:17:35,400
their bodies begin to die, but 
nature itself changed. 

294
00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,200
The world changed from what it 
once was. 

295
00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:45,840
The genome, our physicalness, 
who we are changed, and disease 

296
00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:51,000
and decay started. 
Man started to die and man 

297
00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,240
started dying from the moment he
was born. 

298
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,560
In a sense, he starts that 
decay. 

299
00:17:56,040 --> 00:18:00,920
Lions begin stalking lambs. 
Roses grew thorns. 

300
00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:05,600
The earth itself became a 
dangerous place to live and 

301
00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:08,480
still is. 
And so we are mortal human 

302
00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:10,680
beings living in a dangerous 
world. 

303
00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:15,760
And it's made dangerous by sin, 
by the choice of sin. 

304
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,080
So the fall of nature means 
earthquakes will happen. 

305
00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:23,760
The fall of nature means 
tornadoes will come. 

306
00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:26,920
And I grew up in Tornado Alley. 
I spent every spring in the 

307
00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,640
basement. 
Now, fortunately, my grandfather

308
00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:31,640
had a moonshine room. 
And so it was an interesting 

309
00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:35,680
experience. 
But tornadoes will come, 

310
00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,880
hurricanes will flood, volcanoes
will erupt, and we will suffer 

311
00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:45,000
from all of this. 
So sin created a new natural 

312
00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:48,800
order because of its entrance 
into the creation. 

313
00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,240
And prior to that moment, you 
got to remember there were no 

314
00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:53,480
natural disasters. 
Prior to that moment. 

315
00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:55,920
There was no sickness part of 
that moment. 

316
00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,760
There was no physical or mental 
illness, no violence, no 

317
00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:04,960
addictions, no corruption, but 
the creation itself now groans 

318
00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:09,520
until its restoration at the end
of time, just like we do, which 

319
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,320
is why our study, the second 
coming, becomes really 

320
00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:14,520
important. 
So we're surrounded by an 

321
00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:18,360
imperfect state, but we 
ourselves are also in an 

322
00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:23,840
imperfect state because we're 
sinners and we're born in a 

323
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:27,320
sinful nature. 
So God has allowed this to take 

324
00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:29,400
place for a season and I'm going
to talk more about that 

325
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,800
allowance again later. 
But but we got to remember that 

326
00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:36,320
the Bible is a story of God's 
desire to have fellowship with 

327
00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:40,160
man, to have man freely choose 
to love him and to know him and 

328
00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:45,280
to and to to rely upon him and 
to abide in him and and and the 

329
00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,520
and it's the story of the Lord's
bringing back man to himself 

330
00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,040
through Jesus Christ. 
We also bear personal 

331
00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:55,720
responsibility for some of this 
because of the next one number 

332
00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:59,000
three. 
See, not only is the creation 

333
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,600
fallen. 
But we have to admit that we 

334
00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:09,320
suffer sometimes because we are 
falling, we sin, we make bad 

335
00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:11,920
choices. 
It's always interesting to me in

336
00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:14,960
in some of these conversations 
and, and, and I know I'm not 

337
00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:16,800
covering all the situations yet.
Don't worry. 

338
00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:18,160
Hang in there with me until 
we're done. 

339
00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:20,280
But but in a lot of these 
situations, it's always 

340
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:22,960
interesting to me how, how often
people don't want to take any 

341
00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,320
personal responsibility for 
what's happened. 

342
00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,760
We make bad choices. 
Sometimes we make really stupid,

343
00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:34,200
dumb choices, and then we're 
shocked at the consequences. 

344
00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:38,480
So we do, we say, and we think 
things that are contrary to 

345
00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:40,400
God's word and God's will for 
our lives. 

346
00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:42,520
And then we wonder how come 
everything isn't perfect? 

347
00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,680
Proverbs chapter 5 says this. 
The iniquities of the wicked 

348
00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:51,720
ensnare him, and he is held fast
in the cords of his sin. 

349
00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:55,800
It's like we're bound. 
We're, we're, we're tied up in 

350
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:59,160
our own sin and when we sin, we 
suffer. 

351
00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:02,320
We suffer both spiritually and 
we can even suffer natural 

352
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:05,720
consequences, things right here 
physically, etcetera. 

353
00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:09,320
Romans 623 says for the wages of
sin is death, but the free gift 

354
00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,960
of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord. 

355
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:18,400
So there's a right way to live. 
We have to choose to live that 

356
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:24,280
way, see, And if we choose to 
live a different way, we will 

357
00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:27,480
suffer. 
And so some of the suffering is 

358
00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,200
because of that. 
Bad choices have bad 

359
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:32,840
consequences. 
And many, many just don't 

360
00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:34,200
understand. 
And part of the problem here, 

361
00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:36,280
and this is part of the problem 
out there, because of their 

362
00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:38,520
definitions. 
Their definitions are wrong and 

363
00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:40,560
they don't understand the 
seriousness of sin. 

364
00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:42,160
Sin is not that big a deal out 
there. 

365
00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:47,120
Maybe it's not that big a deal 
in here, but we've got to 

366
00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:49,400
understand the seriousness. 
I don't know that we take, that 

367
00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,520
we take sin seriously enough. 
We like to rank them. 

368
00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,360
There's certain sins that we 
think are a lot worse than other

369
00:21:55,360 --> 00:21:58,920
sins, but we've got to 
understand you, you go back to 

370
00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:02,040
the story of Satan and his 
demons, go back to the Garden of

371
00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:05,200
Eden and, and, and remember, 
it's still the same thing. 

372
00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:10,480
We, we got to be careful because
sin is rebellion against God, 

373
00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:16,480
much like, just, just just like 
Satan rebelled against God, just

374
00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:18,200
like Adam and Eve rebelled 
against God. 

375
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:20,800
It's an affront against his 
sovereignty. 

376
00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,120
I need to say that again because
I'm not sure you've heard that 

377
00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:27,240
phrase before. 
Sin is an affront against the 

378
00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:30,480
sovereignty of God. 
Your way is not right. 

379
00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:32,760
My way is right. 
I choose my way, not your way. 

380
00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,640
I'm sovereign at that moment. 
I'm the authority at that 

381
00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:42,600
moment, not you. 
So sin is an affront to a holy, 

382
00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,880
perfect God. 
And God will not be challenged, 

383
00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:50,560
not by a rebellious Angel and 
not by a rebellious you or me. 

384
00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:57,440
So there's a price to pay. 
Our God is holy, our God is just

385
00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:01,960
and he must punish sin or he is 
not God. 

386
00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:04,640
It would be inconsistent with 
his nature. 

387
00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:07,000
I've talked about that in other 
places, at other times. 

388
00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:12,560
It this the sins wage must be 
paid, and the wage of sin is 

389
00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:19,640
what death and it must be paid. 
It has to be paid. 

390
00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:25,080
And on the cross, Jesus took our
punishment and paid that debt, 

391
00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:32,800
and we will experience that 
freedom if we choose to follow 

392
00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:37,120
him. 
So as his children, we also have

393
00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:41,040
to recognize, even as believers,
that God will chasten us at 

394
00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:43,040
times for our sin. 
And we don't like that either. 

395
00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:45,480
We don't like to submit to 
authority. 

396
00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:47,800
We don't like to be disciplined.
We don't like to be in trouble. 

397
00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:51,000
But we got to recognize that 
that's also part of the 

398
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,480
Christian life. 
Listen to what Hebrews 12 says. 

399
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:55,440
It's very clear. 
And have you forgotten the 

400
00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:57,920
exhortation that addresses you 
as sons? 

401
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:02,560
My son, do not regard lightly 
the discipline of the Lord, nor 

402
00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:06,920
be weary when reproved by him. 
For the Lord disciplines the one

403
00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:12,920
he loves, and chastises every 
son whom he receives. 

404
00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,560
And then verse 11. 
For the moment, all discipline 

405
00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:18,800
seems painful rather than 
pleasant, but later it yields 

406
00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,480
the peaceful fruit of 
righteousness to those who have 

407
00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:24,800
been trained by it. 
So the Lord's trying to steer us

408
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:31,040
away from stupid, dumb, sinful 
choices and trying to protect us

409
00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:35,720
from a horrible, real, 
supernatural enemy, And he tries

410
00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:38,400
to steer us away from the danger
of sin like a loving father 

411
00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,520
would correct a child. 
But we got to be careful about 

412
00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,600
this one, too. 
I appreciated the question a 

413
00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,440
week or two ago about Job. 
We got to be careful about this 

414
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:49,840
one because we don't, I don't 
get to declare, well, God's 

415
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:54,720
obviously chastening you. 
You know, we don't get to, we 

416
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,200
don't get to judge anybody 
guilty except ourselves. 

417
00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:04,920
Only judge yourself guilty. 
It's not your job alone to do 

418
00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:08,960
the rest. 
And, and, and often the, it's 

419
00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,480
kind of like Job's comforters. 
You know, he was, they said that

420
00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,400
he's suffering because somehow 
he's sinned against God and he 

421
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:17,520
should repent. 
But of course, we know in the 

422
00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:22,840
story that they were wrong. 
And often the confusion about 

423
00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:27,840
these questions stems from the 
fact that we begin with 

424
00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:30,960
incorrect presuppositions and 
and assumptions and 

425
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,400
expectations. 
And you need to hear that again,

426
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:37,320
that's a big part of this. 
We start off at the wrong place.

427
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,520
We start off with the wrong 
expectations. 

428
00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,000
We start off with the wrong 
assumptions. 

429
00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:45,680
We start off with the wrong 
presuppositions. 

430
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:50,400
See, we somehow think that we 
don't deserve any of this. 

431
00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:54,680
We somehow think that that that 
we're innocent. 

432
00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,560
And you got to understand, none 
of us are innocent. 

433
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:03,520
All of us have sinned. 
All of us are born with a sin 

434
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,640
nature. 
But people generally begin with 

435
00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:10,600
an anthropocentric, in other 
words, man centric, humanistic 

436
00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:15,280
centric, me centered philosophy 
where we believe we're owed 

437
00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:18,800
something. 
They didn't deserve that. 

438
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,400
How do you know? 
Now, I'm not declaring that 

439
00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:23,920
either. 
That may sound harsh, but how do

440
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,640
you know? 
And what and what should they 

441
00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:28,440
deserve? 
What do they deserve? 

442
00:26:29,640 --> 00:26:32,920
We've got to think about how we 
think we believe we have the 

443
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:38,200
right to something and, and we 
believe that, that, that, that, 

444
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:42,120
that that puts God in the place 
of someone who's mean or God's 

445
00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:45,720
unjust because he's done 
something we didn't think he 

446
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:49,760
should or allowed something we 
didn't think he should. 

447
00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:53,800
But if you begin from the proper
theological perspective, it 

448
00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,240
really does make a lot of 
difference in these stories and 

449
00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,240
in these questions. 
We are not even deserving life, 

450
00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,400
people. 
Life is a gift. 

451
00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:07,000
You didn't deserve to be born. 
You didn't deserve, You don't 

452
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:10,360
deserve to breathe. 
That's not where this starts. 

453
00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:13,320
We're sinners. 
You know what we deserve? 

454
00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:18,120
We deserve death and punishment.
That's what we deserve in our 

455
00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:20,160
rebellion against God. 
But we don't ever think that 

456
00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:21,160
way. 
That's too hard. 

457
00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:23,640
That's that's too mean that you 
know, the next thing you're 

458
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:25,600
going to do is you're going to 
use words like Hellfire and 

459
00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:30,400
brimstone or something. 
But you got to understand this. 

460
00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:36,200
See, God created us and because 
of what Adam and Eve did in the 

461
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:39,160
Garden and because of what has 
been passed on generation to 

462
00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:41,760
generation, we are born with a 
sin nature. 

463
00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:44,760
You don't have to teach your 
little children to misbehave. 

464
00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:53,800
It comes naturally. 
And because of our nature and 

465
00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:59,360
our own personal choices and 
sin, anything that we do or 

466
00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:02,560
anything that we say or anything
that we think that is contrary 

467
00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:06,720
to God's Word and God's will, we
are all in a place of sin. 

468
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:12,440
And the wages of sin is death. 
And we assume somehow we deserve

469
00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:15,600
something else. 
We assume somehow we deserve 

470
00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:18,920
good things. 
Listen to Mark chapter 10. 

471
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:22,760
And Jesus said to him, Why do 
you call me good? 

472
00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:27,040
No one is good except who? 
The Father. 

473
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:30,600
Yeah, even our definition of 
good. 

474
00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:34,960
It's all human, humanly driven. 
It's, it's our own perspective. 

475
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:37,200
It's, it's, it's my definition 
of good. 

476
00:28:37,360 --> 00:28:40,480
See, humanity loves to do that. 
I talk to you all the time about

477
00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,040
being on the holy scale. 
We, we like to, you know, we, we

478
00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,880
think that there's a works 
righteousness balance somehow 

479
00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:49,280
and that if we do more good than
bad, somehow it's OK. 

480
00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:52,080
And that's just not how grace 
works. 

481
00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:56,880
Romans 323 You know what? 
For all have sinned. 

482
00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:00,200
And what? 
Fall short, hamartia. 

483
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:03,520
We we've missed the mark. 
We've fallen short of the 

484
00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:05,640
target. 
The arrow didn't make it far 

485
00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:08,200
enough. 
And we fell short of the glory 

486
00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:12,560
of God, all of us. 
But God never sinned. 

487
00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:16,080
He's never sinned. 
Yet God the Son died a cruel 

488
00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:20,840
death to save us from ours. 
And so sinless and perfect, He 

489
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:23,520
came to those who hated, abused 
and ignored Him. 

490
00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:28,400
People who made bad choices, and
yet He died for him anyway. 

491
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:32,320
In Romans chapter 5 verses 6 
through 8, it says for why we 

492
00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:33,800
were still weak at the right 
time. 

493
00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:37,320
Christ died for the ungodly, for
one will scarcely die for a 

494
00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,440
righteous person, though perhaps
for a good person one would dare

495
00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:43,040
even to die. 
But God shows his love for us, 

496
00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:46,240
and that while we were still 
sinners, Christ died for us. 

497
00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:50,000
Why? 
Why would He do this? 

498
00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:53,480
What? 
What did he see in us that made 

499
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:57,280
it worth it? 
What value did He have in 

500
00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:00,120
creating us in the 1st place 
when He knew we would make these

501
00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:04,280
bad choices? 
See, that's perhaps the better 

502
00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:06,840
question. 
That's perhaps the greatest 

503
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:10,680
mystery of all is why did He go 
through all this? 

504
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:17,080
Well, that's His nature of love 
and we need to thank Him for it.

505
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,880
But even sins of foolishness, or
sins of what I call them sins of

506
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:25,240
stupidity, can lead us to 
results that match. 

507
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:29,600
I mean, listen, if you use or 
abuse certain substances, 

508
00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:33,400
they're going to destroy you. 
If you're unloving, likely you 

509
00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,480
will be unloved. 
If you jump from A10 story 

510
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:40,160
building, I promise you the law 
of gravity will go into effect. 

511
00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:45,560
If you drink and drive and you 
die in a car wreck, don't blame 

512
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:50,720
God for that. 
And so we sin. 

513
00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:56,120
We make bad choices, but we're 
just getting started because 

514
00:30:56,120 --> 00:31:00,280
it's far more complex. 
There are many more layers to 

515
00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:05,600
the wise. 
So we have an enemy who hates 

516
00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:09,040
us, especially those of us who 
have followed Christ. 

517
00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:12,800
He hates you, He hates you. 
He wants to destroy you. 

518
00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:16,280
He wants to stop Englewood 
Baptist, I promise you. 

519
00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:20,880
And we live in a fallen creation
that's sinful. 

520
00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:23,880
We're surrounded by it. 
So bad things happen in this 

521
00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:26,880
world. 
Bad things, natural disasters, 

522
00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:33,320
disease pandemics, they happen 
in a sinful world. 

523
00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:36,960
Cancer happens in a sinful 
world. 

524
00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:44,480
A fallen creation has cancer. 
And then we make bad choices 

525
00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:45,720
ourselves. 
Sometimes. 

526
00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,480
We sin sometimes, and sometimes 
it's our fault. 

527
00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:52,120
Sometimes we're bringing 
suffering on ourselves because 

528
00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:56,080
of our bad choices. 
But #4 says we also suffer 

529
00:31:56,080 --> 00:32:00,520
because others are fallen. 
Others sin and make bad choices.

530
00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:05,280
We also fall prey to those 
around us who are sinful, and 

531
00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:08,440
that affects us. 
So building on everything else 

532
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:11,440
we see that the Bible is clear. 
We suffer sometimes because of 

533
00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,560
the sins of others. 
That same drunk driver runs into

534
00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:17,960
a family and kills somebody. 
A robber shoots a clerk. 

535
00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:21,400
A disturbed person shoots 
children at a school or a 

536
00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:25,680
church. 
We suffer from the sinful 

537
00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:29,240
decisions of others because we 
live together in this fallen 

538
00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:31,840
state. 
And ever since Cain killed his 

539
00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:36,280
brother Abel, there has been 
hurt committed by 1 fallen human

540
00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:41,360
against another. 
We suffer the wrong evil choices

541
00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:45,320
of other men and women. 
We suffer because of their 

542
00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:48,200
mental and emotional disease 
when they commit horrible acts. 

543
00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:51,040
We suffer from their physical 
disease when they spread it and 

544
00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:53,320
another person dies because of 
it. 

545
00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:56,360
We suffer from their relational 
disease when families are torn 

546
00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:58,280
apart. 
We suffer from their spiritual 

547
00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:00,560
disease when they help to lead 
us astray. 

548
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,680
We affect one another in this 
fallen world. 

549
00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:07,400
It's part of the reality of this
existence. 

550
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:11,680
And we can shake our fist or we 
can share the gospel. 

551
00:33:11,680 --> 00:33:15,240
You got to make a choice because
people need grace. 

552
00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:21,440
They need to be saved from this.
They need to be free and be able

553
00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:27,000
to live beyond this. 
And then #5 we suffer because we

554
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:28,840
stand for Christ and make right 
choices. 

555
00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:32,720
This is a whole different angle.
We might even call this the best

556
00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:37,160
suffering. 
Christians may must accept the 

557
00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:40,920
fact and the Lord's right to 
actually purify us by trial. 

558
00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:44,120
It's for our own good and it's 
good for our testimony. 

559
00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:46,480
It's good for our the witness 
that we present. 

560
00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:49,800
And this suffering, the Bible 
says, can even be counted as joy

561
00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:52,760
of all things. 
Remember what James wrote in 

562
00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:56,960
James One. 
Count it all joy, my brothers, 

563
00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:00,600
when you meet trials of various 
kinds. 

564
00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:04,200
For you know that the testing of
your faith produces 

565
00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,720
steadfastness. 
And let steadfastness have its 

566
00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:11,159
full effect, that you may be 
perfect and complete, lacking in

567
00:34:11,159 --> 00:34:13,840
nothing. 
It's painful. 

568
00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:20,120
Persecution can hurt. 
I've worked with so many around 

569
00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:23,880
the world, so many I know right 
now as I stand here before you 

570
00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:28,760
who are suffering persecution 
right now, people who are being 

571
00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:33,159
killed, people in slavery, 
people whose houses are 

572
00:34:33,159 --> 00:34:38,120
bulldozed, people's whose 
churches are torched all around 

573
00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:43,120
the world. 
It's painful, but it's can also 

574
00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:46,040
be a cause to rejoice because 
I've also heard them share their

575
00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:50,400
testimony. 
Because persecution can actually

576
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:53,040
produce maturity in us. 
It can be a testimony to others 

577
00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:56,639
because we can suffer when we 
live like Jesus. 

578
00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:01,800
Matthew 5 Jesus tells them he 
warns them he says blessed are 

579
00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:05,360
you and others revile you and 
persecute you and utter all 

580
00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:07,720
kinds of evil against you 
falsely on my account. 

581
00:35:07,720 --> 00:35:11,560
Rejoice and be glad for your 
reward is great in heaven for so

582
00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:13,680
they persecuted the prophets who
were before you. 

583
00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:16,440
Think about the craziness of 
what he just said. 

584
00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:20,240
Blessed are you, rejoice and be 
glad and the fact that this 

585
00:35:20,240 --> 00:35:23,120
really hurts, it really stinks. 
You're going to you're going to 

586
00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:27,240
really suffer from this. 
You might die, but rejoice in 

587
00:35:27,240 --> 00:35:32,400
that, be glad in that, be 
blessed in that. 

588
00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:36,800
So we don't think like that. 
It's hard for us to think like 

589
00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:40,480
that, especially in this 
culture, in this country, in 

590
00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:43,080
this comfort. 
Hard for us to think like that. 

591
00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:50,080
But I have friends who've shared
testimonies how they rejoice in 

592
00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:54,520
their suffering and so we 
recognize this suffering also 

593
00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:57,360
makes us like Jesus. 
Philippians 3 says that I may 

594
00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:00,840
know him in the power of his 
resurrection and may share in 

595
00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:03,920
his sufferings, becoming like 
him in his death. 

596
00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:08,120
So suffering like this is, can 
be a privilege. 

597
00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:12,400
Remember in the book of Acts, 
how, how, how the apostles would

598
00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:15,720
actually rejoice that they were 
counted worthy enough to be, to 

599
00:36:15,720 --> 00:36:20,320
be beaten, to be imprisoned, to,
to be, to be scourge, to be 

600
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:22,480
whipped because of their love 
for Jesus. 

601
00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:31,040
So that could be a part of some 
of it, but this next one's a big

602
00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:34,680
part of it. 
I've been leading up to this 

603
00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:36,640
one. 
See, God permits suffering for a

604
00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:40,800
time as part of our created 
image and free will. 

605
00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:46,280
All this stuff ties together. 
Some say that God, and I've 

606
00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:49,880
talked about this in the past 
and other sessions about about 

607
00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:52,160
deism. 
Some, some people, some say 

608
00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:56,440
God's like a clock maker who 
wound up creation and then kind 

609
00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:59,880
of set it on the shelf and has 
no interaction with it anymore. 

610
00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:01,760
It's just a clock running over 
there on the shelf. 

611
00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:03,840
And God really isn't personally 
involved or not. 

612
00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:10,480
That's an ISM, but the truth of 
the matter is, is that God 

613
00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:13,920
actually is working today in at 
least two different ways, two 

614
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:19,880
major categories of his will. 
In his permissive will, God 

615
00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:25,160
permits certain things to take 
place for a season, and part of 

616
00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:27,520
our problem is our perspective 
of time. 

617
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:33,680
So he he he allows things to 
take place for a season in his 

618
00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:36,560
permissive will. 
He wants us to choose Him. 

619
00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:39,240
He wants us to freely follow 
Him. 

620
00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:43,360
He wants us to be saved. 
But because of our free will, 

621
00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:48,080
humanity makes very bad choices,
and the creation itself is 

622
00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:53,480
allowed to continue to fall. 
And God allows Satan to have a 

623
00:37:53,480 --> 00:37:56,160
season. 
In fact, the Bible says that in 

624
00:37:56,160 --> 00:38:01,360
first John 5, we know that we 
are from we are from God and the

625
00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:04,280
whole world lies in the power of
the evil one. 

626
00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:09,840
Now God could stop Satan at any 
time, but God permits Satan to 

627
00:38:09,840 --> 00:38:13,240
work for a time for probably a 
number of reasons, some of which

628
00:38:13,240 --> 00:38:16,960
we will probably never know, at 
least this side of heaven. 

629
00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:20,880
But we we do know that one of 
the reasons is to show us what 

630
00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:22,480
will happen if we don't choose 
him. 

631
00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:29,240
Satan is a poster child for what
not to be and we're told what's 

632
00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:31,040
going to happen to him at the 
end of time. 

633
00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:34,120
We're told what happens to those
who follow him. 

634
00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:38,800
God shows us ahead of time what 
the what the result of our 

635
00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:42,800
choices will be and this ought 
to help humanity to choose him. 

636
00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:48,520
But we still make bad choices 
and we fall victim to living in 

637
00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:52,720
this fallen state again. 
God could have just created us 

638
00:38:52,720 --> 00:38:58,680
with no choice. 
We could have had no option 

639
00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:03,880
whatsoever but to know Him and 
to love Him and to live for Him.

640
00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:08,640
But again, without evil, how can
we know good? 

641
00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:14,920
How can we understand Him? 
Evil has been allowed to exist 

642
00:39:14,920 --> 00:39:17,800
because of our free will. 
He wants us to have faith. 

643
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:21,600
He wants us to believe. 
He wants us to depend upon Him. 

644
00:39:21,720 --> 00:39:27,560
He wants us to trust in Him. 
So He allows choice and choice 

645
00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:30,160
doesn't surprise him, but choice
can lead to suffering. 

646
00:39:30,440 --> 00:39:35,000
And you got to think about that.
He even loves us by choice. 

647
00:39:37,240 --> 00:39:42,160
It's a part of his nature. 
And so we know that at the end 

648
00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:45,440
of time, not everyone will 
choose to trust in Jesus Christ.

649
00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:48,520
I've read the end of the book. 
It tells us this and that not 

650
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:51,280
everybody will trust in Jesus 
Christ as their Lord and they 

651
00:39:51,280 --> 00:39:55,320
will face severe punishment. 
And even this seems unfair to 

652
00:39:55,320 --> 00:39:58,320
some people. 
How could a loving God send 

653
00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:02,800
people to hell? 
And it reminds me a little bit 

654
00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:05,960
of students who come into my 
seminary classes, assuming 

655
00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:12,680
they've already made 100%. 
They almost come in and it's it.

656
00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:15,320
And it's only when they miss 
something that they lose points.

657
00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:17,800
Like they start off at 100 and 
if they get something wrong, now

658
00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:19,760
they're at 99 and now they're at
98. 

659
00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:22,520
When in fact, in my class, guess
what you start off with. 

660
00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:24,480
Nothing. 
That's correct. 

661
00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:30,160
Fortunately, with grace, we 
don't just start with nothing. 

662
00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:32,920
Huh. 
But in the same way we make that

663
00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:36,440
wrong assumption I mentioned 
earlier, we're assuming that 

664
00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:39,240
we're starting off deserving 
some kind of perfect score. 

665
00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:43,280
A perfect life, an easy life, a 
life with no problem. 

666
00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:47,040
And when something bad happens, 
we feel like it's unjust. 

667
00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:51,760
You got to remember God doesn't 
send man to hell. 

668
00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:59,120
Man sends himself there. 
Romans one is clear. 

669
00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:05,360
And by the way, this is a side 
note just for what it's worth. 

670
00:41:06,640 --> 00:41:10,280
If you ever see a dumb media 
clip. 

671
00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:12,960
I'm trying to use my adjectives 
carefully. 

672
00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:17,120
The Hebrew word is is idiotic. 
But anyway, So if you ever see 

673
00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:20,840
one of these media clips where 
it says you want to hear what 

674
00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:24,480
Jesus said about homosexuality 
and then there's silence, you 

675
00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:28,320
need to read the Bible. 
Because if you read all of Roman

676
00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:32,320
1, Romans 1, you would have no 
doubt whatsoever about what the 

677
00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:34,880
Bible says about homosexuality. 
Now, I'm not going to read that 

678
00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:37,560
specific passage because it's 
not germane to our topic 

679
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:40,240
tonight. 
But if you ever want to know 

680
00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:44,480
what the Bible really says about
homosexuality, and if you're 

681
00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:47,000
struggling with same sex 
attraction and you want to know 

682
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:48,800
what God thinks about it, read 
Romans 1. 

683
00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:54,160
The Romans 118 says, For the 
wrath of God is revealed from 

684
00:41:54,160 --> 00:41:57,560
heaven against all ungodliness 
and unrighteousness of men, who 

685
00:41:57,560 --> 00:41:59,960
by their unrighteousness 
suppress the truth. 

686
00:42:01,240 --> 00:42:05,920
For what can be known about God 
is plain to them, because God 

687
00:42:05,920 --> 00:42:09,840
has shown it to them. 
For his invisible attributes, 

688
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:13,480
namely His eternal power and 
divine nature, have been clearly

689
00:42:13,480 --> 00:42:16,920
perceived ever since the 
creation of the world in the 

690
00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:20,800
things that have been made. 
So they are without excuse. 

691
00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:24,960
So this is what we call general 
revelation that I've mentioned 

692
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:28,960
in a previous time together, 
where through creation, through 

693
00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:33,520
our consciousness, God reveals 
His existence to where there's 

694
00:42:33,520 --> 00:42:38,880
an awareness of God. 
Verse 21 says, for although they

695
00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:41,680
knew God, they did not honor him
as God or give thanks to him, 

696
00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:44,040
but they became futile in their 
thinking and they're foolish. 

697
00:42:44,040 --> 00:42:46,600
Hearts were darkened claiming to
be wise. 

698
00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:50,360
They became fools and exchanged 
the glory of the immortal God 

699
00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:53,480
for images resembling mortal man
and birds and animals and 

700
00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:57,040
creeping things. 
Then verse 28, And since they 

701
00:42:57,040 --> 00:42:59,960
did not see fit to acknowledge 
God, God gave them up to a 

702
00:42:59,960 --> 00:43:03,200
debase mind to do what ought not
to be done. 

703
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:07,280
Jesus didn't give up or God 
didn't give up on these people. 

704
00:43:08,320 --> 00:43:14,520
He allowed Him to choose. 
But then we got to leave, see #7

705
00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:17,600
because this is the other way 
God works. 

706
00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:23,600
You have God's permissive will, 
and you have God's active will. 

707
00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:25,880
There are other words for those 
things, but those are the 

708
00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:30,160
simplest terms I could give you.
And in God's active will, He 

709
00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:36,240
saves, He protects, He listens, 
He answers, He blesses. 

710
00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:40,560
God is working hard to help us 
choose correctly. 

711
00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:44,640
He's not. 
He's not some distant clockmaker

712
00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:46,520
who doesn't care about the 
clock. 

713
00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:50,240
He's intimately involved. 
His spirit is moving and 

714
00:43:50,240 --> 00:43:53,680
intimately engaged. 
He desires that everybody knows 

715
00:43:53,680 --> 00:43:56,240
him, that everybody is able to 
bring him glory. 

716
00:43:56,240 --> 00:44:00,800
And he warns us over and over 
and over again in his word about

717
00:44:00,800 --> 00:44:03,360
the wrong choices. 
Think of the entire Book of 

718
00:44:03,360 --> 00:44:06,480
Revelation. 
It's it's nothing but a warning.

719
00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:11,600
First, John 38 says whoever 
makes a practice of sinning is 

720
00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:15,240
of the devil, for the devil has 
been sinning from the beginning.

721
00:44:15,720 --> 00:44:18,280
The reason the Son of God 
appeared was to destroy the 

722
00:44:18,280 --> 00:44:21,840
works of the devil. 
So Jesus comes to destroy 

723
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:26,440
Satan's work to fight against 
him, and he created the church 

724
00:44:26,560 --> 00:44:29,600
to carry out his mission to 
share this truth with the whole 

725
00:44:29,600 --> 00:44:33,680
world. 
That's why we're still here, and

726
00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:38,040
He's here to help us. 1st 
Corinthians 10 No temptation is 

727
00:44:38,040 --> 00:44:40,080
overtaking you. 
That is not common to man. 

728
00:44:40,080 --> 00:44:43,360
God is faithful, and He will not
let you be tempted beyond your 

729
00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:45,320
ability. 
But with the temptation, He will

730
00:44:45,320 --> 00:44:48,720
also provide the way of the 
escape that you may be able to 

731
00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:51,120
endure it. 
If we'll choose Him, He'll help 

732
00:44:51,120 --> 00:44:57,960
us to make the right choices. 
So He's actively moving to 

733
00:44:57,960 --> 00:45:03,040
overcome evil through Christ. 
Romans 5 says, For if because of

734
00:45:03,040 --> 00:45:06,680
one man's trespass death reign 
through that one man, much more 

735
00:45:06,680 --> 00:45:09,560
will those who receive the 
abundance of grace and the free 

736
00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:11,880
gift of righteousness reign in 
life. 

737
00:45:11,880 --> 00:45:15,520
Listen to that phrase, reign in 
life through the one man, Jesus 

738
00:45:15,520 --> 00:45:18,560
Christ. 
Therefore, as one trespass led 

739
00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:21,760
to condemnation, to condemnation
for all men, so one act of 

740
00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:24,400
righteousness leads to 
justification and life for all 

741
00:45:24,400 --> 00:45:26,640
men. 
For as by the one man's 

742
00:45:26,640 --> 00:45:30,160
disobedience the many were made 
sinners, so by the one man's 

743
00:45:30,160 --> 00:45:36,000
obedience the many will be made 
righteous, and he will bring 

744
00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:37,920
evil to an end. 
That is a promise. 

745
00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:45,680
One day it's all going to be 
over, and he's destroyed Satan's

746
00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:48,560
work. 
If we believe in him, Satan 

747
00:45:48,560 --> 00:45:51,600
can't have us anymore. 
If we've trusted in him, if 

748
00:45:51,600 --> 00:45:54,240
we've chosen Christ, Satan can't
have us anymore. 

749
00:45:55,600 --> 00:45:59,200
And there come a time when there
will be no more evil, because 

750
00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:02,200
the very sources of evil will be
castaway. 

751
00:46:03,480 --> 00:46:07,200
And Satan's going to burn in a 
lake of fire forever. 

752
00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:11,680
And I love saying it out loud so
that his army can hear me, 

753
00:46:12,680 --> 00:46:13,840
because that's where they're all
going. 

754
00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:18,760
And one day every knee will bow 
and every tongue will confess 

755
00:46:18,760 --> 00:46:22,840
that Jesus is Lord. 
But Satan will not only end up 

756
00:46:22,840 --> 00:46:24,920
in that lake of fire, 
unfortunately, those who have 

757
00:46:24,920 --> 00:46:26,800
chosen to follow him will go 
there too. 

758
00:46:28,960 --> 00:46:32,400
For those entrusting Christ, 
though, here's our future. 

759
00:46:32,920 --> 00:46:35,600
Remember what he says at the 
very end, almost of the whole 

760
00:46:35,600 --> 00:46:38,600
book, toward the very end in 
Revelation 21, Four. 

761
00:46:39,640 --> 00:46:41,800
Often we would quote this even 
at a funeral. 

762
00:46:42,720 --> 00:46:46,840
But what an encouragement. 
He will wipe away every tear 

763
00:46:46,840 --> 00:46:52,200
from their eyes, and death shall
be no more. 

764
00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:58,400
The wage is paid. 
The sin wage is paid, So death 

765
00:46:58,400 --> 00:47:02,080
doesn't exist anymore for us, 
and neither shall there be 

766
00:47:02,080 --> 00:47:05,320
mourning nor crying nor pain 
anymore. 

767
00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:08,520
For the former, things have 
passed away. 

768
00:47:10,480 --> 00:47:13,480
So He wants us to make right 
choices now. 

769
00:47:15,080 --> 00:47:19,240
He wants us to help one another 
make the right choices now. 

770
00:47:20,160 --> 00:47:24,200
He wants us to share the right 
choice with others. 

771
00:47:24,520 --> 00:47:31,200
Now, we also need to consider 
their proper biblical view of 

772
00:47:31,200 --> 00:47:33,840
death and eternity. 
This is where I come back to the

773
00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:37,160
idea of time a little bit. 
We, we've got to talk about this

774
00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:39,800
just for a moment, because this 
is also where we experience 

775
00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:43,960
problems. 
Because what we experience here 

776
00:47:43,960 --> 00:47:47,880
is extremely temporary and 
doesn't seem like it when we're 

777
00:47:47,880 --> 00:47:50,160
in the middle of it, does it? 
Because this, this life is all 

778
00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:51,960
we know. 
And this, the first many of this

779
00:47:51,960 --> 00:47:54,720
is all they believe there is, 
which is part of the problem, 

780
00:47:55,560 --> 00:47:59,240
but it isn't. 
We focus a lot on the temporary 

781
00:47:59,240 --> 00:48:02,960
because it's all we know. 
But everybody is going to 

782
00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:05,680
experience eternity. 
You got to wrap your head around

783
00:48:05,680 --> 00:48:08,400
that. 
Some of us are going to 

784
00:48:08,400 --> 00:48:11,960
experience eternity in heaven. 
Some people are going to 

785
00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:15,760
experience eternity in hell, but
everybody will experience 

786
00:48:15,760 --> 00:48:18,920
eternity. 
I am not an annihilationist, and

787
00:48:18,920 --> 00:48:20,520
you either know what I just said
or you didn't. 

788
00:48:21,280 --> 00:48:22,920
But that's not what the Bible 
teaches. 

789
00:48:23,680 --> 00:48:26,560
The what the Bible teaches, and 
I'll share this one day in depth

790
00:48:26,560 --> 00:48:29,240
with you because this is what 
Jesus believes. 

791
00:48:29,240 --> 00:48:31,440
If Jesus believes that, I think 
it's probably right. 

792
00:48:32,760 --> 00:48:36,040
If heaven is forever, then hell 
has to be forever because he 

793
00:48:36,040 --> 00:48:38,440
uses the exact same Greek words 
for both. 

794
00:48:39,320 --> 00:48:40,920
You can't make one without the 
other. 

795
00:48:42,160 --> 00:48:46,240
They're both eternal. 
To help deal with the current 

796
00:48:46,240 --> 00:48:50,120
questions of evil, then we need 
to focus more on eternity. 

797
00:48:51,600 --> 00:48:54,200
For the believer, death may 
actually be and you're not going

798
00:48:54,200 --> 00:48:55,800
to like this sentence. 
Some of you, and I get it 

799
00:48:55,800 --> 00:48:57,840
because you, some of you are 
still grieving loss. 

800
00:48:57,840 --> 00:48:59,800
And I'm, I'm really sensitive to
that. 

801
00:48:59,800 --> 00:49:01,440
And I, I want to be sensitive to
that. 

802
00:49:01,440 --> 00:49:04,600
I really am sorry because I've, 
I've been through loss myself. 

803
00:49:04,600 --> 00:49:06,280
Maybe not through the same loss 
you've been through. 

804
00:49:06,280 --> 00:49:08,720
I don't want to say I understand
how you feel because I, I don't 

805
00:49:08,720 --> 00:49:11,720
know how you feel, but I've, 
I've been through loss myself. 

806
00:49:13,080 --> 00:49:16,280
But but for the believer, death 
may be God's welcomed, 

807
00:49:16,280 --> 00:49:23,480
intentional way of healing. 
I've known a lot of people who 

808
00:49:23,480 --> 00:49:27,040
had a hard time here and God 
took them home. 

809
00:49:27,360 --> 00:49:29,120
They're not having a hard time 
anymore. 

810
00:49:31,480 --> 00:49:35,720
When I preach my own mother's 
funeral and my father's funeral,

811
00:49:37,320 --> 00:49:39,640
I said that if they could come 
back for 10 seconds, they say 

812
00:49:39,640 --> 00:49:42,600
don't you worry about me, take 
care of my family. 

813
00:49:43,360 --> 00:49:46,840
I'm just fine. 
I don't even want to come back 

814
00:49:48,960 --> 00:49:52,040
the story often I don't know how
it really worked, but there's 

815
00:49:52,120 --> 00:49:55,440
there's all kinds of jokes and 
stories about like Lazarus and 

816
00:49:55,440 --> 00:49:57,000
Lazarus. 
What like, you know, wait a 

817
00:49:57,000 --> 00:50:01,960
minute, what I got to come back 
here? 

818
00:50:06,080 --> 00:50:08,840
God may actually bring people 
home to be with him earlier than

819
00:50:08,840 --> 00:50:12,120
we had expected. 
And sometimes he does it in 

820
00:50:12,120 --> 00:50:16,200
unexpected ways that we don't 
like and we don't approve of. 

821
00:50:17,240 --> 00:50:19,120
We don't think are right and we 
don't think are just. 

822
00:50:19,760 --> 00:50:22,480
I get it. 
But we need to remember that 

823
00:50:22,480 --> 00:50:25,920
this life here on this planet is
only a vapor of the beginning of

824
00:50:25,920 --> 00:50:28,960
our existence. 
It's a flash. 

825
00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:34,520
We're only here for a little 
bit, but we're an eternity 

826
00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:36,080
forever. 
And our brains have a hard time 

827
00:50:36,080 --> 00:50:37,560
with that. 
Our brains have a really hard 

828
00:50:37,560 --> 00:50:39,480
time with that because this, 
this is what we love. 

829
00:50:39,480 --> 00:50:43,360
This is what we know. 
This isn't even who we really 

830
00:50:43,360 --> 00:50:45,720
are. 
This is not really me. 

831
00:50:46,080 --> 00:50:49,040
This is just a shell fact. 
I'll read a verse about that. 

832
00:50:51,000 --> 00:50:54,240
We need to allow our present 
suffering to teach us more about

833
00:50:54,240 --> 00:50:57,480
eternity. 
Romans 818 says. 

834
00:50:57,480 --> 00:50:59,640
For I consider that the 
sufferings of this present time 

835
00:50:59,640 --> 00:51:03,120
are not worth comparing with the
glory that is to be revealed to 

836
00:51:03,160 --> 00:51:06,160
us. 
Are one of my favorite passages.

837
00:51:06,240 --> 00:51:08,800
I've never really known why, it 
just always encourages me. 

838
00:51:08,800 --> 00:51:13,080
The 2nd Corinthians 4. 
I've gone to this passage during

839
00:51:13,360 --> 00:51:17,320
difficult times in my life. 
But we have this treasure in 

840
00:51:17,320 --> 00:51:22,480
jars of clay to show that the 
surpassing power belongs to God 

841
00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:25,640
and not to us. 
We were afflicted in every way, 

842
00:51:25,640 --> 00:51:29,360
but not crushed, perplexed but 
not driven to despair, 

843
00:51:29,680 --> 00:51:33,560
persecuted but not forsaken, 
struck down but not destroyed, 

844
00:51:33,880 --> 00:51:37,200
always carrying in the body the 
death of Jesus, so that the life

845
00:51:37,200 --> 00:51:39,880
of Jesus also may be manifested 
in our bodies. 

846
00:51:40,320 --> 00:51:43,280
For we who live are always being
given over to death for Jesus 

847
00:51:43,280 --> 00:51:47,040
sake, so that the life of Jesus 
also may be manifested in our 

848
00:51:47,040 --> 00:51:50,360
mortal flesh. 
So death is at work in us, but 

849
00:51:50,360 --> 00:51:54,600
life in you, since we have the 
same spirit of faith according 

850
00:51:54,600 --> 00:51:57,720
to what has been written. 
I believed and so I spoke. 

851
00:51:57,720 --> 00:52:01,880
We also believe, and so we also 
speak, knowing that He is that 

852
00:52:01,880 --> 00:52:06,000
he who raised the Lord Jesus 
will raise us also with Jesus 

853
00:52:06,320 --> 00:52:11,000
and bring us with you into His 
presence, for it is all for your

854
00:52:11,000 --> 00:52:15,200
sake, so that as grace extends 
to more and more people, it may 

855
00:52:15,200 --> 00:52:17,400
increase Thanksgiving to the 
glory of God. 

856
00:52:17,680 --> 00:52:21,880
So we do not lose heart. 
Though our outer self is wasting

857
00:52:21,880 --> 00:52:25,920
away, our inner self is being 
renewed day by day. 

858
00:52:26,120 --> 00:52:30,640
For this light momentary 
affliction is preparing for us 

859
00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:34,240
an eternal weight of glory 
beyond all comparison, as we 

860
00:52:34,240 --> 00:52:38,040
look not to the things that are 
seen, but to the things that are

861
00:52:38,040 --> 00:52:41,040
unseen. 
For the things that are seen are

862
00:52:41,040 --> 00:52:45,800
transient, but the things that 
are unseen are eternal. 

863
00:52:48,720 --> 00:52:52,920
We also recognize that He allows
or even takes us through storms 

864
00:52:52,920 --> 00:52:55,280
to strengthen and draw us closer
to Him. 

865
00:52:56,440 --> 00:53:02,560
Similar perhaps to an earlier 
point, but I want to just ask 

866
00:53:02,560 --> 00:53:04,560
you, did God ever promises 
otherwise? 

867
00:53:06,680 --> 00:53:09,960
Listen to what Peter wrote, a 
person who ends up being 

868
00:53:09,960 --> 00:53:13,720
crucified upside down for the 
sake of Christ. 

869
00:53:14,760 --> 00:53:17,880
Beloved, do not be surprised at 
the fiery trial when it comes 

870
00:53:17,880 --> 00:53:21,560
upon you to test you as though 
something strange were happening

871
00:53:21,560 --> 00:53:24,880
to you. 
And that verse right there is a 

872
00:53:24,880 --> 00:53:29,320
verse to dwell on for a second. 
Don't be surprised when this 

873
00:53:29,320 --> 00:53:33,440
happens to you. 
Don't be surprised if you choose

874
00:53:33,440 --> 00:53:39,320
to follow Christ and you suffer,
but rejoice insofar as you share

875
00:53:39,320 --> 00:53:42,120
Christ's suffering. 
That you this kind of blows away

876
00:53:42,120 --> 00:53:46,080
the prosperity gospel, didn't it
kind of just shoots a hole in 

877
00:53:46,080 --> 00:53:49,240
it. 
As Christians, we don't get to 

878
00:53:49,440 --> 00:53:55,560
escape. 
We go through, we rise above. 

879
00:53:55,560 --> 00:53:59,160
But G But rejoice insofar as you
share Christ's suffering, that 

880
00:53:59,160 --> 00:54:02,360
you may also rejoice and be glad
when his glory is revealed. 

881
00:54:02,920 --> 00:54:05,440
If you are insulted by the name 
of Christ, you're blessed for 

882
00:54:05,440 --> 00:54:07,280
the name of Christ. 
You're blessed because the 

883
00:54:07,280 --> 00:54:10,400
spirit of glory and of God rests
upon you. 

884
00:54:10,560 --> 00:54:13,520
But let none of you suffer as a 
murderer or a thief or an 

885
00:54:13,520 --> 00:54:16,080
evildoer, or as a meddler. 
None of that meddlin. 

886
00:54:18,440 --> 00:54:22,080
Now notice we like to rank sin. 
How many of you put murder and 

887
00:54:22,080 --> 00:54:28,000
meddlin on the same level? 
Stop it stopped your Meddlin. 

888
00:54:28,840 --> 00:54:32,120
Yet if anyone suffers as a 
Christian, let him not be 

889
00:54:32,120 --> 00:54:35,960
ashamed, but let him glorify God
in that name for just a It is 

890
00:54:35,960 --> 00:54:38,440
time for judgment to begin at 
the household of God. 

891
00:54:38,680 --> 00:54:41,720
And if it begins with us, what 
will be the outcome for those 

892
00:54:41,720 --> 00:54:43,560
who do not obey the gospel of 
God? 

893
00:54:44,840 --> 00:54:47,600
And if the righteous is scarcely
saved, what will become the 

894
00:54:47,640 --> 00:54:51,360
ungodly and the Sinner? 
Therefore, let those who suffer 

895
00:54:51,360 --> 00:54:53,960
according to God's will and 
trust their souls to a faithful 

896
00:54:53,960 --> 00:55:00,160
Creator while doing good. 
He promised us this in this 

897
00:55:00,160 --> 00:55:02,360
Word. 
He promised us more than once in

898
00:55:02,360 --> 00:55:07,000
His Word that we would struggle 
here but to choose to trust Him 

899
00:55:08,600 --> 00:55:11,480
and to overcome this world. 
So why are we so surprised when 

900
00:55:11,480 --> 00:55:16,320
bad things happen? 
How do we even know they were 

901
00:55:16,320 --> 00:55:20,480
bad? 
Is our definition even right? 

902
00:55:21,720 --> 00:55:26,200
Maybe God had incredible good 
things to produce through the 

903
00:55:26,200 --> 00:55:31,600
middle of that difficulty. 
Genesis chapter 50 verse 20. 

904
00:55:31,600 --> 00:55:35,720
You might remember the story of 
a little boy who wore a multi 

905
00:55:35,720 --> 00:55:42,520
colored coat named Joseph. 
He went through some stuff and 

906
00:55:42,520 --> 00:55:44,840
at the end of that story, 
remember what the Bible says. 

907
00:55:44,840 --> 00:55:48,480
As for you, you meant evil 
against me, but God meant it for

908
00:55:48,480 --> 00:55:52,040
good to bring it about. 
That many people should be kept 

909
00:55:52,040 --> 00:55:55,360
alive as they are today. 
God saved an entire nation 

910
00:55:55,520 --> 00:55:59,760
because Joseph had to endure 
severe suffering for it to 

911
00:55:59,760 --> 00:56:03,120
happen. 
So this earthly life has its 

912
00:56:03,120 --> 00:56:06,320
problems, no doubt about it. 
We're promised that Jesus said, 

913
00:56:06,640 --> 00:56:09,920
he said in John 16, these things
I've spoken to you that in me 

914
00:56:09,920 --> 00:56:13,120
you may have peace in the world.
You will have tribulation. 

915
00:56:13,280 --> 00:56:15,920
I mean, that's not even, there's
not even a question mark there. 

916
00:56:16,000 --> 00:56:19,640
You will have tribulation, but 
be of good cheer. 

917
00:56:19,640 --> 00:56:23,120
Why? 
Because I've overcome the world.

918
00:56:24,840 --> 00:56:29,760
This isn't home. 
This is a temporary working 

919
00:56:29,760 --> 00:56:35,520
space for us to do what God 
wants before we go home. 

920
00:56:36,560 --> 00:56:39,080
We're on assignment and He has 
overcome. 

921
00:56:39,080 --> 00:56:40,640
Remember that. 
Allow that to guide you. 

922
00:56:40,640 --> 00:56:43,440
Allow that to strengthen you. 
Now, that doesn't answer all the

923
00:56:43,440 --> 00:56:45,040
questions I promised you at the 
beginning. 

924
00:56:45,040 --> 00:56:46,760
It wouldn't. 
There are specific situations 

925
00:56:46,920 --> 00:56:49,560
that require specific 
conversations and specific 

926
00:56:49,560 --> 00:56:51,480
discussions as to why that 
happened. 

927
00:56:51,800 --> 00:56:56,040
Why did children die in a 
horrible, sinful shooting? 

928
00:56:56,120 --> 00:56:58,680
Here's my honest answer to you. 
I don't know. 

929
00:57:00,040 --> 00:57:05,320
I can't tell you. 
All I can do is trust. 

930
00:57:08,840 --> 00:57:13,800
But I can tell you why Lazarus 
died, which was just as painful 

931
00:57:13,800 --> 00:57:17,200
for those sisters who didn't 
understand at the time why their

932
00:57:17,200 --> 00:57:21,160
brother had to die. 
And later on, the Bible actually

933
00:57:21,160 --> 00:57:24,200
tells us why he died. 
It's so that he could be brought

934
00:57:24,200 --> 00:57:27,120
back to life for God's glory. 
Or, or, or I can, I can, I can 

935
00:57:27,120 --> 00:57:29,920
tell you why the man was born 
blind in John Chapter 9. 

936
00:57:30,800 --> 00:57:33,240
Because the Bible tells us it 
was for the glory of God. 

937
00:57:35,200 --> 00:57:36,960
But sometimes we don't get the 
answers. 

938
00:57:38,640 --> 00:57:42,800
I wish we did. 
I guess I'm not sure we could 

939
00:57:42,800 --> 00:57:44,400
understand them even if we had 
them. 

940
00:57:46,080 --> 00:57:50,080
But we need to learn from what 
we experience, and instead of 

941
00:57:50,080 --> 00:57:52,920
driving us away from God or 
questioning God, which is what 

942
00:57:52,920 --> 00:57:57,520
happens to so many, it ought to 
make us run to God and cling to 

943
00:57:57,520 --> 00:58:00,360
Him and trust him even more 
because He's the only hope you 

944
00:58:00,360 --> 00:58:05,040
have to get through it. 
We must learn to trust Him. 

945
00:58:05,040 --> 00:58:08,280
That's called faith. 
Stand on the fact that God is 

946
00:58:08,280 --> 00:58:12,960
good and God has a plan, and so 
run to him. 

947
00:58:12,960 --> 00:58:15,240
Cling to Him. 
Realize that God can see a 

948
00:58:15,240 --> 00:58:18,880
picture that we cannot see. 
There's an old classic 

949
00:58:18,880 --> 00:58:21,800
illustration of this that 
perhaps gets overused, but I'll 

950
00:58:21,800 --> 00:58:23,840
use it again. 
And that's that's of the woven 

951
00:58:23,840 --> 00:58:26,600
tapestry. 
You know, when you look at an 

952
00:58:26,600 --> 00:58:30,320
old fashioned tapestry, if you 
see one, then on on one side 

953
00:58:30,320 --> 00:58:33,280
it's a beautiful, it's a 
beautiful picture that's created

954
00:58:33,280 --> 00:58:36,280
by various threads of various 
kinds and colours. 

955
00:58:36,480 --> 00:58:39,240
And you know, you see this whole
beautiful picture of something. 

956
00:58:39,360 --> 00:58:43,160
But if you look on the back, if 
you look on the back, it's a 

957
00:58:43,160 --> 00:58:48,720
tangled mess, A thread, some 
long, some short, some with 

958
00:58:48,720 --> 00:58:52,800
knots, some some some without. 
Why is that thread longer? 

959
00:58:52,800 --> 00:58:54,560
Why is that one have 4 knots in 
a? 

960
00:58:54,560 --> 00:58:56,840
Why? 
Why is that one torn to bits? 

961
00:58:59,280 --> 00:59:03,360
And that's what we see. 
We see our little thread and a 

962
00:59:03,360 --> 00:59:07,640
few little threads around us. 
But God sees the picture. 

963
00:59:09,160 --> 00:59:11,240
His perspective is totally 
different than ours. 

964
00:59:11,920 --> 00:59:14,160
His perspective of time, our 
life is our. 

965
00:59:14,400 --> 00:59:18,680
I mean, it's not even not even 
that in the scope of eternity, 

966
00:59:19,680 --> 00:59:22,840
but God still sees the picture 
and he still cares about that. 

967
00:59:22,840 --> 00:59:25,320
That's amazing, isn't it? 
Even though we're that's always 

968
00:59:25,320 --> 00:59:27,480
that's he still cares deeply 
about that. 

969
00:59:28,160 --> 00:59:31,720
He created you for that. 
He wants you to live in that for

970
00:59:31,720 --> 00:59:35,400
him to choose him in that he 
gives you the chance to do that.

971
00:59:35,680 --> 00:59:37,600
And you can sit there and say, 
well, I know it well, you're 

972
00:59:37,600 --> 00:59:38,680
here now. 
You do. 

973
00:59:41,640 --> 00:59:43,200
He sees past, present and 
future. 

974
00:59:43,200 --> 00:59:47,160
I've told you before, all at the
same time, he knows. 

975
00:59:48,360 --> 00:59:50,560
So where's God amid the hurt in 
this world? 

976
00:59:53,080 --> 00:59:55,960
We all suffer from it. 
We suffer from the need for 

977
00:59:55,960 --> 00:59:57,560
hope. 
We suffer from the temptation to

978
00:59:57,560 --> 01:00:00,640
panic at times. 
We just suffer from the desire 

979
01:00:00,640 --> 01:00:02,800
for encouragement. 
We just we suffer from the 

980
01:00:02,800 --> 01:00:06,880
search for answers. 
So I've been thinking a lot 

981
01:00:06,880 --> 01:00:10,880
about how sometimes we speak of 
these uncertain times we live 

982
01:00:10,880 --> 01:00:14,360
in. 
Let me just push back for a 

983
01:00:14,360 --> 01:00:18,520
minute because there's several 
things I know for certain. 

984
01:00:20,760 --> 01:00:23,720
I know for certain that God is 
certain about what time it is. 

985
01:00:24,800 --> 01:00:26,520
He knows exactly what time it 
is. 

986
01:00:28,160 --> 01:00:31,680
I know for certain that I know, 
and I believe in God, and I know

987
01:00:31,680 --> 01:00:33,680
for certain that He is 
completely sovereign. 

988
01:00:33,920 --> 01:00:36,480
And I know for certain that He 
has not stopped working, 

989
01:00:36,480 --> 01:00:40,200
distanced, or cancelled Himself.
I know for certain His grace and

990
01:00:40,200 --> 01:00:43,480
love have not been stopped. 
I know for certain that He can 

991
01:00:43,480 --> 01:00:46,680
and is working out good things 
even during the fallenness 

992
01:00:46,680 --> 01:00:49,400
surrounding us. 
I know for certain that the 

993
01:00:49,400 --> 01:00:52,120
Church belongs to Him, and the 
gates of hell will not prevail 

994
01:00:52,120 --> 01:00:54,880
against her. 
I know for certain I am saved 

995
01:00:54,880 --> 01:00:57,440
and beyond any shadow of a 
doubt, if I were to drop dead 

996
01:00:57,440 --> 01:01:00,120
right now, standing behind this 
podium as you're listening to me

997
01:01:00,120 --> 01:01:03,520
online, I would spend eternity 
with him immediately, forever. 

998
01:01:05,320 --> 01:01:08,720
Therefore, I know for certain 
that I must not live in some fog

999
01:01:08,720 --> 01:01:12,560
of fear or perspective of panic.
Because I know for certain I was

1000
01:01:12,560 --> 01:01:14,720
never promised the understanding
of tomorrow. 

1001
01:01:14,920 --> 01:01:16,960
I was never promised the 
understanding of even what's 

1002
01:01:16,960 --> 01:01:19,840
going to happen to me 10 seconds
from now, for that matter. 

1003
01:01:20,680 --> 01:01:24,080
But I do know for certain, I 
know the One for certain, who 

1004
01:01:24,080 --> 01:01:27,040
knows for certain what the next 
10 seconds and tomorrow do hold 

1005
01:01:27,040 --> 01:01:32,760
for certain. 
So are these times really any 

1006
01:01:32,760 --> 01:01:36,560
more uncertain than any other 
from God's perspective? 

1007
01:01:36,560 --> 01:01:39,920
I think not. 
It's only by my definitions. 

1008
01:01:40,920 --> 01:01:44,440
It's only by my limited sight 
and perspective that they appear

1009
01:01:44,440 --> 01:01:47,080
so. 
But I'm certain we're supposed 

1010
01:01:47,080 --> 01:01:50,880
to live by faith and not by 
sight, and I'm certain the Bible

1011
01:01:50,880 --> 01:01:53,400
is not uncertain about that. 
So I'm certain during these 

1012
01:01:53,400 --> 01:01:56,960
times that the things of earth 
will go strangely dim in the 

1013
01:01:56,960 --> 01:02:02,400
light of his glory and grace. 
So today is on all days. 

1014
01:02:02,400 --> 01:02:09,920
I know we must for certain turn 
our eyes upon Jesus because in 

1015
01:02:09,920 --> 01:02:15,400
Him, and only in Him will we 
find Shalom, will find peace 

1016
01:02:16,400 --> 01:02:20,960
with him, with one another, and 
with ourselves. 

1017
01:02:23,200 --> 01:02:25,240
We must move forward in faith 
and wisdom. 

1018
01:02:25,240 --> 01:02:28,120
We must be defined by His Word, 
we must be devoted to prayer, 

1019
01:02:28,120 --> 01:02:30,520
and we must be absolutely 
dependent upon the Holy Spirit. 

1020
01:02:30,520 --> 01:02:35,760
Those are the 3DS of life. 
You ought to remember I was 

1021
01:02:35,760 --> 01:02:37,720
listening to a song. 
It's not a new song. 

1022
01:02:37,760 --> 01:02:40,760
You may laugh at me when I tell 
you who it's by, because some of

1023
01:02:40,760 --> 01:02:43,480
you will have no idea who this 
is, and others will know too 

1024
01:02:43,480 --> 01:02:46,600
well who this is. 
It's a song by Big Daddy Weave. 

1025
01:02:49,040 --> 01:02:52,360
I know it's been around a while,
but so have I. 

1026
01:02:54,000 --> 01:02:57,480
Listen to these lyrics. 
You don't answer all my 

1027
01:02:57,480 --> 01:03:00,920
questions, but you hear me when 
I speak. 

1028
01:03:02,360 --> 01:03:05,360
You don't keep my heart from 
breaking, but when it does, you 

1029
01:03:05,360 --> 01:03:09,040
weep with me. 
I don't understand the sorrow, 

1030
01:03:09,040 --> 01:03:11,640
but you're calm within the 
storm. 

1031
01:03:12,640 --> 01:03:15,920
Sometimes this weight is 
overwhelming, but I don't carry 

1032
01:03:15,920 --> 01:03:18,480
it alone. 
You're still close. 

1033
01:03:18,480 --> 01:03:22,040
When I can't feel you, I don't 
have to be afraid. 

1034
01:03:22,880 --> 01:03:26,520
And though my eyes have never 
seen you, I've seen enough to 

1035
01:03:26,520 --> 01:03:31,640
say I know that you're good. 
I know that you are kind. 

1036
01:03:32,320 --> 01:03:35,960
I know that you are so much more
than what I leave behind. 

1037
01:03:36,840 --> 01:03:40,480
I know that I'm loved. 
I know that I am safe. 

1038
01:03:41,080 --> 01:03:43,840
Because even in the fire, to 
live is Christ. 

1039
01:03:44,720 --> 01:03:47,840
To die is gain. 
I know that you're good. 

1040
01:03:47,840 --> 01:03:53,320
And on my darkest day, from my 
deepest pain, through it all, my

1041
01:03:53,320 --> 01:03:58,000
heart will choose to sing your 
praise. 

1042
01:04:01,720 --> 01:04:06,280
Father, thank you for your word.
I wish I had more specific 

1043
01:04:06,280 --> 01:04:09,040
answers for everybody's specific
problems, Father. 

1044
01:04:09,480 --> 01:04:12,280
Sometimes I feel incredibly 
inadequate at that point. 

1045
01:04:13,600 --> 01:04:17,600
But Father, all I can do is what
Your word tells us and reveals 

1046
01:04:17,600 --> 01:04:22,000
to us, Lord. 
And no matter the circumstance, 

1047
01:04:22,000 --> 01:04:24,360
no matter how bad, no matter how
horrific. 

1048
01:04:24,360 --> 01:04:26,480
And Lord, you know, I have 
walked through some pretty 

1049
01:04:26,480 --> 01:04:34,760
horrific things with people, 
tragic things, sinful, evil 

1050
01:04:34,760 --> 01:04:42,960
things. 
The Father through it all, all I

1051
01:04:42,960 --> 01:04:44,920
know is, is that you're right 
there. 

1052
01:04:46,440 --> 01:04:49,360
And Father, you hurt with us, 
just as Jesus wept with those 

1053
01:04:49,360 --> 01:04:54,360
sisters. 
And I can trust you. 

1054
01:04:55,600 --> 01:04:59,000
I can depend upon you. 
I can believe in you. 

1055
01:04:59,000 --> 01:05:01,240
Father, I think of the people 
that I've worked with over the 

1056
01:05:01,240 --> 01:05:05,680
years who don't know you who've 
lost and father, the way they 

1057
01:05:05,680 --> 01:05:09,160
had, no, they had no anchor. 
They had nothing to hang on to. 

1058
01:05:09,160 --> 01:05:12,520
They had no hope. 
They had no, no ability to 

1059
01:05:12,520 --> 01:05:17,920
recover because all they saw was
the darkness. 

1060
01:05:20,520 --> 01:05:23,400
And so, Father, I just pray that
anyone who hears any of this, 

1061
01:05:23,400 --> 01:05:25,960
Lord, if they they agree, they 
don't agree with me, at least, 

1062
01:05:25,960 --> 01:05:29,120
Father, they'll listen to this 
one thing that Father, no matter

1063
01:05:29,120 --> 01:05:32,200
what else they might think that 
you love them and you have a 

1064
01:05:32,200 --> 01:05:34,280
plan for them. 
And you're the only source of 

1065
01:05:34,280 --> 01:05:39,640
light and hope that is possible 
to get through what sometimes 

1066
01:05:39,640 --> 01:05:44,640
this life throws at us. 
And Father, you don't promise us

1067
01:05:44,640 --> 01:05:47,400
that we get to avoid. 
You never did. 

1068
01:05:47,400 --> 01:05:49,000
I don't know why we think we 
should. 

1069
01:05:51,120 --> 01:05:53,720
I don't know why we think we 
deserve something else. 

1070
01:05:53,720 --> 01:05:56,080
But Lord, it's just the way we 
are, I guess. 

1071
01:05:59,760 --> 01:06:04,320
But Father, you promise that 
you'll take us through the 

1072
01:06:04,320 --> 01:06:06,480
promise. 
You'll guide, you'll guide us 

1073
01:06:06,480 --> 01:06:08,200
and lead us if we'll trust in 
you. 

1074
01:06:08,200 --> 01:06:10,000
But Father, we have to choose to
do that. 

1075
01:06:10,000 --> 01:06:16,600
We have to choose to do that. 
We have to choose now. 

1076
01:06:16,600 --> 01:06:19,440
Father, you'll help us. 
You'll help us to have the 

1077
01:06:19,440 --> 01:06:20,600
faith. 
You'll help us to have the 

1078
01:06:20,600 --> 01:06:21,760
strength. 
You'll help us to have the 

1079
01:06:21,760 --> 01:06:23,920
wisdom. 
Father, the Holy Spirit will 

1080
01:06:23,920 --> 01:06:27,000
help remove spiritual blindness 
and ignorance and deafness from 

1081
01:06:27,000 --> 01:06:29,920
our our senses, Lord, so that we
might believe in you. 

1082
01:06:29,920 --> 01:06:34,800
You'll, you tell us all that. 
But Father, not only do we have 

1083
01:06:34,800 --> 01:06:37,480
to choose you, we have to choose
to live for you. 

1084
01:06:39,840 --> 01:06:43,560
We have to choose to trust. 
We have to choose to believe. 

1085
01:06:44,880 --> 01:06:46,960
Because, Father, if we don't, 
we're going to get caught up. 

1086
01:06:46,960 --> 01:06:50,320
We'll we'll get swept away in 
the vortex of this fallenness, 

1087
01:06:51,800 --> 01:06:55,040
and all we'll see is the decay 
around us. 

1088
01:06:57,040 --> 01:06:59,520
I don't know why certain things 
happen, Father. 

1089
01:07:01,000 --> 01:07:03,240
And Father, sometimes I wonder, 
when we get to heaven, are we 

1090
01:07:03,240 --> 01:07:05,960
going to have all the answers or
will we care about those answers

1091
01:07:05,960 --> 01:07:07,400
then? 
Because all we're going to see 

1092
01:07:07,880 --> 01:07:12,880
is perfection. 
But Father, I have to trust that

1093
01:07:12,880 --> 01:07:16,080
you know, you see, and you're at
work. 

1094
01:07:18,800 --> 01:07:21,480
And so, Father, let us trust in 
you and depend upon you. 

1095
01:07:21,480 --> 01:07:24,200
Lord, I pray that if somebody is
hearing any of this and they've 

1096
01:07:24,200 --> 01:07:28,920
never trusted Jesus Christ as 
our Lord and Savior, Father, I 

1097
01:07:28,920 --> 01:07:30,440
don't know where their hope's 
going to come from. 

1098
01:07:30,440 --> 01:07:32,160
I don't know where their help's 
going to come from. 

1099
01:07:32,520 --> 01:07:34,800
Father, if your spirit is not 
living inside of them, I don't 

1100
01:07:34,800 --> 01:07:36,280
know where they're going to get 
the strength. 

1101
01:07:37,880 --> 01:07:42,240
And so, Father, I pray that 
they'll contact me, that we can 

1102
01:07:42,240 --> 01:07:45,120
talk together about what that 
means. 

1103
01:07:46,000 --> 01:07:48,400
And Father, I know sometimes 
people might even be angry with 

1104
01:07:48,400 --> 01:07:50,360
you. 
They don't understand. 

1105
01:07:50,360 --> 01:07:53,640
They don't believe they deserve 
this, or some innocent person 

1106
01:07:53,640 --> 01:07:56,000
they believe is innocent doesn't
deserve that. 

1107
01:07:56,680 --> 01:07:59,760
I get it. 
And Father, you can handle the 

1108
01:07:59,760 --> 01:08:01,840
anger. 
You can handle that. 

1109
01:08:04,600 --> 01:08:10,240
Father, I pray that you'll turn 
that anger into faith, a fierce 

1110
01:08:10,240 --> 01:08:14,480
faith that withstands the trials
and storms of this life. 

1111
01:08:16,200 --> 01:08:17,640
So, Father, thank you for your 
word. 

1112
01:08:17,640 --> 01:08:22,840
Thank you for these feeble 
attempts to explain an extremely

1113
01:08:22,840 --> 01:08:28,040
complex problem. 
But I thank you, Father, that 

1114
01:08:28,040 --> 01:08:31,319
you saved me. 
And I thank you, Father, that 

1115
01:08:31,319 --> 01:08:36,399
you'll condemn evil one day, and
the Father will be saved from 

1116
01:08:36,399 --> 01:08:41,319
the presence of evil one day. 
And in the meantime, help us, 

1117
01:08:41,319 --> 01:08:45,479
Lord, to face the power and the 
presence of sin now. 

1118
01:08:47,200 --> 01:08:53,000
And so, Father, guide us as we 
move on from this session that 

1119
01:08:53,000 --> 01:08:56,920
Lord, we would choose you. 
We would choose to be your 

1120
01:08:56,920 --> 01:09:03,000
disciples who make disciples, 
who make disciples in Christ's 

1121
01:09:03,000 --> 01:09:06,120
name, Amen. 
God bless you all. 

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Thank you. 
Thank you so much for listening 

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today. 
And I also hope that you'll go 

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to 
ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com 

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as well as our app and find many
other resources that will bless 

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you and your families. 
Thank you once again.