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The message that I want to 
preach to you this morning and 

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our text is actually going to 
come from Second Timothy chapter

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3. 
But I want to start with the 

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book of Job this morning because
Job's story really is a great 

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reminder to us. 
And most of you know the story 

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of Job. 
But I just want to point a 

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couple things out here to you 
this morning. 

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And and then we'll move over to 
Second Timothy chapter 3. 

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But Job chapter 1 and verse #1 
The Bible says there was a man 

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in the land of Oz whose name was
Job. 

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And that man was perfect and 
upright and one that feared God 

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and eschewed evil. 
Now here's a here's a man that 

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the Bible calls perfect. 
Now, it doesn't mean that he was

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sinless. 
It means that he was mature. 

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That word perfect means mature. 
He's a man of integrity. 

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He feared God, the Bible says, 
and and he hated evil. 

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That's a, that that means that 
God was was going to give him an

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easy life, no difficulties in in
any of his life, right? 

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He's a, he's a perfect man. 
He's mature. 

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He loves the Lord with all of 
his heart. 

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He he, he loves righteousness. 
He hates evil. 

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Life is going to be perfect for 
Job. 

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Of course, we know that's not 
the way the story goes. 

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Job in verse #9 The Bible says 
Satan answered the Lord and 

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said, Doth Job fear God for 
naughty? 

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Has not thou made an hedge about
him, and about his house, and 

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about all that he hath on every 
side? 

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Thou has blessed the work of his
hands, and his substance is 

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increased in the land, but put 
forth thine hand now, and touch 

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all that he hath, and he'll 
curse thee to thy face. 

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And of course you know the rest 
of the story. 

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I believe Job lost not only all 
of his his cattle and all of his

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possessions, but he lost all ten
of his children. 

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They were in the house together 
and the Bible says that Job 

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prayed every morning for his 
children and he sacrificed every

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morning for his children. 
I believe that Job's children 

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were not being judged by God 
because they were not living for

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him. 
I believe his children live for 

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the Lord. 
They were all together in one 

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house, which what a great unity 
that is as a family right here. 

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They've got their own families 
and now they're all together in 

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one place. 
You don't see that happen very 

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often, but happened with Job's 
family and they were all 

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together and a servant came 
running and said all ten of your

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kids are gone. 
Could you imagine what must have

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gone through Job's mind that to 
to hear them come and say, not 

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only have you lost all of your 
cattle? 

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Yeah, you can replace cattle. 
Not only have you lost all of 

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your sheep, you can replace 
sheep. 

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Not not only have you lost all 
of your camels, you can replace 

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camels, but now you've lost all 
of your children too. 

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Can't replace kids. 
I suppose you could have more, 

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but you can't replace kids. 
And Job lost all ten of them at 

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the same time. 
You think that God was letting 

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Job walk on a have a cakewalk in
his life because he loved him 

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and he served him. 
Hey, Satan was after Job more 

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than probably just about anybody
else, because Job lived for the 

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Lord and Job served the Lord. 
And Job was perfect and upright.

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He eschewed evil. 
But yet Job faced difficulties. 

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Job faced heartaches. 
Job faced trials. 

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Let's turn over to second 
Timothy chapter 12. 

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I want you to understand this. 
This morning, God's blessing our

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church and this it's an exciting
time to be a part of it. 

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I can't explain it other than 
that we plant, we water and God 

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gives the increase. 
We're seeing souls saved. 

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We're seeing big crowds for for 
church on Sunday morning. 

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I believe that a lot of you are 
seeing good spiritual growth in 

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your life. 
It's exciting. 

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We have 6 people that were that 
are waiting to be baptized and 

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we're going to do that in a 
couple weeks. 

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People are getting saved. 
God is blessing. 

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And it's exciting to be a part 
of that. 

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The ministries that we've been 
trying to get off the ground are

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finally getting off the ground 
and, and, and being launched and

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it, and people are a part of 
them. 

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And it's an exciting thing. 
And I feel like God's getting 

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ready to do big things for our 
church. 

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And I think many Christians, 
good Christians, get the 

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illusion that once they really 
sell out for Christ, God's going

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to dump so many blessings on 
life that it's just going to be 

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a cakewalk if I really decide to
live for the Lord. 

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Now look, there's a lot of 
blessings that that come from 

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living for the Lord. 
You really sell out for Christ. 

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You surrender your life to 
Christ. 

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It life may not be easy, but 
it's going to be good. 

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You'll have that peace, you'll 
have that joy, you'll have that 

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satisfaction that only Jesus 
Christ can. 

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Bring and I'm not trying to 
discourage you this morning. 

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In fact, I hope this message 
will be an encouragement to you 

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this morning. 
There's no life like a life that

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is lived for Jesus Christ. 
And there's no greater blessing 

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than knowing that you're living 
for God to the best of your 

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ability and that you're relying 
on His help to help you live for

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Him the way that He wants you to
live for Him and to have the 

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relationship with Him that He 
wants to have with you. 

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There's no greater blessing in 
life. 

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There's no greater joy in life 
than being in that position 

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spiritually. 
But I want you to understand 

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that just because you sell out 
for Christ does not mean that 

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life is going to be a bed of 
roses. 

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In fact, quite the opposite can 
be true. 

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The Bible says in Second Timothy
chapter 3 and verse #12 Yeah. 

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And all that live godly in 
Christ Jesus might shall suffer 

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persecution. 
All that will live godly in 

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Christ Jesus shall suffer 
persecution. 

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But I want to take our text. 
This morning from verse number 

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one of Second Timothy chapter 3,
this know also that in the last 

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days perilous times shall come. 
He talks about a lot of other 

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things that happened. 
Men shall be lovers of their own

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selves, covetous boasters, proud
blasphemers, disobedient to 

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parents, unthankful, unholy, 
without natural affection. 

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Truce Breakers, false accusers, 
incontinent, fierce despisers of

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those that are good traitors, 
heady, high minded, lovers of 

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pleasures more than lovers of 
God having a form of godliness 

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by denying the power thereof. 
And he says from such turn away 

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if we're not seeing all of this.
Today in our world, I don't 

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know. 
I don't know what we're seeing. 

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This is everything. 
And he says this. 

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Know also that in the last days 
these things are going to 

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happen. 
But before he gives a list of 

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all of those things that give us
an indication that the end is 

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close, he says this. 
Know also that in the last days,

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perilous times shall come, 
Perilous times shall come, 

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dangerous times shall come. 
And is a fact. 

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Of the Christian. 
Life that you will face, trials 

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you will run up against 
difficulties. 

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It's what you do with those 
difficulties that that will 

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determine the course of your 
Christian life. 

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After those trials come. 
Many of you are going through 

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trials right now. 
I've talked to some of you. 

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I've prayed with you. 
You're going through. 

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Difficulties. 
You have things in life that 

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just don't that just aren't 
going the way that you thought 

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life should go. 
Things just aren't happening the

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way that you think life should 
happen as a Christian thing. 

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The the, the way that things 
should happen if you're really 

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living for Christ. 
And listen, sometimes God allows

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those things in our life because
we're not living for Christ the 

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way that we should. 
And he's trying to get us into 

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that path that he wants us to be
on. 

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He wants us to sell out for 
Christ. 

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He wants us to fully surrender 
to him. 

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He wants us to live our lives as
a living sacrifice. 

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I forget who it was. 
It said something, I think they 

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said it at camp this week. 
The problem with the living 

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sacrifice is it keeps trying to 
crawl off the altar. 

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And that's what happens. 
I, I believe it was Charles 

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Spurgeon that said that the 
problem with the living 

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sacrifice is a sacrifice keeps 
trying to crawl off the altar. 

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And we do that so many times. 
We have to constantly go back. 

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And it's a, it's a daily thing 
where where Paul said, I die 

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daily because we should be a 
living sacrifice. 

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And sometimes God allows the 
trials and the difficulties in 

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the hurt and the heartache and 
the and, and the pain to come 

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into our lives because he has to
chastise us sometimes because we

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need that to get us back to 
where he wants us to be. 

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But sometimes. 
And and and and. 

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And only you and God know. 
But sometimes, if you are right 

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with God and sometimes when you 
are living for Him, and 

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sometimes when you are doing the
things that He wants you to do, 

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trials are still going to come. 
Difficulties are still going to 

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happen. 
You're still going to run into 

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things that you say, God, why? 
Why are you allowing this to 

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happen? 
If you're in a trial right now, 

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then you understand. 
If you're not, then just wait 

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because you will be going 
through one. 

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We're all either coming out of a
trial, we're in the middle of a 

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trial, or we're getting ready to
go into one. 

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That's just the way life works. 
Maybe it's not even a trial, so 

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to speak, but maybe a spiritual 
opposition to you trying to sell

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out for Christ. 
I don't know what's on the 

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horizon for us as Christians and
it may be out and out 

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persecution, or it may just be 
that that we face the trials of 

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life. 
I've said it many times. 

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I mean, obviously I think we 
have a little bit of a reprieve 

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right now and we're seeing some 
some good strides and some good 

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progress in the other direction 
for the cause of Christ. 

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But I believe in our lifetime we
will see Christians persecuted 

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for the cause of Christ. 
Those who stand up and those who

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continue to preach the word of 
God as we're given it in the 

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word of God are going to face 
persecution. 

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The Bible is going to be 
considered a hate book. 

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It's going to be considered hate
speech. 

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And if we preach it, we're going
to be considered a criminals for

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preaching it. 
I believe it's going to happen 

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in our lifetime. 
The Bible says it this. 

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Know also that in the last days,
perilous times shall come. 

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It's not just it's happening in 
all the other parts of the world

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right now. 
We're just blessed that it's not

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happening right here. 
But I believe that it's coming. 

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It's coming, but. 
It happens to everybody. 

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It may be that we face that 
persecution out and out. 

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It might just be that you're 
facing some kind of spiritual 

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opposition this morning. 
But that's what I want to talk 

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to you about for a little bit. 
The title of the message is 

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simply this. 
Perilous times will come. 

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Perilous times will come, and. 
What I want to preach. 

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To you about this morning is 
what do you do when you face 

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those trials? 
What do you do when you face 

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those trials? 
Let's pray and we'll look at a 

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few other passages along with 
this one this morning. 

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Father, again, we thank you so 
much for your goodness to us. 

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We thank you for the opportunity
we have to be in your house 

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today. 
God, I pray that that this is a 

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help to somebody. 
I believe this is a message that

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you laid in my heart and you 
know our hearts more than 

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anybody else. 
You know exactly what we need 

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even before we know that we need
it. 

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So God, I pray that you would 
just help this message to be a 

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help and a blessing. 
How would it be an encouragement

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to us to just continue living 
for you no matter what happens 

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in our lives? 
Well, thank you for it in Jesus 

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name, Amen. 
First thing I want to say this 

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morning, perilous times will 
come, but the first thing is 

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this, don't let it define you. 
Don't let it define you. 

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So many Christians allow the 
trials that they go through to 

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define what the rest of their 
Christian life is going to look 

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like. 
How many, how many times have 

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you ever sat back and thought 
about it and say, boy he was? 

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He was very useful in God's 
service until his mom died. 

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He did a lot for the Lord. 
She was on fire for God until 

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she got sick. 
He was a great soul in her until

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his. 
His life didn't go the way he 

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planned and he blamed God for 
it. 

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He was on fire until fill in the
blank happened and he just never

226
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got. 
He's just never been the same 

227
00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,200
since then. 
He's never really got back on on

228
00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,320
fire for the Lord. 
Those people have let that 

229
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define the rest of their life. 
You hit a trial. 

230
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Trials are going to come. 
Perilous times will come, but 

231
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don't let it define the rest of 
your spiritual life. 

232
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That's exactly what the devil is
aiming to do. 

233
00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,720
It can be very easy for a trial 
or a difficulty to to or a set 

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back to define the rest of our 
lives. 

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That's the express purpose that 
Satan had in coming after Job. 

236
00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:16,200
He was trying to derail Job's 
life. 

237
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He was trying to show God that 
Job is not going to live for 

238
00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:21,200
you. 
Job is not going to follow you 

239
00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:23,960
if he doesn't have your 
blessings, if he doesn't have 

240
00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:26,520
the money and the wealth and the
family and all of these things. 

241
00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,600
Take those things away from him 
and watch Job curse you. 

242
00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:33,640
He was trying to. 
He was trying to bring a trial 

243
00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,800
into Job's life that would 
derail his Christian life. 

244
00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:40,600
And Job did not let that trial 
define the rest of his life. 

245
00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:43,840
He was unsuccessful. 
The devil was unsuccessful. 

246
00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:47,000
But with so many Christians, he 
succeed and succeeds in doing 

247
00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,200
just that. 
We allow the trial that comes 

248
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into our life to define the rest
of our lives. 

249
00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:54,840
And let me tell you, you're 
living for the Christ. 

250
00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:58,080
And the hardest, hardest times 
of your life ought to be times 

251
00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:00,840
of rejoicing. 
And I know that doesn't sound 

252
00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,440
like it sounds like a like, like
an oxymoron or a contradiction. 

253
00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,840
Sometimes the hard times are 
brought on by our stubbornness 

254
00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:09,520
and our disobedience to the word
of God. 

255
00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:11,880
And God has to chastise us as 
his children. 

256
00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:13,640
And it's not fun going through 
that. 

257
00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,120
But you know that God loves you.
If God chastises you, then you 

258
00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:20,840
know that you're his child. 
If God is willing to chastise 

259
00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:24,520
you, then it means he's not done
with you yet, means he hasn't 

260
00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:26,560
written you off and said, hey, 
this is a lost cause. 

261
00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:29,240
There's no point in even 
chastising him when those trials

262
00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,280
come, man, that's a it's an 
exciting thing to know that God 

263
00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:36,680
still wants to work in my life. 
But if you're giving your all 

264
00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:39,880
and living for God, rejoice. 
Somebody said if the devil never

265
00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:44,120
bothers you, he's already got 
you think it was Vance Havner 

266
00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:46,280
that said if you never run into 
the devil, you're going the 

267
00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:50,480
wrong direction because he ain't
going the same direction we're 

268
00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:51,840
going. 
If you never run into him, 

269
00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:53,160
you're going the wrong 
direction. 

270
00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,640
Could it be that so many 
believers face no persecution? 

271
00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:59,640
They face no affliction, they 
face no opposition because 

272
00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:01,440
they're moving in the wrong 
direction? 

273
00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:06,280
Boy, if you face a trial, if you
face some opposition, it's 

274
00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:08,400
something to get excited about. 
It means you're going in the 

275
00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:12,120
right direction. 
The enemy has them right where 

276
00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:13,480
he wants them. 
On the other hand, if you're 

277
00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,760
fighting the devil, it's proof 
that you have to be standing on 

278
00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:18,080
the right side of the 
battlefield. 

279
00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,760
By the way, when I write Devil 
in my notes. 

280
00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:25,520
I make it really small and I 
don't capitalize it. 

281
00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:30,360
I'm trying to give him the least
amount of respect as I can 

282
00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,080
possibly give him. 
You can't see my notes, but I, 

283
00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:35,520
it just reminded me when I saw 
that it's, it's tiny. 

284
00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,840
I capitalize everything has 
something to do with God, right?

285
00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:42,400
And you and you should, I mean, 
it's a rule of English anyway. 

286
00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:45,560
I taught English for too long to
not capitalize those words, but 

287
00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:47,000
you should be capitalizing 
names. 

288
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,480
And I just don't capitalize it. 
I'm not giving him that respect.

289
00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:52,040
He didn't deserve it. 
I can see it. 

290
00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:55,640
It's tiny, but I can see it. 
But I tell you, forward, forward

291
00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:59,840
motion always produces friction.
And anything that God ordains, 

292
00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,920
Satan is going to oppose. 
Obedient servants of Jesus 

293
00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:05,880
Christ are always going to face.
Opposition from the enemy. 

294
00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:08,600
Paul said it this way in First 
Corinthians chapter 16 and verse

295
00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:10,920
9. 
For a great door and effectual 

296
00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:14,960
is opened unto me and there are 
many adversaries. 

297
00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:17,520
God opens the door and you'll 
walk through it. 

298
00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:19,440
And there's a lot of people on 
the other side of that door 

299
00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:21,480
trying to stop you from going 
through the door that God 

300
00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:24,080
opened. 
And most people say, well, God 

301
00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:26,560
closed the door. 
I guess that's just not the 

302
00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:28,120
direction that God wants me to 
go. 

303
00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:31,120
And sometimes God does close the
door, but most of the time we're

304
00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:33,120
closing the door ourselves 
because we're afraid of what's 

305
00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:35,520
on the other side of that door. 
We get a little bit of that 

306
00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:37,480
opposition and we say, well, 
that must be God. 

307
00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:39,040
Let's just close the door and 
back out. 

308
00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:42,520
No, you, you going forward for 
the Lord, you're going to face 

309
00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:44,240
opposition. 
You're going to face these 

310
00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:46,600
adversaries. 
Hey, it's, it's, it's an 

311
00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:48,280
exciting thing. 
In fact, turn over to James 

312
00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:49,680
chapter 1. 
Keep your finger in Second 

313
00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:50,960
Timothy. 
We're coming back to that. 

314
00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:55,080
If Satan is fighting, then that 
means God is working. 

315
00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:57,920
Satan only fights when God is 
working. 

316
00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:01,040
Satan only fights when we are 
going in God's direction. 

317
00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:06,280
James chapter 1 and verse #2 
goes right along with exactly 

318
00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,680
what I said when, when you're 
going through those times of 

319
00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:10,560
hardship, it ought to be a time 
of rejoicing. 

320
00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,040
James says that very plainly in 
chapter 1 of verse #2 My 

321
00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:17,520
brethren, count it all joy when 
you fall into diverse 

322
00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:19,680
temptations. 
Count it all joy when you fall 

323
00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:21,760
into many different types of 
temptations. 

324
00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:25,760
Knowing this, that the trying of
your faith work is patience. 

325
00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:28,520
But let patience have her 
perfect work, that she may be 

326
00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,720
perfect and entire, wanting 
nothing. 

327
00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:35,160
Too many Christians have faced a
trial that they let knock them 

328
00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:37,920
out of the race. 
They let it derail them. 

329
00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:41,240
They let it define them. 
You're not defined by how big 

330
00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:43,520
the trial or how difficult the 
journey. 

331
00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:47,240
You are defined by the God you 
serve and the way you rest in 

332
00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:50,520
Him. 
Perilous times will come. 

333
00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:54,560
Don't let it define you #2 I 
want to say this. 

334
00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:58,560
Don't let it sideline you. 
Simply put, I mean this. 

335
00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:01,200
Don't quit. 
Don't quit. 

336
00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:05,960
I laugh. 
I and actually I just saw last 

337
00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:10,720
week, I use this illustration, 
if you will, but I was telling 

338
00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:16,280
them that I taught English for 
for probably 10 years and you 

339
00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:19,760
know the, the students had to do
book reports and always as part 

340
00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:21,880
of the book report. 
It was, it was typically it was 

341
00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:25,280
a was a biography. 
It was either a Christian 

342
00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:27,400
biography. 
Many times it was, it didn't 

343
00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:29,280
have to be a Christian 
biography, but many times it 

344
00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:32,600
was. 
But as part of that book report,

345
00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:35,240
they were supposed to give a 
lesson that they learned from 

346
00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:37,120
the book. 
What's what's the lesson that 

347
00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:40,520
you learned from the book? 
And everybody always said the 

348
00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:42,680
lesson that I, and I'll tell 
you, it's, it's the ones who 

349
00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:45,040
looked at the back, read the 
summary, wrote their book report

350
00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:47,920
and then this is their, this is 
their lesson learned. 

351
00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:52,720
Don't quit. 
Don't quit everybody, one after 

352
00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:54,080
another. 
The lesson that I learned from 

353
00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:56,320
this book is don't quit. 
When things get difficult, don't

354
00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:57,600
quit. 
The next person gets up. 

355
00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,000
The lesson that I learned from 
this book that I didn't read was

356
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:01,240
don't quit. 
Don't quit. 

357
00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:03,760
Lesson that I learned from the 
summary on the back of the book 

358
00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:05,720
is don't quit. 
Finally, I got to the point I 

359
00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:09,520
said, all right, you cannot use 
Don't Quit as the lesson that 

360
00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:11,440
you learned from the book, 
because obviously they're not 

361
00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:13,079
going to write a book about 
somebody who quit. 

362
00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:17,079
Right, the guy that is trying to
invent flying cars that ran into

363
00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:19,119
all the problems and quit, they 
never wrote a book about it. 

364
00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:21,480
Right. 
Obviously the reason they're 

365
00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,119
writing a book about this person
is because they didn't quit. 

366
00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,240
They didn't stop in the middle 
of that, in the middle of 

367
00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:29,920
adversity. 
But I'm going to use that as my 

368
00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:32,840
lesson right now. 
Don't quit. 

369
00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:36,760
Don't quit. 
Life is difficult. 

370
00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:40,360
You're going to face opposition.
Perilous times will come. 

371
00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,400
Don't quit. 
You know it's coming. 

372
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,280
Prepare yourself for it. 
Be ready for it. 

373
00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:49,360
You're going to face opposition.
Just don't quit in the middle of

374
00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:51,280
that opposition. 
The reason that people are 

375
00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,560
remembered from history is 
because they didn't quit. 

376
00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:57,800
Times got tough, things got 
hard, trials piled up, 

377
00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,920
tribulations overran them, but 
they didn't let them. 

378
00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,320
Let that stop them. 
Especially those who are the the

379
00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,960
Christian biographies that I 
mentioned who went on and did 

380
00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:08,800
great things for the cause of 
Christ. 

381
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,520
Yes, there's opposition. 
Yes, there's things that the 

382
00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:13,920
devil is going to put in front 
of you to try to make you stop, 

383
00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:18,360
but just don't quit. 
Make up your mind before you 

384
00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:19,880
start. 
I'm not going to quit. 

385
00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:22,240
Our God is bigger than any 
problem. 

386
00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:25,160
He's bigger than any trial. 
Whether you can see the trial or

387
00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,960
whether you can't see the trial,
He's bigger than any of those 

388
00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:29,960
things. 
Don't let it sideline you. 

389
00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:31,800
Don't let it keep you from 
living for God. 

390
00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,080
Don't let it be an excuse for 
backsliding. 

391
00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:36,920
Don't let it be an excuse to 
keep you from witnessing. 

392
00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:39,720
Don't let it keep you from being
at church and being involved in 

393
00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:41,880
the ministries. 
So many Christians go through a 

394
00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:45,000
trial and they use that as an 
excuse to drop everything that 

395
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:48,440
they've ever done for Christ. 
They say, well, it's been rough.

396
00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:50,840
When everything gets back on 
track and I start feeling up to 

397
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:52,080
it, then I'll get involved 
again. 

398
00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,160
All right? 
But I've got news for you. 

399
00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:58,240
Most Christians never get back 
on track because we're never 

400
00:18:58,240 --> 00:19:00,520
going to have it all together. 
We're never going to feel like, 

401
00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:02,360
OK, finally everything is good 
again. 

402
00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:05,000
There's always going to be 
something that the devil is 

403
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,280
going to try to use to sideline 
you. 

404
00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:10,480
Most Christians never get back 
on track. 

405
00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:12,280
They never get back into the 
ministries. 

406
00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,240
They never get back into church.
They never go all out for the 

407
00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:18,120
Lord again because they let that
trial sideline them. 

408
00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:22,600
And the devil wins. 
Most people who say that that 

409
00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,200
they're going to get back in the
race never get back in the race 

410
00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:28,680
and sure the sideline is is safe
from struggle. 

411
00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,720
I'd, I'd rather be in the game 
and trying to help the team win 

412
00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:35,080
and struggling than than to be 
sipping water and have splinters

413
00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:36,920
in my backside from being on the
sideline. 

414
00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:40,520
And it's not better on the side.
Oh, maybe it's a little bit 

415
00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:44,520
easier, but how much, how much 
joy comes into victory when 

416
00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:46,440
you've just been sitting on the 
sideline the whole time? 

417
00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:49,280
There's joy in serving Jesus. 
Don't quit. 

418
00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:51,600
Get in the game. 
The Bible says in Isaiah chapter

419
00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:55,240
41 and verse #10 fear thou not, 
for I am with thee. 

420
00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:57,640
Be not dismayed, for I am thy 
God. 

421
00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,440
I will strengthen thee. 
Yeah, I will help thee. 

422
00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:05,720
Hey, I will uphold thee with the
right hand of my righteousness, 

423
00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:09,320
for I the Lord thy God will hold
thy right hand, saying unto 

424
00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:13,640
thee, fear not, I will help 
thee. 

425
00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:17,160
Don't let that trial sideline 
you. 

426
00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:18,960
There have been plenty of 
quitters. 

427
00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,120
In fact, we have a couple 
examples right here in our text 

428
00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:22,400
passage. 
Turn over to Second Timothy 

429
00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,920
chapter 4 Second Timothy chapter
4 and there's a lot of reasons 

430
00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:26,840
why people. 
Quit. 

431
00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:30,800
There's a lot of reasons why 
people stop living for the Lord.

432
00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,640
There's a lot of reasons why 
they just back off and get 

433
00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:36,960
sidelined and this morning we're
talking particularly about those

434
00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:39,520
who go through trials and those 
who go through difficulties. 

435
00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,480
But in Second Timothy chapter 4 
verse #10 the Bible says, For 

436
00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:47,600
demons hath forsaken me having. 
Loved this present world and is 

437
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:51,280
departed. 
To Thessalonica, Dimas gave up 

438
00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:53,840
when the worldly pleasures 
overwhelmed him. 

439
00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,320
John Mark had given up on the 
stress of the work was too great

440
00:20:57,320 --> 00:20:59,960
in Acts chapter 15. 
Thank the Lord for what we see 

441
00:20:59,960 --> 00:21:03,800
in Second Timothy chapter 4 and 
verse #11 Only Luke is with me. 

442
00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,520
Take Mark and bring him with 
thee, for he is profitable to me

443
00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:10,040
for the ministry. 
He didn't let that sideline him.

444
00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:13,160
Oh Demas, he did. 
He got he got distracted by the 

445
00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:15,240
things of the world and and Paul
had to say I. 

446
00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:18,600
I hate to mention this, but but 
Demas has forsaken me have and 

447
00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:20,880
loved this present world. 
By the way, you notice that the 

448
00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:25,280
Apostle Paul is not afraid to 
call out people by name and he 

449
00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:27,160
was under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit when he wrote these 

450
00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:30,200
books, right? 
It's not Paul saying I'm going 

451
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:32,840
to get back at Demas. 
Oh, God told him to write that 

452
00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:35,640
and he did. 
And here 2000 years later, you 

453
00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:38,680
know what, the one thing we know
about Demas, he forsook him 

454
00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:40,400
because he loved the present 
world. 

455
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:45,280
Hey, all the things that Demas 
did in his life, he probably had

456
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:46,440
a lot of good things that he 
did. 

457
00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,320
He, he was living for the Lord, 
obviously, right? 

458
00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:52,320
Because you can't forsake 
something that you never 

459
00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,080
started. 
He loved the Lord, he lived for 

460
00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:56,520
the Lord. 
He did things for the Lord. 

461
00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,360
But the one thing we remember 
about Demas is that he quit. 

462
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,880
He quit. 
Things got difficult, the 

463
00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,280
pleasures of the world overtook 
him and he quit. 

464
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:08,080
Same thing happened to John 
Mark. 

465
00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,160
But you know what? 
John Mark didn't let it sideline

466
00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,160
him. 
He got back in the game. 

467
00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:17,200
Oh, he might have sidelined him 
for a while. 

468
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:21,200
He quit. 
He went back home, but he didn't

469
00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:23,400
stop. 
He didn't let it sideline him. 

470
00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:26,960
He didn't quit. 
And Paul said, hey, take Mark 

471
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,560
and bring him. 
He's profitable to me for the 

472
00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,080
ministry. 
I need to take the mindset of 

473
00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,320
the Apostle Paul, verse #16 of 
Second Timothy, chapter 4. 

474
00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:39,760
At my first answer, no man stood
with me, but all men forsook me.

475
00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:43,080
I pray God that it may not be 
laid to their charge. 

476
00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:45,960
Notwithstanding, the Lord stood 
with me and strengthened me, 

477
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,840
that by me the preaching might 
be fully known, that all the 

478
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:52,640
Gentiles might hear, and I was 
delivered out of the mouth of 

479
00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:54,800
the lion. 
And the Lord shall deliver me 

480
00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,840
from every evil work, and will 
preserve me. 

481
00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,320
Unto his heavenly Kingdom, to 
whom be glory forever and ever. 

482
00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:03,800
Amen. 
He said, hey, I don't care who's

483
00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,720
with me. 
I don't care if I'm all alone. 

484
00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,120
I have a job to do and I have a 
Savior that's with me to give me

485
00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:13,920
strength. 
And God plus nothing is a 

486
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:17,640
majority. 
We always say me plus God equals

487
00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:19,600
the majority. 
No God plus nothing equals the 

488
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:21,120
majority. 
He doesn't even need you. 

489
00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,320
He'll take us along with Him if 
we want to join Him. 

490
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,520
But God plus nothing is a 
majority. 

491
00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,400
Edgar Guest is probably one of 
my favorite poets, and he wrote 

492
00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:34,840
some tremendous poems. 
But one of my favorites of his. 

493
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,680
Maybe you've read before. 
Maybe you've even partially 

494
00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:39,720
memorized it before. 
It's called Don't quit. 

495
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:44,160
It says this when things go 
wrong, as they sometimes will. 

496
00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:46,880
When the road you're trudging 
seems all uphill. 

497
00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:49,920
When the funds are low and the 
debts are high and you want to 

498
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:53,760
smile but you have to sigh. 
When care is pressing you down a

499
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:55,480
bit. 
Rest if you must. 

500
00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,880
But don't you quit. 
Life is strange with its twists 

501
00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:02,000
and turns, and every one of us 
sometimes learns, and many a 

502
00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,840
fellow turns about when he might
have won had he stuck it out. 

503
00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,320
Don't give up. 
Though the pace seems slow, you 

504
00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:12,400
may succeed with another blow. 
Often the goal is nearer than it

505
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:14,520
seems to a faint and faltering 
man. 

506
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,840
Often the struggler has given up
when he might have captured the 

507
00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:21,640
Victor's cup, and he learned too
late, when the night came down, 

508
00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,200
how close he was to the golden 
crown. 

509
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,840
Success is failure turned inside
out the silver tint of the 

510
00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:31,920
clouds of doubt, and you never 
can tell how close you are. 

511
00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:36,600
It may be near when it seems so 
far, So stick to the fight when 

512
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:41,040
your hardest hit. 
It's when things seem worse that

513
00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:46,760
you must not quit this. 
Know also that in the last days 

514
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:51,520
perilous times shall come. 
Don't let it define you, don't 

515
00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:53,760
let it sideline you. 
And I want to say this, lastly, 

516
00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:59,480
let it refine you. 
Turn over, if you will, to job 

517
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,320
23. 
This is exactly what we see 

518
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,480
happening for job. 
He went through what for most of

519
00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:08,400
us would make up our worst 
nightmares. 

520
00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:11,840
Could you imagine the things 
that job went through? 

521
00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:14,680
Most people can't even imagine 
it, let alone live through it. 

522
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:21,240
He suffered tremendous physical 
loss, but look what Job was able

523
00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:24,440
to comfort himself with as he 
battled those difficulties. 

524
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:29,720
Verse #10 of Job 23 that he 
knoweth the way that I take. 

525
00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:35,560
When he hath tried me, I shall 
come forth as gold. 

526
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:41,120
Here's what I know. 
You're going to go through the 

527
00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:45,080
fire. 
If you live godly, you will 

528
00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:49,720
suffer persecution. 
Life lived for Christ is not 

529
00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:52,320
going to be easy, especially as 
we move closer to the appearing 

530
00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:54,160
of Jesus Christ. 
But can I give you 3 things 

531
00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:58,960
quickly as we close for when 
you're going through the fire #1

532
00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:03,520
is this. 
Seek to understand why, but know

533
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:07,480
that you may never know why. 
Nothing wrong with asking that 

534
00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:09,760
question. 
Nothing wrong with asking why. 

535
00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:14,920
But just know that you may never
know the answer to that question

536
00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:18,920
and be OK with it because God 
may not give you the reason. 

537
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:22,760
I still don't know and I still 
don't understand why my mom 

538
00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:25,320
passed away at the age of 55 
with cancer. 

539
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:28,800
I don't know why. 
I have nine brothers and 

540
00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,760
sisters, we're all getting 
married and having kids and my 

541
00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:36,160
mom loved all of them and love 
being around them. 55 years old,

542
00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:37,360
passed away. 
I don't understand it. 

543
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:39,920
I don't know why. 
I still don't know why that 

544
00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:43,880
makes sense to me. 
I still don't understand why. 

545
00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,400
My father-in-law, who was a 
pastor, faithful pastor of the 

546
00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:51,000
same church, one of the best men
I've ever met, 45 years, he 

547
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:57,240
pastored the church, getting 
into the age where he had a lot 

548
00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:00,240
of wisdom, a lot of 
opportunities to to, to really 

549
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:02,480
give that wisdom to a younger 
generation. 

550
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:06,640
Got Parkinson's 72 and died at 
76. 

551
00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:09,840
I don't understand it. 
I don't know why and it's a 

552
00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:12,680
question I'll probably be asking
for the rest of my life and I 

553
00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:14,880
just may not have. 
I may never get the answer. 

554
00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:17,840
I don't know why God allows 
those things to happen. 

555
00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:21,520
Nothing wrong with asking why, 
but sometimes God gives a reason

556
00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:24,960
and it becomes clear why we face
what we face and those are 

557
00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:27,200
always helpful. 
But sometimes God marks across 

558
00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,560
our days. 
We'll explain later and one day 

559
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:32,760
I'll find out. 
One day I'll know the answer to 

560
00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:35,840
that question, but it may not be
till I'm gone and I have to be 

561
00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,760
OK with that. 
I have to be able to continue 

562
00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:41,320
going on for the Lord when I 
can't answer the question why? 

563
00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:45,320
We just have to trust that He 
knows what's best and that He's 

564
00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:47,560
only going to give us what is 
best. 

565
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,680
So seek to understand why, but 
know that you may never know 

566
00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:53,840
why. 
Second thing I'll say is this. 

567
00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:59,920
Turn over to James chapter 1. 
Allow that trial to do its work.

568
00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:08,080
Allow that trial to do its work.
God put that trial in your life 

569
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:12,800
for a reason. 
You may not understand the 

570
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:16,800
reason why exactly, but you know
that the reason why God allows 

571
00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:20,640
you to go through that is so 
that He, as He tries you, can 

572
00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:24,240
purify you and you can come out 
on the other side as gold. 

573
00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:32,280
Allow that trial to do its work.
James chapter one verse #4 But 

574
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:37,120
let patience have her perfect 
work, that ye may be perfect and

575
00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:43,400
entire, wanting nothing. 
They seek to understand why, but

576
00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:47,640
know that you may never know. 
Allow God and allow that trial 

577
00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:50,680
to do its work #3 know that 
you'll come out better and 

578
00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:52,320
stronger if your trust is in the
Lord. 

579
00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:56,320
You'll come out better and 
stronger if your trust is in the

580
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:57,880
Lord. 
Just because you go through a 

581
00:28:57,880 --> 00:28:59,680
trial doesn't mean that you're 
going to come out stronger on 

582
00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:03,320
the other side. 
That's I think that's the same 

583
00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:05,440
mindset that people have that 
just because you die, you're 

584
00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:09,040
going to go to heaven, right? 
You die, you go to the funeral, 

585
00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:11,680
He's in a better place. 
Just because you died doesn't 

586
00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:13,280
mean you went to heaven. 
You got to know Christ as your 

587
00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:14,440
savior if you want to go to 
heaven. 

588
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,040
And just because you go through 
a trial does not mean you're 

589
00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:18,640
going to come out stronger on 
the other side. 

590
00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:21,480
You'll come out stronger on the 
other side if your faith and 

591
00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:24,400
your trust is in Jesus Christ 
through that trial and if you 

592
00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:26,320
allow Him to do that work. 
Through the trial. 

593
00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:30,200
Then you'll come out stronger on
the other side, but your trust 

594
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:33,720
and your faith has to be in him.
Anger and bitterness and 

595
00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:35,960
resentment all can result from a
trial. 

596
00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:38,720
And many times that's what 
happens with Christians that go 

597
00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:40,800
through difficulties. 
You don't come out better on the

598
00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:42,480
other side. 
You come out bitter on the other

599
00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:44,320
side. 
And that's the choice that we 

600
00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:45,760
all have to make. 
Are we going to allow that trial

601
00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:47,600
to make us better or we going to
allow that trial to make us 

602
00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,040
bitter? 
Most people don't come out on 

603
00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:53,200
the right side, but you put your
faith in your trust and your 

604
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,560
hope in Jesus Christ and you go 
through that trial. 

605
00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:59,920
You will come out stronger on 
the other side or resigned to 

606
00:29:59,920 --> 00:30:02,560
the fact that God's in control, 
that He's never going to toy 

607
00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:05,480
with my life. 
And we can understand that our 

608
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:11,040
trial was for our own good and 
for his glory back in May of 

609
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:15,680
2001, Eric Wyanmeyer, if you 
recognize that name, maybe you 

610
00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:17,160
don't. 
He accomplished something that 

611
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:21,520
only about 150 people a year 
accomplished, and that is that 

612
00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:23,240
he made it to the top of Mount 
Everest. 

613
00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:27,000
But the thing that made his 
accomplishment much more special

614
00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:32,440
was that he did it blind. 
He was the only person to ever 

615
00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:36,240
climb Mount Everest blind. 
He did it by grabbing onto the 

616
00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:38,440
pack of the guy in front of him 
and having a little direction 

617
00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:40,440
from the guy behind him, helping
him get up the top of the 

618
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:43,200
mountain. 
And a book was written about 

619
00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:44,640
him. 
It was an it was actually he 

620
00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:46,880
wrote, It's an autobiography was
called Touch the Top of the 

621
00:30:46,880 --> 00:30:50,440
World, A blind man's journey to 
climb farther than the eye can 

622
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,880
see. 
And I'll tell you, many times we

623
00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:59,080
face a choice in our lives. 
We allow the obstacle to stop 

624
00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:01,080
us. 
Eric Weinmeyer actually became 

625
00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:05,120
blind at the age of 13 because 
he developed a retinal problem. 

626
00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:09,200
He was fine, everything was good
till he was 13 years old, and 

627
00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:10,680
then he lost his sight 
completely. 

628
00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:15,680
I know you think about that man,
how difficult that would be to 

629
00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,200
know what things look like. 
But to not be able to ever see 

630
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:19,960
him again. 
I don't know what would be 

631
00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:23,000
worse, to be born blind and 
never have an idea, or to see it

632
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:24,920
all and then never see it again.
I don't know what would be 

633
00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:28,480
worse, but he went blind at 13. 
He could have let it stop him. 

634
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:31,800
He could have let that be the 
excuse that he used for all the 

635
00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:33,360
reasons why he couldn't 
accomplish anything. 

636
00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:36,360
But here this man was did 
something that very, very few 

637
00:31:36,360 --> 00:31:39,560
people in the world ever do, let
alone doing it completely blind.

638
00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:43,720
And I suppose that's where a lot
of us are in our Christian 

639
00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:47,320
lives. 
Trials are going to come, 

640
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:49,560
difficulties are going to 
happen. 

641
00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,640
Things are not going to be easy,
and we have a choice. 

642
00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:54,640
Are we going to let that be the 
excuse? 

643
00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:57,840
Are we going to let that be? 
What what what defines the rest 

644
00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:02,000
of our Christian life? 
Well, he served God until what 

645
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:06,240
if That was the story of Job? 
Job served God. 

646
00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:09,440
He was perfect and upright. 
He eschewed evil. 

647
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:15,200
Until Satan came to him one day.
Now we don't find that in Job's 

648
00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:18,200
story, do we? 
Job was perfect and upright, and

649
00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:21,360
he eschewed evil until evil 
came, until all these 

650
00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:24,760
difficulties and trials came and
he kept living in for the Lord. 

651
00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:26,960
He didn't let that trial define 
him. 

652
00:32:29,600 --> 00:32:31,200
Don't let that trial sideline 
you. 

653
00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:34,240
Don't let it. 
Don't let that be what makes you

654
00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:37,680
quit on God. 
Oh, I I thought that living for 

655
00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:39,440
the Lord was going to come with 
benefits. 

656
00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:40,960
I thought that living for the 
Lord would. 

657
00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:42,480
God was going to take care of 
me. 

658
00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:44,800
And sure enough, I, I knew this 
was going to happen. 

659
00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:49,200
He let me down and now look, my 
life is in shambles now. 

660
00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:50,960
Look, everything's so difficult 
now. 

661
00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:53,520
Look, I can't do this anymore 
and I can't do that anymore. 

662
00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:55,760
And I just can't go on living 
for the Lord because of all 

663
00:32:55,760 --> 00:32:57,080
these things that happened to 
me. 

664
00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:07,160
Now you can let it sideline you 
if you want, but don't. 

665
00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:10,120
That's your choice. 
That's the opportunity that we 

666
00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:11,840
have this morning. 
Instead of focus on what you 

667
00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:14,320
can't do for God anymore because
of the trial and difficulty, why

668
00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:16,080
don't you focus on what you can 
do for God? 

669
00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:21,960
I'm a short I'll start serving 
God when all this is over. 

670
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:28,960
That may never come. 
This Know also that in the last 

671
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:35,280
days, perilous times shall come.
Don't let it define you. 

672
00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:40,560
Don't let it sideline you. 
Let it refine you. 

673
00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:48,880
Let that trial do what God 
designed that trial to do and 

674
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:52,720
allow him to do it, and then 
keep at it until He comes to 

675
00:33:52,720 --> 00:34:00,240
take you home. 
Hey, I don't know when Christ is

676
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,920
coming back, but I think it's 
going to be soon. 

677
00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:07,400
Wouldn't it be great for him to 
come back when we're in the 

678
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:10,800
middle of standing up after we 
got knocked down and we're in 

679
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:14,960
the middle of going forward for 
him, even in the middle of 

680
00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:17,239
difficulty, That's how I want 
him to find me. 

681
00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:20,400
Hey, we all go through difficult
times. 

682
00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,679
Every single person, the person 
that you look at and you say 

683
00:34:23,679 --> 00:34:24,920
wow. 
What a what? 

684
00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:28,280
A hero of the faith, man. 
If I could only be like him. 

685
00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:29,920
If my faith was only as strong 
as him. 

686
00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:32,480
You know what I can promise you?
He's going through difficulties 

687
00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:35,320
too. 
He's going through difficulties 

688
00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:37,040
too. 
He just didn't let it define the

689
00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:39,840
rest of his life. 
He didn't let it sideline him. 

690
00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:43,080
He let it refine him and he went
on for the Lord. 

691
00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:47,360
And that's what every single one
of us in this auditorium this 

692
00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:50,280
morning can do. 
We can keep going for the Lord. 

693
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:51,880
We just have to make the 
decision. 

694
00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:54,159
It's worth it. 
It's worth it. 

695
00:34:54,400 --> 00:34:58,920
And I want to make my life count
for Jesus. 

696
00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:02,840
Won't you? 
Let's pray. 

697
00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:04,920
Father, again, we thank you so 
much for your goodness to us and

698
00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:08,960
for the opportunity you've given
us to take a few minutes and 

699
00:35:08,960 --> 00:35:10,360
look at this passage this 
morning. 

700
00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:14,360
We know that perilous times are 
going to come if we're 

701
00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:16,600
Christians, and perilous times 
are going to come. 

702
00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:19,440
God, may you help us to prepare 
for it. 

703
00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:21,960
I know some that are in the 
middle of trials right now. 

704
00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:24,400
May you help them through it. 
May you help us to come out on 

705
00:35:24,400 --> 00:35:27,320
the other side stronger. 
Those who are are going to be 

706
00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,800
facing difficulties. 
And you know, that might be the 

707
00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:32,680
reason why you laid it on my 
heart to preach this message 

708
00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:34,640
this morning. 
Maybe somebody in this room this

709
00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:36,600
morning is getting ready to go 
into something very, very 

710
00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:37,800
difficult. 
I don't know. 

711
00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:44,480
But God, may you help us, May 
you help us to come out on the 

712
00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:48,560
other side as gold refined for 
your service. 

713
00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:54,000
God, may you give us the courage
to continue going forward for 

714
00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:58,600
you may give us the strength to 
continue going forward for you. 

715
00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:02,720
And may we come out on the other
side of the trial stronger 

716
00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:04,880
because we put our faith in our 
trust in our hope in you. 

717
00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:08,840
By that you'd use the message in
our hearts this morning. 

718
00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:12,400
Thank you again for all you do 
for us in Jesus name, Amen. 

719
00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:14,240
If you would stand at your seat 
through the heads bowed and your

720
00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:18,160
eyes closed, piano's going to 
play this morning. 

721
00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:20,560
And as she does, God spoken to 
your heart. 

722
00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:25,520
You come. 
The altar is a place to start. 

723
00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:27,640
God spoke to your heart about 
something. 

724
00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:31,440
You need to make a decision to 
change something or to do 

725
00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:34,880
something different or to allow 
something that needs to be 

726
00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:37,640
changed in your life to change. 
This is not the end. 

727
00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:40,160
This is just the beginning. 
This is telling God, hey, I'm 

728
00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:41,960
going to deal with this. 
I'm going to get this right. 

729
00:36:41,960 --> 00:36:43,960
I'm going to do whatever it is 
that you want me to do. 

730
00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:49,760
But it's an important step. 
It's not easy stepping out of 

731
00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:54,320
your seat and coming forward, 
but once you do, you're telling 

732
00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:55,880
God, hey, I'm serious about 
this. 

733
00:36:57,040 --> 00:36:59,480
You spoke to my heart and I'm 
responding to the message. 

734
00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:03,760
I want you to do that this 
morning if God spoke to your 

735
00:37:03,760 --> 00:38:07,600
heart. 
The we love you so much for your

736
00:38:07,600 --> 00:38:11,400
goodness to us and and I know 
how difficult it's been for both

737
00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:13,880
Bill and Miss Diana and a lot 
of. 

738
00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:19,080
The. 
Amen. 

739
00:39:19,080 --> 00:39:20,680
Well, thank you for being here 
this morning. 

740
00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:23,800
And I, I trust that it's a help 
to you. 

741
00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:26,320
And maybe you don't need it 
today, but you'll need it 

742
00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:30,640
tomorrow. 
And we all go through 

743
00:39:30,640 --> 00:39:32,440
difficulties, We all go through 
hardships. 

744
00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:35,160
And what are you going to do 
with it? 

745
00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:37,600
That's, that's, that's what our 
that's what our choice is. 

746
00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:39,880
That's what our decision is. 
Couple things. 

747
00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:42,680
Number one, we're having a 
meeting right after church here 

748
00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:44,760
with all of those who are 
planning to go to the family 

749
00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:46,320
camp out. 
I'm going to give you some 

750
00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:49,680
information and, and just go 
over a couple things with you. 

751
00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:53,720
And then also tonight, 6:00, 
it's a service that you're not 

752
00:39:53,720 --> 00:39:55,120
going to want to miss. 
I think it'll be an 

753
00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:58,200
encouragement to you and 
especially an encouragement to 

754
00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:01,880
our young people as well. 
And you won't want to you won't 

755
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:05,600
want to miss tonight. 
So plan to be here at 6:00 for 

756
00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:07,360
that. 
All right, Brother Brian's going

757
00:40:07,360 --> 00:40:11,160
to close us in prayer. 
Let's pray. 

758
00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:13,520
Father, I thank you for this day
you've given us. 

759
00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:15,400
Thank you for the good week that
we had. 

760
00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:18,640
Thank you for the week of camp 
that our young people were able 

761
00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:22,240
to go to and and hear some good 
preaching and, and make 

762
00:40:22,240 --> 00:40:25,800
decisions to surrender their 
lives to you. 

763
00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:28,080
And, and I got to just thank you
for that opportunity. 

764
00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:34,360
I do thank you, God for allowing
each one of us to come to you 

765
00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:38,160
and, and salvation and, and God 
just the awesome privilege it is

766
00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:41,560
to be your children. 
And God, I pray that we would 

767
00:40:41,560 --> 00:40:45,000
live worthy of that name that 
that we've been given of 

768
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:48,400
Christians and to be your sons 
and daughters. 

769
00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:50,840
God, I do thank you for the 
message we heard this morning. 

770
00:40:51,680 --> 00:40:54,400
And God, I just pray for those 
in our church that are going 

771
00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:59,640
through difficulties right now 
that I, I can't help but 

772
00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:02,160
thinking what David said. 
Even though I walked through the

773
00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:06,000
valley of the shadow of death, 
I'll fear no evil because you're

774
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:22,060
with us. 
Father, I think there are some 

775
00:41:22,060 --> 00:41:23,420
in here this morning that feel 
that. 

776
00:41:24,220 --> 00:41:34,430
I pray that you'd be close to 
Father. 

777
00:41:34,430 --> 00:41:40,230
I pray that you'd help us as we 
help to bear their burdens. 

778
00:41:40,230 --> 00:41:50,970
That you'd. 
Father, I pray that you, you'd 

779
00:41:50,970 --> 00:41:56,610
give us wisdom in that, but also
that God, you just help us to be

780
00:41:56,610 --> 00:42:00,610
exactly what this church needs 
them to be, needs us to be. 

781
00:42:00,690 --> 00:42:06,090
And what you've called us here 
to this place for, I just thank 

782
00:42:06,090 --> 00:42:09,530
you for this church. 
Thank you for calling each one 

783
00:42:09,530 --> 00:42:12,090
of us here. 
Thank you for what it is to me 

784
00:42:12,090 --> 00:42:17,520
and my family and God, I pray 
that you'd help us as we leave 

785
00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:20,880
here this afternoon that you'd 
give us a give us safety on the 

786
00:42:20,880 --> 00:42:22,160
way home, but bring us back 
here. 

787
00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:24,920
And I pray that you'd meet with 
us in the service tonight. 

788
00:42:25,720 --> 00:42:29,000
And I do again pray for those 
that are going through the 

789
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:31,880
difficult times right now. 
I pray that you just really draw

790
00:42:31,880 --> 00:42:36,960
them close to you and whatever 
goal you have in in their trials

791
00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,440
that you would accomplish that 
and that you would be glorified 

792
00:42:39,440 --> 00:42:41,120
in it. 
Pray that you give us a good day

793
00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:43,600
in Jesus name I pray Amen. 
Let's close with our.