1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:04,000 All right, good morning. While they are heading out, 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:06,440 let's go ahead and turn to Psalm chapter 84. 3 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:08,760 That's where we'll be this morning, Psalm 84. 4 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:13,600 And if you recognize this chapter, it's because you just 5 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:16,000 heard a message on it not all that long ago, but we're going 6 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:20,760 to cover it again because I believe God has some things for 7 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:24,360 us in here this morning. So Psalm 84 is where we'll be. 8 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:30,560 Hope y'all had a good week. Glad to see everybody that made 9 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:32,479 it here safely. I'm sure some are still coming 10 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,720 in. The weather changes from county 11 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:38,800 to county so some may be getting a little bit more sleet or 12 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:41,240 something like that. So hopefully they make it here. 13 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:43,320 Pray that they will. Psalm 84 is where we're going to 14 00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:45,200 be this morning. I'm going to, I'm going to jump 15 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:46,680 straight in and just read this passage. 16 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:50,320 It's only 12 verses long and then and then we'll pray and 17 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:54,480 then we'll get into our lesson. So Psalm 84 and verse one, and 18 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,160 it says How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts, my 19 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,320 soul longeth, yeah, even fainteth, for the courts of the 20 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,120 Lord. My heart and my flesh crieth out 21 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,160 for the living God. Yeah, the Sparrow hath found in 22 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:10,240 house and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her 23 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:14,080 young, even thine altars. O Lord of hosts, my King and my 24 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:18,000 God, blessed are they that dwell in thy house, they will be still 25 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,040 praising thee, Seala. Blessed is the man whose 26 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:24,440 strength is in thee, and whose heart are the ways of them who, 27 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,440 passing through the valley of Baca, make it a well. 28 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,440 The rain also fills the filleth the pools. 29 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:32,200 They go from strength to strength. 30 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,840 Every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. 31 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,560 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer, give ear, O God of 32 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:39,760 Jacob. Selah. 33 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,640 Behold, O God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine 34 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:46,680 anointed, for a day in Thy courts is better than 1000. 35 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:49,680 And I had I had rather be a doorkeeper in the House of my 36 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:51,720 God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 37 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:54,000 For the Lord God is a son and shield. 38 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:55,960 The Lord will give grace and glory. 39 00:01:56,160 --> 00:01:59,600 No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. 40 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,280 O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. 41 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:06,360 And I think it's interesting as we go through this. 42 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:09,280 I'm sure you've heard this before, but does anybody know 43 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,600 what that Selah means at the end of the couple of those? 44 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:16,640 Yeah, Pause, stop and think of that. 45 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:20,240 There's a old evangelist. He's dead now, but he wrote a he 46 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:23,480 wrote a song called. Well, think of that, and it was 47 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:25,960 based on this. Stop and think about what you 48 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:28,880 just read and see what what God has for you. 49 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,600 Remember, these are songs. So there's a very good 50 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:36,520 possibility when they hit that sealer that they paused and, and 51 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:38,920 maybe the instruments kept going, but they stopped to think 52 00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:42,400 about what they just sang. O Lord God of hosts, hear my 53 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:44,960 prayer, give ear. O God of Jacob, pause and 54 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:47,440 reflect on that God of Jacob, who, who was that? 55 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:49,920 So just an interesting thing in this passage. 56 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:53,000 We don't see it in all of the Psalms, but we see it all over 57 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:57,040 the place in the Psalms. And so time for pausing and 58 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:58,680 reflecting. And we're going to do that this 59 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:01,200 morning. Is is take a look at what we can 60 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:05,400 find from Psalm chapter 84 in the valley of Baca. 61 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:07,840 But let's pray and then we'll get into it. 62 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:09,560 Father, I thank you for this day you've given us. 63 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,400 Got to thank you for the safety you gave us this morning on the 64 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:13,520 roads. Thank you for holding the 65 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,840 weather off as we prayed even last night that you would hold, 66 00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:19,800 hold the weather away so that we could meet in your house this 67 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:21,440 morning. Thank you for doing that. 68 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,080 And I pray that you'd help those that are still on their way to 69 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:26,960 give them safety. And God, I just pray that you'd 70 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:30,160 meet with us this morning here in Sunday school and in the next 71 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,080 service as well. But God, I pray that as we read 72 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,320 here in the Psalms, Psalm 84, I pray that we would just really 73 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:42,400 desire to be in your house and to hear from you and to not just 74 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,600 be here because it's what we do on Sunday, but because we need 75 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:47,680 to hear from you. We need the strength that you 76 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,160 can give us through your word to carry us. 77 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,360 And so I pray that you just bless the lessons this morning 78 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:55,840 and God that you'd give us what we need from it. 79 00:03:55,840 --> 00:04:00,480 In Jesus name I pray, Amen. Now this valley of Baca, if you 80 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:02,080 remember, it wasn't all that long ago. 81 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:04,480 Does anybody remember what Baca means? 82 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:06,400 You may even see it in your Bible. 83 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:08,720 I don't know. Some, some have it weeping. 84 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,840 It's a valley of weeping, which which automatically makes us 85 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,360 wonder, you know, what, what was, what was this valley? 86 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:19,240 Where was it? And so I've read a couple 87 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:21,760 different things. Some say, you know, they were 88 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:27,520 coming to Jerusalem to to worship in the in the temple and 89 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,040 they may have just been coming through the desert to get there. 90 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:33,160 But there's a good possibility this is not an actual physical 91 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:34,920 valley. It's not even a real thing. 92 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:38,800 It's it's a picture that that somebody was putting in Psalm 93 00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:44,080 song for them to to think about as they were making their way to 94 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,360 the temple to worship. It's also you see at the the 95 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,920 header there to the chief musician upon getteth A Psalm 96 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,240 for the sons of Korra. I also read another thing that 97 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:59,040 this is possible that this Psalm goes all the way back to the 98 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,880 wilderness wanderings, even though David wouldn't have been 99 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:03,480 there, but the wilderness wanderings. 100 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,960 And this song was written by and for the sons of Kora. 101 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:12,560 Now kora, this is the same kora that the earth opened up and 102 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:14,240 swallowed him and all his men up. 103 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:18,000 That's the same family. And I think it's interesting the 104 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:23,080 grace of God on the family, even though they're patriarch was 105 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:27,120 this had had this major rebellion against Moses and 106 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,800 Aaron, but they were that were musicians there in the temple in 107 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,480 Jerusalem. And so anyways, we don't know 108 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,120 exactly it where this valley would be or if it even is a 109 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,280 physical valley, but it does mean the valley of weeping. 110 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,440 And so pastor preached a message, like I said a couple 111 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:49,440 months ago on this and it's been in my mind since he preached 112 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:52,520 that on and off. And then I, I came to this 113 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,400 lesson this week and I said, well, we get to learn about it 114 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:56,680 again. And I think we can learn some 115 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,640 really good lessons from it. And now here's the thing though, 116 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:03,520 we all, even when pastor was preaching, we're all going to go 117 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:08,840 through valleys. And I hope that your, your mind 118 00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:11,760 and your heart are prepared so that when you do go through a 119 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:16,520 valley, another another word I saw here was despair. 120 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,840 That's a good word for it, a valley of despair, that when you 121 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:22,960 go through that your mind and your heart are prepared so that 122 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:27,920 you don't, it's not a, a time to be melancholy, even though it's 123 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,920 not fun. It's a time to learn. 124 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,760 It's a time to, as we'll see here in just a second, to lean 125 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,600 on God and his understanding, not on our own. 126 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:42,320 And so when you go in through a valley, I think often we look 127 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:47,360 for sympathy, we look for help from the people in the church 128 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:49,120 and that's good and that should happen. 129 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,760 But but a valley is meant to strengthen us. 130 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:55,440 That's what God puts us through them for. 131 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:59,440 So keep that in mind when you go through your valley. 132 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:03,080 It's not a, oh, why does this happen to me? 133 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:05,920 Think about Job. We just finished reading Job. 134 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:07,520 We're, we're also reading through the Bible 135 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:11,240 chronologically this year. And Job is one of the oldest 136 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:12,920 books. So you start in Genesis and then 137 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,600 you jump straight to Job after like 10 chapters of Genesis 138 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:19,000 chronologically. It's the oldest book that we 139 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:24,720 have. And Job is really struggling to 140 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:26,360 understand why he's going through it. 141 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:28,800 In fact, all of his friends are telling him, you're going 142 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:31,400 through it because of sin. Who are you to question God? 143 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:36,560 And Job's saying I, I can't find anything in my life and he goes 144 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:38,840 to God. God, you are righteous and you 145 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:41,280 are just. Why am I going through this when 146 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:43,000 I don't know of any sin in my life? 147 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,120 The point though is his mindset was right. 148 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,200 He wasn't asking God, why are you putting me through this? 149 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:51,320 He was saying, what do I need to learn? 150 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:53,800 What do I need to change in my life? 151 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:57,720 And at the end of the verse, at the end of the book of Job, God 152 00:07:57,720 --> 00:07:59,640 basically tells him, there's nothing. 153 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,080 It was a trial that I put you through to strengthen you. 154 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:05,280 When you're tried, you'll come forth as gold. 155 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,680 And, and Joe finally understands that. 156 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:09,920 And then he he's actually able to turn to his friends. 157 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:11,760 In fact, God rebukes his friends. 158 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,240 And we're going to talk about that a little bit here at the 159 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:20,280 very end, because other people that have gone through those 160 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:22,520 valleys, sometimes others that have not gone through those 161 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:26,280 valleys can be a huge help to the people going through this 162 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:30,440 valley of weeping if if they're right as well and doing what 163 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:32,080 they are supposed to do as a Christian. 164 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:33,520 So we'll look at that at the very end. 165 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:40,000 But I want to as an introduction here as they go through this 166 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,240 Psalm 84, they are heading to the temple. 167 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,160 This is not one of the Psalm of degrees. 168 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:48,600 Remember, if you've heard that it's a song they would sing as 169 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,680 they headed to the temple. This is not one of those psalms, 170 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:55,720 but it is a Psalm that as they were getting to Jerusalem, they 171 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,560 would have been singing as they journeyed on their way. 172 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:03,120 And so this is this is they are making their way to a good 173 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:08,040 place, but there are going to be trials and struggles on the way. 174 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:11,280 And I, I can't think of what better picture for the Christian 175 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:13,440 life. We're headed to a good place. 176 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:17,800 We've got a promise in the Holy Spirit sealing that promise. 177 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,560 We are headed to a, to a really good place, not just heaven, but 178 00:09:21,560 --> 00:09:25,040 fellowship for eternity with our Savior and with our God. 179 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:27,800 But along the way, we're going to, we're going to have some 180 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:33,040 struggles and some of us, some of us know more about those 181 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:36,640 struggles than others maybe. But we all will go through them, 182 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,280 whether it's whether it's physical, whether it's mental, 183 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:42,560 whether it's spiritual. We're going to go through some 184 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:44,880 of these these struggles and some through some of these 185 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:47,200 valleys. But we're going to a good place. 186 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:53,960 And that's not the typical funeral message. 187 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:55,920 He's in a better place. That's not what I'm talking 188 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:56,920 about. I'm talking about if you're 189 00:09:56,920 --> 00:10:00,000 saved. We know what our end is, but it 190 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,560 doesn't mean that our days here on earth are going to be easy. 191 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,440 And so that's what this Psalm 84 is about. 192 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:10,720 Look, in verse 4 we find that this Psalm is a is. 193 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:15,360 We find blessings in this Psalm and the first one is in verse 4, 194 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:18,120 the blessing of dwelling in God's house. 195 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,040 It says blessed are they that dwell in thy house, they will be 196 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:24,920 still praising thee. And then we see that word after 197 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:27,120 it. Sela think about that. 198 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:29,120 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house. 199 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:33,040 They will be still praising thee as they go through this valley. 200 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:34,960 They will still be praising thee. 201 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,360 So we we find the blessing of dwelling against God's house. 202 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:41,120 We see another blessing in verse 5, the blessing of drawing on 203 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:44,000 God's strength and that is a blessing. 204 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,520 Pastor says it all the time. I don't know how the how 205 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:51,280 somebody goes through life in the world without knowing Christ 206 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:55,400 and and it's true. They have no real true strength 207 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,320 to draw from when they go through these trials. 208 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:02,320 They make it through but it but it depletes them because they're 209 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:04,840 completely going on in their own strength. 210 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,800 But verse five said, blessed is the man whose strength is in 211 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:12,680 thee, in whose heart are the ways of them, but blessed is the 212 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:17,320 man whose strength is in thee. You can find blessings in these 213 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:22,000 valleys by leaning on, on, on our God, on Christ on the 214 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,800 strength that we have in him. We also see the blessing of 215 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,640 depending on God's provision in verse 12. 216 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:32,200 O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. 217 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,840 But you're going to need provisions going through these 218 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:38,400 valleys. You're going to need spiritual 219 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:40,280 provision. You're going to need physical 220 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:42,800 provision. And that's a blessing to be able 221 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:48,000 to lean on God for that, for that provision that we need. 222 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:53,320 And we find that we need these things. 223 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:56,720 Anybody, ever, anybody that's ever done any hiking or mountain 224 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,600 climbing that's extensive. And I'm not talking about a 225 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:02,920 three mile hike, but a real, I know Scott does some of this. 226 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,400 He'll come into church. I did 32 miles yesterday. 227 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:09,960 I don't know if it goes that far, but long, long hikes, some 228 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:12,960 of them, some of these mountains, they take, you know, 229 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:16,560 14 or 16 or 18 hours to get to the top of these mountains. 230 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:21,760 Needing things on your journeys is not really an option. 231 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:26,840 You must have them. And so when we, when we're going 232 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:29,920 through Psalm 84 here, blessed is the man whose strength is in 233 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:31,880 thee. Blessed is the man that trusteth 234 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:33,640 in thee. Blessed are they that dwell in 235 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:35,400 thy house. These are blessings, but they're 236 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:38,800 blessings that we must have. We need them or we're not going 237 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,600 to make it through the valley. And so I think the psalmist here 238 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,400 is saying they are blessings, but they're absolute 239 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:49,040 necessities. And so we would do well to learn 240 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,840 what we need and how we can get those things. 241 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:56,280 And so let's jump right into this actual lesson. 242 00:12:56,280 --> 00:13:00,080 And the first point I have here is the Valley of Baca is a place 243 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:07,960 of pilgrimage in verse. Let's see in verse six, who 244 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:12,200 passing through the Valley of Baca make it a well, I think the 245 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:15,880 keyword there is through. He's not staying there. 246 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:20,840 And, and thankfully, you know, this is this, this is a valley 247 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:24,680 that probably every single Christian and probably every 248 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:26,680 single person in the world will go through. 249 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:29,920 But, but the goal is not to stay in that valley. 250 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:34,280 The the goal is to pass through that, that valley, passing 251 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:37,560 through the valley of weeping or the valley of despair. 252 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:42,760 First I want to look at this. It's it is a tough valley to go 253 00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:45,560 through. It's tough and I already 254 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:51,680 mentioned this, but this, this, this valley could be physical, 255 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:55,800 could be disease, could be, could be, you know, sickness, it 256 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,280 could be a disability, could also be emotional. 257 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:00,400 And I, and I know people go through that. 258 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:04,400 And I think the ones that aren't dealing with anxiety or 259 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,560 depression sometimes look at others that are and say, well, 260 00:14:07,560 --> 00:14:09,320 they must just be, have a weak mind. 261 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:14,720 But it, it's, it's a real thing. And, and, and so it could be an 262 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:16,160 emotional valley that we're going through. 263 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:17,960 It could be the loss of a loved one. 264 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:22,320 It could be family, family issues, family divisions, even 265 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:25,520 even divorce or the loss of a not a loss physically of a 266 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:27,440 child, but a child that walks away from God. 267 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:29,600 Those are emotional valleys that we go through. 268 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:33,320 It could be a financial valley. And we all, we all know what 269 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:36,440 that can feel like, right? Being tight on money and not 270 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:37,880 knowing what, what you're going to do. 271 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:40,040 Those are valleys, but also could be spiritual. 272 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:43,680 And we talked about this last week with besetting sin. 273 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:49,240 Why do we, why are we always, it seems dealing with and I and I 274 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:51,760 think it's because Satan knows what what our weaknesses are. 275 00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:54,280 And so we continually deal with those same weaknesses. 276 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:58,160 But these valleys could be spiritual valleys where we're 277 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:04,480 dealing with a besetting sin or Satan just has us in a, in a, in 278 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,120 a spirit of bitterness. And I'm telling you, when, when 279 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:11,400 somebody gets bitter or when you get bitter, it, it, it changes 280 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:13,800 everything you're doing everything. 281 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:15,520 You see through that lens of bitterness. 282 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:18,640 Nothing is right, right. You can find, you can be 283 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:21,000 critical of everything. So it could be that you're 284 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:25,160 passing through this valley, but remember that it's a pilgrimage. 285 00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:28,640 You're not staying there. And, and, and we'd be, we'd be 286 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,080 good to remember that because that is the second point. 287 00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:35,680 Remember that it's temporary. In Psalm chapter 30, verse 5, it 288 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:39,720 says weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the 289 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:41,840 morning. Remember, it's not there 290 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:44,360 forever. And I think we get kind of stuck 291 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:50,080 in that cycle of we, we, we expect it to last forever. 292 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:53,240 We just, it's part of who I am. This is what I deal with. 293 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:58,000 But it doesn't have to be. And so it's a temporary valley. 294 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:01,440 Eventually it will come to an end. 295 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,080 And I wrote this, but we already kind of talked about we don't 296 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:08,200 just wallow in our valley, which is the easy thing to do. 297 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:11,680 I've heard of people that, you know, they're, they're 298 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:14,640 struggling with whatever situation and they can't even 299 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:16,640 get out of bed. And I'm not, I'm not knocking 300 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:18,960 them. I'm saying it, that happens. 301 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:22,480 And we, we can't wallow in our valley, though. 302 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,560 So here's the, here's the attitude we have to have. 303 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,440 What can I learn while I'm in this valley? 304 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:30,520 What, what is it that God wants me to learn? 305 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:32,920 But what can I learn while I'm here? 306 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,440 And you've heard this probably more than once in messages. 307 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:39,880 God puts us through things, I believe to to strengthen us, to 308 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:43,600 help us, but then so that you can turn around and help 309 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:45,800 somebody else who's going through that same thing later. 310 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:47,640 And we're going to see that here in just a minute. 311 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:51,920 But I think that's a absolutely a part of going through a 312 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:56,360 valley, particularly these valleys of despair, these 313 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,840 valleys of weeping. You know, this is not just a 314 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:01,040 tough time. This is a valley. 315 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:05,280 This is, this is a, this is a place of despair, of almost 316 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,079 hopelessness. And that's why he's saying, but, 317 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:10,680 but blessed are they that dwell in thy house. 318 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:12,800 Even when they're going through the valley, they're, they're 319 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,160 blessed for dwelling in the House of God. 320 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:17,520 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee. 321 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:21,680 Blessed is the, is the man that trusteth in thee. 322 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:25,480 And so remember that this is a pilgrimage, though it's not 323 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,680 going to be easy. It's not meant to be easy by the 324 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,720 very word pilgrimage. It's, it's a, it's a marathon. 325 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:35,560 It's going to be a tough, a tough thing, but it's temporary. 326 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:37,960 But the second thing is, and we already talked about this a 327 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,200 little tiny bit as well, but it's a place of profitability. 328 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,480 He says this in verse six. Who passing through the valley 329 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:51,840 of Baca make it a well? What does that mean? 330 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,760 It doesn't say he maketh a well, which seems like seems like that 331 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:58,680 should be the phrase. Who passing through the valley 332 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:02,640 of Baca maketh a well? He turns the valley of weeping 333 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:06,080 into a well, and you can take that a whole bunch of different 334 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:07,600 ways. I even read somebody who was 335 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:10,120 saying his tears actually make the well. 336 00:18:10,360 --> 00:18:14,920 I don't know if we can we can pull that from this passage, but 337 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:17,000 it's very clear that a well is being made. 338 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:22,200 Now you're in a you got to think you're in a wilderness, in a 339 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:24,800 desert. Why would you make a well? 340 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:30,240 Because the very next verse says the rain also filleth the pools. 341 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,520 So when they're making, when you're going through this valley 342 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:38,000 and you make a well, remember this, this is not always to help 343 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:39,880 you. It may be to help the next 344 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:44,240 person coming along behind you. But he makes a well and the rain 345 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:48,320 Now can we make it rain? That's nothing. 346 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:50,840 That's nothing of our doing. Can we make a well? 347 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:55,520 We can. So we're doing the the physical 348 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,640 part in preparation for the blessing of God. 349 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:01,120 And when the rain does come, I think that's very much what it's 350 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:03,520 saying. The rain, the blessings from God 351 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:07,040 finally come and the pools that we've prepared and the wells 352 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:10,600 that we've prepared fill up with the blessings of God so that 353 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:14,800 others coming along can be a part partakers of those 354 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:16,480 blessings. I'll give you a perfect example. 355 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:20,120 You know the name Horatio Spafford, He wrote it is well, 356 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:23,360 with my soul. There's a few details here about 357 00:19:23,360 --> 00:19:25,120 this song that I didn't didn't really know. 358 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:29,680 But he was a attorney in Chicago and he was very, very heavily 359 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:34,000 invested in real estate. In 1871, If you know your 360 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,160 history, the great Chicago Fire happened. 361 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:39,680 He lost tons and tons of his real estate kind of before 362 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:42,320 insurance was really a thing. So you just, it was just gone. 363 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:45,160 You just lost it. He was very actually pretty 364 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,120 wealthy, though. And right around that same time, 365 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:51,400 he lost his only son, who was four years old to scarlet fever. 366 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:53,960 And so he stayed in the city of Chicago. 367 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:57,800 This is this is also at the same time DL Moody and and some of 368 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:00,080 the others were evangelizing Chicago. 369 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:06,280 So he teamed up with DL Moody and helped rebuild a huge 370 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:09,560 sections of Chicago. A lot of his own money going 371 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:13,320 into that. But anyways, after most of that 372 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:17,480 was was done, he wanted to go meet up with DL Moody and Iris 373 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:19,400 Sankey in Europe where they were. 374 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:24,760 Already they had already moved, gone on to England with their 375 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:28,840 crusades anyways, So he sent his wife and daughters. 376 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:30,400 And we know this is this part of the story. 377 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,640 We know he sent his wife and daughters ahead because some 378 00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:39,120 some work in in New York, some business required his attention. 379 00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:43,600 So he went to New York, they sailed to London, and halfway 380 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:50,240 across or so a ace, an iron ore ship of some sort, hit their 381 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:54,640 boat and sunk it. And out of 273 people, 47 382 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:56,760 survived. And one of those was Horatius 383 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:59,760 Bafford's wife. And she made it to Wales. 384 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:04,800 And she wired, I was going to say, texted, she wired a cable 385 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:07,600 back to her husband saying with two words, it said saved alone. 386 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:12,360 And so he booked his passage as quickly as he could and headed 387 00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:14,880 to Wales. And that's the part of the story 388 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,200 we know as they kind of got over the place where that ship went 389 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,040 down, that the captain told him, this is this is where that ship 390 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:22,680 went down and where your daughters were lost. 391 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:27,240 And Horatio Spafford, it says, went to his cabin, couldn't 392 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:29,120 sleep. And he said to himself, it is 393 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:33,000 well, the will of God be done. And very shortly after that, he 394 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,520 wrote the song It is well with my soul. 395 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:37,320 And it's I think it's interesting. 396 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:41,360 This is exactly what we're talking about with going through 397 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:45,120 the Valley of Baca. You know, sometimes our life is 398 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:46,400 going to be good. Sometimes it's not. 399 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:50,560 And we don't necessarily get to pick when there's nothing they 400 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:52,280 could do about that ship hitting. 401 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:54,800 There's nothing he could do about losing his daughters or 402 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:57,800 his son, nothing he could do about the Chicago Fire. 403 00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:59,840 But this is this is one of the verses that he wrote. 404 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:03,960 When peace like a river attendeth my way, very, very 405 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:06,240 good times, right? Everything's going perfectly 406 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:07,920 smooth. The very next line, though, 407 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:13,000 says, When sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot 408 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:18,400 thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul. 409 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:22,440 That's the peace that passes all understanding that an unsafe 410 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:27,960 person has no possible way of knowing or feeling or having. 411 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:32,520 Whatever my lot you've taught me to say, it's well with my soul 412 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,160 because it is. And you know, all those other 413 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:39,320 things are temporary. In fact, this valley that he 414 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:41,480 went through losing his daughter was temporary. 415 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,200 But in the valley, what did he do? 416 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,520 He made some wells. One of those being this song. 417 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:51,720 And this is a song that we still use even now when we're going 418 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,920 through a really tough time. This a song we sing, it comforts 419 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:58,440 us. It comforts our hearts and our 420 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:02,920 souls to know that A others have been through it and they've come 421 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:07,240 out alive. But B that you can you can lean 422 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:11,120 on God in these times. And that's what we see here in 423 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:13,480 Psalm 84. But first second Corinthians 424 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:17,200 chapter 1 verses 3 and 4 says blessed be God, even the Father 425 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,240 of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of 426 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:24,080 all comfort who comforted comforted us in all our 427 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:26,880 tribulation. And here's the key that we may 428 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:31,920 be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the 429 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:34,560 comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 430 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:37,920 That's exactly what this Psalm 84 is talking about. 431 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:41,960 God comforts us in our tribulation that we may be able 432 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:46,200 to comfort them that are in any trouble by the same comfort 433 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,840 wherewith we ourselves are comforted. 434 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:53,800 So the point here is, is to to know that what can we gain from 435 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:55,840 this valley that we're going through? 436 00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:00,960 And there's a lot to gain. Now, thirdly, it's a place of 437 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,640 promise. And he says this in verse six. 438 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,320 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well, The rain 439 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:11,880 also filleth the pools. It doesn't say that the rain 440 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:14,360 maybe could fill the pools. If it rained, it's it's 441 00:24:14,360 --> 00:24:17,440 happening, it's going to happen. God is going to send blessing 442 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:21,720 and it's how how have we prepared to catch those 443 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:23,880 blessings that he is is sending our way? 444 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:26,440 And he says this in second Corinthians chapter 12, verse 9, 445 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:30,920 My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect 446 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:34,200 in weakness. That's what he is saying here in 447 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:40,520 verse verse 5. So he says my strength is made 448 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,360 perfect in your weakness. Verse 5 blessed is the man whose 449 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:49,040 strength is in thee. You know, it takes it takes 450 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:52,080 getting sick and being in bed for two or three days for the 451 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:55,680 even the strongest man to realize I'm not that strong, 452 00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:59,200 right. We go through things like that. 453 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:05,040 Maybe maybe when you've even heard of athletes in their prime 454 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:07,520 in a helicopter accident, they're gone. 455 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,880 It doesn't matter how strong we are, even even mentally or 456 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:17,840 whatever other way to we go through a trial and realize I 457 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:20,320 really don't have that much strength in me. 458 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:23,480 And so I need the blessing of God. 459 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,080 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee. 460 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:32,280 But that's a that's a pretty, pretty awesome promise that God 461 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,280 gives us. My grace is sufficient for thee 462 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:38,880 and my strength is made perfect in weakness. 463 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:42,360 And so that's what I want us to remember. 464 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:47,840 I wrote a few things down here, but I but I I think that we 465 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:51,600 overlook sometimes things when we're going through that. 466 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:54,600 We can look at this two ways and I don't know if if this passage 467 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:59,560 was meant to look at it in in this other way, but here's what 468 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:01,320 he says in verse 4. I want us to think about this 469 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:03,960 for a second. I'm going to leave our lesson. 470 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:05,640 We're we're pretty much done with that. 471 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:09,720 But think about this. Blessed are they that dwell in 472 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:12,760 thy house. They will still be praising me. 473 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:16,400 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee in whose 474 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:21,080 heart are the ways of them. Now here's here's where I think 475 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:26,120 we we can have an alternative look at this passage because we 476 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:28,600 already looked at the ones passing through who are going 477 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,120 through this valley. They're struggling struggling 478 00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:33,360 along. They have strength by leaning 479 00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:37,280 on, on, on Christ. But verse six, who passing 480 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,800 through the valley of Baca make it a well. 481 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:41,200 The rain also fill with the pools. 482 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:42,760 They go from strength to strength. 483 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:45,960 Every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. 484 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:49,160 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer give here, O God of 485 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,640 Jacob. But I think the key there is in 486 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:54,600 verses four and five. Blessed are they that dwell in 487 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:56,560 the house. They will still be praising 488 00:26:56,560 --> 00:26:57,640 thee. Blessed is the man whose 489 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,400 strength is in thee, whose heart are the ways of them. 490 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:02,360 And then he goes into this valley. 491 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:06,000 I think this is an important way for us as Christians to look at 492 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:14,760 it because you don't always have to be the one that is hurting to 493 00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:17,280 be in that valley, if that makes sense. 494 00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:20,480 You could be in the valley, Walk it alongside of the other person 495 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,000 in the valley. We see that in Psalm chapter 23, 496 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:25,520 the valley of the shadow of death. 497 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,640 He is with you though. Well, that doesn't mean God's 498 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:30,280 going through the valley struggling. 499 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:32,360 He's going through the valley to be there with you. 500 00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:36,240 And I think, I think we can see that here in this passage that 501 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:40,680 other Christians are passing through this valley there. 502 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:43,240 It's the same pathway. They're going to get to 503 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:46,840 Jerusalem, but but they might not be without provision. 504 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:48,240 They might not be without strength. 505 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,960 They might be OK as they go through this valley and they 506 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:55,560 passing through the valley of Baca make a well for the ones 507 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:58,520 that are struggling. That's what I'm saying. 508 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,200 I don't, I'm not saying this is the way to interpret this 509 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:04,280 passage, but I definitely think there's the thought is there 510 00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:09,960 that other Christians are helping the ones along who are 511 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,920 struggling because then it says they go from strength to 512 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,600 strength, every one of them in Zion. 513 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:17,000 What is that? What does that mean? 514 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:21,320 I think they're going from well to well to well, barely making 515 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:24,720 it as they get through this valley, wells that have been 516 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:28,240 made by others and they go from strength to strength to strength 517 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,240 and they finally come out the other side and they end up 518 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:34,240 heading to the temple there in Jerusalem. 519 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:37,200 And where he says in verse 10, a day in that courts is better 520 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:39,800 than 1000 days not in your courts. 521 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:42,880 I had rather be a doorkeeper in the House of my God than to 522 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:45,800 dwell in the tents of wickedness. 523 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,520 Think we can interpret this two ways as well. 524 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:50,840 They finally made it through the valley and they're, they're a 525 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,960 doorkeeper in God's house and they would rather do that than 526 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:55,720 dwell in the tents of wickedness. 527 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:59,920 But I also think that we could interpret that, that another 528 00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:03,920 Christian who is a doorkeeper in the House of God is, is the one 529 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:06,560 that's helping these people through this valley. 530 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:09,800 Anyway, I just think it's an interesting way to look at it 531 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:13,760 because we preach that and we teach that and we do that. 532 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,640 But I think this passage is saying that not only should we 533 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:21,720 or can we, it's a requirement that we, as we pass through the 534 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:25,160 Valley of Baca, are looking around saying who who needs 535 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:27,760 help? I'm doing OK. 536 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:30,680 I have the strength that I need. It reminds me of a story. 537 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:36,640 We, when I was in, I must have been in 8th or 9th grade, we 538 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:39,000 went to Pikes Peak and the entire youth group went and 539 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:43,120 there's probably, I don't know, 70 or 80 of us that climbed 540 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:44,840 Pikes Peak. It wasn't the whole youth group 541 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:48,200 because you had to meet some requirements in order to go just 542 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:50,960 so they didn't have any catastrophes on the way up. 543 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:55,080 And so one of those things was you had to, we had, I think it 544 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:58,560 was Tuesday's we would do for like maybe 6 or 8 weeks before 545 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:00,760 the actual hike. We had workout sessions. 546 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:03,520 We all had to be there, all the, the guys and the girls. 547 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:07,240 And we had a lake. Long, long story, but they had 548 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:11,520 built an overpass near our church and they used this land 549 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:13,520 to dig out. They were using sand from it to 550 00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:16,440 build the overpass and what turned into a lake And then our 551 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:18,440 church ended up buying the property and we had this 552 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:20,760 beautiful, I don't know how many acre lake. 553 00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:23,960 It was huge though. I think they say 60 acres, but I 554 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:25,840 don't know if it was that big, big, Big Lake. 555 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:28,400 And they stocked it with fish and everything and we've had 556 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:29,720 canoes and everything else on it. 557 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:33,280 The problem was down to the lake was really steep. 558 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:36,880 So they made steps. Well, that was our workout. 50 559 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,080 lake steps and you down, up, one down, up to, and there was 560 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:43,360 probably 40 or 50 stairs. They were just railroad ties. 561 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:45,240 But anyways, that was one of the workouts. 562 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:49,480 And I remember one of the guys doing those workouts, we were 563 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:50,920 all in soccer and everything else. 564 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:53,200 So we were in decent shape, but we weren't, I wouldn't say in 565 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:55,920 hiking shape with big backpacks and everything. 566 00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:59,760 And I remember one of the guys was, they would say, all right, 567 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:02,200 do 30 sets of lake stairs. That's what we called them. 568 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:05,080 And he was cheating. I know he was cheating. 569 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:07,880 I'd get to the top. I'm passing him, you know, a 570 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:11,400 couple times every four or five laps and he finished before us. 571 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:15,960 I'm like he, he's cheating. Anyways, we get to Pikes Peak 572 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:20,360 and now we're on our way up the mountain And this guy was so 573 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:21,680 out. I wouldn't say so out of shape, 574 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:26,440 but he was out of shape for that to where there were several of 575 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:29,400 them. They took their packs off and 576 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:31,680 laid them, laid their packs down and they they didn't know where 577 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:33,840 they were at. If you ever, if you've ever done 578 00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:36,840 a mountain, the, the thin air really gets to you and and 579 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:40,880 you'll lose your mind almost. And anyways, we had to pick up 580 00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:44,000 his pack and carry it up the mountain as as we went. 581 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:47,960 But I think that's kind of what this is, whether it's a that 582 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:50,640 persons fault there in that valley or in that struggle or 583 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:53,560 whether it's not something they completely out of their control. 584 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:57,680 We passing through the valley of Baca can be a help to the other 585 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:00,600 ones that are going through it. And I think that's, I think 586 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:03,720 that's something we definitely can take away from Psalm 84. 587 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:05,240 I'd encourage you to go back and read. 588 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,840 It's only 12 verses long and the meat of it's only a few verses 589 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:11,240 there, but I think we can can get that out of it. 590 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:15,440 But if you're in the valley and you don't have anybody with you 591 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:19,320 passing through to help you, Blessed is are they that dwell 592 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:21,200 in thy house. That's where we get our strength 593 00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:22,760 from. Blessed is a man whose strength 594 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:25,640 then is in thee and whose heart are the ways of them. 595 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:31,040 And blessed is the man that trusteth in thee in the valley 596 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:34,960 of despair, but trusting in God, you'll get through it and you'll 597 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:37,760 be stronger on the other side. And I know that's cliche. 598 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:41,080 You don't just automatically be stronger on the other side, 599 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:43,800 though. You have to put your trust in 600 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:47,560 God and see what He has for you to learn from that valley. 601 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:50,800 And then you will come out on the other side stronger and able 602 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:52,880 to help the others that are going through that same valley. 603 00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:56,800 Maybe on your next trip to the temple and you're able to help 604 00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:00,360 those people along. So lots we can learn from these 605 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:03,680 valleys. But remember, don't don't get 606 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:07,040 stuck in the valley and wallow in the struggle of the valley. 607 00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:10,400 There's a lot we can learn from it and then we can help others 608 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:12,640 when we finally get out of it ourselves. 609 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:15,320 All right, let's pray and we'll be finished. 610 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:18,360 Father, thank you for the day again that you've given us. 611 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:21,160 Thank you for your goodness in our lives. 612 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:23,600 Thank you for your provision. Got I know there are some here 613 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:26,840 in in in this church, some of that are sitting here in front 614 00:33:26,840 --> 00:33:29,560 of me this morning that are are have things in their lives that 615 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:31,600 they're struggling with. Maybe not sin, maybe it's 616 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:34,200 finances, maybe it's maybe it is emotional. 617 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:37,200 Maybe it's family, maybe it's their own children that are just 618 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:39,200 struggling along. And that puts that that's a 619 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:41,840 struggle for us when our children are struggling and 620 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:43,760 we've all that have kids. We've all been there. 621 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:46,360 And so I pray that you'd help us, God, as we go through these 622 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:49,880 valleys, to lean on you for our understanding and for our 623 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:53,320 strength and the ones that are not in that valley at this 624 00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:57,720 moment, I pray that you'd help us to be a strength and a help 625 00:33:57,720 --> 00:33:59,200 to those that are going through it. 626 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:03,520 And God, I just pray that you'd help us to continually grow as 627 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:06,400 Christians, to continually draw closer to you, to continually 628 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:10,520 understand your word and, and what you have for us in it. 629 00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:14,480 We got I just pray that you'd just help us as a church God, as 630 00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:18,199 a as a body of believers, that we'd help each other out and and 631 00:34:18,199 --> 00:34:21,440 get through these valleys and praise you on the other side. 632 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:24,360 Praise you, bless the next service, in Jesus name I pray. 633 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:25,080 Amen.