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Welcome to the Island's 
Christian Church podcast. 

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Subscribe to hear a new episode 
every week. 

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Thanks for joining us. 
If you have your, if you have 

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your Bibles, go with me over to 
Exodus chapter 16. 

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Exodus chapter 16 is where we're
going to be. 

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So you can just grab that. 
A few years ago, my daughter 

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Claire, you know, I have a set 
of twin girls. 

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My daughter Claire told me a 
story. 

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We were just talking and she 
told me the story about 

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something that had happened 
about a year before to her. 

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And the story really kind of 
caught me by surprise. 

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She said about a year before she
was at a birthday party with her

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and Ava were at a birthday party
down the street at a little 

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friend's house and they were 
having a good time. 

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Everything was going good. 
But at some point the the girl 

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hosting the party put a movie on
that Claire and Ava knew 

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instinctively their mother would
not be happy about them 

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watching, that their mother 
would not want them to watch 

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this. 
And so they kind of whispered 

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back and forth to try to figure 
out what to do. 

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And finally Claire spoke up and 
said, hey, I don't think our mom

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would want us to watch this. 
And the birthday girl retorted 

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back to her. 
It's OK, she's not here at that 

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moment. 
Claire said she stood up. 

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Ava stood up with her and Claire
said well, we're going home and 

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they walked out of that house 
and they walked to our house. 

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Now, when she told me the story,
this was about a year after the 

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occurrence, I was super proud of
her. 

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Obviously, wouldn't you be proud
of your kid if they told you 

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that story? 
Just super proud of her, but not

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just because of the decision. 
I was proud of her and I was 

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proud of us as parents, Marianne
and I, because of the trust that

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was behind the decision. 
The trust that was behind the 

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decision. 
You see, she didn't make that 

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decision because she wanted to 
stick out in front of a bunch of

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girls her age. 
She didn't make the decision 

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because she was like gung ho 
about this movie that she 

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shouldn't be watching. 
She made that decision because 

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she trusted her mom. 
She made that decision because 

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she trusted her mom. 
She believed that her mom had 

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her best interest in heart. 
My wife has spent years with my 

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children, not just setting 
boundaries, not just setting 

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rules, but explaining those 
boundaries, the wisdom behind 

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the boundaries, the why behind 
the what. 

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And what happened was over time,
all of our children, but 

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especially the girls they had 
trust, built up that this was 

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true. 
That Marianne did indeed have 

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their best interest in mind. 
You know, Marianne and I, when 

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it came to raising kids and we 
have four teenagers, we were 

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never trying to just raise rule 
followers. 

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We were never just trying to 
raise kids that would do what we

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told them. 
Do you know that? 

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Like just do what I told you 
when I tell you to do it. 

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We were never trying to do that.
We were always trying to raise 

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people who trust us. 
That was always our goal. 

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We want to raise people who 
trust us. 

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And because what we know is at 
the root of any healthy 

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relationship is not compliance, 
but trust, at the root of any 

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healthy relationship is not 
compliance, but trust. 

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And that's exactly what God does
with us, His people. 

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God meets us where we are and He
begins forming us not just to 

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follow His instructions, not 
just to follow His rules, but He

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forms us to trust His heart. 
That's what He wants for you. 

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He wants you to trust His heart 
in that. 

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That kind of life where you're 
living day-to-day of trusting 

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God's heart, trusting his 
character. 

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That kind of life was called by 
Eugene Peterson in his book A 

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Long Obedience in the same 
direction. 

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It's a great book. 
He actually stole the quote from

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Nietzsche who was an anti God 
philosopher. 

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But A long obedience in the same
direction, ongoing obedience to 

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God. 
Listen to me carefully. 

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Ongoing obedience to God is 
founded on trust in God. 

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Trust in God, not fear of God, 
not trepidation of God, but long

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term obedience to God is founded
on trust in God. 

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Now today let's look at how God 
is doing this work with the 

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Israelites as they were leaving 
slavery in Egypt and headed to 

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the Canaan land or the promised 
land. 

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So if you have your Bibles 
Exodus chapter 16, we're going 

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to jump into verses one through 
3 here at first. 

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Now this is just a few weeks 
after the Exodus, after a few 

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weeks after they've left Egypt. 
This is what it says. 

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The whole Israelite community 
set out from Elam and came to 

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the desert of sin, which is 
which is between Elam and Sinai 

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on the 15th day of the second 
month. 

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After they had come out of Egypt
in the desert, the whole 

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community grumbled against Moses
and Aaron. 

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The Israelites said to them, if 
only we had died by the Lord's 

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hand in Egypt. 
There we sat around pots of meat

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and ate all foods, all the food 
we wanted. 

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But you have brought us into the
desert to starve this entire 

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assembly to death. 
So here's the first idea I want 

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you to know this morning. 
Number one, difficult 

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circumstances challenge our 
trust in God. 

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Difficult circumstances 
challenge our trust in God. 

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Write that down here. 
It is these, these, this 

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assembly of Israelites, it's 
been a few weeks that they've 

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left Egypt, a few weeks out of 
slavery. 

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And they had seen God do 
incredible things. 

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He led them out of slavery. 
He provided them with an amazing

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leader in Moses, right? 
A courageous leader. 

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God had done this. 
He delivered them from the 

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pursuing army. 
He parted the Red Sea, He 

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provided for them clean water 
when they were in the 

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wilderness. 
He stayed with them every step 

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of the way, sustaining them. 
But now as they move into the 

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desert, the deeper into the 
desert on their way to the 

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promised land, they're they're 
hungry. 

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And you know, we have a term 
when you're not just hungry, but

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you're hungry and you're hangry.
What do we call that hangry? 

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The Israelite people are 
everybody say hangry, They're 

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hangry, they're hangry and I, I 
get a little hangry. 

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So I can understand they're 
hungry and because they're 

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hungry, suddenly all they can 
see is what they lack. 

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That's all they can see. 
All they can see is what they 

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don't have. 
They become blind to everything 

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God had already done because now
things are hard, things are 

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difficult. 
And so they can't look in the 

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rearview mirror and see all the 
faithfulness of God in the past.

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They can't see how God has come 
through for them over and over 

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and over again. 
They can't see that because 

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they're hungry and all they can 
see is their lack. 

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And here's the thing, Their 
story is not just their story. 

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Their story is our story as 
well. 

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We are the same way. 
Here's a here's a truth that I 

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just believe about religious 
people in general. 

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And I think this is true about 
religious people of any ilk of 

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religion. 
Religious people tend to operate

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from a false belief, and that 
false belief is this. 

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They tend to think because I 
believe in God and I do 

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religious things like go to 
church, give some money away, 

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whatever it is, then I shouldn't
face hardship. 

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I should be spared hardship. 
This is a false belief many 

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people operate under. 
If God is good, then nothing bad

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or challenging should come my 
way. 

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This is, this is, and here's the
thing, this is, this is, this is

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challenging. 
Most of us do not know we're 

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operating under that false 
belief until something bad 

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happens, right? 
It's when something bad happens 

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in our lives and we go, whoa, 
whoa, whoa, wait a minute. 

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I've been going to church. 
I've been giving some money 

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away. 
I've been, I've been trying to 

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be good. 
And this is the thinks I get. 

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And that's when we realized 
that, oh, it was never the 

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gospel or never the the God of 
the Bible that we were believing

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in. 
It was a religion made-up to 

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really protect ourselves. 
Hey, God, if I try to be good, 

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then you won't let anything bad 
happen to me. 

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And that's when we discover it. 
But Jesus, Jesus challenges this

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false belief in the Gospel of 
John, chapter 16, verses 32 

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through 33, John records these 
words of Jesus. 

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And Jesus said this, A time is 
coming, and in fact has come, 

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when you will be scattered each 
to your own home. 

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You will leave you all, You will
leave me all alone. 

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Yet I am not alone, for my 
Father is with me. 

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I have told you these things so 
that in me you may have peace in

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this world, you will have what's
that say trouble. 

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But take heart. 
I have overcome the world. 

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Jesus lays this out very clearly
to for his followers. 

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They've already left everything 
they've they've they've walked 

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away from their jobs, they've 
walked away from their money. 

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They've they've created a lot of
insecurity in their lives to 

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follow him for around for three 
years. 

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They've already had a lot of 
trouble and he says to them, 

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guys, I, I'm going to face 
trouble and you will too. 

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And that now here's the thing, 
the reason, the reason we have 

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this false belief that if I, if 
I believe in God, bad things 

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won't happen to me is that we, 
that the natural disposition of 

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our hearts is religion. 
And what religion says is if I'm

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good, God let's good things 
happen to me. 

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And if something bad happens to 
me, then I must not have been 

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what? 
I must not have been good. 

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And so God must be punishing me.
But Jesus says, you guys are all

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going to leave me alone. 
You're all going to be 

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scattered. 
I'm going to be by myself, 

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except God's going to be with 
me. 

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You're all going to abandon me 
and reject me. 

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And surely we wouldn't say Jesus
wasn't good, right? 

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Something bad happened to him 
and we wouldn't say Jesus wasn't

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good. 
And so this is a false belief we

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operate under. 
It doesn't when bad things 

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happen in our lives, it doesn't 
mean that we're being punished 

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by God. 
It doesn't mean that we're being

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abandoned by God. 
Now, listen to me carefully. 

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This is a theology you have to 
understand. 

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The world in in the book of 
Genesis, the world is under a 

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curse. 
The world is under a curse, and 

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so that the world is broken and 
things are not the way they're 

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supposed to be. 
And in this broken world, that's

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not the way it's supposed to be.
There will be dark days for 

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every single person when when we
leave the broken world, or 

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better yet, when the broken 
world is made new, as Jesus 

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said, at the renewal of all 
things, then we will no longer 

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suffer dark days. 
But as long as we are members of

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this broken world under the 
curse, we will suffer as members

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in this earth under the curse. 
So difficult circumstances 

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challenge our trust in God, and 
we operate under this false 

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belief that nothing bad should 
happen to us when we belong to 

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God. 
What happens is when something 

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bad happens to you, you struggle
to trust God. 

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We do. 
We, like the Israelites, forget 

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all of His provisions that He's 
given us. 

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We forget that He's provided A 
Savior to walk us out of bondage

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and out of sin. 
We forget that He has given us 

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the promise of eternal life, the
promise of a new heaven and a 

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new earth. 
We forget that He's been with us

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every step of our previous dark 
days. 

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So when you look back on your 
life and you see the dark days 

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you've walked through, you can 
see that God has been with you. 

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But when you enter into another 
dark season, your trust kind of 

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gets wobbly. 
It gets weak, and we forget. 

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We forget the faithfulness of 
God. 

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And when you forget, you lose 
trust. 

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And friend, at the center of 
this whole thing is this idea of

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trust. 
The work God is doing is around 

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trust. 
Trust in Him. 

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You see what God is doing. 
God is forming you and me into 

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being people who trust Him. 
You see, most people tend to 

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think that following Jesus is 
about going to church, avoiding 

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the big bad sins, and trying to 
be good. 

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Like this is the whole. 
Like, this is what many people 

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think Christianity is. 
This is why some people reject 

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Christianity, by the way, right?
They go, well, I don't really 

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need Christianity to be a moral 
person. 

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I could be a moral person 
without Christianity. 

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But this is not what 
Christianity is, and this is not

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what God is after. 
God is working in your life 

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something much deeper than just 
obeying the rules. 

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Like that's not what he's after.
God is forming you into a person

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who trusts him deeply. 
That's what God is doing. 

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A person who who trusts God's 
heart, a person who says, I know

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that God has my best interest at
heart. 

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At heart I know that that he's, 
he's got the best intentions for

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me. 
But look, Steven, your life is 

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falling apart. 
All these terrible things are 

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happening around you. 
All these, all these horrible 

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things are coming into your 
life. 

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How could you believe that God 
is faithful? 

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Because I trust his character. 
This is what God is trying to 

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form in me. 
People who follow him, not just 

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because we're told to, not just 
because we're afraid of 

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something bad happening to us, 
but we follow him because we 

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trust his heart, his character, 
and listen carefully. 

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We trust his ways. 
We think his ways of doing 

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things are just better. 
We just trust that. 

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Now, am I there all the time? 
You're like, are you? 

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No, I'm not. 
I'll tell you more about that 

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00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:48,600
near the end of this talk. 
I'm not. 

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Are you there all the time? 
No. 

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00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:55,800
Do you, are you listening to the
sermon going well? 

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00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,560
I mean, am I the only one I got 
to get my act together. 

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Everybody else here trust God 
deeply and I don't know, they 

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don't, they don't trust me. 
I spent a lot of time with 

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people. 
We're we're all in this fight. 

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We're all in this fight. 
And here's the thing, God is 

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interested in this fight more 
than you are. 

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In other words, as as much as 
you want to trust God and have a

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00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,120
heart that relies on him, God is
actually doing the work of 

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forming you into a person who 
trusts Him deeply. 

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00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:30,560
And that's our second idea this 
morning #2 God trains our hearts

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to trust him. 
God trains our hearts to trust 

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him. 
Write that down. 

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He trains our hearts. 
So #1 difficult circumstances 

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challenge our trust in God, but 
#2 God trains our hearts to 

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trust him. 
Look at this Exodus verses 4 and

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00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:47,840
5 of chapter 16. 
This is what it says. 

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Then the Lord said to Moses, I 
will rain down bread from heaven

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for you. 
The people are to go out each 

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day and gather enough for that 
day. 

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In this way I will test them and
see whether they will follow My 

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00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,440
instructions. 
On the 6th day they are to 

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prepare what they bring in, and 
that is to be twice as much as 

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they gather on the other days. 
Now do you see in verse 4 this 

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00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:14,360
line? 
Look at verse 4 again, it says 

275
00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:20,440
this. 
In this way I will test them and

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see whether they will follow my 
instructions. 

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Do you see that? 
A test reveals what's really 

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00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:32,320
there. 
A test reveals what's really 

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00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,440
there. 
It shows if you take a test, it 

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00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:39,320
shows whether whether you have 
actually learned of the skill or

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00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:42,480
gained of the knowledge, right? 
That's what a test does. 

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00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:46,160
It reveals what's really there. 
In a test from a good teacher, 

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00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:49,360
in a good system, a test isn't 
just about passing and failing. 

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00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,080
You know this, right? 
A test isn't just about passing 

285
00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:54,640
and failing. 
A test is about development. 

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00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:58,920
A test is meant to prepare you 
for what lies ahead. 

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00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:01,000
That's why we're that's why we 
give tests. 

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00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:04,080
We give tests in order to 
prepare a person for what lies 

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00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:05,600
ahead. 
So if you're in a class learning

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00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:10,200
to underwater Weld, which I 
would imagine would be hard, and

291
00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,920
I would imagine that you want 
some tests to learn how to do 

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00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:15,680
that, to make sure you're good 
at it along the way before you 

293
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:20,680
find yourselves, you know, in a 
lake welding a bridge, you want 

294
00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:23,680
some tests along the way for the
purpose of developing you think 

295
00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,640
about it like a doctor. 
We a man goes to a woman goes to

296
00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,680
medical school, she wants to be 
a doctor, but she has to take 

297
00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:33,000
tests on the way to being a 
doctor. 

298
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,760
Why is she taking tests? 
Is she taking tests to see if 

299
00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:37,680
she can become a doctor? 
No, she got into medical school.

300
00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:39,480
Most likely she can become a 
doctor. 

301
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:43,240
She she is taking tests to 
prepare her for the future. 

302
00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:46,080
She will more likely be a 
successful doctor if she passed 

303
00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,720
some tests along the way. 
This is what God is doing. 

304
00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:53,040
God is testing his people here, 
not to see if they pass or fail,

305
00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:55,920
but he's testing them to develop
them. 

306
00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,560
He's not just giving them food. 
He's teaching them to trust him.

307
00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:02,480
He this is the point. 
He's forming them into the kind 

308
00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:06,319
of people who obey him because 
they trust his character and 

309
00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:09,680
they trust his ways. 
And friend, you and I that we 

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00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,560
may feel like some days we don't
trust God, that we just like, 

311
00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,079
I'm just trying to get through 
this life or I'm just trying to,

312
00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:19,200
you know, get it, avoid as much 
pain and get as much comfort as 

313
00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:21,359
I can get. 
And a lot of us live that way. 

314
00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:25,079
What I'm telling you is God is 
working in every moment, every 

315
00:17:25,079 --> 00:17:28,960
moment to form you into the type
of person who trusts Him deeply.

316
00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:33,720
Now, this is important. 
God provided for His people, 

317
00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:35,960
right? 
You will have bread every day. 

318
00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:39,480
You have meat at night, quail at
night, bread in the morning. 

319
00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:43,520
Whoa, what a cool life, right? 
Never have to prepare any food. 

320
00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:48,080
It's just always there. 
He provided for them in their 

321
00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:52,400
needs, but He provided for them 
on His terms. 

322
00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,200
And this is important. 
He says I'm going to give, I'm 

323
00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:57,960
going to, I'm going to give you 
what you need, but I'm going to 

324
00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:00,480
give it to you on your terms. 
In other words, he says I will 

325
00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:04,000
feed you, I will give you what 
you need in the season, but I'm 

326
00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,920
going to do it my way, the way I
decide. 

327
00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:10,640
Will you trust me? 
And the way he decides to do it 

328
00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:16,520
is very specific. 
Daily enough for that day, not 

329
00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:20,800
extra, not any you can store up 
except for on on before the 

330
00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:24,440
Sabbath, just what they need. 
That's it. 

331
00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:28,480
And and even like when he 
provides for the Sabbath, he 

332
00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:31,360
provides just enough for that 
day and for the next day for the

333
00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:33,320
Sabbath. 
He, I love this God in his 

334
00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,280
beautiful wisdom says, I'm going
to provide for your daily needs 

335
00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:39,960
and I'm even going to provide 
that you can have a rest like 

336
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:42,000
I'm going to provide. 
That's how rich he is. 

337
00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:46,240
He provides for them on his 
terms. 

338
00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,760
Now some of those people, if you
go read the story, some of those

339
00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:51,960
people trust him. 
They, they believe what God 

340
00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:53,280
says. 
And they get up every morning, 

341
00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:55,440
they go collect their, their 
bread, they collect their manna.

342
00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:58,000
And even as they collect their 
quail just for that day, and 

343
00:18:58,000 --> 00:18:59,560
they put them in the little 
pots, they're told to put them 

344
00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:00,920
in and they have it just for 
that day. 

345
00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:03,400
And that's it, right? 
That's all they have, but other 

346
00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:05,960
people, they went out every 
morning and they would try to 

347
00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:07,720
gather as much as possible, 
right. 

348
00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,600
It would because they were like,
you know, we get this, it's free

349
00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:11,760
stuff. 
Oh yeah. 

350
00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:14,080
But you know, like call your mom
and then everybody get here and 

351
00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:16,680
bring bags, you know, and like 
you just piling it in, right? 

352
00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:19,760
You just because this is the way
we are like because we operate 

353
00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:22,120
from the scarcity mindset, like 
a what we going to have for 

354
00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:23,840
tomorrow. 
If we don't collect all of it 

355
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:25,200
today, we're not going to have 
enough for tomorrow. 

356
00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:27,160
So we just piled in, piling, 
piling in. 

357
00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:29,440
Well, if you go read the story, 
what happened is it is spoiled 

358
00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,200
and it got maggots in it. 
If they got any extra, The only,

359
00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:35,280
the only thing that to collect 
was just for that day. 

360
00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:36,760
That's all. 
That's it. 

361
00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:42,320
You see, here's the deal. 
Why did God say I'll provide for

362
00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:44,280
you, but only from day-to-day? 
Why? 

363
00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,200
Because it wasn't about the 
provision for their needs. 

364
00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:52,920
It was always about the 
formation of their hearts. 

365
00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:58,320
It wasn't about the provision of
their needs, it was always about

366
00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:01,880
the formation of their hearts. 
Israel's issue is not food. 

367
00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:04,640
That's not their issue. 
Their issue is trust. 

368
00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,160
They think their issue is food, 
but that's we all think we know 

369
00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:09,840
what our issues are. 
We don't. 

370
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:14,720
God knows what my issues are. 
And Israel's issues are not 

371
00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:16,080
food. 
They're trust. 

372
00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:21,960
You see, they've only ever lived
under Pharaoh for 400 years. 

373
00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:26,200
They've been slaves, and what 
the slaveholder has done for 

374
00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:29,680
them is provided their needs. 
Remember, they said it would 

375
00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,840
have been better for us to die 
at the Lord's hand in Egypt. 

376
00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:35,080
There we sat around pots of 
meat. 

377
00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:38,840
In other words, we had plenty 
with a slaveholder who did not 

378
00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,520
have their best intentions at 
heart, who was just trying to 

379
00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,400
hold them for their labor. 
The slaveholder gave them all 

380
00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:49,240
that they needed for food. 
But God is not trying to create 

381
00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,080
slaves out of us. 
God is trying to create free men

382
00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:55,400
and free women who love him and 
who follow him out of us. 

383
00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:59,120
And at the root of that, we have
to be people who trust him. 

384
00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,760
And so these Israelites, they 
have learned how to survive 

385
00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:06,800
under Pharaoh, but they did not 
yet know how to walk as free men

386
00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:10,160
and free women with God. 
And that's the reason God 

387
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:12,480
provides the way he does. 
I mean, think about this. 

388
00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:14,200
God could have given a 
storehouse of food. 

389
00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:17,200
He could have been like, here's 
a barn and you guys, it's we're 

390
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,360
just going to, we're going to 
drag this barn around everywhere

391
00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:21,000
you go, so you got all the food 
you're going to need. 

392
00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,880
He could have done that easily. 
He could have removed all the 

393
00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:26,720
uncertainty in your life of 
following God, of trying to be a

394
00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,320
Christian. 
Have you ever wanted God just to

395
00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:33,080
remove all the uncertainty? 
I mean, I have most days, every 

396
00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:33,960
day. 
I just want God. 

397
00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:35,880
If you just tell me how this is 
going to go, tell me what's 

398
00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:37,120
going to. 
I've had people tell me that if 

399
00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:39,080
I just knew how it was all going
to end up, I'd be OK. 

400
00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:41,480
This is what we want. 
And here's a moment where God 

401
00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:43,960
could have removed all 
uncertainty from his people. 

402
00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:46,520
And he doesn't remove all 
uncertainty. 

403
00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:48,960
He leaves them in this 
day-to-day uncertainty. 

404
00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,000
Could you imagine every night 
you go to bed going, you think 

405
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:53,320
there's going to be bread again 
tomorrow? 

406
00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:55,200
I mean there has been for like 6
months. 

407
00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:57,080
I mean it probably, but could it
end tomorrow? 

408
00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,160
I mean it could end tomorrow. 
If it ends tomorrow, what we're 

409
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:00,760
going to eat, I don't know. 
We'll have to figure that out. 

410
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:04,800
Then like we hear the storm, we 
go, man, God, you could have 

411
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,480
removed all uncertainty. 
Well, the issue for God isn't 

412
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,920
that we get our needs met. 
The issue for God is that we 

413
00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:13,200
become people who are trusting 
Him. 

414
00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:16,640
And so he trains us. 
His goal was not to just feed 

415
00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:18,640
them. 
It was to form them, to teach 

416
00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:21,160
them to trust Him one day at a 
time. 

417
00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:23,440
And here's the thing about 
obedience. 

418
00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:27,120
If you're going to obey God, it 
is always connected to trust 

419
00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:29,560
God. 
It always is. 

420
00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:33,400
And as they learn to trust Him, 
they would learn to obey Him. 

421
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:39,600
So God provides for us during 
our trials and our dark days, 

422
00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:43,120
even when we are tempted to 
mistrust Him, even when we are 

423
00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:47,000
grumbling and complaining. 
Because God is more concerned 

424
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:48,520
about your formation than you 
are. 

425
00:22:49,360 --> 00:22:52,480
You were concerned about the 
next meal, the next certainty of

426
00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:55,400
things working out. 
God is going, no, I care more 

427
00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:58,960
about your heart and who your 
heart trust. 

428
00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:01,240
And this leads us to our final 
idea. 

429
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:04,680
God is faithful even when we 
struggle to trust him. 

430
00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:07,760
So number one was difficult 
circumstances challenge our 

431
00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:10,920
trust in God and #2 was God 
trains our hearts to trust him. 

432
00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:15,240
And #3 God is faithful even when
we struggle to trust Him. 

433
00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:18,960
Listen to this in Exodus chapter
16 verses 6 through 10. 

434
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,560
It says so Moses and Aaron said 
to all the Israelites in the 

435
00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,040
evening you will know that it 
was the Lord who brought you out

436
00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,600
of Egypt in the morning. 
You will see that the glory of 

437
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:30,800
the Lord, because He has heard 
your grumbling against Him. 

438
00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:33,920
Who are we that you should 
grumble against us? 

439
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:37,240
Moses also said you will know 
that it was the Lord when he 

440
00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:40,280
gives you meat to eat in the 
evening and all the bread you 

441
00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:43,760
want in the morning, because he 
has heard you're grumbling 

442
00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:46,160
against Him. 
Who are we? 

443
00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,360
You are grumbling against us. 
You are not grumbling against 

444
00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:52,080
us, but against the Lord. 
Now I've told you this before, 

445
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:54,800
Whenever the Bible writers 
repeat something twice, you pay 

446
00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,040
attention. 
So two times, right? 

447
00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,240
Exodus says you aren't grumbling
against us, you're grumbling 

448
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:04,760
against the Lord and then verse 
9 then Moses told Aaron say to 

449
00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:08,080
the entire Israelite community, 
come before the Lord for he has 

450
00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:11,200
heard your grumbling. 
Verse 10, while Aaron was 

451
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:14,800
speaking to the whole Israelite 
community, they looked toward 

452
00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:18,520
the desert and there was the 
glory of the Lord appearing in 

453
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:20,760
the cloud. 
And man, I read the story. 

454
00:24:20,760 --> 00:24:23,920
I feel so bad for Moses and 
Aaron because they are wore out.

455
00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:26,000
I've been a leader who people 
complain to. 

456
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,520
It's hard, right? 
And he's the whole nation's 

457
00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,960
complaining to, to him. 
Moses and Aaron are worn out by 

458
00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:33,880
the people's constant 
complaining. 

459
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:37,800
And Moses tells Aaron to gather 
everyone together and here they 

460
00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:39,040
are. 
They, they get everybody 

461
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:41,880
together for, for Aaron to give 
them the news of what's going to

462
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,000
happen. 
And they're just weeks away from

463
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:45,800
being, having been freed from 
slavery. 

464
00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:47,840
And here they are grumbling 
against God. 

465
00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,960
And Aaron puts them all together
and the whole community is 

466
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:54,000
assembled and something 
unexpected happens. 

467
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,240
They look out over the desert 
and what do they see? 

468
00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:01,960
They see the glory of the Lord. 
Think about that. 

469
00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:05,160
They are grumbling and 
complaining. 

470
00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:07,760
And Exodus says very clearly 
they're grumbling and 

471
00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:12,320
complaining against God, and God
shows them his glory. 

472
00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:18,680
Isn't that cool? 
You see, what we tend to think 

473
00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:22,960
is that if I mistrust God, God's
going to punish me because our 

474
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:27,080
natural disposition is religion.
We just think like religious 

475
00:25:27,080 --> 00:25:30,480
people. 
If I mistrust God, God's going 

476
00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:33,040
to punish me. 
But what this story teaches us 

477
00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:37,120
is that God does not respond to 
their mistrust with punishment. 

478
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:39,640
He responds to their mistrust 
with presence. 

479
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:46,240
That's beautiful. 
He reveals himself to them even 

480
00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,880
as they are doubting him. 
Aren't you grateful that God is 

481
00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:52,520
not like us? 
Aren't you easily offended when 

482
00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:54,160
someone doesn't trust you? 
I am. 

483
00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:58,720
I'm easily offended if you don't
trust me. 

484
00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:01,320
Here's God. 
He is not easily offended. 

485
00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:05,240
He's not quick to pull away. 
He's committed to His people, 

486
00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:11,080
committed to their formation. 
He not only provides for them in

487
00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:16,520
the daily bread, but he and he 
trains them to trust him every 

488
00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:17,840
single day. 
But listen to this. 

489
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:22,680
He gives them his presence to 
strengthen them in that trust. 

490
00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,080
He says, I'm not just going to 
ask you to trust me blindly. 

491
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:28,680
Isn't this beautiful? 
I'm not just going to ask you to

492
00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:31,080
trust me blindly. 
I'm going to give you, I'm going

493
00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:33,360
to show you my glory. 
I'm going to show you my 

494
00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:35,840
presence to to strengthen that 
trust. 

495
00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,440
And friend, God has done the 
same thing for you and I, if you

496
00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:42,280
are a believer in Jesus Christ. 
God has done the same thing for 

497
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:44,840
you and me if you are a believer
in Jesus Christ. 

498
00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:49,480
When we place our faith in 
Christ, the Bible says that we 

499
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,120
receive the Holy Spirit, the 
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

500
00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:56,480
He comes to dwell within us. 
And the Holy Spirit reminds us 

501
00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,280
again and again that God is with
us. 

502
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,320
Even when our trust feels weak, 
even when our faith is 

503
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:04,760
struggling. 
He comforts us with this truth. 

504
00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,600
He is with us and he does this. 
The Holy Spirit does this in 

505
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:10,520
many ways. 
He does it by gathering into 

506
00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:11,840
worship. 
Have you ever come to worship 

507
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,040
left and went home? 
Yeah, I think God did some work 

508
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:15,600
in my heart today. 
Right. 

509
00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:17,840
Like he does it that way. 
He does it. 

510
00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:20,240
He does it when you do acts of 
service for other people, God 

511
00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:22,440
comes alongside you and 
strengthens you and he shows you

512
00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:24,120
himself as you serve other 
people. 

513
00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:25,920
He does it through the through 
the Scripture. 

514
00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:27,720
When you spend time. 
Have you ever read the Bible and

515
00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:29,880
thought, oh, man, I feel like 
this is talking to me right now.

516
00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:33,600
I feel like this book knows me. 
He does he that's the Holy 

517
00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:36,240
Spirit showing you that he's 
with you, that he's present with

518
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:38,880
you, but he also does it with 
the people that are around you. 

519
00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:40,840
In other words, your brothers 
and sisters in Christ. 

520
00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:43,720
This is why being in a community
and being in a small group is so

521
00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:45,760
important. 
Because it's in that community 

522
00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:48,280
that you are reminded that that 
what the Holy Spirit's telling 

523
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:50,360
you is true, that God's presence
is with you. 

524
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:53,080
And I've experienced this 
personally. 

525
00:27:54,640 --> 00:28:00,120
A couple years ago, my daughter 
Ava was hospitalized for like 2 

526
00:28:00,120 --> 00:28:07,640
weeks in Choa and in Atlanta 
that chose in Atlanta and 

527
00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:11,720
Marianne was there with her the 
entire time and I was at home 

528
00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:13,920
with the other children the 
whole time. 

529
00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:18,480
And it was one of those seasons 
if, and this is just a couple 

530
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:22,120
years ago, it was one of those 
seasons where it was dark, it 

531
00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:25,000
was heavy. 
And for me it was really hard to

532
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:30,400
keep trusting God. 
My kid was really sick, really 

533
00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:34,120
bad off, and they couldn't get 
her back on track. 

534
00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:41,800
And I was angry and sad and 
frustrated and trying to preach 

535
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:52,300
sermons. 
And in that time, dear friends 

536
00:28:52,300 --> 00:28:54,980
of ours who live South of 
Atlanta, George and Renee 

537
00:28:54,980 --> 00:28:58,380
Dillard, who's a preacher at a 
church and was my childhood 

538
00:28:58,380 --> 00:28:59,780
preacher, and Marion's childhood
preachers. 

539
00:28:59,780 --> 00:29:03,900
We grew up. 
He and Renee drove from South 

540
00:29:04,100 --> 00:29:09,560
Atlanta to Choa to go see their 
best friend, Ava. 

541
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:14,880
They brought her gifts, they 
prayed with her, they gave 

542
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:16,760
flowers, and they actually went 
a second time. 

543
00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:24,280
In the middle of my, like, 
struggling to trust that God was

544
00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:29,880
taking care of this moment, He 
reminded me that he was present.

545
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,480
It was one of those moments 
where you kind of go, I'm 

546
00:29:34,480 --> 00:29:36,800
holding on. 
It is difficult to trust you 

547
00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:41,200
right now, God. 
And then you hear about these 

548
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,560
friends who go and love your 
child in the midst of your 

549
00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,080
child's pain. 
And it's like looking across the

550
00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:53,120
desert at a cloud and going, oh,
yeah, God is with me. 

551
00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:58,680
He's present. 
And that trains me to trust him 

552
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:02,680
deeper. 
This is what God does. 

553
00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:07,440
He doesn't get frustrated at me.
He doesn't get annoyed with me. 

554
00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:12,920
God is so committed to forming 
in me and in you. 

555
00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:16,520
Trust. 
He is so committed to walking 

556
00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:20,080
with us over the long haul that 
he doesn't back down when you 

557
00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:22,400
grumble. 
He doesn't back down when you 

558
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:24,120
mistrust. 
He doesn't back down when you 

559
00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:25,800
struggle. 
No, he doesn't step back. 

560
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:27,840
He steps in. 
He reminds us. 

561
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:30,840
He shows us his glory. 
He makes his presence known. 

562
00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:33,280
He says, hey, I'm with you in 
the middle of this. 

563
00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:38,680
Even though you and I struggle 
to trust him, God remains 

564
00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:42,640
faithful. 
He is faithful even though we 

565
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:46,720
struggle. 
So this morning, difficult 

566
00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:49,000
circumstances will challenge our
trust in God. 

567
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,000
They will. 
I'm not going to lie to you, 

568
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:52,000
they will. 
They do me. 

569
00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:57,920
But God provides for us on His 
terms, and He trains our hearts 

570
00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:01,520
to trust Him. 
And even when you and I struggle

571
00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:05,440
to trust God, He gives us His 
presence to strengthen us. 

572
00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:09,800
You see, God is forming you into
something, and what He's 

573
00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:13,560
developing you for is for 
something in your future, for 

574
00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:17,520
His glory, and for His purposes.
In other words, there's a reason

575
00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:19,400
why He wants us to be people who
trust Him. 

576
00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:22,160
There's something coming. 
Just like for the Doctor Who's 

577
00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:25,800
tested, there's something coming
for the believer who is learning

578
00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:27,520
to trust. 
There's something coming. 

579
00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:30,960
God is forming you for a 
purpose. 

580
00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:33,680
Now hear me say this very 
clearly. 

581
00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:38,560
This may be the most important 
sentence of the entire talk. 

582
00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:46,480
The foundation of the whole 
Christian life is not your 

583
00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:50,520
faithfulness to God, but God's 
faithfulness to you. 

584
00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:58,520
It is not how strong you feel 
today or how much you trust God 

585
00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:00,920
today. 
It's not whether you pass the 

586
00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,720
test every time 1 comes. 
That's not the case at all. 

587
00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:07,080
The foundation of our life with 
Christ is this. 

588
00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:11,240
Even when we struggle, He is 
steady. 

589
00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:15,520
Even when we are faithless, He 
is faithful. 

590
00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:23,680
So here's the invitation. 
Trust Him today, not tomorrow 

591
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:25,920
when you think everything's 
going to make sense, which by 

592
00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:28,920
the way, it won't. 
Not tomorrow when you think 

593
00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:31,520
you're going to feel stronger, 
you won't. 

594
00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:36,360
Trust Him today with today's 
needs, today's provision, 

595
00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:41,920
today's presence, and tomorrow. 
Guess what? 

596
00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:45,200
He'll be there. 
He'll be there. 

597
00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:47,640
You're not there yet, but He'll 
be there when you get there. 

598
00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,400
You see, this is how God forms a
life of trust. 

599
00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:59,920
Not all at once, but one day at 
a time, one drop of mana at a 

600
00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:04,840
time. 
And as you trust Him to provide 

601
00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:09,000
for you every day, you will 
begin to see what's been true 

602
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:14,600
all along, that God has been 
with you, that he's providing, 

603
00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:17,520
that he's training, that he is 
showing up. 

604
00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,960
And when your trust is small, 
his faithfulness is sure. 

605
00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:27,280
So remember this, friend. 
When your life is hard, God is 

606
00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:32,800
at work, He is still faithful. 
When your life is hard, God is 

607
00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:34,880
at work. 
He is still faithful. 

608
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:37,440
God is at work. 
Will you stand with me? 

609
00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:51,240
Father, thank you that you've 
given us this time to gather to 

610
00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:57,000
worship and sing. 
Thank you for the musicians and 

611
00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:01,680
the singers who led us into your
presence this morning. 

612
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:06,720
Thank you that we were able to 
unpack your word. 

613
00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:17,239
I pray that that we would be a 
church made it for people who 

614
00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:21,400
are learning to trust you daily.
We pray this with all of our 

615
00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:25,679
hearts in Christ's name, Amen. 
Thank you friends, have a great 

616
00:34:25,679 --> 00:34:26,440
Master Sunday.