1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,120
In the name of the glorious 
Trinity, Father and Son and Holy

2
00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,840
Spirit, forever Amen. 
Glory be to the everlasting 

3
00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:10,720
mercies which sent you to us, O 
Christ, the light of the world 

4
00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,480
and the life of all. 
Give us wisdom by your law and 

5
00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:16,480
enlighten our impulses by Your 
knowledge. 

6
00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:20,560
Sanctify our souls by Your 
truth, and grant that we may be 

7
00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,040
obedient to Your words and may 
fulfil Your commandments at 

8
00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,320
every hour. 
O You who enlightens the 

9
00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,840
rational with the knowledge of 
Your greatness. 

10
00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:34,400
Do enlight, O my Lord, our 
thoughts, that we may meditate 

11
00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,480
upon Your holy and divine 
Scriptures at all times, O Lord 

12
00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:40,720
of all, Father and Son and Holy 
Spirit. 

13
00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:42,400
Forever. 
Amen. 

14
00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:08,000
If I. 
Was to pose the question. 

15
00:01:08,320 --> 00:01:12,800
At what moment in your day or 
routine do you tend to think 

16
00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:17,440
deep and thoroughly, reflecting 
on your life circumstances, 

17
00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:21,360
issues, plans, etcetera? 
Would your answer be? 

18
00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:26,040
When walking, resting with a cup
of coffee and reading the 

19
00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:28,640
newspaper. 
Oh, I don't know, that's, that's

20
00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:33,000
an old age newspaper. 
But showering, maybe when you're

21
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,600
in bed, maybe at church during 
services. 

22
00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:42,520
Now, themes are what we 
sometimes can refer to as down 

23
00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,840
times, right? 
Times where you can relax and 

24
00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,760
think. 
There are times where and when 

25
00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,760
the mind and the body are 
somewhat clearer. 

26
00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:02,280
Well, at times our spiritual 
lives entail down times as well.

27
00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:09,080
Times to ponder on our 
circumstances, especially the 

28
00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:14,400
negative ones. 
Those circumstances that cause 

29
00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:20,200
us a lot of confusion, 
heartache, broken hearted as 

30
00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:21,360
well. 
At times. 

31
00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:26,280
Disappointments. 
Frustration they cause. 

32
00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:30,000
Discouragement. 
Helplessness, Hopelessness. 

33
00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:35,120
Stress, disappointment, a 
feeling of defeat, failure. 

34
00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:43,160
Now we can either be reactive or
proactive during these down 

35
00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:47,280
times, the spiritual down times.
We can either feel sorry for 

36
00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:53,400
ourselves and seek attention and
sympathy, and at times maybe 

37
00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:59,080
even give up and throw in the 
towel, giving in to life's 

38
00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:03,440
precious giving in to our own 
faults and foolishness. 

39
00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:10,160
Or we can understand and always 
remind ourselves that it's a 

40
00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:15,240
part of life and that tomorrow 
is another day, another day 

41
00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:20,800
graciously gifted to us by God. 
As we read in Psalm 11824. 

42
00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:26,000
Today is the day the Lord has 
made come, and let's rejoice and

43
00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,040
be glad, regardless of the 
circumstances. 

44
00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:34,720
It's a time, a blessing, an 
opportunity to draw closer to 

45
00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:41,360
Him, to have a relationship with
Him, to intense intensify our 

46
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,240
relationship with Him, share 
with him in his life and his 

47
00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:48,040
mercies and his grace and 
compassion, correcting the 

48
00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,680
wrongs. 
We can use these times to 

49
00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:57,000
reflect on where things turned 
around, When did it go down, 

50
00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:01,120
When did it go wrong? 
When did it crumble? 

51
00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:06,640
When did it fail? 
It is a time to reflect on the 

52
00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:12,520
Why am I where I am at? 
Why are things not the same? 

53
00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:17,320
For example, why am I angered 
quickly now? 

54
00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:21,959
Why am I frustrated? 
Why am I deserted by family, 

55
00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:26,000
friends, relatives? 
Why am I alone now? 

56
00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:30,320
These are life's issues in 
general, but looking at the down

57
00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:37,000
times of the spiritual life that
we live as Christians, some of 

58
00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:42,960
those examples would be why is 
my prayer or my prayer life not 

59
00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:46,880
healthy, not regular, not 
effective, not fulfilling, and 

60
00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:50,400
et cetera? 
Why am I not engaged in all of 

61
00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:55,440
the aspects and duties of my 
Christian life and relationship 

62
00:04:55,440 --> 00:05:00,480
with God being called His child?
Now, I'm not going to give you 

63
00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:06,080
verses on why am I not, but I 
want to focus on the down times.

64
00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:09,640
What do we do during these down 
times? 

65
00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:15,480
How can we make most of these 
down times that we have? 

66
00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:20,360
Well, first and foremost, the 
Scriptures teach us what we need

67
00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:25,920
to do at all times, and we're 
focusing on our down spiritual 

68
00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:28,080
times. 
When you feel down spiritually, 

69
00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:32,960
I'm not spiritually active, I'm 
down, I'm frustrated, I'm tired 

70
00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,760
spiritually. 
Saint Paul writes to the 

71
00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:40,360
Ephesians in his epistle, 
chapter 5, verses 15 to 16. 

72
00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:45,120
That is Ephesians 515 to 16. 
Therefore, be careful how you 

73
00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,880
walk, not as unwise men, but as 
wise. 

74
00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:54,520
Now listen, Making the most of 
your time, because the days are 

75
00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:58,440
evil, Making the most of your 
time. 

76
00:05:58,840 --> 00:06:02,320
Not specified is it? 
But allow me to specify those 

77
00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:04,520
times. 
The good times, the bad times, 

78
00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,840
the up times, the down times, 
the successful times, the 

79
00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:11,960
failure times, the sad, the 
joyous. 

80
00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,640
And you add those times. 
That is coming to your mind. 

81
00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:22,320
Be wise, Saint Paul writes, not 
feeling sympathy for yourself 

82
00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:27,600
and sour grapes and giving up. 
No, no, be wise and know that 

83
00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:33,680
whatever the times are, whatever
circumstance we are going 

84
00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:40,280
through these spiritual down 
times, well that time itself is 

85
00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:44,560
a gracious gift of God who 
created time. 

86
00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:49,120
Praise and glory be to His name.
We read in Genesis chapter one 

87
00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:54,440
verse one in the beginning. 
There's a time God created it. 

88
00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:58,160
So that time that you have, 
regardless of what 

89
00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:02,920
circumstances, joyous, down, up,
right, left, whatever it is, 

90
00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:08,760
think and remember and encourage
yourself to say, well at least I

91
00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:13,960
am being blessed with this time,
with this opportunity, because 

92
00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,040
time is from God, praise be to 
His name. 

93
00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:23,000
Be wise, be wise, and make the 
most of that time. 

94
00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:28,680
Take it as a time to correct the
wrongs, to let go of the 

95
00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:32,720
wickedness. 
Make use of the time to learn 

96
00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:37,360
from your sufferings, mistakes 
and foolishness, stubbornness, 

97
00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:44,880
pride and bad decisions. 
Be wise, writes Saint Paul to 

98
00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:49,040
the Ephesians. 
Be wise in your decision making,

99
00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:54,840
your choices, your conclusions 
that will most definitely affect

100
00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:59,400
your future and possibly the 
future of others who are near 

101
00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:00,680
you. 
Family, friends. 

102
00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:09,440
Again, be wise beloved, be wise 
to be brave and humble to admit 

103
00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,080
to your wrongs during these down
times. 

104
00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,840
Because remember during our down
times we just spoke and these 

105
00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:20,120
are the times that we we need to
use to reflect on why am I, 

106
00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:23,520
where am I at? 
And when we identify in 

107
00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:29,280
humility, we admit and confess 
our wrongs, our faults, our 

108
00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:34,720
foolishness, and our sins. 
Most importantly, because that 

109
00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:42,000
is when God hears from heaven 
and will forgive our sins and 

110
00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:47,760
will correct our wrongs and will
wisen our foolishness. 

111
00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:53,320
Second Corinth Chronicles 
chapter 4 verse 17 when we make 

112
00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:58,000
use of the time that God has 
graciously provided us with, 

113
00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:04,120
gifted us with wisely. 
When we ponder on our 

114
00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:10,360
circumstance and wise and where 
and how that way is when God 

115
00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,520
hears from heaven and will 
forgive our sins and He will 

116
00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:18,440
help us to correct. 
Just as Christ lifted those who 

117
00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:23,680
are down, beloved, so too we 
should be wise and use our down 

118
00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:30,040
times to also allow Christ to 
lift us up and believe and stand

119
00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:33,840
firm on that. 
The secular term down and out 

120
00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:39,080
and not just merely referring to
financial positions is somewhat 

121
00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:45,080
paraphrased down and prepared to
be lifted in Christendom terms 

122
00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,160
according to Isaiah chapter 42, 
verse 3. 

123
00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,920
Listen to this, beloved, if you 
are going through these down 

124
00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,040
times because of various 
circumstances and we're talking 

125
00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:59,320
spiritually now, listen to this.
Take a heart, believe, trust, 

126
00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,480
Isaiah writes in chapter 42 
verse 3A. 

127
00:10:03,560 --> 00:10:06,840
Bruised Reed. 
He that is Christ, praise be to 

128
00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:11,080
his name, will not break and a 
faintly burning Wick or a 

129
00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:14,320
flickering Wick he will not 
quench. 

130
00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:20,440
So during those spiritual down 
times when your circumstances 

131
00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:28,840
are trying to break you and that
hope that is flickering, Christ 

132
00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:33,880
will not quench. 
So if you're feeling down in 

133
00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:39,400
your life again, don't just feel
pity and seek sympathy and 

134
00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:43,360
attention. 
Use this time to examine, 

135
00:10:43,680 --> 00:10:50,560
identify and correct while being
prepared to be lifted up by He 

136
00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:53,640
who is lifted on the cross. 
For your sake. 

137
00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,800
We have hope. 
We have the promises. 

138
00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,680
He has never left us or forsaken
us. 

139
00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,200
That's how we feel sometimes 
during those down times. 

140
00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,080
We feel that not only the world 
and friends and family have 

141
00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:13,840
forsaken forsaken us, but the 
enemy plays with our minds too, 

142
00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:19,080
trying to tell us any and and 
convince us that yes, your Lord,

143
00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:25,200
your God has also left you. 
Will your God listen to you and 

144
00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:28,920
hear you well? 
Our reply should be first and 

145
00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:32,760
foremost to the enemy away from 
me, Satan, in the name of my 

146
00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:37,600
Lord and my Savior Jesus Christ.
And then our reply should be, 

147
00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:44,480
yes you fool, yes, you deceiver.
My Lord has promised that He 

148
00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:49,840
will never leave me nor forsake 
me, because my Lord is the High 

149
00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:55,920
Priest who can feel sorrow with 
me, go through my pain when I 

150
00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:57,800
have sinned and I am down and 
out. 

151
00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:01,320
Why? 
Because He was tempted by you, O

152
00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:04,840
deceiver. 
He was tempted in every way by 

153
00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:06,040
you. 
But you know what? 

154
00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,960
He crushed you. 
He hammered you, He slam dunked 

155
00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,280
you. 
And if you're saying, well, that

156
00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:17,600
was the Lord Jesus Christ, he is
God, that is your God, well, I 

157
00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:20,840
will say I am the brother of 
Jesus Christ. 

158
00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:26,200
I am the son of the one true 
God, creator of heaven and 

159
00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:30,280
earth, who cast you down from 
heaven because you rebelled. 

160
00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:35,680
Oh, you fool, I have that same 
power because I have been 

161
00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:39,560
clothed with that power from my 
baptism. 

162
00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:44,040
Now, if you're going to attack 
me personally, oh, you fool, you

163
00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:46,520
deceiver, we're talking about 
Satan, by the way, if you're 

164
00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:48,920
going to attack me, yes, I am a 
fool. 

165
00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:50,640
I'm a human being because of 
you. 

166
00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:56,600
Obviously, I sometimes tend to 
put my guard down and allow you 

167
00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,880
to take over. 
But hey, let me tell you 

168
00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:03,880
something. 
Just as my Lord prayed for Simon

169
00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:09,480
in the Garden of Gethsemane and 
he said that you wanted to sift 

170
00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:13,440
his soul, you wanted to sift 
him, but he prayed for Simon, 

171
00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:18,760
and the most that you could do 
and accomplish was to crucify my

172
00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:20,480
Lord. 
Well, let me tell you that 

173
00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:26,200
crucifixion was to your shame 
and your defeat and your demise.

174
00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:34,080
Christ has also prayed for me, 
that prayer, that high priestly 

175
00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:39,000
prayer in the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, according to John,

176
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:43,960
you are quite aware of, oh, you 
deceiver, you fool Satan. 

177
00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:47,960
That was for me. 
I am down because of my 

178
00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:53,240
foolishness, because of my 
stubbornness, because of my, my 

179
00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:56,080
stiff neckedness, stiff 
neckedness. 

180
00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,280
I am down, but he's going to 
lift me up. 

181
00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:02,520
That's the approach we should 
have, beloved. 

182
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:08,320
Because what we do is when we're
down, we even kick ourselves 

183
00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:14,040
further. 
We take away the hope we we 

184
00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:18,920
quench that flickering light, we
do it to ourselves. 

185
00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:22,480
Christ won't do that because the
scriptures say, beloved, a 

186
00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:27,080
bruised Reed. 
He will not break, he will not 

187
00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:31,560
break and I faintly burning 
Wick, he will not quench Isaiah 

188
00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:35,280
42 three. 
So whatever circumstance you're 

189
00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:42,680
going through today, beloved 
again, examine it, identify it 

190
00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:48,560
and correct it while being 
prepared to be lifted up by he 

191
00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:52,040
who is lifted on the cross for 
our sakes. 

192
00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:55,040
Praise and glory be to His name 
now, and that all times and 

193
00:14:55,040 --> 00:15:25,110
forever. 
We hope you enjoyed this week's 

194
00:15:25,110 --> 00:15:27,430
message. 
Please don't forget to rate and 

195
00:15:27,430 --> 00:15:30,190
review this podcast and share 
with your friends and family. 

196
00:15:30,430 --> 00:15:33,910
For any future topic suggestions
or to give us detailed feedback,

197
00:15:34,190 --> 00:15:37,160
please visit our link in the 
Show notes link. 

198
00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:41,160
TR EE forward slash double edged
sword. 

199
00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:43,360
Until next time, God bless you 
all.