1 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:07,200 Well, praise the Lord, it is good to be in the House of God 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:10,600 tonight. I know we, we don't always feel 3 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:16,120 like being in midweek service, but it is still good to be here. 4 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,680 I just want to take a moment just to give honor to God and 5 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:23,800 I'll give honor to my wife and my daughters. 6 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,640 It's chaotic but beautiful, just having such a wonderful family. 7 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:33,480 And I was thinking about, you know, whenever we get to heaven, 8 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:35,080 there will be no marriages in heaven. 9 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:37,480 That's kind of a weird thought, especially when if you're 10 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:40,280 married, you live your whole life married to that person. 11 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,320 It's like that's going to feel kind of weird, kind of kind of 12 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,880 strange. And there's another pastor on 13 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:47,480 TikTok that was talking about it. 14 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,600 He's like, you know, when we get to heaven, it's not that you're 15 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,800 going to find it weird. So you got to look at this 16 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,160 person like, I know. Thank you. 17 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,320 But helping me to make it here, thank you for being my partner 18 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:02,360 through life. And I think that's such a 19 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:06,240 beautiful thing that we're going to be in heaven together. 20 00:01:06,240 --> 00:01:08,960 We're going to know that we help support each other to get there. 21 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:12,280 And it's exciting. Just everything there is to look 22 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:13,800 forward to. Of course, a whole life with 23 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:15,960 her. And then eternity is something 24 00:01:15,960 --> 00:01:18,760 even better. I give honor to Bishop and 25 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,400 Sister McGee. I give honor to Pastor and 26 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:25,040 Sister McGee and to Brother and Sister Mason, our ministers. 27 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,160 They're all so amazed and I'm so grateful for the ministry. 28 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,840 So if we could just stand. I've got just one quick verse to 29 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:37,080 start off, start us off with tonight in Ecclesiastes chapter 30 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:42,320 4, verse 1. So I returned and considered all 31 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:44,320 the oppressions that are done under the sun. 32 00:01:44,960 --> 00:01:50,000 And behold, the tears of such as were oppressed and they had no 33 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,280 comforter. And on the side of their 34 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:56,640 oppressors there was power, but they had no comforter. 35 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:03,240 Tonight my message is titled in the right hands. 36 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:05,400 Let's just take a moment to pray. 37 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:08,039 Lord, we thank you for the service, guy. 38 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:09,400 The chance to be in your house, guy. 39 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:11,720 Lord, we thank you for the chance to be here together to 40 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:15,240 worship you, God and Lord. God, I pray you touch my lips 41 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:17,800 that you would anoint my lips, anoint my mind for the ministry 42 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,280 of the Word and open our ears, open our hearts, God, to hear 43 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,440 and receive what you would have for us here this evening. 44 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:26,000 God, for those of us that are here in person, everyone that's 45 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,520 coming in online, God, both tonight and in the days to come. 46 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,400 God, we will give you all the glory and all the praise. 47 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:38,160 Lord, for you alone, our worthy God, in Jesus name, Amen and 48 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:41,160 Amen, You can go ahead and be seated. 49 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:52,720 I just want to preface my message tonight briefly because 50 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:57,440 my trust in the wisdom and justice of God was shaken to its 51 00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:06,680 core very recently, and it took several weeks or months before I 52 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,760 finally realized that at all times, God knows what He is 53 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,640 doing. Now the feelings I had, they 54 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:15,440 weren't wrong to have. I'm a human being. 55 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:21,040 We have feelings. But I do feel foolish that I 56 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:23,520 thought I actually knew better than God of what should or 57 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:28,640 should not happen. But still, the feelings were 58 00:03:28,640 --> 00:03:33,320 real, and there were many. And many people have asked the 59 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:38,200 same question that I did. Why would a loving God allow or 60 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:40,240 cause certain bad things to happen? 61 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:47,320 So I'm I'm going to speak on a few things here according to 62 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:52,480 what God reminded me of. So life is not fair. 63 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:57,560 We live in what feels like an unjust, wicked, cruel and 64 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:03,040 uncaring world. The good die young and evil men 65 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:07,280 are celebrated as heroes in a sense is trampled on. 66 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:11,080 Sickness just racks and takes control of our bodies. 67 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:13,480 Mental health is just out the window. 68 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:16,680 War, famine, poverty, human trafficking. 69 00:04:18,480 --> 00:04:23,760 And many people ask, including us, where is God in all of this 70 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:28,840 mess and why is he allowing things to be this bad? 71 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:33,880 Why doesn't he just fix it? He can do anything. 72 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:39,400 So why? Because it can feel like God 73 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:44,600 isn't kind and loving, but rather distant and cold and kind 74 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,360 of caring more for just that he has praised, or that his rules 75 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:53,640 are followed, or even like he's just toying with our lives. 76 00:04:55,840 --> 00:05:00,600 If he's even real. And I'm not saying these 77 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:04,560 feelings are correct, but their feelings that are real that we 78 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:08,480 have. In fact, every, every Christian 79 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:10,520 hears words like this from those around them. 80 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:16,280 I have many times. And I know the Bible says that 81 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:20,480 God cannot lie and that God is love. 82 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:26,480 Not that he loves that he is love and his knowledge and his 83 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:28,920 wisdom is infinitely greater than ours. 84 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:33,640 But still, I find myself wondering why? 85 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:35,960 Why do? Why do these things, these 86 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:38,400 events happen? Why are they allowed to? 87 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:41,280 It doesn't make any logical sense to me. 88 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:45,560 And I questioned his judgment because there's just no way it's 89 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:52,240 supposed to be this bad. But let me tell you what the 90 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,920 story that really messed up my faith in God's judgment for a 91 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:58,680 while. Because I promised my faith 92 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:05,000 didn't just go away. God did see me through, but, and 93 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:09,040 I I hate this story. I hate thinking about it because 94 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:15,040 it hurts me deep. But some years ago there was a 95 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:18,880 man who owns some alligators. He just had them in a pond in 96 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:22,440 his yard that was fenced in. Everything was safe, everything 97 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:24,360 was good, everything was up to code. 98 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:27,080 It's cool. If you want alligators, more 99 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:28,880 power to you. Had to be someone in Florida. 100 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:35,200 Who else is coming too? But this man was a father and he 101 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:39,200 had a young 2 year old little girl and while he was outside 102 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,680 just doing yard work, she was outside just playing and running 103 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:46,720 around. And unfortunately those bars 104 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:51,160 that were too small for the alligators were not too small 105 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:55,640 for a 2 year old girl. And at some point, while the dad 106 00:06:55,640 --> 00:07:00,280 was busy, she got herself inside the fence. 107 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:07,040 She was never found. It's, it's, it was really 108 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:09,000 obvious what happened very quickly. 109 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:16,200 And every time I think about that, I, I, I get choked. 110 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:20,840 I, I hate the thought of it because I keep thinking of the 111 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,760 horror and the panic on the dad as realization dawns. 112 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:27,400 I'm like, hey, let's, you know, where is she at? 113 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,920 Where's my daughter? And then he starts to realize he 114 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:33,520 genuinely doesn't know where she's at and he cannot find her. 115 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:38,520 And he's looking around before finally seeing that alligator 116 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:42,960 pen and the realization of what happened. 117 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:48,720 And I keep imagining what that little girl, her last moments 118 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:54,760 must have been like. The confusion, the pain and the 119 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:59,120 utter terror. As you know, she got in there. 120 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:01,200 She was, she was innocent. She didn't understand. 121 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:04,520 She's just playing around and just went in there out of 122 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:08,200 curiosity. In the next moment, the jaws of 123 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:12,360 a predator clamped down on her with enough force to break bones 124 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:21,320 and dragged her into the water where she was alone and she was 125 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:25,720 scared for a few brief moments before her life left her. 126 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:30,440 Her last moment was one of fear and panic where 127 00:08:40,659 --> 00:08:45,340 I can't help but look at God and just scream out why? 128 00:08:53,650 --> 00:08:57,530 Why did this little girl have to die such a horrible death, 129 00:08:59,810 --> 00:09:03,570 feeling those teeth, drowning, all alone and scared. 130 00:09:03,570 --> 00:09:10,440 And then her father, you know, he has to live with that. 131 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:22,480 His little girl died on his watch, and there's no going back 132 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:26,560 and undoing it. I don't understand. 133 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:33,360 And I weep at it because I see it as unjust and cruel and 134 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:37,120 vicious. And that's not even the only 135 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,600 story of things like that in the world or our worst things. 136 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:47,680 I can find no reason or logic for why God did nothing to steer 137 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:51,600 this small, innocent girl away from this needless death. 138 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:54,960 It is very much in His power to do so. 139 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,360 He could have just shut the alligator's mouth. 140 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:00,600 He did that with the lions for Daniel. 141 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,120 There were so many ways he could have just stepped in to save 142 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:08,600 her. So God, why didn't you? 143 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:16,600 Why didn't you stop this? This story messed me up for a 144 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:22,360 long time and it rocked my faith to the point that most times I 145 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,880 had to continue only by what I knew was right. 146 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,360 Because I know what the Word says and I know that God says He 147 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:33,080 cannot lie, that He is loved, that He has a plan and all 148 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:35,520 things were to the good. But that's not what I was 149 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:40,080 feeling and I couldn't let my feelings just take the reins 150 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:43,520 because my feelings told me I couldn't trust God if He allowed 151 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:51,320 something like that. I felt spiritually numb every 152 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:58,520 time I thought about this and I felt just angry and resentful 153 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:03,480 and depressed her. Almost like almost feel like I 154 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:05,720 was betrayed in some way. Like my trust in God was 155 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:10,440 misplaced because he allows things like this. 156 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:17,760 And as a father of young girls myself, I can't imagine anything 157 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:26,400 more cruel to happen than this. Until very recently. 158 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:33,800 Because as I was just taking the time in the evening to pray and 159 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:38,880 I once again just felt numb and I couldn't really focus because 160 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,440 I kept thinking of this girl. I kept thinking of her father. 161 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,000 But even and all that, God reminded me of something I 162 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:52,120 forgot to consider. That little curl woke up in the 163 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:57,040 arms of Jesus. As much as her last moments were 164 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:03,320 truly horrible, she woke up to eternal joy and the arms of a 165 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:06,600 God who loves her more than any natural Father ever could. 166 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:13,880 She will never know any more pain or sorrow or fear, only joy 167 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:18,000 and love and peace. The horror of her last moment 168 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:24,320 was hearing God in the blink of an eye and it holds no weight to 169 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:30,040 the glory of eternity in heaven. I was so caught up in the effect 170 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:37,320 on this life which is here 1 moment and gone the next, that I 171 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:41,920 lost sight of heaven. This life is not our home, 172 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:47,040 heaven is. That little girl just got to get 173 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:51,960 there a little bit sooner than we did, and for all I know, 174 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:55,520 maybe something worse would have happened if she had lived 175 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,360 longer. God knows a lot better than I 176 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:00,720 did what the rest of her life would have been like. 177 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:04,320 He could have saved her from something so much worse. 178 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:11,600 He knows better than I. And her father is also in those 179 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:15,800 same good hands as well. The same hands that holds that 180 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:19,240 little girl now are the same hands that will be there for her 181 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:22,360 dad. Because you see, before time 182 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:28,400 began, before the Word let there be light was ever spoken, God 183 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:32,720 already knew their story and exactly how to help this Father 184 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:38,080 live on past this tragedy. I don't know if this Father is 185 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:40,040 leaning on God and trusting Him or not. 186 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:42,000 I don't. I don't know where he's at right 187 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:47,240 now. But I do know that God is there 188 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:52,760 and will be His strength. Now, I still don't have an 189 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:57,760 answer for every bad thing, but just as Job was reminded of his 190 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,760 limited wisdom and God's infinite wisdom, Even so I was 191 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:05,880 reminded that God's hands are better than mine. 192 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:10,880 I don't understand the work why he allows this and doesn't allow 193 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:17,400 that, but I trust him. I have been humbled at the 194 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:20,280 realization that this girl and her father were in the right 195 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:25,880 hands of the whole time and my righteous quote UN quote anger 196 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:31,240 at what I viewed as injustice on God's part was rightly put to 197 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:40,360 shame because how small and limited I am and He is not. 198 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,600 Now. I am still sad when I think 199 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:50,200 about this story. I still cry about it anytime I'm 200 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:55,120 alone because just the thought of that happening is painful. 201 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:01,880 But I still trust the hands of the One who made us and that we 202 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:06,000 are all in the right hands even if we don't understand the 203 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:14,200 reason behind everything. But life is full of unfair 204 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:19,000 scenarios of many different kinds, and I will not even begin 205 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,280 to scratch the surface of every different kind. 206 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:27,360 I'm just going to hit a couple. Life is full of different pain 207 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,440 and hardships, especially financial. 208 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,280 There are so many times in life we find ourselves in need of 209 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:41,440 more money than what we have. Whether it's through job loss, a 210 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:44,800 physical sickness that just brings way too many medical 211 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,880 bills, our vehicles breakdown again. 212 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:51,840 It seems like every time we look at our bank account we're just 213 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,960 seeing it go closer to 0, and every time a little bit of money 214 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,880 trickles in, it just right back out. 215 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,360 It is simply a fact of life that we will face financially hard 216 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:07,640 times and that's going to leave us stressed and anxious about 217 00:16:07,640 --> 00:16:09,760 how anything is going to possibly work. 218 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:17,440 And it will feel like we are drowning because every bill just 219 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,560 feels like another milestone tied around our necks, or 220 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:22,560 millstone rather tied around our necks. 221 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:26,120 And every dollar that comes in is gone before we even get the 222 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:31,160 chance to know it. They aren't gone, it comes down. 223 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,360 It's not a matter of deciding what bill to pay, but rather 224 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,200 what bills we can get away with just not paying this month. 225 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:39,080 Do we choose to keep the lights on? 226 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:41,760 Do we choose to put gas in the car so we can make it to work? 227 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:45,720 And we ask, how are we going to make it? 228 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,160 What are we going to do? It is an overwhelming feeling of 229 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,160 hopelessness fighting a battle that you know you're losing. 230 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:04,000 But in Matthew chapter 6, verses 25 to 23 to 25 to 33, Jesus 231 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:08,839 said, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life 232 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:13,359 what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your 233 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:17,720 body what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, 234 00:17:18,359 --> 00:17:23,079 and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air, for 235 00:17:23,079 --> 00:17:28,280 they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns, yet 236 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:30,120 your heavenly Father feedeth them. 237 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:33,240 Are ye not much better than they? 238 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:40,400 The answer to that is yes. Which of you by taking thought 239 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:42,720 can add 1 cubit unto his stature? 240 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:45,520 And why take He thought for raiment? 241 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:49,320 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. 242 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:51,920 They toil not, neither do they spend. 243 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:59,360 And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, the wisest man on 244 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:05,160 earth after Jesus, and one of the richest, even He in all his 245 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:08,920 glory, was not arrayed like one of these. 246 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:14,840 Wherefore if God so clothed the grass of the field which today 247 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:20,160 is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more 248 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:22,880 clothe you, O ye of little faith? 249 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:27,560 Therefore take no thought saying, What shall we eat, or 250 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:30,800 what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed? 251 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:34,160 For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. 252 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,960 For your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these 253 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:43,280 things, but seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his 254 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:48,960 righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. 255 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:52,920 Jesus is not their promising prosperity or riches, or for 256 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:57,840 anything to be easy. What He does promise is that if 257 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:02,040 we put His Kingdom first, even when it seems illogical to do 258 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:10,280 so, He will meet every need. We keep tithing and we keep 259 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:12,560 giving to the offering as best we can. 260 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:16,400 We keep showing up for church and we keep putting 1 foot in 261 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:20,040 front of the other. The bills are going to be met 262 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:24,760 and we're not going to lack for shelter or food or clothes. 263 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:29,160 The right job is going to happen, and God's going to make 264 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,720 sure we either have the right income or somehow money is going 265 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:36,440 to make its way to us for things to be taken care of. 266 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:40,640 Because God, he just cannot leave us destitute. 267 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,040 It's against his nature. He is our provider, Jehovah 268 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:47,800 Jireh. The Lord will provide. 269 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:50,520 And I know we say God can do anything, but there's things he 270 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:52,880 can't do. He can't go against his nature. 271 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:57,560 That's why he can't lie and he can't just leave his children 272 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:00,120 out there alone and unprovided for. 273 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:04,680 So as we switch our focus from our physical needs and instead 274 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:08,760 on to his Kingdom, which does take a lot of faith, it takes a 275 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:12,360 lot of just saying, OK, God, I, I don't see it. 276 00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:15,240 I don't know, I don't understand and I don't like what I'm 277 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:24,720 feeling, but here I go, His peace. 278 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:30,080 We'll replace our fears, maybe not with that first step, but 279 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,920 the more we're stepping, the more we're not looking left and 280 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:34,360 right. The more we're just focused on 281 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,520 His will, his Kingdom, and keeping him first. 282 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:41,160 The more all that anxiety is going to be replaced with a 283 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:46,360 peace and a trust because we start to realize we're in 284 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:52,920 really, really good hands. Psalms 3723 to 25. 285 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:58,560 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he 286 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:03,240 delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be 287 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:07,320 utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. 288 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:13,280 I have been young, and now am old yet have I not seen the 289 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:17,360 righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 290 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:26,920 I myself, I have been young and I haven't been old yet, but I 291 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:30,600 had still have not seen His people forsaken or forgotten in 292 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:35,080 my brief 33 years. I have personally seen His 293 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:39,280 provision in my family and a different members of my church 294 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:42,280 family. God didn't stop the bad from 295 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:45,200 happening. Oh he could have, He could have, 296 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:47,120 but he didn't. Why? 297 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:52,800 I don't know. He knows, but He provided 298 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:59,040 through it all and He brought us out time and time again and I 299 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:06,720 know He will do it again. We can find peace even when we 300 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:11,720 find ourselves in need because we are in the hands of our 301 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:17,880 provider. We are in the right hands and 302 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,400 beyond. Beyond any financial crisis, we 303 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:25,400 face so many other issues, health, relationships, 304 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:31,800 educational needs, bullies, different things on the job, the 305 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:37,000 list goes on. But I want to address just one 306 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:41,280 last thing that has bothered me personally off and on throughout 307 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:44,680 my life. And I know I'm not unique and 308 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,800 that probably all of us have been affected in this way. 309 00:22:49,120 --> 00:22:53,800 And that is the death of a loved one that you're not sure is 310 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:59,280 saved or not. You know, the death of a loved 311 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:05,200 one is the hardest thing. And it's especially hard if 312 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:06,920 you're not sure, like did they go to hell? 313 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:10,720 Did they go to hell? You know, it's depressing if you 314 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:16,520 know they didn't make it. It's, but it's, it's causes so 315 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:20,120 much anxiety if we just don't know for sure, because naturally 316 00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:25,040 we want to always think that, hey, of course they went to 317 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:26,320 heaven. I loved them, I knew them, I 318 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:30,280 laughed with them, of course, you know, but but what if they 319 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,680 didn't? Because we know that there is a 320 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:36,280 difference between someone saying they believe in God and 321 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:38,840 someone who actually builds a relationship with him. 322 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,280 But sometimes it's not always easy to tell because we don't 323 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:45,440 know that person's heart. We don't know them in the 324 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,000 deepest, most intimate moments of their lives. 325 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:54,160 And yet, yeah, there there's people that there's no doubt, 326 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:56,080 there's no doubt they went to heaven. 327 00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:59,200 And we rejoice, we cry that they're gone, but we rejoice 328 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,040 because they're in a much better place than we are. 329 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:07,120 But I've experienced the death of family and others where I I 330 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:11,840 wasn't entirely sure because I'm not so close with everyone that 331 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,560 I know that I have a good gauge of where they stood or what 332 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:22,040 their faith was like. But again, I've come to realize 333 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:29,440 we're in good hands and that God is a good and righteous judge. 334 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:36,520 He will fully and righteously judge sin because He upholds His 335 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,040 own law. But He's not out to get us and 336 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:44,400 send us to hell. He knows our life and our 337 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:46,440 struggles. He knows our thoughts and 338 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:48,320 intents. He knows what we could and what 339 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:52,520 we couldn't do, and He will judge with wisdom and 340 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:56,680 righteousness. So instead of just holding on to 341 00:24:56,680 --> 00:25:01,560 anxiety for my past loved ones, I'm choosing to trust that 342 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:05,320 they're in the right hands of a judge who knows first hand just 343 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:10,880 how heavy the weight of sin is, because He was willing to bear 344 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:12,760 the wave of it on a cross in our stead. 345 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:21,080 Luke 2339 to 43 And one of the male factors which were hanged, 346 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:24,000 because this is Jesus, and the two criminals all on the cross 347 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:30,200 together, railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself 348 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:35,280 and us. But the other answering rebuked 349 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:39,800 him, saying, Does not thou fear God, saying, Thou art in the 350 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:44,120 same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we 351 00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:46,320 receive the due reward of our deeds. 352 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:51,600 But this man Jesus hath done nothing amiss. 353 00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:56,240 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, Remember Me when thou comest 354 00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,720 into thy Kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily 355 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:04,080 I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. 356 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:11,400 Now that man, he had not made sacrifices for his sins 357 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:15,400 according to the Old Testament, and neither was he a born again 358 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:16,160 Christian. He wasn't. 359 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:19,120 He hadn't been baptized in Jesus name and filled with the Holy 360 00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:24,400 Ghost. It wasn't time for that yet and 361 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:26,840 he clearly didn't live a holy life. 362 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:33,080 He recognized he was on the cross because he deserved his 363 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:38,320 punishment. But in this moment, this man 364 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,480 defended Jesus when no one else did. 365 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:46,720 And in a single moment, Jesus took this man's sin and pardoned 366 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:51,080 him, taking the condemnation upon himself instead. 367 00:26:52,040 --> 00:26:56,440 The other man on the cross died in his sins, and he was 368 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:59,680 condemned with his sin because he never repented. 369 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:04,040 He held on to his sin until his dying breath. 370 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:10,040 He had salvation literally right there and he didn't choose it. 371 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:15,000 But the other man looked to Jesus and found grace even while 372 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:20,960 dying for his crimes. These men were in the hands of 373 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:25,480 the righteous judge, and we can agree that their judgement was 374 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:29,640 rightly handled. And every single one of us, 375 00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:32,840 everyone that has passed on before us, are in those same 376 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:36,680 hands. Because again, Jesus is not here 377 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:40,720 to find everything possible to condemn us with. 378 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:43,600 He's not hoping for us to fall and fail. 379 00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:51,720 He is full of grace and mercy, and He with all wisdom, with all 380 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:55,720 love, with all righteousness, will judge us in just the right 381 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:59,800 way. I can't decide where someone is 382 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:05,200 going to go and I don't need to be anxious for somebody else 383 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:11,720 that has passed because I trust that they are in the right hands 384 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:17,000 and that I myself will be in the right hands. 385 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:20,080 Because sometimes we get so caught up in trying to live 386 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:22,680 Christ like, or like we've got to do something just right. 387 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:25,760 We've got to, and we live kind of anxious and we're kind of 388 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:27,920 worried and we know there's grace, but we feel like we got 389 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:31,360 to have everything just right. You know, like what if, what if 390 00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:33,200 God comes right now? I just don't feel like I'm 391 00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:34,760 worried. I don't, I don't feel like I've 392 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:39,520 done enough. And I but those hands are full 393 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:44,080 of grace. We don't have to worry about 394 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:45,600 those hands coming down. Try to back. 395 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,080 Gotcha. You got what you deserve. 396 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,480 No, these are the hands. These are the nailed, scarred 397 00:28:54,480 --> 00:29:01,400 hands. The proof that he loves us and 398 00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:04,640 we'll do everything in his power to help us succeed. 399 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:09,160 We still got to live our lives. We still got to come to him. 400 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:12,080 We still got to pray, we still got to repent of our sins. 401 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,560 We still got to put in that effort to live as he wants us to 402 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:20,840 live. But his grace is so strong and 403 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:24,840 so wonderful and those nailed scarred hands are there to help 404 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:27,200 us out. When Peter was walking on the 405 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:30,320 water and he took his eyes off Jesus for a moment and he 406 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:33,560 started to say, Jesus didn't be like, well, bummer for you. 407 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:39,280 No, he reached down with his hands to pull him up and to help 408 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:44,560 him. We don't have to be worried or 409 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:49,120 afraid of the judgement for someone else or for ourselves. 410 00:29:51,160 --> 00:30:03,110 We can instead trust that he knows what he's doing and that 411 00:30:03,110 --> 00:30:08,950 it's going to be OK. I don't know how many people 412 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:14,640 like me have been anxious when someone they knew has passed on 413 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:20,760 and they're just not sure. And we're not going to get a for 414 00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:29,840 sure answer in this life, but I can choose to trust that they 415 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:36,480 are still in good hands. There's a story of a judge who 416 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:41,640 was known for his integrity and known for not being harsh but 417 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:46,600 always upholding the law exactly how it should be. 418 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:55,000 And one day, a woman came in being prosecuted because she was 419 00:30:55,000 --> 00:31:02,160 driving drunk and wrecked some vehicles and, you know, needed 420 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:06,120 to be condemned for that. And that judge saw her, saw the 421 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:10,960 proof, saw what it was, and guilty. 422 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:15,040 You have to pay the highest fine, the highest amount. 423 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:21,240 And then everyone was shocked when that judge got down from 424 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:26,920 the plat from behind his area, went to the bailiff and paid him 425 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:30,840 the money. Because that woman was his 426 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:35,640 daughter. He judged her righteously 427 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:42,560 because he could do no less, and yet because she was his daughter 428 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:47,360 and for love of her, he also went and paid the price for her. 429 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:57,760 That's what Jesus did for us. We are in very, very good hands. 430 00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:03,600 Our musicians can go ahead and come first. 431 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:10,560 Peter 57, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you, 432 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:19,480 all your care, which means everything you feel, which even 433 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:21,640 means those feelings when you're angry at God. 434 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:26,320 He can take it. We can cast it upon him. 435 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:29,920 Because when I was so numb, when I just couldn't get past that 436 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:38,760 story and I just couldn't trust Him, I could tell Him that he 437 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:45,920 heard everything I had to say. He heard me out, and then he 438 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:49,640 corrected me. Life is so hard. 439 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:56,960 It is cruel, it is unjust, but we're in the right hands when we 440 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,920 put God first and allow Him to move in the way that He wants 441 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:04,320 to. Every single care we have will 442 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:07,680 be taken care of in the right way and at the right time. 443 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:12,840 No matter how long the trial is or how hard the question is, His 444 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:16,200 plan is greater than all the bad we experienced. 445 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:21,840 Just like a drop of water cannot be compared to the vastness of 446 00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:26,960 the ocean, Even so all the bad we experience is just like that 447 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:31,440 little drop compared to all that God has planned for us. 448 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:37,720 If we will just stay close to the Father even when we don't 449 00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:42,440 understand, we will be in the right hands. 450 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:49,640 The Bible says that God cannot lie, and if He cannot lie, we 451 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:53,120 can trust Him. Despite the horrible and unjust 452 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:56,280 things in life, there is something greater in store that 453 00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:59,640 simply overshadows even the grossest evil and injustice. 454 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:04,360 As we see, I choose to take Him at His word. 455 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:09,239 I choose to place myself and every question I have in His 456 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:13,000 hands. Every situation, every anxiety, 457 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:17,719 every emotion is in the right hands. 458 00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:26,520 If we go ahead and stand, I just have two final verses and then 459 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:28,800 this altar is open. You can come to the altar, you 460 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:31,639 can stay in your seat, you can worship, you can pray. 461 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:40,960 Jeremiah 29 and 11 of the ESV, for I know the plans I have for 462 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:47,040 you declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to 463 00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:53,520 give you a future and a hope. Sometimes we don't see that hope 464 00:34:53,520 --> 00:35:03,760 in this life, but we will see it in the next Psalms 4211. 465 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:09,480 Why are you cast down on my soul, and why are you in turmoil 466 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:14,400 within me? Hope and God, for I shall again 467 00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:18,200 praise Him, my salvation and my God.