1 00:00:22,690 --> 00:00:32,590 Morning everyone. I hope that got you excited. 2 00:00:33,670 --> 00:00:36,790 If you want to turn to your Bibles for Psalm 27, I'm going 3 00:00:36,910 --> 00:00:39,470 to read it through for our scripture reading this morning. 4 00:00:41,590 --> 00:00:44,710 The Lord is my light and my salvation. 5 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:48,920 Whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my 6 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,160 life. Whom should I dread? 7 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:56,280 When evil doers came against me to devour my flesh, my foes and 8 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,320 my enemies stumbled and fell. Though an army deploys against 9 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:04,400 me, my heart will not be afraid. Though a war breaks out against 10 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:08,760 me, I will still be confident. I have asked one thing from the 11 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,120 Lord. It is what I desire, to dwell in 12 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,640 the House of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the 13 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:19,680 beauty of the Lord and seeking Him in His temple. 14 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:22,640 For He will conceal me in His shelter. 15 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,560 In the day of adversity. He will hide me under the cover 16 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,160 of His tent. He will set me high on a rock. 17 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,120 Then my head will be high above my enemies. 18 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,240 Around me I will offer sacrifices in His tent. 19 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:40,720 With shouts of joy I will sing and make music to the Lord. 20 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:46,320 Lord, hear my voice when I call. Be gracious to me and answer me. 21 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:50,960 My heart says this about you. Seek his face. 22 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:55,440 Lord, I will seek your face. Do not hide your face from me. 23 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:58,080 Do not turn your servant away in anger. 24 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,440 You have been my helper. Do not leave me or abandoned me. 25 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:07,480 God of my salvation, even if my father and mother abandoned me, 26 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:11,880 the Lord cares for me because of my adversaries. 27 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:15,480 Show me your way, Lord, and lead me on a level path. 28 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:19,720 Do not give me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses 29 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:22,000 rise up against me, breathing violence. 30 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:26,560 I am certain that I will see the Lord's goodness in the land of 31 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:29,280 the living. Wait for the Lord. 32 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:32,240 Be strong and let your heart be courageous. 33 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:37,200 Wait for the Lord. Thank you, Laura. 34 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:39,680 For those of you who don't know Laura, Laura is our camp 35 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,800 director for the summer. You can be praying for her and 36 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,480 for the team as we get ready for camps that are going to launch 37 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:48,120 just in a couple weeks. Here we have seven weeks of 38 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,960 camp, tons of kids. If you want to volunteer, I know 39 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,520 Laura would love to talk to you. We can always use more hands as 40 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:59,200 we have the opportunity to bless families and kids in our 41 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:01,080 neighborhood. In case you can't figure it out 42 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,400 from the title, we're going to talk about the goodness of God 43 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,760 this morning and next week and next week. 44 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:11,760 Pastor Kirk is going to lead us as we talk through giving thanks 45 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:14,160 to God and we're going to celebrate. 46 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:18,560 As we celebrate on Celebration Sunday, we have so much to give 47 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:22,240 thanks for. One of the first prayers that I 48 00:03:22,240 --> 00:03:28,480 learned was the just filled with theological depth and richness. 49 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,840 God is good, God is great, and we thank Him for our food. 50 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,560 Amen. That was probably the most heard 51 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:41,040 prayer that I heard as a kid growing up. 52 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:45,280 And, and it's good to thank God and his goodness. 53 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:49,760 But as we come this week, I want to address what I think is the 54 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:53,400 elephant in the room when we come to a topic like the 55 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:59,800 goodness of God. And that is, how good is God 56 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:04,440 really? Like, is he, is he really good? 57 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:06,640 I mean, it's one thing for us to say, right? 58 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:12,040 Some of you, you grew up in church settings where it was a 59 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:16,079 common refrain to say God is good and the people would 60 00:04:16,079 --> 00:04:21,240 respond with all the time. Then we would say all the time 61 00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:25,840 God is good. But is that true? 62 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:35,320 Is he really good all the time, even in times like these, Even 63 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:40,400 in times where missiles are flying between countries and 64 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:46,160 places like Iran and and Israel, in places like Ukraine and 65 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:53,240 Russia? Even when in this moment right 66 00:04:53,240 --> 00:05:01,080 now, 3 million people are on the brink of starvation in Sudan and 67 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:07,440 South Sudan with almost 35 million in desperate famine 68 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:15,160 mode? Is he good even in the spaces 69 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:19,280 and times that we live in on this globe where there seems to 70 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:26,800 be so much that isn't good? Is he good even in my life? 71 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:35,960 Even when my marriage is falling apart, even when my kid has 72 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:43,000 given in to the demons of addiction, even when my finances 73 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,520 are a disaster, even when I'm struggling to figure out how to 74 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:49,520 put food on the plate and a roof over my head? 75 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:57,960 Is he good in that? See, we end up in this space 76 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:06,920 where we say, if God is good, why doesn't he do something 77 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,560 about and you can fill in your blank this morning because I can 78 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,840 guarantee you in this room, we all have a blank to be filled in 79 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:16,480 there. There's all a spot where some of 80 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:20,120 us are struggling with believing the goodness of God because of a 81 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,760 circumstance that's going on around us or a circumstance that 82 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:26,480 is going on in our lives and in our heart right now. 83 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:34,800 We say, if God is good, why? And I just want to say I don't, 84 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:39,600 I don't know why you're facing what you're facing this morning. 85 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:44,240 I don't know why God has allowed this chapter to be part of your 86 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:49,200 story. I don't know why you are walking 87 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,600 through this moment. But there's two things I know 88 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:59,960 and I am certain of. First, saying God is good does 89 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:03,000 not mean saying that what you are walking through and going 90 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,360 through is good. Those are two different things. 91 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,120 So I don't want anyone here this morning who is struggling and 92 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:13,680 suffering and walking through deep waters to hear me say what 93 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:16,720 you are going through is good. I do want you to hear this. 94 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:22,680 God is good all the time. That's the other thing I know 95 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:30,360 even in the times where your heart is doubting, even in the 96 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:33,680 midst of the struggle that you are going through, even as your 97 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:41,360 heart cries out, why? Even in the moments where maybe 98 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:45,040 even right now you're tempted to just shake your fist at God and 99 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:46,680 say if you don't fix this, I'm done. 100 00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:51,800 I'm out of I'm out of here. In fact, I know listening here, 101 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,440 watching later, there are people in this space or who will hear 102 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:59,960 this message where you've got 1 foot out the door already 103 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:04,800 because you are struggling to believe in the goodness of God. 104 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:11,080 But I can say that God is good all the time because God's 105 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:15,160 goodness is not rooted in your or my circumstances. 106 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,080 God's goodness is rooted in his character. 107 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,600 That's what we mean when we say God is good. 108 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,440 This is the reminder that the Psalm, Psalm 27 that Laura just 109 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:29,280 read for us. It's a reminder of God's 110 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:31,760 goodness, not because of what David was going through. 111 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,799 In fact, Dave went through some terrible stuff. 112 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:37,720 We don't actually know where this is falling in David's life 113 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:40,640 because it could have fallen in so many places. 114 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:46,320 David was mistreated. He had horrible things happen 115 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:48,520 his life. He was the cause of some 116 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:50,440 terrible things that happened in his life. 117 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,880 He lost children. You think your family is a mess? 118 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:57,240 David's family was a train wreck. 119 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:02,520 David had 1/2 son who raped his half daughter. 120 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:08,160 He had another son who caused a armed uprising, split the the 121 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,120 Kingdom and tried to take him out. 122 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:16,040 He is his family was a mess. David knew what it was like to 123 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,560 live in not good circumstances and yet here he calls out about 124 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:25,560 the goodness of God. We see it in the words, right? 125 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:29,920 He's talking about the fact an army deploys against me. 126 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:31,720 Some of you feel like that's your life right now. 127 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:34,960 There's an army deployed against you're just up against it. 128 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:39,440 War breaks out against me. Some of you are in the thick of 129 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:44,240 conflict right now. He cries out, don't leave me or 130 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:45,680 abandoned me. Why does he cry out don't leave 131 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:47,480 me or abandoned me? Because he feels like he's been 132 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:50,840 left in abandoned. He feels lonely. 133 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,040 He feels in this all alone and isolated. 134 00:09:55,120 --> 00:10:02,040 But despite his circumstances, David can cry out these things. 135 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:10,920 He's my light and my salvation. He he's my stronghold and 136 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:13,360 shelter. While the war is raging, well, 137 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,200 the armies are coming. He's my stronghold and my 138 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,960 shelter. Well, well, I'm I'm feeling 139 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:22,320 isolated, alone. What does what does David say? 140 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,640 I know the one who cares about me more than my own father or 141 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:27,440 mother, who will never abandoned me. 142 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:33,480 Knowing that the goodness is not about our circumstances, but 143 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:35,960 it's about the character of God himself. 144 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:40,080 It moves the if. Here's what I mean by that. 145 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,400 See, our natural tendency is to ask this question. 146 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:49,400 If God is good, then why? That's a natural question to 147 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:54,720 ask, but David's knowledge of God's character moves the if for 148 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:58,920 him. It moves it to here God is good 149 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:03,960 even if and moving that if makes all the difference. 150 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:08,600 And so my prayer for you this morning, whether you're here in 151 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:12,600 person watching online, you listen to this later, is that as 152 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:16,080 you have your eyes open to the goodness of God, as David had 153 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:20,480 his eyes open to God's goodness, that your if would move, even if 154 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:26,640 your circumstances don't change. The God would move in your heart 155 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,960 and give you the confidence and certainty of his goodness the 156 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:33,680 way he did. David, even when you're in the 157 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:37,320 midst of the storm, that you would know that despite the 158 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:41,200 clouds of the sun still shining, just struggling to see it. 159 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:47,240 And and here's why I want you to know this because some really 160 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:51,960 powerful things happen in our life when we have the certainty 161 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:55,360 of God's goodness. First is this when you know that 162 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:58,840 God is good all the time can make your fear take flight. 163 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:04,360 That's that's the the cry here of David in the 1st 4 verses. 164 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:08,800 Listen to these words again. He says the Lord is my light and 165 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:10,760 my salvation. Whom should I fear? 166 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:14,880 The Lord is the stronghold of my life. 167 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:20,080 Whom should I dread when evil doers came against me to devour 168 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:23,760 my flesh, my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell. 169 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:28,440 Though an army deploys against me, my heart will not be afraid. 170 00:12:29,920 --> 00:12:34,320 Though a war breaks out against me, I will still be confident. 171 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:43,560 If your person who is overcome with worry and anxiety this 172 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:49,000 morning, I just want to let you know you've got a big blinking 173 00:12:49,560 --> 00:12:55,720 red alarm going off in your heart that is warning you that 174 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:59,360 you're struggling to know and see and believe in the goodness 175 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:01,480 of God. And I don't, I don't say that at 176 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:05,840 all as a judgment. We all go through that. 177 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:10,280 I'm, I'm saying this to you so you have some understanding of 178 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:12,640 where worry and fear and anxiety come from. 179 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,320 They come from a struggle to believe that God is as good as 180 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:19,680 God actually is, to be confident in that. 181 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:28,360 Sometimes the biggest enemy that we face isn't the enemy that's 182 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:30,120 out there, it's the enemy that's in here. 183 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,640 It's the fear that wants to overtake us when we struggle to 184 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:35,400 believe in God's goodness, right? 185 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:41,400 And and fear is not usually something that is a big struggle 186 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:45,280 for me to a fault. My wife will tell you there have 187 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,520 been a number of times where I should have a lot greater level 188 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:53,200 of fear so that I don't injure myself, hurt myself, do stupid 189 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:57,920 things to myself. It's not usually my issue, but 190 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:02,440 let me share a time when fear started to grab a hold of my 191 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:07,680 heart. Some of you may not know that we 192 00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:13,000 were down in Florida when they began to shut the world down for 193 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,640 COVID and everybody was trying to figure this stuff out and, 194 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:21,560 and we were just about to enter into a leadership transition 195 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:25,680 here at the church. And so Pastor Kirk and I had 196 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:27,720 been talking and meeting the board of a meeting and the board 197 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:32,000 was just ready to tell the staff the plan to have Pastor Kirk and 198 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:35,040 I start into this new role and new position. 199 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:40,160 Everything starts to shut down. On top of that, Amanda is 200 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:44,720 immunocompromised and we didn't know what's going on with this 201 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,320 virus. And it seemed pretty clear that 202 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,720 any time that a virus comes out, she's at greater risk than 203 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:54,960 anybody else. We got all this stuff going on 204 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:57,680 and I'm starting to look and then I start to get bombarded 205 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:02,800 with emails and phone calls of people who are fearful on all 206 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,600 sides. And I just got to say everyone 207 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:07,280 was scared. They just showed it in different 208 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:10,000 ways. Some people got panicked, some 209 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,400 people got angry, but all of it came out of fear. 210 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:17,120 And as that's happened and IBM bombarded with this stuff, I 211 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:19,760 thought, Lord, what is going to happen? 212 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:23,440 What are we going to do? How do we move through this? 213 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:30,640 What do you do? What do you do when everything 214 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:33,640 seems to be swirling and it just seems to be going out of 215 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,440 control? You do what David does first. 216 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,520 You remind yourself of how God is good. 217 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,680 You tell yourself He's my light and my salvation. 218 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:53,800 But whenever you struggle to believe in the goodness of God, 219 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:56,840 you know what you do. Look at the cross. 220 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:02,520 You wonder how good God is. He's so good he bled and died 221 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,800 for you. You know where God is in your 222 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:10,800 suffering, running into it to rescue you and save you on the 223 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:14,760 cross. He's the stronghold of your 224 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:17,720 life. It's amazing how you don't have 225 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:22,080 to control everything when you have a firm confidence that you 226 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,160 know the one who's in control of everything. 227 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,200 Mind yourself. No, no, he's the sovereign Lord. 228 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:31,720 He's God. He speaks the universe into 229 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:34,280 existence, held in place by His power. 230 00:16:34,320 --> 00:16:40,160 Every atom in the universe sticks together because of God. 231 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:50,120 If you're in Christ, even in your current circumstances, you 232 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:53,760 can know that nothing is out of control because God's in 233 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:58,280 control. Well, this God is my light, 234 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:01,440 right? There was two things as a kid 235 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:06,560 that would set me at ease when I was a kid, scared of the dark. 236 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,000 And that was one other time where I was often scared. 237 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:11,720 When I was a kid, I was scared of the dark all the time. 238 00:17:13,040 --> 00:17:16,760 So if I woke up and I had a nightmare, I need one or two 239 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:21,599 things. First, turn that light on. 2nd, 240 00:17:21,599 --> 00:17:24,200 if the light was going to be off, then I wanted my dad there. 241 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:30,280 I wanted my dad there because there's something about having a 242 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:33,880 dad who you know and trust and who's just bigger than 243 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:36,520 everything else, right? When you're a kid, man, there's 244 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:38,680 nobody bigger and badder than your dad. 245 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,400 And that's actually true for us as Christians. 246 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,240 On Father's Day, we got the greatest father of all, and 247 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:50,680 there's nobody bigger or badder than him. 248 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:53,440 Dad. I just want to say this to the 249 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:58,480 dad's side note. That's be the type of dad that 250 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,840 builds faith and confidence in your kids and their heavenly 251 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,960 Father. Be that type of dad. 252 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:10,240 You won't be it perfectly, none of us are, but be the type of 253 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:15,280 dad who can be counted on, who keeps his word, who protects his 254 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:20,320 family and his kids. So you got to remind yourself of 255 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:22,800 how God is good, but you also have to remind yourself of how 256 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,880 God has been good. David actually goes back to 257 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:28,200 another time in his life where he was up against it. 258 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:30,840 He said I had this time where my enemies, they were going to 259 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:33,920 devour my flesh, but God showed up. 260 00:18:35,360 --> 00:18:40,400 In your own life, you need to be able to think back to the times 261 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,600 where it's been dark before, but God shows up. 262 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:47,480 He answers prayers. Remind yourself that the same 263 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,880 God who was good to me in the past is good today and will be 264 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:54,880 good in my future. I can think about this again 265 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:56,480 from my life. One of the things that I did 266 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:00,480 when I was in that space of fear, I was like, listen, we've 267 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:04,000 done the job transfer. I mean, one at one point Amanda 268 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,760 and I lived in like 4 cities in five years. 269 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,520 He got us through. We've done the job transition 270 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:13,760 thing. I, I know how to do this. 271 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:18,680 He's always been so good and gracious to us, and the entire 272 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:22,480 time that Amanda and I have been together, she's never been 273 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:25,800 hospitalized despite all the stuff as we should never had to 274 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:28,000 stay in the hospital. Brace God. 275 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:32,520 And I just, no, God's got this. He cares for her more than I do. 276 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:37,480 You need to remind yourself of God's goodness in your past, and 277 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,720 you need to remind yourself of God's goodness in the lives of 278 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:43,240 others because sometimes our stories feel like they're not 279 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:46,360 enough. And that's why a story like this 280 00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:48,320 in the Bible, you can look at a guy like David. 281 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:51,320 You can see how God showed up in David's life and protected him 282 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:53,400 and got him through and say that God is my God. 283 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,800 He'll get me through. That's why it's so good to be in 284 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:01,640 community because we need people who will speak into our lives 285 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:06,120 and share with us and tell us about how we're not in this on 286 00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:08,080 our own. They're praying for us. 287 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:11,200 God has shown up in their life. He's going to show up in our 288 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:12,920 life. He's the same God. 289 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,040 Next thing I want you to see, not only does it make fear take 290 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:21,160 flight, but knowing that God is good will change the way we 291 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:25,360 pray. I don't know about you, but my 292 00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:28,160 first prayer when I'm up against it, when things are going rough, 293 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,920 is usually this. Lord, Get Me Out of this. 294 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:37,320 Lord, fix this, God. God cure this disease. 295 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:40,240 God, fix my finances. God, heal this relationship. 296 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:45,200 Get Me Out. And I want to say those are all 297 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:49,480 valid prayers. Call out to God, Bring him your 298 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:52,040 struggles. Cast all your cares upon him 299 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:55,640 because He cares for you. But listen to how David prays. 300 00:20:57,080 --> 00:20:59,160 I've asked one thing from the Lord. 301 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:06,320 It's what I desire. Not to get out, but to get in, 302 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:10,520 to dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, 303 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:15,800 gazing on the beauty of the Lord, seeking him in his temple. 304 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:20,680 See, David realizes that the most important prayer is not 305 00:21:20,880 --> 00:21:22,840 God, Get Me Out, It's God, let me in. 306 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:31,800 By the way, it's also a prayer that God answers yes to every 307 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:36,400 time, right? This is, this is our story. 308 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:41,000 This is the gospel story. Jesus came to us in our 309 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:45,440 distress, in our trouble, knowing that we could not make 310 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:49,600 it to God on our own. God comes to us so that we can 311 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:53,560 come into his presence through Jesus Christ, so that we can be 312 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,960 made right and made clean. We could never our work our way 313 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:59,160 to God. So God came down and did all the 314 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:01,760 work in the person of Jesus to save us. 315 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:08,880 Again, I say to you, we so often ask where God is in our pain. 316 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:12,080 The answer is He came down into it. 317 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:16,720 He's right here with us. He's doing the only thing that 318 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:22,240 can rescue us from it. When we accept what Jesus did 319 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:26,640 and choose to follow Him, the promise is His presence now 320 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,480 forever. His presence comes in the person 321 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:33,680 of the Holy Spirit. If you have called out and 322 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:38,480 accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit has come 323 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:41,120 down and is dwelling with you, and you are now the temple of 324 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:44,280 the Lord, and we collectively together function as His temple. 325 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:49,720 He takes up residence. His presence is there and so 326 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:54,080 foretaste of what it's going to be like forever when we get to 327 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:58,000 enjoy God's presence, the new heaven and new earth for all 328 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:02,800 eternity, just like it was back as God originally created it to 329 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:04,600 be with Adam and Eve in the garden. 330 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:12,520 And then this, He will conceal me in His shelter in the day of 331 00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:14,080 adversity. Why do I want God? 332 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:16,200 Because when I'm with God, here's what I know. 333 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:18,920 He'll conceal me in His shelter in the day of adversity. 334 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:22,440 He'll hide me under the cover of His tent. 335 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:28,040 He'll set me high on a rock, then my head will be high above 336 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:30,760 my enemies around. When you are in it, you just 337 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:32,640 feel like you're drowning, right? 338 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:34,560 You just struggling to stay above water. 339 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:36,480 That's where some of you are, that you're just struggling. 340 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:41,120 And there's this picture of God just lifting David up and his 341 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:44,560 head is up high and he's he's floating. 342 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:52,560 So you aren't in this alone, and you will overcome, because if 343 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:58,200 you are in Christ, Christ is in you first, John 54 says. 344 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:02,560 Everyone who has been born of God, everybody who knows Jesus, 345 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:05,880 has trusted him as Lord and Savior, has been redeemed, 346 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:11,560 overcomes the world. If you're with Jesus and the 347 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:15,680 Holy Spirit is in you, the question isn't whether you're 348 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:18,240 going to get through this. The question is when are you 349 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:21,600 going to get through it? Because you will get through it. 350 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:24,840 You have overcome the world through Christ Jesus. 351 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:29,080 And what does this truth do for David? 352 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:35,640 It drives him to worship. Knowing that God is good all the 353 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:40,160 time will drive us to worship. He says I'll, I'll offer 354 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:42,640 sacrifices in his tent with shouts of joy. 355 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,760 I will sing and make music to the Lord. 356 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:53,000 What drives our worship as followers of Jesus is not that. 357 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:57,000 Maybe if we sing to the Lord, he'll help us. 358 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:02,200 Maybe if we sacrifice to the Lord, he'll hear us. 359 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:08,480 Maybe if we worship to Him, He'll answer us No, No, no, no, 360 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:12,840 no, no, no. We don't praise God so that He 361 00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:17,240 will be good to us. We praise God because we know He 362 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:21,160 is good and because He is good, He will do good. 363 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:28,920 That changes our worship because all of a sudden we sing to 364 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:33,640 remind ourselves to be stirred up in our hearts about His 365 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:35,680 goodness. I want to encourage some of you 366 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:38,040 who who come in late all the time and kind of miss the 367 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:41,040 singing. Sometimes your heart needs a 368 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:42,640 song more than it needs a sermon. 369 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:47,160 Because sometimes what we need is in our heart, not just in our 370 00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:54,400 heads. We'll we'll sacrifice because in 371 00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:59,400 his loving kindness, in his goodness, we know that he has 372 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,720 sacrificed for us through Christ Jesus. 373 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:07,640 We'll worship Him with our whole lives. 374 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,960 No, not so that He would do something for us, but because we 375 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:16,120 know He's worthy of our worship. Now here's the thing. 376 00:26:16,120 --> 00:26:23,000 No matter how deeply we know this in our head, in our hearts, 377 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:31,280 doubt creeps in for all of us. Doubt creeps in about the 378 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:33,880 goodness of God. You hear it here in David's 379 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:36,720 voice. Lord, Lord, hear my voice when I 380 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,440 call. Be gracious to me. 381 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:43,360 Answer me. My heart says this about you. 382 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:48,480 Seek his face. Lord I I will seek your face. 383 00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:54,560 Don't hide your face from me. Don't turn your servant away in 384 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:56,240 anger. You've been my helper. 385 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:01,800 Don't leave me or abandoned me. God of my salvation, even if my 386 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:08,120 father and mother abandoned me, the Lord cares for me because of 387 00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:11,720 my adversaries show me your way, Lord, lead me on a level path 388 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:15,840 don't give me over to the will of my foes for false witnesses 389 00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:18,360 rise up against me breathing violence. 390 00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:23,920 Knowing that God is a good God will comfort us in our doubts 391 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:29,560 when those doubts come. One of the reasons that creating 392 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:33,240 space in our lives to spend time with God on a daily basis to 393 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:36,560 create regular rhythms of spending time together with God 394 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:43,120 in community is so important is because we need to be reminded 395 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:49,200 our hearts and our heads right His, his heart says to him, His 396 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:53,680 heart says to him, seek his face and then he has to tell himself 397 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:58,280 I will seek his face. It is heart and will, and 398 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:02,640 sometimes it's the will to just show up at your discipleship 399 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:07,520 group, to show up at church, to sit down and open the Word of 400 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:11,920 God regularly on a Sunday or on a on a weekday morning and come 401 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:14,160 to Him in prayer. It's the will to do that that 402 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:18,360 creates the space for God's goodness to begin to work its 403 00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:22,720 way out into your heart. Do you know that some of you are 404 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:28,680 here today because God is good? Because even though you didn't 405 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:34,000 want to come today, God drew you in because He knew you needed 406 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:36,720 this this morning, even when you doubted it. 407 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:41,240 You needed to know you are loved. 408 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:45,760 You needed to know you are not abandoned. 409 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,120 You needed to hear from the Holy Father. 410 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:53,840 He's faithful. You needed to know those things 411 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:55,680 and God in His goodness knew you needed them. 412 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,600 So He brought you here, and I'm not saying that that'll get you 413 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:01,200 through all the way to the other end, but it'll help you take 414 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:12,400 another step forward. If there's any part of you that 415 00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:18,000 doubts God's love and God's care, I want you to hear that 416 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:22,240 God loves you. He cares for you. 417 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:26,320 Some of you, you struggle with believing the goodness of God 418 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:33,240 because like David says, even if my father and mother abandoned 419 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:36,080 me, so you have deep, deep father and mother wounds in your 420 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,480 life. And so every time something goes 421 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:43,800 wrong, every time things get iffy, every time it gets 422 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:49,120 chaotic, you had moms and dads who just frankly weren't good. 423 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:51,840 They weren't good moms that I'm so thankful. 424 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:55,720 We got so many good dads here. And I pray that God will 425 00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:59,520 continue to raise up good dads here at Forward Church to be 426 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:02,400 great ambassadors for the Heavenly Father. 427 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:05,920 But some of you need to know that despite the fact that you 428 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,760 had a mom or dad that abandoned you, that wasn't good to you, 429 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:14,200 God's good. He cares, He loves you. 430 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:18,440 And even though you're in this right now, he's not done with 431 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:20,080 you yet. He's not going to give up on you 432 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:21,480 and He's not going to run away from you. 433 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:27,960 Even though my father and mother abandoned me, the Lord cares for 434 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:29,360 me. Do you know the best thing that 435 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:31,240 you can do when you're doubting God's goodness? 436 00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:33,840 Two things. First, be honest. 437 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:39,280 That's sometimes a revelation of in churches, which is just the 438 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:41,760 dumbest thing. I can't say this enough. 439 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,480 This is the space and place that you can be real. 440 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:52,000 This is the number one space where we should be able to be 441 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,560 authentic about what's going on in our lives. 442 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:58,080 Be honest with God. That's what David is. 443 00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:03,240 He's honest, man, lonely. I don't know if you care. 444 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:06,480 I'm down here, I'm struggling. What are you doing? 445 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:09,280 God? Be honest. 446 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:14,400 But then the second thing, lean in rather than run away. 447 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:17,680 So that's what that's what David does. 448 00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:20,680 He leans in, he doesn't run away. 449 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:28,600 He comes in closer. And some of you are so close to 450 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:32,640 giving up on God today. God's not giving up on you. 451 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:39,160 Just keep crying out to him. Keep searching for him. 452 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:42,040 Keep showing up. Don't run away. 453 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:44,680 Let this be your cry like David's was. 454 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:52,200 My heart says this about you. Seek his face and then, Lord, I 455 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:55,040 will seek your face. Would this be the day where some 456 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:57,640 of you would plant a flag who are close to letting your feet 457 00:31:57,640 --> 00:31:59,760 go out the door in a relationship with God and say, 458 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:05,880 no, I'm going to plant a flag. I will seek his face because 459 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:10,480 he's good. And then listen how this ends. 460 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:15,280 I'm certain that I will see the Lord's goodness in the land of 461 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:16,800 the living. We'll see where his doubts went. 462 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:20,880 I'm certain I will see the Lord's goodness in the land of 463 00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:22,480 living. Wait for the Lord. 464 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:24,000 He's got to preach to himself again. 465 00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:26,960 We got to preach to ourselves. You can't just have Pastor Kirk 466 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:30,240 or Pastor be preaching. You got to preach to yourself. 467 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:33,040 Wait for the Lord. Be strong. 468 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:36,000 Let your heart be courageous. Wait for the Lord. 469 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,120 I want to share with you, as we come to a close here, the story 470 00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:43,600 of someone in our congregation who's been walking through what 471 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:45,920 it's like to find the goodness of God in the midst of 472 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:47,720 circumstances that aren't all settled. 473 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:53,760 And so this is Laura's story. You don't know you were on a 474 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:56,560 mountaintop until you're staring up at it from the valley. 475 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,480 I remember Christmas 2023. It was a normal Christmas. 476 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:03,480 I remember being at home Christmas morning. 477 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,800 My kids were spending some time playing with their toys and my 478 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,440 husband and I were enjoying the first Christmas where we could 479 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:12,000 have time to open our presents in peace. 480 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:15,840 I remember my dad texting me saying are you going to be the 481 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:19,760 last ones to arrive when you live the closest to us? 482 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,760 During a present exchange that year, I remember my 483 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:27,560 sister-in-law gave my mom a devotional titled The Lives We 484 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:30,640 Actually Have. It was 100 Blessings for 485 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:34,440 Imperfect Days. Little did I know how important 486 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:38,600 that devotional would be because 2024 was coming. 487 00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:43,160 My dad's unexplained leg pain started to worsen in the new 488 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:47,000 year until I went over one Saturday in February and 489 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,480 recognized we were not dealing with just like pain. 490 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:52,400 He was facing the reality of cancer. 491 00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:56,760 My dad went into the hospital around the first week of March 492 00:33:57,280 --> 00:33:59,120 and would die at the beginning of May. 493 00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:03,360 To explain my experience, imagine that there's a treadmill 494 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:07,480 that was going at top speed. When he was diagnosed, my whole 495 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:10,320 family jumped on that treadmill and started running. 496 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:15,760 At first we were keeping up, then we started to gradually 497 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:19,199 fall behind. With each stride I could see 498 00:34:19,199 --> 00:34:22,000 that we were moments away from slipping off the back of that 499 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:27,800 treadmill and then the treadmill just stopped and my family, 500 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:32,440 minus my dad, were projected forward, falling into a big pile 501 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:35,280 on the ground. As a primary care practitioner, 502 00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:39,080 I remember thinking, what is the point of doing what I do? 503 00:34:39,719 --> 00:34:43,480 My dad was my number one patient and I could not keep up with it 504 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:47,800 all to save him. After my dad's death, my family 505 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:51,639 started to pick themselves individually up out of that 506 00:34:51,639 --> 00:34:54,159 mess. We all suffered in different 507 00:34:54,159 --> 00:34:56,600 ways and there was a lot of hurt and discord. 508 00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:01,040 A family that the hospital was in awe of her being so United 509 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:05,200 was falling apart. By the end of 2024, my marriage 510 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:08,080 got its turn. My husband and I were at odds 511 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:11,160 with each other. I remember thinking, what did I 512 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:14,560 do to deserve all this coming at me from all directions? 513 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:19,360 My child, who I had had a traumatic birth with, started to 514 00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:22,520 have lymph node swelling, which was the source of my dad's 515 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:25,480 cancer. I started to worry and become 516 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:28,400 anxious. I was experiencing trauma 517 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:32,920 stacked onto trauma. Then to add to even more 518 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:36,640 challenges in my life, at the beginning of 2025, my husband 519 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:41,120 lost his job. But in the words of my disciple 520 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:47,080 ship group, family but God. But God used my dad's situation 521 00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:50,520 to shine a light into that hospital to minister to the 522 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:53,000 healthcare providers who were caring for him. 523 00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:58,800 But God spoke to my dad early one Monday morning to tell him 524 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:02,480 to prepare to go to glory, and to allow him the ability to tell 525 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:04,760 us it was time for him to go see Jesus. 526 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:10,480 But God surrounded my dad and family with Christians from that 527 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:12,840 moment on to usher him into glory. 528 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:18,080 But God dissolved my fears about being a primary care 529 00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:21,760 practitioner through a miraculous dream where doubt and 530 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:24,080 indifference were put in their place. 531 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:28,160 And His truth and His light shone through that darkness. 532 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:33,640 But God walked with me through those terrible days of family 533 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:37,080 discord by providing me with the fruits of the Spirit. 534 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:42,480 But God provided me with a Christian magazine article about 535 00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:47,120 how dancing saved my marriage, prompting my husband and I to 536 00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:50,880 dance ourselves back into the marriage God had planned for us. 537 00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:56,400 But God walked with us through multiple medical appointments. 538 00:36:57,240 --> 00:37:00,440 But God will provide an opportunity for my husband's 539 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:05,240 employment. But God sent me this passage on 540 00:37:05,240 --> 00:37:08,880 my daily devotions one year after my dad's death. 541 00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:15,520 Isaiah 4318 to 19. Do not remember the past events. 542 00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:17,800 Pay no attention to things of old. 543 00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:21,000 Look, I am about to do something new. 544 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:25,400 Even now it is coming. Do you not see it? 545 00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:29,320 Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the 546 00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:32,400 desert. See, you can easily look at my 547 00:37:32,400 --> 00:37:37,040 story and question why God didn't show up in a big way or 548 00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:40,720 why does God not lift me out of this wilderness experience. 549 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:46,480 My dad still died, my family is still figuring things out 550 00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:50,120 without him, my child's lymph nodes are still big, and my 551 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:55,160 husband is still job searching. But through it all I have come 552 00:37:55,160 --> 00:37:58,800 to know that the question is not when will He Get Me Out of this 553 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:03,120 fire, but rather it is am I going to trust the One who's in 554 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:07,280 the fire with me? When I start to focus on how He 555 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:11,960 is showing up His daily mercies, I start to realize that all is 556 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:14,600 well if I just have Him by my side. 557 00:38:15,280 --> 00:38:19,960 As the song Highland says. No less God within the shadows, 558 00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:23,040 no less faithful when the night leads me astray. 559 00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:27,440 You're the heaven where my heart is in the Highlands, and the 560 00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:32,120 heartache all the same. Blessed is the one who trusts 561 00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:36,160 the Lord. Jeremiah 17, seven to 8. 562 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:48,960 By the way, two days after, yeah, you and Claire, two days 563 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:53,480 after Laura filmed that her husband Matt got a job. 564 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:06,640 See how God moves your if when you see His goodness, remind 565 00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:13,520 yourself today of who He is. Call out to Him to let you in, 566 00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:17,320 even if He's not going to take you out of all the things that 567 00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:22,640 you're going through. Don't fold, don't run away. 568 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:30,520 Plant your flag. Seek His face, and I am certain 569 00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:35,880 that you and I will see the Lord's goodness in the land of 570 00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:39,400 the living. Wait for the Lord. 571 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:44,720 Be strong, let your heart be courageous. 572 00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:47,320 Forward Church, wait for the Lord. 573 00:39:48,000 --> 00:40:00,160 Let's pray, Father, you are good, you are great, and we do 574 00:40:00,160 --> 00:40:04,080 thank you for your food. We thank you for everything. 575 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:13,520 It's so easy for us, God. It's scared, simple people who 576 00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:16,640 struggle to see the whole picture, who don't know the wise 577 00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:22,240 to get frightened and to want to run off and run away. 578 00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:26,040 God, would you convince us in our hearts today that. 579 00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:32,160 The best place that we can be is in your presence, God. 580 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:34,680 Would you steady hearts that are shaking today? 581 00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:39,920 Would you put your arms around those whose hearts are crying 582 00:40:39,920 --> 00:40:44,880 out on this Father's Day? For those who have maybe lost a 583 00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:48,440 father, would you let them know that they have not been 584 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:51,080 abandoned? You're there with them. 585 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:57,000 God help us to know your goodness even when what we're 586 00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:01,880 going through isn't good. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.