1 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:05,720 So can you please turn with me to Romans 8? 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:07,840 I'm going to give you a chance to turn there because I want you 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,400 to see it in your own Bible so you can see I'm not lying to 4 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:11,440 you. It's the truth. 5 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:13,880 If you don't have your Bible yet, open your phone app so you 6 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:15,960 can highlight it so you can go read it again this week. 7 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,920 Romans 8 verse 16. The Spirit himself testifies 8 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:23,440 with our spirit that we are God's children. 9 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:28,160 Now if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and Co 10 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:32,080 heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order 11 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:33,960 that we may also share in his glory. 12 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,040 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth 13 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:40,080 comparing with the glory that will be revealed in US. 14 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,120 Lovely topic to get to preach on the first time you preach. 15 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,240 Hey, I'm going to talk a bit about suffering today and I 16 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:51,080 think in the in the last few weeks Taryn and Chad and Mitch 17 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:53,880 have spoke so beautifully about our adoption in Christ. 18 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:58,120 Hey, how we are children of God. How everything of Romans 8 has 19 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:01,520 been bracketed by this, no condemnation and no separation. 20 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:03,840 And I mean, it's amazing. I feel like this beautiful 21 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:08,240 platform has been laid for us as Christians to know that no 22 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,720 matter what we hear from the pulpit, we have this foundation 23 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,040 to stand on that everything that's preached. 24 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,520 Then when we start preaching about the things that we need to 25 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,840 do to mature as Christians, that we don't go back to condemnation 26 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:20,400 and we don't go back to separation. 27 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,080 But we actually that's settled. You know, if it's not settled 28 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:25,040 for you yet, go listen to the preachers that have been 29 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:26,240 preached for the last two months. 30 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,160 And, and I'm and I'm asking you that when you listen to what I'm 31 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,480 saying today and you feel that little voice condemning or then 32 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,600 you just say no, no, no, no, no, actually it's bracketed by no 33 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:38,560 condemnation and no separation. So we actually want to walk, 34 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:41,120 want to talk about maturity maturing in our walk with God 35 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:46,000 today. And I think that we've heard, so 36 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,360 Mitchell referred to this very briefly in his sermon last week 37 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,120 when he spoke about our inheritance, what our 38 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:54,840 inheritance means, and that one of our inherent or part of our 39 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:57,400 inheritance is suffering. And I know some of you might 40 00:01:57,400 --> 00:01:59,440 think today, you know, like that's a part of the inheritance 41 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:02,000 you can keep, you know, like put it back in there, you know, and 42 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:03,560 divide it again amongst the other siblings. 43 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:05,560 You know, it's fine. I'm, I'm good, I'm good without 44 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:08,320 that part. But I'm hoping today that as I 45 00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:11,800 share with you what God's been sharing with me about suffering, 46 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:13,520 that I'll actually be able to change your mind about 47 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:16,760 suffering, that I'm I'm able to change the way you see suffering 48 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:19,440 and the way you view suffering. And that I can give you a new 49 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:22,400 lens today that when, when those challenging times come and they 50 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:24,840 will come, that you'll be able to actually look at it with a 51 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:30,400 different with a different view. So I think if if we read that, 52 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,440 if I can read that verse again in in verse 17 where it says 53 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:37,000 that if we if indeed we share and so as we cohee with Christ, 54 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,120 if indeed we share in his sufferings in order order that 55 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:43,760 we may also share in his glory. I think that obviously that 56 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:46,080 Scripture will be fulfilled in full one day when we get to 57 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:48,160 heaven. Obviously one day when we get to 58 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,200 heaven, we will share in his glory even as we share in some 59 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,920 of the suffering here. But I firmly believe that in 60 00:02:53,920 --> 00:02:56,600 part we can already live in that year on earth now year in the 61 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:57,960 year. And now I believe that Scripture 62 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,280 is not only for one day when we get to heaven. 63 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,520 I believe that we that the glory of God should be shining through 64 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:06,080 us because that is our testimony to the world. 65 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:08,920 I believe that us as Christians should be able to go through 66 00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:12,080 tough times and go through suffering in a way that brings 67 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:14,560 glory to God. And people should look at us 68 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:16,920 when we go through tough times and they should be like, there's 69 00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:19,640 something different about you. Why are you going through this 70 00:03:19,640 --> 00:03:22,440 difficult time like this? And I believe that can be one of 71 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:26,000 the most powerful testimonies to unbelievers is the way we as 72 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:27,280 believers walk through suffering. 73 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:30,240 And if we if we walk through suffering exactly the same way 74 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,040 the world does, full of bitterness and unforgiveness and 75 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,720 negativity, what kind of a testimony does we have? 76 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,080 How do we show the gospel to the world? 77 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:39,880 How do we show them something different? 78 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,080 So my journey with God about the developing AI, call it 79 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:46,680 developing a theology of suffering, started a few years 80 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:48,880 ago when we were actually preaching in three CI through 81 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:50,920 the book of Acts. And as we preached through the 82 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:52,920 book of Acts, I was reading the book of Acts. 83 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,760 And, and you know, I think all of us in life, we'd love for 84 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:58,680 everything to go well all the time, wouldn't we? 85 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,360 We'd love for everything to just work out all the time. 86 00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:04,040 You know, everything will just be the way we wanted it to be. 87 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:07,200 And, and I started realising that, you know, if you read the 88 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,440 book of Acts, that's not how it was in the book of Acts, you 89 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,160 know, and I mean, those were the disciples, Those were the people 90 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,839 who walked on earth with Jesus. And I started to realize that if 91 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:20,360 we ever want to mature as Christians, we need to develop 92 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,400 an understanding of how suffering fits into the gospel. 93 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:25,840 Otherwise everything, something, every time something bad 94 00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:28,840 happens, our wheels fall off and we question whether God loves us 95 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:30,840 and whether we love him and whether we should be doing this. 96 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:33,680 We need to actually, if we want to mature, we need to have 97 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:35,800 understand how suffering fits into the gospel. 98 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,920 So as I was reading the book of Acts, I realized that we have an 99 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:42,720 amazing example in the book of Acts of how it actually works. 100 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:45,440 And so brace yourself, put on your seat belt. 101 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:47,480 I'm going to give you a quick rundown summary of the whole 102 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:48,840 book of Acts. Are you ready for it? 103 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:51,840 So here we go. Listen quickly, listen quickly, 104 00:04:51,840 --> 00:04:55,760 I'll speak fast. Acts 1 Jesus is taken up to 105 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:57,680 heaven and Matthias replaces Jesus. 106 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:00,680 Acts 2 they filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter, Peter preachers 107 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:04,040 and 3000 people are saved. Whoo Hoo, Acts 3 Peter heals the 108 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:05,360 lame beggar. Awesome. 109 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:07,560 Acts 4 Peter and John is thrown in jail. 110 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:12,120 Oh, the number of men who believed grew to 5000, and the 111 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:14,680 believers shared everything and there was no needy among them. 112 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:16,840 Awesome. And now as the Sephora lie and 113 00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:20,280 die, more believers are added to their number daily. 114 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:22,840 The apostles are arrested and put in jail. 115 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:25,800 The Lord opens the jail doors. The apostles are flogged again. 116 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:28,160 The number of disciples were increasing. 117 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:30,440 Acts 6. They appointed men to take care 118 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,200 of the widows and the orphans. The word of God spread. 119 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:36,240 Priests became obedient to the faith and Stephen has ceased. 120 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:38,040 Acts 7. Stephen is stoned. 121 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:40,520 Acts 8. Persecution breaks out and the 122 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:42,600 church scatters. They preached everywhere they 123 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:44,120 went. Simon gets saved. 124 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:47,000 Philip meets the Ethiopian and he is saved and baptized. 125 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:48,800 Acts 9. Saul gets saved. 126 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:50,680 Guess what? Guess who wrote Romans 8? 127 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:52,720 Saul gets saved. Acts 9. 128 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,240 The Jews want to kill him. So I think he had some 129 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:57,160 understanding of suffering when he wrote Romans 8. 130 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,360 But the church enjoyed a time of peace and increased in numbers. 131 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:02,920 And Nias is healed. Everybody who lived in leather 132 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:05,880 and Sharon turned to the Lord. Dawkas is raised from the dead. 133 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:07,480 Hallelujah. Many people believed in the 134 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:08,840 Lord. Acts 10. 135 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,880 Peter has a vision and goes to Cornelius's house, and the Holy 136 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,360 Spirit pours out on the Gentiles for the first time. 137 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:16,360 Acts 11. The gospel is preached in 138 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:18,160 Antioch. A great number of people are 139 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:20,640 believed, and Barnabas is sent to Antioch. 140 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,280 Acts 12. James is killed, Peter is in 141 00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:26,440 jail, the Angel opens the jail door, Herod dies, and the word 142 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:29,600 continues to spread. And then I got to Acts 13 and 143 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:32,880 God literally stopped me in my tracks in Acts 13. 144 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:37,360 And, and God really just, you know, when you read a verse and 145 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:40,080 you, I've been reading the Bible from when I was 16 years old and 146 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:43,080 you're like, how have I not seen this verse before? 147 00:06:43,280 --> 00:06:45,200 I've read through the Bible so many times. 148 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:48,200 And I'm so when I got to Acts 13, I actually stopped and I 149 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:50,560 went and I counted. And you know that there's 26 150 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,560 times in the book of Acts where it talks about all these great 151 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,080 things happening to disciples, the church growing, people 152 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:58,680 getting saved, people getting raised from the dead, people 153 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:00,880 getting healed, lame people walking for the first time. 154 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:02,720 I mean, that's awesome. That's the kind of life I want 155 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:05,320 to live, you know, and, and I think if when those things 156 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,240 happen, that'll encourage us to keep doing this, you know, let's 157 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:10,880 keep serving God. Let's keep going for the gospel. 158 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:13,600 It's amazing. But do you know there's 21 159 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:17,320 places in the book of Acts where they are flogged, thrown in 160 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:20,920 jail, stoned, shipwrecked, killed. 161 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:23,880 And this is part of part of their story. 162 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,520 And you can imagine when you read that you think like, but 163 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,160 how does this work? No matter how much good they 164 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,360 were doing, they were still suffering. 165 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:33,640 Things were still, these things were still happening to him, 166 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:36,240 like, how does that work? And this started this whole 167 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:38,560 whole thing in my mind of, of suffering. 168 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:43,480 And then I got to Acts 13 verse 48 and Acts 13 verse 48 to 52. 169 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,760 It says when the Gentiles heard this they were glad and honored 170 00:07:46,760 --> 00:07:50,160 the word of the Lord and all who were appointed for eternal life 171 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:53,600 believed the word of the Lord spread throughout the whole 172 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:55,840 region. But the Jewish leaders incited 173 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:58,920 the God fearing women of high standing and the leading men of 174 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,960 the city. They stirred up persecution 175 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,320 against Paul and Barnabas Paul that wrote Romans 8 and expelled 176 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:08,560 them from their region. So they shipped the dust off 177 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:11,360 their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium and the 178 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:14,680 disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. 179 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:18,960 I mean, come on, come on. Did you read that? 180 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:21,560 Is that what you do when you go through suffering? 181 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:24,360 Are you filled with joy and the Holy Spirit? 182 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,120 When the Jewish leaders, which is the religious leaders of 183 00:08:27,120 --> 00:08:29,240 those times? So basically Stephen and Rory 184 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:33,000 and all the leading men of the city, all the big businessmen 185 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:37,600 and the big guys and this and the God fearing women actually 186 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,320 chase you away and say food sack, get out of my city. 187 00:08:42,159 --> 00:08:44,240 Is that your reaction? Are you filled with joy and the 188 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:45,400 Holy Spirit? Because I tell you, that 189 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,320 certainly is not my reaction when I go through difficult 190 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:51,080 times and you know, this didn't happen. 191 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:53,360 It doesn't say they were filled with joy in the Holy Spirit when 192 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:56,640 5000 got saved or when someone got raised from the dead. 193 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,400 They were actually filled with joy in the Holy Spirit after 194 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:03,000 they went through a very, very challenging situation, a very 195 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,560 difficult situation. And you see, the only way we can 196 00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:09,720 do this, the only way we can be filled with joy and the Holy 197 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,240 Spirit when we go through suffering is if you understand 198 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:13,680 how suffering fits into the gospel. 199 00:09:13,680 --> 00:09:16,400 Beautiful. So as I mentioned, the big part 200 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:18,840 of my understanding of suffering, I'm started with my 201 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:20,840 journey as a mother and a wife. Now don't. 202 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:23,320 It's not like you think. It's not because I suffer as a 203 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:28,280 mother and a wife. It's actually because it's 204 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:32,000 actually because I've seen how God has developed my character 205 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,480 and my husbands character and my children's character through 206 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,600 through this journey of, of doing life together as a family. 207 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:41,920 And so, you know, as a parent, I think, I think all of you who 208 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:44,800 are parents here today can agree with me that as a parent, we 209 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:46,840 always want everything to go right for our children. 210 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:49,120 Isn't it like that? We want them to get A's for 211 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,120 every subject. We want them to always make a 212 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:53,000 team. We want them to be friends with 213 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:54,680 everybody. We want them to be invited to 214 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:57,760 every birthday party because that's that's what we want for 215 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,920 our kids. But you know, one day God spoke 216 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:04,920 to me so clearly about through through Romans 5, as I was 217 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,120 thinking, I'm praying for my kids and obviously feeling their 218 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:09,640 pain. And God spoke to me so clearly 219 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,280 out of Romans of Romans 5 verse 3 to 4. 220 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:17,000 And it says, not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings 221 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:20,080 because we know that suffering produces perseverance, 222 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:22,720 perseverance, character and character hope. 223 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:25,840 And I felt God say to me, so clearly, you want your children 224 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:27,560 to live with hope. Don't we all? 225 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,600 We want our kids to have hope. You know, this world feels so 226 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:32,800 hopeless sometimes. It's hard to get into 227 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:34,640 university. It's hard to find a job. 228 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:38,080 It's hard to find a life partner that's actually, you know, going 229 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:40,800 to going to love them in the way they they need to be loved. 230 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:42,400 And, and we want our kids to have hope. 231 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:44,280 But you know what, where does hope come from? 232 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:46,080 You know, let's put that scripture up again. 233 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:48,800 Let's backtrack a little bit. Where does hope come from? 234 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,720 So hope comes from character. You want your kids to have hope. 235 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,080 They need to have godly character to have hope. 236 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:58,760 Where does character come from? Character comes from 237 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:01,000 perseverance. Do you allow your kids to 238 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:02,960 persevere? Or do you help them get out of 239 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:04,480 their difficult situations every time? 240 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:06,800 Do you make excuses every time they struggle with something and 241 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:09,560 they quit and they give up? And where does perseverance come 242 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:11,640 from? What produces perseverance? 243 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:18,640 Suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance character and 244 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:21,160 character hope. Recently I also read another 245 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:23,680 verse in in James one verse 2 to 4. 246 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:27,440 It says it's a very similar verse and it says considerate 247 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:29,800 peer joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face 248 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:33,080 trials of many kinds, because you know that suffering pretty 249 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:35,600 that testing of faith produces perseverance. 250 00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:39,200 Let perseverance finish its work that you may be mature and 251 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:42,400 complete, not lacking anything. What are we going after today? 252 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:44,160 We're going after being mature Christians. 253 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:46,760 Where does it come from comes from perseverance and 254 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:49,720 perseverance come from the testing, the trials that we face 255 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:51,400 every day. And so do you want to have an 256 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:53,440 easy life or do you want to have godly character? 257 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:55,960 What is what is the goal as Christians? 258 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:57,640 Where where is the goal? Where are we going with this? 259 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:00,000 You know, and I felt God said, you know, and I want to say to 260 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:01,960 you today, what do you need hope for today? 261 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:04,760 Do you need hope for your marriage today? 262 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:09,240 Very good girl. Do you need hope for your job 263 00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:12,320 situation today? Do you need hope for your 264 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:14,280 children today? What do you need hope for today? 265 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,400 Where does it come from? You knew when you're facing a 266 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:20,640 difficult situation and you need hope for it, You just say, God, 267 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:23,600 what are you busy doing in me? What are you busy doing in my 268 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:26,320 character? Develop perseverance in me, God, 269 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:27,920 so I can walk through this time with you. 270 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:29,720 I can learn to be more like you, Jesus. 271 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,560 That's where it comes from. So as I look back on my own 272 00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:36,480 children's lives and it's lovely to be a pastor's child because 273 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:39,080 your, your stories always get used as examples for church 274 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:40,640 preachers. I apologize in advance to my 275 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:44,760 kids, but we have two kids. They're 21 and 2323 years old 276 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:46,240 now. Amazing, amazing children. 277 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:48,320 They are really just, they're such a blessing to us. 278 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:51,240 But they've been through some stuff, they've had to face some 279 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:53,800 things. And when we moved to Pretoria, 280 00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:57,400 is it 10 years ago now? I think 10 years ago, my kids 281 00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:59,920 were in grade 6 and grade 8. And I'm not going to go into 282 00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:02,720 details of that, but through a whole series of things, we, we 283 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:04,840 decided to put them in Afrikaans schools for the first time in 284 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:06,160 their life. They'd been in English schools 285 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:08,400 their whole life. And this wasn't easy. 286 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:10,560 It was quite an adjustment. And, and I think more so for my 287 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:13,080 son, who's more of an introvert than my daughter, who's just 288 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:15,800 friends with everybody and the dog and everything else. 289 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:18,560 So it was, it was, it was a bigger adjustment for him. 290 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:21,600 And, and so, so, and he also arrived in the school in grade 291 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:23,040 6. Now, for those of you who have, 292 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:24,600 who've had kids, that's quite a difficult year. 293 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,240 You know, everybody's vying to be prefixed and play first team. 294 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:29,480 And it's quite a difficult year to come into school and make 295 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:31,240 friends. And even more so for a child 296 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:34,400 who's that one friend child who only wants that one deep friend. 297 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:37,360 And so he got into school and he was there for a couple of 298 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:38,520 months. And then the hockey coach came 299 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:41,840 to me and she said to me the Northerns Trials for hockey 300 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:43,400 actually happened before the season starts. 301 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:45,320 It starts already. And the hockey coach identifies 302 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:48,840 a few boys to go there. And they had the first practice 303 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,040 and she didn't realize actually what a good hockey player my son 304 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:52,040 was. So she said, actually the 305 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:54,520 Northerns trials are over. They're having the final trials 306 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:57,560 on on Saturday, but she wants to try and see if she can get Jaden 307 00:13:57,560 --> 00:13:59,560 to go and play. He probably won't get chosen 308 00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:01,680 because I haven't really seen him, but she'd like to just get 309 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:04,840 him to at least go and have the the experience is it will we 310 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:06,600 will be OK. And we like, well, you know 311 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:08,320 what? So we were preparing him because 312 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:10,800 we'd moved here from Namibia where you play 4 matches in a 313 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:12,720 year and then the season's over because that's the amount of 314 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:14,120 schools that they are to play against. 315 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:16,640 So he had very actually had very little experience playing 316 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:18,400 hockey. And so she organized. 317 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:20,800 We went on the Saturday at Ritz. What's that? 318 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:23,840 Ritz Fontaine, Ritz Fontaine. I mean, absolutely horrible. 319 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,400 The gross is like this and in Namibia they play on sand 320 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,840 because there is no grass. And so, so it was, it was, it 321 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:31,240 was a very interesting experience. 322 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:33,000 But he played 2 short little games. 323 00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:35,360 And then the next week we were notified that, oh, by the way, 324 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:37,520 he's made northern. So we were just like, OK. 325 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,400 And so when we went to the to the evening where they now 326 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:44,520 actually anointed, announced these teams, anointed the teams 327 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,280 they, they, he was actually chosen for the northern side 328 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,360 team and actually chosen as the captain of the northern side 329 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:53,840 team. And this was so amazing for him 330 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:55,800 to help him with this transition in Pretoria. 331 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:58,640 I just saw how God, suddenly people knew who he were. 332 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:00,680 He was noticed, people made friends with him. 333 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:02,480 And this was just such an incredible blessing. 334 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:04,800 Wasn't about the Northerns for us, we just not those kind of 335 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:07,240 type of people. But it was just about how this 336 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:09,560 actually helped him with this transition to actually get into 337 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,280 the school and make friends and all of that. 338 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:14,320 Then the next year off he goes to Northerns trials again. 339 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:16,520 And guess what? He doesn't even make the C team. 340 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,200 And everybody was up in arms. The coach was upset, the parents 341 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:24,360 at school were upset. The parents of the people who 342 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:26,520 played northerns with him the previous year were upset. 343 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:28,560 And we were just like, you know what? 344 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,920 It's not important. And now I saw God do something 345 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:35,840 so deep in my son that year. I saw God teaching him that 346 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:38,680 actually, he can still love his hockey even if he doesn't make 347 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,360 make northerns. I saw God teach him that he was 348 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,320 still just as good at it even though he didn't make northerns. 349 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:48,440 I saw God actually taking a little boy of 13 and actually 350 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,720 making sure that his identity is not in his hockey before he goes 351 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:54,480 to high school. And you know, I saw God do so 352 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:58,480 much more in my son that year not making northerns than he did 353 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:00,640 the previous year when he was the captain of the 18. 354 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:04,520 And, and you know, he went into high school and in high school 355 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:06,160 he had many ups and downs with his hockey. 356 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,560 He made northerns again the next year in grade 11, he got chosen 357 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:12,520 for the first team and at the preseason tournament he saw his 358 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:15,840 ankle ligaments completely had to have it surgically replaced. 359 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:18,480 Now for any of you who have kids who are very much into sport, 360 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:20,720 for some kids when they get chosen for first team and 361 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,320 something like that happens, it can be absolutely the end of 362 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:25,320 their world. And I saw my son go through 363 00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:27,960 this. So OK, because this whole 364 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:30,000 identity wasn't established in his hockey. 365 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,680 And then we had the where it's surgically replaced and we went 366 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,200 through the whole rehab. And in grade 12, he got chosen 367 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:37,880 for the first team again. And at the 1st preseason 368 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:39,880 tournament, you ripped that ligament out, the one they 369 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:42,440 replaced the year before. So you had to have a second 370 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:46,000 operation and, and put the and, and do the ligament replacement 371 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:46,960 again. And you know what? 372 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:49,360 He didn't flinch. Everybody kept saying to me, is 373 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:51,880 your son OK? And I'm like, he's so OK because 374 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:55,120 of a very unfair and difficult situation God put him through 375 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,080 when he was 12. When he was 12, God actually 376 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:00,520 taught him that his identity is not in his hockey, that he 377 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:03,240 actually is not OK or good good enough because of the way he 378 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:05,480 plays hockey. And I'm so grateful for God for 379 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:06,599 that. And you know, we could have 380 00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:10,079 interfered with the process that God was doing, but we actually, 381 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:12,119 we actually trusted God that he was in control. 382 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:15,400 So as part of our pre marriage course that myself and Eugene 383 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:17,599 does, we always talk about the purpose of marriage. 384 00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:20,079 What is the purpose of marriage? And you know, the youngsters, 385 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:22,240 the eyes always go this big when we tell them, you know, that the 386 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,079 purpose of marriage is not to make you happy. 387 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,359 What you know, if you think the purpose of marriage is to make 388 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:30,760 you happy, good luck. But you know that actually the 389 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:32,800 purpose of marriage is to make you holy. 390 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:35,320 The purpose of marriage is to make you holy. 391 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:38,800 Because actually God uses us. God uses us to build each 392 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:40,320 other's character. And you know what? 393 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:42,000 When we become holy, we become happy. 394 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:45,520 Because when I treat my husband in a godly way with godly 395 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:48,320 character, and he treats me in a godly way with godly character, 396 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:50,880 then happiness comes, you know, but the purpose of marriage is 397 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:53,200 not to be happy. God uses our difficult times in 398 00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:56,440 our marriages to actually develop our character, to make 399 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:58,720 us look more like Jesus. That's the purpose of it. 400 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:01,720 Very good girl. So we have to become mature 401 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:03,800 Christians. And I love a little cliche, 402 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:04,960 sorry. Forgive me if you don't. 403 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:08,400 But I always say to my kids, you know, smooth seas don't make 404 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:11,680 good sailors. You know, we want to grow in our 405 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:13,640 walk with God. Smooth seas don't make good 406 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,280 sailors. How many of you have ever felt 407 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:18,440 God really developing your character in the times where 408 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:19,720 everything was just going so well? 409 00:18:20,680 --> 00:18:22,720 Yeah, he can do it. But it's usually in the times 410 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:24,920 that it's tough that God really develops our character. 411 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,120 And so good girl, I want to read this. 412 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:31,400 This what I wrote here because I said we have to be able to like 413 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:35,280 the apostles in verse in verse 52, walk through challenging 414 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:38,880 times in our lives filled with joy and the Holy Spirit because 415 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:42,440 we trust a good Father who is sovereign and promises in his 416 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:44,480 word that he makes all things work together for the good of 417 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:46,760 those to love him. And I truly believe this is the 418 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:50,000 key to living life and life in abundance even when our 419 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,760 circumstances are not perfect. You know, the Bible says that we 420 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:54,360 should have life and life in abundance. 421 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:57,600 So how do we have life in abundance in this broken world 422 00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:00,040 that we have where all these things are happening that are so 423 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:01,680 difficult to understand and deal with? 424 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,160 Actually, I believe the key of that is actually having an 425 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:06,560 understanding. So for those of you who know me, 426 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:09,160 I'm a very practical person. So I'm like, God, this is great, 427 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:10,880 fantastic. You've now shown me that 428 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:12,760 suffering is a part of life and it's good for us. 429 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:14,640 But now what do I do when I'm suffering? 430 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:18,200 Like give me some tools, you know, left brain dominance. 431 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,960 You know, I want my three steps, three steps to living in 432 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:23,960 abundance in terms of suffering. And you know, I, I, as I 433 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,400 mentioned earlier, I've always loved reading the word of God. 434 00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:30,280 And every time that I've faced a difficult situation in my life, 435 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:32,480 that's where I turn to, I turn to the word of God. 436 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:36,440 And I can honestly tell you, if you take my Bible and you see 437 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:39,600 how many verses are underlined in there and there's little 438 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:42,040 things written in the size, you'll see that this is the 439 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,400 verse God gave me when I prayed about whether I should marry 440 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:47,280 Eugene or not. And that's the verse God gave me 441 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,280 when I prayed about whether I should should go study OT or 442 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:52,160 not. And that's the verse God gave us 443 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:54,520 when we prayed about whether we should go to Namibia or not. 444 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:56,400 Because that's actually how I live my life. 445 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:58,880 When I face a difficult situation or when I have to make 446 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,680 a big a big decision, I ask God to speak to me in his word. 447 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:05,160 Eugene always jokes and says I'm God's blue eyed girl because God 448 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:08,080 always gives me scriptures. But you know what if God's given 449 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:11,080 you a scripture, when that tough time hits, that's what you hold 450 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:13,280 on to. You know when God's, when God 451 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:15,400 gave you a scripture to say this is the man you want to marry 452 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:16,680 when you go through a difficult time. 453 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:18,360 I'm not wondering whether I made a mistake. 454 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:20,600 God said, this is the man I need to marry. 455 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:22,840 So what are we going to do to get to the good times again? 456 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:24,280 How are we going to walk through this? 457 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:26,280 How am I going to change? How are we going to how are we 458 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:27,840 going to learn how to love each other better? 459 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:30,320 If God gave you a scripture, you can hold on to that in the 460 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:33,560 difficult times. And so I said to God, OK God, so 461 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:35,600 now you've shown me that suffering is good for us. 462 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,040 What do we do when we suffer? And I and I thought God give me 463 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:44,000 Romans 12 verse 12 and Romans 12 verse 12 says be joyful in hope, 464 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,880 patience in affliction, faithful in prayer. 465 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,640 Very good girl. Be joyful in hope, patience and 466 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,560 affliction, faithful in prayer, in prayer. 467 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:56,120 Recently I read a very similar verse in one Thessalonians 5 468 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:57,960 verse 16 to 7. I love God's word. 469 00:20:57,960 --> 00:20:59,640 Isn't it just amazing how you feel? 470 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:01,600 I was like, oh wow, this one is almost the same. 471 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:05,520 It says rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all 472 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:09,040 circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 473 00:21:09,360 --> 00:21:11,960 How many of you have you said, if only I knew what God's will 474 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:13,840 for my life was. You want to know what God's will 475 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:17,360 for your life is? Rejoice always, pray continually 476 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,400 give thanks in all circumstances for, for this is God's will for 477 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:22,200 you in Christ Jesus. Not actually that hard. 478 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:25,320 It's actually in the Bible. And so I felt God give me 3 479 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:28,680 handles and #1 is be joyful and hope or rejoice always. 480 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:33,160 You know that I decided a long time ago that I am going to be 481 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:35,720 joyful. I am going to be happy. 482 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,040 I've just made a decision. I am going to live with joy. 483 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:41,320 Why not? Because I'm one of those fake 484 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:41,760 people. You know. 485 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:43,360 I know. I know someone who every time 486 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:44,680 you ask them how are they, they go. 487 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,280 I'll take truth. Always. 488 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:48,680 Well. And it irritates the living 489 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,480 daylights out of him because it doesn't go always well with 490 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:52,520 anybody. Sorry. 491 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:54,280 My bad. Did I just say that out loud 492 00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:57,800 inside boys? Yeah. 493 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:03,640 Sorry, someone did one say to me, you're not a typical 494 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:05,640 pastor's wife, are you? My bad. 495 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:09,960 But but you know what? It doesn't go always well with 496 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:12,600 anybody, you know, And I'm not talking about being fake and 497 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,240 pretending that everything is well when inside you're actually 498 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,040 struggling and going through a difficult time. 499 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:19,640 I'm just saying it says be joyful in hope. 500 00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:23,280 So what is our hope in? My hope is in Christ. 501 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,040 So if my hope is in Christ, I can be joyful even when I go 502 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,640 through difficult circumstances because my hope is not set on my 503 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,960 circumstances or my suffering or the situation I'm facing. 504 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:37,520 My hope is set on Christ and Christ is in control and He's 505 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:41,000 sovereign and He promises He will make everything work 506 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:42,520 together for the good for those who love Him. 507 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:45,800 So I choose to be joyful, whereas my husband always says I 508 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:47,160 don't sing in the shower because I'm happy. 509 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:48,560 I'm happy because I sing in the shower. 510 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:52,000 So I loved being joyful is a is a choice As Christians, we 511 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,560 should be joyful. We should not be looking like 512 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:56,120 we're sucking lemons when we're Christians. 513 00:22:56,520 --> 00:23:00,600 So so my hope isn't him and therefore I can be joyful in 514 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:04,040 difficult circumstances. So I'm going to give you a short 515 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:05,520 little testimony of my own life here. 516 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:08,280 When I come from a family that has a family history of 517 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:10,600 depression. And so my grandfather had 518 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:12,600 depression his whole life and had to be on medication. 519 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:15,320 My mum's had depression her whole life and have had to be on 520 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:17,240 medication and it's a chemical imbalance. 521 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:21,320 And so it, it's, yeah, I'm not going to go in there. 522 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:23,560 I, I, I want to just say before I share this, I'm not saying 523 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,000 today, don't go on medication. Please don't hear what I'm not 524 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:27,880 saying. I'm not saying don't leave your 525 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:29,080 medication if you're on medication. 526 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,760 I'm just, I'm just telling you a story about my life and my walk 527 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:35,840 with God with, with depression. And, and so when I was, when I 528 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:39,560 was at my final year at varsity, I'm 21 years old, I really 529 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:42,880 started to struggle with depression and I was walking 530 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,360 with God already. And I said to God, God, if I 531 00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:47,760 have to go onto medication, I will because I understand it has 532 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:49,000 a place. And I understand that my 533 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,240 grandfather's been on medication his whole life and my mom has 534 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:53,360 had to have medication. And my mom's had actually had an 535 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:56,560 incredible testimony of how even on medication, God's walked with 536 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:58,800 her and taught her how to deal with her depression. 537 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:00,960 Because you know, the medication doesn't take the depression 538 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:02,400 away. It just it just makes you able 539 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:04,800 to actually deal with it. And how God's helped her over 540 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:06,720 the years actually in a beautiful testimony how God's 541 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:09,360 taught her over the years to to deal with her with her own 542 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:11,560 depression. And I said to God, if I, if I 543 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:13,720 don't have to go on medication, I prefer not to go. 544 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,600 If you can give me something to, to help me deal with this 545 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:18,840 without it, then, then I will. If I have to go on, I will. 546 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:22,200 And, and once once again, one day I was reading my Bible and I 547 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:27,000 was reading Isaiah 61 verse 3. And it says that it's obviously 548 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,640 talking about Jesus, but it says to control, to console those who 549 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:34,320 mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy 550 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:36,680 for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of 551 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:39,600 heaviness. And I felt God say to me, what 552 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:41,040 does that say? Did it give you for the spirit 553 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,440 of heaviness, the garment of praise? 554 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,480 What is a garment, something you put on? 555 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:49,480 If I have 10 jerseys in my cupboard and I'm standing here 556 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:51,560 and I'm cold, am I going to get warm? 557 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,360 I have to go and put it on. I have to take my jersey and put 558 00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:55,600 it on. And it says God's given us a 559 00:24:55,600 --> 00:24:57,520 garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. 560 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,080 So I felt God said to me, when you start feeling that spread of 561 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,200 heaviness, start praising me. Now for those of you who've ever 562 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,560 felt depression, that is the last thing you feel like doing 563 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:08,240 when you're feeling depressed is praising God. 564 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:11,400 Isn't it like that? And you know, I started just 565 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:12,880 doing it. I started just walking and I 566 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:14,880 just go, God, I praise you. I praise you because you are 567 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:17,120 worthy to be praised. You are the alpha and Omega. 568 00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:19,280 You are worthy to be praised. You, you actually Jesus, I 569 00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:21,680 praise you because you died for my sin and it would be dead 570 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:23,680 inside of me. I'd really, I mean, it's fake, 571 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:24,960 you're faking it. You don't feel it. 572 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:27,000 You just say it because you believe it, not because you're 573 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:28,760 feeling it. And I'd start, I'd start 574 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:30,640 praising God. And as I praise God, I'd feel my 575 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:33,560 spirit start rising up. And you know what, I think all 576 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:35,920 of us would love to come to the front after the service for the, 577 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:38,480 for the, for the pastor to pray for us and God to set us free 578 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:40,320 from our depression and anxiety like that. 579 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:42,960 I mean, that's the dream. And I, I really believe God can 580 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:45,040 do it, but you know that most of the time he doesn't. 581 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:47,720 So this became a walk for me and, and, and I had to do this 582 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,840 over many years, actually over quite a few years, every time I 583 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:52,240 started feeling depressed, I would do it. 584 00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:54,520 I would start praising God and saying, God, I praise you, I 585 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:55,840 praise you, you're worthy to be praised. 586 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:57,880 And I, and I'd fight my depression with, with the 587 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:01,720 garment of praise. And then one day probably I, I 588 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:03,320 don't know, because, you know, when something happens, you 589 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:05,920 don't always realize until quite a bit later it's happened. 590 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:10,840 But probably, you know, maybe 10 years later, actually, actually 591 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,160 I can't remember the last time I've had to do that. 592 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:16,520 I can't actually remember the last time I've had to actually 593 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,080 put on that garment of praise for that spirit of heaviness. 594 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:23,120 And I can honestly say to you, it's it's 25 years later now is 595 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:25,320 that I've never, ever struggled with depression again. 596 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:30,640 Yeah. And then and you're, I mean, 597 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,240 like all of us, I've been down. I've been down because of 598 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:35,480 situations I'm going through or difficulties I'm facing. 599 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:38,120 I'm not saying that I've been so happy, Hallelujah, all the time 600 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,040 I've been down. I've had sometimes that I've had 601 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:41,800 just that I've never felt depressed again. 602 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,160 I've never gone to that place of depression again. 603 00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:46,600 But it wasn't an instant overnight zapped by the Holy 604 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:48,760 Spirit. It was a walk with God and, and 605 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:51,440 being obedient and applying what God showed me what to do. 606 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,800 You know, I was just listening to the songs. 607 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:55,800 Did you did you take notice of some of the songs we were 608 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:57,600 singing today? I mean, have you ever noticed 609 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,160 that you can come into church feeling so down or anxious and 610 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:01,760 then in worship, you're just like, you don't, You're like, 611 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:05,920 wow, I feel so much better, you know, and, and some of the songs 612 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:08,440 we were singing today said I traded my sorrow for something 613 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:10,520 to sing. Where do you think that lyric 614 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,120 comes from? You know, one of the other ones 615 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:15,320 said, I'll praise you when I feel it and I'll praise you when 616 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:17,880 I don't. You know, we sing these songs, 617 00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:20,320 but we don't do it. You know, in our in life, I'll 618 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:22,360 praise you when I feel it and I'll praise you when I don't 619 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:25,000 because that's actually a weapon you've given me God to, to 620 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:26,600 actually fight the spirit of heaviness. 621 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:31,320 It's the garment of praise. And so I choose to be, to be, to 622 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:33,360 be joyful. I choose joy because my joy 623 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:35,760 isn't God. You know, part of choosing joy 624 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:40,360 is like 1 Thessalonians 5 sees that, that I have to be that I 625 00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:43,120 have to be thankful. Give thanks in all, give thanks 626 00:27:43,120 --> 00:27:46,400 in all circumstances. So we know we don't only give 627 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:47,720 thanks when things are going right. 628 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:50,400 We give thanks when things are not going right as well, because 629 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,360 we're not facing it alone. God is with us, He's with us, 630 00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:55,240 He's protecting us. He's walking this, this journey 631 00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:57,120 with us. And we always have something to 632 00:27:57,120 --> 00:27:59,520 be thankful for. If you, if you struggle to be 633 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:03,440 joyful, do yourself a favour, go buy yourself a little book. 634 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,320 And every morning when you wake up, before you do anything else, 635 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:08,520 before you make your first cup of coffee, write down 5 things 636 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,200 you have to be thankful for and see what God does in your 637 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:12,760 spirit. When you actually start focusing 638 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:15,560 on what you have, what you have to be thankful for, rather than 639 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:17,400 focusing about everything that's wrong in your life. 640 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:21,120 So, so point #1 be joyful. I choose to be joyful, I choose 641 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:24,600 joy. Point #2 be patient in 642 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:26,640 affliction. We're so good at patience. 643 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:29,760 Hey, my patience is based on my trust in God. 644 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:32,200 It's not based on my circumstances. 645 00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:34,560 And you know what? I've decided that I will not 646 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:36,560 make plans to get out of my own suffering. 647 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:39,480 I'm not going to make plans to get my children out of their 648 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:41,480 suffering or out of the tough things they're facing. 649 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,040 I'm not going to take the consequences of their choices 650 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,040 away. I'm not going to make plans to 651 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:48,640 make sure they're so protected they never have to face anything 652 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:50,840 difficult. I'm actually going to allow God 653 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:52,560 to be God and do what He needs to do. 654 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:55,600 And I said, God, I'm going to trust you and I'm going to be 655 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:58,560 patient until you show me what to do or what you say. 656 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:01,080 What do I do? What do I do while I wait, while 657 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:04,200 I'm patient? Point #3 be faithful and pray. 658 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:09,040 Be faithful and pray while we waiting, while we choosing joy, 659 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,880 while we patient and we waiting for God to speak. 660 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:14,640 We pray. And you know, I think Rory's as 661 00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:17,920 often spoken about how he prays scripture and, and Stephen 662 00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:19,840 actually spoke about it the other day, how he's actually 663 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:22,480 changed the way he prays. But that's something that God 664 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:25,000 has really changed in me over the over the last couple of 665 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,760 years is the way I pray. And I, I love praying and, and 666 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:30,240 I, and I've always been someone who pray and I, I, I always 667 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:32,120 joke, I say, I've got my permanent prayer list and then 668 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,360 I've got my other one. And so the permanent prayer list 669 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:37,400 is this list of people I pray for every day and, and it's 670 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:40,880 family members who are unsaved and, and situations that I pray 671 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:42,920 over every day. But I found that sometimes when 672 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:45,240 I've prayed through that whole list, I can feel quite anxious. 673 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:47,680 You know, it's like I start, I get up in the morning, I read my 674 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:49,680 word, I pray through this list. And now I've just actually 675 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:52,920 saturated my mind with all the things that are all the people 676 00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:55,080 who aren't saved, the people whose marriages are in trouble. 677 00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:56,280 And I actually feel quite anxious. 678 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:59,240 And so I did the same thing. I started praying scriptures and 679 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:01,280 I'm almost done. But I wanted to just give you a 680 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:03,760 few examples quickly of how I, how I pray now. 681 00:30:03,760 --> 00:30:06,200 And so, so I've got a little bookie and it's got, it's got 682 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:07,600 the people. I've pray for his names at the 683 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:09,680 top. And then I pray scriptures over 684 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:11,720 them. And so I'll start with myself 685 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:13,040 first. You know, one of the scriptures 686 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,800 I pray over myself every day is Ephesians 4 verse 29, which says 687 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:20,800 God, do not let any unwholesome talk come out of my mouth, but 688 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:23,120 only what is helpful for building others up according to 689 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:25,560 their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 690 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:28,160 As you can see, I have a mouth, you know, it's a ghost. 691 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:30,480 You know, the petrol works a bit better than the brakes. 692 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:37,360 And I'm so, so, so I wake up in the morning and I say, God, 693 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:40,360 please don't let any unwholesome talk come out of my mouth today. 694 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:42,920 Please, Lord, help me that I will say things that will build 695 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:44,280 others up. Do I always get it right? 696 00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:46,320 Nope. But do I have better success 697 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:48,120 when I do this than other times? Definitely. 698 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:50,600 One of the scriptures I pray over my husband every day comes 699 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:52,960 out of Psalm 20. It says, may the Lord answer you 700 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:55,640 when you're in distress. May the name of the God of Jacob 701 00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:56,320 protect you. God. 702 00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:58,480 I say, God, if my husband needs help today, will you answer him? 703 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:00,760 Father God, will you protect him wherever he goes? 704 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:03,840 May you send your help from the sanctuary and grant you support 705 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:05,280 from Zion. Lord, if he needs help today, 706 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:07,560 will you send it to him? Will you send godly men to help 707 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:08,560 him? If he needs help today? 708 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:12,000 Then it says, may you remember all your sacrifices and accept 709 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,200 your burnt offerings. May He give you the desires of 710 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:15,880 your heart and make all your plans succeed. 711 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:18,320 God, will you see the sacrifices He made and will you? 712 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:20,200 Will you make His plans succeed today? 713 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:21,880 And will you give him the desires of his heart? 714 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:25,880 May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up a banner of 715 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,680 the name of of our God. May the Lord grant you all your 716 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:30,240 requests. God, will you help my husband 717 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:31,840 today. That's when he's finished doing 718 00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:33,560 what he needs today that actually your name will be 719 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:35,920 lifted up like a banner. That's that's a scripture. 720 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:38,720 I pray over him. And I've got a 21 and a 23 year 721 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,240 old For those of you have kids those ages, it's real stuff gets 722 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:43,280 real. And and this is one of the 723 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:45,280 scriptures that I've been praying every day over my kids 724 00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:46,920 for, for, for quite a few years now. 725 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:49,920 And it's entitled to, it says for the grace of God has 726 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:52,080 appeared that offers salvation to all people. 727 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:56,120 It so the grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness and 728 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:59,320 worldly passions and to live self controlled, upright and 729 00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:03,000 godly lives in this present age. And I go, God, you know what 730 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,120 this age look like. You know what this world looks 731 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:07,320 like this present age. God, you chose to put my kids in 732 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:09,120 this world right now in this present age. 733 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:11,400 Will you will you, will you actually give them such a 734 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,840 revelation of your grace that it will teach them to say no, no to 735 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:17,760 ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self controlled, 736 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:20,040 upright and godly lives in this present age. 737 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:22,680 And I prayed over them every day and then other scriptures as 738 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:24,040 well, specifically for each child. 739 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:26,640 And so that's when I walk out of my prayer closet. 740 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,720 When I've done that, I feel encouraged, I feel built up. 741 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:31,960 I feel that God's got this, He's got this. 742 00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:34,240 He's walking with them. And I don't walk out of there 743 00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:36,160 full of anxiety in that situation. 744 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:39,240 So I'll send with, I'll end with one of my another cliche 745 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:42,840 favorite sayings today. And it says the same sun that 746 00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:47,120 melts the wax hardens the clay. I'm going to say it again, the 747 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:49,640 same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay. 748 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:52,840 What are you going to allow your suffering to do to your heart? 749 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,040 The same sun that melts the wax, hardens the clay? 750 00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:58,760 Are you going to allow your suffering to cause bitterness 751 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:03,200 and unforgiveness and make you negative scrunched or prune one 752 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:05,040 day? Or you're actually going to 753 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:09,000 allow your suffering to build godly character in you, to 754 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,480 create perseverance in you, and help you to live with hope in 755 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:13,160 Jesus name.