1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,600 I do believe that for all of us life has wonderful Rich Joyce. 2 00:00:08,300 --> 00:00:11,000 I'm a very positive person. I don't have the perspective in 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:13,300 my mind that everything in the world is bad. 4 00:00:13,900 --> 00:00:16,200 In fact, I know a whole lot of people that are in the world 5 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,600 that are wonderful people. And you know sometimes people 6 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,800 say you know the world is worse than it's ever been and that's 7 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,900 just not true. In fact it's not even worse than 8 00:00:25,900 --> 00:00:29,800 it was in Genesis chapter 6, a long long time ago, where the 9 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,300 Bible says that the thoughts of man's heart was ever evil, 10 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,600 continually and God destroyed the World by way of a flood and 11 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:41,600 saved eight righteous Souls. So I don't believe in the 12 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:46,400 concept that everything in life is bad and everybody in life is 13 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,200 bad. I don't believe that at all. 14 00:00:48,300 --> 00:00:51,800 All I think the world is filled with good things to it is filled 15 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:55,500 with goodness and things that we enjoy in our life. 16 00:00:56,100 --> 00:00:59,500 But saying all of that. Let me also say, there is the 17 00:00:59,500 --> 00:01:05,600 reality of trouble in life. There is, in fact, life comes 18 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,100 with those troubles and that's nothing new. 19 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,800 Do you remember the words of job, a long, long time ago job 20 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,500 said that man is born unto trouble. 21 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,800 Jesus himself said, in this world what are you gonna have? 22 00:01:20,100 --> 00:01:23,500 You're gonna have trouble. James said we're going to fall 23 00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:27,200 into various trials. So no one questions. 24 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:30,700 The fact that life can bring disappointments, it can bring 25 00:01:30,700 --> 00:01:35,100 discontentment pain grief and yes even loss. 26 00:01:35,700 --> 00:01:40,700 It's filled with unexpected, turns unanticipated events and 27 00:01:40,700 --> 00:01:44,200 sometimes those things are debilitating and painful 28 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,900 experiences. And that's called life being 29 00:01:47,900 --> 00:01:51,300 able to cope with all of these things really is the goal of 30 00:01:51,300 --> 00:01:53,200 everyone. We live in a world that is 31 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,800 filled with people trying to adjust to the pain. 32 00:01:56,900 --> 00:02:02,000 That sometimes comes our way trying to deal with life without 33 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:07,000 a total collapse, without a break down without a burnout 34 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:12,400 without being hopeless without fear apathy or just without the 35 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:17,400 reality of giving up, And all of that is a matter of learning how 36 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:21,700 to endure, how can we endure the Pains of Life, the great 37 00:02:21,700 --> 00:02:26,300 disappointments, that come our way in Life, Broken Dreams, 38 00:02:26,300 --> 00:02:30,400 broken homes, broken lives and broken relationships. 39 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:34,000 And sometimes the pain seems harder than we can bear. 40 00:02:34,900 --> 00:02:38,900 How do we handle that? How can we Face the world? 41 00:02:38,900 --> 00:02:41,000 And all of those things, like the Apostle Paul. 42 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,000 Did you remember back in the day? 43 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,600 Fourth chapter in the eighth. Verse of second Corinthians, 44 00:02:47,100 --> 00:02:51,100 Paul said notice, we are hard pressed on every side yet not 45 00:02:51,100 --> 00:02:53,300 crushed. We are perplexed, but not in 46 00:02:53,300 --> 00:02:55,100 despair. We are persecuted. 47 00:02:55,100 --> 00:02:58,200 But not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. 48 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:02,100 How can we do that? How can we be hard-pressed and 49 00:03:02,100 --> 00:03:05,800 not crushed? How can we be perplexed and not 50 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:09,000 in despair? How can we be persecuted? 51 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:13,000 But not Forsaken and struck down and steal. 52 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,900 Not be destroyed. How can we do that? 53 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,200 You know, the Apostle Paul lets us in on a little Spiritual 54 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,800 Secret for endurance. I love the writings of the 55 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,400 Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul has chosen 56 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,700 vessel of Jesus Christ, he became the mouthpiece to the 57 00:03:28,700 --> 00:03:32,800 Gentiles, he proclaimed the word of God throughout all areas, to 58 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:36,700 all manner of people and by divine inspiration, he wrote 59 00:03:36,700 --> 00:03:38,800 over two-thirds of the New Testament. 60 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:43,100 But I love the writings of Paul because Paul often times gives 61 00:03:43,100 --> 00:03:48,200 us very practical things and Practical ways practical secrets 62 00:03:48,300 --> 00:03:51,300 that we can use in our life he does so here too. 63 00:03:53,300 --> 00:03:57,700 He suffered so many great things in his life and yet he lived in 64 00:03:57,708 --> 00:04:00,900 a triumphant manner. You know, sometimes we think 65 00:04:00,900 --> 00:04:05,500 that our sufferings and our hardships and our hard times are 66 00:04:05,500 --> 00:04:10,400 exclusive to our self. Have you ever said or thought? 67 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,000 Sure. You have because I have to Have 68 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,700 you ever said or thought at one point in time in your life that 69 00:04:18,700 --> 00:04:21,500 nobody could possibly understand what I'm going through? 70 00:04:22,700 --> 00:04:27,100 That this pain is so great that nobody could possibly understand 71 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,200 how I feel. You know what I have found in my 72 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:32,700 lifetime. I have found this that 73 00:04:32,700 --> 00:04:35,300 regardless of what you go through, whatever magnitude that 74 00:04:35,300 --> 00:04:37,500 it is. Whatever challenge suffering, 75 00:04:37,500 --> 00:04:40,000 trial, whatever you want to call it, whatever you're going 76 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,900 through. If you are honest with yourself 77 00:04:42,900 --> 00:04:47,600 and you keep your eyes open, you will find somebody close by 78 00:04:47,700 --> 00:04:50,200 somebody near. That's had it worse than you. 79 00:04:51,300 --> 00:04:55,200 That's fact. There's nothing new also Under 80 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,200 the Sun, there's nothing new. In fact, all the challenges that 81 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:03,000 come our way, there's nothing but that which is common to man. 82 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,200 You know what that means? That means somebody else went 83 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:09,000 through it too. But sometimes we think this just 84 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:14,300 far greater than we can bear then, nobody can identify with 85 00:05:14,300 --> 00:05:17,000 it. We can identify with Paul though 86 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:22,700 because Paul triumph over all of the things which he suffered, he 87 00:05:22,700 --> 00:05:25,500 suffered so great, a thing in his life, I'm going to tell you, 88 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:28,200 somebody may do this to Frank brancato frame. 89 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,000 Brancato may say I'm a Christian, I'm a member of the 90 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:33,600 Lord's church. I'm a preacher of the Gospel. 91 00:05:33,700 --> 00:05:36,700 Therefore, this is my stand. This is the truth of the word of 92 00:05:36,700 --> 00:05:39,000 God and I'm going to stand on the word of God. 93 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:40,600 You know what about the worst thing they're going to do for a 94 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:44,300 chronic Auto? Make fun of me, badmouth me, so 95 00:05:44,300 --> 00:05:49,700 what that's about it? What if you were Paul? 96 00:05:50,900 --> 00:05:52,500 What about what he had to give up? 97 00:05:52,500 --> 00:05:56,000 What about his cost of discipleship? 98 00:05:56,100 --> 00:05:59,200 Do you remember when Jesus said the masterful sermon? 99 00:05:59,300 --> 00:06:02,600 When he preached a sermon on counting the cost remember that 100 00:06:02,900 --> 00:06:06,800 he said there's a cost to discipleship and he said, it's 101 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,700 like a man that builds a tower and doesn't finish it, there's a 102 00:06:10,700 --> 00:06:13,700 cost. You have to sit down and count 103 00:06:13,700 --> 00:06:17,600 the cost and decide do I have enough to Finish? 104 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:20,100 Well, I be Christian for the rest of my life. 105 00:06:20,100 --> 00:06:23,200 May I say, as I interject at this point right now, please 106 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:26,200 understand this, please write it down Market down. 107 00:06:26,300 --> 00:06:30,300 Don't ever forget it if you want to make it to the end as a 108 00:06:30,300 --> 00:06:33,000 faithful child of God, you have to make the determined resolved 109 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:37,100 in advance and daily. I'm never going to be anything 110 00:06:37,100 --> 00:06:40,300 else, but a faithful member of the church. 111 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,600 In advance. That's what Paul did. 112 00:06:46,900 --> 00:06:50,400 If he can endure the most, we can certainly and Order and do 113 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:51,400 her. The least. 114 00:06:52,500 --> 00:06:55,900 And not give up and not quit. Let me remind you of some of the 115 00:06:55,907 --> 00:07:01,600 things, Paul suffered. It's really amazing to me. he 116 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,200 said for I think that God has displayed us the apostles last 117 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:11,000 As men condemned to death for we have been made a spectacle to 118 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,500 the world, both to angels and demand. 119 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,800 He's writing to the church at Corinth and he is discussing 120 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,600 what the apostles had to endure compared to what they perhaps 121 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:25,100 were going through, which was nothing. 122 00:07:26,100 --> 00:07:31,200 And Paul said, I think this, I thank God has displayed us 123 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:35,900 Apostles, as those that were condemned to death and those 124 00:07:35,900 --> 00:07:38,400 that Spectacle to the world. What's all that mean? 125 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,200 Really? Briefly, the word, spectacle? 126 00:07:41,300 --> 00:07:46,200 Spectacle is the word theatron and that's where we get the word 127 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:51,900 theater in the English language. What that was is in Roman times. 128 00:07:51,900 --> 00:07:55,500 They would have all those at Rome, especially all those 129 00:07:55,500 --> 00:07:58,300 higher ups, and they would be watching for their own personal 130 00:07:58,300 --> 00:08:01,700 entertainment. Whatever spectacle was about to 131 00:08:01,700 --> 00:08:06,100 happen before the climax are the spectacle, they had lying. 132 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,500 Owens fighting against Lions, they had Gladiators fighting 133 00:08:09,500 --> 00:08:12,700 against gladiators, but there was something that came very 134 00:08:12,700 --> 00:08:17,500 differently, at the end or the climax, it was the spectacle, 135 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,600 you know, what they would do, they would get those men 136 00:08:20,700 --> 00:08:24,400 condemned to die and they would put them down there and turn the 137 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:30,200 lines loose after they strip them of all their clothes. you 138 00:08:30,207 --> 00:08:34,600 know, history tells us a lot of those people that were condemned 139 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:35,700 to die. Were Christians. 140 00:08:37,500 --> 00:08:38,900 And they had to die for their faith. 141 00:08:40,500 --> 00:08:42,600 That was the climax that was the spectacle. 142 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,100 That's what he's saying. The apostles had to go through. 143 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,000 That's what we are. He said we are the spectacle. 144 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:55,000 Our petty, little pain seems insignificant compared to that. 145 00:08:56,100 --> 00:08:59,400 I think we understand that I think we get that but there's a 146 00:08:59,408 --> 00:09:03,000 very deep awareness in the heart of Paul that made him endure and 147 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,600 this becomes then a very practical section of scripture. 148 00:09:07,900 --> 00:09:11,300 It's not hard to understand, it's very direct, it's very 149 00:09:11,300 --> 00:09:15,400 straightforward, very simple. Pardon me. 150 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:37,500 Sometimes it just does that. It's the premise that gives us 151 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:41,100 the opportunity to live of triumphant life over things that 152 00:09:41,100 --> 00:09:46,000 we might endure in our life. So in response to his freshly of 153 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,800 sufferings, it gives us three versus a real treasure. 154 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:54,000 Where we learn Heavenly reasons for Earthly endurance and 155 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:58,800 they're found in our passage. I'll now put it back Here is the 156 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:04,700 Heavenly responses or reasons for Earthly endurance and 157 00:10:04,700 --> 00:10:06,400 they're very powerful. But first of all, I want to 158 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,800 notice in verse 16 at the very beginning, it begins with these 159 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:14,100 words, therefore we do not lose heart, you don't that means he 160 00:10:14,100 --> 00:10:17,600 begins saying look, this is my response in advance Beijing to 161 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,300 say why? But the first thing he says, is 162 00:10:20,300 --> 00:10:24,000 therefore, we do not lose heart, the phraseology, their of losing 163 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:27,700 heart is something that he actually said in the past. 164 00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:30,000 He also said it. Another passage second, 165 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,600 Corinthians 4 verse 1. He said therefore, since we have 166 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:38,200 this ministry, as we have received Mercy, we do not lose 167 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:40,600 heart. Exact same phrase. 168 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,500 What's it mean to lose heart? You know what it means? 169 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:47,000 It means to be a coward. We don't do that. 170 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:51,200 Yeah, but you know what happens when you quit. 171 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:56,400 You quit? On the Lord. 172 00:10:59,500 --> 00:11:03,500 Paul said, no, not me. I'm not going to lose heart. 173 00:11:05,500 --> 00:11:07,300 Losing heart means to be a coward. 174 00:11:08,100 --> 00:11:11,500 It means more. It means to lose your boldness 175 00:11:11,500 --> 00:11:14,400 to lose your bravery to be faint-hearted, timid, weak, and 176 00:11:14,400 --> 00:11:18,100 fearful to be weary and give up and quit. 177 00:11:18,100 --> 00:11:20,100 You already said we are not like that. 178 00:11:20,100 --> 00:11:24,800 We will not do that. We will not lose heart in light 179 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:27,300 of the Glorious eternal life. That was his. 180 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:31,200 And the spiritual blessings that he had in Christ in view of all 181 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,100 of that. He could never lose heart. 182 00:11:33,100 --> 00:11:35,300 He could never Despair and never quit. 183 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:38,800 No matter how he is assaulted, no matter how he's in trouble, 184 00:11:38,900 --> 00:11:42,400 it doesn't matter. Her, he will never lose heart. 185 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:44,600 And here are the secrets of endurance. 186 00:11:44,900 --> 00:11:46,800 Number one, here it is. He's going to give us some 187 00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:49,900 secrets and they're found in these passages these three 188 00:11:49,900 --> 00:11:52,700 verses. You know what number one is 189 00:11:53,100 --> 00:11:59,600 number one to take notes. You will be able to endure when 190 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:03,900 you value spiritual strength, over physical strength. 191 00:12:05,500 --> 00:12:09,900 When spiritual strength is more important to you than physical 192 00:12:10,100 --> 00:12:13,400 strength. Now, he says, he begins right 193 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:17,300 here, we do not lose heart and then he says, even though, you 194 00:12:17,300 --> 00:12:19,800 know, that phrase even though actually means the better 195 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:24,300 translation is since in other words in the Greek construction 196 00:12:24,300 --> 00:12:28,400 of that, he is going to say something that was assumed that 197 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:30,700 everybody knew a fact in evidence. 198 00:12:30,900 --> 00:12:35,100 And he begins by saying this, therefore we do not lose heart. 199 00:12:35,300 --> 00:12:37,900 We do not give up. We are not going to quit. 200 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:39,300 We're not going to be discouraged. 201 00:12:39,300 --> 00:12:43,200 No, we won't since. And there it is. 202 00:12:44,700 --> 00:12:49,100 Our outward man is perishing. Yet the inward man is being 203 00:12:49,100 --> 00:12:54,200 renewed, day by day. This is somebody that treasured 204 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:58,100 spiritual strength, More Than Physical strength. 205 00:12:59,100 --> 00:13:02,200 The first reason that he was able to endure, anything that 206 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:04,800 came to him, in the Physical Realm, was because he was more 207 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:08,100 concerned about what was happening in the spiritual 208 00:13:08,100 --> 00:13:11,000 realm. Now, our outward, man, obviously 209 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,200 is our bodies. Certainly we get that we 210 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,000 understand that and it's included but there's more. 211 00:13:16,700 --> 00:13:21,100 It also includes physical characteristics, it's the body. 212 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:25,800 It's all the internal parts and it's even the function of our 213 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:31,800 brain and he said, all of that. It is 2K now obviously Paul's 214 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:37,600 getting older. you know, it said, I don't know for sure but 215 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:42,300 instead, the Paul lived to be about 60 You're over 60, right? 216 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:44,600 Okay. If I were to go up to Terry and 217 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:49,200 I would say Terry Is 60 old wino. 218 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:55,900 I'm 52 in a couple days is 60 old no way you don't ever say 219 00:13:55,900 --> 00:14:01,100 I'm in my Prime, it's nothing. So what's he talking about? 220 00:14:01,100 --> 00:14:03,500 He is talking about something that is decaying. 221 00:14:03,500 --> 00:14:07,000 When you're born into this world, you begin to die. 222 00:14:08,700 --> 00:14:11,200 And it's the outward. Man, that perishes is the 223 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:13,900 outward man that were talking about in time. 224 00:14:13,900 --> 00:14:18,500 It will die. But what about this idea of 225 00:14:18,700 --> 00:14:21,800 getting older? Paul was relatively young at 226 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,400 this time. I think 60 not too old so it has 227 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:27,100 to be more than the process of Aging. 228 00:14:27,100 --> 00:14:30,500 It's more than that. It's also the events that sped 229 00:14:30,500 --> 00:14:34,800 up the aging process. Now, do you remember call 230 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:40,200 actually took himself and he spent himself For the cause of 231 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:44,100 Christ. We can go into all the lashings 232 00:14:44,100 --> 00:14:46,100 in the beatings, in the stonings that all of that. 233 00:14:46,100 --> 00:14:49,300 When I can do that now. But I want to make a point 234 00:14:49,300 --> 00:14:51,000 remember when he wrote the letter to Philemon? 235 00:14:51,900 --> 00:14:54,100 And you remember, when he wrote to him he said I could come to 236 00:14:54,100 --> 00:14:56,000 you. As the Apostle, I could come to 237 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,300 you with Apostolic Authority and I can tell you to forgive that 238 00:14:59,300 --> 00:15:01,900 runaway slave onesimus. I can make you do it, but I'm 239 00:15:01,900 --> 00:15:04,000 not doing it. He said, I'm coming out of love 240 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,100 and what? Paul the agent? 241 00:15:07,100 --> 00:15:10,100 Did you know that Paul and Philemon were the same age? 242 00:15:11,500 --> 00:15:13,700 They were both about 60 at that time. 243 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:18,100 So why would Paul called himself the agent in means this? 244 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,700 It is age that is accelerated by experience. 245 00:15:21,900 --> 00:15:25,600 It's kind of like this, it's not the years, it's the miles. 246 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:30,400 Have you ever known someone that lived a really hard life and 247 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,200 they weren't that old but man they look rough. 248 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:38,300 You know why it's the miles, it's the experiences. 249 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:44,200 I'm very thankful that I bounced back and I came back from it. 250 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,200 But I remember being the sickest in my life going through Cancer 251 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:50,700 Treatments. I remember being ball headed and 252 00:15:50,700 --> 00:15:53,300 I look like I was about 80, I look at it, I looked at old 253 00:15:53,300 --> 00:15:56,800 pictures couldn't believe that was me, you know, that was that 254 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:02,100 was me having an age accelerated by experience that happens to us 255 00:16:02,100 --> 00:16:05,900 in life. So Paul says, this outer body is 256 00:16:05,900 --> 00:16:07,700 decaying, he was relatively young. 257 00:16:07,700 --> 00:16:10,500 I think he's young because I'm getting sick close to 60 now 258 00:16:11,300 --> 00:16:15,300 really young, but he talks about it as something different. 259 00:16:15,300 --> 00:16:17,700 It's not the years lived, it's the miles traveled. 260 00:16:18,500 --> 00:16:22,600 It was relentless hostility and suffering that sped up the aging 261 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:24,900 process in his life. It was the beatings, the 262 00:16:24,900 --> 00:16:27,800 whippings, and everything else. You remember when he said this, 263 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:34,200 he said, I bear in my body, the marks of the Lord, Jesus. 264 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,900 Incidentally, a little side note, can I just add a little 265 00:16:37,900 --> 00:16:41,700 side note here? He had literal marks in his 266 00:16:41,700 --> 00:16:44,500 body. He could literally say, I bear 267 00:16:44,500 --> 00:16:47,800 in my body, the marks of the Lord Jesus and all the whippings 268 00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:50,600 and everything you went through, he could take off his shirt as 269 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:54,800 it were his robe and he could demonstrate all the marks that 270 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:57,600 he had and he said, every one of them was for the cause of 271 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:01,400 Christ. What About Us? 272 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:04,400 We're going to get there in a minute. 273 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:09,599 What about us though? Do we bear in a symbolic way? 274 00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:14,099 In our body, the marks of the Lord Jesus because every time 275 00:17:14,099 --> 00:17:16,200 you stand for the truth and stand for what's, right? 276 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,800 And you have to suffer any kind of ramification for that. 277 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:22,700 That's a mark. Every time you do, what's right? 278 00:17:22,700 --> 00:17:26,500 That's a Mark. We have young people here every 279 00:17:26,500 --> 00:17:29,600 time if you will stand on your own two feet and tell your 280 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,400 friends that's wrong and I'm a Christian. 281 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:35,000 I'm not going to do that and they make fun of you and they 282 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:39,500 put you down and they want to be friends with you anymore or 283 00:17:39,500 --> 00:17:41,200 maybe they bully her. Push you around. 284 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:42,400 You know what? That's a mark. 285 00:17:44,900 --> 00:17:49,400 And that's a good thing. That's a good thing. 286 00:17:50,900 --> 00:17:52,700 Me ask you this. What have Jesus on the day of 287 00:17:52,700 --> 00:17:56,000 judgment says right? Let me see your scars. 288 00:17:58,500 --> 00:18:02,900 What if what if the Lord said? I need to see your scars? 289 00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:08,900 Would I have any or would I have just lived a life of compromise 290 00:18:08,900 --> 00:18:12,000 that I had no scars at all? And I just was all things to all 291 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:16,800 people and whoever us with that's who I was or have I stood 292 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:19,900 for something? And do I bear in my body, the 293 00:18:19,900 --> 00:18:23,800 marks of the Lord, Jesus. Paul was a man of endurance. 294 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,000 He says, there's something that's more important even 295 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,300 though the outward man is decaying or dying. 296 00:18:29,300 --> 00:18:30,800 There's something about the inner, man. 297 00:18:31,300 --> 00:18:34,900 What is the inner man? The inner man is the heart. 298 00:18:34,900 --> 00:18:37,600 It is the soul, it is your real self. 299 00:18:37,700 --> 00:18:41,700 It's the Eternal part of us and that, that which lives forever. 300 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:47,900 And you heard me very recently, say, I'll just I'll just, I'll 301 00:18:47,900 --> 00:18:51,600 just say what I said. Because I love brother Everett 302 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:55,800 he's alive in my heart and then our family and his brothers and 303 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:58,700 sisters Hearts to at his funeral. 304 00:18:58,700 --> 00:19:06,400 I said, brother Everett is as alive today as he ever had been, 305 00:19:06,500 --> 00:19:09,600 he's just not here, you know, why? 306 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,500 The Inner Man? That Never Dies. 307 00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:17,900 Remember that song we used to sing the soul, Never Dies. 308 00:19:18,700 --> 00:19:21,700 That's the Eternal park. That's the inner part. 309 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,300 So we have to make the right decision so the inner part gets 310 00:19:25,300 --> 00:19:27,600 to have a reward one day, that's what we do. 311 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:30,600 That's what lives on and you don't need saying, it doesn't 312 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:32,500 matter. All the persecutions to my outer 313 00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:35,100 man. The inner man, because God was 314 00:19:35,100 --> 00:19:39,200 doing it is being strengthened day by day, powerful stuff. 315 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:42,400 I don't care what happens to me physically. 316 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:44,800 He said, I'm concerned about what happens to me, spiritually. 317 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:48,700 And when I am physically weak, as he said before, I am 318 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:53,600 spiritually strong, our troubles in our trials and our pains in 319 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,800 life, they contribute to the Inner Strength, you know, why? 320 00:19:57,700 --> 00:20:02,200 Because they drive you to God. And I'm going to tell you this, 321 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,300 too, that's not just, that's anybody. 322 00:20:05,900 --> 00:20:08,100 Even people in the world. Have you ever noticed that when 323 00:20:08,100 --> 00:20:10,700 something bad happens? Do you remember when 9/11 hit 324 00:20:12,100 --> 00:20:14,800 You have people there, didn't even think about God, and 325 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:16,300 they're starting to think about praying. 326 00:20:17,700 --> 00:20:21,900 It's a natural course of action. When you have something bad 327 00:20:21,900 --> 00:20:25,200 going on, people are drawn to God. 328 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:30,400 Now when the child of God suffers he or she is also drawn 329 00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:34,000 to God and God strengthens the inner part. 330 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:41,700 That's what Paul said, you want to endure, we got a value, the 331 00:20:41,700 --> 00:20:44,100 spiritual rather than physical, but there's a second one, 332 00:20:44,500 --> 00:20:48,400 there's a second one. The second secret of endurance. 333 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:55,900 Second, Heavenly reality is this you will endure not only when 334 00:20:55,900 --> 00:20:58,800 you value the spiritual over the physical but you will endure 335 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:03,100 when you value the future over the present. 336 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:08,200 Now I know that we are people of immediate gratification people, 337 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,400 I know that. But Paul is going to describe. 338 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,700 Now wait a minute, if you want to endure you're not only have 339 00:21:14,700 --> 00:21:16,900 to Value the spiritual over the physical, but you got to do 340 00:21:16,908 --> 00:21:19,800 something else. You got a value the future, more 341 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:23,800 than you do the present. And here's our passage again for 342 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:29,500 our light Affliction, which is, but for a moment is working for 343 00:21:29,500 --> 00:21:31,800 us far, more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory. 344 00:21:31,808 --> 00:21:36,200 So he calls these things as bad as he went through light 345 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:38,500 Affliction, he said it's for a moment. 346 00:21:38,500 --> 00:21:40,000 In other words, it's in the floor. 347 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,400 Present. It's in the present. 348 00:21:45,500 --> 00:21:49,200 But it's doing something. You know, one scholar said, Paul 349 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:53,600 towered over his troubles because all of his troubles were 350 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,800 making him, please get this. They were making him 351 00:21:56,900 --> 00:22:01,000 spiritually, strong. That's how you do it. 352 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:05,900 You Tower over your trials. When you allow the trials to 353 00:22:05,900 --> 00:22:10,500 help strengthen, you spiritually, That's what he 354 00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:12,800 said. We can handle it. 355 00:22:13,700 --> 00:22:18,900 Oh, by the way, beatings scourgings punishments, throwing 356 00:22:18,900 --> 00:22:21,600 rocks at him. Finally, cutting his head off. 357 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:27,700 He called it, light affliction. Light affliction. 358 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,700 He felt like they were gaining him, though greater a greater 359 00:22:31,700 --> 00:22:36,200 weight of eternal glory. The more sufferings he endures 360 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:38,000 the greater the weight of Glory becomes. 361 00:22:38,100 --> 00:22:40,100 They are benefiting him eternally. 362 00:22:40,300 --> 00:22:43,800 He puts Affliction suffering and pain on one side of the scale. 363 00:22:43,900 --> 00:22:47,100 Now, have you ever talked every are said the worst tipping the 364 00:22:47,100 --> 00:22:50,300 scales, okay? It's this idea. 365 00:22:50,300 --> 00:22:53,200 You got a scale every those old-fashioned scales, you can 366 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:56,000 come down here and get the things they put on there and you 367 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,100 weigh it out. And what they would do is they 368 00:22:58,100 --> 00:22:59,600 would weigh it out. Find out how much something 369 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:03,200 would cost so forth. That's the, that's the 370 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:07,700 illustration here. Okay, so you got the trouble, 371 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:11,500 the sorrow, the the problem, the trial, the suffering. 372 00:23:11,500 --> 00:23:16,900 You got it over here, right? He said that's on one side but 373 00:23:16,900 --> 00:23:20,800 it is producing something that is greater on the other side, it 374 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:24,300 is called an eternal weight of Glory. 375 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:29,400 In other words, it is heavier and bigger than no problem. 376 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:32,100 I'm not finished they with me on this. 377 00:23:34,500 --> 00:23:39,000 It's heavier its wings the scale we throw in a couple verses will 378 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:43,200 get right back to it though. Paul said in Romans 8:17, if 379 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:49,500 indeed we suffer with him, okay, that's on one side that we may 380 00:23:49,500 --> 00:23:53,800 also be glorified together. The next one, my mother's 381 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:55,600 favorite past of scripture. When I was a kid. 382 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,900 For I consider that the sufferings of, this present time 383 00:23:58,900 --> 00:24:02,000 are not worthy to be compared with the glory, which shall be 384 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,700 revealed in us. Do you see that you've got on 385 00:24:04,700 --> 00:24:07,500 one side, the sufferings, you got on the other side, the glory 386 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:14,400 You got both. Now, here's the point suffering. 387 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:17,500 Becomes trivial when compared to Future Glory. 388 00:24:18,300 --> 00:24:22,500 Obviously, the Bible confirms that, we have an eternal reward 389 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,500 for perseverance. And by the way, that's what 390 00:24:27,300 --> 00:24:28,600 patients is. We'll get to that in a minute, 391 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:33,900 but we have an eternal promise if we would, but persevere, 392 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:38,100 Revelation, 2, and 10. It says, but be thou faithful 393 00:24:38,100 --> 00:24:42,400 unto death and I will give you a Crown of Life. 394 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,700 So we understand if we endure, we make it to the end, we get a 395 00:24:46,708 --> 00:24:51,600 Crown of Life. But this passage is saying so 396 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:55,800 much more than that. It's saying something else. 397 00:24:56,300 --> 00:25:01,200 It's saying something further our reward is obviously included 398 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:05,300 in the promise but Paul said, our sufferings get this 399 00:25:05,500 --> 00:25:10,000 contribute to eternal glory. So what is it? 400 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,600 I told you what I used to think it was even a week ago. 401 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,900 I thought in general he was saying that I can handle the 402 00:25:16,900 --> 00:25:18,800 light Affliction. I can handle the troubles in my 403 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:20,100 life. I could Inhale the sufferings in 404 00:25:20,108 --> 00:25:22,100 my life because you know why? My reward is greater. 405 00:25:22,100 --> 00:25:24,100 That's why I thought it was saying and that's what I 406 00:25:24,100 --> 00:25:26,400 thought. It was only saying not so you 407 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,300 don't return a glorious. What is Glory? 408 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:34,000 It's this. It is our capacity to serves 409 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:38,400 praised and glorified God in heaven. 410 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:44,400 That's what it is. So the sufferings that I go 411 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:48,300 through in this life are preparing me to be able to 412 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:51,600 praise God. More glorify him in heaven. 413 00:25:52,300 --> 00:25:54,200 One day, that's the Eternal part. 414 00:25:55,600 --> 00:26:00,300 Okay. And our eternal glory is 415 00:26:00,300 --> 00:26:08,800 measured out in relation to our willingness to suffer. 2nd 416 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,700 Timothy 3 and 12 says, all that will live Godly will suffer 417 00:26:11,700 --> 00:26:17,200 persecution. Now, notice this in First Peter 418 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,600 chapter 1, I have a practical by the way. 419 00:26:20,608 --> 00:26:22,600 A practical application here. So, hang on to that. 420 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:26,200 Just give me a minute. 1st Peter, 1 6 & 7 in this. 421 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:31,900 You greatly Rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be 422 00:26:31,900 --> 00:26:36,500 you have been grieved by various trials that the genuineness of 423 00:26:36,500 --> 00:26:38,900 your faith being much more precious than gold, that 424 00:26:38,900 --> 00:26:42,800 perishes, though. It be tested by fire, may be 425 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:46,700 found to praise honor and Glory at the revelation of Jesus 426 00:26:46,700 --> 00:26:48,500 Christ. You what that means In this 427 00:26:48,500 --> 00:26:52,700 passage is saying this when our faith is tested by the fires of 428 00:26:52,700 --> 00:26:56,000 life, and we Cave and we don't chicken out. 429 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:57,700 We don't quit, you know, what happens. 430 00:26:57,900 --> 00:27:01,700 It produces what we are. And demonstrates to the world 431 00:27:01,700 --> 00:27:05,600 that our faith is genuine and real and Peter said that's 432 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:09,300 better than gold and guess what? God gets the praise and the 433 00:27:09,300 --> 00:27:13,300 glory and the honor. While we're still living and we 434 00:27:13,300 --> 00:27:16,000 get our reward when Jesus comes back. 435 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:17,800 Okay? That's that part. 436 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:21,700 But there is a relationship between suffering and Glory. 437 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:23,800 That's exactly what Paul looked at. 438 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,800 Now I want to make this point to I'm not standing in front of you 439 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,000 and saying that pain isn't pain. I don't understand. 440 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:33,400 Is I'm not trying to pick on folks, but I don't understand 441 00:27:34,100 --> 00:27:36,300 our Christian Scientists friends. 442 00:27:37,300 --> 00:27:42,900 They actually say that there is no such thing as pain, they say 443 00:27:42,900 --> 00:27:47,300 and believe that there's no such thing as evil, there's no such 444 00:27:47,300 --> 00:27:49,900 thing as bad. They actually believe in the 445 00:27:49,900 --> 00:27:52,600 doctrine of everything is just perception. 446 00:27:53,100 --> 00:27:57,400 It's your perception of it. It's how you think about it, 447 00:27:57,400 --> 00:27:59,300 what? Which makes it either good or 448 00:27:59,308 --> 00:28:02,900 bad. I don't want to be sarcastic but 449 00:28:02,900 --> 00:28:04,400 that's just absolutely ridiculous. 450 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:10,500 Pain hurts. Pain is pain, and it hurts. 451 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:15,600 I understand that sort of Paul a scar is a scar. 452 00:28:17,100 --> 00:28:20,100 Defamation of character is defamation of character. 453 00:28:20,900 --> 00:28:24,800 Assassination of someone's Integrity is just that pain is 454 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:26,600 real and we admit that it's real. 455 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,500 Absolutely. You know what Paul's saying? 456 00:28:31,700 --> 00:28:33,000 He wasn't saying pain. Is it real? 457 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,800 You know what he's saying? Get this he was saying it 458 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:40,300 doesn't matter. That's what he said. 459 00:28:41,700 --> 00:28:44,300 He said not that, it didn't exist. 460 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:47,900 He said it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. 461 00:28:49,100 --> 00:28:52,400 It's momentarily. It's producing for us an eternal 462 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:54,900 weight of Glory. It's having a positive effect in 463 00:28:54,900 --> 00:28:56,900 our life. Our trouble. 464 00:28:56,900 --> 00:29:00,500 He says, has a causal effect on our future Glory. 465 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:03,300 He's saying there's a direct correspondence between the two. 466 00:29:03,300 --> 00:29:06,700 In other words, the more I suffer the greater my eternal 467 00:29:06,700 --> 00:29:09,100 glory. That's right, they're connected. 468 00:29:09,100 --> 00:29:11,700 And it's producing an eternal weight of glory. 469 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:15,000 And it means this, something that's heavy on the other side 470 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:20,000 of the trial that tipped the scale, The scale is tipped in 471 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:24,300 favor of that which is in the future, rather than the present. 472 00:29:24,300 --> 00:29:27,900 So so what is eternal glory? I'll tell you what? 473 00:29:27,900 --> 00:29:30,500 It's not. So don't be misled by this 474 00:29:30,500 --> 00:29:32,200 delay. My tell you this, not true. 475 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:35,900 It doesn't mean if Terry perseveres better than I do. 476 00:29:35,900 --> 00:29:37,900 He gets a better reward in heaven, that's not what that 477 00:29:37,900 --> 00:29:40,700 means. That's not what that means. 478 00:29:40,700 --> 00:29:42,500 We're all in it together, all get the same thing. 479 00:29:42,500 --> 00:29:44,000 In fact, Jesus, dealt with that very thing. 480 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:47,100 The parable of in your Denis whether your worked all day or 481 00:29:47,100 --> 00:29:48,400 one hour. Guess what? 482 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:52,000 You got the same penny So, the rewards the same, that's not 483 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,600 what this means, but are you starting to get the point? 484 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:59,400 He says that the sufferings are doing something for us in 485 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:02,700 connection to our eternal glory. What is our eternal glory? 486 00:30:02,700 --> 00:30:07,300 Notice, we will have a greater capacity to serve praised and 487 00:30:07,300 --> 00:30:15,700 glorified God for eternity. In other words, our sufferings 488 00:30:15,700 --> 00:30:25,300 and large our capacity to serve and Crepes one more. 489 00:30:27,900 --> 00:30:33,900 Even and connected to this life. You know what that says? 490 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:38,200 that says, if Terry Osborne has to endure something for his 491 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:43,500 faith, for his faith. And he has the suffering that 492 00:30:43,500 --> 00:30:48,800 goes along with that. It's weighed on the scale and 493 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:53,200 his eternal weight of Glory, which is his capacity to praise 494 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:56,200 God and serve God increases, therefore, it's heavier than the 495 00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:01,400 trial that's what that means. And by the way, you know, out 496 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:03,600 there in the religious world, people are looking for something 497 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:07,800 that they get. There's nothing about what you 498 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:11,100 get. What he's saying is. 499 00:31:11,400 --> 00:31:15,300 He's not saying you keep serving me and endure the sufferings and 500 00:31:15,300 --> 00:31:17,200 you're going to get something great in say that. 501 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:21,000 All he said, endure the suffering and therefore you're 502 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:24,200 going to be able to give with a greater capacity in heaven. 503 00:31:26,200 --> 00:31:30,200 How about that? Don't you see, folks whether 504 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:33,300 you're living in this life or whether it's life after this one 505 00:31:33,300 --> 00:31:42,200 in heaven, it is never about us. It's not even in our reward 506 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:44,000 place. It won't be about us. 507 00:31:46,100 --> 00:31:50,900 It'll be about God. It'll be about praising honoring 508 00:31:50,900 --> 00:31:54,600 serving worshiping God for eternity. 509 00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:59,800 That's what it'll be. Kind of shed, a little light on 510 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:03,200 it. Now. 511 00:32:04,700 --> 00:32:08,800 While we're living is amazing. Something else though there's 512 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,000 something else that's connected to this and it's patients. 513 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:12,600 Okay. So now we have sufferings and 514 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:14,500 trials but now we got we got to talk about patients because 515 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:16,200 patients is working in there too. 516 00:32:17,500 --> 00:32:21,100 James 13, and for my brethren, count, it all joy, when you fall 517 00:32:21,100 --> 00:32:25,600 into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith. 518 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:28,700 Produces patience, but let patience have. 519 00:32:28,700 --> 00:32:32,800 It's perfect work that you may be perfect, and complete lacking 520 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,800 nothing. So, how does it all work? 521 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:40,200 Here it is. The trial increases your ability 522 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:45,500 to persevere, okay? Suffering increases your 523 00:32:45,500 --> 00:32:49,900 capacity to serve God. Have you ever looked at 524 00:32:49,900 --> 00:32:55,500 suffering like that? It's adding to your Eternal 525 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:59,700 weight of Glory. That's powerful. 526 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:06,400 Even helps you in this life. Now, I may have to clarify here 527 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:10,600 though about suffering. The only suffering that produces 528 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:12,300 a weight of Glory is suffering that honors. 529 00:33:12,300 --> 00:33:17,600 Jesus Christ or his cause It doesn't mean that if I go make 530 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:20,000 bad choices not to suffer for him, suffering is not what that 531 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:22,700 means. It doesn't mean if I commit a 532 00:33:22,708 --> 00:33:26,300 crime and I have to be thrown in prison and I suffer that that's 533 00:33:26,300 --> 00:33:28,800 what that means. Nope, not what it means at all. 534 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:33,300 Not at all. Or if I do something wrong and I 535 00:33:33,300 --> 00:33:36,500 have the ramifications of that. Okay. 536 00:33:37,100 --> 00:33:39,400 And it doesn't mean it doesn't mean that somebody makes fun of 537 00:33:39,400 --> 00:33:42,000 me, which has nothing to do with the cause of Christ that 538 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,600 suffering to that that's included in this, it's not. 539 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,700 It is suffering. That's in, that is exclusive. 540 00:33:49,700 --> 00:33:51,500 To the cause of Christ. Your faith. 541 00:33:53,100 --> 00:33:56,600 Your faith. It's your it's the result of 542 00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:59,400 your Christian Life, your faithfulness, your loyalty, and 543 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:02,800 your commitment to Christ. That's what gains the Eternal 544 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:05,900 weight of Glory. Well, finally, this morning, 545 00:34:06,700 --> 00:34:10,900 Paul tells us another secret of endurance and that is this and 546 00:34:10,900 --> 00:34:14,400 they actually this ties, the other two together, you will be 547 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:17,900 able to endure when you value Eternal realities. 548 00:34:18,900 --> 00:34:24,000 Over temporal things when eternity and what is eternal is 549 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:26,800 more important to you than what is temporal. 550 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:30,500 Now, I'm going to tell you. It is all about that. 551 00:34:30,500 --> 00:34:34,699 It always has been There are things in life that were allowed 552 00:34:34,699 --> 00:34:35,800 to enjoy. That's great. 553 00:34:36,100 --> 00:34:38,400 I enjoy life too. I enjoy life too. 554 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:46,300 I'm going to be a 52-year old sometimes immature sometimes 555 00:34:46,699 --> 00:34:50,199 kid. Man, I have some fun. 556 00:34:51,199 --> 00:34:53,199 Especially this side of cancer, man, I have fun. 557 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:59,100 Not sinful fun. Not that kind of fun, but things 558 00:34:59,100 --> 00:35:02,400 were allowed to have. Okay, things were allowed to 559 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:04,800 have. So, I'm not saying that you 560 00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:09,700 can't enjoy things in life on the physical side, not saying 561 00:35:09,700 --> 00:35:13,300 that at all. What I'm saying is, you have to 562 00:35:13,300 --> 00:35:15,900 look at the things that are Eternal and not the things that 563 00:35:15,900 --> 00:35:18,700 are temporary by, what is the most important thing in your 564 00:35:18,700 --> 00:35:23,200 life, notice while we do not, look, it's all connected. 565 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:28,400 We don't lose heart, we don't chicken out, we don't lose hope 566 00:35:28,500 --> 00:35:31,100 we don't give up since that's what. 567 00:35:31,100 --> 00:35:33,500 Even though mean since our outward man is perishing? 568 00:35:33,500 --> 00:35:36,400 We know that yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 569 00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:39,400 So I'm going to be focused on the spiritual, not the physical, 570 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:41,200 these things that I'm going through. 571 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:43,800 May be very difficult, but it's really light Affliction. 572 00:35:44,100 --> 00:35:46,800 And you know what it's doing. It's actually helping me, it is 573 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:51,100 increasing my capacity to serve God in this life and in heaven, 574 00:35:51,100 --> 00:35:55,000 one day, and the, here it is. while we do not look at the 575 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:58,500 things which are seen, But at the things which are not seen 576 00:35:58,500 --> 00:36:01,900 for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things 577 00:36:01,900 --> 00:36:06,800 which are not seen are Eternal, you know, in verse 18, He says, 578 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:13,400 while we do not look, you know, the opposite of that is the 579 00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:15,200 opposite of that is when we do look. 580 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,100 So we're not looking at things that are temporary. 581 00:36:19,100 --> 00:36:25,100 We are looking at things that are eternal You know, the Bible 582 00:36:25,100 --> 00:36:28,900 talks about your eye, be single, the flip side of that would be 583 00:36:28,900 --> 00:36:32,900 like a double banded. A double-minded man, unstable in 584 00:36:32,900 --> 00:36:39,500 all his ways, but your eye has to be single Here's a phrase 585 00:36:39,500 --> 00:36:42,000 that I tell my football teams that I've coached over the 586 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:45,000 years, and the reason that I do is because it has nothing to do 587 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:47,600 with football, even though it was Nina was on a TV show about 588 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:49,100 a football program, it's Clear Eyes. 589 00:36:49,100 --> 00:36:51,700 Full Hearts. Can't lose, I believe 590 00:36:51,700 --> 00:36:54,400 wholeheartedly in that and had nothing to do with football. 591 00:36:55,100 --> 00:36:59,300 I researched that phrase and it said it was used by a lot of 592 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:04,600 cancer patients, and the idea is Clear Eyes. 593 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:11,200 If you have focused eyes and you're focused in this case on 594 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:15,400 the Eternal you are focused on what is right. 595 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:20,300 If you have clear eyes And a full heart. 596 00:37:20,300 --> 00:37:22,600 You know what that means? That means you rid your heart of 597 00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:26,500 all the negativity, all the hatred, all the bad stuff, and 598 00:37:26,500 --> 00:37:29,800 you fill it with that, which is right and good, and the love of 599 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:32,900 your family and the love of the church and a love of the Lord. 600 00:37:32,900 --> 00:37:38,000 And I love for The Souls of men. You cannot lose. 601 00:37:40,300 --> 00:37:42,300 And it doesn't matter the score at the end of the game. 602 00:37:44,700 --> 00:37:47,500 Because if you can have clear eyes and Full Hearts, you just 603 00:37:47,500 --> 00:37:49,300 became the greatest version of yourself. 604 00:37:51,100 --> 00:37:55,600 And that's all you can do. Starts with where you look at, 605 00:37:55,600 --> 00:37:58,500 folks. Where's your eyes? 606 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:02,500 Your eyes on that, which is eternal or our eyes, by the way 607 00:38:02,500 --> 00:38:06,200 of importance, on the things that are temporary is the world 608 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:07,800 more important than the church to me. 609 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:12,600 Is my priorities out of whack because I have all this stuff 610 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:14,900 going on but the Lord's church is over here. 611 00:38:16,500 --> 00:38:18,400 When you think about the spiritual things you were 612 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:21,200 thinking about the things that are Eternal, you have to change 613 00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:24,000 your thinking. He says, we don't look at the 614 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:26,100 things that are seen or temporary. 615 00:38:27,100 --> 00:38:28,500 We look for things that are eternal. 616 00:38:29,700 --> 00:38:32,500 Spiritually speaking. Let your eye be single. 617 00:38:33,300 --> 00:38:37,300 Paul's concern was God. Jesus Christ. 618 00:38:37,500 --> 00:38:41,300 And The Souls of men, the things that were Eternal. 619 00:38:41,500 --> 00:38:44,900 So summing up. And finally, I'm going to tell 620 00:38:44,900 --> 00:38:47,600 you something, folks. Get ready for it. 621 00:38:48,900 --> 00:38:51,300 But suffering is going to happen in your life. 622 00:38:53,400 --> 00:38:58,400 It is. You cannot handle the sufferings 623 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:02,100 of life. If you don't have the proper 624 00:39:02,100 --> 00:39:06,900 perspective and your eye is not fixed and focused on that which 625 00:39:06,900 --> 00:39:09,000 it should be, you know what you're going to do, you're going 626 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:11,400 to be tossed to and fro. You're going to be slung around, 627 00:39:11,400 --> 00:39:13,000 you're going to be in trouble, you're going to have to need 628 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:15,200 help, and it is this and that all these things are gonna go 629 00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:16,700 wrong. You're going to want to quit. 630 00:39:16,700 --> 00:39:21,400 You're going to want to give up. But if your eyes fixed on that 631 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:24,800 which is eternal, and you value the spiritual, over the 632 00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:28,300 physical, you value, that which is in the future, more than the 633 00:39:28,300 --> 00:39:31,900 present. And that which is spiritual 634 00:39:31,900 --> 00:39:34,300 rather, an eternal rather than that which is physical. 635 00:39:35,500 --> 00:39:38,200 You can endure. To the end. 636 00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:41,300 We have a spiritual strength, folks. 637 00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:46,500 In our endurance, have you ever stopped to consider? 638 00:39:48,500 --> 00:39:51,800 And I'll say this in closing. Have you ever stopped to 639 00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:55,100 consider? That there may be a trial of 640 00:39:55,100 --> 00:39:57,500 your faith. It's exclusive to that. 641 00:39:57,900 --> 00:39:59,400 There may be a trial of your faith. 642 00:40:00,100 --> 00:40:05,200 That seems so difficult. But it's adding to your capacity 643 00:40:05,200 --> 00:40:08,200 to serve God later while you're still living down the road. 644 00:40:09,500 --> 00:40:13,500 It's going to give you patience that you need later down the 645 00:40:13,500 --> 00:40:18,500 road. And when we get to heaven, it's 646 00:40:18,500 --> 00:40:21,400 going to increase our capacity to serve praised and honored God 647 00:40:21,400 --> 00:40:22,700 for eternity that's pretty good stuff. 648 00:40:22,700 --> 00:40:27,400 That is the Eternal weight of Glory.