1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:04,520 Well, it is good to be worshipping again this 2 00:00:04,520 --> 00:00:06,520 afternoon. It's good to see everyone that's 3 00:00:06,520 --> 00:00:09,200 here. And as I announced this morning, 4 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,560 we're going to talk for a little while this afternoon on faith 5 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,440 through life seasons. And by this, I'm talking about 6 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:21,880 from all the way from the young ones who were just old enough to 7 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:24,160 understand a little bit of what I say today. 8 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:25,760 I'm going to put it in the front. 9 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:30,360 So if we lose their attention, that'll be all right, all right, 10 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:34,440 we'll deal with it all the way through the different seasons of 11 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:36,800 life. We're going to start with 12 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:41,560 Hebrews 11 and one where it says now faith is the substance of 13 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:46,800 things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. 14 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:51,360 The outline we're going to cover is children. 15 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,720 When I say children in this first aspect, I'm talking about 16 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:58,760 those who you're under your parents authority, you're still 17 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,200 living at home, you know, mom and dad get to tell you what to 18 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:04,040 do. What does faith look like for 19 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,040 someone in that age group? It exists. 20 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,000 We know it exists. There's examples of it. 21 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,360 I won't spend time on that at this point. 22 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,880 But anybody that's of this age that they understand, they 23 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:18,120 understand they have faith on some level. 24 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:23,320 Our children at very young age 5-6 started talking about one to 25 00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:26,800 be baptized very young. They they're getting this. 26 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:31,240 They have a level of faith. But I would say at those ages we 27 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:33,120 talked to them, they didn't understand sin. 28 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,440 They just knew they believed in this God and they knew they, 29 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:38,560 they trusted what was around them. 30 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,320 That grew until the point they were making decisions for 31 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:45,360 themself that they wanted to commit their life to God and 32 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:48,080 they knew they needed him. But these children we're talking 33 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:49,360 about, you're under your parents authority. 34 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,240 You live at home, you know, they get to tell you what to do. 35 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,480 Young men and women. Now, for this, I don't actually 36 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,560 have a parenthetical explanation, but this is 37 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:03,000 basically any number of young people up until you're married 38 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,360 and you have your own home. Sometimes these young people are 39 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,680 still living at home. And in a way, mom and dad get to 40 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:10,440 say what to do. After all, they got to pay the 41 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:11,840 bills. And so you can't tick them off 42 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:16,360 too much. But at the same time, you've got 43 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:18,240 freedoms. You can go out, you can go drive 44 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:19,920 somewhere, and they're not going to know what you're doing. 45 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:25,640 Faith is important in this season of life when mom and dad 46 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:29,320 maybe still have some pretty serious influence in your life, 47 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:31,640 but they can't really enforce it all the time. 48 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:35,760 Marriage. Now you've got your own home. 49 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:41,200 The perfect and the painful. Both seasons of perfect and 50 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,240 painful need faith. Without it, they can be very 51 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:46,760 disruptive. Raising children. 52 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,440 The perfect and the painful raising children can be great. 53 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:53,760 Raising children can seem like what in the world? 54 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:55,360 How are we going to get through this? 55 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:58,480 Faith is required in both those senses. 56 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:04,480 The empty nest when the kids are all gone, you know, many when I 57 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:06,720 was young, I thought, well, man, that's when faith is like 58 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:10,080 coasting. And I've come to find out not 59 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,040 only in my own life, but in the life of a lot of others, When 60 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:17,840 the fam, when the nest becomes empty, faith sometimes is you 61 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:23,000 face your greatest challenge when the load gets too heavy. 62 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,160 This applies to every one of these groups. 63 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:27,200 When you just don't think you can do it anymore. 64 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:30,640 What is faith? What's the rule for faith there? 65 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,240 And when the end is near, when I'm talking about the end, I'm 66 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:38,600 talking about death, that when we get to the point that we 67 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:42,680 realize it's happening, am I ready? 68 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:45,840 How are we going to deal with this? 69 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,680 Faith is important every one of these seasons of life. 70 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:51,440 And so for a few minutes you're like, how are we going to cover 71 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:54,120 all that territory in such a short amount of time? 72 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:58,320 We got to concentrate back on Hebrews 11 and one faith. 73 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:00,800 What is the word faith there? It comes from a Greek word, 74 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:05,120 literally means persuasion or conviction of the truth. 75 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:09,160 When I use this word faith, I'm saying it's something you are 76 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:11,400 persuaded about. You are convicted. 77 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,200 It's right. I told you this morning, 78 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:16,760 everybody that has ever lived on the face of this earth, 79 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:19,959 everybody that lives right now, has ever lived throughout time. 80 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:25,560 They lived by faith. Even the atheist, everybody 81 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:29,320 lives by faith. They are convicted, they are 82 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:33,560 persuaded by something that they can't prove. 83 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,520 Sometimes they'll say they're going to stand behind science, 84 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:41,200 but you keep chasing them down that rabbit hole of what they 85 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,720 call science and they get to something that depending on the 86 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:47,880 generation you're in. When I was at the peak of it, it 87 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:51,920 was dark matter and that was their word for saying they knew. 88 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,000 When they look at all the energy in the universe, they can still 89 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,320 only find 10% of the amount of energy needed to create what 90 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:01,960 exists in this universe. They need more energy and they 91 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:04,320 find it in dark matter. And you know what that is for 92 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:06,320 them? It's in a parallel dimension. 93 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:09,600 Now the Christian says, we've been telling you all along 94 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:12,120 there's a parallel dimension. There's a God there. 95 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:14,560 It's not dark matter, It's the light. 96 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:19,040 Light and darkness even in this realm is over it. 97 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:21,920 Faith, it's what you believe in. It's what you're persuaded 98 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:26,280 about, what you're convicted of. It's the substance comes from a 99 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:28,080 Greek word literally means to set under. 100 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,160 This is going to hold you up. This is something that's going 101 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:37,000 to support things. It's a foundation or a thing put 102 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,640 under things hoped for. Now this word hope here is not 103 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:44,600 like hope as in well, maybe I don't know, I hope it happens. 104 00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:49,640 This is hope as in an earnest expectation literally means to 105 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,360 expect or to trust it's going to happen. 106 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,800 That's this hope. It's not Maybe I just kind of 107 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:58,960 hope. So this is, this is my hope. 108 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:01,160 This is where I am placing my trust. 109 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:06,440 Your faith, your conviction is the foundation that supports 110 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:10,320 your expectations. Whatever you expect out of life, 111 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:15,560 that's because of faith. Now, sometimes we learn it 112 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:18,000 through repetition. It's like I know that if I fill 113 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,480 my gas tank up or my diesel tank on my truck, I'm going to make 114 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,040 it about 300 miles. I have faith that's going to 115 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:26,640 happen. I have faith I can get back on 116 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,160 the highway and go again. It's I expect it. 117 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:31,800 It's happens over and over. People do it all the time. 118 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:35,560 That is this kind of hope. It's something you expect. 119 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,640 Your faith is the conviction or the foundation that supports 120 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:42,960 whatever you expect. Faith also is the evidence of 121 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:47,240 things not seen. Again, it's the exact same word, 122 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:49,680 faith, which means things you're persuaded about, things you're 123 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:51,840 convicted of. Evidence comes from a Greek 124 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:55,560 word, means proof. This word is only used one other 125 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:57,960 time in the New Testament. And so I'm going to take the 126 00:06:57,960 --> 00:06:59,640 time real quick to point it out to you. 127 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:04,560 It's Second Timothy 316 or yeah. All Scripture is given by the 128 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,680 inspiration of God. It is profitable for doctrine, 129 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:12,440 for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness. 130 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:16,400 This word reproof is the exact same Greek word that's used. 131 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:21,000 It's called proof in Hebrews 11 and one this, I don't know about 132 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,440 you. This resets my understanding of 133 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,880 what Scripture is good for. I kind of have set that as in 134 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:28,880 reproof as being something to fix. 135 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,040 It's a proof. Now when things get proven to 136 00:07:33,040 --> 00:07:35,800 us, we do fix it when it says, look, I can prove to you that's 137 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:37,840 what we commune the way we did this morning. 138 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:39,640 It's because of the Bible and we see it and you say, OK, I'm 139 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:41,800 going to do it. Sometimes that means fix 140 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:43,760 something. Sometimes that just simply means 141 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:48,680 to prove it. Faith, this persuasion, there's 142 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:53,040 conviction, is the proof we have for things not seen literally, 143 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:57,000 things you can't look at to look at figuratively to understand 144 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:00,360 this is really important as we get into the seasons of life. 145 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:06,280 Our conviction, whatever we're persuaded out, will prove what 146 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:10,120 we cannot understand. We'll prove things we can't look 147 00:08:10,120 --> 00:08:13,400 at. We just expect it's going to 148 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:15,560 happen, and it's an earnest expectation. 149 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,960 Your faith, your conviction is the proof for what you cannot 150 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:24,040 look at or understand yet. How does Hebrews at 11 O1 apply 151 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,600 to children? When you're at home, you're 152 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,640 still telling mom and dad tells you what to do. 153 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,200 I'm going to give you a hint as to how you can find out if you 154 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:35,640 have faith in God's Word or not. Ephesians 6 and one says, 155 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:39,880 children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. 156 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,039 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment 157 00:08:43,039 --> 00:08:46,960 with promise that it may be well with you and you may live long 158 00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,480 on the earth. What child does not want to live 159 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,600 long? What child wants to just die? 160 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,920 I know some children that have been older on the child spectrum 161 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:03,960 that we're embarrassed to death, but we want long lives, we want 162 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:05,560 healthy lives, we want good lives. 163 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:09,680 If you're a child, if you understand anything that this 164 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:13,280 lesson is about right now, honor your father and mother, obey 165 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,640 your parents because that is the first commandment that God ever 166 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,800 gave to man under the old covenant, the 10 commandments 167 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,960 that also came with the promise that it would be well with you 168 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:25,400 and you may live long on the earth. 169 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:30,040 Jesus, what a wonderful example of what to do as a young child. 170 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:33,880 At 12 years old, he went to the feast of the Passover, the one 171 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:37,360 we talked about this morning. He went there, the whole family 172 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:39,560 went there. They went there and then when it 173 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:41,880 was over, they were headed home. Do you remember they went a 174 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,600 day's journey before Jesus parents realized he wasn't 175 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:47,960 there. Now I've talked about this in a 176 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:49,760 previous lesson. I won't go into all the details, 177 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:51,800 but I can understand how somebody gets left alone. 178 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:54,280 I told you this morning we had a huge family, the Butler site. 179 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:57,880 We, we had people left in town because you just assumed they 180 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:00,040 were in another truck. They were with somebody else. 181 00:10:00,560 --> 00:10:03,440 Jesus parents went a day's journey before they realized he 182 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,520 wasn't there. They have to go another day's 183 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:08,240 journey to get back to Jerusalem. 184 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:12,200 The scripture says after three days they found him. 185 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:15,080 And where did they find him? In the temple. 186 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,280 He was listening to them. He was asking them questions. 187 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:21,440 He was answering their questions. 188 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:23,520 And his parents marveled at that. 189 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:27,080 Do you remember that? What did they marvel at? 190 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:29,440 Oh, you're so good. We need to just leave you here. 191 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:31,960 This is where you belong. No, they said hers. 192 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:34,920 Mother Mary said your father and I have sought you soaring. 193 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:40,480 Where have you been? And what Jesus say, don't you 194 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:42,680 want me to be about my father's business? 195 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,240 Now listen, sometimes the reason kids don't obey their parents is 196 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:50,240 because they don't we, they don't think Mom and Dad 197 00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:52,920 understand. They don't get me. 198 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,520 They don't understand I need to do this and I can't do what they 199 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:58,920 say. If ever a kid, if ever a child 200 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:03,000 had parents that didn't understand and had pure motives, 201 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,400 it was this. Jesus at 12 years old, he wanted 202 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:08,800 to be in the temple. He wanted to be in Jerusalem 203 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,400 hearing them, asking questions, answering their questions. 204 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:15,160 Is that what happened? Luke 251 says. 205 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:19,400 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject 206 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:21,920 to them. But his mother kept all these 207 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:27,240 things in her heart. Jesus is a child, exemplified 208 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,600 what it's like to obey your parents, to honor your father 209 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:34,400 and mother at a time. He was fast and talking about a 210 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:37,080 prodigy. They knew he was, the people 211 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:41,200 knew he was, but he still humbled himself and he went home 212 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:44,920 and he was subject. Do you have faith? 213 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:49,720 We decide as children whether we have faith in God's will on this 214 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:53,160 at all. What about young men and women? 215 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:56,840 Timothy also speaks to this, or Paul did to Timothy. 216 00:11:57,280 --> 00:12:00,440 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the 217 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:08,040 believers in Word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in 218 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:11,480 purity. Don't let people despise your 219 00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:12,600 youth. Now I didn't realize we didn't 220 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:16,080 talk about whole Timothy was, but he's clearly talking to 221 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:19,080 someone who's young and how the young should look at this. 222 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:22,640 Early adulthood presents a lot of opportunities and 223 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:26,520 temptations. Look, when when you finally 224 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:30,680 realize nobody might actually give or catch you, you get some 225 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:34,760 choices. These don't go way away in life. 226 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:37,480 If if you're young and you think I'm just going to sow my wild 227 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:39,160 oats, look, this doesn't go away. 228 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:41,000 If you think you're going to do it while you're young and then 229 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,640 you're just going to grow out of that, you need to meet some 60 230 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:48,000 year olds. I know until you decide to walk 231 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,840 in faith, you're not stepping away from it. 232 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:53,800 This is a pattern we start as children. 233 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:56,880 If you haven't started it, then do it in early adulthood. 234 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,840 If you kept it, just keep going through it if you did before. 235 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,760 Our faith, our conviction is what insulates us from bad 236 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:07,200 choices when we can't see the harm in. 237 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:14,000 And you insert the blank. Been around long enough for 238 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,840 people that have said this Blank is filled in a lot of different 239 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:20,920 ways, whether it's sexual purity, whether it's the kind of 240 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:23,960 things we're ingesting and taking sobriety away from our 241 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:29,520 bodies to taking a little money out of the the cash register 242 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:34,000 where you work. People say, I just don't, I 243 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:35,480 don't know. I can't see how it's really 244 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:39,320 going to hurt anybody. Faith then becomes your 245 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:43,800 conviction that insulates you from such a bad choice. 246 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:46,720 Do we believe it? Do we not? 247 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:50,600 You see, it's really simple. When we started this out, you're 248 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:52,360 like, oh, how are we going to cover all that material? 249 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:54,360 It's by putting our faith in God. 250 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:58,040 Our faith and our conviction will need to be the proof for 251 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:00,080 what? We can't look at what we can't 252 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:04,200 understand yet when we can't see what's so wrong about whatever 253 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,040 it is when we read the Bible, our faith has to say, but I'm 254 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:10,960 going to do it anyway because that is what the Bible says. 255 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:13,560 How do we place this in this section? 256 00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:16,200 I want to take marriage and raising children together. 257 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,280 I realize a lot of married people never have children and 258 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:22,760 they're fine with that. But most of the married people I 259 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:24,960 know have children, and so I'm going to put them together 260 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,360 because they offer a lot of the same circumstances. 261 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:30,400 How do we deal with marriage and raising kids? 262 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,640 The perfect and the painful fact is there are times when things 263 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:40,760 are going great in marriages, in raising kids and people slip 264 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:43,600 into worldliness and sinful choices. 265 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:48,560 Been around long enough in the church and dealt with enough 266 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:50,720 marriage problems. Sometimes they happen to people 267 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:55,120 who's like, how in the world could you could this happen what 268 00:14:56,320 --> 00:15:00,400 everything looked perfect in your family and they'll say it 269 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:06,320 was had no financial problems, had no real issues, but whatever 270 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:12,280 this thing was came in this sin. It was like we behave like we 271 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:17,640 don't need God. See things can getting going so 272 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:20,400 smooth for people. They're like, I don't need God. 273 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:24,680 I got a great life. So like I'm in some third world 274 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:27,720 country where I can wonder where I'm going to eat next and I 275 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:31,760 really need God. It's amazing that sometimes when 276 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:35,680 things are so good, people can become disconnected from God and 277 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:39,000 faith suffers. There are times when things are 278 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:43,040 going horribly bad. Times when people slip into 279 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:46,000 world in this and lose confidence in God. 280 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:52,440 Thinking of one situation I had to deal with right now in which 281 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:58,080 it it got to the point in this relationship because what seemed 282 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:02,720 right was not happening, what seemed like God should be doing 283 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:04,960 and the answer to all their prayers never happened. 284 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:10,640 And because of the devastation inside to the answer being no to 285 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:15,320 their prayer, it was almost like they behave like they don't need 286 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:19,600 that kind of God. If God's not going to let me 287 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:23,960 have XYZ, if God's not going to answer my prayer when I need 288 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:29,040 this and it's just right, then I don't need that kind of God. 289 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:31,360 That's what it seems like. Why would we take either of 290 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:36,040 those positions? I submit it as simple as our 291 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:43,840 faith, our faith, our conviction will need to be the proof for 292 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:49,040 what we can't understand yet for what we can't look at when life 293 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:52,360 has situations and look the scriptures are clear about 294 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:54,960 marriage. We take a vow for marriage. 295 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,080 It's for life what man, what God has joined together. 296 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:04,079 Don't let man put us under and yet some marriages, people like 297 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,680 I cannot live the rest of my life like this. 298 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:09,640 Now they're not being beaten at night. 299 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:12,200 They're not being it's not like they're worried about their 300 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:13,760 life. They're just not happy with this 301 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:15,160 person that they thought they knew. 302 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,000 Yes, you can. You can make it. 303 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:24,720 God's not just looking to make you miserable the rest of your 304 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,480 life. You know the greatest enemy to 305 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:31,760 contentment that I know of Choice. 306 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:37,480 If you get a smorgasbord of stuff set out, you can have the 307 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:38,960 hardest time trying to decide what to get. 308 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,600 This potluck this afternoon. I don't want to be just stuffed 309 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,160 of everything, but I all these choices and I can't have them 310 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:47,080 all. So what I want to, if you had 311 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:50,160 just put out, here's some chicken, here's a green salad 312 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:56,400 and here's a Key Lime Pie or that apricot cobbler, but just 313 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:58,360 one of each. You just eat it, you're happy, 314 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:00,920 you get all those choices. And now contentment is like, 315 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:02,800 well, but I'm going to get this and I'm going to be full. 316 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:04,160 But then I didn't get to have that. 317 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:10,800 Life is kind of like that. I know people that got married 318 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:14,680 and didn't like who they married, who who the person they 319 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:19,520 married turned out to be. The only thing that caused them 320 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:22,080 to really split up was they figured they had a choice in the 321 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,200 matter and they just go find another. 322 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:27,800 The Christian doesn't have that choice. 323 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:30,920 Fascinating thing. Statistics will prove this out. 324 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:35,240 If you will stick to the choices you made, if you will stick to 325 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:38,600 the vow that you made, you will be amazed that when this doesn't 326 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,720 turn out, when you just do what God says in faith that it's 327 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:46,320 better than it ever was before. Focus on the Family has a lot of 328 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:48,720 research on this. I can't do all this and we're 329 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:50,960 not really set up as a brotherhood to do it, but 330 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:56,160 there's research done on this of I forgot. 331 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:59,560 It was 10,000 or 12,000 couples that were at the point of ready 332 00:18:59,560 --> 00:19:04,480 for divorce that went ahead and enjoying what their focus group 333 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,040 was about on trying to re establish and save these 334 00:19:07,040 --> 00:19:12,600 marriages. Over 85% of the marriages, the 335 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:18,200 people that went into it reported when it was over, they 336 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,320 were happier about the choice they made on who they married 337 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:22,720 than they were on their honeymoon. 338 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,480 Do you know what their whole focus of that was? 339 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:34,920 This is over and you're talking almost 10,000 people that said 340 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:36,680 it's even better than it was back then. 341 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,240 People that completed the program, they had a 99% success 342 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:42,960 rate on those marriages lasting. You know what they did? 343 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:44,680 There were three main things that they did. 344 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,600 They said they started worshipping together and riding 345 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:52,800 in the same car to worship services. 346 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:56,920 Like what's that have to do with anything? 347 00:19:57,280 --> 00:20:00,920 I don't know, but I can guess. But you don't need my guesses 348 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:02,680 right now. They started worshipping 349 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:06,320 together, going regularly. I don't know how they defined 350 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:07,960 regularly. I know how the Bible defines 351 00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:09,920 regularly. But they went to church and they 352 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:16,200 rode in the same car. That was 1 #2 Yeah, I'm going to 353 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:17,280 tell you. Read the Bible. 354 00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:21,960 They just got them writing, reading the same literature and 355 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:25,680 talking to one another about it. They didn't even require it was 356 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:27,000 the Bible. I'd tell you, if you're not 357 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:28,480 reading the Bible, man, that's the key. 358 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,880 They got them reading the same literature and talking to one 359 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:39,400 another. Had to be religious and #3 they 360 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,400 got them to get actively involved in their place where 361 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:49,120 they were worshiping. With what's going on, almost 362 00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:53,640 100% said our marriage is now better than it was when we first 363 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:55,200 were madly in love with each other. 364 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,720 Because now you're surrounding, you're running around a purpose. 365 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,720 What happens when these people that fall in love are falling 366 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:06,080 apart? They're no longer doing this 367 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:10,760 together. We're just doing life and 368 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:12,600 there's somebody that we got to drag with us. 369 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,840 I submit faith. Their conviction will have to be 370 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:21,720 the proof for what we can't see. If you can't see a path to 371 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:24,520 happy, then you're going to have to believe it's there and just 372 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:27,880 keep doing the right thing. The empty nest. 373 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:29,720 What is the empty nest? Some people may say, I don't 374 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:30,880 even know what you're talking about. 375 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:32,640 Empty nest syndrome is a real thing. 376 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:37,600 Empty nest syndrome is the name used to describe the sadness and 377 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:41,480 distress parents sometimes feel when their children move away 378 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:43,640 from home. This can be immediate. 379 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,360 It can also take years. You may say, ma'am, my kids 380 00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:48,240 moved away a long time ago, everything was fine and all the 381 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,360 sudden he's just not the same person. 382 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:52,800 She's just depressed all the time. 383 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,480 She's sad. It could be. 384 00:21:55,480 --> 00:22:00,040 Empty nest syndrome symptoms are sadness, anxiety, grief, 385 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:07,200 irritability, a sense of fear. This can be especially difficult 386 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:09,960 when you enter marital conflict into the problem. 387 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:13,000 You know what? Most studies, and this is on the 388 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,640 social side of things, point to lack of purpose. 389 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:20,760 You've had all these kids, you've raised the children, 390 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:22,680 however many they were. You've been busy, but it was 391 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:24,320 over 1. You just gave them all your 392 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:25,600 time. You had all this. 393 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:29,160 And then when they're gone, it's like, what is the purpose now? 394 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:32,520 What are we doing? People even begin to wonder if 395 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,680 they know each other. And I would point you to Titus 396 00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:39,560 chapter 2 verses one through 5. Now this, I don't want to go on 397 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,840 a lesson of this, but what you will find is that the older men 398 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:46,000 and the older women are reminded that they have a purpose in the 399 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:51,560 ministry of the church. Very specifically, the women are 400 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,480 asked to teach the younger women, the older women, the 401 00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:58,720 younger women. One of the things is how to love 402 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:01,480 their husbands. Interestingly enough, guys, 403 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:04,800 we're never told to help teach people to love our lives. 404 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:07,200 They're taught to teach to love us. 405 00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:15,280 You have a purpose, even when your kids are gone and you think 406 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,680 I'm growing old or whatever it is. 407 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,720 As we get older in life, the church needs us. 408 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:25,800 The church needs you, you know. I know I have had young people 409 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:33,320 at Oakdale tell me I almost didn't come tonight, but I 410 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,800 thought, you know, Leon and Doty are going to be there. 411 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:43,600 They'll name other older people. You may not know that you as an 412 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,360 older person are the reason that some of the other people are 413 00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:49,320 here, just because they know you'll be here. 414 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:56,320 You have a purpose now. I would really, as strong as I 415 00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:59,640 can, encourage you younger ladies to go and reach out to an 416 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,560 older one and the older woman to reach out to let the younger 417 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:06,280 ones know you're available because it's just not kind of 418 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,000 where our culture seems to be in most places right now. 419 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:13,760 There's always that fear of prying or that fear of trying to 420 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:19,960 give advice where advice isn't wanted, but just try to offer 421 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:23,920 your time to people. You are needed. 422 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:25,720 The Lord needs you. The church needs you. 423 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:29,760 Older men, everything that I just said could apply to that. 424 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:34,000 Our faith, our conviction will need to be the proof for what we 425 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,960 can't look at or understand yet. If in the empty nest phase of 426 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:39,960 life we're saying what is my purpose? 427 00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:43,280 Faith is going to have to be the foundation that supports us 428 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:45,600 through that. When the load's too heavy, any 429 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:47,720 group can get to the point. You think you can't go far 430 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:49,640 enough. I know you're on to me by now, 431 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:53,360 but there are times in life that every direction we cannot see 432 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:56,840 how it's going to work out. There is no way we see a path 433 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,360 forward or a way that we're going to be happy. 434 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,720 So I'll point you as we'll start to Romans chapter 5 in verse 435 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:05,240 one. It says therefore, having been 436 00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:09,720 justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord 437 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:13,520 Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into 438 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:18,200 this grace in which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory 439 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,360 of God. He says you're thinking past all 440 00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:22,360 this. You know, there are times in 441 00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:25,520 life we do that. The boys and I, we love to 442 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,040 backpack. At first I think I loved it 443 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,080 more. And I'd get home and I'd tell 444 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:33,600 Rachel the boys did so good. You know, they were little. 445 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:37,600 And now we get home and they're like, mom, Dad's doing so good. 446 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:43,400 It's not as fun as it used to be the older I get, but I still 447 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:47,400 want to do it. Why it hurts to breathe and walk 448 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:51,320 up some of those mountains. And then I also know coming down 449 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,160 may be hurt worse than going up did on the knees. 450 00:25:55,360 --> 00:25:59,960 Why do you do it? Do it for the time with them on 451 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:04,760 the top of the mountain. Because there's nothing like it 452 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,520 to me. Now. 453 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:13,040 I can understand that on climbing and walking a path out 454 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:16,000 in the middle of the wilderness. Surely I can get that when I 455 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:17,840 think of this life as a mountain. 456 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:21,720 Sometimes it's not fun. Sometimes we're just doing good 457 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:24,520 to breathe and keep carrying the load because why in the world 458 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,840 did I bring that? That is life. 459 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:32,480 Sometimes we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 460 00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:36,000 Our faith, our conviction is the foundation of this hope. 461 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:39,280 It's an expectation. I know what's there now. 462 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:41,440 We have gotten where most of the times I want to go on the 463 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:42,800 trails. I already know because I know 464 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:44,480 what's at the other end. I know it's worth it. 465 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:47,800 I used to like to go on any trail and just figure out and if 466 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:52,240 it wasn't a good one, Oh well. Now I expect that I want to go 467 00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:53,720 somewhere. I expect to see something 468 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:59,000 amazing. And not only that, don't answer 469 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:00,360 yet. Don't buy yet. 470 00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:04,520 Not only that, we also glory in tribulations, knowing that 471 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:08,000 tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance, 472 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,880 character and character hope, he says. 473 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:15,600 This process will produce hope. How is that? 474 00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:19,480 It's because some of you have already been through things in 475 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:21,520 life that you didn't think you were going to make it through, 476 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:24,360 and then you did. And you're here in this 477 00:27:24,360 --> 00:27:26,800 afternoon and you're like, OK, yeah, I've seen that happen 478 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:28,440 before. You know what happens when we 479 00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:30,800 have success? The next time we face that same 480 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:33,880 kind of deal, we're like, hey, remember it worked before we got 481 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:37,120 success. There was a study they did with 482 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:38,360 rats. I don't remember the name of the 483 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:40,160 study. You can Google it and read the 484 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,080 details of it, but they basically put rats in a VAT of 485 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,520 water to see how long they live before they drowned. 486 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:49,920 It was like a couple hours. And then they did another study 487 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:52,520 where they did that again with a group of rats, but with another 488 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:56,960 group of rats, at about the time they were given up and going to 489 00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,640 sink. They pulled them out, they dried 490 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:04,880 them off, they fed them, let them recover, and they did put 491 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:07,560 them in again. They found out the second time 492 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:11,440 they lasted like about 6 hours before they were going to give 493 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:14,040 up. They pulled them out, they dried 494 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:16,800 them off, fed them, let them get all rested again, and they put 495 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:21,360 them back in. They had rats that lasted over 496 00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:24,160 two days. Why? 497 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,440 Because even a rat figured out that they could have hoped they 498 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:31,080 were going to get rescued. They could hang on. 499 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:35,720 Now, rats can do that. We can do that. 500 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:40,160 No matter what we're going through, it'll be our faith. 501 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:42,720 Our conviction becomes the foundation of the hope. 502 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:46,680 Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been 503 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:50,160 poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 504 00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:54,040 How does this work? There is a faith that surpasses 505 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:55,760 understanding, the Scripture says. 506 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:59,400 And according to the book of Romans, the Holy Spirit being 507 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:01,880 poured out in our hearts has something to do with that. 508 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:06,080 When the load seems too heavy, our faith, our conviction is the 509 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:10,560 proof for what we can't look at or understand yet. 510 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:15,360 Finally, as we bring these to to to a conclusion when the end is 511 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:22,080 near, this lesson is it's a new one over the last year because 512 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,600 there was one season of life that I really was not didn't 513 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:27,040 feel equipped to even talk about. 514 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:33,720 And that's the end. I've seen different people go 515 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:35,880 through different seasons, but going through what we went 516 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:37,560 through with mom was totally different. 517 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:41,280 And it completed my experience with when the end is near in a 518 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,800 lot of ways. Not completed that I'm there 519 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:46,880 yet, not the completed that I think I can tell somebody all 520 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:51,480 the right things. But here is the consistent thing 521 00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:55,280 every time, whether you have a long goodbye or you got a week 522 00:29:55,280 --> 00:30:03,080 to say everything you need to say, faith really comes down to 523 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:05,720 the end. Romans chapter 8 verse 18 says, 524 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:09,400 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time 525 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:13,040 are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be 526 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,880 revealed in US. I can't even compare what's the 527 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,000 glory to whatever you're going through? 528 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:21,840 That's that's lung cancer, that's anything. 529 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,280 Nothing compares to the glory that would be revealed in us for 530 00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:30,480 we were saved in this hope. But hope that is seen is not 531 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:32,760 hope for why does 1 still hope for what he sees? 532 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,240 Think about that. You're like, well, I have hope, 533 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:36,480 but I just need to see something. 534 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:38,040 Well then it's not hope. You've seen it. 535 00:30:39,680 --> 00:30:42,760 This hope is this earnest expectation that's based on 536 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:44,600 faith, not on something you can grasp. 537 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:47,920 It's not hope when you see it. But if we hope for what we do 538 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:51,320 not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. 539 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:53,480 This word perseverance means endurance. 540 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:56,640 We will endure, and we will stay through. 541 00:30:56,640 --> 00:31:00,240 Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weakness. 542 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,920 Once again He brings the Spirit, for we do not know what we 543 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:07,800 should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes 544 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:12,120 intercession with us, for us with groanings which cannot be 545 00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:14,560 uttered. Comes from a Greek word 546 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:19,880 literally means unspeakable. The ESV says too deep for words. 547 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:24,600 There are times that we get life. 548 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:28,400 You don't even know what to pray for anymore as Cole prayed this 549 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:31,240 afternoon and he says for there's some, we pray for 550 00:31:31,240 --> 00:31:33,720 health, but sometimes that's not the answer. 551 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:35,320 And we now we don't know what to pray for. 552 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:40,880 We want peace, we want comfort. Most of all, we want God's mercy 553 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:46,920 and we want the peace that passes understanding that is 554 00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:50,000 this hope, this intercession. He says the Spirit makes 555 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,200 intercession for us when we want to pray, but we don't know what 556 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:57,280 to pray for. 2nd Corinthians 5 and 6. 557 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:01,040 So now, so we are always confident, knowing that while we 558 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,480 are home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we 559 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:08,200 walk by faith and not by sight. When we're in this body, we're 560 00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:10,760 absent from the Lord. And he says, so in that case 561 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:13,520 we're walking by faith, not by sight. 562 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:18,400 We are confident, yes, well, please rather to be absent from 563 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:20,080 the body and to be present with the Lord. 564 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:23,200 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be 565 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:25,720 well pleasing to him. He says he's come to the point 566 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:30,040 that he realizes the end is better than what I have when I'm 567 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:34,400 here in the body. Now, I got to admit there's 568 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:35,960 times that's hard for Greg to imagine. 569 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:39,160 I love my life. I love my wife. 570 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:44,400 I love my kids. But now, if I'm real honest, 571 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,840 I'll admit there's been times in that process. 572 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:51,200 It's like, how can I do this today? 573 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:57,680 Yeah, you can. How do I know I can? 574 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:02,240 That's faith. How are we going to face that 575 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:04,960 when we take something and we get to the end of life and say, 576 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:06,320 I don't know how to deal with this? 577 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:08,760 You're going to look back through childhood. 578 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:12,720 You're going to look back when you were a young adult. 579 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:19,320 You look at those years of the middle age and older, and you're 580 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:21,600 going to think of all those times that you've seen God's 581 00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:23,720 will work even when your decisions were bad. 582 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:27,760 Here you are today, even when you know some of the things that 583 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:29,360 happened back then. Maybe you shouldn't even be 584 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:35,640 alive today, and you are. That is all, equipping you for 585 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:39,360 the hope you need for the end that there is hope, so that you 586 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:42,400 can know that whether present here or absent from here and 587 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:45,000 with the Lord, you want to be well pleasing to Him. 588 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,400 For why we must all appear before the judgment seat of 589 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:51,120 Christ, that each one may receive the things done in His 590 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:55,240 body according to what He has done, whether good or bad. 591 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:59,560 We know we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 592 00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:04,000 Somebody says, oh good, because Christ, he's merciful, He won't 593 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,520 put anybody. Everything will be all good. 594 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:11,159 Verse 11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade 595 00:34:11,159 --> 00:34:15,239 men. I'm assuming you're the Sunday 596 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:18,679 afternoon crowd. I'm preaching to the choir, but 597 00:34:18,679 --> 00:34:22,960 just in case I'm not and you're here just because whatever 598 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:29,600 reason you're right or you're just curious, but you know 599 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:33,679 you're not ready. Paul told the church here we 600 00:34:33,679 --> 00:34:40,719 persuade people because the terror of the Lord's real Jesus 601 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:45,440 says I didn't come to judge the world, but the very next thing 602 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:48,920 he says was, but the words that I speak, they shall judge them 603 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:51,080 in the last day because they're not my words. 604 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:57,080 God gave me these words. Paul knew that and therefore he 605 00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:00,240 says we persuade men. Can you relate to one of these 606 00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:03,400 life seasons We've talked about children trying to figure out 607 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:08,240 what next. What am I supposed to be focus 608 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:13,560 on honoring your parents focus on his will parents if they're 609 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:16,920 too young to get this right now, focus on teaching them to obey 610 00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:19,440 you and honor you. You're like that honor part's 611 00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:24,160 hard. I can make them obey, but keep 612 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:27,120 working. Best advice I can give is don't 613 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:30,000 give up. Young men and young women 614 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:32,880 confused about your future, Keep your faith on the Lord. 615 00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:34,680 Your marriage is struggling today. 616 00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:36,760 I'm going to tell you the Lord's going to be the thing that keeps 617 00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:38,680 it together. You're raising children and it 618 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:40,440 feels overwhelming. I'm going to tell you that's the 619 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:42,160 Lord and your faith in Him. That's going to keep it 620 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:43,760 together. Your nest is empty. 621 00:35:43,960 --> 00:35:46,320 You've made it through those things, but you've now feel like 622 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:48,240 blank and dole and you don't know what to do with it. 623 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:50,400 Focus on the Lord. He's going to make it work. 624 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:53,000 The load is just too heavy and you don't think you can naked in 625 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:54,680 any of these. Focus on the Lord. 626 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:59,000 The end is near and your life is fleeting away. 627 00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:04,280 It's the same answer in every season of life. 628 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:10,840 It's focusing on the Lord. Your faith feels so weak and 629 00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:13,120 you're like I believe, but it just feels insufficient. 630 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:16,120 The last example I'll leave you with this afternoon is the 631 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:20,120 father of the boy with a mute spirit, as it describes it. 632 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:22,640 It sounds like to me he had grand Mal seizures. 633 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:26,800 I'm not a doctor, but he came to Jesus in Mark Chapter 9 verse 634 00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:30,120 18, and he said whenever it seizes him, it throws him down. 635 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:33,280 He foams at the mouth, he gnashes his teeth and become 636 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:37,480 rigid. I got it work for me when I did 637 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:40,000 a job in Oklahoma. This is what happened on one of 638 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:44,320 our days. OK, so when I think about that, 639 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:47,480 being one of my kids, I can't imagine the anxiety of a parent. 640 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:52,480 They didn't know as much about this back then, this thousands 641 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:55,880 of years ago. He's begging with Jesus to 642 00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:58,480 please heal his son. And he asked his father, how 643 00:36:58,480 --> 00:36:59,880 long has this been happening to him? 644 00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:03,440 He said from the childhood. And often he's thrown himself 645 00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:06,960 both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. 646 00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:10,480 You already know we like to camp. 647 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:13,640 We had the kids up this last hunting season, the last week, 648 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:16,960 and it was cold and snowed and we had this fire and it was all 649 00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:19,800 cool, right? Except everybody's paranoid. 650 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:22,680 The kids run around the fire. Somebody just falls that way, 651 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:27,160 right? This man's son has thrown 652 00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:29,800 himself into the fire when he's had one of these seizures. 653 00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:35,840 If you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. 654 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,880 And Jesus said, if you can believe, all things are possible 655 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:41,680 to him who believes and immediately the father of child 656 00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:44,360 cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help my 657 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:48,880 unbelief. I can relate to that. 658 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:51,840 When you're you're here on a Sunday afternoon because you 659 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:54,920 believe on some level, but you, there's just another level of 660 00:37:54,920 --> 00:38:00,320 belief you know, you need. What I'm going to say is you 661 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:03,160 keep coming on Sunday afternoon. You keep coming. 662 00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:07,920 Do not give up. It is a relentless pursuit of 663 00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:13,080 this faith, as Peter says, until the day dawns and the day star 664 00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:17,200 rises in your hearts and it will happen. 665 00:38:18,480 --> 00:38:21,520 It absolutely will happen. Does your faith supports? 666 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:24,640 Does your faith support the foundation of your hopes? 667 00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:29,400 Is your faith the proof of what you don't understand? 668 00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:32,920 If it's not Hebrews 11 and six, we talked about it this morning. 669 00:38:33,080 --> 00:38:35,040 Without faith, it's impossible to please Him. 670 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:37,240 We need to repent. Luke 13 and three. 671 00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:39,520 We need to be willing to confess him before men. 672 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:41,880 Romans 10 and 10 and be baptized. 673 00:38:42,240 --> 00:38:44,560 That's how we put on Christ. As many of you have been 674 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:47,360 baptized into Christ, have put on Christ Today, if you're a 675 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:51,800 Christian, you've obeyed the gospel, but you sinned and you 676 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:54,080 know that you need to to change things. 677 00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:56,000 That doesn't mean you have to be re baptized. 678 00:38:57,720 --> 00:38:59,840 You can pray to God. He's willing, He's faithful and 679 00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:02,240 just to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. 680 00:39:02,240 --> 00:39:05,280 First John 18 and 9:00. But if you want the prayers of 681 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:08,120 the church according to James 516, then we'll pray with you. 682 00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:11,520 We'll pray for you. We want to encourage you. 683 00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:15,880 Keep the faith no matter what season you're in or what season 684 00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:19,480 you're headed to. If we can be of assistive 685 00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:21,520 evening, won't you come as we stand and see?