1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:09,080 Hello, hope you've all had a wonderful week so far and if 2 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:11,920 not, have No Fear, we're at the halfway point. 3 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:17,320 Thank you Pastor Blake for inviting me up here to be able 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:22,120 to share with not only the usual Wednesday night crowd, but also 5 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,600 those watching online and those who came out tonight just to 6 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:27,200 support me. Thank you for being here. 7 00:00:27,200 --> 00:00:34,360 You're welcome. Before I really begin, I wanted 8 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:37,480 to give a little disclaimer. If you've ever had a 9 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:41,280 conversation with me, most likely it was pretty main, like 10 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:45,400 1 sided, probably just stood there going yeah. 11 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:50,440 Or I was standing silently in the group letting everyone else 12 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:54,040 go back and forth. Maybe you haven't spoken to me 13 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:57,880 at all, but you just see me sitting off in the back kind of 14 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,440 just watching everything go on. Or you have absolutely no idea 15 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:05,000 who I am at all. Chances are, regardless of 16 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,560 whatever group you fall into, you probably don't know too much 17 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,320 about me. That's going to change tonight, 18 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:16,120 whether you want it to or not. There's some testimony in this, 19 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:20,600 and trust me, I know in the grand scheme of things, my life 20 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,800 has not been hard at all. But when you're going through 21 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:28,520 something, no matter how big or small it is, it feels like the 22 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,440 end of the world until you're on the other side of it. 23 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,440 I'm naive about a lot, but I'm not naive enough to say that 24 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:39,640 I've had it the worst. And I encourage you if you're 25 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,600 listening to this and you want to share some of your own 26 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:46,320 trials. I may look like a wallflower 27 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:51,000 hanging in the back, but I am happy to always listen to 28 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,880 whatever you may need to say. I have a bad tendency to have a 29 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:58,880 face that sometimes screams don't approach. 30 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,520 I try to fix it, but sometimes it doesn't stay fixed. 31 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,960 I promise though, no matter what my face says, I'm always happy 32 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:10,080 to listen and to pray with and for you. 33 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:17,240 Disclaimer over, shortly after VBS ended, Blake sat us and 34 00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:21,200 turns down right in this front row and asked us if we were 35 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:27,280 ready to choose our Wednesday. My initial response was a wide 36 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:31,880 eyed stare while my internal monologue screamed no. 37 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:37,520 I've only been attending Liberty for shortly over a year. 38 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:42,280 So last year the interns did their Wednesday night message in 39 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:45,600 November and December. I thought that I had three more 40 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:50,320 months to stress out about this. So instead of saying no, I told 41 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,840 Blake a very timid. Well, that's a really busy month 42 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:58,040 because I'm a teacher and this week is our first week back. 43 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:00,600 So it's get your classroom ready week. 44 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:04,560 And having taken a year off of teaching, I have a lot to move 45 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,880 in. But if I'm being honest, the 46 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,000 entire second-half of the year is a really busy month. 47 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:16,840 My husband is a school resource officer and a Methodist pastor, 48 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,760 so from here on now it's football games, festivals, and 49 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:24,560 church events galore. As he tends to do. 50 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,360 Blake called me out on it, and thus, here I am tonight. 51 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:33,560 His prompt for us was what I know now and or what I wish I 52 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,280 knew. There's a lot of different ways 53 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:38,080 to address either of those statements. 54 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:43,920 In preparing for tonight, any time that someone asked me how I 55 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:50,400 was feeling about it, I just kind of gave AI don't like 56 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:54,520 speaking in front of people, and then I'd be hit with but you're 57 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:59,440 a teacher. Yeah, but I teach 20 to 3015 58 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:03,400 year olds in math. I don't know if you all know 59 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,560 this. Factoring a quadratic is a lot 60 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:10,080 different than this. This is a little more 61 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,240 intimidating. It's just a few more than my 62 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:18,519 usual classroom. For those who don't know, I'm 63 00:04:18,519 --> 00:04:20,680 not in the same boat as my fellow interns. 64 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:24,440 Despite being a pastor's wife, I am a baby Christian. 65 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:29,120 I wasn't raised with religion. I was 20 when I finally made the 66 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:34,240 choice to accept Jesus. This was back in 2019, and two 67 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,720 months after I accepted Christ, I was baptized by my 68 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,720 father-in-law. Who is also a Methodist pastor. 69 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:46,440 Two years later my husband and I got married and shortly after 70 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:49,120 the wedding that's when he told me that he was going back to 71 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:54,720 school to become a pastor. So to recap, 20 years of no 72 00:04:54,720 --> 00:05:00,680 religion, two years of attending church semi regularly when I was 73 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:05,880 in town, and then pastor's wife. At the time I barely knew what 74 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,320 it was to be a Christian, let alone a pastor's wife. 75 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:11,160 So I did what I thought was right. 76 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:16,120 I went to church every Sunday, I memorized the hymns, I memorized 77 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,840 the prayers, and I played the part of a supportive wife. 78 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:24,640 But there was no depth for me. That was my fault. 79 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,960 I wasn't in the word daily, I wasn't praying constantly, I 80 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:31,960 wasn't even really trying to learn. 81 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:36,360 It wasn't until I came here to liberty that I realized I was 82 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:40,120 doing it all wrong. I started reading my Bible, I've 83 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:43,480 opened up in prayer, and I became an intern just because I 84 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:46,640 wanted to know more, not because of the public speaking. 85 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,080 This is no knock on my husband. I just found that the Methodist 86 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:58,400 method didn't jive with me. What can I say? 87 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:04,240 I really like the worship here. So this prompt, what I know now, 88 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,680 Well, I know a lot more than I did before, considering I knew 89 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:13,280 nothing. What I wish I knew all of it. 90 00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:17,200 I wish that I knew what it was like to have a group like 91 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,600 Elevate in middle and high school going on cool outings 92 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:23,400 like laser tag with amazing mentors. 93 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,640 A group full of peers that would pray for me instead of mock me. 94 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:33,280 I wish I knew in middle school that therapy was in fact a safe 95 00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:35,960 space. That I could have let out all of 96 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,520 the heart and the anger and the bitterness. 97 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:42,680 That I didn't need to put on a smile and act like everything 98 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:45,120 was perfectly fine when it was anything but. 99 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:51,880 I wish I knew when I was 15 that I wasn't alone. 100 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,680 That the words of that boy said to me were the furthest thing 101 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,720 from the truth and that not only was I loved by my friends and my 102 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,040 family, but that there was someone who loved me even more. 103 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:09,160 I wish I knew that he was the one who saved me for myself. 104 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:15,040 I wish I knew at 16 what biblical intimacy was and the 105 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,800 true power behind the word no, and that anyone who doesn't take 106 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,160 no for an answer is the one who is in the wrong. 107 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,120 I wish I knew in college that a relationship with Jesus would 108 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:29,840 have been way more helpful in healing and finding myself than 109 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:35,440 everything else that I did. I wish that I'd known Christ 110 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:39,280 long before I went to the State Fair in 2019 and started my 111 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:43,560 faith journey. And I wish that I'd known just 112 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,160 how fast faith can grab hold of you and pull you into a calling. 113 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,720 Maybe I would have been a little more understanding with Josh at 114 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:55,400 the beginning of our marriage. There's plenty more I wish I had 115 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:57,840 knowns, but Blake gave me a time limit. 116 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:01,320 So we'll get off the autumn train and take a look at what 117 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:03,360 Scripture says regarding the things that we go through in 118 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:06,880 life. Blake touched on this on Sunday. 119 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:11,480 But for a long time, one of my favorite Bible verses, in fact, 120 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:15,120 the first one that I ever memorized was Jeremiah 2911. 121 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,560 For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to 122 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:23,040 prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope in the 123 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:25,720 future. It just makes you feel out, warm 124 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,160 and fuzzy inside. God will never do anything to 125 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:30,880 hurt me. It says it right there. 126 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:33,080 Anything that hurts me must not be from God. 127 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,120 Not exactly. And that's why context is 128 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:40,760 important. Because if you read the full 129 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,120 story in chapter 29, it's so much more. 130 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:47,600 Chapter 29 is a letter that Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to 131 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,600 the surviving elder exiles, priests, and prophets in 132 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:54,160 Babylon. It's a promise from God telling 133 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:58,040 these people to build houses, settle down, plant gardens, 134 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:00,240 marry, have children and grandchildren. 135 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,720 He tells them to pray to the Lord for the city that they were 136 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:07,440 exiled to because if it prospers, they too would 137 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:11,200 prosper. He goes on to warn against false 138 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:14,200 prophets. And then in verse 10, the Lord 139 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,040 said, when 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will 140 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:20,960 come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to 141 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:24,160 this place. And then we get verse 11, the 142 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:30,400 warm and fuzzies. But 70 years, they had to wait 143 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:34,240 70 years following these instructions for the promise of 144 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:37,560 God to come through. I'm only 27. 145 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,160 I would be shocked if I made it 70 years. 146 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:46,400 Think about all of those people who never made it those 70 147 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:50,040 years. They never got to see God's 148 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,960 promise fulfilled, but they were still part of the plan. 149 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:58,160 They laid the foundation. They multiplied in numbers. 150 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:01,040 They followed the instructions laid out by God. 151 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:06,000 They endured all that time knowing they wouldn't make it to 152 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,680 the end, but they did it so that way their loved ones could one 153 00:10:09,680 --> 00:10:15,400 day see the promise fulfilled. So after laying out the 154 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,840 directions and telling Jeremiah that he has plans starting in 155 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:22,440 verse 12, God says, then you will call on me and come and 156 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:24,160 pray to me, and I will listen to you. 157 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:27,680 You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your 158 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:30,200 heart. I will be found by you, declares 159 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:32,920 the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity. 160 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:38,720 This is telling of where these people are at in their faith and 161 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,240 their relationship or their lack of relationship with God. 162 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:47,200 They've gotten complacent. They aren't reaching out to Him. 163 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:53,600 God has to tell them twice to pray during the 70 years they 164 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:58,800 need to pray for Babylon, and then after they need to pray 165 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:00,880 again, seeking God with all of their heart. 166 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:05,320 That's something that we really need to remember in the times 167 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,400 that try us. When we're going through 168 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:12,600 something, we get complacent, especially when it seems like 169 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:17,320 the season is lasting forever. When I start to get into my 170 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:22,000 feels, I let whatever is going going on at the time get to me 171 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:24,720 and I find myself doom scrolling online. 172 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:30,880 I'm not sure which algorithm is watching me so closely, but on 173 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,960 those days that I'm doomed, scrolling my Facebook feed tends 174 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:37,040 to provide more positive Christian affirmation posts than 175 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,960 usual. Admittedly, sometimes I get a 176 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:44,080 little frustrated because I just want to wallow in what I'm 177 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:48,200 feeling, but the posts are usually pretty on point for 178 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:52,600 those times. So one day while I'm scrolling, 179 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:57,000 shortly after getting this assignment, I come across a post 180 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:00,400 about Daniel Chapter 3. At the time, I didn't know the 181 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:04,720 story, so I grabbed my Bible. I started reading, went back to 182 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:09,400 the post, read it again, and then I thank God and whatever 183 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:13,000 meta algorithm tracks your thought process, and I began to 184 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:18,160 write my outline for tonight. So if you don't know the story 185 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:21,120 of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, here it is. 186 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:26,960 Daniel chapter 3 starts with King Nebuchadnezzar building a 187 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,840 massive golden image in Babylon. He then gathers together 188 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:35,840 prefects, governors, advisors, treasurers, judges, magistrates. 189 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:38,160 There's a lot of lists in this chapter. 190 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:42,400 Essentially he brings together a large group in front of this 191 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:46,000 golden image and in verse 4 it states. 192 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:50,000 Then the herald loudly proclaimed nations and peoples 193 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,640 of every language. This is what you are commanded 194 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,480 to do. As soon as you hear the sound of 195 00:12:55,480 --> 00:13:00,080 the horn, flute, zyther, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of 196 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,680 music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that 197 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:07,960 King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and 198 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:11,280 worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. 199 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:18,960 It's just a little extreme. So at the threat of death by 200 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:22,480 fire, as soon as this group of people heard music, they 201 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:27,160 worshipped this image of gold. Well, everyone but three men. 202 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:31,200 Nebuchadnezzar was told about these three men who refused to 203 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,560 serve his gods or worship his image of gold, and he summoned 204 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:37,120 them. And when Shadrach, Meshach, and 205 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:40,440 Abednego came before him, he repeated the threat of the 206 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:44,480 blazing furnace and then asked then what God will be able to 207 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:50,920 rescue you from my hand? The God he mocks is the God who 208 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,640 delivered Abraham through the wilderness from the land of 209 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,600 earth. The same God who delivered Isaac 210 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:01,200 from the altar. The same God who sent plagues 211 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:03,200 into Egypt to set his people free. 212 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:08,200 The same God who parted the seas to make a way for his people. 213 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:14,360 The same God who delivered manna from heaven bless you for his 214 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:19,360 people in the wilderness, the same God who brought down the 215 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:22,600 walls of Jericho through the sounds of worship and praise, 216 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:26,840 The same God who held the sun in place to help his people in 217 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:31,040 battle, and the same God who brought shame to the prophets of 218 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:36,960 Baal at the hands of Elijah. Nebuchadnezzar could not fathom 219 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:42,320 the kind of God that gave three men such hope and such assurance 220 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:47,200 in the face of so great a threat farmed with that hope. 221 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:52,000 In verse 16, these three men said, King Nebuchadnezzar, we do 222 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:54,800 not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 223 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,080 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we 224 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:02,720 serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from 225 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:07,000 Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want 226 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,320 you to know, your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or 227 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:13,480 worship the image of gold you have set up. 228 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:19,040 They didn't know if God was going to rescue them. 229 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:23,880 They were just choosing to believe that regardless of the 230 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:27,160 outcome, God deserved their unwavering faith. 231 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:32,640 They were more than willing to trust in God and let their faith 232 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:37,280 be tried by fire. Well, obviously the king was 233 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:41,360 outraged by this and ordered the furnace heated 7 times hotter 234 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:46,960 than normal. Seven times hotter is a little 235 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:50,520 extra. It may not have actually been 236 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,480 that, but the number 7 signifies completeness. 237 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,720 So I imagine that this was just his way of saying as hot as 238 00:15:56,720 --> 00:15:59,880 possible. And it was so hot that the 239 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:03,840 guards that were sent to throw these 3 into the furnace died 240 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:05,480 before they even reached the opening. 241 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:11,480 Yet Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego not only made it to the 242 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,920 opening, they walked into the flames without perishing. 243 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:21,680 How many accidents has God prevented for you that you don't 244 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:27,200 know about? How many dangers has He turned 245 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:31,880 away? How many prayers has He answered 246 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:38,080 without us even realizing it? How many times has He walked 247 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:41,600 with us through the fire and we weren't burned by the flames? 248 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:48,760 We get so caught up in the hard time we're currently in, we 249 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:51,280 don't stop to think about what God might have saved us from 250 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:57,680 along the way, and we don't stop to look next to us to see Jesus 251 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:03,720 standing right there. Now if walking into the furnace 252 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:08,040 and being unharmed wasn't enough of a miracle, as Nebuchadnezzar 253 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:12,200 was watching these three men enter the fire, he leapt up and 254 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:15,000 then had to confirm with his advisors that it was in fact 255 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:17,599 only three men that he threw in there. 256 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:23,200 In verse 25, he said, look, I see four men walking around in 257 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:27,920 the fire unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like the 258 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:31,960 sun of the gods. And when Shadrach, Meshach, and 259 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:36,240 Abednego exited the flames, not even their hair or robes had 260 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:40,600 been singed. God could have stepped in at any 261 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:42,640 point. He could have prevented the 262 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:45,800 image in the 1st place, or at the very least prevented the 263 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:49,000 fire, but instead He joined them in it. 264 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:53,320 He walked right beside them, refining their faith. 265 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,720 Speaking of refining, we'll be in Zechariah 13 nine in just a 266 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:04,720 moment. The beginning of Zechariah 13 267 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:08,400 speaks of God's plan to cleanse the inhabitants of Jerusalem 268 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:12,360 from sin and remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from 269 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:17,320 the land. Verse 9 reads this third. 270 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,840 I will put into the fire. I will refine them like silver 271 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:24,240 and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I 272 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,560 will answer them. I will say they are my people, 273 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,000 and they will say the Lord is our God. 274 00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:34,920 If you don't know the refining process for silver and gold, 275 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:40,360 don't worry, I'll explain it. It starts with some ore metal 276 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:43,880 mixed with whatever else is attached to it, and it's all 277 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:48,800 misshapen and ugly. It gets put into a fire, and as 278 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:51,320 it's in the fire, impurities are burning off of it. 279 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:55,200 Depending on how much it's heated when the Smith pulls it 280 00:18:55,200 --> 00:19:00,120 out, it can be malleable, be molded before it's put back in, 281 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:04,600 or if it's completely melted, all the impurities rise to the 282 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:08,760 top to be scraped off and then again put back into the fire. 283 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:13,360 And this process gets repeated and repeated until the metal is 284 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:18,160 finally refined. The Smith knows when it's been 285 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:24,240 refined, when the metal is so pure and shines so bright that 286 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:25,880 he can see his own reflection in it. 287 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:33,560 And the same goes for us, not every hardship we encounter or 288 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:37,040 every trial we go through is put God putting us back in the 289 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:40,760 flames. Sometimes it is, but sometimes 290 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:42,760 it's just a consequence of the world we live in. 291 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:48,280 However, no matter why we are in the furnace, we have to trust 292 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:51,720 that He can use that experience to mold us and burn away 293 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,520 impurities. And we will be fully refined 294 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:58,280 when He can look at us and see His reflection. 295 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:04,720 At the beginning of my internship, Blake had me read a 296 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:08,600 book by Bob Swargay. If you've never read anything by 297 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,280 him before, I highly recommend looking him up. 298 00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:17,120 Every book I've read by him has been fairly short but very 299 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:21,040 impactful. And they're easy reads because 300 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:24,520 he writes as if he's having a conversation with the reader, 301 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,960 and he uses a lot of imagery. But one of the books I picked up 302 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,040 of his is titled Sometimes We Need Trials. 303 00:20:33,080 --> 00:20:35,240 It's just a little too perfect to not include. 304 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,400 So in Chapter 4, he starts with Jeremiah 4811. 305 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:43,680 Moab has been at ease from his youth. 306 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:47,200 He has settled on his drags and has not been emptied from vessel 307 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:50,160 to vessel, nor has he gone into captivity. 308 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:54,080 Therefore his taste remained in him and his scent has not 309 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,840 changed. So if the silversmithing wasn't 310 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:00,520 really your speed, maybe wine making is. 311 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,200 In the wine making process, wine is left to sit in a vessel. 312 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:09,040 This helps to separate the clean wine from any impurities as 313 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:12,640 those settled to the bottom. The good wine is then ladled or 314 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:14,720 poured carefully into another vessel. 315 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:19,840 The sediment is left behind and then is discarded and the cycle 316 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,840 continues until you have a refined and clarified wine. 317 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:27,800 In this process, if you let the wine sit for too long with the 318 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:30,120 drugs, it doesn't taste so great. 319 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:35,160 So in this verse, Moab is being described as wine left to sit in 320 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:37,640 the vessel. Nothing has happened to help 321 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:41,600 pour this wine from one vessel into another in an effort to 322 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:44,640 pull out the impurities, and thus Moab is becoming 323 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,640 distasteful to God. The same thing happens to us. 324 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:51,440 We go through periods where we sit in the drugs. 325 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:56,520 We get stagnant, we don't taste good, and then life pours us 326 00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:00,640 from one vessel into another. It's disruptive, it's 327 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:05,960 uncomfortable, it's rarely fun. But Sergey says, isn't that the 328 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:08,680 point? He'll intentionally disrupt our 329 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,480 comforts so that we'll be dislodged from the overly 330 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:14,440 familiar and be freshened in our fragrance. 331 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:19,520 The Holy Spirit has been given to to comfort us, but not to 332 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:23,280 make us comfortable. The comfortable become curdled. 333 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:27,640 When we get comfortable, we stop growing because growth almost 334 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:34,640 always proceeds from discomfort. One of the last things I want to 335 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:37,880 leave you with is one of my favorite songs, Flowers by 336 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:41,360 Samantha Ebert. She begins the song in a season 337 00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:46,280 of depression and she lets out a desperate prayer asking God why 338 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:50,800 she's in the season. And God responds, child, I'm 339 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:54,960 planting seeds. I'm a good God and I have a good 340 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:57,640 plan. So trust that I'm holding a 341 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:03,120 watering can and someday you'll see that flowers grow in the 342 00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:07,560 valley. I love that imagery because when 343 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,440 you plant a seed, it doesn't just grow into a beautiful 344 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:15,280 flower overnight. It takes time and caretaking, 345 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:19,640 and if it's like any plant that I've ever tried to take care of, 346 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:25,520 it's gone through some hardships, maybe a heat wave or 347 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,880 a drought, but those are the moments that the roots grow 348 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:35,760 deeper. Upon hearing God's response, she 349 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:38,840 changes her mindset and says that despite it being a rough 350 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:42,280 time, she's going to trust that it's just a season and knows 351 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,600 that God is by her side every step of the way. 352 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:49,200 And in the bridge she changes, changes again. 353 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:53,280 She's out of the season. She's not in the valley anymore. 354 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:58,880 And she wrote, when I'm on the mountain and looking down below, 355 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:02,600 I'll see a valley of flowers that need a time to grow. 356 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,920 And I'll thank you for the rain, the hurt, and the days of pain. 357 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:09,920 And I'll bring it up in a grateful prayer. 358 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:12,480 Thank you Jesus for keeping me there. 359 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:18,200 You know just what I need. It's a cliche saying, but it's 360 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:20,600 true. You grow through what you go 361 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,120 through, and growing can be painful. 362 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:28,440 This song highlights something so important to that process. 363 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:33,280 Looking back, recognizing where God was in that trial and 364 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:35,560 thanking Him for walking with you through it. 365 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:41,280 Too often we only recognize Him in the good times and in the 366 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,000 miracles, but He's with us every day. 367 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:48,640 The ones where we fail, where we feel overwhelmed and just simply 368 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:52,680 not worthy. So if I take this back to the 369 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:57,880 beginning of my message and I look back on my life, He was in 370 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:02,040 all of those wishes. He was with me when I was mocked 371 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,920 because I learned how to let other people's words flow off my 372 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:10,000 back like water off a duck's back, and to not take things so 373 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:14,080 personally. He was with me in therapy 374 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:18,880 because even while I didn't talk about the anger and the hurt and 375 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,560 the bitterness, I did rant about school a lot. 376 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:26,360 And at the time, my dad was at home with a broken back. 377 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:29,920 And so my mom was running a small business and taking care 378 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:32,880 of two kids and taking care of a husband and just doing all the 379 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:35,920 things. So being able to rant about 380 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:39,760 school not to either of them kind of helped things. 381 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:45,840 When I was 15, he was the one who picked me up off the 382 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:49,800 bathroom floor, reminded me that I still had a purpose, that I 383 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:54,080 was here for a reason, that he had plans for me, and he brought 384 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:57,040 me back to my friends and my family that I had pushed away 385 00:25:58,360 --> 00:26:01,040 when I was 16. He opened my eyes and gave me 386 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:04,280 the strength to walk away from a bad situation before it got even 387 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:10,840 worse when I was in college. He was definitely with me then 388 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,560 because I made some really not smart choices. 389 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:18,920 But somehow I made it through by the glory of God with some 390 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:23,560 awesome internship experiences, a degree, a concentration, 2 391 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:26,440 minors, and a passionate love for teaching. 392 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,640 But I was standing next to Josh at the State Fair and a stranger 393 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,400 asked if I wanted to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and 394 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:38,040 Savior. He was the voice that answered 395 00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:44,720 yes without hesitation. Every child, every day of pain, 396 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:50,960 every frustration, every tear has led me to this moment to be 397 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:52,680 the woman that I am standing in front of. 398 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:55,120 Y'all talking about an amazing God. 399 00:26:57,360 --> 00:27:01,840 So if I go back even further to Blake's original prompt, what I 400 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:08,680 know now, I know trust in God. I trust that every trial I've 401 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:11,160 gone through was preparing me for the next one. 402 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:15,840 I trust that I was never alone, and I trust that I won't be 403 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:21,240 alone in the next trial. I trust that His plan is greater 404 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:24,760 and that I may not see the end of it, but it's coming and it's 405 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:26,200 better than anything that I could do. 406 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:30,680 I trust that He is my fourth person in the fire. 407 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:37,880 I trust that He is refining me and making me purer, and I trust 408 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:40,920 that I will continue to be able to look back and see the valley 409 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:44,360 of flowers and know just how much I've grown because of Him. 410 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:49,640 And I pray that each and every one of you holds that same trust 411 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:51,880 in our Lord. Thank you.