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This is ERC Sundays, the 
messages at Emmaus Rd. 

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Church in DeWitt, Iowa. 
ERC is a Church of people 

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striving to grow in Jesus and 
make him known to others through

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our faith, words and actions. 
Find out more about our church 

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at emmausrdonline.org. 
Here's this week's message. 

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OK, am I cold open for the for 
today? 

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Because I always have 1 and I 
never know what's going to be 

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until I walk up here was I think
I'm not calling out anybody in 

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particular, but I think I heard 
somebody sit down and go Oh my 

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gosh. 
And I'm like, I'm feeling that. 

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I don't know why, but I get 
older and older. 

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And so if you are feeling that 
as you sat down and say, like, 

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well, all right, I'm going to do
this. 

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Just know that like you're not 
alone. 

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You're not alone. 
Gosh. 

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And you know what, strangely 
enough, that's a great segue 

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into what I was going to talk 
about today. 

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You know, sometimes we can get 
this sensation and we can't 

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always put our finger on it, but
we can get the sensation that 

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something is just not right. 
Something is not right. 

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So long ago when I was raising 
littles, which they are not 

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little now they're quite large. 
But my children, on a typical 

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day, maybe it's a weekend, 
they're running around the house

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and they're playing the toys. 
And so you can hear them from 

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across the house and stuff is 
banging and they're don't touch 

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me and all that, you know? 
But then it gets really quiet. 

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And that's when I worried 
because something is not right. 

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If it's that quiet, something 
isn't right. 

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Or maybe you think about it this
way. 

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Maybe you have a pet that's 
weirdly perceptive. 

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And so you see them, they stop, 
their little ears perk up and 

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they just look. 
You can't see what they're 

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seeing or what they're 
perceiving, but they know, and 

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maybe you know too, that 
something is not right. 

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Let me give you one more just 
for fun. 

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Last month, February, the dead 
of winter as we were supposed to

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know it here in Iowa, there were
days where it hit 60°. 

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And that was great. 
That was awesome. 

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Walking around in a T-shirt in 
February, like it's like 

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Florida. 
It's not. 

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But here's the thing, as much as
we enjoy that stuff, if we 

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actually think something's not 
right, this is not normal, or at

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least it's not supposed to be in
this part of the country. 

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See, the reason why I bring 
these things up is because I'm 

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trying to say in so many words 
what the Bible has been saying 

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for thousands of years that 
something is very wrong and very

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broken inside this world. 
How do I know that? 

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I know that because bodies are 
breaking down. 

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I mean, gosh, what I talked 
about it in what I call my cold 

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open, like that's just bodies 
are breaking down and that's 

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hard to deal with. 
And that's not God's design. 

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And systems fail us all the time
that aren't supposed to fail. 

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And if you want to go really far
with this and even get mildly 

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dark with this on a Sunday 
morning, scientists will tell 

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you that the sun is slowly 
losing energy and at some point 

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it's going to burn out and there
will be no life in the solar 

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system. 
We should not be OK with that. 

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I am not OK with that. 
Even if I don't live to see that

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day, I am not OK with that. 
We should not settle, and God 

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did not design us to settle for 
that. 

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So what are we going to do? 
I mean, I think some people, 

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what we end up doing is we just 
kind of say, you know what, this

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is just the way it is. 
Life is very temporary and 

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that's OK with me. 
So eat, drink and be merry. 

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Be happy as long as you can 
because it's all going away at 

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some point anyway. 
I disagree. 

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I just disagree. 
We should not go quietly into 

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that night. 
Les the poet says we should 

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rage. 
We should Rage Against the dying

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of the light because that's how 
we're built. 

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That's what we're designed for. 
We are designed for life, not 

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death and decay. 
And so here's the thing. 

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I know that's kind of a weird in
a dark place to start a Sunday 

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morning. 
My apologies if that kind of hit

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you like a like you got teed up 
in an intersection, but all 

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those things are true. 
What can we do about it? 

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Where can we really put our 
hope? 

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So that's what we're going to do
today. 

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We are going to examine what 
real hope looks like. 

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We're going to figure out where 
do I put that? 

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Because quite frankly, there are
too many things in this world 

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that are not satisfying my 
deepest needs, desires for 

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satisfaction and meaning. 
And nothing is meeting me in my 

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deepest levels of hope. 
And I think if you take the time

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to examine it, you'll find that 
nothing that can be taken away 

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from you is a good place to put 
your hope. 

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And so I forgot the little 
clicker. 

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Would you, would you send me 
forward please? 

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Here's here's what the text is 
going to lead us to today. 

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We're going to be reading Romans
8 verses 18 through 25. 

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And here's where it's going to 
lead us. 

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It's going to lead us to at 
least two questions. 

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You may have more, but you can 
come talk to me afterwards if 

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you do. 
But we got to figure out these 

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two questions. 
What did God do and why did he 

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do it? 
Second of all, where does real 

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hope come from? 
And finally, we're going to 

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understand. 
Oh, my gosh, you're the best. 

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Look, this guy. 
And finally. 

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Yeah, yeah, give that man. 
Yeah. 

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It's OK to clap because I do 
weird things all the time and I 

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have rabbit trails. 
And that's fine. 

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If you know me, you know, that's
normal. 

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But anyway, this our our final 
thing that we really need to 

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examine is we need to examine 
the hope in the gospel. 

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So that's where we're going 
today. 

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And again, that's Romans 8 
chapter 8, verses 18 through 25.

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So if you have a Bible, you can 
look at that or pull out your 

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phone, your Bible app or 
whatever that looks like for 

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you. 
But we read this in Jesus name 

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because it's his word. 
For I consider that the 

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sufferings of this present time 
are not worth comparing with the

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glory that is to be revealed to 
us. 

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For the creation waits with 
eager longing for the revealing 

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of the sons of God. 
For the creation was subjected 

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to futility, not willingly, but 
because of Him who subjected it,

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in hope that the creation itself
will be set free from its 

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bondage to corruption and obtain
the freedom of the glory of the 

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children of God. 
For we know that the whole 

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creation has been groaning 
together in pains of childbirth 

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until now. 
And not only creation, but we 

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ourselves, who have the first 
fruits of the Spirit. 

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We groan inwardly as we wait 
eagerly for adoption as sons, 

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the redemption of our bodies. 
For in this hope we are saved 

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now. 
Hope that is seen as not hope 

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for who hopes for what he sees? 
But if we hope for what we do 

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not see, we wait for it with 
patience. 

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Here answer reading of God's 
Word, may it be blessed. 

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So what did God do? 
Because I, I, I mean it, I was 

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not going to talk about this 
until I read this a bunch of 

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times and I was like, if anybody
thinks like me, you're going to 

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read this and you're going to 
have a problem if you don't 

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understand this, because here's 
what it says for the creation 

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was subjected to futility, not 
willingly, but because of him. 

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Notice the capital H that's on 
purpose, but because of him who 

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subjected it. 
Now hold on, just think about 

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this for a minute. 
Is God spiteful and mean and 

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vindictive? 
Because if you read this in a 

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certain context, you'll go, man,
that's, that's not OK. 

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Why would, why would a loving 
God subject us to futility and 

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frustration and decay and all 
these terrible things? 

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Why would he do that? 
That question has to be 

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answered. 
So let's answer it. 

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Let's figure it out together. 
When Adam and Eve all the way 

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back to Genesis, when Adam and 
Eve were first with the Lord, 

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they were in perfect 
relationship and perfect 

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community with both him, each 
other and creation itself. 

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It was a picture of perfection, 
right? 

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But then sin comes through. 
They, they think to themselves, 

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you know what? 
I, I, I could be like God. 

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And it all goes bankrupt. 
It all goes terribly. 

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And here's the thing. 
God, in that moment, he 

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instantly knew that the world 
was now cursed. 

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So are human beings. 
And if he leaves us in this 

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cursed existence forever, that 
is a punishment that is unfit 

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for any crime. 
It is too cruel. 

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It is too mean to leave us here 
forever. 

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I man, I believe it. 
I have good days. 

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Believe me, I have a lot of good
days. 

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I've got a great family and I 
love this community and and all 

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this kind of stuff. 
It's awesome. 

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But man, if you told me I have 
to do this forever, dude, I'm 

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I'm piercing out. 
I'm not doing this forever, 

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right? 
No way. 

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There's too many pains, there's 
too much suffering, there's too 

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much sorrow. 
It hurts too much to want to do 

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this forever. 
Let me put it to you this way. 

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There is a, there was a man who 
owned an orchard, right? 

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And what happens is he's going 
through the orchard one day and 

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he sees that one of the trees is
diseased. 

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And he loves all of the trees in
his orchard. 

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He loves them all. 
He knows them. 

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He's practically named them. 
So he understands, though, that 

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this tree that is diseased, that
disease is going to spread to 

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every other tree in the orchard 
if he lets it sit that way. 

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So what does he do? 
Class cuts it down. 

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That's right, very good. 
Even though he loves this 

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creation, he cuts it down. 
He destroys it in hope. 

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He destroys it. 
Now, let me bring this forward 

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to you in case you're not 
following or tracking with me. 

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Do you understand that humanity 
is that tree? 

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That's us. 
And do you understand that the 

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disease that we are infected 
with is thin and it's deadly and

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it spreads like wildfire. 
Therefore, it only makes sense. 

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It is only merciful that as the 
good orchard owner that God is, 

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that he is going to cut that 
down to make a path for a place 

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where that disease, that that 
sickness doesn't exist. 

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Because if he doesn't, man, it 
just goes and it moves and it's 

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never going to stop. 
It has to be cut off somewhere. 

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And so, friends, I got to tell 
you this, cutting off of life, 

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it's for a purpose. 
It's for a reason. 

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And though it hurts us, we hate 
it as we should. 

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But it's out of mercy that the 
disease will not continue on and

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on. 
Because as that disease 

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continues, man, there is no hope
for redemption. 

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In that place where that goes on
infinitely, forever and ever. 

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There's never a hope for 
redemption. 

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There's never a hope for a place
where we don't suffer, man, and 

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we serve and we love a good God 
and a good God that would not 

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leave his people there. 
And he hasn't, he hasn't left 

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his people there. 
So if you read this verse and 

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you struggle with it, just know 
that, man. 

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I know I I've done plenty of 
funerals. 

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That's hard, man. 
There is a gift inside of this 

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that we would not live like this
forever. 

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So that brings us what I think 
to a next kind of logical or 

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rational question, which is 
this. 

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What then do we put our hope in?
OK, what, what am I supposed to 

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put my hope in? 
Well, I, I suspect that there's 

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a number of places that we do 
that. 

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And well, gosh, I don't know. 
We're in middle America, OK? 

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Middle America is, I think, 
probably one of the greatest 

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places on earth to live. 
That's just my biased opinion. 

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It's awesome. 
I mean, we have relative safety 

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and prosperity here. 
People are generally nice unless

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you get in a bad traffic 
situation, then they're the 

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worst. 
But in general, I think middle 

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America is a great place to 
live. 

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But here's, here's the thing 
about middle America, It has a 

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personality, it has a culture. 
We hope in things that God would

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never have us hope in. 
So I'm going to give you a 

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couple and I'm going to debunk 
them hopefully decently well, 

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because I, I don't want us to 
fall into these traps. 

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So why don't we start with the 
American dream? 

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Why don't we start really big 
with the American dream? 

226
00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:36,400
Well, the American dream, what 
does that look like? 

227
00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:39,840
It typically looks like, 
especially in middle America, it

228
00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:41,760
looks like we're going to work 
really hard. 

229
00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:45,400
We pride ourselves on that. 
Typically in the Midwest, we 

230
00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:49,080
work hard. 
And when we work hard, we expect

231
00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:51,760
that we will be rewarded 
appropriately. 

232
00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:56,240
And often times that does happen
through our jobs or our careers 

233
00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:57,520
or whatever that kind of stuff 
is. 

234
00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,600
And so we work hard to build 
some sustainability in our 

235
00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,840
lives, build some places where 
we can get really comfortable 

236
00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:07,000
and kind of sit back and relax 
and more. 

237
00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:10,400
So I think a lot of us build 
this out and we spend so much 

238
00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:15,400
effort doing it because we so 
deeply want an opportunity for 

239
00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:19,080
our children and our family to 
have a better shot at life than 

240
00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:22,440
we had, right? 
That's why we do those things. 

241
00:14:22,640 --> 00:14:25,880
We put our hope in those things 
because man, I want it better 

242
00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:27,800
for my kids. 
Well, here's the thing. 

243
00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,960
Let's say you do it. 
Maybe you're doing it right now.

244
00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,920
You are living the American 
dream and it's going great for 

245
00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:36,400
you. 
Well, here's the thing. 

246
00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:39,560
At some point, friends, I'm 
going to give you another very 

247
00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:43,240
sobering idea. 
At some point, the job stops. 

248
00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,120
At some point, the kids move out
of the house. 

249
00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:51,560
At some point you sell the house
because you can't take care of 

250
00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:54,200
yourself anymore, and on and on 
it goes. 

251
00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:58,040
This doesn't last. 
The American Dream can only go 

252
00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:01,760
so long before it expires. 
Not only that, but the American 

253
00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:06,280
Dream, Lord bless it man, when 
that gets hit like a Mack truck 

254
00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,520
with suffering, What do you do 
then? 

255
00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:10,760
Because your hard work won't 
save you. 

256
00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:14,480
Your kids can't save you. 
Your house can't save you. 

257
00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:19,080
Your career can't save you. 
What do you do with suffering? 

258
00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,280
The American Dream can't answer 
that question. 

259
00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:26,440
So therefore we should not put 
our hope in. 

260
00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,120
And I'll give you another one. 
How about self-reliance? 

261
00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:33,040
Pull myself up by my bootstraps 
or personal integrity. 

262
00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:35,760
I can be a good person. 
I can kind of. 

263
00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,440
I can set my hope on being a 
good person because Lord knows 

264
00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:44,680
all you need to do to achieve 
heaven and to make God happy 

265
00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:46,360
with you. 
If you could ever do that is to 

266
00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,160
just be a good person. 
Well, why don't I try 

267
00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:50,800
self-reliance and being a good 
person? 

268
00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,160
Why don't I put my hope in that?
Because at least then I'm basing

269
00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:59,120
my hope in what I control. 
But do you do you? 

270
00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:05,760
Because quite frankly, if if I, 
if I'm basing my hope on my 

271
00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:09,440
integrity, well, I'll tell you 
what, I fail all the time. 

272
00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:12,960
I have just enough 
self-awareness to know that this

273
00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,720
doesn't work for me. 
I've tried and I failed 

274
00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,120
miserably at it, because The 
thing is, even outside of God's 

275
00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:23,640
law, I can keep my own set of 
standards and morality, or I can

276
00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:25,920
establish those things, but I 
can't keep it. 

277
00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:28,560
I can't keep it. 
I've tried. 

278
00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:31,440
I've tried to be the person I 
think I'm supposed to be, and I 

279
00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:33,800
bet you have too, and I bet it 
hasn't worked. 

280
00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:36,320
I don't say that because I'm a 
genius. 

281
00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:39,200
I say that because that is the 
common human experience. 

282
00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:42,400
That's how it works. 
We can't even keep our own 

283
00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:44,080
morality. 
And So what do you do then? 

284
00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:49,160
What do you do with that man? 
I either become this downtrodden

285
00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:54,800
moral failure, or I just justify
my bad behavior, which I think 

286
00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:58,160
happens a lot because I can 
justify being mean to somebody. 

287
00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,520
I can justify being cruel 
because they did it to me first.

288
00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,640
They really had it coming. 
Did you see them in traffic? 

289
00:17:05,079 --> 00:17:07,880
They had it coming. 
Can't even keep my own moral 

290
00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:09,520
standards. 
So I certainly shouldn't put my 

291
00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:11,960
hope in that. 
How about, you know what? 

292
00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:15,599
This is the this is the classic,
this is the best one where I 

293
00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:21,480
think most middle Americans put 
their hope in our families, put 

294
00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:23,280
our hope in our families. 
We put our hope in our 

295
00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:26,119
relationships. 
Well, I got to tell you 

296
00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:29,720
something, friends. 
I love my wife to death and I'm 

297
00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:33,760
pretty sure she loves me. 
But we fail each other all the 

298
00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:37,400
time. 
We fail each other all the time 

299
00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:40,600
and I don't, I don't feel good 
about that. 

300
00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:42,320
I'm not resigning to be OK with 
that. 

301
00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:46,120
It's just the truth. 
And, and you know, the other 

302
00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:49,640
thing is families are fractured 
either by disagreements because,

303
00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,000
oh man, I didn't get what I 
wanted in the will. 

304
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,200
You know, we fracture families 
all the time, either either by 

305
00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:00,400
disagreements or by death. 
Kids rebel. 

306
00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:02,880
Can you imagine? 
You're sweet little innocent. 

307
00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,800
They rebel sometimes. 
Man. 

308
00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:09,440
If I put my hope in my family, 
we've got some major issues, not

309
00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:14,240
the least of which is this. 
If my hope is in my family and 

310
00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:18,080
the people that I love, I am 
going to crush them with my 

311
00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:20,920
weight of expectation. 
Because here's the thing. 

312
00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:26,480
If my hope, if, if, if my, if my
goals for love and for joy and 

313
00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:29,320
for meaning and for peace and 
all this stuff and for 

314
00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:34,480
satisfaction, if my hope is put 
in them, they will be crushed 

315
00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:36,320
under the weight of that 
expectation. 

316
00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,800
They cannot handle that. 
I can't either. 

317
00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,760
I am not Superman. 
I could not handle that kind of 

318
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:52,200
weight. 
And so here's the thing, our God

319
00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,120
created hope because that's what
it is. 

320
00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:57,880
It's a God created hope. 
Our God created hope should 

321
00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,120
never be put in anything that 
can be taken away from us. 

322
00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:04,000
Let me say that one more time, 
it's important. 

323
00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:08,480
Our God created hope should 
never be put into anything that 

324
00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:11,560
can be taken away from us 
because guess what? 

325
00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:14,960
Everything will be taken from us
at one point or another. 

326
00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:17,680
It will. 
Suffering is coming. 

327
00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:23,000
So these are good things that 
I've named and I could name 

328
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,840
more. 
You want a few more good things 

329
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:26,880
that we shouldn't put our hope 
in? 

330
00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:31,080
How about career? 
How about how about cultural 

331
00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:33,800
prosperity? 
How about body image? 

332
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:36,560
How about athleticism? 
If you're young, by the time 

333
00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:37,960
you're 30, you won't care 
anymore. 

334
00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:41,520
I mean, gosh, we could go on and
on. 

335
00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:45,080
How about control, material 
comforts, politics, all these 

336
00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:50,600
things, none of them work. 
None of them work because all of

337
00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:52,960
them fade away and all of them 
disappoint us. 

338
00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:54,720
We cannot put our hope in these 
things. 

339
00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:59,600
It is a fool's errand at best. 
So I'm going to give you a very 

340
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:02,040
practical thing here, and I want
you to take it with you. 

341
00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,440
Because what happens, I think 
with hope a lot of times is we 

342
00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:07,600
don't necessarily name where we 
put our hope. 

343
00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:10,360
But I'm going to give you a way 
to understand where you are 

344
00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:13,000
putting it. 
When something goes wrong, how 

345
00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,680
do you react? 
Seriously, when something goes 

346
00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:21,000
sideways, how do you react? 
When somebody criticizes you, 

347
00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:24,640
how do you react? 
That's a great example. 

348
00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,440
Because if I, if I can't take 
critique, if I can. 

349
00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:29,920
So I, if I walk off this stage 
and somebody's like, Nah, it 

350
00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:34,200
wasn't really my thing. 
And I blow up because Oh my 

351
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:37,160
gosh, how dare you critique me? 
I worked so hard on that sermon 

352
00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:40,120
and to say all the right things 
into, I don't know, do whatever.

353
00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:42,800
If I can't take that critique, 
you know what that tells you? 

354
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,320
It tells you that I've put my 
hope. 

355
00:20:45,320 --> 00:20:48,360
I've put everything that I'm 
think I'm supposed to be in this

356
00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:50,880
moment and that is the wrong 
place to put it. 

357
00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:57,960
So here's a couple questions to 
ask yourself this week and 

358
00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:00,720
you'll figure out where you're 
putting your hope or or maybe 

359
00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,160
you have figured it out. 
And so ask your hope these 

360
00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,600
questions. 
First of all, does it last? 

361
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:08,000
Does what you're putting your 
hope in last? 

362
00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:10,720
Is what you're putting your hope
in? 

363
00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:13,240
Could that be lost in any way, 
shape or form? 

364
00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:15,600
Is what you're putting your hope
in? 

365
00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:21,440
Can it forgive you? 
Can it give you meaning when you

366
00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:25,280
suffer? 
Can it defeat death? 

367
00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,320
Can what your hope can what 
you're you're putting your hope 

368
00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:31,480
in? 
Can it defeat death? 

369
00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,640
If what you're putting your hope
in cannot answer those 

370
00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:40,840
questions, you've done something
very wrong, and you'll always be

371
00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:43,360
disappointed. 
And that's why I think these 

372
00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:45,520
verses in Romans 8 make so much 
sense. 

373
00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,520
For we know that the whole 
creation has been groaning 

374
00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:51,720
together in pains of childbirth.
We're groaning, We're miserable 

375
00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:55,640
because we've put our hope in 
the wrong place and and not only

376
00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,520
the creation, but we ourselves, 
who have the first fruits of the

377
00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:02,960
spirit, groan inwardly as we 
eagerly wait for the adoption of

378
00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:07,200
Son, the redemption of our 
bodies creation, including us. 

379
00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,160
It is in some level of 
collective pain. 

380
00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:11,520
And again, I'm not trying to be 
a downer. 

381
00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:15,160
I'm just being honest. 
But on this, on the other side 

382
00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:19,560
is this groaning and decay and 
frustration. 

383
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:24,440
On the other side of that, there
is real hope that does not fail.

384
00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:29,520
The real hope that does not fail
comes in Jesus Christ, because 

385
00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:33,240
when death did its worst to him,
he just popped out of the grave 

386
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:34,840
on the third day and said here I
am. 

387
00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:38,600
You want to try again? 
No, OK, I think we're done here,

388
00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:40,920
right? 
So this is the hope. 

389
00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:43,640
This is where we put our hope 
because in the in the 

390
00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:49,480
resurrection of Jesus Christ, we
cannot lose nothing about 

391
00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:51,760
putting my hope in the 
resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

392
00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,320
I I will never lose that gamble.
And it's not a gamble, it's a 

393
00:22:55,320 --> 00:23:00,000
sure thing because we often 
times think of death as this 

394
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,440
kind of natural biological 
process that happens. 

395
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,200
But that's not it. 
That's not it. 

396
00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:09,640
That is sin being exercised 
inside of our bodies. 

397
00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:13,240
And even though Christ didn't 
sin, he allowed himself to be 

398
00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:16,960
killed so that he could turn 
around 3 days, three days later,

399
00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:19,520
look at death in the face and 
say, that's the worst you've 

400
00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:22,160
got. 
That's the worst you've got. 

401
00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,680
I'm still here. 
And what he tells you when you 

402
00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,880
put your hope in him is that 
when death hits you, which it 

403
00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,120
will if Lord doesn't come, man, 
we're going to look at death and

404
00:23:32,120 --> 00:23:34,280
say that's what you got. 
That's your worst. 

405
00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:38,240
You only made me better. 
You made me perfect. 

406
00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:44,680
Because in Christ's death he 
defeats sin, He defeats all of 

407
00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:47,040
our shame, He defeats death 
itself. 

408
00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:52,320
And he invites us into this 
life, this unending life without

409
00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:56,840
death, without decay, without 
any sense of disease or wrong, 

410
00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:02,160
every injustice undone, every 
hurt covered and healed. 

411
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:06,800
This is what Jesus Christ has 
done for us, and He invites us 

412
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:11,480
into this hope, into a hope that
will never fail us. 

413
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:16,600
My friends, goodness, why would 
you put your hope anywhere else?

414
00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:22,280
Why would you do it just to be 
disappointed, man? 

415
00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:24,640
I don't want to be disappointed 
and I know I won't be. 

416
00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:28,360
And you can have that level of 
assurance too, as you put your 

417
00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:30,520
hope in your faith in Jesus 
Christ. 

418
00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:32,800
Because I'll tell you this and 
this is a whole different 

419
00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:37,320
sermon, but I want to tell you 
that this death of Jesus Christ,

420
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:41,880
that is not a one time event. 
That is something that has a 

421
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:46,320
pattern and it has a promise and
it is only a preview of what we 

422
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:49,760
get to look forward to. 
That's what that is. 

423
00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:53,160
So let me reel off some things 
here because it's important. 

424
00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:56,680
Death is not a door. 
Death is a doorway instead of a 

425
00:24:56,680 --> 00:25:00,280
brick wall, and it is a 
transition instead of a 

426
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,320
termination. 
It is the beginning of unending 

427
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:08,960
life instead of the end of life.
It is a homecoming, not a 

428
00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:12,680
disappearance. 
And finally, death is nothing. 

429
00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:15,560
It's not a goodbye, it's a see 
you later. 

430
00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:19,280
And when I see you, it will be 
infinitely better than this. 

431
00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:23,640
That's what it is. 
And we can have that hope and we

432
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,000
can have that assurance in Jesus
Christ. 

433
00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:28,040
Amen. 
Let's pray. 

434
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,640
Our Father in heaven, you are 
good and you are gracious to 

435
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,280
give. 
Hope beyond life, hope beyond 

436
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:39,880
suffering, hope beyond death. 
So, Lord, in our suffering, may 

437
00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:43,040
we put our hope in you, which 
never disappoints. 

438
00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:47,480
Father, I pray today that 
anybody who has moved their hope

439
00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:50,640
outside of you and put it 
somewhere else, may you expose 

440
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:53,560
those things. 
May you bring them to the 

441
00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:57,480
surface and may they see the the
rational and the logical and the

442
00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:01,120
the spiritual reasons why that 
will never work. 

443
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:05,440
Lord, convict our hearts in 
places of where we've made our 

444
00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,600
ultimate love something else 
instead of you. 

445
00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,520
Father, we need your Spirit to 
guide us in this. 

446
00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:18,400
We need the truth of the gospel 
to wash over us. 

447
00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:22,520
So Father, work in our heads and
our hearts in such a way that it

448
00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:25,360
even comes out of our mouths 
that overflows, that we might be

449
00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:29,720
good ambassadors and that we 
might have the courage to tell 

450
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people where we get our hope. 
Father, I pray all these things 

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in Jesus name, Amen. 
Thanks for listening to the ERC 

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00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,400
Sundays to support the work God 
is doing and Amazed Throat 

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00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:48,280
Church. 
Visit 

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00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:51,320
amazedthroatonline.org/giving.