1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:05,600 Why is nothing ever easy? Which of these describes you? 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:10,560 You're at your job and you're trying so, so hard to work hard, 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:13,320 and yet everything is so difficult. 4 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,400 You start doing a task and then you have to redo it again 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,400 because something goes wrong. It constantly feels like you're 6 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,760 pushing water up a hill and nothing seems to be working 7 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,800 anymore. You had success in the past, but 8 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:30,800 right now you see nothing. Maybe your children, you just 9 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:32,800 have this sense of guilt all the time. 10 00:00:33,080 --> 00:00:37,040 Mother's guilt or father's guilt or grandfather's guilt. 11 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:40,360 You feel like you're just not good enough as a parent. 12 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,600 You're not giving your children the right amount of time, or you 13 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,160 lose your temper and you just think, I'm making a mess of 14 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:47,720 this. And here my children are. 15 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,560 They're growing up so quick. Life is going so fast. 16 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:53,320 It's passing me by and I'm missing out on it. 17 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:58,120 Maybe this is you. Your marriage is a mess. 18 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:01,360 Your spouse and you. Every time you sit down to spend 19 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:04,959 any time together, you end up falling out over the tiniest 20 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:07,320 thing. You dread car journeys because 21 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:10,240 they'll be arguments there. It's just, it's just not the 22 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:12,520 same as it once was. And you wonder, will your 23 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:16,480 marriage ever be the same again? Maybe this is you. 24 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:21,040 Maybe you've recently got a a health issue and it's daunting 25 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:23,040 you. Everywhere you go, in your mind, 26 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,520 you're thinking about this. How much time have I got left? 27 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,320 Will I ever get over this? Is this going to ruin the rest 28 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:32,880 of my life? And you're just so scared. 29 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:38,040 Maybe you're the person watching this video and you regret that 30 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:42,520 you keep returning to the same sin over and over again. 31 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,760 Every time you go there after you finish, you say I won't go 32 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:47,400 there again. I will not return to this sin. 33 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,440 I won't fall this way again. But here you are and you just 34 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:55,160 feel like a a failure like everyone else has got it 35 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:59,760 together, but you are being left behind, your cut off and even 36 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,520 God himself has had enough of you. 37 00:02:03,240 --> 00:02:07,080 He's not with you anymore. He's left you and you're all 38 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,039 alone. Well, if any of those that I've 39 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:13,400 described is describing you, I want you to know something. 40 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,760 It's not true that God has left you alone. 41 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,160 In fact, the Lord God, he delights in you. 42 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:27,000 Psalm 149 says he takes pleasure in you and He sees your pain and 43 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,040 He's with you in this season, whether you can see it or not, 44 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,600 He's here. So I want to share with you 3 45 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,360 Bible verses that I think will encourage you during this very 46 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:40,360 difficult time. But if it is your first time on 47 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,760 the channel, you might be wondering what this is. 48 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:47,000 Well, this is nothing more than coffee. 49 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:49,440 I love drinking coffee. If you've never joined us 50 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,920 before. And every week, every two weeks 51 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:55,040 we try and have a coffee together on this channel. 52 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,120 Me and you as a Christian and we look at the Bible. 53 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:00,200 Nothing fancy, nothing over the top. 54 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:01,920 I just try and share the Bible with you. 55 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,000 Did did coffee come out again? I promise you I'm not. 56 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,520 I'm genuinely not trying to do this to to make you check the 57 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:22,760 video or to do anything for drama. 58 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,080 I'm guessing more coffees come out because there's still some 59 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:27,840 on, there's some that's spilled over there. 60 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,560 So I'm obviously overfilling this this tin of coffee. 61 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:36,440 So anyway, that's the worst things happen at sea, as they 62 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:41,360 say, OK, the first verse I believe the Lord has laid on my 63 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,120 heart to share with you. When you are feeling like you're 64 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:48,520 all alone, when you are feeling like you're just tired out, this 65 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:53,440 is the verse you need to go to. Psalm 61, verse 2 66 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,720 from the ends of the earth I call to you. 67 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:13,840 I call as my heart grows faint, lead me to the rock that is 68 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:18,399 higher than I. My mum often shares that verse 69 00:04:18,399 --> 00:04:21,480 with me. Sometimes I'll sit with her and 70 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,720 tell her, well, I see her a lot. But when I tell her, I might say 71 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:28,240 I'm having a really tough time, mum, I am really stressed out 72 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:33,720 for YouTube channels, young family preaching all around the 73 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:38,600 north of England, just doing St. preaching often 2 * a week. 74 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:40,720 I'm I'm I'm burnt out, I'm stressed out. 75 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:47,000 And my mum says, remember that verse when I am overwhelmed lead 76 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,600 me to the rock that is higher than I. 77 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:52,000 So what can we learn from this verse? 78 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,120 Well, first thing is do you notice how it says from the ends 79 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,440 of the earth I call out to you. Here it is. 80 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,280 David the writer is drawing this picture. 81 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,480 He feels like he's at the very end of the earth. 82 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:14,280 He's cut off, he's remote, he's alone, he's at a great distance. 83 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:17,880 God is here and he is here, and he feels all alone. 84 00:05:18,080 --> 00:05:20,840 He feels like he's on the edge, living on the edge, and he's got 85 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:23,640 no hope. I wonder if anyone feels like 86 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:27,600 that today? He then says, I call as my heart 87 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:31,920 grows faint. In other words, this feeling of 88 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,520 being cut off, this feeling of being overwhelmed. 89 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:39,080 He feels like it's affecting his heart. 90 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:43,080 He feels that anxiety. I expect we'd all have that at 91 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:44,800 times. Sometimes it hits us from 92 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,160 nowhere again. The other day I was in the open 93 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:48,400 air. I was St. preaching in 94 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:52,280 Manchester and they had a Halloween parade on. 95 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,200 There was these big Halloween kind of costumes and drums and 96 00:05:56,200 --> 00:06:00,360 all of this and there was literally about 3005 thousand 97 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,280 people in front of me wanting to watch this this parade. 98 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,840 And there was all these people and the first thing that hit me 99 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:13,240 was all of these souls are going to a lost eternity without Jesus 100 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:15,560 Christ. That first affects me. 101 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:17,040 And then I don't know what it was. 102 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:19,000 I don't know what it was just being crammed in. 103 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:23,200 I felt sudden like I need to get out of here and that and that's 104 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:25,920 never happened before. But we get that, don't we? 105 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:28,720 We get hit by these different things, perhaps because we're 106 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:32,720 we're so stressed, we're over stimulated in our minds that, 107 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,080 you know, we can feel faint. We can feel a sense of our 108 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:37,880 weakness. Well, this is what David felt 109 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:40,480 like. He felt overwhelmed and he felt 110 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:45,040 so weak. And then it says he said, lead 111 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:48,440 me to the rock that is higher than I. 112 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:53,800 You see, he realises he can do nothing in his time of distress. 113 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:58,120 Did he go to an expert? Did he go to ChatGPT? 114 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:00,680 Did he go to, you know, his friends? 115 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,640 Or did he go to his wife? Not what he knew. 116 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,680 The only one who could deliver him was the Lord. 117 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:11,640 And he said, I call out to you. Only you can can take me. 118 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,360 Only you can pull me out of this mess. 119 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:20,480 And it's that beautiful picture of this rock that's higher. 120 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:23,480 So here you and I are. We might feel in our situation, 121 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:26,560 I don't know what situation you're going through right now, 122 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,000 but you might feel like the waters are rising and you think 123 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,400 if these waters keep going higher, I'm not going to 124 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:34,000 survive. I'm not going to be able to cope 125 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:35,920 out. And then they're in front of 126 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,600 you, it's that beautiful big rock. 127 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:43,080 And you climb up that rock and that rock is Christ and he keeps 128 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,280 you firm. This summer I went on a beach 129 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,720 mission to Saint Ives where I was telling children, I was 130 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:52,840 telling adults, I was doing open air work, all about the Lord 131 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,040 Jesus Christ on the beaches and also on the Harbour St. 132 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:58,400 preaching at night. And we did manage to get a bit 133 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:02,080 of family time as a family. And one night we decided we're 134 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:05,400 going to have tea together. That's our evening meal, our 135 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:07,600 dinner together. And there was this man who was 136 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:12,200 selling paella, A prawn kind of shellfish paella. 137 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,560 It was delicious. He was selling it on the on the 138 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:16,760 side of the street. So we bought that and we settled 139 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:21,840 down, started eating anywhere. Out of nowhere, a sort of 140 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:25,160 riptide started to to take over the ocean. 141 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:27,520 And the sea was coming in really, really fast. 142 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:30,360 But we thought we're OK, we'll just keep eating anyway. 143 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:32,919 A little bit later, you know, the kids are playing and we've 144 00:08:32,919 --> 00:08:34,559 sort of settled down a little bit more. 145 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,480 And I, I was on the other side and suddenly out of nowhere, 146 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:41,679 Emma's just walking with Lois on the sea and a big wave comes in 147 00:08:43,039 --> 00:08:45,120 and it takes Lois, pulls her out. 148 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,680 Emma has to run and grab her and bring her out. 149 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,680 I could see this on the other side, but the sea had, had had 150 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:53,320 cut me off so I couldn't get to her. 151 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:56,000 As soon as the tide went out, I ran to Lois. 152 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,280 I picked her up. And then this is the interesting 153 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:00,120 part. Just as you're getting up to 154 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:01,800 Saint Ives, it's all built on a hill. 155 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,640 There was a pathway that led up up to the side of a Cliff, a 156 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,080 Cliff. So I, I got our stuff, our pram, 157 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:11,800 I got Lois and I took it up there and there, if you like, we 158 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:14,200 were safe there. We could see the waves and they 159 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:15,840 literally crashed onto this Cliff. 160 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,000 They just got worse and worse and it was quite a dangerous 161 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:20,640 night. It was all in the newspapers, 162 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:23,440 but here I was. I felt safe and I had my 163 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,480 daughter, my family. We were safe on this rock. 164 00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:30,080 That's what Jesus is like. The the tides coming in, all 165 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:33,840 these stresses of life are coming for us, but we're safe if 166 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,800 we hide in Jesus. And that's what I'd say to you 167 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,360 right now. Hide in Christ. 168 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:41,520 Don't fight these things on your own. 169 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:45,520 Take them into your closet. Take them to Christ and let him 170 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,760 deal with it. Now this next verse you're going 171 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:50,880 to say that's a little bit of an unusual one. 172 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:53,720 I wasn't expecting you to share this verse with me, even though 173 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,040 you'll know it very well. The next verse I want you to 174 00:09:56,040 --> 00:10:03,560 turn to is Genesis 3, verse 18. Genesis 3, verse 18. 175 00:10:16,480 --> 00:10:22,160 Genesis 3 verse 18, it says it will produce thorns and thistles 176 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:26,040 for you and you will eat the plants of the field. 177 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,480 Now you probably know that story very well, of course. 178 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:33,240 It's the story of when Adam and Eve, they, they fell, they went 179 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:36,840 their own way and they decided to eat if that forbidden fruit 180 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,120 and what did God say would happen? 181 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:44,440 The ground would be cursed and thorns and thistles would grow. 182 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:47,120 That's quite a moving picture, isn't it? 183 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:49,320 Really? You know, every time, you know, 184 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:50,480 they were called to be gardeners. 185 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:52,040 That was Adam's job. He was a gardener. 186 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:55,360 But every time he laboured, there would be obstacles, there 187 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,480 would be difficulties. And just think about this now. 188 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:01,600 When Adam was a gardener, this was the time before gardening 189 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:03,080 gloves. Now, some of you are avid 190 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:05,640 gardeners. You, you love gardening, OK. 191 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:08,520 But when you come towards a thorn Bush in front of you, what 192 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:11,360 you, you put your gloves on. You, you have your, what are 193 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:13,160 they called? Secateurs that they have, I'm 194 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:14,920 not sure if I've pronounced that right, but you have those 195 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,520 scissors to, to cut it. Adam didn't have that. 196 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:20,640 How would he have got it down? You can imagine every time he 197 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:24,400 went to the thorn Bush, he would feel that, wouldn't he? 198 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:27,440 Ow. And that would remind him, I 199 00:11:27,520 --> 00:11:31,320 messed up. My sin caused this thorn Bush. 200 00:11:31,560 --> 00:11:33,840 My, my sin caused this to happen. 201 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:37,640 And guys, that is something that I wanted to share with you 202 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:41,800 because listen, when you and I labour and when we try and do 203 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:46,240 things for the Lord, it is going to be difficult at times. 204 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:48,960 Whether we're doing ministry, whether we're doing our secular 205 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:51,680 job, whether we're trying to raise a family, we're always 206 00:11:51,680 --> 00:11:53,560 going to have obstacles, obstacles. 207 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:56,280 We're always going to have trouble as we try to do these 208 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:00,240 things. A couple of weeks ago, I was in 209 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:04,720 a very, very beautiful church, very large, big Chapel, old 210 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:06,560 English Chapel. And I was preaching that. 211 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:10,600 And I know an evangelist very well who goes there. 212 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:12,720 He's called Gusset. You can listen to his music 213 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:15,360 online. He's got a beautiful singing 214 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,200 voice. Well, his wife Wendy, is equally 215 00:12:18,200 --> 00:12:21,840 an amazingly gifted evangelist. And I was just sharing a little 216 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:25,080 bit about the year we've had as she knew, and many of you know, 217 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:28,560 we've had a difficult year. But you know, I was sharing 218 00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:31,360 something particular that happened that week where our 219 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:34,040 daughter, our two year old daughter, Lois, I told you about 220 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:38,400 who is at the sea before. Well, Lois during that week had 221 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,720 been very unwell. She'd been in hospital on and 222 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,960 off 3 three days, not well at all. 223 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:47,120 And they didn't know what was wrong with her. 224 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:49,600 She had this rash. And anyway, she's fine now that 225 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:53,480 that's the main thing. But we were up at 3:00 AM, two 226 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:55,960 AM. We're up really late and then I 227 00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:57,760 won't, I won't share my life story of you. 228 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:01,240 But there just seems to be thing after thing, whether they're 229 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:05,120 minor, whether they're little, whether, you know, whatever it 230 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:07,680 is, where it's the car, Something just seems like, as I 231 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:11,120 said, nothing ever seems easy. And I'm sharing all of this to 232 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:13,360 Wendy. And she just looks at me but has 233 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:16,880 a big smile on her face. And in a very sort of Lancashire 234 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:19,720 way, he says, well, that's just life for you, Joe. 235 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:23,840 And you know, something that blessed me more than a sermon 236 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:27,280 that really blessed me because I just thought, of course, the 237 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,160 ground is cursed. This life where we live in a 238 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:33,240 fallen world. Of course we should remember 239 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:35,840 these things. And it's, it's again, this idea 240 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:38,600 that we watch these Disney films when we're children. 241 00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:40,680 And we think life is going to be like that. 242 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:43,040 We think we're going to marry the Prince and some of us. 243 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:45,600 So maybe you do, you've married your Prince or you're going to 244 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:47,160 marry your Prince. Maybe that's happened. 245 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,080 But we think we'll live happily ever after and we'll have 246 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:52,360 beautiful children and there'll never be any trouble. 247 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,240 And we'll have lots of money and we'll have a nice house and 248 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:58,600 we'll grow our own vegetables. And maybe some of you listening, 249 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,600 you've got all of that, but you haven't got peace in your heart. 250 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,000 But the bottom line is for most of us, it's tough. 251 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:08,920 It's tough, isn't it? And I just wanted to kind of 252 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:13,200 remind you of that today, really, that guys, you might be 253 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:14,960 sort of thinking, well, why is all this happening? 254 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:17,360 Well, we do live in a thin curse world. 255 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:22,440 But the next really beautiful thing, when you think of thorns, 256 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:26,200 when you think of thorns in the garden as a consequence for sin, 257 00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,120 what else should come to your mind? 258 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:35,440 Well, the answer is the Lord Jesus Christ here is the one 259 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:38,680 who, if you like, he did have a happily ever after Jesus. 260 00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:42,440 He was in heaven. No pain, no suffering, just 261 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:47,080 total bliss, totally happy. Spurgeon used to call God the 262 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:49,160 happy God because he's always happy. 263 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:53,320 He's always full of joy. And yet our Lord and Saviour 264 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:57,520 Christ stepped into a body and came and lived amongst us, And 265 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:01,640 what happened to him? He was put on a Roman cross and 266 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:07,120 there he wore a crown of thorns there because Christ loves you, 267 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,640 you so deeply. He loves you to pieces. 268 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:13,080 As a friend of mine who's another evangelist would say, he 269 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,480 loves the socks off you, but he does Christ, He loves you. 270 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,760 He couldn't love you anymore. And yet he wore this crown of 271 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:22,560 thorns. He took that curse, that sin, 272 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:26,040 all the curse that's in this world, and he reversed it. 273 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:30,080 He bore our sins in his body, and then he rose from the dead, 274 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:34,360 defeating sin, his enemy's death, and reversing the curse. 275 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,400 So that any of us who put our trust in him know that one day 276 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:40,920 we'll have a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no 277 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:45,080 thorns and thistles and curses and obstacles and difficulties, 278 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,720 just total joy serving our Lord and Saviour. 279 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,680 All right, on the very day that I'm filming this video, we're 280 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:55,520 still kind of in harvest. So can I share with you a 281 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:59,000 harvesty verse, if you like, a verse that's often preached out 282 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,120 in harvest. And if you've watched my videos 283 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:03,840 before, you know, I love this verse and I share it often. 284 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:05,720 If you've got a Bible there still. 285 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:10,800 Galatians 6, verse 9. Galatians 6, verse 9. 286 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:28,840 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we 287 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:33,640 will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 288 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:39,160 I just really, I really love that verse because it does bring 289 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:41,520 that kind of imagery of a farmer, doesn't it? 290 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:46,040 A farmer who's exhausted, a farmer who's who's just trying, 291 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:49,320 just trying to get any kind of crop like you and I can. 292 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:52,680 We're just trying to have just a little bit of hope, a little bit 293 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:56,240 of something, and yet everything just keeps falling down on us. 294 00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:00,040 As you know, me and my wife, one of our our favorite pastimes, 295 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:03,640 we've been doing this for a long time, is that we watch A Little 296 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:07,079 House on the Prairie and we're finally up to the the final 297 00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:08,720 season. I think it's season 9. 298 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,599 So we've watched all of them. Sometimes we were watching every 299 00:17:11,599 --> 00:17:14,119 night, sometimes it went to every week, every two weeks. 300 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:18,560 But we're finally on season 9. But I'll tell you something, if 301 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:20,880 there's any of the producers watching this, I very much doubt 302 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:21,960 it. But I'll tell you something. 303 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:27,800 I was very disappointed as we open season 9 because Michael 304 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,840 Landon, who plays Charles Ingles, it just starts with him 305 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,680 at the beginning of Laura Ingalls is narrating and she 306 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:40,080 says daddy or dad had a really bad harvest. 307 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:42,840 He didn't get any crops. So he just decided to move away 308 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:45,560 to the city to look for other work and that's it. 309 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:48,680 The main character, Charles Ingalls is gone and and we've 310 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:51,480 been invested in all this time and they just, you know, they 311 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:53,720 just take his character away like that just. 312 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:58,000 But obviously back then that was a serious thing, wasn't it? 313 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,760 Your whole livelihood was on the harvest. 314 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:04,040 And if you didn't get a good harvest, it was game over. 315 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:07,200 You had to find other work. And that is a theme all all the 316 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,080 way through Little House on the Prairie that they're constantly, 317 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:13,400 you know, one time he had to go and mine for rock or look for 318 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:17,480 diamonds or gold because he just wasn't getting the the crop. 319 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:21,960 It was going difficult for him. But I believe what the message 320 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:26,000 here from Scripture is this, when it goes bad, when it goes 321 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,280 pear shaped, when the pan boils over, what do we do then? 322 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,640 Well, there is a temptation and this is what I believe the 323 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,360 Scripture's warning against. There's a temptation isn't there 324 00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:41,160 to give up to just, you know, to to go and do our own thing to, 325 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:44,560 to maybe go back into our old ways and find some kind of 326 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:47,760 comfort there. And you might be thinking of I'm 327 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,920 trying this Christianity. I'm new to this and I'm trying 328 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,320 it, but I've just got this temptation that I want to go 329 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:57,680 back. Well, the Bible would say, don't 330 00:18:57,680 --> 00:18:59,880 give up. You remember Peter, I shared 331 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:04,760 this a few weeks ago on a video. You remember Peter, he was, you 332 00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:08,480 know, looking for comfort. He was scared. 333 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:12,880 His Lord and Saviour had been taken off, been ambushed by a 334 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:14,280 mob. And here he was. 335 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:18,520 He's warming himself up on the fire, on a fire in the courtyard 336 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:23,120 of the high priest, surrounded by, dare I say, evil people or 337 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:26,600 people who had wrong intentions. And here he is. 338 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:30,480 He's he's cold. So he comes before this fire and 339 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:32,360 he just wants to get some warmth. 340 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:34,880 And he gets that temporary warmth. 341 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:38,360 And that's the thing. The world's fires, the fires 342 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:41,480 that the men and women of this world, they light, whatever that 343 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,040 might be, whether that is a sin, whether that is an excitement, 344 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,640 whether that is a temporary relief, They do give us a 345 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:49,720 temporary warmth. We, we can't hide from that. 346 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:52,800 The Bible doesn't pretend that there is a pleasure in sin for a 347 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:55,280 season. But as Peter found out, and as 348 00:19:55,280 --> 00:20:01,280 you will find out, it always, always, always leads to regret. 349 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:05,680 So friends don't. Don't warm yourself up on these 350 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:09,040 fires, don't look for this temporary relief, and don't give 351 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:12,720 up. Stay with Christ, stand and be 352 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:14,600 counted. Soldier on. 353 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:18,400 As my mentor always says to me, keep soldiering on, Joe, even 354 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:20,120 when it's tough. Keep going. 355 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:24,200 Walk on the narrow way because it's narrow for a reason, but at 356 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,600 the end you'll be rewarded greatly. 357 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,320 Now just glance back at the verse again because you'll 358 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,920 notice those words it says for in due time. 359 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,760 Well, that leads us to another Bible verse, Ecclesiastes 3 360 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:41,920 verse one. If you've just got your Bible 361 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:45,600 there, please do turn to that Ecclesiastes 3 verse one. 362 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:59,080 Bible says there is a time for everything. 363 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:03,120 A season for every activity under the heavens. 364 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:05,280 And then just look at verse 5 with me. 365 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,760 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them. 366 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:12,760 A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. 367 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:15,800 A time to search and a time to give up. 368 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:19,240 A time to keep and a time to throw away. 369 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,960 A time to tear and a time to mend. 370 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:27,400 A time to be silent and a time to speak. 371 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:30,960 A time to love and a time to hate. 372 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:35,160 A time for war and a time for peace. 373 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:36,880 Now, why did I share that with you? 374 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:41,800 Because I'm it's very likely if you're watching this video now 375 00:21:41,800 --> 00:21:44,880 and you're still with me right now, you are in a season of 376 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:49,360 difficulty and you're thinking, when will this end? 377 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:52,280 Well, I do believe it will have an end. 378 00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:55,120 Can't say for sure. The Lord might return you, I 379 00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:57,840 don't know. But very often, as the scripture 380 00:21:57,840 --> 00:21:59,400 says, there is a time, isn't there? 381 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:03,840 There's a time to to collect stones, to bring them together 382 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:07,360 and a time to scatter them. There's a time to to tear and a 383 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:09,840 time to mend. There's a time for all things 384 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:11,840 under the sun and we've seen that. 385 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:14,960 And that's been kind of what's been difficult in our life is 386 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:20,680 we've had some really blessed years, 2022-2023, and I didn't 387 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:22,920 realise it at the time. You take it for granted, but 388 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:28,000 really blessed years and then the last few years have been 389 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,200 difficult and yet the scripture says that that we can't always 390 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,520 be on the mountain top forever. We can't always be riding high 391 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:37,360 forever. We will have to go into those 392 00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:41,320 valleys, but often we can come back out and all of us if we're 393 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:44,560 trusting in Christ the the reason I can say for certain it 394 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:47,360 will end for all of us is this isn't our home. 395 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:50,840 Our home is in heaven and one day it will all be finished 396 00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:53,800 where there is total peace and total joy. 397 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:58,640 And that's why I think God allows these things to hit us, 398 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:02,320 if you like to, to take a hold of us, because he wants to teach 399 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:06,120 us not to get too comfortable, not to get too cushy, not to lie 400 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:09,640 back and relax in this world, but to remember He is building 401 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:13,640 that new heaven and new Kingdom. And that will be our home. 402 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:17,120 That is what we fix our eyes on. Not on these earthly things 403 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:20,440 where moth and rusk can corrupt them, but fix our eyes on the 404 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:27,200 eternal things. But the final part of Galatians 405 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:29,040 6 verse 9 that I want to share with you. 406 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:33,160 And I'll be honest, when I read the comments from you guys, when 407 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,760 I hear how you're struggling it, it upsets me. 408 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:39,120 I truly do. I think you know this by now. 409 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:41,600 I truly do love you guys so much. 410 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,960 All of you turn up, all of you get your coffees and have your 411 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:48,880 tea with me and, and when I meet you in person, I really do. 412 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,480 I just, I love you guys so much. I hate how some of you are going 413 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:55,760 through massive trials. So I want to try and encourage 414 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:57,440 you of this. And here's here's the part I 415 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:00,080 want to encourage you with. So here we've got this lesson. 416 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,240 We've got this natural law of sowing and reaping. 417 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:06,240 You all know you put a seed in the ground and it doesn't come 418 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,800 back the next day with a beautiful big tree and an 419 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,040 orchard. It takes time, doesn't it? 420 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:14,880 You put it in, the seed has to die, you have to water it and it 421 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:17,840 takes a while. And so here's the lesson for you 422 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:22,480 and I, you and I, We need to just keep being faithful. 423 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:25,840 We need to keep watering our soul with the Word of God. 424 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:28,920 We need to keep feeding ourselves on the Word of God. 425 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:31,640 We need to stay close to the Lord God in prayer. 426 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:35,720 We need to be faithful. We need to be obedient to Him. 427 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,440 Now, as you know, I often preach that heaven is a is a gift, not 428 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,760 a reward. I got that from my friend Roger 429 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:44,440 Carswell, who's another evangelist. 430 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,080 But it's true, isn't it? We don't earn our way into 431 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:49,160 heaven. It's a total gift. 432 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,520 It's all on Christ's merit, not our own. 433 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:56,240 But the same time, once we are saved, we want to obey our God 434 00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:01,120 and, and Jesus himself said, if you love me, keep my commands. 435 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:04,640 So be faithful to him and be steadfast. 436 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:09,440 Now you know, you know what the word steadfast means probably, 437 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:11,160 don't you? It's for something to be 438 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:13,640 steadfast, there has to be a, a pressure on it. 439 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:16,800 There has to be a wait for, for it to be held together. 440 00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:19,480 And that's what it can feel like as Christians, it feels like 441 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:22,240 we're, we've got this, this, this pressure, maybe the 442 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,920 pressure of sin that keeps returning, that the pressure of 443 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:27,560 life's troubles, the, the pressure of, of failure, the 444 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,520 pressure of, of all these things of living as a Christian. 445 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:32,560 And it feels like I can't hold it up. 446 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:38,120 And yet then we need to remember beneath are the everlasting arms 447 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:40,840 of the Lord God. Just like Moses, when he, when 448 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:43,960 he couldn't hold his arms up anymore, he was told to hold his 449 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,000 arms up and the battle would be won. 450 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:49,160 What happens? I believe now don't quote me on 451 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,640 this, but I believe it was Aaron and Miriam who held his arms up. 452 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,560 But the point is this, someone held his arms up so he could 453 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:57,800 hold them up. What is that a picture of? 454 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:02,520 It's a picture of the Lord God holding us up when we can't 455 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:05,600 stand anymore, He holds us up. He's there. 456 00:26:05,760 --> 00:26:08,520 He's always there. Just like that poem Footprints. 457 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,640 I looked and I saw two sets of footprints and I don't 458 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,360 understand where did this this, Where did the footprints 459 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:16,720 disappear from? They were there at one point and 460 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,240 now they've gone. Well, when you only saw one 461 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:22,520 footprints in the sand, Jesus said that was the point when I 462 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:25,560 carried you. Let me share a hymn that I used 463 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:27,440 to love singing when I was a little child. 464 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:31,680 I didn't understand the words, but I do understand them now and 465 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,120 I think it's beautiful goes like this. 466 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:39,720 We have an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure, while 467 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:44,080 the billows roll fastened to the rock that shall not move, 468 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:47,800 grounded, firm and deep in the Saviours love. 469 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:52,160 So what am I saying? Cling to that anchor, cling to 470 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:56,240 the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ said if you abide 471 00:26:56,240 --> 00:27:02,960 in me, you will bear fruit and the fruits, the the blessing, 472 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,400 the the reward. That's not what we need to 473 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:08,600 concentrate on. That will come, but we have to 474 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:12,240 1st abide in Him, abide in Christ, get near to Christ, stay 475 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:14,880 close to Him. And then all these blessings, 476 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:19,320 nearness to God, revelations in the Scripture, a peace in your 477 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:22,360 heart, that joy, all of that, it will come. 478 00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:26,040 If we stay close to Christ, if we abide in Him, then the fruit 479 00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:28,520 will come. And something I always love to 480 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:30,280 share with people who are struggling is this. 481 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:35,800 Remember, even in the darkest of nights, mourning always comes. 482 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:38,760 And some of you, you're in a dark point in your life. 483 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:42,040 The night is black. You cannot see any hope. 484 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:47,080 You can't see any hope at all. But I want to remind you that 485 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:49,640 morning is on its way. Daylight is coming. 486 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:52,720 There is light at the end of the at the end of the tunnel and 487 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,240 he's near to you, so just call on his name. 488 00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:58,080 Guys, I've really, really enjoyed this. 489 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:01,160 It's been maybe a little bit more difficult to think about, 490 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,440 but do please share your prayer requests in the comments 491 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:06,320 section. Let's pray for one another. 492 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:07,840 Let's try and build one another up. 493 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:12,120 Just a big thank you as well to all of our channel members on 494 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:14,200 this channel. A big thank you to everyone 495 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:16,920 who's bought one of these mugs. A big thank you to people who've 496 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:20,600 helped us practically through our website and support in our 497 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:22,640 ministry. Thank you to everyone who signs 498 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:24,800 up to the newsletter, just thank you. 499 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,520 I really, really do appreciate and everyone who cares about 500 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:31,200 this ministry, it just means a lot to me and Emma and we're 501 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:34,560 very grateful for you guys. If you've still got plenty of 502 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,320 coffee in your cafeteria or you've still got a full cup of 503 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:41,160 tea, join us on this video over here because this is my latest 504 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:43,840 one that I think you might find helpful. 505 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:45,960 God bless you all and thank you for watching.