1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:05,560 Between you and me, a sentence from 1 old man has really upset 2 00:00:05,560 --> 00:00:07,360 me. Now as you know, as a street 3 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,840 preacher, I take all kinds of criticism, all kinds of 4 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:13,640 statements and I've got quite a thick skin and I just sort of 5 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,760 brush them off. But this one man said to me 6 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,920 whilst I was debating another group of people, he came in the 7 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:23,240 middle and he said you're wasting your time. 8 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,800 Now of course I've heard that before, but for some reason over 9 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:31,760 the last few weeks, the last few months, I can hear the voice of 10 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:35,400 that old man saying you're wasting your time. 11 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:38,680 And then sometimes I'll say I'm wasting my time. 12 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:42,640 And I've felt a real sense of that recently, that I've wasted 13 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:45,360 the years. You know, I look at how much 14 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:50,320 time I've wasted on YouTube, on different videos, on TikTok, 15 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:53,760 watching things, scrolling, reading articles that I'll 16 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,040 forget in an hour. I won't remember them in an 17 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:58,120 hour. And yet I spend so much time 18 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:01,160 doing that. I look back and I think of all 19 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:05,600 the times that I wasted money on junk food and even eating the 20 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:09,840 food, and I regret it. I regret not learning. 21 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,920 I regret not educating myself. I look back at my youth and I 22 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,560 think of some of the people that I used to spend time with. 23 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:18,840 And I think, Joe, why did you spend so many years of those 24 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:20,600 people? You know, when you're young, 25 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,600 you've got so much energy, and yet I wasted time doing wrong 26 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,560 things. And I know I'm not the only 27 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:31,640 person who feels like they have wasted away the years. 28 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,960 If that's you, if right now you're in a place of 29 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,440 hopelessness or despair, I want to give you some hope because 30 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:43,560 with the Lord God, he is in the business of restoring those 31 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,120 wasted years. So let's get to work. 32 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:48,320 Now. If you are new to the channel 33 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:52,680 here, this is my coffee channel where we basically just drink 34 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:57,200 coffee and we, we study the Bible and I've just got to be a 35 00:01:57,200 --> 00:01:59,120 bit careful there. I've overfilled that one there. 36 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:04,040 But yes, we drink coffee and we study the Bible. 37 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:05,880 Very different to my other channels. 38 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:10,080 This is just very basic, very simple, no sensationalism. 39 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:13,360 We just talk about the Bible. And a big thank you to everyone 40 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:15,320 who's bought one of our coffee mugs. 41 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:17,440 We'll put your face up here on the screen. 42 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,080 If you'd like to also be put up here on the screen or you'd just 43 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,560 like one of these mugs as a reminder to pray for this 44 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:26,280 ministry, well, get one of them and I'll send you an e-mail and 45 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:35,160 we'll put your face up here. OK, firstly there are people who 46 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:39,280 are listening to me right now. You have wasted away your years 47 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:43,840 in what's called backsliding. Now what does this word mean? 48 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,120 Well, it's, it comes through from a Hebrew word which I can't 49 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:52,160 pronounce, but it effectively means to retreat, to turn 50 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:55,520 around, to not be LED. It's, it's this kind of picture 51 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,040 that you'd have a young heffer or a young cow. 52 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:00,360 And this cow, it won't follow you. 53 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:02,480 It won't be LED. It does its own thing. 54 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:05,640 It turns its own way and it's kind of got this picture in my 55 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:07,360 mind. Whenever I think of backsliding, 56 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:10,320 I kind of picture, you know, I don't know if you live in a hot 57 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:12,040 country, you might not experience this. 58 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:14,960 But in my country, in a place like the Lake District, if 59 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:18,600 you're climbing up a mountain and it's muddy, you just start 60 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,400 sliding down. And sometimes it can be really 61 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:23,360 funny, actually. You try to get further and you 62 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,200 fall flat on your face. And that's what I kind of feel 63 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,600 like backsliding is It's you're trying, you know, you need to 64 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,280 get up the mountain because it's so difficult. 65 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:34,840 It's so much easier to slide backwards. 66 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,040 You end up going back. So how does this look in the 67 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,600 Christian life? Well, you know, you, you've 68 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:45,400 stopped reading the word of God, you've stopped praying, you've 69 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:47,600 stopped meeting with the fellowship of believers. 70 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,720 You've started playing around with sins that you know you 71 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:54,120 shouldn't. You started getting closer and 72 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:58,120 closer to the edge and you're changing and people can notice 73 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:00,200 that a bit. Like, you know when you've got a 74 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,680 grey hair on your head? Well, listen guys, but the day 75 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,880 you notice your grey hair, hair on your head wasn't the day all 76 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,640 of your friends noticed it. They noticed it a long time 77 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:12,520 before you. And yeah, that's what it's like 78 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,680 when we backslide. People notice it before. 79 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:19,360 We've noticed it ourselves. You're not the same as you once 80 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:21,920 were. You're not spending that, that 81 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:26,040 private time with the Lord God and, and the inner life often 82 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,320 reflects in our outer life. People can tell if we've been 83 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:31,400 with the Lord. Sometimes in just the way we 84 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:33,520 look. We've got a bit of a shine about 85 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,840 us, a bit of a joy in our eyes because we've been spending time 86 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,800 with our Saviour. But hey, if you're a backslider 87 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,960 and you feel like I'm too far gone, I've messed up too much, 88 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:48,240 good news, God can restore you. Look at Jeremiah 3 with me. 89 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,880 You will need a Bible for this little study, Jeremiah 3, and 90 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:56,760 we're going to look at verse 22. Return you backsliding children, 91 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:01,240 and I will heal your backslidings here. 92 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:05,040 The Lord God is, is calling to his people and he's saying 93 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:09,080 return to me, return from your backsliding. 94 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:11,480 You're retreating, you're turning the other way, you're 95 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,080 turning away from me, but I'm calling you to come back and 96 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,880 I'll heal these backslidings. All of the mess, all of the the 97 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:21,000 stuff that you've got yourself wrapped in right now. 98 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:22,640 And perhaps that's you listening right now. 99 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:25,200 You're entangled in all these things and you don't know how to 100 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:27,840 escape. Well, God will cut the cords of 101 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:29,880 that and he will allow you to escape. 102 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,320 He will heal you from your backsliding. 103 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,120 So what do you have to do then? How does the backslider get 104 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,240 restored? Well, he, he gets restored in 105 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:41,680 the same way that he came in, in the 1st place. 106 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:45,560 He just has to run to the Lord Jesus Christ. 107 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,800 I've shared this story, this message with you so many times, 108 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,040 but I love the story of the prodigal son. 109 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:56,320 After this prodigal, he goes out and he's messing around in sin 110 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,240 and he's done all that he wants to do and he's sold his, he's 111 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:00,880 finished all of his dad's inheritance. 112 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:03,520 He's got no money. He goes back, doesn't he? 113 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:08,720 And as he starts to be seen on the horizon there he sees his 114 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,720 dad in the distance, and his dad sees his son. 115 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,880 And his dad has a choice. Now his dad can just turn away. 116 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:21,280 Think this son, this son of mine, rebellious, evil, wasted 117 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:23,520 all of my money. I'm not having anything to do 118 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:25,160 with him. He could walk back into his 119 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,000 house, but that's not what he does. 120 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:32,320 When he sees his son running towards him, what does the 121 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:34,760 Father do? Does he run in the opposite 122 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:39,040 direction? No, he runs towards his son and 123 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,960 he embraces him. And friends, no matter how much 124 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:46,480 you have messed up, no matter how many years you've been gone 125 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:50,160 from the Father backsliding, God will restore you. 126 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,280 Just like that son had the the ring put on and the fatted calf 127 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:57,120 and threw a big party and he restored him. 128 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:01,200 So the Lord God is waiting to wrap his arms around you and to 129 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,000 restore you. I am really sorry if you watch 130 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,320 my last video on Saturday and you've already heard this story, 131 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:10,280 but I do think this is a beautiful story. 132 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:13,840 There was a Brazilian girl and her parents had smothered her in 133 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:15,720 love. They'd done everything for her. 134 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:18,640 They'd sacrificed lots. They'd given her all that they 135 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:23,080 could to look after her. But this young girl got into the 136 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:27,440 wrong crowd in her teenage years, and she began to mess 137 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:32,960 around again with sin. And eventually she, because she 138 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:36,760 was in the wrong crowd and she'd got herself a habit, she had to 139 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:39,240 run away from home. And she had to somehow fund that 140 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:42,800 habit by spending lots of time on the streets. 141 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:47,360 One night, after years away from home and a really hard night on 142 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:50,720 the street, she gets into a sort of crummy apartment. 143 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:52,600 You can picture it. It's just it's dirty. 144 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:56,160 There's stuff everywhere. And she just sort of slumps on 145 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,920 the floor. And then she notices something 146 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:02,280 in front of her. There's an envelope. 147 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,120 She picks it up. She opens it and there in front 148 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:09,680 of her is a picture of her mother and father. 149 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,840 As tears fill her eyes, she turns the picture over and just 150 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,040 reads these simple words on the back. 151 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:22,040 We don't care what you've done. We just want you to come home. 152 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:26,840 My dear friend, if you are a backslider, remember God is 153 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:30,960 saying this. I don't care what you've done, I 154 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:35,440 just want you to come home. So you better come home to him 155 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:40,840 today. OK #2 What is the other person 156 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,039 who feels like they need to be restored? 157 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:47,840 Well, it's the man or the woman who perhaps a situation has 158 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,920 arrived on your doorstep that is out of your control. 159 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:55,120 Something is here in your life and you have no control over it. 160 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,000 You just don't know what to do and it's destroying you. 161 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:00,720 It's destroying your life, it's destroying everything. 162 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:03,600 What do you do? How does God restore you with 163 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,760 that? Well, let's look at Joel chapter 164 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:11,000 2 with me. Joel chapter 2 and verse 25. 165 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,920 This is a very famous verse. So I will restore to you the 166 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:20,280 years that the swarming locust has eaten. 167 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:22,240 Now, I don't want to take this out of context. 168 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:24,680 So who was this passage written for? 169 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:27,760 It was written for the nation of Israel. 170 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,040 You see the nation of Israel, much like the backslider were 171 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:33,320 thinking about they've done their own thing. 172 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:36,280 They've tried to run the show. They've they've ran away from 173 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,480 the God who made them, who created them and loved them. 174 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,440 You know the Lord God said about Israel, you were the apple of my 175 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:44,960 eye. And yet for them that wasn't 176 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:47,200 good enough. So what did God do? 177 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:51,360 Well, sometimes, just like Jonah when he ran away, sometimes God 178 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:55,560 has to send storms into our life to get our attention. 179 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:59,760 So he sense these swarming locusts onto the land. 180 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,680 And these locusts, they, they ate all of the crops, they 181 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:05,480 consumed all of the wheat, they ate it all. 182 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:09,520 So there was nothing left. And if this was in our day right 183 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:11,880 now, it'd be like an economic ruin. 184 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:15,040 You know, there's no food, there's not no plenty. 185 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:17,680 Abundance has gone. It was a real time of 186 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:20,920 difficulty. So what did God do? 187 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:23,120 Here they are. They're devastated. 188 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:27,040 So what did God call them to do? Well, he sent the prophet Joel 189 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:34,680 to say fast, mourn over your sin, weep, cry out to the Lord 190 00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:40,600 God for forgiveness and repent. And that's exactly what the 191 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:44,440 people did. They mourned they they cried 192 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:49,000 out, they, they fasted and the Lord God, he did restore them. 193 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:51,760 He gave them their abundance back. 194 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:56,880 Now, if you're watching this now you might be saying to me, yes, 195 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:00,400 but Joe, I'm not actually too sure that this is happening to 196 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:03,640 me because of a sin I've done. You know, I find that hard to 197 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:05,640 believe. And I'll be honest with you, I 198 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:08,840 think you would know. I think you know deep within 199 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:11,960 yourself, yes, this is a, a chastisement from the Lord. 200 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:14,600 The Lord is disciplining me for a sin here. 201 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:16,680 I think you know it. I don't think you're left 202 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:18,720 guessing. Just like when you remember 203 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:21,880 Joseph's brothers, they appear before Joseph, but they don't 204 00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:24,600 realise it's Joseph. He's, he's dressed up like an 205 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:27,440 Egyptian kind of Pharaoh, the, the Prime Minister and they 206 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,640 don't realise it's him. And this, this Prime Minister, 207 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:33,920 this, this, this leader, he, he treats them very harshly. 208 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,000 He, he's very rough with them and he does all kinds of things. 209 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:40,920 And the brothers whisper amongst themselves saying maybe this is 210 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:43,360 God. This is God repaying us for the 211 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:47,160 way we treat our brother Joseph and I think it was they knew 212 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,920 within themselves. So if you are wondering is this 213 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:53,440 trouble are the locus in my life right now because of something 214 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:56,960 I've done wrong and you're not sure I would perhaps say I don't 215 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,800 think it is because you've done something wrong unless you've 216 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:04,680 got that conviction inside you. But sometimes these things in 217 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:08,440 God's mysterious Providence that we just don't understand. 218 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,880 Sometimes the Lord God does allow the locusts to come for 219 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:17,600 us. Whether that's a difficulty in 220 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:22,200 your home, whether that's a relationship breakdown, a loss 221 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:28,960 of a job, health trouble, sadness, some unfair thing that 222 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:32,760 has arrived, we don't. But God does allow these things 223 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:34,320 to happen. Why? 224 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,960 Because at times when we feel totally hopeless, at times when, 225 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,480 when the locusts chew up everything and leave us with 226 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:45,600 nothing, who else can we go to but the Lord God? 227 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:50,200 And these things, very often, they do actually build our 228 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:51,280 faith. Right? 229 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,600 I understand everything you're saying, Joe, but that kind of 230 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,680 doesn't explain how is the Lord going to restore me? 231 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:02,320 Well, obviously, I don't know your situation. 232 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,240 And this video will hopefully go out to a number of different 233 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:07,880 people from different backgrounds. 234 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,120 So I don't know whether the Lord will restore you. 235 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,040 I can't say that for certain with everyone, but I do know 236 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,080 this. Just like the people of Israel, 237 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:21,080 when they called out to Him, when they sought His face, when 238 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:25,080 they fasted, when they mourned, the Lord God took pity on them 239 00:13:25,560 --> 00:13:29,480 and He did bring them back. He even gave them abundance, He 240 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:32,040 restored them. So what would I say to you? 241 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:36,400 I would say the same thing, call on the name of the Lord God and 242 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:40,160 just keep knocking, especially if you feel like this is an 243 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,920 injustice just like that, that that poor widow who who went to 244 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,280 the the unjust judge and she just would not leave him alone 245 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:51,040 and said give me justice. And eventually the judge said, 246 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,680 listen, this woman will not stop bothering me so I will give her 247 00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:58,000 justice. And this is a a wicked judge. 248 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,480 How much more than your heavenly Father. 249 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:04,280 So keep calling on him. Now, if the Lord God does not 250 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,280 restore you in this life, I do have a hope for you that we're 251 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,600 going to come back to in a moment's time. 252 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:13,640 But I will say this, you probably have heard stories of 253 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:17,040 how God has restored the years that the locusts have eaten. 254 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,400 I actually heard this verse for the first time. 255 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:22,880 I was in a charity shop. I'm not sure what you call them 256 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,640 in America, but it's basically where people take their old kind 257 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:30,240 of goods like this jumper. If I didn't want it anymore, I'd 258 00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:34,440 take it to a charity shop and then the charity would go on and 259 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,360 sell it and then the money would go to to the charity. 260 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,480 Well, I was in a charity shop and I met a Christian woman 261 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:44,240 there who had been at one of my evangelistic services when I was 262 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:46,920 a very, very young man just starting out in ministry. 263 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:49,520 And as I said, I'd never even heard of this verse before. 264 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:53,480 And here I was preaching. Anyway, she came up to me and 265 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,440 she'd spoken to me at the meeting and then she said, you 266 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:00,720 know, I've lost my husband. I've been going through a 267 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:04,640 terrible time with so many different troubles, but I 268 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:08,800 believe the Lord God is going to restore to me the years that the 269 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,080 locusts have eaten. And he does do that, doesn't he? 270 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:16,840 Sometimes in in very miraculous ways, He restores us. 271 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:22,400 Now here's the part of the message I'm dreading because I 272 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,200 really, really didn't want to share this with you. 273 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:27,080 And I thought, I'm not going to share it. 274 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,160 And then as I was doing more research for this message, one 275 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:33,200 of the things I came across was when we go through these trials, 276 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:36,800 when we go through these difficulties, God uses it so 277 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:39,440 that we can teach another generation, so we can share our 278 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:42,080 testimony. And I kind of felt like that was 279 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:46,120 the Lord saying, come on, Joe, it's about time you shared this 280 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:49,800 with the people. As you know, I've, I've written 281 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:54,600 a book called 100 pure thoughts. It's been a thing on my heart 282 00:15:54,600 --> 00:16:01,000 for many years to, to help men and women find that purity and 283 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:05,320 seek the Lord and to live a life that is holy despite all of the 284 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,680 things that we've watched and we've filled our mind with 285 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:13,040 thoughts that are unclean. And it's been a long journey for 286 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:16,120 me over many years, many different lessons to try and get 287 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:19,240 myself pure. But I'll tell you how the Lord 288 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:23,600 finally did it for me a number of years ago. 289 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:28,680 I, and I'm going to be vague here, but I found something in 290 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:31,920 an area that no man wants to find something. 291 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:35,800 And I put it bluntly, I freaked out. 292 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:40,160 I was really, really scared. And I went to the doctors and 293 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,240 kind of thought, oh, it's just me, you know, just me worrying 294 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:44,280 over worrying. They're going to tell me 295 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:47,120 everything's fine. But they said no, there is a 296 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:50,120 concern here. And they sent me for a scan. 297 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:53,240 Again, when I was in the scan, I was just kind of, it should be 298 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:57,960 OK and I was, but I was still very, very nervous during the 299 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:01,920 scan. The the lady who was conducting 300 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:07,319 the scan took a long, long time. And yeah, again, just while 301 00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:10,920 being vague, she she said, you know, we're going to have to get 302 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:13,720 the results back to the doctor. The doctor got in touch me very 303 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:19,720 quickly and said, yes, what we were looking at, we are 304 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:25,000 concerned about it. It is suspicious and it has a 305 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,640 blood supply, which for the particular thing I'm talking 306 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:31,080 about is not good news at all. And so that was it. 307 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,040 I thought in the particular area it was with everything that's 308 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:37,760 gone on, I thought that's it. The Lords just, it's just, I've 309 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,120 just gone one too many times over the edge. 310 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:43,240 I've crossed that invisible line that I've talked about before. 311 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:47,720 I've sinned so far that God's just going to block me out. 312 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:51,280 That's it, I'm dead. So I am. 313 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:53,480 This is all while I've got this YouTube channel. 314 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:57,360 I took some time off YouTube a number of years ago, if you 315 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:01,400 might remember. I took a break off and during 316 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:05,960 this time I I spent just 10 days in prayer. 317 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:08,440 I must have walked. I don't know how many, but tens, 318 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:12,440 20, dozens of miles. I was walking mile after mile. 319 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:15,480 I was fasting and I was just calling out to God. 320 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:18,320 Please, please give me a second chance. 321 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:21,160 Please, please don't take me yet, Lord. 322 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:25,160 I just can't go with this sin looming over me. 323 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,480 Please don't let this be the reason. 324 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,920 Because it's all right if if the Lord takes you and that's your 325 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:34,040 time and he calls you, as hard as that is for us to say, but 326 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:38,680 it's another thing to be taken because you've done wrong. 327 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:41,360 And that was what was really in the back of my mind. 328 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:44,280 And I called on God's name over and over. 329 00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:49,280 Anyway, I had to go and see another specialist and have 330 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:53,080 another scan. And on this other scan, they 331 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:57,360 said we can't find it. We don't know what this other 332 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:02,280 radiographer was, was concerned that we can't find what this is. 333 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:05,360 And then I went to have another scan after that. 334 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:09,000 And no, it's, you're absolutely fine, young man, Don't, don't, 335 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,840 don't worry. And during that time, actually, 336 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:16,560 I'd made when I was didn't know, when I was left in limbo, shall 337 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:20,480 we say, I made two vows. I won't share one of them. 338 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:25,320 But the other one, the first one was, I will never, Lord, if you 339 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:29,000 get me through this, I will never watch that stuff again. 340 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:34,160 And he got me through it. And I can look at you straight 341 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:37,440 in the face now and you read whether I'm telling the truth or 342 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,760 not. I've never watched it since, and 343 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:44,520 I give all glory to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in what He 344 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:47,560 did. He really did restore to me the 345 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:49,720 years that the locusts have eaten. 346 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:53,320 Although I'd spent years on this stuff and now in the Lord's 347 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,280 grace, I've been able to help people get off this stuff. 348 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,280 He restored it for me and I just felt I should share that with 349 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:04,160 you now my friends who? It was part of a little 350 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:07,720 accountability group that we had where we shared these things. 351 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:11,080 He put it like this because I thought, is it just me just over 352 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:13,800 worrying over and over again, just worrying about things. 353 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:15,720 And there was actually nothing to worry about. 354 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,600 And, and you know, the radiographer, she just made a 355 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:21,480 mistake in the 1st place. But he said, no, I don't think 356 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:24,120 it was that. I think you probably did have 357 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:25,360 that. You know what? 358 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:29,720 But the Lord God healed you. You make up your mind what 359 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:32,480 happened there. And yeah, just forgive me if 360 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:36,040 this was too personal, but I just felt I've been sitting on 361 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:37,600 this story for a long, long time. 362 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:39,960 And I make videos every week, multiple videos. 363 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:43,400 And I've never shared this yet, but I feel like it was important 364 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:45,000 to. I thought, I thought the Lord 365 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:49,440 was asking me to share it today. OK, lastly, let's talk to, I'm 366 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:54,520 going to call the people who are more seasoned in life, people 367 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,800 who've been on this earth a little bit longer than the rest 368 00:20:57,800 --> 00:20:59,920 of us, let's put it that way. I remember when I was going to 369 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:03,160 join a new church and me and my wife, Emma, we went to the 370 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,880 pastor and we shared difficulties we'd had in 371 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:09,680 ministry, in Christianity and in churches in the past. 372 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:12,760 And the pastor said something that's very, very interesting. 373 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:16,760 I've never forgotten. He said it's mega, mega 374 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:18,600 concerning. He didn't put it like that, but 375 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:23,120 he said I am concerned to hear you talking about this as young 376 00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:26,880 people in Christianity. You see, these are supposed to 377 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,240 be your happiest years. These are supposed to be your 378 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:30,880 years where you're you're full of joy. 379 00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:34,720 And for you to be disillusioned and confused and have headaches 380 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:38,040 with the church already, that really does concern me. 381 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:42,440 Because he said it's fair enough for us in our older years when 382 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:45,760 we're more skeptical about the church and we've seen many 383 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,000 different things. And that's really the point. 384 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,240 I want to drive home to us right now. 385 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:54,240 If you are older and you're listening to me right now, you 386 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:57,600 are a bit sceptical of life. You are a bit sceptical of 387 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,160 preachers, of the church, of different things. 388 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:04,240 Because you have had many years where you, perhaps you think 389 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:07,520 you've wasted the years, but the years have taken something from 390 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:09,640 you. And you look at yourself in the 391 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:13,240 mirror and you think I'm not the same as I was when I was a young 392 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:16,200 man. I'm disillusioned with life. 393 00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:22,000 I'm fed up, and perhaps you've even given up hope to be happy. 394 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:27,960 Well, let's have a conversation. Psalm 71, verse 9. 395 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:32,720 Just turn to Psalm 71. We looked at Psalm 72 a few 396 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:35,520 weeks ago, if you remember. Well, actually, if you're an 397 00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:39,080 older person and you're struggling in life right now, I 398 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:42,680 think Psalm 71 is the one that you need to focus on. 399 00:22:43,120 --> 00:22:46,200 Sorry, I've just realised it was Psalm 73. 400 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:55,920 We looked at the other week, but Psalm 71, verse 9, do not cast 401 00:22:55,920 --> 00:23:01,200 me off in the time of old age. Do not forsake me when my 402 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:09,120 strength fails. So here we've got David and he's 403 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,560 entered into old age. And David here is saying that he 404 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:15,680 feels almost as if God has forgotten him. 405 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:20,040 He's he's given up on him. He sort of feels like, listen, 406 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:22,280 I've done my years of evil and trouble. 407 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,240 I've had all of this already and he expects a little bit 408 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:28,920 different now I'm in old age. He kind of thinks, will this let 409 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:33,200 up right now and he's saying, God just just don't forget about 410 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:35,480 me. Then I want you to look at verse 411 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,160 18 with me. Look at verse 18. 412 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:44,600 Now also when I am old and grey headed, oh God, do not forsake 413 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:49,800 me until I declare your strength to this generation, Your power 414 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:53,880 to everyone who has come. So again, here is David and he's 415 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:56,440 saying, listen now I've got grey hairs. 416 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,480 I want to share what the Lord has done for me just like I was 417 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:02,840 trying to share. Then I want to share the, the 418 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:05,920 story, the testimony, the goodness of God with other 419 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:09,280 people. It is interesting in, in my 420 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:15,200 nation, in the UK, they did a, a study, a big poll of, of all the 421 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:20,240 people in the UK, all those aged 65 and older and they asked 422 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:25,120 them, are you lonely? What do you think it came out as 423 00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:29,760 saying? It said basically 90%, nine out 424 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:34,720 of 10 people in the UK struggle with loneliness. 425 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:41,520 They feel like no one cares. Their family, they're just far 426 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:43,920 too busy to visit me. They've got children, they've 427 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:46,880 got their careers. I've got no friends. 428 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:50,240 My, some of my friends have passed away who were so near and 429 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,720 dear to me. My job, you know, I would have 430 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:55,480 worked longer but I got the impression that they didn't want 431 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,200 me there anymore and they just feel lonely. 432 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,080 They fill their hours watching television, They fill their 433 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,760 hours just sitting in the house on their own. 434 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:09,880 And honestly, that that breaks my heart to think about that. 435 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:14,440 The people who have built this nation, the people who who have 436 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:18,080 loved this nation, who've paid taxes, this nation, and yet we 437 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:21,840 just leave them. I don't want to put it as 438 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:24,080 bluntly as what's in my mind, but we just leave them there, 439 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:27,040 don't we? And it's and it's wrong and it's 440 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:31,320 not right. And yet for the Christian, David 441 00:25:31,320 --> 00:25:34,120 is saying differently. For the man of God, he's saying 442 00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:37,360 God, The reason he calls out to God, don't forsake me because he 443 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:40,480 knows that the Lord God will not forsake him. 444 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:44,880 He knows that God is different. He knows that that like wine, 445 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:48,520 that only gets better with age. So it is with the Christian. 446 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:51,560 It only matures. It only gets better the older 447 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:53,920 you grow. What's the evidence of this? 448 00:25:53,920 --> 00:26:00,080 Look at verse 20 of Psalm 71. You who have shown me great and 449 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:06,200 severe troubles, shall revive me again and bring me up again from 450 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:12,680 the depths of the earth. You see, This is why I believe 451 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:15,480 David was called a man after God's own heart. 452 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:18,360 Here he was, he's had severe troubles. 453 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:20,800 Here he is. He's struggling with with old 454 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:25,080 age, and yet he still puts his faith in God. 455 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:29,360 He has this wonderful, extravagant faith in the Lord 456 00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:32,880 God that God will not leave him. Even though he's gone through 457 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:34,680 this trouble, God will not leave him. 458 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,360 He will revive him again. He will renew him again. 459 00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:42,680 He will transform him again. And what does he say out of the 460 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,680 depths of the earth? What is David talking about 461 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,600 here? He's talking about the ultimate 462 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:53,480 hope for every single Christian, the glorified body, the 463 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:57,760 glorification where the Lord God makes us into the image of 464 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:00,240 Christ. He gives us this new body, this 465 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:05,280 glorified body, and revives us. These knees that creak, this 466 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:08,520 body that isn't the same. The pain and the trouble that we 467 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:11,440 all go through. We all go for it, young people 468 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:13,640 and all the like. We know that this isn't our 469 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:15,840 heaven. It doesn't take a genius to see 470 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:17,920 that. And yeah, for the Christian, 471 00:27:17,920 --> 00:27:21,600 there is a hope that he will one day return and give us all of 472 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:25,400 this glory, all of this hope. Let me finish with one final 473 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:27,760 challenge because there's been something the Lord has laid on 474 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:31,200 my heart, and I've wondered when it might be that I'm going to 475 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:35,000 share it. Turn with me to Second Timothy 476 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:40,120 chapter 4, verse six. Second Timothy chapter 4, verse 477 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:43,280 6. Here we find the apostle Paul, 478 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:48,080 and he's writing to the younger preacher, his apprentice, his 479 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:53,160 successor, if you like, Timothy. And he says this, For I am 480 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:58,760 already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of 481 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:05,600 my departure is at hand. Now, as you know, I love coffee. 482 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,640 I can't drink enough of it, but I know I should. 483 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:11,960 Only this is about the amount I have every single day, a full 484 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:14,160 cafetiere to myself. And some of you thinking, whoa, 485 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:19,240 Joe, that's a lot in itself. But there is a sadness every day 486 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:23,200 when the cafetiere, I know there's just One Cup left as I 487 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:25,040 pour it. I know that this is it. 488 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:27,560 That's my last cup now for the day. 489 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:30,840 And I can't have any more, or I'm not going to sleep or it's 490 00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:34,160 just not great to have more. I'm being greedy and there's a 491 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:39,360 sense of sadness. Oh, it's finished. 492 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:42,720 Oh, that's the highlight of my day, the coffee. 493 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,680 And now I can't have any more and it's gone. 494 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,800 So I'm going to savour this. I'm going to enjoy it. 495 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:57,760 Well, do you know that's exactly what I think Paul is trying to 496 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:00,800 say here. He's saying I'm I'm like a a 497 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:03,120 drink offering. I'm like a drink. 498 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:05,400 I'm I'm I'm at the very last dregs. 499 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:09,400 The last of it is done. My life which I've lived, I've 500 00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:13,240 spent it for the Lord God. Yes, I had many years and he's a 501 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:16,760 good example of someone who the Lord God restored those wasted 502 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:19,680 years. I've wasted many years, but I've 503 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:23,480 the time from since I met the risen Lord, I've given 504 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:27,080 everything and now my drink is down. 505 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,840 Now I'm at the final drink, the final cup of the day. 506 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:35,400 I'm just about to see the Lord and listen, you might be older 507 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:37,720 in years and you might be able to relate to this and think, 508 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:43,280 yes, I'm at the final lap of the race Now I'm I'm just near the 509 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,400 sights of seeing my Lord God. But there could be a young 510 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:51,840 person, even me, myself, we none of us know when we've got that 511 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:56,000 final cup left on that final cup of coffee is to be drank when 512 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,320 we're at the very end. None of us know that. 513 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:04,560 And yeah, what do I want to say to you guys if you feel like 514 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:09,200 you've got no hope, if you feel like I'm never going to be 515 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:11,920 restored, I'm never going to get rid of this trouble. 516 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:16,240 If you've trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, as David said, 517 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:18,800 he'll bring you out of the depths of the earth. 518 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:22,800 There is always hope for the Christian because soon you're 519 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:24,840 going to see the Lord Jesus Christ. 520 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:26,840 Soon you're going to see the prize. 521 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:30,240 Because this world is difficult. And this is what you've been 522 00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:32,240 living for all these years. You've been living as a 523 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:34,240 Christian. You've been building up to this. 524 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:36,440 It's very difficult to be a Christian. 525 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:38,680 You've got to live a life of sacrifice. 526 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:42,520 You can't just earn lots of money and then live it and spend 527 00:30:42,520 --> 00:30:44,920 it all on yourself. You've got to give it to others 528 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:46,960 that Bible says to share with the poor. 529 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:50,360 You can't just go out and do whatever and anything in your 530 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:52,400 eyes. You see, you can't just go out 531 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:54,160 and fulfill every desire inside of you. 532 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:58,080 No, you've got to sacrifice. You've got to read the Bible and 533 00:30:58,080 --> 00:30:59,880 be disciplined. And it's not easy at times. 534 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:03,160 It's not easy to to pray at times it's not easy to be a 535 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:06,880 Christian to to keep trying to turn away from these sins that 536 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:09,320 drag you down. It's not easy, but you have 537 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:10,160 lived for it. Why? 538 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:13,560 Because it's the truth and you believe in the risen Lord Jesus. 539 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:15,160 You've put your trust in Him and you love. 540 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:18,360 Let me leave you with one final quotes. 541 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:24,040 GK Chesterton said. The Christian ideal has not been 542 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:28,760 tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and 543 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:32,560 left untried, and that is the reality. 544 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:34,760 It's difficult to be a Christian. 545 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:39,000 It's really, really hard. And that's why very few come to 546 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,880 the Lord Jesus Christ, because they count the cost and they see 547 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:46,800 it's too costly to follow Jesus. And yet you're different. 548 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:50,640 You're listening right now and you have followed the Lord Jesus 549 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:52,520 Christ and you've lived this life. 550 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:54,840 But it's worth it. Why? 551 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:57,160 Because the Lord God, he's no debtor. 552 00:31:57,360 --> 00:32:01,040 He's no man's debtor, and He will reward you tenfold, A 553 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:03,320 hundredfold. If you've given up things in 554 00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:05,640 this life, He'll give you so much more. 555 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:09,720 He'll restore everything and more in the new Kingdom. 556 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:12,560 But above all, you don't need all of these riches. 557 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,840 You don't need this perfect life and all of these different 558 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:18,920 things. You just need Christ and you're 559 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:21,440 going to have him in heaven for all of eternity. 560 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:24,800 That's the restoration we wait for. 561 00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:28,640 I really am enjoying doing these videos with you. 562 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:31,280 If you're new to the channel, please do subscribe. 563 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:34,160 Thank you so much for everyone who's joined the channel as a 564 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,440 member, everyone who's prayed for the channel, everyone who 565 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:39,160 supports, who allows me to continue this ministry. 566 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:42,720 I am so grateful. If you would like to see my last 567 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:46,800 video where I was talking about Psalm 73 and talking about being 568 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:50,480 tired out, being worn out as a Christian, click here. 569 00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:53,200 God bless you all and thank you for watching.