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 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast.

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 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you.

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 Thank you for joining us today.

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 Good evening, everyone. On behalf of the management, I apologize that things weren't

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 what they should have been last week. There was a mix-up, and we will now continue on with

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 Chapter 22, and we'll take up where Chris left off.

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 Lord, we thank you tonight that you are risen, that we serve someone that is living,

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 someone that is intimate in our lives as we allow you to be.

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 We thank you for the blessings that we have received.

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 We thank you for the opportunity to share. We ask, Lord, as we break the bread of life

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 in Chapter 22, we ask, Lord, that we will receive and be edified by the things that unfold tonight.

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 So, Lord, we give tonight to you, and we thank you for everyone that has come.

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 We ask that you bless them richly, we pray. In the name of Jesus, everyone said, amen.

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 Amen. Joshua 22 will soon be finished with Joshua.

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 I actually hate to leave. I mean, it's been so good, and I don't know whether you

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 listen to… I mean, when I sit home, if I don't get it right on, I get it maybe like the next

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 evening or whatever, but there's just so much continuity and yet so much diversity in the

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 fellows as they share. So, it's good. All right. Let's take a look at a short outline

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 of the 22nd chapter of Joshua. First off, it starts off with Joshua sending the Eastern tribes

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 home, and those tribes were Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. So, he said, go home,

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 thank you for your full service, thank you for warring with us, may you be blessed. And the Lord

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 gave Israel rest after the war for the land that they had had was now conquered. So, he blesses

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 them and he exhorts them to remain faithful to the Lord. So, this is almost like a partying

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 benediction because as you get into family life, the herds and the sheep and all that stuff,

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 they weren't trooping together across the desert. They were settling down

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 and living their own lives. So, in the next part of the chapter in verses 9 through 20,

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 the Eastern tribes, which we just talked about, built a large altar near Jordan and all of a sudden

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 there was a situation that came about because the Western tribes believed that it was an act of

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 rebellion to prepare and so they prepared for war. What is this? I mean, we have one Lord,

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 one God. It is in a tabernacle. We transported it across the desert and here there is an

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 altar being built. So, Phineas, as he was a wise man, and we'll talk a little bit about him,

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 and the leaders begin to investigate the matter before everybody wants to go to war.

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 So, they found out that the purpose of the altar was then explained as an altar of witness

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 to what the Lord has done, not a place to bring sacrifices. So, there was a misunderstanding

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 and then they rectified that and it served as a shared covenant with the Lord. So, you see that

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 there was a misunderstanding. They remedied it and in the last part, 30, 34, the explanation then

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 was accepted by the rest of the tribes. The conflict was avoided and the altar is named as

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 a witness that the Lord he is God. So, this is a synopsis of the chapter. Those little yellow

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 words are important to us, so let's take a look at what this is all about. So, Israel experienced

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 affliction through the years of warfare. There were about seven long years of warfare between

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 the Israelites after crossing the Jordan and when their national conquest was finally finished,

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 they were then at rest, but that was a seven-year war. Now, what did that look like? What were

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 these afflictions that Joshua had to lead the people through? Basically, there was a lot of

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 misunderstanding. There was a lot of learning that still had to be done. So, Joshua's instructions

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 to defeat Jericho seemed foolish by human people. If I were to tell you that we're going to have

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 conquest and go to war, do you think that it would be that we just march around the city or what?

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 And blow a trumpet? You know, in the natural, it wasn't necessarily a cool thing. But anyway,

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 this is what God wanted and God was providing. He was, again, delegating through Joshua what to do.

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 So, Joshua lost the war because then there was another war because Achan

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 stole some garments in gold and silver. He didn't know, but he lost it. And he had to go and kill

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 Achan because of his disobedience. And then Joshua uses now a new form of war that was introduced,

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 is the ambush. This wasn't a miracle from God, but God was behind and was ambushed. That's how

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 he killed the remaining people. And then Joshua is deceived by the Gibeonites, and he had to make

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 a covenant without asking God. So, there was two errors here. He was deceived in the sense

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 that they came to him from afar. They had dirt on their clothes. They had bread that was hard and

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 crusty, and yet they were a neighboring faction of what was to be conquered. And so, he made a

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 covenant with them, and long behold, they were close and very close. And by virtue of that

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 obligation then, when they were afraid and they were going to be at war with other nations,

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 other tribes rather, they came to him, and he then had to defend them from the Amorite kings.

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 Joshua had to war against a massive coalition of 12 tribes. In seven years, he conquered.

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 And this is what's said about Joshua. 31 kings were defeated in the Promised Land. So,

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 there was victory, but these afflictions, if you look at them, were very instantaneous. Some

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 were planned. Some were not. God was in it. God was out of it. And so, consequently,

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 he dealt with problem areas. Okay. That affliction. Like the Israelites,

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 we, you and I, experience sessions in our life when God brings us through enormous afflictions

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 and delivers us from that. Have any ever been afflicted with things?

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 All hands go up, for sure. And, however, this does not mean that every enemy was then eliminated,

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 as we would read on. Many pockets of the Canaanites remained in the land.

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 And Israel would continue to fight local skirmishes for many, many years.

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 Say, the first question I might ask, well, why didn't he deliver them all? And we'll get into that.

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 Let's take a look as an aside. Phidias is a very interesting individual. I had shared the other

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 Sunday morning, statistically, without going into great detail, that the Israelites, though they

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 were considered now one nation, they still had what? Obstacles that prevented them from knowing God.

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 Idols. They had worship. They were marrying other than Israelites outside of the camp,

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 so to speak, the 12 tribes. And there was confusion in there. And I said in that

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 presentation that there was about one out of every 10 people that were Israelites that really

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 followed God passionately. Others were casual, others rebelled, others got killed. And so,

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 consequently, we have this issue that's continually before us. But Phidias,

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 he was a man of passion for the Lord. So, as he was placed in the scripture, he followed

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 God and his laws passionately. And you can read about him, but I just want to give you a couple

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 thoughts. Phidias became famous during Israel's wilderness journey. He kind of popped up when

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 there was confusion. There was many Israelites that, again, worship Baal, Peor. They committed

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 sexual immorality with the Moabites. And God's judgment then fell on Israel. And what happened?

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 They started to die. When an Israelite man openly brought a Midianite woman into the camp,

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 it was almost like showing off what he could do. Phidias then acted immediately. He pulled

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 out his sword. He ran after the guy. The guy ran into his tent, and he stabbed both

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 him and the Midianite woman. So, that was interesting. But his actions stopped the plague,

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 because there was 24 people that already were killed because of this incident.

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 And immorality and idolatry, as you know, is typically what we had dealt with through all

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 these issues with the Israelites. They were to be one nation. They were to be followers of God.

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 And yet, we talked about how casually they would bring their idols with them, and they would

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 statistically have more idols than not in their camp. And God wanted to rid them of this.

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 So, he stopped the plague, and God said about Phidias. He was a high priest. He was zealous

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 with my zeal among them, meaning many. So, you see, here is another individual that we can

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 put on the shelf as one of the things we had talked about. Samuel was there. He was a patriot,

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 but that was after the kingdom got established. There was, again, Israel had people that were

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 synonymous with rebellion and people that were synonymous with blessing, and he was

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 one with blessing. Okay, let's leave that, and let's look at, by way of example,

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 the differences between afflictions and skirmishes. First off, afflictions are hardships,

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 very, very big issues in your life. And we have skirmishes that are inconveniences.

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 So, let's compare those and take a look at them. Serious life-changing illness can be a

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 issue that you're dealing with. We personally know that in our household. Joni has MS,

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 and we deal with that on a daily basis. Persecution of your faith. I don't think we,

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 anyone in this room, we may have been made fun of for our salvation on our testimony,

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 but we really haven't been persecuted as those... Think about the Iranians right now,

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 that the underground church is suffering. And what happened yesterday?

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 Three people that were protesters had been brought up, and they were shot publicly, once again,

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 a show of, quote, unquote, strength from the IRGC. And so, consequently, we haven't had that,

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 but that is persecution. That is affliction. The loss of a loved one. And that inexperience

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 in and of itself is a great issue that people deal with day in and day out. And long-term

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 unemployment maybe is an issue because of health or whatever reason. And then chronic pain and

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 disability. So, those are afflictions. However, on the other side, when you take and look at

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 what skirmishes tend to be, traffic delays, anybody ever lose their temper over traffic

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 delays? Yes. You're talking to the guy in your front of you, and my wife says,

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 well, who are you talking to? The guy in the front of him. Minor disagreements,

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 daily frustrations, unexpected expenses, and interruptions. So, now, both of these,

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 and we'll talk about the dualism of these things tonight, can be used by God to mature us.

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 Well, we don't want to talk about that. Yeah, well, we're going to talk about that.

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 But afflictions are generally referring to weighty matters of life and death, perhaps,

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 hardship, suffering, while skirmishes tend to be daily and are more numerous small,

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 irritating, reoccurring challenges that also can shape our character. Both shape our character.

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 So, the first question that we have, why do you think God uses both major hardships

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 and everyday challenges to shape us?

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 So, is it all affliction or just small skirmishes? Yes.

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 Well, first of all, I've learned that in order for faith to grow, you have to go through hardship.

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 Yes.

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 Otherwise, it won't grow and you won't be any closer to be like Christ unless you've

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 been through a trial and a test. And isn't it sometimes true that all of us gather around

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 the big afflictions and we seek God and we're close and all of a sudden things are remedied

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 and what happened? Kind of easy, Street. Things are good. While the afflictions

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 tend to help us keep our eyes on Him. Any other thoughts?

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 Yes, Gail.

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 Well, there's also different levels of things that we have to learn. Some things are deeper

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 and some things are of our heart and some things are more of a mind over matter type of thing.

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 So, it just depends on the level of learning that you need to go through and God knows

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 what that is. We don't. So, He uses those different things.

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 Are we all finished learning? Anybody arrive yet? No, no hands on that one.

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 Okay. Agreed. All right. So, we have these differences. It's an observation that God

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 wants to use all of them. And again, the next question would be what disciplines help you

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 endure these afflictions and skirmishes? What helps you get out of the mindset

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 or out of the funk or out of the difficulty when you're going through it? What helps you?

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 What helps me is my faith. Okay. Okay. And knowing that, excuse me, that I'm not alone.

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 All right. That's good. That my Lord and Savior is with me. And then please walk Him

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 beside me and lead me through the storm. Okay. Anybody else? Any other thoughts?

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 I'm wondering God's word. You know that God is constantly telling you about no quarrels,

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 no, what do you call it? Being patient and to be like Nehemiah. You can say a quick prayer

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 and get through what your heart's about that moment.

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 You know, what's interesting, if we resort to prayer much quicker after reading the word and

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 being fortified with the word, the skirmishes tend to want to go away because the lesson is

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 learned. My prayer these days is, Lord, when you show me something, I want to learn the lesson

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 so I don't have to go through it again. Any other hands? Jackie?

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 I was just going to say thankfulness. Be thankful for everything.

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 Yeah. That's right. That's right. Go ahead. I'm sorry.

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 Okay. I was just going to say, and the word definitely helps. And I've noticed that if

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 I could sing a song, it speaks to my heart really, and it calms me and

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 brings you a little bit closer with the Lord there.

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 Yeah. I mean, I like to do that too, but my wife tells me I don't have a voice.

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 So we got…

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 Yes.

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 No, no. Same thing.

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 I was just going to say thankfulness, but Jackie said the same thing.

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 All the things that get our eyes off of ourselves and back onto the Lord. Worship, singing,

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 reading, meditating, knowing that our salvation has been bought with Christ's blood

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 and the healing that we have through the stripes that he gave on the cross.

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 All right. So now let's look at afflictions particularly that storm into our life.

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 The Bible says that afflictions broadly describe opposition, stress, and suffering.

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 And God says this of his people, I have surely seen the affliction of my people

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 who are in Egypt. He acknowledges that. And then he was sending Moses to bring them out.

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 So God used Israel's battles back to our premise or the afflictions,

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 not only to give them an inheritance, but also to teach them. And this is important

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 because the battles are now finished, dependence, obedience, courage, and faith.

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 These are the continuing things that we draw out of these battles.

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 Like we said, in the battle, we're righteous, we're there, we're pressing in,

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 and now all is good. We kind of are comfortable. But he still wants to teach us these things.

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 Question. How have your afflictions drawn you closer to the Lord rather than further away from him?

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 So you have afflictions. How has that drawn you?

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 Jackie.

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 They're giving me a shorter and shorter mic. Boy, I tell you what.

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 Well, I think with me, you go through these afflictions and heartaches and all,

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 and you learn that God's faithful, and you see how he's worked through it, through the verses,

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 or through other people, or through a song. So when the next one comes, you remember,

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 and you just trust him, and that he's going to be there, and you rely on him that way.

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 You can almost say repetition's the mother of learning, because if you repeat it long

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 enough and often enough, you begin to get the message. It's important to know that.

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 Okay. There's another question up here that we want to ask before we go on,

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 and that is, has sharing your afflictions with other people helped you to strengthen your faith?

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 I know in my instance, in my life, I don't so much share about what God took me through. It was a

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 financial issue, but in my wife's instance, sharing about her and her testimony, it has really

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 strengthened us to believe, even as she is disabled and she has these impediments, that we

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 still pray for her healing. We believe that, and it is a testimony to other people. She gets discouraged

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 and says, well, what's my mission? Well, your mission is to be the person you are, and many

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 people have said over and over again, it's a challenge to them to look at Joni, and as

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 nice as she is, she's not inflicted with the idea of being depressed. She's not

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 useless in the sense of her personality, so she's edifying people just even in the wheelchair

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 situation that she's in. How about anybody else? Yes.

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 I was just thinking I was trying to find the scripture that came to my mind is,

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 I think it was David that said, I was glad when I was afflicted that I may learn

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 of the Lord or something under that order. In other words, affliction is good because it

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 does draw us closer to the Lord. It really does. It does. It matures us. It sure does,

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 and it reveals things about ourselves. Both good and bad, right? That's for sure.

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 Anyone else? Thoughts? All right. Okay. So, we have afflictions. Let's go to skirmishes,

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 these minor things that we may be talking about here.

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 A skirmish, then, can be described as small, sometimes reoccurring struggles

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 that, again, believers face and are often and always experienced in major after major crisis

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 has passed. They may not change the course of your life, but they continually require faith

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 and obedience. It's the learning process. One of the greatest lessons from Joshua is this,

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 that God gives victory, but he doesn't remove every battle. He doesn't, because we are learning

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 through these things. Question, how have these daily skirmishes, now not great big issues,

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 afflictions, but skirmishes, revealed areas where God is still shaping your character?

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 You know, you get these things and all of a sudden, you know, I'm not such a bad guy after a while,

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 and all of a sudden, big, you know, the Lord shows you something. Anybody ever experienced that,

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 where all of a sudden you, excuse me, I just have my phone on for an emergency here. I think

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 I'll turn it down, but. So, how have they helped you? They remind you of, I think I can

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 get back to you. Every day, I mean, you know, I work with customers, I'm in their houses every day,

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 and really, one of the biggest things with me is, it's not skirmishes with them, but

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 it's, you know, talking about different things and, you know, someone riding on your tail or

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 whatever the case may be, but just having more patience and being able to, you know,

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 recognize them and not to fall in the same pattern of, you know, why is it worth getting

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 upset about it? You know, Lord help me to control things I can't, you know, can and can't control,

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 but it's, so it's just, it's a daily thing. It's every single day. There's always something.

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 No sense in getting your hair afire. I can attest to that because I don't have it anymore.

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 All right, you're good. All right. So, you know, we learn. I mean, it's less and less in your life

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 irritating if you can get over the fact and you walk through it. Yeah.

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 So, our life group a while back had watched the videos of John Bevere's book,

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 but he was doing a video of it, of The Bait of Satan. And I hadn't really read the book

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 until recently, but it was a skirmish between my husband and I that brought it out.

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 Because, you know, I didn't realize until I was highly offended by something he didn't said to me.

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 And then the Lord just said to me, you're not allowed to be offended. And I'm like, what do

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 you mean? And he said, you have the right, but you don't have the real reason to be offended because

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 if you have the Holy Spirit really living inside of you, then you're supposed to be reacting with

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 love and forgiveness instead of impatience and getting out of sorts. And I've just really

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 realized recently how much our heart is really an abyss. And we have no idea of the depths of

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 our heart and how still in darkness parts of it are. And the Lord has to reveal them to us gradually.

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 If we allow him to reveal, and that's a big issue. If you would have taken that circumstances and

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 just fluffed it off and say, okay, no mind, you know, then God can't get at what he wants

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 to get out in your life. And I think, Chris, they need counseling. No, I'm just kidding you.

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 All right. So another question. Does your response to life skirmishes reveal patience,

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 joy, and trust as we have talked about? Or does it reveal irritation, anger,

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 impatience, anxiety, and why? Smiling. Okay. Well, sometimes I'm like, Gail, you know,

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 I'll go through it. And especially my nemesis is getting behind the wheel of a car.

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 And like I said, you know, my wife, she kind of tones me down. And, you know, I can, I don't

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 fall apart, but I get angry at drivers. You know, while you're sitting there in a right turn lane

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 with a red light and not moving, you know, why don't you go forward? Because there's no traffic

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 coming. And my first inclination is to lay on the horn. Yeah. Just like you did. Right. Yeah.

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 Boop. So those things are challenges to me. Anybody have a have a particular nemesis that

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 they deal with in their life? Ah. How are you? Just recently. I mean, I had one. I used to have one

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 all the time. I would let like egotistical people in softball games get to me. But then

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 when I started playing here with the church, we were a lot more patient with stuff like that.

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 So that was good. And I found myself doing it again the other day, not in the church league.

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 This guy on another team started doing pushups after he got us out and I just started going

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 off on him. And then after I did, I took off my hat and looked out like normally doing solid.

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 It was my saddle up or fall in the Lord hat. And I was like, Oh, okay. I gotta,

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 I gotta be more patient here instead of just getting so angry all the time at people that

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 I have no control over. So out of the out of the heart. So speaks the mouth, right?

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 Oh my gosh. Yes, Ron.

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 I have to say it's patience. Now we every Wednesday we go shopping at ShopRite because we get a 5%

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 discount for being old. So, so we go and then we see the bus pull up from the nursing home.

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 And they all get out there and they get right in front of me and they go real slow and start

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 looking around. And I kind of want to push them out of the way. But then we get to the checkout

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 counter and this is the worst. The little old lady's there with 15 or 20 things in her cart.

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 And all of a sudden out comes the glasses out of her pocketbook, which takes time.

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 What's the glasses on? Then the guy checking it out says, that'll be 15 something. Well,

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 out comes the checkbook. And then, you know, the glasses have to go back on and she's

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 making out the check. And she said, now who does the check get made out to? And it's ShopRite all

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 over the place. I mean, so I've learned to deal with that. And I laugh at it now. And the Lord

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 finally spoke to me that I kind of can witness to them instead of being mad at them.

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 Even through your patience, you know, some people get very irritated, especially the moms that are

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 coming home for dinner with the bag of groceries here. It's 430 and they have to get to go home

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 starting dinner and at five and the kids are coming in the door. Oh, my gosh. You talk about

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 people being impatient. Yeah. Oh, okay. You're saying hi. All right. Okay. Yes, Chris.

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 I find a lot of times like these skirmishes are not really personal things. It's like

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 bureaucratic red tape, like with insurance coverages and just governmental stuff you have

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 to deal with. Yeah. And it's like there's no person. It's just things to live.

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 But they take time. They're aggravating. And then when you finally get somebody on the phone,

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 you can unleash on them because you feel like you're entitled to because of all the aggravation

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 you've been put through. But really, those are the things. But it's like everybody deals with them.

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 So it's almost I guess it's a test on how we conduct ourselves, but it's common to man.

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 Everybody goes through the same stuff, all that, you know. So, yeah.

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 What we find is the heart is dark. If you really think about it, the heart is dark. Without God,

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 I mean, we have a dark heart. So, yes. No, I was going to say I'm Italian and one thing I

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 lack very much is patience. And I knew that God is trying to build it. And one of the things I

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 have a problem with when you get on the phone with someone who can barely speak English.

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 Oh, I really do. I go and I say, is there a manager there? One day I had a lady hang up on

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 me and I felt I felt convicted. And I said to God, God's let me know this person needs a job.

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 And I'm like, okay. And you just have to sit there and try to get through the accent.

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 I've always lost my patience with people of access.

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 I think that's a common thing, especially when all that is farmed out perhaps overseas.

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 And, you know, you're dealing with it. You can't understand it. And then like us, when you're older,

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 you can't hear it. So you got two things against you. You can't hear it and you can't understand

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 it. It gets difficult. Yeah. So, again, these are opportunities to show what's on the inside of us

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 to show us that we need improvements. All right. Let's build this case that we have before us.

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 But why do these enemies always remain in our life? Why can't I get rid of them?

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 Well, in Judges 2.21 it says this, God says that He left some nations in the Promised Land after

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 the conquest ended. And then it says in these different verses, to test, to teach, and to

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 reveal whether they would continue to obey Him. So they weren't all at war. They were these minor

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 things that came up, but He wanted to see what their hearts were made of. God wants to see what

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 your hearts are made of in the people on the telephone, the bureaucratic tape, and all these

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 things. It's not that, it's this that we are dealing with. These remaining enemies become

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 opportunities for continued faith and making sure that we don't misguide ourselves that that

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 is God's failure. Well, why didn't God take care of this? Why does He have to have all these

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 things come against me? No, He's just teaching you some lessons. Example. Paul. He pleaded three

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 times for God to remove His thorn in the flesh. And what does 2 Corinthians 12.9 say? My grace

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 is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness. So we can take that at heart.

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 Actions, or afflictions rather, test the depth of our faith. How far down do we dig when those

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 afflictions come to us? And on the other hand, the skirmishes test the consistency of our faith.

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 Will we today be kind to that person and tomorrow not? And I don't point you out as a thing,

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 but I'm using that as an example. You know, what is the consistency of our faith?

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 So we have that challenge before us. So what is the difference between God removing a trial

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 and God sustaining us through it? What is that difference?

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 Well, I'll give you some help here. When God removes a trial, He changes the circumstances.

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 Amen for that. And when God sustains us, He changes us within the circumstances.

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 So that's a difference, yes. Before you put that up even,

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 but now it makes more sense. Seeing it as like the difference between them would be

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 when He removes a trial, it's His mercy. And then when He sustains us, He's given us the grace to

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 live it out, Him out, and respond the way He wants us to.

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 And we never know what that is. It can be sustaining, it can be deliverance,

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 it can be immediate, it can be long range. You know, He is diverse in His character,

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 and He deals with us so often in different and many different ways.

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 So this may help you a little bit. Afflictions and skirmishes. Now we're putting them back

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 together. They both help us walk with God every day. We said that. Here's a helpful illustration.

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 Now I'm going to ask, how many have ever watched Forged in Fire?

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 Yeah, cool show. What happens? The iron goes right into the furnace. Afflictions.

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 And it gets hot. The iron comes out. Okay, all finished? No. Bang.

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 Bang. Thousands, hundreds of beatings on that piece of iron, it finally takes the shape of a finished

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 product. So when you're thinking about life tomorrow, think about Forged in Fire. Where am I?

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 Am I in the furnace, in the heat of desperation? Or am I out being beat up so that I can be a tool

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 of God? And that's kind of how I look at it sometimes. Instead of the one tremendous blow,

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 there are thousands and thousands of things that come up. The strike is there to sharpen,

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 to strengthen, and to refine. And if you know about metallurgy, why do they put it in the hot

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 oil to quench the atomic structure of the iron so that it is toughened and harder? So consequently,

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 think of that iron that's being shaped in your life. What does it look like? Is it a piece of

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 blob laying on the bench? Is it in the fiery furnace? Is it on the bench being hammered?

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 Is it being quenched in the oil? And ultimately, there is a product that comes out of that.

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 His choosing, who you are, what he wants you to be. God is after our character more than our

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 convenience. Oh, Lord, take me out of this. I'm sick of it. Well, no, you haven't learned your

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 lesson yet. Okay, we're still going through it. Hear in and hear out. Okay. So if every difficulty

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 simply disappeared through prayer, I guarantee you the following. Prayer would become less urgent.

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 Faith would become less necessary. Humility would be harder to obtain because I got it.

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 Gratitude would diminish. And finally, spiritual growth would slow and if not stop.

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 That's the travesty of asking God to remove these things from our lives.

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 Not that anyone has joy in it, but understand we're being made in a tool that God wants us to be.

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 Not what we think we should be. Remember, God is valuing our transformation rather than our

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 temporary ease. Just think about that. Now here's some food for thought, some things to support this

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 element that we were talking about. In Malachi 3.2 it says, for he is like a refiner's fire.

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 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. Why is the word sit

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 put in there? It could read, for he is like a refiner's fire. He will be as a refiner and a

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 purifier. Why does he sit? Well, if you ever worked on something or you tinkered with something

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 and you start off in a standing position, this is my mechanical background, I tear it all apart,

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 things are wrong, I really have to get down. So I'm going to sit down and take a look at this

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 thing. Microcosm as it may be, tear it apart, look at it, and trying to develop a remedy to it.

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 Well, in God's case, he's sitting down and looking at the refining process,

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 and what he is looking at is for the purity of what that is to be. When he can see his reflection

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 in the molten material, you are then ready to be used of the Lord. So there is an element of

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 sitting which is patience, which is duration of time. The silver is ready when the refiner

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 sees his reflection. No sooner. Isaiah 48.10, Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver.

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 I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Affliction is one of God's refining tools.

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 Not that we want it, we already said that, but we realize that. Romans 8.8,

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 the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be

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 revealed to us. Affliction is temporary. God's glory is eternal. Just think, we're going to

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 get out of this after a while. We're going to be delivered. Anybody ready? Yeah, I am.

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 All right. In James 1, 2-4 it says this, count it all joy. I know, I know that verse of scripture,

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 John. Knowing that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. That's what all these

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 things are to be considered, is to where you're at in your maturity level. Perseverance.

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 Question, why is patience then an important part of the refining process? Why is that?

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 Well, for one, if we don't have patience, we try to get out of it. How many have prayed to

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 be delivered from situations? I have. Oh my gosh, Lord, take me out of this.

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 But in patience and understanding, there is a perfect work. If you go back to the sword

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 issue, like the element of surprises, people bring their out. They don't fire it up long enough.

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 They don't hammer it long enough. And what does it do when it goes through the test?

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 It breaks. So are we a one-time use Christian? I don't think so. God wants to use you and reuse

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 you. So you have to go through the hot furnace, the pounding of the metal, the movement of the

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 atomic structure of that metal, the quenching of that metal, the hammering of that metal,

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 all these things add up for use in the service of the Lord.

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 I like the illustration that I heard years ago about a butterfly coming out of his cocoon

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 and how somebody was watching this butterfly struggling to get out of the cocoon. And so

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 decided to help it along. But it came out deformed and it didn't live. Because it was

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 the squeezing of the process of his coming out, the squeezing pushed out all the things into his

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 wings that he needed to live to survive. And so the same thing with us, if God doesn't put us

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 through those things, we're not going to learn through that. And we won't be shaped properly

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 and then be successful or helpful. Right. Right. Due process.

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 Right. I say two things that I just heard recently on a podcast, the faith is like a muscle. You

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 constantly have to work at it, to strengthen it. And also Hal Lindsey, I'm sure you've heard of

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 Hal Lindsey, he says, everything you look at, he goes, try to remember to look at it from a

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 divine viewpoint. He said, try every circumstance in your life, look at it from a divine viewpoint.

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 So I try to. Okay.

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 Tomorrow when I drive and on the way home, I'm going to think about that thought.

387
00:44:22,920 --> 00:44:28,360
 Okay. Yes. What I see there is, you know, why is patience an important part of the refining

388
00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:33,119
 process? Because patience is everything that has to do with the refining because if the

389
00:44:33,119 --> 00:44:38,940
 patients weren't there, it would be an important part of the defining process. So you'd be defined

390
00:44:38,940 --> 00:44:43,219
 and to be final. So I find that interesting, refining and defining.

391
00:44:43,219 --> 00:44:48,119
 Think about God sits down and thinks about us and looks at us and spends time with us.

392
00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:51,099
 And that's not a quick fix on a seat for a couple of minutes.

393
00:44:51,300 --> 00:44:52,420
 Sure. It sure doesn't.

394
00:44:54,099 --> 00:44:57,440
 Yeah. I think patience is important in the refining process just because it

395
00:44:57,440 --> 00:45:02,599
 takes time. But we all go through that refining process. And it reminds me of this

396
00:45:02,599 --> 00:45:06,059
 one saying is actually, I think it's a Russian proverb. It's the same

397
00:45:06,059 --> 00:45:11,280
 hammer that shatters glass, forges steel. So it also makes me think of not only do we have

398
00:45:11,280 --> 00:45:16,659
 to be patient, we have to have the right ingredients from God. Because if you get things

399
00:45:16,659 --> 00:45:20,300
 like iron ore and things like that, those are the right ingredients. So if you put it through heat

400
00:45:20,300 --> 00:45:24,539
 and all that stuff, you make steel. But if you take things like limestone and sand and

401
00:45:24,539 --> 00:45:28,000
 put them through heat, they become glass. So they can't take that, that blow.

402
00:45:28,519 --> 00:45:35,659
 Oh, we got good example. You know, even there is a sulfuric acid and chemical that they use.

403
00:45:35,739 --> 00:45:39,980
 If you've ever watched the show, they sprinkle it around and that's caustic by nature. And

404
00:45:39,980 --> 00:45:46,400
 so what is all that? It's another trial that we live through and another thing that we deal with.

405
00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:53,280
 Oh, I'm sorry. Did you say? Oh, okay. Just scratching your head.

406
00:45:54,099 --> 00:45:58,280
 All right. No, Donnie. Oh, okay. You're scratching your ear too.

407
00:45:59,880 --> 00:46:04,119
 No, you're like I am. The thought came in and I want to express it. And when I get the mic.

408
00:46:05,260 --> 00:46:07,019
 All right. I forgot the thought.

409
00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:13,760
 You know, John, I have to tell you something. When it comes to patients I learned long ago,

410
00:46:14,260 --> 00:46:23,099
 don't ask for it. Because you will get trials just to show you that you don't have any and

411
00:46:23,099 --> 00:46:29,619
 it is your flesh and to repent. But the thing is, is that God does. And he gives you all the

412
00:46:29,619 --> 00:46:35,079
 patients you need. You just yield to him who lives with you. And so all his patients,

413
00:46:35,079 --> 00:46:38,860
 his fruit of the spirit is Christ. He gives you patience.

414
00:46:40,719 --> 00:46:46,019
 No free ticket to heaven. When we get that free ticket in the buy and buy,

415
00:46:46,099 --> 00:46:49,960
 remember the songs we used to sing years ago in the sweet buy and buy? Everybody remember that one?

416
00:46:50,039 --> 00:46:56,639
 Oh my gosh. Yeah. What about now? Okay. All right. We've got that. Okay.

417
00:46:58,099 --> 00:47:03,699
 Why is an eternal perspective essential when facing trials? I'll take that one because you

418
00:47:03,699 --> 00:47:13,340
 look beyond yourself and your circumstances in what could be. Not my ministry, not my position,

419
00:47:13,679 --> 00:47:20,119
 not my thought, but Lord, I want to be what you want to be. If it takes all my life.

420
00:47:20,840 --> 00:47:23,239
 And you know, when we go from this life to heaven,

421
00:47:24,460 --> 00:47:30,420
 the refining process will have never stopped. It goes until the day of our death to refine,

422
00:47:30,420 --> 00:47:37,420
 to refine, to make him such that, make us that we are a mirror of his love to other people.

423
00:47:38,140 --> 00:47:45,619
 Okay. Some additional scripture. Romans 5.3, we glory in tribulation also, knowing that the

424
00:47:45,619 --> 00:47:52,539
 tribulation works patience and patience, endurance and endurance, hope, and the hope doesn't make us

425
00:47:52,539 --> 00:47:58,300
 ashamed. Thank you for that, Lord. Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts

426
00:47:58,300 --> 00:48:07,639
 by the Holy Spirit. God uses afflictions not only to destroy us, but to mature us.

427
00:48:08,480 --> 00:48:13,960
 Not to destroy us, but to mature us. Romans 8. And we know that all things work together for

428
00:48:13,960 --> 00:48:20,900
 good to them that love the Lord. God is sovereign over all circumstances, whether we believe it or

429
00:48:20,900 --> 00:48:28,659
 not. And he works in every one of these circumstances to bring us to the image of Christ.

430
00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:37,480
 All right. 1 Peter 1, 6, and 7. On that day, you will be glad even if you must go through many

431
00:48:37,480 --> 00:48:45,059
 hard tribulations and trials for a while. 1 Peter 1, 6, and 7, your faith will be like gold.

432
00:48:45,059 --> 00:48:50,639
 There you go. Finished product that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove

433
00:48:50,639 --> 00:48:58,380
 that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show you that

434
00:48:58,380 --> 00:49:06,639
 you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns. Trials are temporary

435
00:49:07,359 --> 00:49:13,920
 and purposeful, and the gold is being proven of a genuine faith.

436
00:49:14,880 --> 00:49:21,079
 Okay, now let's compare these two now. So God can remove the trial.

437
00:49:22,280 --> 00:49:29,519
 And we personally probably have many testimonies in this room that He has removed us from situations.

438
00:49:30,079 --> 00:49:34,260
 We may have asked for it. We may have been willing, and all of a sudden things turn around

439
00:49:34,260 --> 00:49:40,980
 and it's removed. Then on the other hand, when God sustains us through that trial.

440
00:49:40,980 --> 00:49:47,099
 So let's look at these. What testimony do we have? Is there a testimony in one side of the

441
00:49:47,099 --> 00:49:54,840
 camp only or two sides of the camp? When He removes the trial, He changes the situation.

442
00:49:56,059 --> 00:50:00,639
 He can do that immediately. I mean, how many have ever had that? All of a sudden things

443
00:50:00,639 --> 00:50:08,219
 turn and praise God, you're free. And on the other side, where He sustains us,

444
00:50:08,219 --> 00:50:13,699
 He changes our behavior. That is given that we're yielding to Him.

445
00:50:15,679 --> 00:50:22,900
 In the issue where He removes the trial, He removes that burden. We're free of it.

446
00:50:23,960 --> 00:50:32,460
 Isn't that wonderful? But on the other side, He gives us strength to carry it and to be His witness.

447
00:50:35,619 --> 00:50:43,199
 The removal ends the suffering. And sometimes grace is sufficient during the suffering.

448
00:50:44,380 --> 00:50:52,199
 So we have those two. Both are testimonies. One, removal displays the power over circumstances

449
00:50:52,199 --> 00:51:00,980
 that He has. And then by comparison, it displays His power within us. And probably that's the

450
00:51:00,980 --> 00:51:06,980
 greater of the two. Because He always wants to work through the church, through the people,

451
00:51:07,019 --> 00:51:12,019
 as a witness to the world. He can sovereignly do anything He wants to do.

452
00:51:12,599 --> 00:51:18,000
 He probably won't do it. He needs to work through the people because He set up this hierarchy.

453
00:51:20,659 --> 00:51:26,019
 One, when He removes it, often brings immediate relief. Praise God for that. We've been there.

454
00:51:26,019 --> 00:51:32,599
 And two, it produces long-term spiritual growth when He sustains us through it.

455
00:51:33,139 --> 00:51:37,699
 Now, I'm not going to tell you which is a better testimony. But you see, they're both sides of

456
00:51:37,699 --> 00:51:44,159
 that. And it is still a testimony to the Lord. How many of us can then testify that we have come

457
00:51:44,159 --> 00:51:53,280
 to know God's faithfulness most deeply during sessions of hardship? Amen. We have learned that.

458
00:51:53,280 --> 00:51:59,780
 Okay. And we can say, then, God carried me through the circumstances.

459
00:52:01,519 --> 00:52:09,260
 All right. A couple more biblical outcomes with afflictions and skirmishes. What?

460
00:52:11,480 --> 00:52:15,619
 Oh, sure. No, no. Take your time. Go ahead. Yeah, go ahead.

461
00:52:20,320 --> 00:52:29,000
 All right. Okay. Remember, there's no copyright to this. All right? Forget the name. Use it as you

462
00:52:29,000 --> 00:52:42,260
 will. All right. Outcomes. One, they teach us to depend on God, truly. We learn to trust Him

463
00:52:42,260 --> 00:52:48,280
 rather than ourselves. That's a long process. But the older you get, the more you begin to

464
00:52:48,280 --> 00:52:54,300
 realize that. And then the scripture that we put to that is, test trust in the Lord with all

465
00:52:54,300 --> 00:52:59,800
 of your heart. Not some of your heart. Don't exclude the dark rooms in there because they

466
00:52:59,800 --> 00:53:09,199
 should be light. They refine our character. How many can say that? Oh, my gosh. My character

467
00:53:09,199 --> 00:53:17,239
 would be much different today if it weren't for the Lord. Trials reveal what is in our hearts.

468
00:53:18,039 --> 00:53:23,440
 Oh, my gosh. Is that wickedness in there? You know, like I say, I'm a good man. All of

469
00:53:23,440 --> 00:53:27,920
 a sudden, you put me in a car in a busy intersection. You know, there I go.

470
00:53:28,940 --> 00:53:34,820
 James 1, 2, 4. The testing of your faith produces perseverance. So we covered that.

471
00:53:35,780 --> 00:53:41,699
 They prepare us for servanthood. So what's the outcome of all this is to be a servant

472
00:53:42,420 --> 00:53:50,059
 of the Lord, to be a doorkeeper in His house, not to aspire, but to be a doorkeeper,

473
00:53:50,800 --> 00:53:57,860
 to be willing to do anything. God often uses seasons of hardship to equip His people.

474
00:53:58,500 --> 00:54:05,820
 David fled from Saul for years. When the promise was given him, you shall be king. And yet he went

475
00:54:05,820 --> 00:54:12,900
 through hell to finally get there. Joseph endured slavery. He was abused. He was lifted up, and then

476
00:54:12,900 --> 00:54:19,559
 he was put down again. And Paul persevered through many, many, many hardships. And then

477
00:54:19,559 --> 00:54:25,679
 they keep us spiritually alert. We face the danger of drifting when life is comfortable.

478
00:54:25,679 --> 00:54:31,800
 I don't care who you are. When life gets comfortable, we kind of ease off. You know,

479
00:54:31,820 --> 00:54:35,840
 I talk about people in our prayer time together, Joe, and we spend a lot of time in prayer

480
00:54:35,840 --> 00:54:41,039
 and reading. And you know what? If there was a need there, I probably wouldn't spend as much

481
00:54:41,039 --> 00:54:47,940
 time, because I don't need them as much. Confession. 1 Peter 5a, be sober-minded

482
00:54:48,500 --> 00:54:54,579
 and be watchful. And they point us toward the ultimate hope that we have.

483
00:54:55,340 --> 00:55:00,539
 Someday, Christ will remove every trace of sin, suffering, and death. Hallelujah!

484
00:55:00,800 --> 00:55:05,460
 That's what we're waiting for. And along with that, Revelations 22-3, it says,

485
00:55:05,699 --> 00:55:11,840
 no longer will there be any curse over us. Now in closing. Oh, sorry.

486
00:55:18,480 --> 00:55:21,460
 All right. Okay.

487
00:55:24,860 --> 00:55:31,440
 So in closing, here's the practical application. When a new struggle appears, either as soon as

488
00:55:31,440 --> 00:55:37,420
 you walk out the door, behind the wheel of your car, or tomorrow morning, after a major victory,

489
00:55:37,539 --> 00:55:41,860
 instead of asking, why am I fighting again? Let's ask these questions.

490
00:55:43,460 --> 00:55:51,340
 What is God teaching me through this? Immediately, like what you said. If I can orient myself to God,

491
00:55:51,619 --> 00:55:56,679
 okay, Lord, what is it? What's the message? Where am I going? What deficiency in my character

492
00:55:56,679 --> 00:56:03,000
 you want me to deal with? Where am I to overcome? The devil made me do it.

493
00:56:05,039 --> 00:56:10,840
 How is he drawing me closer to himself? How? In these circumstances, how, Lord?

494
00:56:11,720 --> 00:56:15,820
 He will explain things to you in the inner small voice. He will dialogue with you.

495
00:56:16,579 --> 00:56:23,699
 What part of my character is he refining? Where am I going? It helps me personally to know

496
00:56:23,699 --> 00:56:30,559
 what he wants me to do, and then the process of getting to that end of things helps me.

497
00:56:31,300 --> 00:56:34,099
 How can this battle deepen my trust in him?

498
00:56:35,660 --> 00:56:42,639
 And I remember this, folks. Every new challenge is another invitation to experience God's faithfulness

499
00:56:42,639 --> 00:56:49,460
 in our life. It's wonderful that we have this opportunity. You know, you get into some of these

500
00:56:49,460 --> 00:56:58,820
 self-help groups, and I don't put that down at all. But it's the intuitive nature of what I

501
00:56:58,820 --> 00:57:07,480
 can do in circumstances without God, without the Lord. It doesn't go awful far. There are some

502
00:57:07,480 --> 00:57:15,719
 successes, but more than not. But in Christendom, there should be a greater success and revelation

503
00:57:16,260 --> 00:57:21,739
 because God is working in your life divinely and sovereignly, and that's what we want.

504
00:57:22,159 --> 00:57:25,820
 You know, we're on the good side of the story here, folks. We're not just sitting here,

505
00:57:25,820 --> 00:57:31,219
 well, I am an alcoholic and there's nothing wrong with that. But if you don't include God in that,

506
00:57:31,280 --> 00:57:35,699
 or if I am this and you don't include God in that, you don't go awful far.

507
00:57:36,079 --> 00:57:43,400
 So, Lord, we ask tonight for every individual in here that we see a perspective, whether it's an

508
00:57:43,400 --> 00:57:51,900
 affliction, whether it's a skirmish in our lives. Lord, we ask tonight largely on behalf

509
00:57:51,900 --> 00:57:57,440
 of your kingdom that you want to build in our hearts, that you take everyone in this room

510
00:57:57,440 --> 00:58:03,239
 and give them a destiny to where you want to take them, giving them a hope, Lord,

511
00:58:03,719 --> 00:58:10,980
 that they will reveal your nature through their lives, not even with a word that is said,

512
00:58:11,619 --> 00:58:17,059
 but a countenance that is coming from within, that people know that this is a person

513
00:58:17,059 --> 00:58:23,719
 that I want to know. And the difference that I make that you make, Lord, in our life,

514
00:58:24,079 --> 00:58:29,460
 we thank you so much for these opportunities. Father, we give the rest of the evening to you.

515
00:58:29,579 --> 00:58:34,800
 Thank you for good fellowship, good answer, good participation. We ask that as we go on our way,

516
00:58:34,820 --> 00:58:39,880
 that you would bless us and protect us until we see one another again. And everyone said,

517
00:58:39,880 --> 00:58:42,139
 Amen. God bless you.

518
00:58:45,840 --> 00:58:51,280
 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His word.

519
00:58:51,980 --> 00:58:57,460
 Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube.

520
00:58:57,460 --> 00:59:00,559
 Be blessed and have a great day!