Afflictions

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Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?
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! These Sunday afternoons we've been looking at Psalm 42 and Psalm 43, that refrain that we see three times in that psalm.
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And the psalmist is downcast, he's disturbed, he's not at rest, his heart is like the ocean.
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He says, the waves and the breakers have crashed over my soul.
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And we've all been there.
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We're talking to our brother John this afternoon.
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They live a very different kind of life in Arizona.
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But people get discouraged and downcast no matter where you live, no matter how hot it gets or how cold it gets.
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We've all been there.
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And maybe it happens all of a sudden, a sudden jolt, sudden tragedy, and we're downcast.
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Or maybe it's a slow build.
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It's one thing after another, after another.
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Each in their turn wouldn't be so bad.
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But yet when you build them on top of each other, when you stack them on top of each other, it becomes very discouraging.
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Or maybe it's just the same thing again and again and again.
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And we're downcast.
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We're discouraged.
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Now, we've seen several reasons for discouragement.
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Seen those.
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And today we want to talk about one more.
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One more door into this gloomy room of downcast discouragement.
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And today we want to talk about afflictions.
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Afflictions.
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And I use that word rather than trial or difficulty or obstacle.
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Not because those are bad words, but because affliction carries with it the idea of pain.
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Pain.
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So Paul had a thorn in his flesh.
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It was a trial.
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It was a difficulty.
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But he doesn't talk about obstacles.
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He doesn't talk about trials.
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He talks about a thorn.
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And a thorn means a sharp pain.
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Pain.
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We know what a thorn feels like.
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It's a sharp pain.
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And I don't only use that word because it carries the idea of pain.
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I use affliction because very often the idea carries, or that word carries the idea of an afflictor.
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Someone is afflicting us.
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It's not just something we ran into.
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It is now something that is done to us.
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In Paul's case, it was a messenger of Satan.
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Yes, it was under the Lord's control, but it was a messenger from Satan.
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But oftentimes, and I think ultimately we have to say, it's God himself.
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He allows it.
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He actively brings it into our life, or he merely allows it to happen.
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But it's God himself.
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Amos, the prophet said, when disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?
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Yes, there could be enemies.
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There could be other nations that we could say.
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Yes, they did this.
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But Amos says, no, no, we have to draw up our attention and we have to realize that the Lord has done it.
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Psalm 42.
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It's all your waves and all your breakers have swept over me.
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The Lord had done something to the psalmist.
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That's the book of Lamentations.
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Jerusalem is the city afflicted.
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He says, look, O Lord, on my affliction.
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But it was the Lord who did it.
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The Lord who had done it.
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How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud of his anger.
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In his wrath, he has torn down the strongholds of the daughter of Judah.
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The city was in agony.
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It was in pain.
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And it was the Lord who had done it.
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We remember Hebrews.
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The Lord disciplines his sons.
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He afflicts, punishes his sons.
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And maybe you say, see, the Lord has afflicted me.
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He's brought this pain into my life and it hurts.
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And the Lord has done it.
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Shouldn't I be discouraged?
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That's why I'm discouraged.
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That's why I'm downcast.
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And shouldn't I be?
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My life hurts.
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I'm walking through life and I'm getting smacked on one side.
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And I'm getting smacked on the other.
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And my very heart is hurting.
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My heart is bleeding.
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And so shouldn't I be discouraged?
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It's not just my soul.
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It's my body.
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It's in pain.
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And it seems like it will never get better.
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I'm afflicted.
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Shouldn't I be discouraged?
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The pain.
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Well, shouldn't I be discouraged?
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The answer is no.
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No.
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No one likes pain.
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And yes.
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Yes, yes, yes.
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I know that that hurts.
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And I know that there are all sorts of things in this world to tempt us to be discouraged.
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That tempt us.
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That invite us to be downcast.
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And I hate hurting.
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I hate affliction.
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I don't like being sick.
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And many of you know greater pain than I've ever experienced.
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I know that.
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But even then, I would say, no.
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There's no reason to be discouraged.
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And why do I say that?
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Why do I say there's no reason yet to be discouraged and despair?
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Well, I want to give you just four reasons.
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And the first is I want you to consider the source of your afflictions.
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The source of your afflictions.
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It is one of the difficult things that the Lord that is often the one who is disciplining us.
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The Lord who is afflicting us.
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The Lord who is allowing this pain into our lives.
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And yet, we know that that comes from God's love.
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It's God's love that is the source.
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Your afflictions are painful, but why have they come to you?
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Why have they come to you?
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We can name all sorts of sub-reasons.
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What good they do you?
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We can name all sorts of reasons why the Lord has brought them in.
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But over it all, sort of on the title page, on the first line, is the Lord saying, I love you.
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I love you.
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Listen to Charles Spurgeon here.
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It would be a very sharp and trying experience to me to think that I have an affliction which God never sent me.
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It would be bad.
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It's bad to have to be afflicted.
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But he's saying what would be worse is to think that it doesn't come from him.
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That the bitter cup was never filled by his hand.
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That my trials were never measured out by him, nor sent to me by his arrangement of their weight and quantity.
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See, over all of our afflictions, over all of our pain, they're all measured.
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They're all weighed by God's heart, by God's love.
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And so why shouldn't you be discouraged?
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Because where do your afflictions come from?
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They come from his love.
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He has plans for you.
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He's preparing for you an eternal weight of glory.
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And on the other hand, he is preparing you for an eternal weight of glory.
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And he's preparing that eternal weight of glory for you.
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He has plans for you.
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And so you must be ready for them.
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Now, no bride likes to be pinched and prodded and poked and squeezed to get into her wedding dress.
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I don't think they do.
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But she's happy when she's in it.
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No bride likes to work out really hard and watch your diet really close so that you look really good on your wedding day.
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No bride enjoys that kind of pain.
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And yet, when she is walking down the aisle, when she is ready for her groom, she's happy.
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The pain did what it was supposed to do.
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And so our trials get us ready to be the bride of Christ.
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We have to think that our God in love is preparing us to be the bride of Christ forever and ever.
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And he's preparing us for his son.
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And so he isn't.
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He isn't out to hurt you.
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He isn't out to hurt you.
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It's painful.
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It's painful.
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But he promises it won't do you any harm.
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It hurts.
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But it will not do you any harm.
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It's sort of like getting a vaccine.
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I remember.
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I remember how I hated getting vaccines.
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I hated it.
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I didn't like getting the shot.
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But my parents took me anyway.
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Why?
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Why?
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Well, because those shots could save my life.
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Measles, mumps, polio, rubella, whatever else.
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Those things could kill me.
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The shot only hurt.
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The shot only hurt a little bit.
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God loves you.
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And so you know very well Hebrews 12.5.
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The Lord disciplines the sons he loves.
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And he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.
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Now, my mom was not such a glutton for punishment that she was taking other children that didn't belong to her to the doctor to get the shot.
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She took me.
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And she spanked me.
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And the reason that she took me and spanked me and put up with my crying and my complaining was because she cared about me.
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She loved me.
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I was hers.
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And so she punished me.
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And I didn't like that either.
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I didn't like shots.
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I didn't like spankings.
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But it was good.
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And I see that now.
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There was no harm.
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There was no harm in the shots.
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There was no harm in the spankings.
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There was pain.
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But no harm.
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So love brought the pain in order to save me from the harm.
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Love brings the pain to spare us from the harm.
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That's our afflictions.
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And so if our father, if us, if our father's being evil and our mother's being evil, know how to do good to their children, know how to discipline and punish their children.
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And Hebrews says our father's.
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Our father's disciplined us for a little while in the way that they thought best.
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It wasn't perfect, but they were trying.
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But our God doesn't merely try.
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He is a God of infinite wisdom, infinite love.
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And his heart is poured out upon us and he will do us good so that we can share in his holiness.
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And so is there any reason to be discouraged?
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Well, if we detached our afflictions from God's loving heart, yeah, there would be a reason to be discouraged.
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But the Bible everywhere tells us, no, the Lord is at it, in it, and he loves us.
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So there's no reason to be discouraged.
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So look at the source.
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It's the father's love.
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It's a parent's affection.
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We have to.
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There's such a art.
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There's such a wisdom that we need to gain of looking past the surface of things and reading God's heart.
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Of looking past the surface of things and looking at our trials through the cross.
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A God who would not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all.
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He's not going to harm us, no matter how painful the affliction is.
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We need to not look at the immediate and then judge and calculate God's heart based on that.
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We sing that song, don't judge the Lord by feeble sense.
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And everything, everything he does to us is controlled by his love.
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It's controlled by his love, measured by his love, and his love guides.
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And so God might be disciplining you, but you're his child.
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So trust him.
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It's so hard sometimes for children to trust their parents.
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But I think so often our parents prove to be trustworthy.
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Not always, but on the whole, I think they prove to be trustworthy.
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And yet our God is of so much greater heart and love and wisdom than they are.
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So we need to trust him.
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Now, secondly, why shouldn't you be downcast or discouraged?
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Well, second, I want you to consider the alternative.
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Consider the alternative.
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Because there is an alternative to having no, there is an alternative to the pain,
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to the punishment, to the affliction, to the discipline.
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There is an alternative.
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Hebrews says we would be illegitimate children if he didn't punish us.
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The alternative is to be illegitimate.
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Or turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 11.
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1 Corinthians 11.32.
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And I want you to see what Paul says here.
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Because he clearly lays out the alternatives.
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And I think we need to understand and see our afflictions from God's perspective.
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And Paul is showing us how that is and what that looks like.
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So 1 Corinthians 11.32.
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And Paul says there,
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When we are judged by the Lord,
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we are being disciplined
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so that we will not be condemned with the world.
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So what is the alternative to discipline?
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What is the alternative to affliction?
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Well, it's being judged, condemned, with the world.
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I know this might not seem supremely comforting,
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but I think this gives us perspective.
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Because it's either pain now for a little time,
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or pain forever.
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Yes, it hurts.
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But it saves us from a greater pain.
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I just read this week
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of a young man growing up in inner city Baltimore.
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He was six,
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and he ran away from his parents
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on the playground one time,
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as children do.
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And his father pulled out his belt
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and spanked his kid really hard,
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spanked him really hard.
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And he said,
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It's either me or the police.
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It's either me or the police.
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There was this fear in that father's mind
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of,
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I want to do everything I can
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to spare my son from something worse.
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And I think there's something
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of God's own heart in that,
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that he will afflict us now
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to spare us later.
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So judgment begins with the family of God.
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Judgment fell on our elder brother.
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It fell on the cross.
00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:41.940
That last day,
00:16:42.680 --> 00:16:43.740
the last day of gloom
00:16:44.340 --> 00:16:45.659
and darkness,
00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:46.740
of separation,
00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:48.580
of judgment,
00:16:48.700 --> 00:16:49.659
the day of wrath
00:16:49.659 --> 00:16:51.139
came to the cross.
00:16:51.139 --> 00:16:53.659
Judgment began with the family of God,
00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:56.899
but so judgment also now begins with us.
00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:00.779
The Lord judges and disciplines us.
00:17:01.159 --> 00:17:03.080
And he was making some of the Corinthians
00:17:03.080 --> 00:17:04.519
to get sick
00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:07.279
and some of them to even die.
00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:08.740
And Paul says,
00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:11.819
Now let me explain what God is doing.
00:17:13.139 --> 00:17:16.960
He was killing them for their sin.
00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:18.779
Some of them had fallen asleep.
00:17:18.779 --> 00:17:20.779
And what was going on?
00:17:20.779 --> 00:17:22.059
Well, God was judging them,
00:17:22.180 --> 00:17:22.839
afflicting them,
00:17:22.940 --> 00:17:25.000
but it was so they wouldn't be judged
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:26.319
and condemned with the world.
00:17:27.740 --> 00:17:29.339
Listen to William Bridge,
00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:29.920
the Puritan.
00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:32.399
The truth is,
00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:34.160
the day of affliction
00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:36.099
and tribulation
00:17:36.099 --> 00:17:39.940
is a godly man's day of judgment.
00:17:39.940 --> 00:17:43.580
It is his only judgment day.
00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:45.140
He shall never be judged again
00:17:45.140 --> 00:17:47.000
so as to be condemned
00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:48.740
at the day of judgment.
00:17:51.059 --> 00:17:54.259
And when the godly man's affliction day comes,
00:17:55.080 --> 00:17:55.980
he may say,
00:17:56.600 --> 00:17:58.680
Now is my judgment day
00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:02.000
and I shall never be judged again.
00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:05.579
Now, I hope you understand
00:18:05.579 --> 00:18:06.200
what he's saying.
00:18:06.299 --> 00:18:07.180
He's not saying
00:18:07.180 --> 00:18:08.299
we're never going to appear,
00:18:08.420 --> 00:18:09.680
we're never going to give account.
00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:10.559
He's not saying that.
00:18:10.819 --> 00:18:12.039
He's saying judgment
00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:13.559
in the sense of condemnation,
00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:15.640
the sense of dealing with our sin.
00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:18.180
And so,
00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:20.339
if today is your day of tribulation,
00:18:22.339 --> 00:18:23.720
now is your judgment
00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:25.119
so that you might be spared
00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:26.160
from the fire.
00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:28.480
And so,
00:18:28.600 --> 00:18:29.620
should you be discouraged?
00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:32.440
Well, it is tough love.
00:18:32.600 --> 00:18:33.840
It's severe mercy.
00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:34.940
It's severe grace.
00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:37.640
But it will all seem so light
00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:39.360
and fleeting
00:18:39.360 --> 00:18:41.860
when that day comes.
00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:44.160
And you will say,
00:18:44.540 --> 00:18:46.259
I got off easy.
00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:51.600
Jesus Christ took my sin on the cross.
00:18:52.380 --> 00:18:54.680
And even when I was being disciplined,
00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:57.080
it was so that he would not
00:18:57.080 --> 00:18:58.259
have to condemn me.
00:18:59.200 --> 00:18:59.480
And so,
00:18:59.920 --> 00:19:01.880
whatever happened to me
00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:03.580
in that brief little life
00:19:03.580 --> 00:19:05.100
is nothing compared to
00:19:05.100 --> 00:19:06.019
what has now befallen
00:19:06.019 --> 00:19:07.039
all of these people.
00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:09.720
And so,
00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:10.460
don't be discouraged.
00:19:10.620 --> 00:19:12.060
God is afflicting you, yes.
00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:14.600
But it's so that he will not
00:19:14.600 --> 00:19:15.500
condemn you later.
00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:17.420
So,
00:19:17.460 --> 00:19:18.160
that's the source
00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:18.860
and the alternative.
00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:19.500
Now, third,
00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:21.320
consider the new calling.
00:19:21.940 --> 00:19:22.640
The new calling.
00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:28.680
Why is it so difficult?
00:19:30.280 --> 00:19:31.640
Why are days of affliction
00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:32.480
so painful?
00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:33.120
Well,
00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:34.000
one reason is
00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:34.780
they feel,
00:19:35.360 --> 00:19:37.140
we can feel so useless.
00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:40.040
We can feel like
00:19:40.040 --> 00:19:42.060
these things are hampering us.
00:19:42.140 --> 00:19:43.540
These things are stopping us.
00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:45.300
And now I'm washed up.
00:19:45.600 --> 00:19:46.920
And I'm used up.
00:19:47.060 --> 00:19:48.640
And is God done with me?
00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:49.840
Because I can't do the things
00:19:49.840 --> 00:19:50.660
that I used to do.
00:19:50.660 --> 00:19:52.080
Because now I'm afflicted.
00:19:52.340 --> 00:19:53.580
Now I'm in pain.
00:19:53.960 --> 00:19:55.360
And the pain keeps me
00:19:55.360 --> 00:19:57.240
from doing what I want to do
00:19:57.240 --> 00:19:59.040
or doing what I'm accustomed to doing.
00:19:59.440 --> 00:19:59.860
And so,
00:19:59.980 --> 00:20:01.400
shouldn't I be discouraged?
00:20:01.840 --> 00:20:03.000
And the answer is no.
00:20:03.840 --> 00:20:04.279
No.
00:20:05.580 --> 00:20:06.380
We think,
00:20:07.019 --> 00:20:08.000
because I am suffering,
00:20:08.140 --> 00:20:09.080
I can't do
00:20:09.080 --> 00:20:10.180
what I would like.
00:20:12.620 --> 00:20:13.540
But that doesn't mean
00:20:13.540 --> 00:20:14.220
that we can't do
00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:15.440
what God wants us to do
00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:16.640
in that moment.
00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:19.980
When God leads you
00:20:19.980 --> 00:20:21.220
into affliction,
00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:24.019
when He leads you
00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:24.640
into pain,
00:20:25.360 --> 00:20:26.759
He isn't putting you
00:20:26.759 --> 00:20:27.400
on the shelf.
00:20:28.360 --> 00:20:29.120
He isn't,
00:20:29.120 --> 00:20:30.820
He isn't putting you
00:20:30.820 --> 00:20:31.279
on the shelf
00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:31.980
like some sort of
00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:32.340
empty,
00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:34.840
used up laundry soap
00:20:34.840 --> 00:20:36.019
or something like that.
00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:36.580
Like,
00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:37.460
no good here.
00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:39.860
He's putting you on,
00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:41.220
He's calling you,
00:20:41.360 --> 00:20:41.660
rather,
00:20:42.140 --> 00:20:43.140
He's calling you,
00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:44.100
He's leading you
00:20:44.099 --> 00:20:45.139
to another work.
00:20:47.719 --> 00:20:48.719
There's other ways
00:20:48.719 --> 00:20:50.059
of obeying God's will
00:20:50.059 --> 00:20:50.799
than doing.
00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:53.719
Let me repeat that.
00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:56.159
There are other ways
00:20:56.159 --> 00:20:57.779
of God's will,
00:20:58.099 --> 00:20:59.159
of obeying God's will
00:20:59.159 --> 00:20:59.819
than doing.
00:21:00.539 --> 00:21:02.079
We do God's will
00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:03.079
sometimes,
00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:05.480
and sometimes we bear
00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:06.539
God's will.
00:21:07.500 --> 00:21:09.639
We suffer God's will.
00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:12.240
We sing a song
00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:13.759
occasionally that says,
00:21:14.099 --> 00:21:15.039
there is something
00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:16.679
still to do
00:21:16.679 --> 00:21:18.099
or bear.
00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:23.139
Sometimes the Lord
00:21:23.139 --> 00:21:24.980
has a clear agenda
00:21:24.980 --> 00:21:25.919
for us to do.
00:21:27.379 --> 00:21:28.679
But other times,
00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:29.879
He says,
00:21:29.980 --> 00:21:30.459
now I want you
00:21:30.459 --> 00:21:31.379
to suffer this.
00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:32.579
I want you
00:21:32.579 --> 00:21:33.539
to bear this.
00:21:34.459 --> 00:21:35.559
And so in your health,
00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:36.879
you leave your house,
00:21:37.199 --> 00:21:38.199
you go to work,
00:21:38.459 --> 00:21:39.559
and you serve the Lord
00:21:39.559 --> 00:21:40.199
that way.
00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:42.980
But now you're sick
00:21:42.980 --> 00:21:44.360
and you can't go.
00:21:44.860 --> 00:21:45.519
And does that mean
00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:46.000
that there's nothing
00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:46.440
to do?
00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:46.980
There's no way
00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:47.680
to serve God.
00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:48.160
There's no way
00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:49.000
to please Him.
00:21:49.360 --> 00:21:50.460
Are you all washed up?
00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:51.400
And the answer is no.
00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:52.519
God is now giving you
00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:53.539
a different calling.
00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:55.180
He's telling you
00:21:55.180 --> 00:21:56.519
to do something else,
00:21:56.740 --> 00:21:57.559
a new calling.
00:21:58.460 --> 00:21:59.000
He says,
00:21:59.080 --> 00:21:59.920
now be patient.
00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:01.980
Be quiet.
00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:04.420
Submit.
00:22:04.420 --> 00:22:06.400
And that is the harder.
00:22:07.019 --> 00:22:08.340
That is the harder work
00:22:08.340 --> 00:22:08.940
sometimes.
00:22:10.220 --> 00:22:11.720
That is the harder work.
00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:13.700
Self can easily
00:22:13.700 --> 00:22:14.740
get into the doing.
00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:17.140
Self has a hard time
00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:18.320
getting into the suffering
00:22:18.320 --> 00:22:20.200
and in the being patient
00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:20.940
and being quiet.
00:22:21.460 --> 00:22:22.300
But it's still
00:22:22.300 --> 00:22:23.120
God's calling.
00:22:23.740 --> 00:22:24.740
It's still a way
00:22:24.740 --> 00:22:25.660
to serve Him.
00:22:26.860 --> 00:22:27.560
And so God
00:22:27.560 --> 00:22:29.039
doesn't blame you
00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:30.080
because you can't do
00:22:30.080 --> 00:22:30.779
the things that you
00:22:30.779 --> 00:22:31.380
used to do.
00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:34.220
He doesn't expect you
00:22:34.220 --> 00:22:34.759
to do them.
00:22:35.600 --> 00:22:36.880
He doesn't want you
00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:37.940
to do them right now.
00:22:38.579 --> 00:22:39.579
Now He has something
00:22:39.579 --> 00:22:40.640
else for you to do.
00:22:43.079 --> 00:22:44.059
So there's no reason
00:22:44.059 --> 00:22:44.940
to be discouraged.
00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:47.140
If a master
00:22:47.140 --> 00:22:48.039
tells a servant
00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:49.559
to stop doing
00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:50.000
the dishes
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:51.100
and go outside
00:22:51.100 --> 00:22:52.000
and weed the garden.
00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:53.680
Or if a mom
00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:54.839
or dad tells a child
00:22:54.839 --> 00:22:56.420
stop doing the dishes
00:22:56.420 --> 00:22:57.380
and take out
00:22:57.380 --> 00:22:58.059
the garbage.
00:22:58.059 --> 00:22:59.440
Are mom and dad
00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:00.100
upset
00:23:00.100 --> 00:23:01.299
because you walked
00:23:01.299 --> 00:23:02.279
away from the sink
00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:03.539
and went outside?
00:23:03.539 --> 00:23:04.460
No.
00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:06.519
No.
00:23:07.420 --> 00:23:08.259
God has something
00:23:08.259 --> 00:23:09.039
else for you to do
00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:09.899
and so there's no reason
00:23:09.899 --> 00:23:11.019
to be discouraged.
00:23:11.339 --> 00:23:12.299
He'll glorify Himself
00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:13.579
through your suffering.
00:23:14.899 --> 00:23:16.139
Not just your doing
00:23:16.139 --> 00:23:17.779
but your suffering.
00:23:18.899 --> 00:23:19.180
And so
00:23:19.180 --> 00:23:20.319
we also
00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:21.079
need to learn
00:23:21.079 --> 00:23:21.899
to not be so
00:23:21.899 --> 00:23:22.819
inflexible.
00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:26.920
The Lord doesn't lead us
00:23:26.920 --> 00:23:27.799
in straight lines.
00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:30.399
And so we follow Him.
00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:31.700
We follow Him
00:23:31.700 --> 00:23:32.680
when His will
00:23:32.680 --> 00:23:34.160
takes us around the corner
00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:35.720
and away from what
00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:36.600
we used to do
00:23:36.600 --> 00:23:38.420
and away into something else.
00:23:38.920 --> 00:23:39.920
And if He just sits us
00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:40.440
in a chair
00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:41.560
and says now suffer here
00:23:41.560 --> 00:23:42.120
for a while
00:23:42.120 --> 00:23:43.320
that is still
00:23:43.320 --> 00:23:44.580
doing His will
00:23:44.580 --> 00:23:45.860
and we can still
00:23:45.860 --> 00:23:46.440
please Him
00:23:46.440 --> 00:23:47.180
in that way.
00:23:47.700 --> 00:23:48.740
And so don't be discouraged.
00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:52.580
So we've seen
00:23:52.580 --> 00:23:53.200
the source.
00:23:53.360 --> 00:23:54.120
We've seen the alternative.
00:23:54.340 --> 00:23:54.900
We've seen the new
00:23:54.900 --> 00:23:55.720
calling now forth.
00:23:56.040 --> 00:23:56.620
You don't need
00:23:56.620 --> 00:23:57.220
to be discouraged
00:23:57.220 --> 00:23:58.660
because of the companion.
00:23:59.559 --> 00:24:00.319
Of the companion.
00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:02.980
We sang it this morning.
00:24:03.100 --> 00:24:03.860
When you go through
00:24:03.860 --> 00:24:04.620
the waters
00:24:04.620 --> 00:24:05.740
God says
00:24:05.740 --> 00:24:07.620
I will be with you.
00:24:08.660 --> 00:24:09.819
I will be with you.
00:24:10.220 --> 00:24:10.960
So who
00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:12.019
is with us
00:24:12.019 --> 00:24:12.759
in our affliction?
00:24:13.779 --> 00:24:14.720
Who is with us
00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:15.380
in our affliction?
00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:15.960
And this makes
00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:16.620
all the difference.
00:24:17.079 --> 00:24:17.660
Our afflictions
00:24:17.660 --> 00:24:18.339
aren't only sent
00:24:18.339 --> 00:24:20.180
down from heaven.
00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:21.460
It's not like
00:24:21.460 --> 00:24:21.960
our afflictions
00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:23.059
are put into an envelope
00:24:23.059 --> 00:24:24.100
and sent from
00:24:24.100 --> 00:24:25.779
Wyoming to us.
00:24:25.779 --> 00:24:26.740
No.
00:24:26.980 --> 00:24:28.420
God puts our afflictions
00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:28.960
in the envelope
00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:30.339
and He delivers them
00:24:30.339 --> 00:24:31.660
and then He is there
00:24:31.660 --> 00:24:33.180
while we open it up
00:24:33.180 --> 00:24:35.099
and as we endure it.
00:24:35.539 --> 00:24:36.759
He never sends us
00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:38.279
afflictions without
00:24:38.279 --> 00:24:40.000
coming near to us Himself.
00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:41.680
So He's like
00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:43.079
the father
00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:44.440
or He's like the mother
00:24:44.440 --> 00:24:45.819
that puts the child
00:24:45.819 --> 00:24:47.859
on his or her lap
00:24:47.859 --> 00:24:48.619
while the child
00:24:48.619 --> 00:24:49.559
is getting the shot.
00:24:51.220 --> 00:24:52.480
And so when Shadrach,
00:24:52.579 --> 00:24:52.980
Meshach,
00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:53.539
and Abednego
00:24:53.539 --> 00:24:54.920
were in the furnace
00:24:54.920 --> 00:24:57.259
Nebuchadnezzar
00:24:57.259 --> 00:24:58.220
had to rub his eyes
00:24:58.220 --> 00:24:58.700
and says,
00:24:59.019 --> 00:24:59.320
you know,
00:24:59.380 --> 00:25:00.360
I'm not good at counting,
00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:01.120
but wasn't there
00:25:01.120 --> 00:25:02.140
three of them?
00:25:03.100 --> 00:25:04.320
But now there's a fourth.
00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:07.759
And if we had
00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:08.880
those kind of eyes,
00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:09.660
we would see
00:25:09.660 --> 00:25:10.660
in all of our affliction
00:25:10.660 --> 00:25:11.420
there is someone
00:25:11.420 --> 00:25:12.440
beside us.
00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:17.160
Nothing draws God
00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:18.480
close to us
00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:19.340
like affliction.
00:25:19.340 --> 00:25:21.120
He said to Saul of Tarsus,
00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:22.019
why are you
00:25:22.019 --> 00:25:23.180
persecuting me?
00:25:23.180 --> 00:25:27.160
Every painful thing
00:25:27.160 --> 00:25:28.420
that Saul was doing
00:25:28.420 --> 00:25:29.120
to the church,
00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:30.400
that painful thing
00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:32.000
was felt by God's people,
00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:34.240
but yet Jesus is saying,
00:25:34.580 --> 00:25:35.860
I felt it all.
00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:38.840
In all their afflictions,
00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:40.460
He was afflicted.
00:25:41.500 --> 00:25:42.240
And Peter says,
00:25:42.779 --> 00:25:43.860
are you insulted
00:25:43.860 --> 00:25:44.600
and persecuted?
00:25:46.180 --> 00:25:47.820
Then the Spirit of glory
00:25:47.820 --> 00:25:49.100
in God rests on you.
00:25:49.099 --> 00:25:55.759
Pain draws God to us.
00:25:57.259 --> 00:25:58.459
Our affliction draws
00:25:58.459 --> 00:25:59.099
the Father.
00:25:59.659 --> 00:26:00.919
Our affliction draws
00:26:00.919 --> 00:26:01.579
the Son.
00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:02.939
Our affliction draws
00:26:02.939 --> 00:26:03.719
the Holy Spirit
00:26:03.719 --> 00:26:04.439
to our side.
00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:05.879
And we're always afraid
00:26:05.879 --> 00:26:06.619
that we're going to come
00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:07.179
to a place,
00:26:07.259 --> 00:26:07.740
we're going to come
00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:08.259
to a time,
00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:08.799
we're going to come
00:26:08.799 --> 00:26:09.399
to a space
00:26:09.399 --> 00:26:11.039
where we are facing
00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:11.859
our afflictions
00:26:11.859 --> 00:26:12.740
and we're going
00:26:12.740 --> 00:26:13.719
to lean upon Him
00:26:13.719 --> 00:26:14.659
or we're going to reach out
00:26:14.659 --> 00:26:14.919
for Him
00:26:14.919 --> 00:26:15.939
and He's going to be gone.
00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:17.719
And yet He says,
00:26:17.720 --> 00:26:18.839
even if you feel like
00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:19.259
I'm gone,
00:26:19.360 --> 00:26:19.960
I am there.
00:26:21.819 --> 00:26:23.000
I'll never leave you.
00:26:23.420 --> 00:26:25.000
I will never forsake you.
00:26:26.779 --> 00:26:28.039
Now you know as a parent
00:26:28.039 --> 00:26:30.180
that your child's pain
00:26:30.180 --> 00:26:31.799
pulls you towards them.
00:26:31.880 --> 00:26:32.700
It's this magnet,
00:26:32.860 --> 00:26:33.360
isn't it?
00:26:34.360 --> 00:26:35.380
You would do anything
00:26:35.380 --> 00:26:36.339
to spare them
00:26:36.339 --> 00:26:38.860
and you yourself
00:26:38.860 --> 00:26:40.940
feel in their pain.
00:26:40.940 --> 00:26:42.220
And if that's true
00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:44.100
for teaspoon-sized hearts
00:26:44.100 --> 00:26:45.000
like ours,
00:26:45.880 --> 00:26:47.380
how much more true
00:26:47.380 --> 00:26:48.740
is that of God
00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:49.080
who says,
00:26:49.220 --> 00:26:50.220
I am love.
00:26:53.400 --> 00:26:54.799
So should you be discouraged?
00:26:56.539 --> 00:26:58.019
No, God is with you.
00:26:59.559 --> 00:27:00.960
God is close to you.
00:27:02.200 --> 00:27:03.259
God loves you.
00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:05.460
You have a friend
00:27:05.460 --> 00:27:06.420
that sticks closer
00:27:06.420 --> 00:27:07.180
than a brother.
00:27:07.180 --> 00:27:09.279
And David said it here
00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:10.160
in Psalm 42.
00:27:11.120 --> 00:27:11.500
He says,
00:27:11.640 --> 00:27:12.240
In the night,
00:27:12.759 --> 00:27:14.580
in the night,
00:27:15.640 --> 00:27:16.720
all alone,
00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:18.860
with the darkness
00:27:18.860 --> 00:27:20.360
pressing in upon
00:27:20.360 --> 00:27:21.799
my eyes,
00:27:22.299 --> 00:27:22.900
he says,
00:27:23.360 --> 00:27:24.259
By day the Lord
00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:25.320
directs His love
00:27:25.320 --> 00:27:26.320
and at night
00:27:26.320 --> 00:27:27.700
His song is with me.
00:27:32.120 --> 00:27:33.480
And so the Lord is near.
00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:35.940
He's near at the night.
00:27:37.180 --> 00:27:38.759
He's near in the loneliness.
00:27:39.500 --> 00:27:40.140
And His love
00:27:40.140 --> 00:27:41.060
is doing you good.
00:27:41.700 --> 00:27:42.620
And in all of this,
00:27:42.700 --> 00:27:44.539
He is preparing for you
00:27:44.539 --> 00:27:47.180
an eternal weight
00:27:47.180 --> 00:27:48.620
of glory.
00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:54.640
But He's also preparing you
00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:57.080
for that eternal weight
00:27:57.080 --> 00:27:57.580
of glory.
00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:00.500
He's preparing you.
00:28:01.400 --> 00:28:02.720
He's sanctifying you.
00:28:03.320 --> 00:28:04.299
He's up to good.
00:28:04.299 --> 00:28:05.299
He's praying for you.
00:28:05.299 --> 00:28:05.619
He's praying for you.
00:28:05.619 --> 00:28:07.259
We began this day with,
00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:08.480
I know the plans
00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:09.319
I have for you.
00:28:10.859 --> 00:28:12.279
And that's where we'll end.
00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:14.639
Yes, His plans
00:28:14.639 --> 00:28:15.919
sometimes have pain
00:28:15.919 --> 00:28:17.159
written in them,
00:28:17.319 --> 00:28:18.759
but they all end up
00:28:18.759 --> 00:28:19.539
with this,
00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:20.440
this eternal
00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:21.579
weight
00:28:21.579 --> 00:28:22.619
of glory
00:28:22.619 --> 00:28:23.899
that far outweighs
00:28:23.899 --> 00:28:24.539
all of our
00:28:24.539 --> 00:28:25.299
little afflictions
00:28:25.919 --> 00:28:26.619
for this day.
00:28:26.740 --> 00:28:28.000
And so don't be discouraged.
00:28:29.119 --> 00:28:30.019
Hold on.
00:28:30.019 --> 00:28:32.619
Look at Jesus.
00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:35.400
Trust in Him.
00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:37.039
Don't be discouraged.
00:28:37.619 --> 00:28:38.119
Let's pray.
00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:42.539
Our God,
00:28:42.619 --> 00:28:43.480
these things are easier
00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:44.660
to say than to do.
00:28:46.599 --> 00:28:47.819
These things are easier
00:28:47.819 --> 00:28:48.420
to say,
00:28:48.579 --> 00:28:48.839
yes,
00:28:48.900 --> 00:28:49.660
I believe
00:28:49.660 --> 00:28:51.039
when you're sitting
00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:53.039
in a comfortable
00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:54.740
church pew.
00:28:56.059 --> 00:28:57.440
They're much more difficult
00:28:57.440 --> 00:28:58.480
when you're at home
00:28:58.480 --> 00:28:59.099
and alone.
00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:01.500
They're much more difficult
00:29:01.500 --> 00:29:03.240
when you are in pain.
00:29:04.579 --> 00:29:05.519
Holy Spirit,
00:29:05.640 --> 00:29:06.039
thank you
00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:07.759
that you work patience
00:29:07.759 --> 00:29:09.880
and self-control
00:29:09.880 --> 00:29:10.799
and love
00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:11.500
and joy
00:29:11.500 --> 00:29:13.339
into believers.
00:29:15.259 --> 00:29:16.140
And so for my
00:29:16.140 --> 00:29:17.140
suffering brothers
00:29:17.140 --> 00:29:17.839
and sisters,
00:29:18.019 --> 00:29:18.380
I pray,
00:29:18.539 --> 00:29:19.140
Holy Spirit,
00:29:19.319 --> 00:29:20.480
come and
00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:23.360
pour out your love
00:29:23.360 --> 00:29:24.180
and your grace
00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:25.240
and your fruitfulness
00:29:25.240 --> 00:29:26.240
into their lives
00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:27.519
that they might bear fruit
00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:28.660
to the honor of God.
00:29:28.779 --> 00:29:29.319
Thank you that
00:29:29.319 --> 00:29:31.539
we not only can glorify you
00:29:31.539 --> 00:29:32.079
in doing,
00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:34.039
but we can also glorify you
00:29:34.039 --> 00:29:34.639
in bearing
00:29:34.639 --> 00:29:36.160
and suffering.
00:29:37.559 --> 00:29:37.779
Well,
00:29:37.819 --> 00:29:38.700
please give us that
00:29:38.700 --> 00:29:39.819
bigger perspective.
00:29:41.180 --> 00:29:42.500
It's so easy for us
00:29:42.500 --> 00:29:43.240
to attach
00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:44.480
ourselves
00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:45.240
to joy
00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:45.960
and pleasure
00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:47.879
and not know
00:29:47.879 --> 00:29:48.940
what to do with pain.
00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:49.700
Please give us
00:29:49.700 --> 00:29:50.359
that wisdom.
00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:52.299
And Lord Jesus,
00:29:52.440 --> 00:29:53.400
I pray that you would
00:29:53.400 --> 00:29:54.980
draw close to all of us
00:29:54.980 --> 00:29:57.579
that as we do
00:29:57.579 --> 00:29:58.000
walk through
00:29:58.000 --> 00:29:59.220
this veil of tears,
00:30:00.299 --> 00:30:01.500
this veil of crying
00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:02.059
and death
00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:02.640
and pain,
00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:04.220
please Lord Jesus,
00:30:04.700 --> 00:30:05.740
keep lifting up
00:30:05.740 --> 00:30:06.460
our chins
00:30:06.460 --> 00:30:07.880
and showing us
00:30:07.880 --> 00:30:08.680
that there is coming
00:30:08.680 --> 00:30:09.120
a day
00:30:09.120 --> 00:30:10.000
when there will be
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:10.900
no more death
00:30:10.900 --> 00:30:12.000
or crying
00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:12.720
or mourning
00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:13.360
or pain
00:30:13.360 --> 00:30:14.000
or suffering
00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:15.079
or any of those things
00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:15.960
for the old order
00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:17.000
has passed away.
00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:19.319
Thank you
00:30:19.319 --> 00:30:20.240
that you are leading us
00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:21.640
to an eternal day
00:30:21.640 --> 00:30:22.920
where there is
00:30:22.920 --> 00:30:23.660
no more night.
00:30:25.600 --> 00:30:26.400
Please help us
00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:27.200
to hold on
00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:28.320
until that day.
00:30:30.340 --> 00:30:31.259
Glorify yourself
00:30:31.259 --> 00:30:31.780
in us.
00:30:32.120 --> 00:30:33.500
I ask this in Jesus' name.
00:30:33.820 --> 00:30:34.060
Amen.