WEBVTT 00:01.516 --> 00:04.556 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church sermon podcast. 00:04.896 --> 00:08.836 We're so glad you're here and we hope this message inspires you, builds your 00:08.836 --> 00:12.076 faith and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.516 --> 00:16.256 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible and learn how you 00:16.256 --> 00:17.776 can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.316 --> 00:20.536 So welcome and enjoy the message. 00:21.116 --> 00:29.856 Today, we're in Ecclesiastes 6 and 7 in a message I'm calling character over comfort. 00:30.676 --> 00:33.716 Solomon in chapter six has just told us 00:33.716 --> 00:37.276 that sometimes being rich is the worst thing 00:37.276 --> 00:40.256 that could possibly happen to a person. 00:40.256 --> 00:42.056 So he tells us, don't stress out 00:42.056 --> 00:44.996 if God doesn't make you rich. 00:44.996 --> 00:48.216 Well, I think Solomon anticipates maybe a little bit 00:48.216 --> 00:50.616 of an objection from us on that. 00:50.605 --> 00:56.965 in verse number 10. And so he says, "'Whatever one is, he has been named already, for it is known 00:56.965 --> 01:01.565 that he is man, and he cannot contend with him who is mightier than he.'" That's God. 01:02.005 --> 01:08.605 "'Since there are many things that increase vanity, how is man the better?' Solomon's reminding us 01:08.605 --> 01:13.945 that we don't make the rules, God does. You want to be rich? Well, 01:14.618 --> 01:17.418 And God's chosen something different from you? 01:17.598 --> 01:19.938 Well, Solomon says, listen, I don't make the rules. 01:20.078 --> 01:21.598 Take it up with the Lord. 01:21.898 --> 01:23.118 Your argument's with God. 01:23.198 --> 01:25.678 But just know, you're not going to win your argument. 01:26.178 --> 01:30.038 Because God named you a long time before you ever existed. 01:30.358 --> 01:31.557 He's sovereign. 01:31.558 --> 01:33.358 He's way ahead of you on this whole thing. 01:34.098 --> 01:36.158 Romans chapter 9, verse 20 says, 01:36.158 --> 01:37.198 But indeed, O man. 01:38.412 --> 01:41.152 Who are you to reply against God? 01:41.152 --> 01:43.832 Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 01:43.832 --> 01:45.852 why have you made me like this? 01:45.852 --> 01:49.532 Does not the potter have power over the clay? 01:49.532 --> 01:52.332 Now, God sarcastically responded to Job 01:52.332 --> 01:54.052 in the Old Testament in a similar way. 01:54.052 --> 01:57.032 He said, where were you when I formed 01:57.032 --> 01:58.792 the foundations of the earth 01:58.792 --> 02:01.152 and I determined all of its measurements? 02:01.152 --> 02:05.812 Surely you know how I did that. 02:06.695 --> 02:09.775 It's very important that we recognize our place in the world. 02:09.775 --> 02:17.875 In fact, you're never going to be happy in life until you recognize there's only one God, and you're not Him. 02:19.469 --> 02:22.509 Solomon continues in verse number 12. 02:22.669 --> 02:23.408 He says, 02:23.409 --> 02:25.929 For who knows what is good for man in life? 02:26.229 --> 02:29.369 All the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow. 02:29.809 --> 02:33.749 Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun? 02:34.369 --> 02:38.449 Solomon is saying, you don't know what's actually good for you. 02:38.769 --> 02:42.329 You think you do, but you can't possibly know because you don't know the future. 02:42.942 --> 02:48.702 which means you don't know how it's all going to work out in the end of life. 02:49.242 --> 02:55.342 So in chapter 6, Solomon has told us riches are not always the best thing for a person. 02:55.802 --> 03:03.462 And now in chapter 7, he's about to tell us that hard times are not always the worst thing for a person. 03:03.462 --> 03:04.662 Now here's why. 03:05.639 --> 03:12.359 While we can only see the here and now, God sees the end product of our lives. 03:12.819 --> 03:14.799 And so that's what he's focused on. 03:14.799 --> 03:18.079 He's not focused on our comfort in the now. 03:18.319 --> 03:21.199 He's focused on our character later. 03:21.779 --> 03:24.299 Solomon says in verse number one, he says, 03:24.399 --> 03:28.219 A good name is better than precious ointment, referring to perfume, 03:29.019 --> 03:32.859 and the day of death than the day of one's birth. 03:33.449 --> 03:37.749 Now, a good name in this context is not about one's reputation. 03:37.929 --> 03:39.109 It's about their character. 03:39.949 --> 03:45.349 He's saying who you are is much more important than how you're perceived. 03:46.149 --> 03:49.029 You see, perfume is external. 03:49.389 --> 03:50.529 It's temporary. 03:50.769 --> 03:53.869 It creates a great first impression, but it's going to fade away. 03:53.869 --> 03:57.869 So Solomon's saying God's focused on... 03:58.272 --> 04:02.572 Not these great moments in life that fade. 04:02.852 --> 04:04.591 He's focused on you. 04:04.592 --> 04:09.752 He's focused on making you great from the inside out, giving you a great name. 04:09.752 --> 04:14.512 And while perfume might smell great, it's never going to change your life. 04:14.752 --> 04:15.791 All right? 04:15.792 --> 04:19.752 Solomon says, and the day of one's death is also better than life. 04:19.754 --> 04:21.134 the day of one's birth. 04:21.214 --> 04:23.754 Now that seems strange to you and I 04:23.754 --> 04:27.174 because all of us, we celebrate people's birthdays. 04:27.514 --> 04:31.034 I don't know anyone who celebrates a person's death day. 04:31.454 --> 04:34.774 I think though that Solomon is teaching us 04:34.773 --> 04:39.273 that God's not as concerned about how we start life 04:39.273 --> 04:41.553 as how we finish life. 04:41.553 --> 04:44.013 God's focused in our life, 04:44.013 --> 04:45.813 whether He gives us riches or poverty, 04:45.813 --> 04:48.313 whether He gives us good times or bad times, 04:48.313 --> 04:52.633 He's focused on building in us the character of Jesus 04:52.633 --> 04:55.893 so that we finish life well. 04:55.893 --> 04:59.573 Now, He's gonna use whatever tool necessary 04:59.573 --> 05:00.773 to accomplish that. 05:01.098 --> 05:05.098 Now, one of his most effective tools is discomfort. 05:05.098 --> 05:06.658 Now, I wish it wasn't that way, 05:06.658 --> 05:08.318 but I don't make the rules. 05:08.318 --> 05:11.058 Solomon's reminding us God makes the rules. 05:11.058 --> 05:15.698 God often uses very uncomfortable times in life, 05:15.698 --> 05:19.238 even painful times in life, to transform us, 05:19.238 --> 05:23.418 to break us down so he can build us back up again. 05:23.418 --> 05:26.538 You see, God is far more concerned with our character 05:27.136 --> 05:31.036 than our comfort, which means God will sacrifice 05:31.036 --> 05:35.116 our comfort for our character every time. 05:35.116 --> 05:37.956 I think one of the problems we sometimes have with God 05:37.956 --> 05:40.156 is that we really want him to be a grandfather 05:40.156 --> 05:41.156 instead of a father. 05:42.104 --> 05:44.984 A grandfather is focused on fun and games, right? 05:44.984 --> 05:47.504 Comfort, ease, let's have a good time. 05:47.504 --> 05:50.484 A father though doesn't have that luxury. 05:50.484 --> 05:53.384 He's focused on getting his son or his daughter 05:53.384 --> 05:55.184 ready for the real world, 05:55.184 --> 05:58.484 which means he can't afford for his kids 05:58.484 --> 06:01.264 to have lives that are too comfortable. 06:01.264 --> 06:04.104 They wanna sleep in, he says, get up and go to school. 06:04.109 --> 06:06.409 They want to play video games, he says, get to work. 06:06.769 --> 06:10.749 They want to play with their friends, he says, it's time to go to practice. 06:11.349 --> 06:12.128 Discipline. 06:12.129 --> 06:14.569 Most grandfathers don't discipline their grandkids. 06:14.569 --> 06:20.569 But a father, one of his most important jobs as a father is discipline. 06:21.429 --> 06:22.608 And guess what? 06:22.609 --> 06:25.389 The Bible does not call God our grandfather. 06:26.536 --> 06:29.196 The Bible calls God our Father. 06:29.656 --> 06:32.436 Now, here's the thing about our Father's discipline. 06:32.696 --> 06:38.176 God's discipline in our life is shaping us into the image of Christ. 06:38.956 --> 06:44.276 It goes from being uncomfortable to downright miserable when we fight against Him. 06:44.656 --> 06:48.736 When we fight what He's doing in our life, that's when life gets miserable. 06:49.300 --> 06:53.620 So many Christians are sort of playing tug-of-war with God, right? 06:54.300 --> 07:00.160 He's on one side of the rope, and he's pulling, and we're on the other side of the rope, and we're pulling against him. 07:00.320 --> 07:06.960 He's pulling in the direction of transformation and Christ-likeness, and we're pulling in the direction of comfort and ease. 07:07.040 --> 07:09.780 Well, I hate to spoil it for you, but God's going to win. 07:09.780 --> 07:10.866 He's going to win. 07:10.867 --> 07:12.547 He always wins. 07:12.627 --> 07:15.047 We have no chance against him. 07:15.327 --> 07:20.047 The Bible says he who has begun a good work in you is faithful to complete it. 07:20.327 --> 07:21.407 He's faithful. 07:21.727 --> 07:26.087 He's consistent to win the battle over your Christlikeness. 07:27.117 --> 07:31.737 One of the obstacles to spiritual progress in life is comfort. 07:32.537 --> 07:34.057 And oftentimes that's our highest pursuit. 07:34.177 --> 07:35.456 We want to be comfortable. 07:35.457 --> 07:38.857 God's not as concerned with our comfort as he is with our character. 07:39.637 --> 07:44.937 No one ever became an elite athlete through comfort. 07:44.937 --> 07:51.537 No, a person becomes an elite athlete by blood, sweat, and tears, the grind, the training, 07:51.917 --> 07:54.617 the testing, all of that, it produces greatness. 07:55.497 --> 07:58.497 Well, God is a perfect coach. 07:58.497 --> 08:04.477 He knows that we're never going to become the person we have potential to become through 08:04.477 --> 08:05.743 comfort. 08:05.744 --> 08:06.904 We're comfortable all the time. 08:07.084 --> 08:12.464 We're not building the proper spiritual muscle that we need to face the great battles of life. 08:12.644 --> 08:14.144 So he allows pain. 08:14.744 --> 08:15.784 He allows testing. 08:16.224 --> 08:18.084 He allows those things into our life. 08:18.204 --> 08:18.583 Why? 08:18.584 --> 08:23.424 So that we will become the people he is committed to making us. 08:24.504 --> 08:30.184 Now, chapter 7, Solomon gives us a few uncomfortable experiences 08:30.184 --> 08:35.024 that God actually uses as tools to develop and build character in. 08:35.410 --> 08:59.950 We see in verse number 2, he says, 09:00.942 --> 09:09.042 Now, every one of us would rather go to a party every time than a funeral because we hate grief and we love laughter. 09:09.522 --> 09:13.142 But not much is learned through laughter, Solomon said. 09:13.622 --> 09:18.422 Hey, have a good time, but you're not going to learn a whole lot with fun and games. 09:18.662 --> 09:19.882 It's sort of like perfume. 09:19.882 --> 09:23.022 It's nice in the moment, but it doesn't change who you are. 09:24.365 --> 09:31.105 As a pastor, I have a strange blessing of going to a lot of houses of mourning. 09:32.205 --> 09:37.665 I'll tell you, if you show up to a family, their home, who's just tragically lost a loved one, 09:37.745 --> 09:45.065 and there's this uncontrollable weeping and wailing and tears, you will not leave that house the same. 09:45.065 --> 09:47.825 It will cause you to stop. 09:48.327 --> 09:53.907 And when at that moment reflect on life, God touches my soul and I start reflecting on life. 09:54.127 --> 09:57.287 What is actually important in life? 09:57.947 --> 10:01.467 Now, most of us don't like to think about death. 10:01.727 --> 10:03.027 So we don't, right? 10:03.407 --> 10:04.965 We don't think about it. 10:04.966 --> 10:08.546 until someone close to us dies and we go to a funeral. 10:08.706 --> 10:13.446 Then we're forced to confront the reality of our own impending death. 10:13.846 --> 10:17.186 As you're there at the funeral, you look at the date of the person's birth, 10:17.266 --> 10:19.526 you look at the date of the person's death, 10:19.566 --> 10:23.966 and you see that their entire life is represented by a little dash of 10:23.967 --> 10:25.367 between those two days. 10:25.367 --> 10:29.207 And you start thinking about how you want to spend your days 10:29.207 --> 10:32.467 because it goes by fast, doesn't it? 10:32.467 --> 10:34.807 The Bible says that life is like a vapor, 10:34.807 --> 10:36.407 it's here for a moment and then it's gone. 10:36.407 --> 10:38.247 Solomon told us at the end of chapter six, 10:38.247 --> 10:41.587 life is like a shadow, it just passes on by. 10:42.727 --> 10:45.547 Now, in times of prosperity, in times of a party, 10:45.547 --> 10:47.127 in times of laughter, 10:47.127 --> 10:51.127 that does not cause us to reflect on eternity, does it? 10:51.305 --> 10:57.325 But oh, death, that forces us to face the inevitable and to take it to heart. 10:57.405 --> 11:02.425 That means it makes us better as we reflect on the most important issues of life. 11:03.285 --> 11:04.905 Verse number four, he says, 11:04.905 --> 11:11.285 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of the fool is in the house of mirth. 11:12.025 --> 11:14.945 Great men and women... 11:15.858 --> 11:17.858 are often shaped by pain. 11:18.958 --> 11:20.198 A.W. Tozer said, 11:20.198 --> 11:23.638 "'It is doubtful whether God can use a man greatly 11:23.638 --> 11:26.638 "'until he wounds him deeply.'" 11:26.638 --> 11:29.378 I heard that quote many times growing up, 11:29.378 --> 11:32.538 and so I always sought to be the exception to that. 11:33.818 --> 11:36.838 But as I went through the pain of losing my dad to cancer, 11:36.838 --> 11:40.818 I quickly realized how God was making my heart 11:40.818 --> 11:43.118 a whole lot better through the pain. 11:43.381 --> 11:51.041 I knew God was doing some deep foundational work in me that he could accomplish no other way but through the fire. 11:51.421 --> 11:56.261 In fact, my dad told me that as he laid in the hospital bed one day, he said, 11:56.261 --> 12:01.241 God's doing for you what God did for me when charity died. 12:02.450 --> 12:07.350 Now, God shapes a man as he's broken down, and then he is built back up. 12:07.350 --> 12:10.450 1 Peter 1, verse number 6 says, 12:10.590 --> 12:17.270 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you've been grieved by various trials. 12:17.370 --> 12:18.650 That's difficulties in life. 12:19.150 --> 12:23.950 That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, 12:24.470 --> 12:30.350 though it's tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of... 12:30.361 --> 12:31.361 of Jesus Christ. 12:32.001 --> 12:33.441 Paul says here, he says, 12:33.441 --> 12:35.261 our faith, or Peter rather, says, 12:35.461 --> 12:39.141 our faith is purified in the fire of trials. 12:40.452 --> 12:47.052 Now, in order to purify gold, a goldsmith will take the gold and he'll put it under a hot fire. 12:47.472 --> 12:49.292 And he melts that gold. 12:49.672 --> 12:53.592 And the impurities, they actually rise to the top. 12:53.672 --> 12:55.612 And then he wipes the top off. 12:55.752 --> 12:57.392 He wipes the impurities away. 12:57.392 --> 13:03.792 And the process is repeated over and over again until the goldsmith can see his reflection in the gold. 13:04.465 --> 13:11.005 And Peter says, that's what God is doing when he allows these painful, the mourning, the death within our life. 13:11.005 --> 13:15.045 He is putting us through these fiery trials, allowing us to go through them. 13:15.245 --> 13:24.725 Why? To purify our faith, to purify our lives so that he can now see his reflection properly within us. 13:25.385 --> 13:26.465 Verse number five. 13:27.955 --> 13:33.135 It says, it's better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools. 13:33.595 --> 13:37.615 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. 13:38.035 --> 13:39.315 This also is vanity. 13:39.735 --> 13:45.135 Surely oppression destroys a wise man's reason, and a bribe debases the heart. 13:45.135 --> 13:51.395 We see here that correction builds a whole lot more character than empty affirmation, right? 13:52.120 --> 13:54.240 Now, no one likes that, but it's true. 13:54.600 --> 13:58.280 Mark Twain said, I can live for two months on a good compliment. 13:58.860 --> 13:59.960 And that is so true. 14:00.060 --> 14:01.560 We need encouragement, don't we? 14:02.900 --> 14:09.620 But the truth is a compliment will not teach us nearly as much as being corrected, as being rebuked. 14:10.420 --> 14:12.220 Now, no one likes to be corrected. 14:12.940 --> 14:14.080 But we all need it, don't we? 14:14.260 --> 14:18.680 We live in a world that says we shouldn't correct one another. 14:20.015 --> 14:23.015 We live in a world that says the most loving thing to do 14:23.015 --> 14:24.655 is to affirm other people, 14:24.655 --> 14:26.855 no matter how destructive their lifestyle, 14:26.855 --> 14:28.195 you just affirm them. 14:28.195 --> 14:30.515 Our culture is singing the song of fools 14:30.515 --> 14:32.135 that Solomon talked about. 14:32.135 --> 14:35.075 We've got these pop culture singers and actors 14:35.075 --> 14:37.755 and influencers who might be very entertaining, 14:37.755 --> 14:40.615 but their song is a song of fools, 14:40.615 --> 14:44.015 like dried thorns that you start a fire with. 14:44.015 --> 14:46.855 They pop and they sizzle, but they fade, don't they? 14:46.846 --> 14:48.246 There's no substance there. 14:48.566 --> 14:50.646 They're empty affirmation. 14:51.426 --> 14:57.506 Oh, but a wise man who rebukes you, puts you in your place for a moment. 14:57.506 --> 15:04.146 A parent, a coach, a pastor, a boss, a loved one. 15:05.189 --> 15:06.189 They rebuke you. 15:06.309 --> 15:09.909 They give you a rebuke, and they're giving that in order to help you. 15:10.029 --> 15:12.189 That shows they really love you. 15:12.449 --> 15:15.649 They care not just about the moment of your life, a little uncomfortable, 15:17.109 --> 15:19.589 they care about the end product. 15:19.949 --> 15:22.949 Proverbs chapter 27, verse number 6 says, 15:22.949 --> 15:29.129 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 15:29.303 --> 15:33.003 Sometimes the truth hurts, but it's like medicine for our souls. 15:33.263 --> 15:34.483 It might not taste very good. 15:34.583 --> 15:39.343 Sometimes that medicine doesn't taste very good going down, but it makes you healthy. 15:39.683 --> 15:40.683 We need it, don't we? 15:40.743 --> 15:41.442 Why? 15:41.443 --> 15:49.503 We all have blind spots in our life, areas of sin, areas that need to be refined and built up. 15:49.503 --> 15:53.003 Other people can see those blind spots, but we're blind to them. 15:53.083 --> 15:54.903 We can't see that they're there. 15:55.323 --> 16:01.723 A good friend, a good parent, a good boss will point it out to you because he loves you. 16:02.403 --> 16:03.783 Now, this certainly goes for parents. 16:03.943 --> 16:08.583 Proverbs 22, verse 15 says, foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. 16:08.923 --> 16:12.303 The rod of correction will drive it far from him. 16:13.786 --> 16:18.066 When our oldest, who's 17 now, was just a little kid, 16:18.066 --> 16:21.526 he was out of control one day, and finally he said, 16:21.526 --> 16:24.026 Dad, I think I need a spanking. 16:26.166 --> 16:27.726 What? 16:27.726 --> 16:29.606 God bless him, he knew he was out of control. 16:29.606 --> 16:32.286 Dad was being a little passive, and he knew it. 16:32.286 --> 16:33.926 He needed some help. 16:34.926 --> 16:37.966 Now, now that he's a teenager, I obviously don't spank him. 16:37.966 --> 16:40.666 I thought those days were over, and they are. 16:41.562 --> 16:45.382 But recently, after Micah was grounded for something 16:45.382 --> 16:46.642 a few days into it, he said, 16:46.642 --> 16:49.662 "'Dad, thank you for grounding me. 16:49.662 --> 16:51.342 "'I needed it.'" 16:51.342 --> 16:53.562 Proverbs 15, verse 32 says, 16:53.562 --> 16:57.182 "'He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, 16:57.182 --> 17:01.222 "'but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding.'" 17:01.222 --> 17:05.122 We all need correction in life, and if we receive it, 17:05.122 --> 17:09.362 if we humbly learn from it, it can be life-altering. 17:10.553 --> 17:14.133 When I was in college, I was working one day with my dad on his koi pond. 17:14.253 --> 17:18.173 That was a hobby that the two of us enjoyed almost every Saturday 17:18.173 --> 17:20.633 from the time I was just a little kid to the day he died. 17:20.753 --> 17:23.173 And so that particular day, something happened. 17:23.253 --> 17:27.373 I can't recall exactly what, but we were arguing back and forth. 17:28.113 --> 17:29.593 And finally, Dad went silent. 17:30.373 --> 17:31.913 And after a minute or two, he said, 17:31.913 --> 17:34.493 Son, I think you have an anger problem. 17:35.993 --> 17:37.512 You know what? 17:37.513 --> 17:41.096 That made me angry. 17:41.097 --> 17:42.457 Marrying. 17:42.457 --> 17:43.497 Why? 17:43.497 --> 17:46.217 Because I didn't think I had an anger problem. 17:46.683 --> 17:50.403 So those words were a blow to how I viewed myself. 17:50.403 --> 17:52.323 It was a blind spot, but you know what? 17:52.323 --> 17:53.503 He was right. 17:53.503 --> 17:56.283 The rebuke was exactly what I needed 17:56.283 --> 17:58.363 to face the blind spot in my life. 17:58.363 --> 18:01.103 He loved me enough to make me uncomfortable 18:01.103 --> 18:02.963 so I could become something greater. 18:02.963 --> 18:05.463 God used that to build character in me 18:05.463 --> 18:08.923 that I desperately, desperately needed. 18:08.923 --> 18:10.783 Verse number eight, he says, 18:10.783 --> 18:14.403 "'The end of a thing is better than its beginning. 18:14.392 --> 18:16.892 The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 18:17.272 --> 18:21.052 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools. 18:21.432 --> 18:24.812 Do not say, why were the former days better than these? 18:24.892 --> 18:27.732 For you do not inquire wisely concerning this. 18:27.752 --> 18:29.692 He says, you have no idea what you're talking about. 18:29.912 --> 18:31.012 Here's our principle. 18:32.252 --> 18:39.212 Circumstances that require patience build a lot more character than circumstances that often lead to pride. 18:39.212 --> 18:40.749 Right? 18:40.750 --> 18:43.530 Solomon says the patient in spirit 18:43.530 --> 18:47.190 is better than the proud in spirit. 18:47.190 --> 18:51.310 Now, whenever we experience these great victories in life, 18:51.310 --> 18:54.410 sometimes we're tempted to become prideful. 18:54.410 --> 18:58.010 But whenever we experience the frustrations of life, 18:58.010 --> 19:00.250 it teaches us patience, doesn't it? 19:00.250 --> 19:02.770 And God is patient, that's Christ's likeness. 19:02.770 --> 19:05.410 Now remember, Solomon's reminding us here 19:05.410 --> 19:10.010 for the couple chapters, our great victories, our comforts. 19:10.535 --> 19:14.295 We think our best, but they might lead to pride. 19:14.295 --> 19:16.415 And those frustrations that we face in life, 19:16.415 --> 19:19.235 those setbacks in life that require patience, 19:19.235 --> 19:21.955 they're actually building the character that God's after. 19:22.550 --> 19:25.510 So he said, don't be angry about it. 19:25.510 --> 19:29.250 You know, anger and pride are connected, aren't they? 19:29.250 --> 19:31.330 And an angry heart is a prideful heart. 19:31.330 --> 19:34.030 I found those two sins often go together. 19:34.030 --> 19:36.930 I was working on this part of my message 19:36.930 --> 19:39.650 just over a week ago on my birthday. 19:39.650 --> 19:42.170 It was the Friday of vacation Bible school. 19:42.170 --> 19:45.410 And all morning long, I had distraction after distraction, 19:45.410 --> 19:47.470 emergency after emergency, pulling me 19:47.470 --> 19:48.490 in different directions. 19:48.490 --> 19:51.310 It caused me to miss my morning of study. 19:51.322 --> 19:52.642 which is stressful for a pastor. 19:52.802 --> 19:55.722 And so I was running as I was dealing with things. 19:55.822 --> 19:56.882 I was frustrated. 19:57.002 --> 19:58.482 My schedule was being interrupted, 19:58.482 --> 20:00.822 and it dawned on me 20:01.143 --> 20:04.463 that I had let myself get a little bit angry 20:04.463 --> 20:06.323 about being disrupted. 20:06.323 --> 20:09.583 And the Spirit of God touched my heart in a moment. 20:09.583 --> 20:11.483 And he brought this verse to mind 20:11.483 --> 20:13.883 that I had been studying early in the morning. 20:13.883 --> 20:16.703 A spirit of patience is a lot better 20:16.703 --> 20:17.983 than a spirit of pride. 20:17.983 --> 20:21.843 Do not be quick to become angry. 20:21.843 --> 20:23.723 And I had to stop in that moment 20:23.723 --> 20:25.603 and thank God for the interruptions 20:25.603 --> 20:26.763 that he was bringing into my life. 20:26.763 --> 20:27.602 Why? 20:27.603 --> 20:31.123 Because he was building in me the character of Christ. 20:31.650 --> 20:33.110 God is patient with us. 20:33.390 --> 20:35.670 We need to learn to be patient as well. 20:35.770 --> 20:41.570 We have such a hard time, though, seeing the big picture of what God is doing in our life. 20:41.670 --> 20:43.570 And God's always focused on the big picture. 20:43.810 --> 20:47.110 We're focused on the little picture we can see, right? 20:47.310 --> 20:53.410 Most of the time, we're either too focused on the past or we're too focused on the here and the now. 20:53.510 --> 20:54.630 And Solomon deals with both. 20:55.510 --> 20:57.170 A lot of people are... 20:57.961 --> 21:01.101 living in the past, living in the good old days. 21:01.101 --> 21:03.581 Their eyes are in the rear view mirror of life. 21:03.581 --> 21:07.201 They're looking behind instead of in front of them. 21:07.201 --> 21:08.821 And they wonder to themselves, 21:08.821 --> 21:13.741 why were the former days so much better than these days? 21:14.961 --> 21:19.021 I don't think it is ever a good idea 21:19.021 --> 21:22.901 for a Christian to be focused on the past. 21:22.901 --> 21:26.121 Because for one, you're probably romanticizing it. 21:26.480 --> 21:30.780 I saw a dad one time wearing a t-shirt at a wrestling tournament that said, 21:30.780 --> 21:33.000 the older I get, the better I was. 21:34.380 --> 21:37.700 Isn't it amazing how our memory changes the facts over time? 21:37.980 --> 21:41.180 Those good old days, you were having a hard time back then more than likely. 21:42.480 --> 21:47.760 Now, also for the Christian, the past, it's never better than the future. 21:48.040 --> 21:51.420 I don't care if you're 100 years old, your future is a whole lot brighter than your past. 21:51.520 --> 21:53.420 Why? Because heaven's in your future. 21:54.273 --> 21:58.533 We've always got to be looking forward to what God has in store for us. 21:58.733 --> 22:02.853 So sometimes people, they get caught up in fantasizing about the past. 22:03.193 --> 22:06.213 Others can't seem to look beyond the moment. 22:07.153 --> 22:13.753 So they foolishly make decisions for the here and the now with no thought of future consequences. 22:14.033 --> 22:19.013 But Solomon says here, he says, the end of a thing is actually better than the beginning. 22:19.788 --> 22:23.108 One of the keys to enjoying life 22:23.108 --> 22:27.268 is to learn how to live with the end in mind. 22:27.268 --> 22:29.828 Proverbs, which is a book in the Bible 22:29.828 --> 22:31.988 filled with these short statements of wisdom, 22:31.988 --> 22:34.768 it teaches us that wisdom is the ability 22:34.768 --> 22:39.048 to look forward in time and to make decisions now, 22:39.048 --> 22:43.068 not based in the moment, but based on the future outcome. 22:43.068 --> 22:45.208 That's what wisdom is. 22:45.208 --> 22:48.348 Now, here's the truth though. 22:49.201 --> 22:53.861 Well, we try, and we should, to anticipate how it's going to work out in the end. 22:54.061 --> 22:56.141 Scripture gives us a lot of principles to do that by. 22:57.588 --> 22:59.708 While we try and attempt to do that, 22:59.708 --> 23:02.028 we don't actually know how it's all gonna fit together. 23:02.028 --> 23:02.867 That's why Solomon is saying, 23:02.868 --> 23:05.208 you don't know if your best days are actually best days 23:05.208 --> 23:08.228 and your bad days are actually bad days, but God knows. 23:08.228 --> 23:09.888 God knows what he's doing. 23:09.888 --> 23:13.828 You see, God's the ultimate chess master of the universe. 23:13.828 --> 23:17.328 While we're playing checkers in life, God is playing chess. 23:17.328 --> 23:21.988 Now, a chess board has 64 individual squares. 23:21.988 --> 23:24.608 It has 32 separate pieces. 23:24.608 --> 23:26.808 It's a very strategic game. 23:27.389 --> 23:31.089 And while most of us can only see two or three moves ahead, 23:31.229 --> 23:34.469 a chess master can sometimes see 20 moves ahead. 23:35.455 --> 23:39.415 Well, God is the ultimate chess master 23:39.415 --> 23:43.275 who can see trillions of moves ahead. 23:43.275 --> 23:46.315 Infinite possibilities based on decisions 23:46.315 --> 23:47.895 in all of these different events. 23:47.895 --> 23:50.435 He can see how it all fits together. 23:50.435 --> 23:52.955 So Solomon says, we can't possibly know 23:52.955 --> 23:55.715 if a particular move by God is a good move or not. 23:55.715 --> 23:57.695 We can only see two or three spots ahead, 23:57.695 --> 24:02.495 but we can trust God because he sees trillions 24:02.590 --> 24:04.990 of spots ahead, steps ahead. 24:05.210 --> 24:07.489 Verse number 11. 24:07.490 --> 24:07.829 He says, 24:07.830 --> 24:13.310 Wisdom is good with an inheritance and profitable to those who see the sun. 24:13.390 --> 24:16.010 For wisdom is a defense, as money is a defense, 24:16.010 --> 24:20.910 but the excellence of knowledge is that wisdom gives life to those who have it. 24:20.970 --> 24:27.770 Here Solomon is teaching us that character protects us a whole lot more than money does. 24:28.949 --> 24:35.189 Wisdom is the word that he uses, is referring an aspect of godly character. 24:35.729 --> 24:39.409 Wisdom protects us more than money does. 24:40.429 --> 24:43.389 Now, does money protect us? 24:43.429 --> 24:45.249 Well, you bet it does. 24:45.250 --> 24:48.850 Your car breaks down and you have money to fix it. 24:48.970 --> 24:52.210 The money that you have just protected you from going into debt. 24:52.310 --> 24:56.350 It just protected you from losing your job that you can't drive to and get to work. 24:56.350 --> 24:57.870 So it protects you in a sense. 24:57.990 --> 25:00.910 Money brings a sense of temporary protection. 25:02.110 --> 25:08.870 But Solomon says here, in a greater way, wisdom and godly character protects us in life. 25:08.930 --> 25:09.849 How? 25:09.850 --> 25:11.130 It helps us navigate life. 25:12.014 --> 25:15.534 There's pitfalls everywhere we look. 25:15.694 --> 25:18.034 Everything we're not, there's pitfalls all around us. 25:18.514 --> 25:21.614 Wisdom and this godly character that God is building us, 25:21.614 --> 25:26.314 it helps us navigate life without unnecessarily falling in the pitfalls. 25:27.016 --> 25:34.936 take simple thing like driving for example wisdom teaches a driver that's important to anticipate 25:34.936 --> 25:39.616 what's next right what are the possibilities of what's next and so it teaches a person to 25:39.616 --> 25:46.236 look both ways before going out on a street now a child behind the wheel or a 25:46.490 --> 25:49.790 fool who's drunk might not anticipate what's next. 25:49.790 --> 25:51.670 They might just pull out onto that road 25:51.670 --> 25:53.990 without the thought of possible danger. 25:53.990 --> 25:55.310 But a person with experience, 25:55.310 --> 25:57.930 a little bit more wisdom about driving, 25:57.930 --> 26:02.130 knows to look both ways in order to avoid 26:02.130 --> 26:04.790 possible danger in the future. 26:04.790 --> 26:09.230 Wisdom is the ability to properly discern 26:09.230 --> 26:11.810 the possible ramifications of a decision. 26:13.422 --> 26:17.662 Maybe you're fed up today with your spouse. 26:18.602 --> 26:22.542 And you're wondering whether you should divorce him or her. 26:23.602 --> 26:24.301 Here's the deal. 26:24.302 --> 26:25.342 The fool... 26:26.213 --> 26:32.133 does whatever he or she can do to get out of the painful relationship that they're currently in. 26:32.173 --> 26:36.433 I just got to get out of it in the now without considering the long-term consequences. 26:37.273 --> 26:40.733 But the wise person considers the ramifications of divorce, right? 26:41.753 --> 26:45.113 What are the ramifications of broken vows to God? 26:45.393 --> 26:48.393 What are the ramifications of maybe some broken kids? 26:48.393 --> 26:51.273 What are the ramifications of broken finances? 26:51.965 --> 26:57.245 They consider the possibility that their next spouse might be worse than the one they currently have. 26:57.945 --> 26:59.905 You know that happens sometimes, right? 27:01.145 --> 27:05.945 Wisdom often protects a person from compounding pain. 27:06.625 --> 27:09.504 Verse number 13. 27:09.505 --> 27:09.824 He says, 27:09.825 --> 27:11.065 Consider the work of God. 27:11.585 --> 27:14.685 For who can make straight what he has made crooked? 27:15.387 --> 27:17.087 In the day of prosperity, be joyful. 27:17.507 --> 27:22.667 But in the day of adversity, consider, surely God has appointed the one as well as the other, 27:23.027 --> 27:27.107 so that man can find out nothing that will come after him. 27:27.107 --> 27:29.827 Solomon is saying you need to come to grips with reality. 27:31.487 --> 27:37.767 You want to be God and you want to be in control, but any control you have in life is simply an illusion. 27:38.707 --> 27:39.706 God is in control. 27:39.707 --> 27:44.467 If God wants something one way, you've got to accept it because you can't change it. 27:45.256 --> 27:47.616 Now, he said earlier, he said, don't let that make you angry. 27:48.476 --> 27:58.856 Instead, in humility, be patient as God works in your life through the good times and the hard times. 27:58.856 --> 28:08.736 Solomon is teaching us that God uses both the good times in life and the bad times in life to build in us the character of Jesus. 28:09.696 --> 28:10.635 That's what God does. 28:10.636 --> 28:12.496 That's what he's committed to doing. 28:12.678 --> 28:15.858 Now we began today with Solomon's question. 28:15.858 --> 28:19.978 Who knows what's good for man in life? 28:19.978 --> 28:23.398 And the answer is God knows. 28:23.398 --> 28:27.958 God knows what you need and he gives us what we need. 28:27.958 --> 28:28.797 Why? 28:28.798 --> 28:33.798 In order to become who we are meant to become in Christ. 28:34.198 --> 28:37.558 So when God gives us some good times, enjoy them. 28:38.294 --> 28:41.394 Enjoy the prosperity that God gives to you, 28:41.454 --> 28:42.914 but when adversity comes your way, 28:43.014 --> 28:45.274 consider the fact God has appointed that as well. 28:46.634 --> 28:47.533 He's allowed that. 28:47.534 --> 28:47.893 Why? 28:47.894 --> 28:50.594 To make you more like Christ. 28:50.734 --> 28:52.354 Now, does that mean the bad times are good? 28:52.534 --> 28:54.234 No, absolutely not. 28:54.394 --> 28:55.574 The bad times are bad. 28:56.975 --> 28:58.415 Evil is bad all the time. 28:58.675 --> 29:01.575 Pain and suffering, tragedy, that's bad. 29:01.775 --> 29:09.495 But the Bible teaches that God has this incredible ability to take that which is evil and to turn it into good. 29:12.348 --> 29:21.948 On our church's 20th anniversary, we published a book of my dad's, of 20 sermons from the 29:21.948 --> 29:23.028 first 20 years. 29:23.028 --> 29:24.608 One sermon from each year. 29:24.608 --> 29:26.308 There's a little history in there as well. 29:26.308 --> 29:32.328 And on the front of the book, my dad dedicated the book to my sister Charity, who was hit 29:32.328 --> 29:36.988 by a car and killed when she was just six years old, his oldest daughter. 29:36.988 --> 29:41.248 I want to read to you the dedication that he wrote. 29:42.622 --> 29:44.402 for her. 29:44.402 --> 29:45.602 He said, 29:45.602 --> 29:49.002 God gave us Charity for only six short years. 29:49.002 --> 29:52.642 Her death broke my heart and left my soul in darkness. 29:52.642 --> 29:55.502 God in his greatness has mended my heart 29:55.502 --> 29:58.402 and filled my soul with the light of his presence. 29:58.402 --> 30:00.482 Charity's life on earth was brief, 30:00.482 --> 30:03.602 but the lessons from sorrow continue to linger. 30:03.602 --> 30:06.242 God has used her tragic death to shape me 30:06.242 --> 30:08.862 and conform me to his image. 30:08.862 --> 30:11.522 Sermons are born not only out of study, 30:11.984 --> 30:13.764 but the best ones come from brokenness. 30:14.464 --> 30:18.064 I cannot assess the impact of charity upon my life and my ministry. 30:18.424 --> 30:23.364 I am who I am in large part because of the sorrow that God has entrusted to me. 30:24.244 --> 30:28.024 There was a time when I could not think of charity without being engulfed in sorrow. 30:28.764 --> 30:31.544 Now, I look forward to seeing her again 30:31.544 --> 30:35.464 and sharing with her the profound impact of her life upon me 30:35.464 --> 30:40.664 and all those who hear God's message from a man whom God has broken. 30:43.422 --> 30:47.862 Dad didn't allow his pain to make him bitter. 30:49.382 --> 30:51.982 He allowed his pain to make him better. 30:53.862 --> 30:57.662 Maybe you're listening today and you are broken with pain. 30:58.862 --> 31:01.762 And I don't know the exact source of that brokenness 31:01.762 --> 31:04.782 in terms of whether it's been the loss of a loved one, maybe 31:06.322 --> 31:08.982 it's a divorce, maybe it's a wayward child. 31:10.844 --> 31:17.804 Maybe you're battling a physical ailment that's just got you beat up and full of physical pain, emotional pain. 31:18.704 --> 31:19.483 You're broken. 31:19.484 --> 31:21.004 Maybe it's your own failures. 31:21.804 --> 31:25.444 And it's a guilt that's weighing you down that you have felt God. 31:25.524 --> 31:26.724 You felt those around you. 31:26.804 --> 31:28.424 And you have all of these regrets. 31:28.664 --> 31:30.164 And you're just broken today. 31:30.164 --> 31:36.124 I want to invite you to allow God to make you better through the trials you're facing in life. 31:36.123 --> 31:42.643 If you will surrender your life to Him, God will take your brokenness and He'll bring healing. 31:43.523 --> 31:44.843 As only He can do. 31:45.743 --> 31:50.223 And not only will He heal you, He will actually make you better than you ever were before. 31:50.343 --> 31:53.603 He will build in you the character of Jesus. 31:54.563 --> 31:57.942 But here's the problem. 31:57.943 --> 32:00.383 Whenever we face difficulty in life, 32:00.603 --> 32:05.503 and whenever we don't surrender to the Lord in that time of difficulty, 32:06.700 --> 32:08.320 That's when life becomes unbearable. 32:09.900 --> 32:13.740 You see, pain is inevitable, but misery is a choice. 32:14.980 --> 32:19.340 Pain's inevitable because we live in a broken world that's been broken by sin. 32:20.320 --> 32:21.480 Misery is a choice. 32:22.700 --> 32:28.040 The child of God does not have to live in misery as he has the Spirit of God, 32:28.100 --> 32:30.480 and he can live a clean life before him. 32:30.480 --> 32:32.380 So here's my encouragement to you. 32:33.880 --> 32:35.240 Here's how you get out of misery. 32:36.873 --> 32:38.453 Stop playing tug of war with God. 32:40.353 --> 32:45.393 Stop pulling against what God is doing in your life. 32:45.613 --> 32:48.893 If you keep pulling against him, you're going to end up face down in the mud. 32:49.253 --> 32:50.232 You're going to end up hurt. 32:50.233 --> 32:52.833 You're going to get in a miserable condition. 32:52.973 --> 32:54.313 So here's what you do instead. 32:54.873 --> 32:57.393 Instead of pulling against God, switch sides. 32:59.418 --> 33:01.158 You can grab on the same rope your life. 33:01.398 --> 33:02.197 Just switch sides. 33:02.198 --> 33:03.998 Let go of the side of the rope you're on. 33:04.278 --> 33:06.018 Go over with the Lord. 33:06.138 --> 33:09.358 Grab onto the rope he's pulling and pull on that same rope. 33:10.178 --> 33:11.838 Yield to what God's doing in your life. 33:12.398 --> 33:16.558 Make transformation the number one goal because that is the number one goal of God. 33:17.098 --> 33:18.772 Pursue it. 33:18.773 --> 33:19.993 In the good times and the bad. 33:20.093 --> 33:23.493 And if you will do that, it changes everything in life. 33:23.753 --> 33:26.993 No matter what you face, it changes your perspective. 33:27.493 --> 33:35.173 God will give you this incredible peace and contentment in the good times and in the bad. 33:35.173 --> 33:40.493 He will build in you the character of Jesus Christ. 33:41.373 --> 33:43.673 Now let's bow together in an attitude of prayer, if you will. 33:44.293 --> 33:46.293 Both here and all of Drive. 33:48.895 --> 33:50.795 This is a holy moment in the life of our church. 33:51.015 --> 33:53.435 I'm going to pray here in just a moment. 33:53.535 --> 33:54.715 We're just going to ask you 33:54.715 --> 33:57.615 to give your life to Jesus. 34:00.535 --> 34:02.994 To trust Him. 34:02.995 --> 34:04.114 Now, 34:04.115 --> 34:05.815 sometimes when we say that, 34:06.875 --> 34:08.295 people think, 34:08.415 --> 34:09.795 man, I've got to do something. 34:10.255 --> 34:11.875 No, actually you just have to receive something. 34:12.295 --> 34:13.915 It's a passive acceptance 34:13.915 --> 34:15.715 of what God has done for you. 34:15.715 --> 34:17.155 You see, the Bible says that 34:19.456 --> 34:21.676 We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 34:21.756 --> 34:23.716 There is none righteous, no, not one. 34:24.736 --> 34:26.996 Every one of us have failed God. 34:27.116 --> 34:28.215 We've broken His heart. 34:28.216 --> 34:30.235 We've broken His will. 34:30.236 --> 34:34.136 But the message of the Bible is that even though God made us perfect, 34:34.136 --> 34:40.036 and even though we destroy that perfection and pain entered the world, 34:40.576 --> 34:47.076 suffering, death, all of these awful, evil things entered into the world because of our sin, 34:48.316 --> 34:49.436 that God still loves us. 34:51.265 --> 34:57.285 Not because of how good we are, but in spite of how bad we are, He still loves us. 34:58.705 --> 35:04.285 And no matter how big and great your failure is, no matter how heavy your guilt is, 35:05.085 --> 35:11.125 no matter how broken you are, God can bring healing to your soul. 35:12.305 --> 35:20.025 Not outwardly like perfume, but inwardly in the depths of who you actually are, the essence of who you are. 35:22.940 --> 35:32.280 But that healing and that forgiveness, that experience of grace, only comes through His Son, Jesus. 35:33.140 --> 35:35.600 A lot of people want to try to get to God on their own. 35:35.860 --> 35:36.699 They want to make it up. 35:36.700 --> 35:38.080 We don't make it up. 35:39.920 --> 35:43.220 We can't make straight what God has made broken. 35:43.460 --> 35:45.419 He's sovereign. 35:45.420 --> 35:47.220 He decides how He saves us. 35:47.540 --> 35:49.099 And He told us. 35:49.100 --> 35:50.220 He said, here's how I'm going to do it. 35:51.779 --> 36:00.199 I sent my only begotten Son, Jesus, so He could live a perfect life, that which none of you have done. 36:01.699 --> 36:09.339 And then Jesus willingly died upon the cross, a gruesome death, paying for our sins. 36:09.419 --> 36:13.379 The infinite paying for our sin. 36:14.379 --> 36:15.919 And here's how it works. 36:15.919 --> 36:16.959 Somehow. 36:18.290 --> 36:21.930 Because of the great value of the eternal Son of God, 36:23.030 --> 36:29.510 what would take you and I an eternity to pay for our sin, Jesus did on the cross. 36:32.161 --> 36:33.701 Jesus cried out on the cross, 36:34.661 --> 36:37.181 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 36:37.281 --> 36:41.221 What a thought that the eternal Son of God, there was this sense, 36:41.321 --> 36:43.181 I can't even describe it, it's mysterious, 36:43.181 --> 36:48.261 but a sense of division because he became sin for us. 36:48.321 --> 36:53.221 He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 36:53.441 --> 36:56.761 There was a sense in which the Father looked away from the Son. 36:57.821 --> 36:59.301 That's how much he loved us. 36:59.381 --> 37:00.921 He interrupted that. 37:02.215 --> 37:03.955 I don't even know how to get my mind around that. 37:04.135 --> 37:05.995 That's how much God loves you. 37:07.475 --> 37:12.415 But then Jesus, on the third day, he rose victorious from the grave. 37:13.635 --> 37:18.595 And the Bible says, whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 37:19.675 --> 37:21.335 It's not about you doing anything. 37:21.455 --> 37:22.855 You can never do enough. 37:23.555 --> 37:25.635 So everything you've tried, there's a reason it's failed. 37:25.895 --> 37:27.175 You can't do it. 37:28.315 --> 37:29.355 Only God can. 37:29.995 --> 37:31.627 And God did. 37:31.628 --> 37:33.247 Through his son Jesus. 37:33.248 --> 37:37.188 So now, here's the decision that you face today. 37:37.308 --> 37:38.988 Here's the fork in the road of life. 37:39.508 --> 37:41.948 Will I keep trying to do things my way? 37:41.948 --> 37:44.688 Will I keep trying to enjoy life my way? 37:46.068 --> 37:54.428 Or will I surrender to Jesus and receive what he has done for me? 37:55.034 --> 37:58.474 I want to invite you to give your life to Christ here in just a moment at both campuses. 37:58.634 --> 37:59.793 We're going to stand. 37:59.794 --> 38:01.374 We're going to sing after I pray. 38:01.534 --> 38:05.694 And then we're just going to invite you to step forward and take one of these leaders by the hand and say, 38:05.754 --> 38:07.034 I want to give my life to Christ. 38:07.854 --> 38:09.374 They'll know exactly how to help you. 38:09.654 --> 38:11.314 They're not going to embarrass you in any way. 38:12.034 --> 38:15.034 They're going to help you take a step towards following Christ, 38:15.154 --> 38:17.714 help you take the step that you need to take. 38:17.714 --> 38:20.874 Maybe say, I want to be baptized like others today and, 38:20.870 --> 38:23.870 or I want to join this church family, or maybe it's none of those things. 38:23.910 --> 38:28.330 You just need to come these steps and pour out your heart to the Lord. 38:29.010 --> 38:35.350 This is a moment that God is working, a moment that His Spirit is moving. 38:35.790 --> 38:39.110 Let's just respond to whatever He moves in our heart about. 38:39.310 --> 38:39.709 Let's pray. 38:39.710 --> 38:41.450 Father, thank You. 38:44.290 --> 38:46.190 Thank You for the good times You give. 38:48.832 --> 38:50.372 Lord, we're grateful for that. 38:50.812 --> 38:53.752 We love being comfortable. 38:55.952 --> 38:59.972 But Lord, I also want to say thank you, Lord, for the uncomfortable times you give. 39:00.972 --> 39:06.432 Because you love us enough to be focused on the end product. 39:07.532 --> 39:10.352 To be focused on that which touches eternity. 39:10.352 --> 39:12.877 To be. 39:12.878 --> 39:21.778 I pray, Lord, for those who are in the midst of terrible pain today, physical, emotional, spiritual. 39:24.698 --> 39:32.818 Maybe they feel a great sense of loneliness, a great sense of failure, maybe even a sense of hopelessness. 39:34.867 --> 39:37.767 Lord, would you meet them today exactly where they're at? 39:38.747 --> 39:43.367 Would you touch them, Lord, their heart and the deep place that I'm unable to get to? 39:44.747 --> 39:48.926 Well, you can. 39:48.927 --> 39:50.347 Would you change their heart? 39:51.227 --> 39:52.647 Would you bring them forgiveness? 39:52.967 --> 39:55.807 Would you open their eyes, soften their heart? 39:57.698 --> 39:58.818 Help them believe, Lord. 39:59.718 --> 40:02.118 I pray for those that need to come forward. 40:02.958 --> 40:07.258 It's not just that they need to make a decision where they stand. 40:07.538 --> 40:10.338 Lord, there's something about going public in this moment. 40:10.458 --> 40:12.898 There's something about getting immediate help while you're at work. 40:13.218 --> 40:15.278 I pray for those people who need to come forward, Lord, 40:15.338 --> 40:19.118 that you give them the courage to step out and come right now. 40:19.118 --> 40:21.258 We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 40:23.230 --> 40:24.670 Thanks for listening today. 40:24.670 --> 40:26.330 We hope you enjoyed this message. 40:26.330 --> 40:28.430 And if you did, we would be so grateful 40:28.430 --> 40:30.110 if you left us a review. 40:30.110 --> 40:32.550 Also, go ahead and subscribe to the podcast 40:32.550 --> 40:33.850 if you would like to be notified 40:33.850 --> 40:35.750 when a new sermon is released. 40:35.750 --> 40:37.390 If you feel the Lord calling you 40:37.390 --> 40:39.010 to take the next step in faith 40:39.010 --> 40:43.330 through salvation, service, or giving, don't wait. 40:43.328 --> 40:46.788 reach out to us by texting podcast to 88988. 40:46.788 --> 40:50.328 That's podcast to 88988 or connect with us 40:50.328 --> 40:52.708 on one of our social media platforms. 40:52.708 --> 40:55.848 You can also visit our website, valleybaptist.org 40:55.848 --> 40:58.428 to find even more great resources. 40:58.428 --> 41:00.628 No matter where you are in your journey, 41:00.628 --> 41:03.348 know that we love you, we're praying for you 41:03.348 --> 41:06.308 and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.