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#20230218 - We Know That The Lord is Good - Nahum 1:7 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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  Welcome to the study of God's word with pastor and author.
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  Ed, Taylor recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora,
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  Colorado to learn more about the many resources available,
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  through abounding Grace, Media, or to tune into our live stream
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  Services. Visit us online at Calvary,
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  co.'s Church or download our free
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  Calvary Church app. Now, here's Pastor Ed to take us
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  into our study. Amen.
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  Amen. Amen.
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  Amen. Go ahead and have a seat.
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  Open your Bibles to First Corinthians chapter 10.
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  We were going to originally start our servants class in our
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  Bible studies in the book of Acts.
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  And last night, we just shifted the whole direction of our time
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  which what we're experiencing today and every service has been
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  unique. But I wanted to remind you of
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  this sense of setting, your heart toward God, it says in
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  Daniel chapter 10, let me just read it to you.
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  It says then suddenly a hand touched Which made me tremble on
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  my knees and on the palms of my hands and he said to me, oh,
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  Daniel greatly, beloved understand the words that I
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  speak to you and stand upright for I've now been sent to you
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  while he was speaking this word to me.
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  I stood trembling and he said, Don't Fear.
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  Daniel for the first day that you set your heart to
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  understand. And to humble yourself before
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  your God, your words were heard. And I've come because of Your
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  words from the moment that Daniel set his heart on
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  understand and to Humble himself, God was already
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  beginning to answer his prayer. Now, while I was away, you know,
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  being unplugged as I said just nothing but the but time with my
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  wife time in the word, I was the Lord put on my heart.
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  This passage of scripture that I'm going to be developing into
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  a Bible study Series. So I'm going to ask you to pray
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  for me because Top of everything I'm already have going on, I've
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  got now a new assignment from God, and I'm going to teach it
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  to us. And the title is going to be
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  something like, you know, warnings to the last day
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  Believers or something along those lines because we're living
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  in the last days. I don't think that many of us
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  would disagree with that. However, I want to give you a
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  different framework of that. If we indeed are living in the
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  last days, then I want you to understand, you're alive to be
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  living in the last days. This is God's will for your life
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  to be alive. Right now to serve him it is he
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  your I know that we might have this nostalgic thoughts of.
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  Well I wish I could live back in the 50s or in the 60s or in
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  another time. And no no no no no, no, none of
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  that thinking you're alive now, because God has you alive right
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  now. You are the generation to reach
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  this generation and yet there are some obligations that come
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  with that. And it's right here in 1st
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  Corinthians 10. So I'm just going to read it to
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  you. I want you to start praying over
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  it meditating on it. Maybe the holy spirit will teach
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  you long before I ever delivered.
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  Studies but it's going to be five or six studies in this
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  section of scripture says, moreover Brethren.
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  This is First Corinthians 10 verse 1, moreover Brethren.
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  I don't want you to be unaware. That all of our fathers were
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  under the cloud. All passed through the sea.
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  All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea and all
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  ate the same spiritual food. All drink the same spiritual
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  drink for of that, they drink, the spiritual rock, that
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  followed them, and that rock was Christ.
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  But with most of them God was not well pleased for their
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  bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
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  Now, these things became are examples.
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  So we're supposed to learn from this to the intent that we
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  should not lust after evil things.
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  So that's a warning to not lust after evil things.
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  Secondly, in verse 7, don't become idolaters as some of them
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  were, as they were written. The people sat down to eat and
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  drink. So this warning, number two is
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  don't get into idolatry. Number 3 and verse 8 is don't
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  commit sexual immorality. That's a big warning for the
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  last days church as some of them did.
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  And in one day, 23,000 fellow has great consequences for
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  sexual sin or number four. Number 9 verse 9, don't tempt
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  Christ as some of them also tempted or tested Christ and
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  they were destroyed by serpents. And then the fifth warning is in
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  verse 10, check this out. This is just as important as the
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  other ones not that you and the last days don't murmur Don't
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  murmur a complain as some of them also murmured and were
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  destroyed by the destroyer. And why are these important?
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  He says, in verse 11, these all these things happened to them as
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  examples and they were written for our instruction on whom the
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  ends of the age have come. They've been written for us and
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  so pray for me in the next on a no, to be six weeks, six months,
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  who knows? When I'll get it done but the
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  Lord will give me the time to develop it and deliver it
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  because I think it's God's word for us.
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  In the future but I've been really like man Lord you want to
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  prepare us. You want to ready us.
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  You want to use us in these last days.
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  It's not going to come out without a cost, right?
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  God does his part and man does his part God does his part man,
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  does his part? And so God is always the
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  initiator and we're always the responder which leads us to our
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  Bible study today. If it's the goodness of God,
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  that leads to repentance and I believe we should spend some
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  time looking at the goodness of God today.
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  And I developed this study back in 2020 and I taught it to an
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  empty room. If you remember back in 2020,
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  everybody was online and I delivered it to an online
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  audience and I don't remember how many people were in the room
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  but it was predominantly an empty room.
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  All three services were folks who are watching online and
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  listening on the radio and then I took it as the doors opened.
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  I took this Bible study around the world, teaching it on all
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  the invitations that I have. Have received and it was the
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  study. I take, I took for a about a
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  year year and a half and God seemed to really bless it.
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  And during those travels I'm like, you know, I need to teach
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  this to the church again and that's kind of been on my heart.
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  But last night, it just happened.
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  Like last minute I came fully prepared to teach what I had
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  prepared. How to prepare before I left out
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  of town, and it was already for me, it's on my iPad but I really
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  believe that God wants us to go here.
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  Because today's the day of preparation of repentance, it's
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  Not next week, it's not next year, it's today.
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  And if the pathway of repentance, know the goodness of
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  God, then let's talk a little bit about that.
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  So they got could prep your heart for repentance, ready for
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  that. So father, I pray for your
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  spirit to take your word and use it in our lives.
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  I think of what Jesus said that what else of the flashes of the
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  flesh? What of is of the spirit is of
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  the spirit. And so there's just a lot of
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  humanity in the room today. A lot of Flesh.
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  A lot of things God Among Us that really have nothing to do
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  with you. Bring, you know, Glory bring
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  you. No honor.
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  It's just a bunch of our plans and our thoughts.
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  And we ask you, for gift for your forgiveness.
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  God forgive us for replacing you with ourselves, forgive us for
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  replacing you, with some Thing. Someone you brought a brother,
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  even here today, that would stand up and say, out loud that
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  He's been away and he's back. And I wonder if we gave time.
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  How many people have been here, physically, but they've been
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  away, and it's time to come back.
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  God is calling you home. And I pray for those that you're
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  calling God. Physically and spiritually and
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  emotionally and mentally. I pray God that by your spirit
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  you would draw many to yourself as we examine today.
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  This beautiful beautiful passage of scripture.
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  Bless your word God, in Jesus name.
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  Amen. Take your Bibles.
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  Open them to Nahum chapter one. Would you Nahum you say, where
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  in the world is that Jonah Micah.
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  Nahum habakkuk, if you're anywhere near those at the
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  toward the end of the Old Testament, you're going to be
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  right there, Jonah, Micah Nahum. And today I want to introduce
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  you and remind you of one verse and it will be an abbreviated
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  version of these notes that I've presented.
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  But it'll be what God has for us today.
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  And the title of our study is we know that the Lord is good and
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  in the days in which we live, as we're reminded the days in which
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  we live. Are the days for which God has
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  you alive, you are alive now by the will of God, so that you
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  might have a impact in the culture, in which you live
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  generationally, like, God would have you to experience
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  generational change, starting with you personally, and then
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  each generation that's affected by your life, your life.
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  Matters to God, it matters immensely.
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  Your life is so valuable to God, that he sent his only son, Jesus
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  Christ to die in your behalf that by the blood that was shed.
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  On, on the cross, your sins can be forgiven your loved that
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  much, you know, as we had little Ella up here and then earlier
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  service, there were five kids. So yesterday, I signed all six
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  Bibles and I write a little note to the kids, no matter.
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  If they can read or not, their parents can read it to them one
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  day, they're going to Read it. And and so most of the notes go
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  about the same way and then at the end I change it for the kids
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  as I'm praying for them. But most of the notes go this
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  way. Like Ellis, Ellis would probably
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  say something like Sela. Jesus loves you very much.
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  He gave his son Jesus for you. Jesus gave his life for you.
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  So that by faith, you can live with him forever and he gave you
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  his word. So when you read and pray,
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  you'll know more and more of God's love for you.
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  And for the kids that were in first service, I added a little
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  note to them and to say, Hey, you know, you guys have
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  something really special in your life and you share something
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  special with me. And I wrote a little note in
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  there that just like they have all been physically adopted.
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  I too have been adopted and so the pathway of my life went
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  through and navigated through the adoption system so that God
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  would use that for his glory in my life.
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  And so who knows what God is going to do through the Clark
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  family earlier through the Lala. But I want you to imagine for a
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  second if God took your Bible and wrote a note in it.
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  And he wrote a note in your Bible that says, I'm Your Father
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  in heaven and I love you very much.
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  I gave my son Jesus, just for you so you can enter into a
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  relationship with me. And as you open your Bible every
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  day, you're going to learn more and more about how much I love
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  you. How important you are to me, how
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  I long to have you in deeper intimate relationship.
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  Imagine the father. Writing that note to you.
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  Well, it's all throughout the Bible, isn't it?
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  The whole Bible is his note to you.
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  The whole Bible is a reminder of his goodness to you.
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  The whole Bible is a reminder of the goodness of God.
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  And we need to be reminded in days, like this in the days, in
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  which we live. They're hard, they're incredibly
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  difficult and challenging both on a macro level, you know,
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  globally, but also on a personal level.
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  Heart-wrenching. Horrendous pain is in the room
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  today. Challenges familiar Financial
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  are in the room today. Online on the radio, like lives
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  are being altered and changed. Fractured, there's great
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  distress and discouragement. There's even recent deaths,
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  that's brought great grief into many lives.
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  And it's in times like these, I think, especially in times
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  likely these, that we know that the Lord is good.
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  We know that we know that the Lord is good.
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  Of course, it's easy to praise God when things are going well,
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  that's the easy time, you know, you great job, promotion, praise
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  the. Lord got a raise, praise the
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  Lord, maybe there was some difficulty and God resolved, it
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  praise the Lord. When things are going well, we
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  are very quick to assent, and we're very Greek quick to agree
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  and were very quick to announce we know that the Lord is good.
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  I mean every Easter and Christmas as we gather together
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  in the room is filled, we have all these extra Services.
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  We have kind of a little tradition that we do.
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  It didn't start with us, you know, Calvary Chapel but I
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  brought it with me. I don't know where I learned it,
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  but I brought it from somewhere now, not stand up here on the
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  stage and I'll stay right here with a full room.
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  God is good all the time. You guys know that you guys with
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  me, come on. God is good all the time.
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  Some of you didn't join in. Because circumstances.
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  Can be so heavy. And so hard.
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  I had a gentleman come up to me after the service quite a few
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  yesterday older guy, I'd probably say he's in his 60s, he
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  wanted to share his whole story with man said, no, I don't have
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  time for that. There's a lot of people waiting
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  but emailed to me so he did. It was a very long email that I
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  checked last night and read through it.
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  And in the one of the paragraphs at the beginning, he says I've
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  lived a very long hard life and that was with most of the next
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  paragraph is going to be all the things that he experienced and
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  some of you can write the same email.
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  Your life has been very long and very hard starting at a very
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  young age. And those circumstances have
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  weighed heavy on you. So even today, even as a
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  follower of Jesus, it's still very challenging for you
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  announce that God is good others, you know, may not be a
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  lifetime of circumstances others.
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  We've learned that circumstances can change in an instant and our
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  whole lives can be turned upside down instantly.
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  I would like, I don't know, I don't know.
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  This is the very place where You know, the very the very place
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  where you're tested the most. This truth, how you answer this
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  question is going to determine how your day goes, how your week
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  goes. And the question is very simple,
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  do I believe that God is good? I answer yes to that and I'm in
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  a day where yes, then at the day's going to go relatively
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  well, no matter what I faced, but if I say no to that
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  question, my life will be in disarray.
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  It will be tattered because the enemy of our souls would have
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  been successful and getting me to doubt the goodness of God.
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  You see. Truth is interesting.
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  Truth exists outside of your opinion.
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  Did you know that? So the Bible States something
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  matter-of-factly? Like this is the truth and you
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  go. Why don't agree with it?
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  That's your problem. The truth is the truth.
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  Well, you know, I don't think that.
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  All right, well that's a problem for you because truth exists
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  outside of your opinion or you might say I agree with that.
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  Well that's wonderful. You agree with it but the Bible
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  does. God doesn't need you to agree
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  with him being truthful. He is true.
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  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
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  So it's good for us over the years, to learn how to assent,
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  to take our lives and submit it to the truth.
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  And today I want three things I want to give to you that.
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  I want you to submit to in, knowing god and understanding
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  his goodness. It's right here in this book by
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  the name of Nahum met him was a man.
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  He was a prophet and messenger of God.
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  He was given a very strong and difficult assignment.
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  He was to announce judgment on a nation.
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  A Syria that was, is it? He's next up, I want you to give
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  this message, you can see right there in verse 1 of Nahum one,
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  it starts out the burden. And if you've ever had to
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  deliver hard news and difficult news, you know, how heavy it can
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  be describing in like a burden is Not Unusual.
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  And he is to describe, he is to deliver this heavy word to the
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  nation of Assyria, a nation that has rebelled against God.
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  A nation that has no desire to anything with God.
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  And here he is, it says, you know, look how heavy it is, God
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  is jealous verse 2. The Lord avenges, the Lord is
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  furious. He takes Vengeance on his
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  adversaries. He reserves wrath for his
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  enemies and it goes on and on and on.
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  Till he finally gets to verse 7 and it's like in verse 7.
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  He takes a breath for a moment. To remind himself of the
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  goodness of God that all of the Judgment that got that.
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  The nahanni speaking of here does not diminish.
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  The goodness of God and it's like he needs just to be
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  refreshed. He needs to be reminded that the
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  Lord is good and that's what he says notice in verse 7, the Lord
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  is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble and he knows those
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  who Trust. In him.
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  So three simple things today before we leave and three simple
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  things are not just to receive a Bible study, but to prep you and
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  prepare you for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
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  They received today's word, not just being a good Bible student,
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  but learning how to love The God, Who wrote the Bible?
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  He wants you to know of his goodness.
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  And that's Point. Number one.
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  God is good. This is foundational.
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  That this is absolute. This must be the foundation
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  upon, which you build your whole life.
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  You don't need to go to Seminary or Bible College to learn this
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  theological truth. Don't be afraid of the word
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  theology. It just simply means the study
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  of God as you open your Bible, you are a student of the Bible.
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  You are in a theology, the time of theology, as you're letting
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  God reveal himself. To you, you don't need to go to
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  Seminary to learn this. The theology that God is
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  presenting to you today, is that he is good, that's his nature.
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  That is who he is, it is not what he does, it is who he is,
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  and this must be a foundational, basic fact of your relationship
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  with God, you just know that, you know, that, you know that
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  God is good. Why?
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  Well, because of the times in which we live in every
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  generation, it's necessary, but, especially in our day, where we
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  live in a world in a culture that it doesn't matter where you
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  look, you will not find the goodness of God in this culture.
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  It's not mentioned in this culture.
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  It's we actually live in a culture that with God, they
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  viewed, they've done in one of two things, they have denied
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  him. Said he doesn't exist.
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  I mean, go ahead and go to find some atheist friend of yours,
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  and ask them for some word of Hope to say, hey, what do you
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  have to offer me? There's no God.
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  Oh, that really helps. Thanks like, what do they have
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  to offer that? So you have one side that says
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  there is no God. The other side of our world has
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  replaced god with a god of their own image.
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  That's the world in which we live.
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  You live in that world. I live in that world and there's
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  no snow good. Did you can't look anywhere in
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  this culture and find the goodness of God.
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  Then you have what the Bible calls your flesh, your Humanity.
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  Your sinful habits that you've developed over the years.
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  I've developed over the years. How many of you got saved later
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  in life later? In life later and little bit
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  older. Yeah.
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  So did I 3020 something 23? I think I was.
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  And so I had 23 years of, a lot of sinful habits a lot, really
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  bad and I count all 23 years. I was a bad baby in the womb.
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  All the way all the way through. And just worse and worse until I
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  got saved. So grateful, I was invited to a
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  church just like this Heard the gospel.
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  I just shared with you responded.
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  So grateful and so my flush. It just so selfish at times.
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  So, self-centered, and I interpret circumstances through
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  my own emotions and it blurs my mind to the goodness of God.
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  And I'm in a world that doesn't talk about God, and then I'm in
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  circumstances that heard and then what happens, you know,
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  some of you even said this, he like you're mad at God, you're
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  mad at God right now. You're listening to my words.
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  You're mad at God and if you had the courage you'd yell.
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  Yes, I am. And I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
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  Your put yourself now back in a position of opposition toward
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  God. Through the pain.
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  And not only that, you have the world to flush your humanity,
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  and you also have the devil and let me tell you some about the
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  W. Maybe you never considered
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  before you ready? The devil knows that God is
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  good, consider that he knows he was there before the fall.
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  He knows there's no doubt in his mind whatsoever of the goodness
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  of God. And so he spends and the whole
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  demonic realm, the whole spiritual own spins their whole
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  time using the world. System to provoke your flesh so
• 21:45
  that you don't believe that God is good because a person that
• 21:49
  doesn't believe that God is good lives in misery.
• 21:56
  It's a very miserable experience.
• 21:59
  To think that your own creators against you.
• 22:03
  I know some of you had some really bad examples of dads and
• 22:07
  it's kind of put in your mind. You know, this, I don't know.
• 22:10
  I don't think I could see God like a father.
• 22:12
  Like, I just that I grew up with or that that I didn't grow up
• 22:15
  with and you have some of the things like all of these issues
• 22:18
  and situations that have just taken you away from the
• 22:22
  Perfection of God's love for you.
• 22:25
  That you have a father in Heaven who will not harm you, he will
• 22:29
  not abuse. You he will not talk down to
• 22:32
  you. He will not abandon you. you, he
• 22:34
  will be with you and never leave or forsake, you Why?
• 22:38
  Because the Lord is good. God is good and it's so tempting
• 22:44
  at times to not believe this. It's not really embrace it.
• 22:50
  I mean I had to put together again, this is abbreviated but
• 22:53
  just thinking you know, the things Murray and I have been
• 22:56
  with my kids and we've been through some really hard things.
• 23:03
  Really challenging things. We're not alone in that, but
• 23:07
  it's my life. And there had been Temptations
• 23:11
  over and over again to wonder about the goodness of God.
• 23:17
  And just really wrestle with it. And just take it to the Lord.
• 23:23
  And be reminded. That we're to cast our burdens
• 23:26
  upon him, that were to trust him with our lives and that he is
• 23:31
  good. No matter what I'm feeling right
• 23:33
  now, what I'm experiencing When things were going well, he was
• 23:38
  good. You know, job is he was
• 23:40
  experiencing all of his pain, he talked about.
• 23:43
  Hey blessed is the Lord who gives and the blesses, the Lord
• 23:47
  that takes away. Blessed, be the name of the
• 23:49
  Lord. He's faithful to us, but not
• 23:53
  only that. Notice the second thing we learn
• 23:55
  in. This short verse is not only is
• 23:57
  the Lord good. But, secondly, he's a stronghold
• 24:00
  in the day of trouble. Now, that's important to
• 24:03
  understand, that's important to understand.
• 24:06
  They him says, the Lord is good. He's a stronghold in the day of
• 24:08
  trouble and notice notice this just stop and let it sit with
• 24:12
  you just because God is good, doesn't mean that God will
• 24:16
  always keep you out of trouble. Just because God is good,
• 24:20
  doesn't mean he's going to keep you out of trouble.
• 24:22
  Troubles, come to us, all it is. One of the things that unite all
• 24:27
  Humanity believer and unbeliever, experienced
• 24:30
  troubles, and trials, and difficulties, especially for the
• 24:32
  Christian Jesus warned us. He said he said that many there
• 24:37
  will be tribulations coming to you all that, that tribulations
• 24:40
  away, you would begin to be of good cheer.
• 24:42
  I have overcome the world. In the psalmist.
• 24:46
  Even the psalmist Express this. He said many are the afflictions
• 24:49
  of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them, out of them.
• 24:53
  Also mask you this, who's your deliverer?
• 24:57
  Is it the Lord who is good or someone else or something else?
• 25:03
  Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers
• 25:06
  them out of the mall. God doesn't promise to keep you
• 25:09
  from trial or difficulty. But rather to deliver you and to
• 25:13
  relive real, his power and strength to you, God is a
• 25:17
  stronghold in times of trouble friend.
• 25:20
  The safest place on the planet Earth is to be in the Lord.
• 25:23
  It weren't for stronghold in the original language.
• 25:26
  Here are words like Refuge. He's a refuge.
• 25:30
  When you think of this word, I want you to think of the word.
• 25:34
  Protection. Refuge protection shelter.
• 25:40
  I want you to think of a fortress or as the proverb says
• 25:45
  in Proverbs 18, the name of the Lord is a strong tower, the
• 25:49
  righteous run to it and are safe.
• 25:51
  That's an interesting. Verse isn't it?
• 25:54
  Here's what I've learned over the years, is that when crisis
• 25:57
  comes, there are normal responses to crisis even the
• 26:00
  world has phrases for, you know, the world.
• 26:03
  They'll talk about the fight or flight response.
• 26:06
  Have you heard of that before? And then when I was teaching
• 26:08
  this somewhere else, some brother came up and said oh
• 26:10
  there's another one. There's another one that's fight
• 26:12
  flight or freeze my God and he sent me some information on it.
• 26:16
  I'm still trying to process that but I get it right.
• 26:19
  Something happens. Some of you.
• 26:21
  The first first response is is I'm going to fight.
• 26:25
  I'm going to fight, I'm not nobody's giving.
• 26:27
  I'm gonna put up a good fight, others of you.
• 26:30
  Your first response is, I'm going to freeze and do nothing,
• 26:33
  but the most popular response is.
• 26:36
  Is to run. And I know many people run, run,
• 26:40
  run you even sing a song Here, the talking about running in
• 26:43
  circles, I'm so sorry God because I'm always running in
• 26:45
  circles, there's a lot of running going on, something
• 26:48
  doesn't happen here, I'm going to run away, I don't like it
• 26:50
  here. I'm going to run away, I don't
• 26:52
  like this. I'm going to run away and the
• 26:54
  thing is is you find out whenever you arrive, where you
• 26:56
  think you're supposed to be something happens there and you
• 26:59
  choose to run again, we'll listen, listen, even even, so a
• 27:03
  natural response. The Bible says this, if you're
• 27:06
  going to run the best place to run is to the name of the Lord,
• 27:11
  if you're going to run, go for it, run to the Lord.
• 27:16
  He's your place of Safety and Security and peace.
• 27:23
  He's a shelter. He's a stronghold.
• 27:25
  You can trust him with your life.
• 27:28
  You can trust him with what God is.
• 27:33
  Allowed in your life, what he sent in your life.
• 27:37
  What you've experienced in life? been so many times and So many
• 27:44
  days of trouble in my life, where the only comfort I really
• 27:47
  had, was the name of the lord. It's all I could get out or all.
• 27:51
  I can't even muster up in my mind, it's the name of Jesus.
• 27:55
  There's no other name under Heaven by, which man must be
• 27:57
  saved, but the name, Jesus, The savior of the world.
• 28:03
  His name brings such great peace and rest to my soul, just
• 28:06
  repeating his name. There's something about that
• 28:09
  name, it's powerful. He's a strong.
• 28:13
  Hold your hope in time of Despair, your place of
• 28:16
  protection. And finally, he says number
• 28:20
  three, number one, God is good. Number two, he's a stronghold in
• 28:23
  your day of trouble. And thirdly, he knows those who
• 28:26
  trust in him. He knows those who trust in him.
• 28:31
  Now sometimes church, we read the Bible through our emotional
• 28:35
  lenses. So if you're here today and you
• 28:39
  have more of a sensitive disposition, you know the kind
• 28:43
  of the kind of disposition that you beat yourself up over all
• 28:46
  the time that, you know, you feel like you're a failure and
• 28:50
  you even maybe have some perfectionism in you.
• 28:53
  And and if you don't reach that goal you kind of make it all
• 28:56
  your fault. And and so you get into a place
• 28:58
  where you're faltering and you're flailing and you're going
• 29:00
  through stuff Tough. And you come to this and you go.
• 29:02
  Well you know, God knows who trust them and I don't trust
• 29:05
  them. So maybe you, maybe he doesn't
• 29:07
  know me. Maybe I'm going to be one of
• 29:08
  those guys that when I come to Jesus, he says, depart from me,
• 29:12
  I never knew you and you kind of walk away.
• 29:14
  All condemned all beat up and and you just have to guard
• 29:18
  yourself from reading the Bible emotionally.
• 29:21
  Because that's not this text at all.
• 29:24
  The context of God knowing you is exactly what it says.
• 29:28
  He knows you trust him all this going on all these challenges
• 29:32
  everything you're facing. He knows that you trust him.
• 29:38
  I was thinking of a verse. I think God put it in the Bible
• 29:40
  just for me but I'm sure it's yours as well in second Timothy
• 29:44
  Chapter 2 in verse 13. It says, if we are faithless, he
• 29:48
  remains faithful. He cannot deny himself and those
• 29:53
  times of weakness are the times where God reveals himself
• 29:57
  strong. I mean, it reminds me of Paul
• 29:58
  the Apostle. Remember, Paul, we're learning
• 30:00
  about his early life right now in the book of Acts.
• 30:02
  But later, on in life, he was so overwhelmed by Kane.
• 30:07
  Pain and suffering that he described it as a thorn and some
• 30:11
  of you Bible students, you know, he was come to a place.
• 30:14
  We have this episode in his life just one little episode where he
• 30:17
  it says that he's crying out to God three times for The Thorn to
• 30:21
  be removed and we know from the original language, the word that
• 30:25
  he used describes intense, pain and suffering.
• 30:30
  So whatever he was going through his debate on whatever he's
• 30:32
  going through, it doesn't really matter whatever he was going
• 30:34
  through, he wanted it out of his life so he does the right thing.
• 30:37
  He Begs God to remove it. He begged, God to remove it.
• 30:42
  He begs God to remove it and you guys know you read the story,
• 30:45
  the answer to his prayer was what My grace is sufficient to
• 30:50
  you. The answer to his prayer was not
• 30:53
  that. The answer to his prayer was no.
• 30:59
  And that really bothers people, doesn't it?
• 31:02
  The answer to his prayer was no Paul not going to remove that
• 31:05
  from your line. It's going to stay in your life
• 31:09
  and because of it you're going to learn about me in a deeper
• 31:11
  way because of it, you're going to draw closer to me.
• 31:15
  I mean you almost like you could hear the dialogue with God,
• 31:17
  right? Says look you're coming and if
• 31:19
  it wasn't for the thorn, you would be coming to me the way
• 31:21
  you are right now. So desperate and Desiring me.
• 31:25
  Of course, the explanation to his answer is accurate you guys
• 31:28
  that started it, that's us tells him, you know, my grace is
• 31:33
  sufficient for you, because it's in weakness that my strength God
• 31:38
  says, is made perfect in your life.
• 31:40
  And again, we don't like the place of weakness.
• 31:43
  We'd like to put on a front or we try to be strong.
• 31:45
  We're going to climb the corporate ladder and we're going
• 31:47
  to do this. I'm going to be so good and
• 31:49
  we're going to accomplish all our goals which are all fine and
• 31:51
  good if they're done in the Lord.
• 31:58
  And I mean, think what God gave us a an opportunity to think of
• 32:02
  think this think think of what God's doing right now.
• 32:05
  Just kind of different service, different thing ads on the
• 32:08
  stage. He's talking a lot, he's
• 32:09
  inviting, he's being used in the Pastoral gifting that he has.
• 32:13
  And then, and then a guy comes up.
• 32:14
  I mean, this shocked me because this isn't happening other
• 32:17
  service. But he wants me to go to the
• 32:20
  pulpit and say tell ask somebody if they want to confess their
• 32:23
  sin. Where are you going to get that?
• 32:26
  Where does that happen? I mean, where does that happen?
• 32:32
  Where is it that publicly you admit your weakness?
• 32:38
  Well, one of the places happens among Believers, doesn't have to
• 32:41
  be in a church service, but it was today Why?
• 32:44
  Because it's in weakness, you. When you confess something you
• 32:48
  take away its power man. You admit your dependency Von
• 32:54
  God, your desire to follow, and to serve and to surrender.
• 33:01
  Weakness is a good thing as much as we don't want it.
• 33:07
  I know times are tough and challenging and it's in trials
• 33:11
  and grief and sorrow. They're all normal responses,
• 33:15
  but they just jack up your mind. These fiery darts to have.
• 33:21
  You doubt, God's goodness and his faithfulness.
• 33:24
  And when you doubt God's goodness and you doubt God's
• 33:26
  faithfulness, guess what? Your you stay far away from
• 33:29
  repentance. And repentance is what gets you
• 33:33
  closer to God repentance. It's a Bible word, but you use
• 33:37
  repentance all the time. Even if you don't say it, it
• 33:39
  just means to turn around. You know, if you were
• 33:43
  skateboarding, you would say you're going to do a 180, right?
• 33:46
  You're going to go in One Direction.
• 33:47
  If you're driving, you would say.
• 33:49
  You're going to do a U-turn. That's what repentance is when
• 33:52
  we use that word repentance toward God.
• 33:54
  It means that we agree with god. Of the direction of our life is
• 33:58
  not the right way to go and we turn around and go God's way we
• 34:02
  forsake our simple. Ideas and actions, whatever.
• 34:07
  That might be. And we submit ourselves to
• 34:09
  following God. That's where real Vite, Revival
• 34:12
  takes place. Real Revival takes place among a
• 34:15
  people who are broken and humble before God, that set their
• 34:21
  hearts toward him, that trust him with their lives.
• 34:26
  That know that God is good and nothing is wasted in our lives,
• 34:31
  as painful as it might be, God is going to use it for his glory
• 34:36
  and ultimately for your good, not everything is good.
• 34:42
  But everything works together for good in the hands of God.
• 34:48
  But you know, God will allow you to go your own way.
• 34:50
  If that's your choice, he'll allow you to lean on your own
• 34:53
  understanding. He'll allow you to get caught up
• 34:56
  in your doubts and your anxieties, but that's not God's
• 34:59
  will for your life. He wants you to come to him now.
• 35:03
  Confess your sin, confess your trespass.
• 35:07
  He wants to redeem you. He wants you to do what the
• 35:11
  Bible says. In Psalm 55 verse 22.
• 35:13
  Give your burdens to the Lord, give your burdens to the Lord.
• 35:16
  He'll take care of you. That's what it says here in the
• 35:19
  new living. Give your burdens to the Lord,
• 35:21
  he'll take care of you, and he will not permit.
• 35:24
  The Godly the slip and fall. So, as Pastor Ian comes back,
• 35:29
  it's want you again as you processing everything, two days.
• 35:32
  I know it's heavy man, but the holy spirit's been heavy today,
• 35:35
  I he I just I'm just telling you God is taking you some of you
• 35:40
  right now, taking you out of where you've been and placing
• 35:45
  you into something new. Even if you've been walking with
• 35:49
  the Lord, for 30 years, God is doing a new thing.
• 35:53
  You've been walking with the Lord for 30 days.
• 35:55
  God is doing a new thing. He's calling us to himself.
• 35:59
  You can be excited about what God's doing in Kentucky.
• 36:02
  You can be excited about what it's doing, in South Africa, or
• 36:05
  my friends in Italy or you can be excited about that.
• 36:09
  But what about Aurora? What about our church?
• 36:13
  What does God want to do with us?
• 36:15
  What does he want to do? And I can't, I tell you whatever
• 36:17
  he wants to do. It has to go through the pathway
• 36:18
  of repentance. There isn't any other way.
• 36:22
  There's a lot of churches in town, you know?
• 36:26
  A lot of great churches, some Churches just really monotonous
• 36:30
  and repetitive and religious. And you just got to understand
• 36:34
  especially if this is your first day here, right?
• 36:36
  You walked into a church. We aren't going to do that.
• 36:40
  We're not going that way. We're not just going to gather
• 36:44
  together. So we have a little Christian
• 36:45
  huddle and we all talked about Christian things and we can all
• 36:47
  be upset about way the world is going and just complain to one
• 36:50
  another. This ain't the place for that.
• 36:53
  It's not going to be here what we want what God has for us.
• 36:56
  We want the power of God without the power of God in us, want the
• 36:59
  power of God upon us, we want to be open.
• 37:03
  We aren't going that way. It's tempting to go that way
• 37:06
  because it's easier to go that way.
• 37:08
  It's easier to take the salvation of God and never tell
• 37:12
  someone about Christ. Never step into someone's grief,
• 37:15
  never ask for forgiveness, it's much easier to go the ways at
• 37:18
  all. I'm a Christian.
• 37:19
  Yeah. But you know what?
• 37:19
  There's really no fruit from Iran.
• 37:21
  Well, you know, brother, don't judge me.
• 37:22
  And then we spent her whole life arguing with one another and the
• 37:25
  world is dying around us, and God has given you.
• 37:28
  Example, after example, after example, he's calling you to
• 37:31
  himself. Listen, he's calling you to
• 37:34
  himself. Some of you need to come because
• 37:36
  you need the Forgiveness of your sins.
• 37:38
  For some of you, you need to come because you have to repent
• 37:41
  of a sinful Life as a believer. For some of you, you know,
• 37:43
  again, prodigals that those are the ones that the prodigal sons
• 37:47
  that they had a relationship. They didn't been away for a
• 37:49
  while now. You're you know, you've just
• 37:51
  wandering around but you've wandered through the church.
• 37:53
  Hey man, I'm glad you're here. So come on back and make a
• 37:55
  commitment no more. Prodigal living live for the
• 37:58
  things of the Lord, dedicate yourself to the Lord cast your
• 38:01
  burdens upon the Lord. Take his help, take his strength
• 38:05
  surrender to him, give yourself wholly to him, little by little
• 38:09
  God's going to take it. You gotta give yourself.
• 38:13
  And so you know, as we were going through all the services
• 38:17
  today, I was checking my watch and you people what are you
• 38:19
  doing and what do you want checking your watch?
• 38:21
  Well, partly, I was checking for time, but I think it was first
• 38:24
  service that the number on my watch caught my eye and it's
• 38:28
  February 19th today, which is a significant day for many people,
• 38:33
  but it reminded me of a significant day in my life,
• 38:37
  which is actually February 20th tomorrow.
• 38:41
  Tomorrow. Well, tomorrow, 33 years ago in
• 38:47
  1991. Is what year are we in?
• 38:53
  23. So 22. 32 years ago, not 3,
• 38:57
  added a year, 32 years ago. I walked into a church like this
• 39:01
  at the invitation of a friend. And I received the Lord Jesus
• 39:05
  Christ, and I've been walking with him for 33 years.
• 39:08
  That's a, that's a miracle of God, unbelievable miracle.
• 39:13
  We do not have enough time to share with you.
• 39:16
  The miraculous work of God, he saved my life, save my marriage.
• 39:20
  He saved my family, he added to my family and then he allows me,
• 39:26
  he entrusts me, hehe enlist me to be a servant to Shepherd and
• 39:36
  Pastor A Flock, like, you. It's unbelievable.
• 39:38
  What God wants to do, unbelievable.
• 39:40
  You can't write it. You couldn't script out your
• 39:42
  life, like God. I'd would want to and you know
• 39:44
  for many years it was a big deal to me.
• 39:46
  I made it a huge, big deal that I wanted to Mark the day where I
• 39:51
  had served God longer than I serve the world.
• 39:56
  So it would have been. I had the day all marked out and
• 39:58
  everything in but then tragedy struck our family and you know
• 40:02
  that I forgot about it and by the time I remembered it, I'm
• 40:06
  like, oh man, that passed a few years ago And yet as I look at
• 40:12
  it God still. It doesn't matter what that day
• 40:14
  was because you're just serving the lord day by day and he's
• 40:18
  redeeming your life. God is redeeming your life and
• 40:22
  if you make it to serve him more years than you, serve the world
• 40:27
  great but you every moment of every day that you serve, Jesus
• 40:32
  is worth it Church. And so as we sing these songs,
• 40:37
  the song that he's going to sing right now is run to the father.
• 40:42
  And so it's an instruction to run to the father.
• 40:46
  Now, you know, when I talk about worship here, I say, you know,
• 40:50
  you have freedom, you can stand sit, Neil come and use the
• 40:53
  ultra. I'd say that quite often and
• 40:54
  then I'll sometimes use a silly joke.
• 40:57
  The only thing we ask is you don't draw attention to yourself
• 40:59
  and run laps in the sanctuary. But today, I invite you.
• 41:05
  There could be someone that just needs to obey the song and run
• 41:09
  to the Altar. And today, go ahead, two-piece
• 41:12
  careful with it. Don't trip over anyone but if
• 41:15
  you feel like the holy spirit is like, like let go ahead and obey
• 41:19
  the Holy Spirit, go ahead and obey the prompting of the
• 41:23
  spirit, go ahead. If you make a mistake, will help
• 41:26
  you correct it. You know, if you start running
• 41:29
  laps in the sanctuary, will take you outside.
• 41:31
  Do the parking, lots bigger, you know, go ahead.
• 41:33
  Put a security on you can run laps in a parking lot watching
• 41:36
  the cars. You know, like like like look
• 41:38
  just just let these Services, you know, today was a little
• 41:41
  different than than what we typically do but it's not really
• 41:45
  like anything we do when we gather that honors God in his
• 41:48
  word and is open to the spirit and submitted to the Triune God,
• 41:52
  he honors. He is well pleased with you
• 41:53
  today. So no more resistance, no more
• 41:57
  Rebellion. Like let today be a breakthrough
• 42:00
  in your life let today be a breakthrough when you remember
• 42:04
  that the Lord is good. You're going to run then run to
• 42:07
  the father because he's a stronghold and the day of your
• 42:11
  trouble and he knows Those that trust, he knows it.
• 42:18
  Maybe you need to come up here and, and bring your particle
• 42:20
  daughter with you in prayer. Bring your prodigal, son with
• 42:24
  you in prayer. Bring your fractured family with
• 42:28
  you in prayer, but bring that difficulty in prayer.
• 42:31
  Bring that separation, bring that fear.
• 42:36
  But learn how to obey the Holy Spirit.
• 42:39
  Learn how to sense his prompting, it's not always my
• 42:42
  voice. God will use my voice, but it's
• 42:44
  not always my voice. The spirit of God lives inside
• 42:46
  of you. You can hear him, you can
• 42:50
  respond to him. And so let's all Stand Together
• 42:54
  pastors are going to be kind of coming up and being all around
• 42:57
  here. So we'll be up here as well.
• 42:58
  Ministering and I'm going to stay up here on the stage just
• 43:02
  in case the work is something. But like you know this is where
• 43:05
  this is like church service, right?
• 43:06
  We all have these clocks now like we're going to be okay
• 43:09
  search is over I got to leave I'm going to go and and and you
• 43:12
  know you walk out and I'm like I can't you know stop it.
• 43:18
  Stop it. Because like not that if you
• 43:20
  have to go to work or something, get there and be on time for
• 43:22
  sure. But like don't break the habits
• 43:24
  break, the routines, stick around for stuff, just stand
• 43:28
  there and pray, just like Lord, I don't know, this is so hard,
• 43:31
  it's so awkward. So uncomfortable, no, no, no,
• 43:34
  no, no, no. They just let the Lord say no, I
• 43:36
  love you daughter. You're exactly where I want you.
• 43:40
  You guys online? I know he probably, I don't know
• 43:43
  how it feels on lying actually. Like I don't know how these
• 43:46
  Services taught online but You're just as much here.
• 43:49
  You guys downstairs or on the Overflow room, you guys
• 43:52
  listening on the radio. Maybe there's no parking today.
• 43:55
  So you're upset you drove away but the lord loves you.
• 43:59
  The Lord cares for you. He really wants to work in your
• 44:03
  life. I hope you got that today.
• 44:05
  God wants to work in your life and if not me then who no it's
• 44:10
  not, I'm not even going to worry about that question.
• 44:12
  It's going to be me. I'm going, I'm going, I'm going
• 44:16
  for more of whatever the Lord has for my life.
• 44:19
  So I meet him face-to-face, so I don't need to worry about that
• 44:21
  question, but maybe you need to settle that in your heart, let
• 44:24
  it be. You ask God for power, ask God
• 44:27
  for strength, repent of your sins, and let him do that work.
• 44:31
  So you guys can come to the altar.
• 44:33
  Anytime you want Pastor in, it's going to lead us in a song and
• 44:36
  just let it take you right into the presence of the Lord.
• 44:40
  We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible.
• 44:42
  Study delivered live. From the sanctuary of Calvary
• 44:45
  Church for prayer, call us at 877, 30 Grace.
• 44:50
  That's eight 77304, 2:53 to listen to this message in its
• 44:57
  entirety or to join us for our live stream Services.
• 45:00
  Visit us online at Calvary. Co dot church or download our
• 45:05
  free Calvary Church app be blessed as you worship Jesus
• 45:09
  this week. From the sanctuary of Calvary
• 44:45
  Church for prayer, call us at 877, 30 Grace.
• 44:50
  That's eight 77304, 2:53 to listen to this message in its
• 44:57
  entirety or to join us for our live stream Services.
• 45:00
  Visit us online at Calvary. Co dot church or download our
• 45:05
  free Calvary Church app be blessed as you worship Jesus
• 45:09
  this week.