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Psalm 73: Morning Prayer for Biblical Wisdom to Begin Your Day · Off The Kirb Ministries

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  Before we pray, let me read Psalm 73 to you.
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  Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart.
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  But As for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had
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  nearly slipped. For I was envious of the
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  boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
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  For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is
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  firm. They are not in trouble as other
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  men, nor are they plagued like other men.
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  Therefore, pride serves as their necklace.
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  Violence covers them like a garment.
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  Their eyes bulge with abundance. They have more than their heart
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  could wish. They scoff and speak wickedly
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  concerning oppression. They speak loftily.
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  They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks
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  through the earth. Therefore his people return
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  here, and waters of a full cup are drained by them.
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  And they say, How does God know, and is their knowledge in the
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  Most High? Behold, these are the ungodly
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  who are always at ease. They increase in riches.
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  Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in
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  innocence. For all day long I've been
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  plagued and chastened every morning.
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  If I had said, I will speak thus, behold, I would have been
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  untrue to the generation of your children.
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  When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me
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  until I went into the sanctuary of God.
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  Then I understood therein. Heavenly Father, if this Psalm
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  shows us one thing, it shows us this.
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  We, your people, we the ones who have become chosen through
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  Christ your elect, your people a remnant, Lord, who will not bow
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  the knee to all the false things of this world.
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  If it shows us one thing, it shows us this.
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  We must live differently. Lord, as we look at this world,
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  it is an exciting place and it seems every day it becomes
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  easier and easier to sin. Every day it seems easier and
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  easier to to get the things which are flesh so desperately
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  desires. And yet Your word shows us it is
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  so unwise to live that way. Lord, as verse one says, truly
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  God is good to Israel to such as our pure in hearts.
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  Father, I pray every single one of us who is listening to this
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  prayer right now, who is praying to you right now, but I pray we
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  would be pure in our heart. I pray, Lord, you would search
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  our heart and reveal the darkness that's there, reveal
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  any sin, anything we'll hide in there.
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  And Lord, let us bring it into the light.
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  Now repent from it and turn from it so that you can do good to
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  us. You can bless us, Lord, maybe
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  not in the way that the world was see as blessing, but give us
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  peace, give us your love, give us your rest, Lord, as we read,
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  the psalmist says. But As for me, my feet had
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  almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped, for I was
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  envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked
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  Father. Many of us can identify with
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  that verse. There are times we look over our
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  shoulder and we see our neighbor, our friends, perhaps
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  people on social media, and they seem to be having such a good
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  time. And yet we might be struggling
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  and it might feel like we're we're on slippery ground where
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  we want what they have. And yet you have called us to
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  hire things. Lord, we see that there are no
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  pangs in their death. Their strength is firm.
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  They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like
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  other men. Father, it is difficult to see
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  that when at times we your people, we do struggle, we do
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  receive hate for being a Christian.
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  We do realise that the evil one would want to blot us out and we
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  can feel his fiery darts daily and all of his minions that are
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  trying to destroy us, trying to destroy the work of Christ in
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  US. And yet we see the unbeliever,
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  those who don't trust in you, those who hate you, those who
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  mock you. They seem to be doing well.
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  They seem to have no trouble. And as Your word says in verse
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  6, therefore pride serves them as their necklace.
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  Violence covers them like a garment.
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  Their eyes bulge with abundance. They have more than their heart
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  could wish. Lord, we know that the heart is
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  deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.
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  Your word tells us that. And these people, we see them.
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  They believe that there is a way that is right unto man, and yet
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  that way leads to death. And yet they have more than they
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  could ever want. Their eyes are bulging with with
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  all that they could ever want. All the money, all the wealth,
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  all the relationships, all the temporary pleasures.
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  It's all at their fingertips. Lord, Father, please help us in
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  our hearts to get what we wish, but let it be good things,
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  righteous things. Let us seek first the Kingdom of
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  God and his righteousness, that all these things might be added
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  unto us. Things that are holy, things
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  that are right. Lord, things like we long for
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  our loved ones who haven't trusted in Christ.
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  We long for them to be saved. Things like we long to see our
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  church grow, we long to see people from the estate and the
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  houses around us coming into the church building and getting
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  saved. Lord, we long to see revival in
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  our homeland, in our country, people bearing the need to the
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  Lord Jesus Christ. Lord our hearts, perhaps we wish
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  that we would have victory over a certain sin, something that
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  besets us. Lord, we we pray, Lord, you
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  would give us that. Lord, we pray that that we would
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  have a deeper love to to know you, to have that fellowship,
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  that closeness. Please, Lord, would you provide
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  that for us? Father, as your word says here
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  in verse 11, talking about these ungodly people, they say how
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  does God know and is their knowledge in the most High?
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  Father, so often the atheists or the people who just have no
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  respect for you, they laugh at you.
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  They have no concern for your name.
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  They do not realise that you are a holy God, a thrice holy
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  godfather, Son and Holy Spirit. They do not realise your power.
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  They do not realise as as wars are going on as we speak, as
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  there is trouble, as there is all kinds of unrest, You, oh
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  God, are still on the throne. You are mighty, You are
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  powerful, and yet they have the audacity, they have the
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  arrogance to say, how do you know?
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  They think because you have not brought them down and humbled
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  them yet that you do not exist or you do not care or you are
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  not present. Lord, I just pray for anyone,
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  maybe even listening to this video right now, who thinks like
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  that. Lord, I pray that You would
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  graciously show them the truth that before, as Your word says,
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  those who are reproached many times and yet continually
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  stiffen, their neck will be broken without remedy.
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  Lord, before that happens, please pour out Your grace on
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  them and show them that You are a good God.
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  You are a gracious God and You are powerful, but judgement is
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  coming to all those who do not bow the knee to you.
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  Oh precious Lord, you know, this verse here in verse 13 has often
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  brought tears to my eyes because I can empathize with it.
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  And I wonder if anyone else who's praying this prayer right
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  now come to. Surely I have cleansed my heart
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  in vain and wash my hands in innocence for all day long.
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  I've been plagued and chastened every morning.
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  Oh, righteous God, you know what times when we look at these
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  ungodly people who are always at ease, who are always increasing
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  in riches, we can feel like the psalmist here.
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  We can feel like, what is the point of purity?
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  There's no gain in being pure. There's no advantage in being
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  pure. At times it feels like the
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  complete opposite, that the more I try to seek after you, oh God,
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  the more I'm plagued and chastened and struggle.
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  Father, if there's anyone listening right now who is
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  really struggling, who is in a dark, dark season, and yet they
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  have sought with their whole life to live for You, that they
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  are seeking after Your glory, and yet they are struggling.
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  Lord, please, please, would you comfort that person right now?
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  Please would you touch that person in a very special way?
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  Please would You comfort that person and wrap your arms around
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  them and let them know Your love and grace and let none of us
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  ever look over our shoulder. Let none of us ever think that
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  the grass is greener on the other side.
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  Let us always know that we are on the winning side with You.
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  Lord, as verse 15 says, if I'd said I will speak thus, behold,
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  I would have been untrue to the generation of your children.
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  Father, we need wisdom. There are times when there are
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  things that deeply disturb us, deeply bother us, mysteries in
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  your Word, mysteries about you. Help us to be slow to speak.
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  Help us not to just open our mouth and utter all of our
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  problems and all of our concerns and all of our anxieties and and
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  put them on those who are weaker in the faith, spiritual
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  children. Help us to know that we can go
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  to certain people, wiser Christians with our concerns.
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  But when we look as this psalmist did it, perhaps the the
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  prosperity of the the unrighteous and we see that we
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  are struggling. Lord, help us just to be wise
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  and to be slow to speak that we don't bring other Christians
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  down with us that are not able to handle this because Lord,
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  you've put this test. You've put all of us carry
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  different tests, different burdens, and you've entrusted
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  that with us because you promise that your grace is sufficient.
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  You promise that we can handle what you've put in front of us.
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  So Lord, help us to be strong to handle this and help us to be
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  wise on who we share these things with so that we do not
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  bring others down with us. The Lord then verse 16 and 17
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  which is so powerful, say when I thought how to understand this,
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  it was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of
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  God. Then I understood their end.
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  Oh Almighty, wise God of Heaven, help us never, ever to forget
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  what the end is of the unrighteous.
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  Help us always to remember that it is a dreadful thing, the
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  death of the wicked, all that unrest, all that lack of peace,
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  all of that sin that has not been atoned for, all that sin
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  that that they hold onto their own account because they've not
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  trusted in Christ. All that is coming in the coming
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  judgement. Lord, help us to remember that
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  when there are times when we do envy them, when there are times
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  we look at that celebrity or that person on social media or
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  that person at our school or our college or that work colleague
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  who seems to have everything and yet they don't have Christ.
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  And so they are broke, they're spiritually poor.
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  They have nothing. They do not have Christ.
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  Lord, help us to go into your sanctuary, into your presence.
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  Help us to to, to go into our prayer closets, Help us to go
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  into our churches, into places of worship where you are.
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  There places where we meet with you, the God of Abraham, the God
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  of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God who sends his Son, Jesus
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  Christ, fully, God, fully man, into this world to bleed and die
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  on a cross. Help us to meet with you and
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  remember that we will find peace.
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  We will find solace, we will find stability in our minds when
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  we actually take the time to pray to you, We actually take
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  time to be with you. We will finally understand the
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  end of all things. And the reality is we might look
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  like we're losing now, but really we are on the winning
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  side because we have Christ, we have the Holy Spirit, and we are
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  going to be resurrected on the final day and we are going to
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  spend 1,000,000 billions at a place where time does not exist.
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  We will be in heaven for all of eternity, worshipping you where
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  you yourself will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
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  A place where there is no sadness, just joy, will help us
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  to fix our eyes on heaven and not on the things that are
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  perishing, the things of this world that are so temporary.
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  Help us to think eternally eternal investments, not worldly
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  investments. And help us to remember the end
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  of all those who have chosen to reject you, who have chosen to
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  leave you, who have chosen not to put their trust in You.
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  And Lord, very lastly, let me finish by reading this verse.
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  Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none upon earth
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  that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail.
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  But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
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  Lord, I know some people listening right now, they may
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  feel like their heart is failing.
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  Their heart literally might be failing.
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  They might feel so weak, they might be afflicted with so many
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  afflictions. Their body just doesn't work
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  like it used to. And yeah, help us like the
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  psalmist said to remember whom have I in heaven but you?
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  Whom have I are in earth but but you, we have you.
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  There is no one we can run to. There is no safety.
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  There is no, no one who can give us the desires of our heart but
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  you. And yet if we have you, you are
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  our strength. You will strengthen our weak
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  body. You will strengthen our hearts
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  that are are just so weak and so fragile at times.
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  And yet we have life in you. We have eternal life.
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  And Lord, we know that when we do finally end, it's not the end
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  for us as Christians. It's only the beginning.
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  Because as your word again says, death.
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  Where is your sting? Because Christ has been
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  resurrected. Because Christ rose from the
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  dead. He removed the sting of death
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  for all of us who've trusted in Him.
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  And so we will finish well, we will finish gloriously.
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  And we will know that when we come and breathe our last
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  breath, we'll breathe a million more, a billion more in heaven
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  for all of eternity with you, where our breath will be singing
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  praises to you forevermore. Thank you God for hearing us and
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  I just pray again for anyone who's listening who really is
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  struggling with this very day. They don't know what's going to
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  happen. They don't know what this week's
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  going to withhold. They don't know what's going to
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  happen with their family, their job, even their their very life.
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  Please God, be tender to us, be gracious to us, take our hand
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  and give us strength to get through this day.
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  I pray these things in Jesus name, Amen.
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  If you feel like you need even more prayer right now, why not
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  pray Psalm 91 with me over here? God bless you all and thank you
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  for watching.