Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Four Words That Keep Us Going Msg 5 16

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Four Words That Keep Us Going Msg 5 16 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: While preparing his disciples for his death. Jesus took them
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Speaker 1: from the known to the unknown, from the familiar to
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Speaker 1: the uncharted. He went from where they were living into
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Speaker 1: whole new vistas of truth they needed to hear, but
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Speaker 1: they knew nothing about. Jesus conversation with his disciples was
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Speaker 1: fast approaching an end. The agony of gethsemone, followed by
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Speaker 1: the trials, scourging, and crucifixion, lay before him like a dark,
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Speaker 1: dismal shadow. Time was of the essence, Death lurked near.
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Speaker 1: In his final instructions, Jesus punctuated his thoughts with four
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Speaker 1: words that capture the essence of our walk with him
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Speaker 1: and the yearning of every human heart. These words are joy, love, faith,
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Speaker 1: and peace. I'd like to read for you today an
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Speaker 1: extended portion of John sixteen. I'm referring to John sixteen,
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Speaker 1: verses sixteen to thirty three. In this passage, we hear
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Speaker 1: Jesus teach his closest companions about these four essential values
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Speaker 1: that will sustain them after he leaves.
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Speaker 2: I want you to.
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Speaker 1: Listen carefully and reverently as I read, and I'll be
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Speaker 1: reading from the New Living Translation beginning at John sixteen,
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Speaker 1: Verse sixteen. Jesus says, in a little while, you won't
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Speaker 1: see me anymore, but in a little while after that,
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Speaker 1: you will see me again. Some of the disciples asked
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Speaker 1: each other, what does he mean when he says, in
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Speaker 1: a little while you won't see me, but then you
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Speaker 1: will see me and I am going to the Father?
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Speaker 1: And what does he mean by a little while? We
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Speaker 1: don't understand. Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it,
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Speaker 1: so he said, are you asking yourselves what I meant?
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Speaker 1: I said, in a little while you won't see me,
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Speaker 1: but a little while after that you will see me again.
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Speaker 1: I tell you the truth. You will weep and mourn
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Speaker 1: over what is going to happen to me, but the
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Speaker 1: world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will
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Speaker 1: suddenly turn to wonderful joy. It will be like a
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Speaker 1: woman suffering the pans of labor when her child is born.
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Speaker 1: Her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought
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Speaker 1: a new baby into the world. So you have sorrow now,
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Speaker 1: but I will see you again. Then you will rejoice
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Speaker 1: and no one can rob you of that joy. At
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Speaker 1: that time, you won't need to ask me for anything.
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Speaker 1: I tell you the truth. You will ask the Father directly,
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Speaker 1: and he will grant your request because you use my name.
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Speaker 1: You haven't done this before. Ask using my name and
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Speaker 1: you will receive, and you will have abundant joy. I
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Speaker 1: have spoken of these matters and figures of speech, but
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Speaker 1: soon I will stop speaking figuratively and will tell you
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Speaker 1: plainly all about the Father. Then you will ask in
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Speaker 1: my name. I'm not saying I will ask the Father
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Speaker 1: on your behalf, for the Father himself loves you dearly,
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Speaker 1: because you love me and believe that I came from God. Yes,
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Speaker 1: I came from the Father into the world, and now
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Speaker 1: I will leave the world and return to the Father.
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Speaker 1: Then his disciples said, at last, you are speaking plainly
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Speaker 1: and not figuratively. Now we understand that you know everything,
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Speaker 1: and there's no need to question you from this. We
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Speaker 1: believe that you came from God. Jesus asked, do you
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Speaker 1: finally believe? But the time is coming. Indeed, it's here
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Speaker 1: now when you will be scattered, each one going his
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Speaker 1: own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone
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Speaker 1: because the Father is with me. I've told you all
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Speaker 1: this so that you may have peace in me here
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Speaker 1: on earth. You will have many trials and sorrows, but
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Speaker 1: take heart, because I have overcome the world.
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Speaker 2: The date was January third, nineteen fifty six. The place
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Speaker 2: was a mission station named shell Merra, southeast of Quito, Ecuador,
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Speaker 2: by a number of miles. The hour was long before dawn.
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Speaker 2: Five men set around a kitchen table, talking in low
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Speaker 2: tones and then finally praying. Their wives waited in the
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Speaker 2: shadows of that room, eager to listen to what they
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Speaker 2: had to say that day. They had a single goal
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Speaker 2: in mind. These five men did. Their names had become
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Speaker 2: a legend in the history of Christian missions. Jim Elliot,
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Speaker 2: Pete Fleming, Nate Saint Ed McAuley and Roger Euderian prayed
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Speaker 2: together and then finished the prayer with a song. Their
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Speaker 2: goal of the day was to reach the unpredictable Alca
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Speaker 2: Indians in the deep interior of Ecuador. They had seen
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Speaker 2: them and had made contact, but it had not been
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Speaker 2: face to face, not sufficient enough to establish the Gospel
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Speaker 2: in their hearts, and that was their great goal. The
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Speaker 2: men were living on Barre time. They were only forty
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Speaker 2: five minutes away from their destination along the kure Raie River,
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Speaker 2: but it seemed an eternity away as they prayed. When
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Speaker 2: the prayer ended, they closed the time with the singing
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Speaker 2: of him they had learned to love in college. We
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Speaker 2: rest on THEE, our shield and our defender. Thine is
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Speaker 2: the glory, and Thine shall be the praise. When passing
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Speaker 2: through the gates of Pearly's splendor, victors, we rest on
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Speaker 2: THEE through endless days. The hymn was prophetic. In a
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Speaker 2: matter of minutes they were airborne, and in a matter
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Speaker 2: of days they were dead. The five men were found
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Speaker 2: alongside and in the river in Alkaland, and I remember
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Speaker 2: it as though it were yesterday. It was a deep
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Speaker 2: impression in the history of the Church. It was an
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Speaker 2: occasion in which once again the names were written in
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Speaker 2: blood for the cause of Christ. I was reminded of
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Speaker 2: all of this just last month when I was sitting
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Speaker 2: alone late one evening and reading a Christian periodical and
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Speaker 2: read the names of the five widows and their locations
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Speaker 2: and their lifestyle today. I closed the magazine at the
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Speaker 2: end of that particular article, and I closed out, turned
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Speaker 2: off the lights, and I looked out the window. I
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Speaker 2: looked up into the sky, and I asked myself who
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Speaker 2: was the hero the ones who went from the ones
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Speaker 2: who stayed. Sometimes it is harder to stay than it
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Speaker 2: is to go. It certainly is harder to be left
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Speaker 2: than to be taken. And I think that God gave
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Speaker 2: the answer that it's true they both were. The heroines
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Speaker 2: were the ones who stayed back, the heroes were the
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Speaker 2: ones who went. And then God's infinite plan, He chose
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Speaker 2: to take their lives that the Alcus might be reached
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Speaker 2: and that men like me might give full attention to
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Speaker 2: the ministry. It was that particular event that turned my
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Speaker 2: life around and rearranged my career. As I got into
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Speaker 2: the ministry, God led one of the ladies to write
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Speaker 2: a book entitled Through Gates of Splendor, and another a
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Speaker 2: little later, a sequel entitled Shadow of the Almighty. You
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Speaker 2: really should read both of those books if you haven't already.
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Speaker 2: They're moving accounts of true events, some of them simply
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Speaker 2: excerpts from the journal of a man whose heart wanted
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Speaker 2: to walk close with God. But both of these books
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Speaker 2: put together, carry a full force for Jesus Christ, the
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Speaker 2: likes of which are rarely found in Christian books today.
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Speaker 2: I've thought much about that event. I have thought about
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Speaker 2: the women who waited those six days, that awful time
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Speaker 2: of silence, until finally they were given the facts concerning
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Speaker 2: their husband's homegoing and the terrible pictures that accompanied it.
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Speaker 2: Some of them even impaled on the Alka spirs. I
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Speaker 2: think that their lives were sustained by four words sung
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Speaker 2: by the men before they left that day we rest
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Speaker 2: on thee. Those words must have rung through their minds
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Speaker 2: at the time of a funeral and in the waking,
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Speaker 2: aching years that passed till God finally helped them rearrange
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Speaker 2: themselves and move back into full service. Nineteen centuries before,
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Speaker 2: there were other people gathered around a table in the
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Speaker 2: early hours of the morning. There were twelve altogether, whose
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Speaker 2: names are legends today. Eleven of them are the Disciples,
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Speaker 2: and one of them is, of course, Jesus of Nazareth.
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Speaker 2: While Jesus Christ was with his men for that last
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Speaker 2: night together, they too listened to words, and they also
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Speaker 2: sang a hymn and went out. I've often wondered what
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Speaker 2: hymn they sang, Probably one of the psalms put to music.
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Speaker 2: Which ones they chose were not told, But I have
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Speaker 2: a feeling that their psalm that they chose was a
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Speaker 2: psalm of hope, which is what they had been given
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Speaker 2: that day by the Lord. He was only hours from
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Speaker 2: the cross, and surely that was a moving experience to
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Speaker 2: get up from the table and walk down the steps
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Speaker 2: that led to Gathsemone and onto Calvary. God led one
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Speaker 2: of those men to write an account of what happened
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Speaker 2: that night. His name is John, and in the record
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Speaker 2: the Gospel of John, we have a statement by statement
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Speaker 2: record of what Jesus said and what the disciples said
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Speaker 2: in response the night that they were together, And we're
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Speaker 2: engaged in a study of that these Sunday mornings. We
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Speaker 2: have come to the end of the discourse this morning,
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Speaker 2: the last eighteen verses of the Gospel of John, and
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Speaker 2: we find in these verses four words that kept those
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Speaker 2: men going. They are woven into the verses, and they
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Speaker 2: do not stand out as largely as the hymn we
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Speaker 2: mentioned earlier, but they are there, nevertheless, each one giving
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Speaker 2: hope and giving light. Begin with me at verse sixteen,
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Speaker 2: as we relive the confusion of the disciples. Remember it's
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Speaker 2: harder at times to be left than to be taken
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Speaker 2: a little while, and you will no longer behold me,
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Speaker 2: and again a little while, and you will see me.
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Speaker 2: It sounds like a riddle unless you realize he was
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Speaker 2: referring to the resurrection. They did not understand the whole
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Speaker 2: plan of prophecy. They had very little insight, far less
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Speaker 2: than we have looking back twenty centuries. At the time
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Speaker 2: it was given. It was all one great puzzle. It
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Speaker 2: was clouded, It was mysterious. It was something like Churchill
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Speaker 2: describing the Russians. They're a mystery wrapped in an enigma
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Speaker 2: inside a riddle. The words of Jesus were very much
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Speaker 2: like that. To the disciples. They heard words, but they
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Speaker 2: didn't make a sense to them as they tried to
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Speaker 2: put them together. As we read in verse seventeen, some
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Speaker 2: of the disciples said to one another, what is the
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Speaker 2: thing that he's telling us? What is a little while
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Speaker 2: and you will not behold me? And again a little while,
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Speaker 2: and you will see me. And because I go to
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Speaker 2: the Father. They did not understand. Verse eighteen tells us
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Speaker 2: we do not know what he is talking about. Now.
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Speaker 2: That may seem strange to you because you have had
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Speaker 2: the years to think it over, But this was the
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Speaker 2: only time they ever heard those words. They hadn't kept
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Speaker 2: a pencil record of what had been said. They hadn't
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Speaker 2: been reviewing their notes from week to week. As Jesus
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Speaker 2: a explain the whole event, the whole conversation took no
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Speaker 2: longer than thirty minutes, and they were on their way
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Speaker 2: to get smony. It was a confusing bit of revelation.
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Speaker 2: They didn't understand. Let's be patient with them. They didn't
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Speaker 2: put it all together. Jesus graciously answered their confusion. John
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Speaker 2: Milton Gregory has written an excellent book on teaching. It's
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Speaker 2: entitled The Seven Laws of Teaching. The fourth of the
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Speaker 2: seven is this the law of the lesson. It goes
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Speaker 2: like this, The truth to be taught must be learned
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Speaker 2: through truth already known. That's true, isn't it. If you
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Speaker 2: want to learn something new, you must begin where you
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Speaker 2: are and go from there to the unknown. If you
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Speaker 2: want to illustrate something to someone who is not aware
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Speaker 2: of this particular truth, you have to give them, in
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Speaker 2: the illustration, a familiar set of circumstances, and from there
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Speaker 2: catapult into the new revelation. Jesus does the very same
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Speaker 2: thing here in this passage. He takes them from the
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Speaker 2: known to the unknown, from the familiar to the unexperienced.
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Speaker 2: He goes from that ground work where they were living
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Speaker 2: into whole new vistas of truth that they needed to hear.
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Speaker 2: I've divided it into four subjects, or four areas, sorrow, access, knowledge,
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Speaker 2: and separation. All four were whirling in their minds that day,
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Speaker 2: and they were trying to put together how they could
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Speaker 2: handle their sorrow, how they could pray to a god
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Speaker 2: they had never prayed to in the name of Jesus,
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Speaker 2: how they could learn and continue to grow without Jesus' presence,
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Speaker 2: how they could handle life while they were separated the master.
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Speaker 2: He took them from the four known areas, and he
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Speaker 2: introduced four new words that would keep them going. For example,
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Speaker 2: they could handle their sorrow through permanent joy. Joy is
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Speaker 2: the first word he gave them Good Verse nineteen. Jesus
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Speaker 2: knew that they wished to question him, and he said
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Speaker 2: to them, are you deliberating together about this that I said,
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Speaker 2: a little while and you will not behold me, And
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Speaker 2: again a little while and you will see me. Are you?
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Speaker 2: Are you wondering in your mind what that's all about?
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Speaker 2: Said Jesus. Let me tell you something. I have new
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Speaker 2: truth for you. To claim today man, truly, truly, I
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Speaker 2: say to you, you will weep and lament, but the
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Speaker 2: world will rejoice before we go on. He's referring there
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Speaker 2: to his death. I am put on that cross, and
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Speaker 2: my hands and feet are nailed to that beam. And
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Speaker 2: when they put me in a grave, the world will
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Speaker 2: applaud They've won a victory. They will rejoice. You will lamit.
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Speaker 2: It will be the darkest day of your life. You
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Speaker 2: will sorrow as those with no hope. Then he goes
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Speaker 2: on verse twenty. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow
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Speaker 2: will be turned to joy. There's the new hope. You
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Speaker 2: will have a new joy, implying when I come back
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Speaker 2: to this earth, when I am resurrected in living bodily form,
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Speaker 2: you will have a joy that you've never had before.
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Speaker 2: Then he illustrates it verse twenty one. Whenever a woman
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Speaker 2: is in labor or travail, she has sorrow because her
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Speaker 2: hour has come. A woman who is carrying a child
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Speaker 2: and comes to term with that child is in anguish.
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Speaker 2: She is in physical pain. Birth is near. But when
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Speaker 2: she gives birth to the child, she remembers the anguish
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Speaker 2: no more. Why because of joy that a child has
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Speaker 2: been born into the world. Mothers here this morning you
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Speaker 2: can identify with that without any further explanation. Who can
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Speaker 2: ever know the pain of childbirth, but who can never
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Speaker 2: forget it so fast as a mother who has just
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Speaker 2: experienced it, but is given the reward of a new
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Speaker 2: baby in her arms. Now, Jesus says, the same kind
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Speaker 2: of anguish will overwhelm you men when I leave this earth.
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Speaker 2: But in a few days you will have joy like
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Speaker 2: you've never had it before Verse twenty two. Therefore, you
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Speaker 2: too now have sorrow, But I will see you again,
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Speaker 2: and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your
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Speaker 2: joy away from you. Please observe the last few words.
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Speaker 2: When the Lord gives joy, no one takes it away.
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Speaker 2: It is permanent, It has staying power. It applies even
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Speaker 2: when situations are desperate, when there is very little around
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Speaker 2: to make you happy. Jesus says, you will have joy,
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Speaker 2: and it will never be taken away from you. Read on,
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Speaker 2: In that day you will ask me no question. Truly, Truly,
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Speaker 2: I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything,
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Speaker 2: he will give it to you in my name. Until
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Speaker 2: now you've asked for nothing in my name. Ask and
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Speaker 2: you will receive that your joy may be made full.
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Speaker 2: There's the word again. It's been there three times, verse twenty,
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Speaker 2: verse twenty two, verse twenty four. He keeps coming back
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Speaker 2: to them with that promise of joy. Now, technically speaking,
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Speaker 2: they have not prayed through Jesus' name to the Father.
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Speaker 2: That may surprise you. Whenever they had a need, they
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Speaker 2: came to the Savior. He was visible, and they asked
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Speaker 2: it of him, and he asked the Father. That's why
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Speaker 2: when they saw him praying at times, they said, Lord,
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Speaker 2: teach us how to pray like that, and they never
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Speaker 2: could master he was present. Why pray to God in
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Speaker 2: heaven when you have God on earth. But Jesus says,
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Speaker 2: when I'm gone, you will pray in my name, and
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Speaker 2: the Father will hear you, and he'll give you things.
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Speaker 2: You will pray in my name and your joy will
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Speaker 2: be full. Let me say that there are times where
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Speaker 2: just a very brief period of time spent in prayer
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Speaker 2: is rewarded with incredible joy. I was studying the life
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Speaker 2: of doctor R. A. Tory this past week, and in
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Speaker 2: reading of his life, he was the founder of the
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Speaker 2: Bible Institute of Los Angeles. And we're not surprised to
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Speaker 2: read that, and to know that because of the man
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Speaker 2: of God he was, he and his wife were saints.
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Speaker 2: They were honed by God in the crucible of pain.
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Speaker 2: They lost, for example, their twelve year old daughter through
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Speaker 2: what the world called an accident, at just the prime
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Speaker 2: of her life. The funeral came on a rainy day,
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Speaker 2: and they stood there beside that hole in the ground,
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Speaker 2: surrounded by loved ones, and the rain was coming down.
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Speaker 2: It was dark, and it was dismal, and missus Tory
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Speaker 2: could be heard saying to her husband, I'm so glad
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Speaker 2: Elizabeth is not in that box. Their grief increased until
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Speaker 2: finally walked away and went home that night and tried
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Speaker 2: to sleep. Doctor Tory got up the next morning and
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Speaker 2: made his way toward the study, walking down the streets
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Speaker 2: of Los Angeles. He could walk no longer. All of
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Speaker 2: a sudden, he claimed, the whole thing broke over him, anew,
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Speaker 2: the loneliness of her absence, the terrible feeling that they
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Speaker 2: would never hear her laughter again, never see her face,
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Speaker 2: never witness her growth. He couldn't take it, and he
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Speaker 2: leaned against the street light, and he looked up and
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Speaker 2: he began to pray, this is what he experienced a quote.
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Speaker 2: And just then the fountain the Holy Spirit, whom I
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Speaker 2: had in my heart, broke forth with such power as
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Speaker 2: I think I had never experienced before. And it was
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Speaker 2: the most joyful moment I had ever known in my life. Oh,
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Speaker 2: how wonderful is the joy of the Holy Spirit. It
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Speaker 2: is an unspeakably glorious thing to have within you. A
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Speaker 2: fountain ever springing up, springing up, springing up, ever, springing up,
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Speaker 2: three hundred and sixty five days in every year, springing
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Speaker 2: up under all circumstances. Isn't that beautiful? Where is the joy?
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Speaker 2: Where's the joy that is to be in your heart?
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Speaker 2: Child of God? Tory had no corner on the joy
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Speaker 2: of the Spirit. I'll tell you where it is. It
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Speaker 2: isn't waiting. It waits in the wings of heaven. Ask
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Speaker 2: for it the next time it seems all hell has
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Speaker 2: broken loose, the rug is pulled out, and you're pressed
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Speaker 2: in the crucible. Pray, Oh God, right now, I cannot
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Speaker 2: take it anymore. You bring that joy. I have talked
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Speaker 2: to people on the brink of despair who have had
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Speaker 2: a joy the likes of which the world would never understand.
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Speaker 2: I've talked to people who are destitute but have had joy,
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Speaker 2: have lost their closest loved one, but they have joy.
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Speaker 2: I've talked to those that have failed or been through
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Speaker 2: an experience that the oh, we could not believe, but
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Speaker 2: there was joy there. That's what Jesus is speaking of here.
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Speaker 2: It keeps you going. It is that marvel that God gives,
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Speaker 2: which is never temporary and never partial. It is a
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Speaker 2: joy that is beyond our circumstances. Jesus said to those men,
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Speaker 2: when you pray, the Father will give it. You know,
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Speaker 2: there's a psalm that I think perhaps you ought to remember.
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Speaker 2: It is the fifth verse of Psalm number thirty. It says,
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Speaker 2: weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in
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Speaker 2: the morning. The New ASB says, a shout of joy
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Speaker 2: comes in the morning. You may have a time of grief,
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Speaker 2: but when you turn the corner and it's dawn, it's
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Speaker 2: remarkable how a shout of joy can come.
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Speaker 1: Let's go on.
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Speaker 2: The issue of access was introduced with the subject of prayer.
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Speaker 2: How can a disciple go directly to the Father? Verse
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Speaker 2: twenty five. These things I've spoken to you in figurative language.
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Speaker 2: An hour is coming when I will speak no more
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Speaker 2: to you in allegory, sir, figurative language, but will tell
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Speaker 2: you plainly of the Father in that day, meaning after
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Speaker 2: my resurrection, after I have left the earth, after you've
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Speaker 2: gotten the Holy Spirit. In that day you will ask
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Speaker 2: in my name. And I do not say to you
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Speaker 2: that I will request the Father on your behalf, for
28:29
Speaker 2: the Father himself loves you. There's the word. How can
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Speaker 2: I have access to the Father without visibly seeing the
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Speaker 2: Lord Jesus? Because the Father loves you, love will keep
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Speaker 2: you going. That joy when you have sorrow will keep
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Speaker 2: you going. That reminder of the Father's love when you
28:53
Speaker 2: question the things of the Lord will keep you going.
28:57
Speaker 2: Because the Father loves you, and because you have loved me,
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Speaker 2: have believed that I came forth from the Father. That's marvelous.
29:08
Speaker 2: I don't know how often you have stopped to really
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Speaker 2: ponder the fact that God loves you, But you need
29:17
Speaker 2: to do that from time to time. Doesn't sound very
29:20
Speaker 2: deep or profound, but it has profound ramifications. I read
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Speaker 2: this past week of a pastor who traveled with his daughter.
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Speaker 2: He wanted to teach her some of the techniques of
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Speaker 2: how to get on when you travel, how to handle yourself,
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Speaker 2: what to do. Taught her some things during that time
29:40
Speaker 2: about waking up and how to go to sleep in
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Speaker 2: a strange place. Thought it was clever what he said
29:48
Speaker 2: about waking up. He said, honey, God has given us
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Speaker 2: three things. He's given us a body. He's given us
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Speaker 2: a soul which is like our ad it's that part
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Speaker 2: of us that touches other people within. And he's given
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Speaker 2: us a spirit where he lives. When you wake up
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Speaker 2: in the morning, you need to touch all three in
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Speaker 2: a special way. For your body, you need to stretch,
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Speaker 2: take a good stretch. It gets the body going. For
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Speaker 2: your soul, you need to smile. It starts your life
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Speaker 2: off with a bright note in the morning. And for
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Speaker 2: your spirit, you need to say God loves me. When's
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Speaker 2: the last time you said that to yourself? I know
30:44
Speaker 2: that you know that. When have you said it? Are
30:50
Speaker 2: you satisfied that your mate simply loves you? Or does
30:54
Speaker 2: it make you feel good at times to have your
30:56
Speaker 2: mate tell you shocking Though it may seem at times
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Speaker 2: that mate really does love you, it's always good to
31:04
Speaker 2: hear it. A scholar traveled around the world, came back
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Speaker 2: home and was asked What was the deepest thought you
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Speaker 2: had en route? He said, The deepest thought I had
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Speaker 2: was Jesus loves me. This I know the Bible tells me.
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Speaker 2: So it does something marvelous to you. It keeps you
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Speaker 2: going when you remember God loves you. He's not waiting
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Speaker 2: in heaven to club you when you step out of line.
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Speaker 1: He is waiting in heaven.
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Speaker 2: To give you his best gifts. And they're waiting. They're
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Speaker 2: waiting to be asked. He loves you. He's on your team.
31:55
Speaker 2: Better still, you're on his. Why how important it is
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Speaker 2: to be reminded of Paul's words? What shall we say
32:06
Speaker 2: then to these things? If God be for us, who
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Speaker 2: can be against us having trouble at school? God's for you,
32:21
Speaker 2: who can be against you at work? God is for you.
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Speaker 2: He loves you right now in a deep relationship problem
32:31
Speaker 2: with someone, listen, God's on your side, child of God.
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Speaker 2: He votes yes for you. He speaks in your favor.
32:44
Speaker 2: And the Lord told these men look, because the Father
32:48
Speaker 2: loves you. You have that direct access. I will no
32:52
Speaker 2: longer be there to pass on the word. You pass
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Speaker 2: it on for yourself, I'll bless it with my name.
33:00
Speaker 2: You just tell him what's on your heart? You know
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Speaker 2: what I think. I think sometime we get so all
33:07
Speaker 2: fired heavy in our faith that we miss some of
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Speaker 2: the simple, blessed things of the Christian life. He loves me.
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Speaker 2: He wants me to pray. He will give me what
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Speaker 2: is best. He wants me to be grateful. Look at
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Speaker 2: what the Lord says, very plain words in verse twenty eight.
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Speaker 2: He said, I'm not going to speak in figurative language anymore.
33:35
Speaker 2: I'll lay it on you straight. First, I came from
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Speaker 2: the Father. That's the kenosis. I gave up the glory. Second,
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Speaker 2: I have come into the world. That's the incarnation. I
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Speaker 2: took up flesh, took upon me flesh. I am leaving
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Speaker 2: the world again. That's the resurrection, the ascension. I'm going
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Speaker 2: to the father sation. I am seated at his right hand.
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Speaker 2: There is no more complete single verse on the experience
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Speaker 2: of the Lord Jesus Christ than verse twenty eight. I
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Speaker 2: came from the Father, I came into the world. I'm
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Speaker 2: leaving again. I'm going to the Father. Look at the disciples.
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Speaker 2: They're just great men. I just love them. Right here,
34:24
Speaker 2: they say, now you're speaking plane. You're not using figure speech.
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Speaker 2: Isn't that great. Now we've got a handle on it.
34:34
Speaker 2: Now we can understand it. There's nothing that motivates you
34:37
Speaker 2: like understanding spiritual truth. They now put it together. He
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Speaker 2: came from the Father. He has been among men for
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Speaker 2: a temporary period. He's going back to the Father. It
34:50
Speaker 2: isn't in vain.
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Speaker 3: We can go on.
34:55
Speaker 2: The Father loves us just as he loved you. He said, yeah,
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Speaker 2: that there's more. Verse thirty. They answer, now, we know
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Speaker 2: that you know all things, and we have no need
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Speaker 2: for anyone to question you. By this, we believe that
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Speaker 2: you came from God. The third word is believe or faith.
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Speaker 2: It's directly related to knowledge. They make a statement of
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Speaker 2: faith in verse thirty. Don't miss it. They're saying to
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Speaker 2: the Lord, we know one thing, you know all things,
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Speaker 2: and we don't have any reason to question you. We
35:47
Speaker 2: believe in you. I want to talk about this more
35:51
Speaker 2: when I deal with the subject of moses tragic act
35:56
Speaker 2: of rage when he struck the rock and lost his
36:00
Speaker 2: temper before the people. I want to talk about how
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Speaker 2: the whole area of disobedience is connected with a lack
36:08
Speaker 2: of faith. On the other hand, the whole area of
36:12
Speaker 2: knowledge is connected with faith. Some of you might say,
36:15
Speaker 2: I wonder why I've begun to be stagnant in my
36:18
Speaker 2: growth in Christ. I wonder why, all of a sudden
36:21
Speaker 2: I was moving along so well. Then suddenly I've begun
36:25
Speaker 2: to drift. My knowledge has reached a plateau, and my
36:30
Speaker 2: delight in the things of God it's even begun to wane.
36:36
Speaker 2: Check the area of faith, they said, Lord, we know this,
36:41
Speaker 2: You know all things, and we believe in you. I
36:46
Speaker 2: think it's all connected with knowledge. The extent of one's
36:50
Speaker 2: faith will measure the depth of one's knowledge. They go together.
36:57
Speaker 2: It's hard for you to really grow in somebody that
36:59
Speaker 2: you don't trust. When you stop trusting them, you stop
37:04
Speaker 2: listening to them, you don't care that much anymore with
37:07
Speaker 2: what they have to say. Let me ask you something.
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Speaker 2: You really believe that the Lord knows all things. You
37:18
Speaker 2: really believe he knows you through and through, that he
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Speaker 2: really knows why you are here and where you have
37:25
Speaker 2: been this week, and where you are going and what
37:28
Speaker 2: the outcome will be. Then you would have very little
37:33
Speaker 2: difficulty believing that He is in charge of your life.
37:39
Speaker 2: You would have very little difficulty going to a passage
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Speaker 2: of scriptures such as this and gleaning from it the
37:44
Speaker 2: truth that will give you the courage to go on,
37:48
Speaker 2: because you have believed that He is in touch with
37:52
Speaker 2: every moment of your life. There are times when my
37:57
Speaker 2: faith wanes, and during those times, knowledge is reduced. When
38:03
Speaker 2: my knowledge has increased, my faith has increased by the
38:07
Speaker 2: same measure. They go hand in hand. Jesus said, he
38:12
Speaker 2: will teach us his word, and the disciples respond, we
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Speaker 2: believe that you came from God. We have that faith. Now,
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Speaker 2: Jesus answered, do you believe? Do you really have that
38:25
Speaker 2: kind of faith? It'll be put to the test. There's
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Speaker 2: one more area that was known to them, and that
38:32
Speaker 2: was this imminent separation. Look at verse thirty two. An
38:36
Speaker 2: hour is coming and has already come. You see, the
38:41
Speaker 2: mob had already lit the torches to find their way
38:44
Speaker 2: to get Semone. Judas had already made his act a
38:48
Speaker 2: completed fact. He was all ready to lead them to
38:51
Speaker 2: the side of Jesus. He says, this hour has come,
38:58
Speaker 2: and you will be scattered, each one to his own home,
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Speaker 2: and you will leave me alone. That's a tragic picture,
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Speaker 2: Jesus alone in the garden and the disciples running towards
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Speaker 2: the trees, running to hide. Away behind the olive trees
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Speaker 2: in the garden, and on over the hill, beyond the valley,
39:18
Speaker 2: to hide in the streets of Jerusalem. You'll separate yourself
39:22
Speaker 2: from me, and I'll stand there alone, not really alone,
39:27
Speaker 2: because the Father is with me. Well, how would you
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Speaker 2: go on with our separation being a reality? Verse thirty three.
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Speaker 2: Here's your answer. In these things I've spoken to you,
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Speaker 2: these things, I've spoken to you that in me you
39:44
Speaker 2: may have peace. There's the word peace. In the world.
39:49
Speaker 2: You have tribulation. But take courage. I've overcome it. Jesus
39:54
Speaker 2: says there will be a day by day peace. Even
39:59
Speaker 2: though we're set, we're ready from each other, and it's
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Speaker 2: not the kind of peace the world can give. Right
40:06
Speaker 2: before the first service began this morning, and knock came
40:09
Speaker 2: at my door. It was about twenty minutes till eight.
40:13
Speaker 2: I opened the door and there was a broken man,
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Speaker 2: almost ready to dissolve in tears. He was hunched over,
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Speaker 2: and he said, I need help, I really need help.
40:28
Speaker 2: Of course, invited him in and asked Ken to work
40:31
Speaker 2: with him as we went on to begin the service.
40:34
Speaker 2: Ken told me later that the man just this morning
40:40
Speaker 2: had been wrestling for a number of months with an
40:43
Speaker 2: alcoholic wife, and this morning there was a great fur
40:49
Speaker 2: in the home, and she had in fact called the
40:52
Speaker 2: police on him when he was relatively innocent of anything wrong.
40:59
Speaker 2: The police came and realized that he wasn't the problem,
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Speaker 2: but in fact she was, and they had taken her
41:06
Speaker 2: to a hospital to begin to work with her. And
41:10
Speaker 2: the man just put his head in his hands and
41:13
Speaker 2: just sobbed. His world had crumbled in on him. What
41:20
Speaker 2: can I do? Ken had the delightful privilege of leading
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Speaker 2: the man to faith in Jesus Christ just before the
41:31
Speaker 2: service started, to tell the man that he could know
41:36
Speaker 2: a joy and a love and a faith and a
41:41
Speaker 2: peace regardless of his situation at home. And the man said,
41:49
Speaker 2: I want that. I want that now he received Christ.
41:57
Speaker 2: There are times that a hymn just seems to say
41:59
Speaker 2: it better than anything else. It came to me this
42:02
Speaker 2: past week when I heard day by day and with
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Speaker 2: each passing moment strength I find to meet my trials here,
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Speaker 2: Trusting in my father's wise bestowment, I have no cause
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Speaker 2: for worry or for fear. He whose heart is kind
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Speaker 2: beyond all measure, gives unto each day what he deems
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Speaker 2: best lovingly. It's part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil
42:34
Speaker 2: with peace and rest. Do you have that joy that
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Speaker 2: can't be taken away? Do you know the love of
42:46
Speaker 2: God that God is for you? How about that faith,
42:53
Speaker 2: that trust that says, Lord, you know everything and I'm
42:58
Speaker 2: not questioning you any longer. Or peace peace that that
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Speaker 2: man longed to have but could never have outside of Christ.
43:11
Speaker 2: These things keep you going when you have nothing else
43:14
Speaker 2: to hold on to. You see, these are virtues that
43:21
Speaker 2: don't have to live in a house with a lovely roof,
43:25
Speaker 2: and a nice car with a garage are nice accessories.
43:31
Speaker 2: You can go on with joy and faith and love
43:36
Speaker 2: and peace without all of those things. If I could
43:42
Speaker 2: somehow put myself inside the skin of those disciples and
43:46
Speaker 2: relive what it must have been like to get up
43:49
Speaker 2: from the table and have the Lord lead in prayer
43:51
Speaker 2: as he did in John seventeen, and then walk down
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Speaker 2: those steps and find my way to get semony, I
43:57
Speaker 2: believe there would have been two thoughts that would have
44:01
Speaker 2: just continued to go back in my mind over and
44:03
Speaker 2: over again, two culminating thoughts at the end of this discourse.
44:09
Speaker 2: The first is this his life may not have been long,
44:14
Speaker 2: but his death was not a mistake. That's the first
44:17
Speaker 2: thing I'd remind myself of as I made my way
44:21
Speaker 2: toward gethsemone and I would know that death was coming
44:24
Speaker 2: for him. I would say, his life may not have
44:26
Speaker 2: been long, but his death is no mistake. That's what
44:31
Speaker 2: the women thought that day in shell Merrah Betty Elliott,
44:38
Speaker 2: and Olive Fleming, Marge Saint Barbara Eudarion Mary lou McCully
44:47
Speaker 2: carrying their yet unborn child. Their lives may not have
44:53
Speaker 2: been long, but their death was no mistake. What is it,
44:58
Speaker 2: Jim Elliott wrote, he is no who gives what he
45:01
Speaker 2: cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. The second
45:07
Speaker 2: thing I would think of, I believe is my life
45:09
Speaker 2: may not be easy, but I can go on. My
45:14
Speaker 2: life may not be easy, but I can go on.
45:20
Speaker 2: That's what Jesus wanted those men to think of that day.
45:25
Speaker 2: I promise you, in this world it's going to be hard,
45:27
Speaker 2: but I've overcome the world. You can be more than
45:31
Speaker 2: conquerors because of my power. Say, I want to ask
45:38
Speaker 2: you something. What if God's plan for you would be
45:44
Speaker 2: just as traumatic as it was for those five men,
45:49
Speaker 2: Maybe not as heroic but as brief.
45:53
Speaker 1: What if, for some.
45:55
Speaker 2: Untold reason, an unknown reason, your life is snapped out,
46:00
Speaker 2: snuffed out, before this week runs its course. What about
46:05
Speaker 2: that it can happen in a flash. Incredible things can happen.
46:14
Speaker 2: We had a fire drill in the nine thirty service.
46:17
Speaker 2: As we walked out, I stood by a couple who
46:18
Speaker 2: said they were visiting a friend over at Saint Jude's
46:21
Speaker 2: and a man went to sleep in the Saint Jude's
46:23
Speaker 2: hospital with a cigarette and his bed caught on fire.
46:28
Speaker 2: He was covered with flames, third degree burns. Who would
46:33
Speaker 2: have ever expected it in a lovely, safe metropolitan hospital
46:41
Speaker 2: that you'd wake up in flames. You don't know what
46:45
Speaker 2: a day will bring forth. My life is continually brought
46:51
Speaker 2: face to face with surprising deaths. They're never planned by man.
47:00
Speaker 2: Words I hear most often it was so sudden, It
47:03
Speaker 2: was so surprising, she was so young. But there's death.
47:12
Speaker 2: We have no promise of a long life, but we
47:17
Speaker 2: have promise of life beyond the grave. And that's what
47:22
Speaker 2: makes this a message of joy. Jesus actually delivered his
47:27
Speaker 2: own funeral address. I promise you joy, love, faith and peace,
47:42
Speaker 2: regardless of how long or short your life may be.
47:46
Speaker 2: Let's a bow together this morning. Let me let you
47:51
Speaker 2: think about that for a moment. Will you try to
47:57
Speaker 2: put everything else out of your mind? What would you
48:02
Speaker 2: have to hold on to if, in God's plan he
48:05
Speaker 2: chose to take from your side the one who means
48:10
Speaker 2: the most to you, or for some strange reason, chose
48:16
Speaker 2: to take your children, as in the case of Job,
48:21
Speaker 2: through a sudden tragic event. There God, what would keep
48:27
Speaker 2: you going? The tories, if they could rise, could tell
48:32
Speaker 2: you the loneliness is awesome, The grief is tragic, but
48:40
Speaker 2: there can be joy. The widows could tell you there
48:47
Speaker 2: will be times of deep heartache, but the Father's love
48:53
Speaker 2: will sustain you. My friend, without Jesus Christ today, whatever
49:01
Speaker 2: may be the reason you have continued to live without Him,
49:06
Speaker 2: I plead with you put it off no longer. Ask
49:11
Speaker 2: right now, just like a child, ask God to give
49:16
Speaker 2: you eternal life. Tell him you receive Christ right where
49:22
Speaker 2: you're sitting. You want Christ to be your savior? Right now?
49:32
Speaker 1: Would you bow with me in prayer? Our dear Father,
49:36
Speaker 1: how thankful we are for your word today, especially for
49:42
Speaker 1: these tender words of our savior, Jesus your Son in
49:48
Speaker 1: the closing days and hours of his matchless life on
49:52
Speaker 1: this earth. The compassion and the affection we feel from
49:58
Speaker 1: you and through his grain moves us to a deeper
50:03
Speaker 1: devotion to you and a far more genuine commitment to
50:08
Speaker 1: follow you in obedience to your word. Dear God, may
50:12
Speaker 1: we never lose our love for you, having been laid
50:16
Speaker 1: hold of by your grace through your son Jesus, keep
50:22
Speaker 1: us ever close to him by your spirit, Dear Father,
50:27
Speaker 1: through Christ, our Lord, I ask all these things amen.
50:34
Speaker 3: The preceding message, Four Words That Keep Us Going, was
50:38
Speaker 3: copyrighted in nineteen seventy six, nineteen eighty eight, two thousand
50:43
Speaker 3: and twenty eighteen, and the sound recording was copyrighted in
50:46
Speaker 3: twenty eighteen by Charles Rswindall, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
50:52
Speaker 3: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
51:42
Speaker 2: In the d