Latest / Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast / Why a Change in Scenery Rarely Improves the View

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Why a Change in Scenery Rarely Improves the View · Chip Ingram Sermon Podcast

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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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Change is inevitable. And you know, change can
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be a great thing. But there are times when making
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a change in your life, your work, or your relationships
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can bring devastating consequences. Today on
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Living on the Edge, we're going to talk about
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how to know when it's time to move on and how
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to know when you need to stay right where you're
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at. Stay with me. I'm Dave Drewing, and this
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is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. When
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life gets hard, it's easy to believe that a new
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job, a new church, or even a new spouse would
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finally make everything better. Chip calls it
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the if -only game, and today he exposes the false
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premise hiding underneath it. It's part of our
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series, Building Authentic Community, How to
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Lift Up Those You Love. Now let's join Chip for
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the start of a message titled, Why a Change in
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Scenery Rarely Improves the View. Under pressure,
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I mean, when life gets difficult, when it gets
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painful, and when there's stress in your marriage,
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or when you're sick and tired of being single,
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or when this job just isn't working out, or,
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you know, you think the twos or the three -year
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-olds phase will never leave, or the teenage
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phase will never get through. Under pressure,
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we all tend to play what I call the if -only
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game. And the if -only game goes like this, and
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it's the fifth lie. The lie is that the grass
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is greener on the other side of the fence mentality.
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When things get hard and when they get difficult,
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somehow we think if I were in a different situation,
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if only this happened or that happened, then
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everything would be just absolutely good. It's
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just, it's my circumstance. And the lie is the
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grass is greener if only, and are you ready?
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Let me ask you to fill this in in your notes.
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If only I could change and then you could fill
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it in, then everything would be, and then write
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the word wonderful. And I don't know what it
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would be for you, but I'd like you to think,
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what would you fill in there? If only fill that
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in, then life would be wonderful. If only my
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health were restored, then life would be wonderful.
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If only my husband would have a change of heart,
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then life would be wonderful. If only my boss
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would be transferred or join another company,
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then my life would be wonderful. If only my son
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or daughter would come back to the Lord, then
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life would be wonderful. If only... If only this
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ministry would take off and I could just get
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out of what I'm doing and get where God wants
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me to be, then life would be wonderful. If only
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I made a few more thousand dollars a year so
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that we could, then life would be wonderful.
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Have you got it? Under pressure, we all play
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the if -only game. If only he was more sensitive.
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If only she was more affectionate. If only the
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economy would change. If only the stock market
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would go back up. If only the interest rates
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would change. If only we could, and we do it,
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and we do it, and we do it. And it's a lie. We
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think that way. And I'm gonna suggest this is
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the lie of the greener grass mentality. Here's
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the false premise. I believe we, especially in
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this country, this is not too much in the third
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world. When I go to India, when I go to Haiti,
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when I go to Africa, Those people live in intense
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times and very difficult times. When I spend
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time with people who know that sharing the gospel
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may well cost them their life, they do not share
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this false premise. But in America, I believe
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this is a false premise. And the false premise
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is God wants me to be happy. Now, there's a lot
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of truth in that, so don't get too shaken up.
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God does wanna bless us. He does want us to give
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us a full life. But when I say God wants me to
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be happy, I mean he wants me to feel happy. He
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wants me to be emotionally satisfied. He wants
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everything to be going right all the time so
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that I'm a happy camper, so I'm fulfilled, so
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life is going my way, so I'm successful, so life
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is good. I believe that's a false premise because
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I've got passages that say in the world, you
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will have tribulation. But be of good cheer,
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I've overcome the world. I've got passages to
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say, why are you surprised at the fiery trial
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that you're undergoing? Because it's predictable
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and certain. I have passages to say that every
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single person that longs and wants to live a
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godly life will experience persecution. So I
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think we've kind of eliminated some of those
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passages in our American view of the New Testament
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and the Old Testament. And we have come to believe
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that God wants personal fulfillment and happiness
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and good emotions like about 99 % of the time.
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So I put this in a little axiom here. Major premise,
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God wants me to be happy, and that's his highest
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goal for my life. That's what he really wants.
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Minor premise, my situation, my job, my marriage,
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my school, my relationships are so painful and
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stressful that, conclusion, this situation or
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relationship can't be God's will for my life.
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That is, I mean, that is day after day after
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day after day being believed and acted on, at
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least in America. I was doing a radio call -in.
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We had just written the book, Love, Sex, and
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Lasting Relationships. And it was about giving
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people a whole new paradigm about building lasting
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relationships and God's role for sexuality and
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the kind of relationships that really stay together.
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It was a nationwide call -in program. And they
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talk a little bit, and then people call from
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around the country. And every time I, you know,
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when a book comes out, you do this on all these
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different radio things. And so this happened
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almost every time we did a call -in. And so this
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was a Chicago listener, and this lady calls in.
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She goes, well, you know, I just really want
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you to know that I know God really wants me to
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be happy. I am just miserable in my marriage
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and so I'm going to be divorcing my husband and
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that's okay, isn't it? And I said, well, ma 'am,
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that's a very complex situation and I don't know
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all the issues, but do you have biblical grounds
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for divorce? She goes, well, what do you mean?
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I said, well, has he been sexually unfaithful?
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Is he an unbeliever that maybe you married before
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you were a Christian and that he has abandoned
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you? I mean, do you have biblical grounds for
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divorce? And she goes, well, no, he's just not
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very considerate. He's just not very nice. I
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don't feel fulfilled. I mean, I'm missing out
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on life. I'm miserable. I just don't like him
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anymore. Then she said this, but I know God wants
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me to be happy. Therefore, I know this can't
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be his will. Now that's a graphic one, but I
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would challenge you and I would challenge me
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to ask yourself, where do you play that if only
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game? A while back, I had a guy come to me, and
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he was just, I mean, he hated his job, hated
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his job, hated his job, frustrated with his job.
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This isn't where I belong. This isn't what I
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really want to do. Now, he hadn't put a resume
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together, hadn't done anything, hadn't talked
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to his boss, but he just whined and whined and
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whined, and in his mind, if only I had a different
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job, if only I had a different job, then I would
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be happy. So one day, I met him for coffee, and
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he said, well, man, I'll tell you what, I'm doing
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great now. I said, why, what happened? He said,
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I quit. I said, you did? Your job? Yeah. I said,
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well, wow, great. I mean, what's your new job?
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I don't have a new job. I said, well, you don't
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have a new job? He said, yeah, I just realized
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it couldn't be God's will for me to be in this
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job because it makes me so miserable. That guy
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was unemployed probably for about 14 or 16 months.
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And I watched his life and his family because
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he played the if -only game, the grass is greener
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mentality. And if only this changes, then I'll
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be happy. And so he bailed out of God's program
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in his life. The truth is, if you'll look in
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your notes, is that running from adversity and
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conflict in relationships does not solve problems,
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but it compounds them. And all of us at certain
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times in our life have run from. adversity, have
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run from conflict and difficulty. And we could
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probably tell a lot of stories of how, you know
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what, running away from it did not solve it.
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It just compounded it. Patience and perseverance
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are the keys to relational transformation. Boy,
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now, isn't that hopeful? Well, that's just the
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kind of thing you say, that's what I really want.
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I was hoping the last time someone would tell
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me, here's the answer to those relational, naughty,
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difficult issues in your life. Be patient and
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persevere. I mean, that is just felt need all
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the way, isn't it? It's what you were longing
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to hear. And I can almost hear some of you say,
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no, no, no, you don't understand yet. You understand,
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I'm sure there's a lot of people that probably
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need to hang in there and they need to have patience
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and they need to persevere. But you don't understand.
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I mean, I don't sleep at night because of this
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situation. I mean, I have stomach acid rolling.
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I'm having panic attacks. This conflict, this
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difficulty, this thing is so difficult. You don't
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understand how bad the situation is with my daughter.
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You don't understand the kind of marriage I'm
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in. You don't understand the pressure I have
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in my finances. You don't understand the mess
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in this church and that's why I'm leaving it
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now and shaking the dust off my feet. You just
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don't understand. And you know what? You're right.
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I don't understand. But God does. And I would
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suggest there's a group of people that I do not
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care how difficult your situation is. Their situation
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was far worse. They had lost their homes. They
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had been abandoned by their families. Some were
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starving. Others were being persecuted by the
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Roman government. They were hiding out in caves
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to be able to pray and worship the Lord. They
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were dispersed and ran for their lives. What
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do you think God would say to that group of people?
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Well, you don't have to guess. If you'll look
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in your notes, I put exactly what God would say
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to people in a very difficult situation of conflict
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and adversity. And here's what he says to them,
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beginning in verse 7 of chapter 5 of the book
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of James. Be patient then, brothers. Well, how
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long? Until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer
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waits for the land to yield its valuable crop
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and how patient he is for the autumn and the
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spring rains? You too, be patient and stand firm.
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Well, why? Because the Lord's coming is near.
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Well, what kind of attitude should we have while
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we're waiting? Verse nine, don't grumble against
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each other, brothers, or you'll be judged. The
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judge is standing at the door. Brothers, as an
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example of patience in the face of suffering,
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take the prophets who spoke in the name of the
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Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those
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who persevere. You have heard of Job's perseverance
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and you've seen what the Lord finally brought
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about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
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Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by
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heaven, or by earth, or by anything else, let
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your yes be yes, and your no, no, or you'll be
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condemned. In other words, keep your word. Now,
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we've been doing Bible study, and I was so excited,
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I brought two pens, because we're gonna both
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underline and circle. Are you ready to do a little
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Bible study? There are four commands in this
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passage. As I give them to you, I want you to
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underline the commands. Command number one, be
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patient. That's in verse seven. Command number
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two is in verse eight, be patient and stand firm.
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So he repeats the same command. Command number
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three, don't grumble. Underline that. Command
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number four is do not swear. Do not swear. So
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he's made it very, very clear. He understands
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their situation. It's as bad or literally worse
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than anyone's difficult conflict or adversity.
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And he says to them very clearly, Be patient,
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be patient and stand firm. Do not grumble and
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do not swear. Now, I want you to circle some
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words because there's some things that are repeated
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that'll tell us what he's talking about. Maybe
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there's a theme here. Circle the word patient
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in verse seven. Circle the word waits in the
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next line. Circle the word patient in the next
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line. Go to verse eight, circle the word patient.
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Skip down to verse 10, circle the word. Skip
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down to verse 11 and circle the word persevered
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and then circle again in the same line, Job's
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perseverance. Now, does anybody have any idea
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might there be a message here? Inductively, do
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you see something kind of rising out of this
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text that might be telling us something about
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what we need to do in the midst of difficult
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times? Final thing I'd like you to do is I'd
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like you to go up because he gives us three examples.
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There's four commands. It's obvious it's about
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patience, perseverance, hanging in there, not
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giving up, hanging tough, enduring. But he's
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going to give us three snapshots. There's three
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pictures. Put a box around the word farmer. Because
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he's going to use it as an example. He's going
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to say there's a lesson to be learned from the
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farmer. Skip down and put a box around the word
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prophet. He says there's a lesson that we can
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learn from the prophets. And then finally, put
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a box around the word Job or Job's. There's a
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lesson to be learned from him. And if you had
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some time to look at those four commands, and
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as you see those words that are circled, what
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you're going to learn is that God has a message
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to people who play the if -only game. He has
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a message to people like us who under pressure,
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we don't mean to do it, but unconsciously we
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start believing the lie that if only this would
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change, if only that would change. See, what
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we're not asking is if only I would change. I'm
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not asking if only my perspective would change,
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if only my character would grow, if only I could
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see and understand. And did you notice, I didn't
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want to wear you out, did you notice three different
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times the area of patience, endurance, is all
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centered around a future hope that's guaranteed.
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Did you notice you could put parentheses around
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in verse seven, the Lord's coming is near. You
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could put parentheses around, the Lord is coming.
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And then later on down, it says, he's the judge.
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In each time, the ultimate reason for patience
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and perseverance is we have a hope that is unshakable.
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We have a God who is sovereign. We have a king
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who is returning. We have a history that's making
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its way. We have purposes that cannot be changed.
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We have a God who is full of love and compassion,
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who is working both in us and through us for
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his goodwill. And out of this, I think, are three
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very, very clear commands for us in terms of,
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How do we make it through difficult times? How
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do we get to where we don't believe the lie of
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the greener grass mentality of just thinking,
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well, maybe if we move, or maybe if I get a different
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marriage partner, or maybe if I get a different
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job, or maybe if I change churches, or maybe
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if. Now, don't hear this incorrectly. Are there
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times to move? Of course there are. Are there
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times that God wants us to move from one thing
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to another? Of course there are. You know, never
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hear one passage or one teaching outside the
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full counsel of God. But what this passage is
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talking about is you're in circumstances that
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it's obvious from scripture, God doesn't want
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to change at this point. And instead of trying
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to wiggle out of them and trying to play a game
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in your mind that believing it'll be better if
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only you could do this, you know, like that cow
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nibbling the grass on the other side of the fence.
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He says a lot of God's will in a fallen world
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is wait, Patience, patience, patience, patience,
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persevere, persevere. And that in that process,
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he'll do something in you that could never happen
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any other way. And he'll do something through
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you as a part of that, that only he can do if
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you don't bail out of his program. The first
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point I see out of this passage in verses seven
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to nine is that we are commanded to be patient
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even when circumstances are beyond our control.
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He says, don't give up, don't give in because
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God is in control, but they're out of your control.
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Look, it says, be patient, brothers, until the
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Lord's coming. And then this is the lesson of
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the farmer. See how the farmer waits for the
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land to yield its valuable crop and how patient
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he is for autumn and spring rains. How much control
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does the farmer have about how much sunlight
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and how much rain? Zero. So what does he do?
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Say, well, you know what? Forget this. You know,
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let's move. Come on, honey, let's just pick up
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and leave. What does a farmer know? I'm not sure
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when the rain's gonna come. I don't know how
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much. I don't know if there's cloudy days. I
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don't know if there's gonna be sunny days. All
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I know, there is a God who's in control of that,
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and I've been farming for a lot of years. And
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I've been farming for a lot of years and what
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I know is there's some seasons that are a little
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dry. There's some that are a little bit rainy.
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But as I look back over year after year after
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year, you know, I didn't put seed in the ground
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and it didn't rain very much and I didn't see
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something happen and leave. I waited until the
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cycle and I've learned there are seasons to life
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and there's seasons to crops and there's seasons
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to marriages and there's seasons to jobs and
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there's seasons to ministries and there's seasons
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with children. And if you bail out, Then you
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may have planted the good seed and never reap
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the reward. So he says, take a lesson from the
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farmer. What does the farmer do? He waits for
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the land. He waits for the process. He lets the
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land do its work, its valuable crop. He's patient.
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He realizes, you know what? Okay. You know what?
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It's autumn now and things are brown. But guess
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what? Spring is coming. Spring is coming. The
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word patient here is interesting. It's macro,
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a lot. thumos, for heat. And it's the art of
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enduring someone who is incompatible for a long
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time. That's what that word means. Some of you
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thinking, boy, I got that person in my life.
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Long -suffering, it's to have the idea, it's
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to tolerate a circumstance or a difficulty for
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a long time. Now, obviously, they didn't have
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bombs and dynamite and fuses, but the word picture
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in my mind, when I think when it says patience,
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the word picture in my mind that helps me is,
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You know, macro is a long or big, and thumos
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has the idea of heat. It's the idea of it takes
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a lot, a lot of heat, a lot of difficult, a lot
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of adversity before you cave in. And I have a
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picture of like a really long fuse. And it's
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a really long fuse, and you light the fuse. And
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what you know is the fuse is going to burn, burn,
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burn, burn, burn. And when it finally gets here,
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it's going to do its job, and the thing is going
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to break loose. But what God is saying to me
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is you need to have a long fuse, Chip. You need
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to have a long fuse in this ministry situation.
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You need to have a long fuse in this marriage.
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You need to have a long fuse in your attitude
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for this problem person. You need to have a long,
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you need to have a macro thumus for me. You need
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to be and learn the lesson of the farmer and
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realize that you don't know all that's going
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on and there is a season of difficulty right
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now. But you need to persevere. You need to hang
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in there. And then by the way, you need to hang
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in there with the right attitude. Notice what
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it says. Second command, be patient and stand
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firm again because the Lord's coming is near.
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Seasons have a beginning and seasons have an
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end, don't they? Whatever you're experiencing
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that you think, I can't take it, I can't take
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it, I can't take it one more day. Yes, you can.
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You say, well, I can't imagine myself. three
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weeks from now in this situation. You don't have
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to. There is no grace in hypothetical situations.
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If you start thinking next year or three weeks
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from now or two years from now or in five years,
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you know what? There's zero grace. You know what
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you get grace for today? I'm not sure, unless
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you know more than me. I don't know that you'll
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be here three weeks from now, do you? I don't
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know if the earth will be here five weeks from
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now. The Lord is near. I don't know when he's
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coming back. So he says, stand firm and be patient.
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And then here's the attitude. Don't grumble against
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each other, brothers, or you'll be judged. The
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judge is standing at the door. He says, when
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things get difficult and when we should be waiting
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and realize there is a season in marriage, there
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is a season with our kids, there's a season in
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a ministry, what we tend to do is start blaming
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and grumbling. It's interesting. The word grumble
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here means to sigh, to groan silently within,
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or to whine without. I hate that definition.
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It so describes me at times. Isn't that good?
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To groan within or sigh, oh brother, or to whine
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without. It's to build resentment or a negative
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attitude toward another person. That's what it
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means to grumble. And in difficult circumstances,
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we are all prone to do it. Could I suggest that
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the lesson of the farmer would teach us that
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if we're not careful, we'll bail out. before
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God's season is complete in a relationship, a
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job, a ministry, a church, or a situation, and
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we will miss the blessing. We'll get in on the
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planting, we'll get on the cultivating, we'll
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get in on the dry season and the difficulty and
23:02
adversity, and God was just about ready to rain,
23:05
and he was just about to bring about and bear
23:06
some fruit, and you're ready to leave. And I
23:09
learned this early and the hard way. I was in
23:13
seminary, and because I was kind of I guess,
23:18
what would you call it? I'm hyper. Can you kind
23:22
of recognize that? I'm a hyper guy, all right?
23:25
And I was running a little janitorial company
23:28
and going to seminary, and I had three kids and
23:30
trying to balance all that. And the little janitorial
23:33
company was having some financial difficulties,
23:35
and I was also involved in a ministry about 20
23:37
hours a week. I mean, insane. And I realized
23:40
after three years of sleeping about four and
23:42
a half or five hours a night, I can't do this
23:44
any longer. And I still have a full year of seminary
23:47
left. And so I asked God to somehow take the
23:50
ministry and a paycheck and put them together.
23:53
And a little tiny church outside of Dallas in
23:55
Kauffman, Texas called me to be their pastor.
23:58
There's about 35 people out in the boonies of
24:01
the boonies of the boonies. And they asked me,
24:03
I didn't know it, they'd had a lot of difficult.
24:05
time with pastors and I'm glad I didn't know
24:07
it all but they had been through about eight
24:09
in the last three years and if I would have been
24:11
older and smarter I would have asked a good question
24:14
but I didn't know that and it's good I didn't
24:15
know but they asked me for a five -year commitment
24:18
and I thought well you know God had showed me
24:21
I'm supposed to be a pastor and I thought well
24:23
I've got one year of seminary I could break that
24:25
and slow down do it in two years and I'm gonna
24:27
have to learn how to be a pastor somewhere this
24:29
is a good place yeah if you're five years Well,
24:32
I signed up for five years in that little group
24:34
of 35, and I found out everyone was related,
24:36
and I found out in about the first year why all
24:38
the other pastors left. And they were wonderful
24:43
people, but, you know, it was an interesting
24:45
journey, and I had so much to learn. And at about
24:48
year two or year two and a half, you know, now
24:52
seminary is done. I've got about six months after
24:54
it, and if someone would have said, you are out
24:57
of your commitment, I would have run through
24:58
the door. I mean, I grew up in the suburbs. This
25:01
is a tiny little town. No stoplights. We actually
25:04
grew and got a stoplight later. But I mean, at
25:06
one end of town was the feed store. And the other
25:09
end of the town was the wagon wheel. And I think
25:12
there was a Sonic. I mean, that's it. And I mean,
25:15
you know, in the Texas towns, you know, they
25:17
have little squares where you have the courthouse
25:20
and you could even see where the rings were,
25:22
where people would put their horses. And everyone
25:24
wore John Deere hats and had guns in the back
25:26
of their pickups. And that is not how I grew
25:28
up. This was a different environment for me.
25:30
And it was hard, hard, hard, hard. In the two
25:32
and a half years, I mean, I think we went to
25:33
35 to maybe 90 or 100 people. And I'm just thinking,
25:37
I'm knocking my head against the wall. I didn't
25:39
go to seminary. Lord, I want to be a missionary.
25:40
You know, there's like only 100 people here and
25:43
I'm killing myself and I might be killing them.
25:45
And I mean, everything in me wanted to leave
25:47
except I made a commitment. And what I didn't
25:51
understand is there's seasons. I didn't understand
25:54
that the person who needed to grow up the most
25:57
was a 28 -year -old young pastor who went there
25:59
that didn't know what he didn't know. And that...
26:02
Really, those people, instead of being kind of
26:04
backward and this and that, they really knew
26:06
a lot more about God and about how to teach me
26:08
to be a pastor than I ever imagined or dreamed.
26:11
And I stayed there for one simple reason. As
26:15
I think, you know, let your yes be yes and your
26:17
no be no. But emotionally, I mean, it was like,
26:20
I mean, I think I would have taken a job, a good
26:22
janitorial job, not running a company, but being
26:24
the janitor. I mean, I was discouraged. And it's
26:29
interesting is the seasons and God began to work.
26:33
And by about year number four and five, we saw
26:36
the thing begin to grow and God move in the area.
26:38
And then actually I ended up staying eight years.
26:41
And years six, seven, and eight, we just watched
26:43
things double and multiply. And in a town of
26:46
about 4 ,500, we saw about 500 people involved
26:49
there. We saw churches get connected. We had
26:51
outreach for all the youth non -denominationally
26:54
for all the high school kids. We built a child
26:55
welfare center. We shut down the pornography
26:58
and all those little shops that they had. And
27:00
God did a wonderful thing and I would have missed
27:02
it all because I didn't want to wait. I didn't
27:06
want to be patient. And I didn't understand what
27:08
the farmer knows. The farmer knows their seasons.
27:12
What season are you in? What season are you in
27:17
in your marriage? What season are you in in your
27:19
business? What season are you in in your church?
27:22
What season are you in? And could it be that
27:25
instead of if only this was different. And you
27:28
know those secret thoughts like if only I had
27:31
a different marriage partner. You know, if only
27:34
my health was better then. What if God has you
27:38
in his sovereign will and purposes in a season
27:41
to develop something inside that's gonna be better
27:45
and deeper and greater than you ever dreamed?
27:48
That's what James is saying. Notice there's a
27:51
second lesson, not just from the farmer, but
27:53
there's a lesson to be learned from the prophet.
27:56
And notice what he says here about the prophets.
27:59
He says, brothers, as an example of patience
28:02
in the face of suffering, take the prophets,
28:05
plural. who spoke in the name of the Lord. And
28:10
you think to yourself, well, what's amazing about
28:12
that? It says, well, we're commanded to be patient
28:14
even when our circumstances are unfair and unjust.
28:18
Verse 10. See, that's what I get from the prophets.
28:21
When I study the prophets' lives, I'm just thinking,
28:23
if you really love God, if you're really for
28:26
God, if you're really willing to take a stand,
28:28
if you're gonna live a righteous life, then life's
28:30
gonna be good. You're gonna be happy, right?
28:34
Yet Daniel, happy, happy, happy with all those
28:36
lions. You know, I'm the lion tamer. This sure
28:39
is fun. Jeremiah, happy, happy, happy. I'm in
28:42
a cistern down in a well. Now I'm in prison.
28:45
Happy, happy, happy. Study the life of the prophets.
28:51
My lands, they do exactly the right thing and
28:55
they're treated with injustice and lack of fairness.
28:59
Or Joseph. Here's a guy that, I mean, all I want
29:02
to do, you gave me a dream. I want to do your
29:04
will, Lord. So what's he get? Falsely accused,
29:07
sent to prison unjustly. His whole life, the
29:13
first 30 years, is like a bad dream. God wants
29:19
us to learn the lesson of the prophets. They
29:22
spoke God's word. They were in the center of
29:24
God's will. We have skewed expectations about
29:28
what it means to walk in the will of God. See,
29:31
it's the happiness cult that we've produced in
29:34
America. You know, I'm a Christian, I should
29:37
be happy. If I'm not happy, something's wrong.
29:39
God, change it quickly, quickly, quickly. I mean,
29:41
I want to put it in the spiritual microwave.
29:43
Oh, goody, happy, happy, happy. Now everything's
29:45
great, you know? And he says, learn a lesson
29:50
from the prophets, Daniel, Jeremiah, Joseph,
29:53
Elijah. They were in the center of God's will
29:58
and being in the center of God's will meant pain
30:01
and suffering and injustice. and difficulty and
30:06
being light and salt in a perverse and dark world.
30:11
I mean, even in Jeremiah's case, I happen to
30:13
be reading there right now. God even tells him,
30:16
guess what? You just obey. And by the way, they're
30:19
not going to listen. How would you like that
30:21
job assignment? And he didn't say, well, could
30:24
I get a transfer? I'd like transferred out of
30:29
this one. I'd kind of like to be a prophet and
30:31
some other. No, no, Jeremiah. Remember what he
30:33
said in the first chapter? You know, before you
30:36
were in your mother's womb, I have called you
30:39
for this. Life is not certain, life is not easy,
30:48
and life is not fair. That's a biblical appraisal.
30:53
When you do what is right, when you're in the
30:57
center of God's will, if you are expecting that
31:00
everything lines up and goes your way, that your
31:03
circumstances align, that people are gonna be
31:05
wonderful, that all your kids are gonna make
31:07
great decisions and turn out right, that you're
31:09
never gonna have a major problem in your marriage,
31:11
that you're never gonna go through difficult,
31:13
painful health issues, that you're never gonna
31:15
be betrayed by a friend, that you're never gonna
31:17
have to have a messy church situation, you're
31:19
never gonna have someone in business cheat or
31:21
lie or do something difficult to you, you, then
31:23
you set yourself up wrongly for a life of despair
31:29
and discouragement, and you'll get disillusioned
31:31
with God. I meet Christians all the time that
31:33
are disillusioned with God. God promised the
31:35
abundant life. God promised I would be happy.
31:38
God promised, and I'm thinking, yeah, God promised
31:41
persecution. God promised suffering. God promised
31:44
character building. How come no one's writing
31:46
books on that? Seven steps to great character
31:49
through intense suffering over a long period
31:51
of time. I can just see that baby flying off
31:56
the shelf. But is that not, if Jeremiah was writing
32:03
a book, that's the one he'd write. If Joseph
32:06
was writing a book, that's the one he'd write.
32:08
But what do you find out about those prophets?
32:10
What's the lesson? It's where they land. It's
32:13
not what they go through. Consider it all joy,
32:16
my brethren, when you encounter various or all
32:19
kinds of difficulties, knowing that the testing
32:23
of your faith produces. perseverance, hupo meno,
32:27
he's gonna use this word, hupo to be under, meno,
32:30
stress or pressure, knowing that testing your
32:34
faith produces perseverance and allow, it's a
32:37
command, but it's in the passive voice, allow
32:39
perseverance or the difficulty to do what? Produce
32:44
Christ -like character or maturity in you that
32:49
God may do in you. What he wants to do. See,
32:53
the premise of the New Testament is not God wants
32:55
to make you happy. You know what the correct
32:57
premise is? God wants to make you holy. It changes
33:03
everything, doesn't it? That's his agenda. That's
33:06
his agenda. He gave some as apostles, some as
33:08
prophets, some as evangelists, pastors, teachers
33:10
for the work of, you know, building up the body
33:12
of Christ until they all attain to the unity
33:16
of the faith of the knowledge of the Son of God
33:18
to a mature man. What's a mature Christian? It's
33:23
one who looks like Christ. How does God produce
33:27
maturity or holiness or Christ -likeness? It's
33:31
not because we're happy all the time and everything
33:34
goes our way. It is when he takes us through
33:38
things that... The pressure and the difficulty,
33:41
like a piece of coal in the heart of the earth,
33:44
the pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure,
33:46
pressure, pressure, takes it and makes it a diamond.
33:49
Or it's like the piece of sand inside of a pearl
33:53
where all the rubbing and the difficulty and
33:55
the irritation produces a pearl. God's looking
33:58
to create men and women whose character and whose
34:01
hearts and whose lives from the inside out are
34:04
diamonds and pearls reflecting the fragrance
34:07
of Christ. That's his agenda. But if we think
34:12
it's to make us happy, we get very ticked off
34:14
with God and disillusioned when he allows us
34:17
to experience what the prophets experienced.
34:19
Jot down, if you will, Genesis 50, 20. Here's
34:22
the principle. Here's what we learn from the
34:23
prophets. It is a fallen world. Life is not fair.
34:27
Life is not certain. But all the evil, all the
34:31
difficulty that came into Joseph's life, he could,
34:34
when he saw it all, look backwards and said to
34:36
his brothers, as for you, You meant it for evil,
34:40
but God meant it for good to bring about this
34:43
present result to preserve many people alive.
34:46
He said, your motives were bad. You were evil.
34:49
You did the wrong thing. Some of you, I'm reading
34:51
into the text here. Don't look for this in Genesis,
34:53
but you know, little elaboration here. You know,
34:55
some of you wanted to kill me. You know, thank
34:57
heaven. Some of you wanted to put me in slavery.
34:59
You know, Potiphar, his wife did me in. He treated
35:02
me wrong. The baker, he didn't even remember
35:03
my name. All these things happened to me. thinking
35:07
directed for evil, but God meant it. He's sovereign.
35:11
He's all -knowing. He's all -powerful. And notice
35:14
the text, he's compassionate. That word means
35:16
there's something down in, literally, the idea
35:19
is out of the bowels of God, out of the inner
35:21
parts of God, that when he sees your need, he
35:23
wants to rescue and help. He loves you. God,
35:26
out of his mercy and out of his grace, meant
35:28
it for good to bring about what? He delivered
35:31
all these people. He wanted the nation of Israel
35:35
to be a little incubator over here and the way
35:38
he did it is he sent me and he knew there'd be
35:41
a famine and he knew what he wanted to do and
35:43
he knew the promises he made to Abraham and what
35:46
he did is he brought me here so that by the time
35:49
the things happened, I would be the second most
35:51
powerful man in the world and I would be able
35:54
to be the shepherd and take care of God's people.
35:58
Other people don't have the power to ruin your
36:00
life. Circumstances do not have the power to
36:03
ruin your life. The only thing that can ruin
36:05
your life is failure to believe that God is good,
36:08
God is sovereign, and God is faithful to his
36:11
promises. And so he says, learn first the lesson
36:15
of the farmer. There are seasons in life. Patient,
36:18
wait, patient until you see God bring about what
36:21
he's going to do. Don't miss out. Second, learn
36:25
the lesson of the prophet. Even when life is
36:28
unfair or unjust, don't get your expectations
36:31
skewed thinking that God has left you. If he
36:34
left you, he left Daniel, Jeremiah, Joseph, Elijah,
36:38
Paul, 11 of the 12 disciples. Does anyone know
36:42
how they happened to die? They were martyred.
36:45
And the only guy left is on an island, you know,
36:48
writing down Revelation for us. I mean, the prosperity
36:51
gospel won't work through the New Testament.
36:54
But it didn't work for Paul. It didn't work for
36:55
James. I mean, he's saying, so I follow Jesus.
36:58
What happened to you, Paul? They killed me. Peter,
37:00
what happened to you? I follow Jesus. They killed
37:01
me. James, what happened to you? I follow Jesus.
37:03
They killed me. You know, there's another good
37:06
book title, How to Walk with God and Die Young.
37:12
And you know when they did it? Church history
37:15
says Peter didn't do it like God deserted me.
37:19
Peter requested to be crucified upside down because
37:23
he felt unworthy to be crucified in the same
37:27
way as his Lord. Paul would understand that it's
37:30
not the frivolity being happy and all the circumstances
37:34
lining out. In Philippians chapter three, he
37:36
will say, For me, forgetting what lies behind,
37:39
pressing forward, I want to apprehend or gain
37:42
or get what God's called me to. And so what I
37:45
want to do, I want to know him. I want to know
37:48
the power of his resurrection and the fellowship
37:49
of his suffering. You will never be closer to
37:56
God. You will never have more intimacy with God.
37:58
God will never speak more loudly or more clearly
38:01
than when you are in pain, when you need him.
38:06
When there's, you know what? When sex and food
38:10
and trips and money and possessions and houses,
38:13
no matter how nice they are, all in the right
38:16
frame of mind with all the right people, can't
38:19
deliver, Jesus said, I'll be there for you. The
38:23
third lesson we learn is the lesson from Job.
38:28
We are commanded to persevere even when we don't
38:31
understand why God is allowing such adversity
38:33
in our lives. Notice it changed from patience,
38:37
patience, to persevere. The third picture with
38:41
Job is this idea of, I alluded to, patience is
38:45
having a long fuse. But with Job, it's not just
38:50
patience, it's perseverance. Perseverance is
38:55
holding up under pressure. The word picture that
38:59
I have, I have a little stick figure in my notes
39:01
that when I think of this word, hupo under meno,
39:04
is I have a little stick picture and I take a
39:07
bag with a bunch of weights. and the bag with
39:10
a bunch of weights is on his shoulder, and on
39:14
it is stress, pressure, life demands. And hupomeno
39:19
is, I'm under this, and what happens is with
39:22
a lot of people, if you put weight on their back,
39:25
it crushes them. But these people, just one day,
39:28
one moment of time, this marriage is difficult,
39:31
this health is difficult, this financial situation
39:32
is difficult, this conflict at church is difficult,
39:34
but... I'm gonna hold up today. I'm gonna hold
39:37
up today. I'm gonna hold up today. It hurts.
39:40
I'm gonna hold up today. And when you persevere
39:42
and persevere and persevere and persevere and
39:44
persevere, all you people out here that are athletes,
39:47
you know, there's some people that actually pay
39:49
to get to do this. But instead of a bag, it's
39:53
actual weights. And if you take actual weights
39:56
and you put them on your shoulder and you persevere
39:59
and you persevere and you persevere and you persevere
40:03
and you do about three sets of that, with just
40:07
a little bit more, then your legs will burn,
40:08
and then your core will get strong. And you do
40:11
that for about six months, and you know what?
40:13
You can get under that thing, and it's no problem
40:16
at all. Because the weights don't change, but
40:20
the person under the weight gets stronger. Did
40:23
you ever consider that part of God's plan may
40:27
not be to deliver you out of your difficult circumstance,
40:31
but he might want to deliver you through it?
40:35
And there's biblical precedent, isn't there?
40:37
The Apostle Paul, I mean, he had enough faith.
40:41
Apostle Paul had a pretty powerful prayer life.
40:43
Apostle Paul had seen the third heaven. Who knows
40:45
what that is or what it looks like, but we're
40:47
gonna find out soon. And he asked God one time,
40:51
two times, three times, take the adversity away.
40:55
Take the thorn in my flesh away. We don't know
40:57
what it was, but some difficult, painful, physical
41:00
thing that just bugged him to death. And what
41:04
did God say? No. See, if he went to a meeting
41:09
today, people would say, well, Paul, you just
41:10
don't have enough faith. That's your problem.
41:11
If you just believe God, then no, no. God's will
41:15
in this situation for him was no. But then in
41:18
2 Corinthians 12, verses 9 and 10, he tells him
41:20
why. He says, Paul, my grace is sufficient for
41:22
you because power is made perfect in weakness.
41:27
I'll do something in you. You hupomeno. You allow
41:31
me to strengthen who you are as a man in your
41:34
inner man. My power is perfected in your weakness
41:39
and in your pain. In fact, we learned the reason
41:41
he got the thorn was that he saw and had such
41:45
a revelation of who God was and what he'd done
41:47
that arrogance would have been impossible. And
41:50
so it kept Paul in the sense of dependency out
41:53
of his pain. Could it be that God has something
41:56
so wonderful to do in you and through you that
42:00
he has chosen, not because you've been bad, but
42:04
because you've been good and he knows that he
42:06
can trust you with it to allow you to endure
42:09
through the pain of the relationship or the health
42:13
issue or the difficult situation and that through
42:15
the pain, his grace will be sufficient and one
42:18
day you'll be able to say. Therefore, most gladly,
42:21
I will take joy or rejoice in difficulty and
42:25
suffering and persecutions. And he goes on and
42:28
lists about everything bad that could ever happen
42:29
in your life. Because when I am weak, I am strong.
42:35
That's the lesson of Job, isn't it? Persevere,
42:38
persevere. Why? Because God's plan is at work
42:42
even when we can't see it or understand it. Did
42:46
Job know what was going on? He didn't have a
42:49
clue. He did not have a clue and his friends
42:53
were not a lot of help, but he knew God. There's
42:59
a song I heard years and years and years ago
43:02
and who knows who wrote it and who knows the
43:05
melody. I mean, there was one line in it. It
43:08
says, when life is hard and difficult, I'm paraphrasing
43:14
here because I'll get to the line that I really
43:16
like, and you just don't think you can take it.
43:19
It says, when I can't see your hand, God, I can
43:25
trust your heart. It's a great line. You know,
43:29
there are times where you're a Christian and
43:32
you love God and, you know, it just stinks, okay?
43:36
Let's just, I mean, it's hard. It's just, I mean,
43:38
there's probably stronger words the youth would
43:40
use. I don't know what they are because they
43:43
don't come to my mind, but you could probably
43:45
think of one or two just like it. And there's
43:48
times as a believer it's like that. And you pray.
43:54
Man, you know, it's not sin. At least you don't,
43:56
I mean, unless, if it is, I mean, you've asked
43:58
and prayed and confessed. You know, you look
44:01
back on your life and you say, you know, I'm
44:02
walking with the Lord. I've been obedient to
44:04
what I know. I feel like I'm meeting with him.
44:07
I feel like I'm honoring him with my life. I
44:09
want to be used by him. And life is just hard,
44:12
hard, hard. And you pray and, you know, you're
44:14
waiting for the breakthrough. And, you know,
44:15
there's no breakthrough. And it gets harder and
44:17
harder and harder and harder. And you just get
44:19
to where, I mean, there's one thing where there's
44:21
times where you cry out to God. And there's some
44:23
times I've had at least, and I'm sure you have,
44:26
where you just cry. You just get before the Lord
44:29
and you cry and you go, I don't get it. There's
44:34
times there's a veil. And what he says to do
44:37
is you persevere, even if you can't understand.
44:41
Final thing he says here is there's a lesson
44:44
from the farmer. There is a lesson from the prophets
44:48
and a lesson from Job. And then the application,
44:51
we're commanded to demonstrate. How do you demonstrate
44:54
your patience? We're commanded to demonstrate
44:57
our patience and our perseverance by keeping
44:59
our words and our vows. Verse 12, did you notice
45:04
what it says here? Above all, my brothers, I
45:06
mean beyond all that I've said, do not swear
45:09
by heaven or by earth or by anything. Let your
45:11
yes be yes and your no be no. Don't bail out.
45:14
If you made a commitment to God, keep it. Made
45:17
a commitment to a marriage partner, keep it.
45:19
Made a commitment to your kids, keep it. Made
45:21
a commitment to your church, keep it. Made a
45:23
commitment to someone else, keep it. Psalm 15,
45:25
four. He who swears to his own hurt and changes
45:29
not. Those are the kind of people that can enter
45:32
the temple of God, the holy hill, and be honored
45:35
by him. Now are there, please hear, are there
45:39
unique situations where immorality or things
45:42
happen in a marriage? Are there unique situations
45:44
where churches go off doctrinally or there's
45:47
dysfunctional things that you've done all you
45:49
can and God releases you? Yes, okay? But we're
45:52
living in a world of exception clauses and loopholes.
45:56
We're living in a world where it really wasn't
45:58
adultery. It was kind of this and kind of that.
45:59
And I am miserable. I'm happy. So I'm going to
46:01
get a divorce. Well, you know, yeah, the church
46:04
really isn't all that bad, but I'm just so sick
46:05
and tired. It's so much work. So I'm just going
46:07
to keep your commitments. Keep your commitments
46:10
until God tells you. this is what I want you
46:13
to do. And if he tells you, this is what I want
46:15
you to do, you better be able to open your Bible
46:18
and say, and here's the biblical basis for it.
46:20
Not because I felt it or even because some Christian
46:24
leader, person or pastor said it was okay. We
46:27
got all kinds of pastors and leaders telling
46:28
people unbiblical things to justify our immoral
46:31
behavior in the church right now. And it's got
46:34
to stop. And it's got to stop by starting with
46:37
us. I know the plans that I have for you, declares
46:41
the Lord. Plans for good. and not for evil, to
46:46
give you a hope and a future. Part of that plan
46:49
will mean times where you have to patiently wait.
46:53
Part of that plan will mean that you'll have
46:55
to be like a prophet and say, this isn't fair
46:58
and this really stinks and I'm not giving up.
47:01
And part of that plan will mean you will persevere
47:03
when you don't understand why God is doing what
47:07
he's doing. And so you will have to trust his
47:09
heart because you can't see his hands moving.
47:12
But what I want to remind you is all the cards
47:14
aren't dealt yet. All the cards of your life
47:18
and his purposes aren't dealt yet. And forgive
47:21
me if I've kind of watched a couple of those
47:23
ESPN or those, you know, poker shows now and
47:27
then, but I always like it. And it looks like
47:29
one guy's going to lose, you know, and then they
47:31
have the low hole card, right? Card on the river,
47:34
you know? And I know they're only playing for
47:37
fun. There's no real money exchange. I don't
47:39
endorse gambling in any way. People take these
47:42
illustrations wrongly sometimes. But you know
47:44
what? The whole thing looks like this, but there's
47:46
one card left and you turn it over. God has a
47:49
card he's not turned over in your life yet. Don't
47:52
give up. In the words of Winston Churchill to
47:55
his alma mater, when the war was going desperately
47:58
wrong for England, he gave a very short, meaningful
48:03
speech. Never give up. Never give up. Never,
48:10
never, never, never give up. And England responded
48:17
to the call. And that's God's word to some of
48:21
you. Never give up. You're listening to Living
48:27
on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Today's message
48:30
is titled, Why a Change in Scenery Rarely Improves
48:33
the View. The final lesson in our series, Building
48:36
Authentic Community. To revisit or share any
48:40
of these messages, just go to our website, livingontheedge
48:43
.org. If you'd like these messages delivered
48:46
right to your phone the moment they release,
48:49
subscribe to the Living on the Edge podcast wherever
48:51
you listen. And to hear the original sermon in
48:54
full, subscribe to the Chip Ingram sermon podcast.
48:58
Over these past few weeks, we've talked about
49:01
lifting people up, rescuing those who are drifting,
49:04
guarding our words, and today, hanging in there
49:07
when it would be easier to walk away. Every one
49:10
of those comes back to a simple choice, the choice
49:13
to love. That's the heart of Chip's book, I Choose
49:16
Love. Chip explains how agape love isn't sentimental.
49:20
It's a decision to give, to serve, and to keep
49:23
your commitments, day in and day out, regardless
49:26
of feelings. And here's an idea. Get a copy of
49:29
Chip's book for yourself and a second copy for
49:32
someone else in your life and invite them to
49:34
read it with you. You can get your copies of
49:37
I Choose Love at a special price online at livingontheedge
49:41
.org slash offers. You know, for so many listeners,
49:45
this program has been part of how God has kept
49:47
them going through their hardest seasons. And
49:50
it stays on the air because people like you decide
49:52
it's worth supporting. Become a monthly partner
49:55
today or make a one -time gift right now by simply
49:58
going to livingontheedge .org or call our team
50:01
at 888 -333 -6003. You can also send your gift
50:06
by mail to Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007,
50:10
Suwannee, Georgia 30024. Well now, here's Chip
50:15
Ingram. As we close today's program, my prayer
50:18
for you is that you would tie a knot at the end
50:22
of your emotional and spiritual rope and hang
50:26
on. Don't give up and don't give in. But it's
50:29
tough, isn't it? And God never intended you to
50:32
make it on your own. This is the last part of
50:35
the series on five lies that ruin relationships.
50:38
And I know it's a... penetrating set of messages
50:41
that really cause us to examine our assumptions
50:44
and those unconscious lies that we believe. And
50:47
what I also know is that there's little chance
50:49
of change of you trying to do this by yourself.
50:52
You break these lies and build great relationships
50:56
when you face them together with people that
50:58
you love. Find a handful of people who'll say,
51:01
hey, let's spend 10 weeks together and really
51:04
expose those lies we believe and take our relationships
51:08
to the next level. Let me encourage you, dig
51:11
in, expose the lies, and build the kind of relationships
51:15
that last a lifetime. That's Chip Ingram and
51:18
the end of our series, Building Authentic Community.
51:21
Don't miss the start of our next study all about
51:24
revival. Next time here on Living on the Edge.
51:31
Today's program is produced and sponsored by
51:33
Living on the Edge.