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Biggest Shock Since Our Daughter Went to Heaven · Off The Kirb Ministries

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  Trust me, you're going to be OK. I believe this video has found
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  you because this year has been really difficult for you, hasn't
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  it? Right now you have unanswerable
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  questions. You've lost all hope, your
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  dreams have been destroyed. Your friends, they seem to be
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  flourishing. But you on the other.
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  Hand, you're struggling. And what seems to make things a
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  million times worse is that heaven is totally silent.
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  Where are you, God? Where are you when I need you?
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  Why have you left me behind? Do you not love me anymore?
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  I remember the night I had to say goodbye to our daughter
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  Anna. For two whole days I cried, and
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  God was. Totally quiet.
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  Oh, I had heard stories from Christians countless times.
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  When you're in the valley, when you go through that deep trial,
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  God's presence is so sweet. He's so close to you.
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  He. Carries you through.
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  But for me, right now, for me, you're nowhere, God.
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  Where are you? My dear friend, I am embarrassed
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  to admit this publicly, but in the darkness of one of those
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  nights, in the very early hours of the morning, I concluded in
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  my mind, either I'm not a Christian and I've been kidding
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  myself all these years. That's why I don't know God's.
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  Presence right now. Or on the other hand, the
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  atheists that I have been debating for the last decade,
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  they are right. There is no God.
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  Please don't judge me for thinking these foolish thoughts,
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  because even though man might judge me, I know that the Lord
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  was patient with me when I was thinking those so.
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  Very unwise things. In my hour of need, do you know
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  what? I cried out.
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  Please God, give me an encouragement, give us, my
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  family, something to hold onto. Not a sign.
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  I know it's wrong to seek after a sign, but some kind of?
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  Encouragement that. You are still with me.
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  And what did he do? He didn't give me just.
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  One encouragement. He didn't give me two
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  encouragements he gave me. Three very.
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  Tangible encouragements because that is the God we serve.
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  He makes our cup to over blow. OK now you're not going to
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  believe this but I promise you the first encouragement.
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  I am not making this up at all but this is what happened while
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  we were in hospital. Our two other children stayed
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  with my mum and dad and their little Samuel, our eldest son
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  was planting a seed in my dad's garden.
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  Let's just pause there for a minute and search your mind.
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  Which person the Bible is our son named after and what famous
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  incident happened to this man and also another man named OK.
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  So take all of that into your mind and then listen to this.
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  So Samuel told us a few days after Anna had gone, he said,
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  Mummy, I was all alone in the garden potting a plant that Papa
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  had given me when I heard a voice, a loud voice.
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  It was shouting, but it was also whispering at the same time.
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  And it said, Sam, Sam. And I said, Mummy, is that you?
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  So I looked around, but there was no one else in the garden.
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  And then I heard it again, Sam, Sam.
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  So we asked Samuel where did this voice come from?
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  And Samuel said North, it was just above me, but it was north.
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  And then I said, So what did it sound like?
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  Well, it sounded like Mummy's voice, only it was much quieter.
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  It's almost as if he was saying it was softer than Mummy's
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  voice. Now you can laugh at us.
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  You can say we've lost it. But I can't help but wonder, was
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  that our little girl Anna, calling her brother's name from
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  heaven to let us know she's OK? And even if this story is just a
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  figment of Sam's imagination, it did encourage us greatly at the
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  time. Before I share with you the two
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  other encouragements that the Lord graciously gave to us,
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  there is one thing that is. Absolutely crucial that.
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  Every single one of you must remember, and it's this.
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  If you are going through a crisis, if you are going through
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  a rough time right now, there is one thing you must know and it's
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  this. It is OK.
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  To talk to yourself. OK, Joe, now you have.
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  Really crossed the. Line into cuckoo.
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  Land. Talking to myself, that's just
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  plain silly. Why would anyone do that?
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  Well, is it really that silly? You see, my Bible is full of men
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  and women who talk to themselves, especially during
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  their hour of need. Job, David, Solomon, Mary, all
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  these people in the Bible, they hid the promises of God in their
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  hearts, and then they opened. This treasure chest.
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  When they felt like giving and those promises gave them so much
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  hope. My dear precious believer, if
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  there's one thing you remember from this video, if there's one
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  Bible verse I could imprint on your mind forever, it would be
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  these 6 words. Psalm 62 verse 8 says trust in
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  Him at all times. When your enemies laugh at you
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  and watch you struggle to get back up, trust in Him at all
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  times. When you come out of the
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  doctor's office and your mind is filled with worry, trust in Him
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  at all times. When your bank account is empty
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  and this month's rent is due, trust in Him at all times.
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  When you've fallen into sin and the Evil 1 whispers in your ear,
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  you're too far gone now. God will never forgive you.
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  Trust in Him at all times. When you've got nothing left in
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  the tank. When you want to give up.
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  When you even feel like you need to leave Christianity now
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  because it's not working out, nothing seems to be working for
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  you. Trust in Him at all.
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  Times friends, right now is not the time to forsake your God.
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  Now you need Him more than ever now in this time of need.
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  You must. Lean on the everlasting arms of
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  God, you must. Run to him.
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  For He alone is a strong tower. He is our refuge when we are
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  weak. He is a rock to all those who
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  feel overwhelmed. He is the one who we can trust
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  because listen to me. This year you may have laid your
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  loved ones into the grave, but he still lives.
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  When you believe that no one can fill their gap, no one can
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  replace them. Remember the words of job, for I
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  know that my Redeemer lives. Guys, you've got to know this.
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  I really didn't want to share my unbelieving thoughts with you
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  because I know that some of you, you look at me as some kind of
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  example, but the truth is this. I'm just dust and ashes just
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  like you are dust and ashes. But I do believe there is
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  someone who needed to be reminded.
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  Don't doubt in the dark what you know to be true in the light you
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  know in your darkest hour. We're so often filled with these
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  thoughts that all of the biblical things we once trusted
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  in aren't true. And yet, when we're walking in
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  the light, when we've got a clear mind and we know they're
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  true, we often tell people about these things, hold on to these
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  promises. We preach verses to people.
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  But when we ourselves go through that trial, we're so tempted to
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  forget in the dark what we learnt in the light.
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  Now here's my question for you. How many of you have got a torch
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  on your smartphone? Next time you use it, would you
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  just remember this video? Because when?
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  Dark times come and they will come.
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  Uncertainty will happen in your life.
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  We all experience it. But when it happens, remember
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  that you need a torch or you might just fall into an even
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  greater darkness. So how does the Christian
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  prevent himself from being totally defeated in these depths
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  of darkness? He remembers your word is a lamp
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  to my feet and a light to my path.
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  That's why we really mustn't look for signs because it's all
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  we need is the word of of God. But at times in our desperation,
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  I don't actually believe it is wrong to call out to God and
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  say, would you comfort me with something?
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  Would you encourage me with something?
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  So here are the two other encouragement that the Lord
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  graciously gave to me when I asked him for just one.
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  When we lost Anna, I was thinking, have I sinned in some
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  way? I was really scratching my head
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  thinking, have I done something? Why is it that literally the
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  last year or so, just loss after loss after loss?
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  God, have you finished with me? You know, my ministry had gone
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  down and there's other things that I won't share publicly, but
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  it was all, it just felt like sand just sifting through my
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  hands. And I thought, is that it?
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  God's finished with me. I'm no longer going to be a
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  preacher. I'm no longer going to be used
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  by him anymore. What's going to happen now?
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  So here I am. As I mentioned in my last video,
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  me and my wife, we went from site to site trying to find the
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  right place to lay our Anna to rest.
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  And we drove very north of where we live.
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  And actually that that morning, another lady from our church had
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  handed us a letter that had come to her through her husband from
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  another church. And I thought, I'll open that a
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  little bit later. I need to drive now.
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  Anyway, as we arrived at one of these sites, just surrounded by
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  God's beautiful trees, there in front of me was that envelope.
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  I opened it. I didn't know who it was from,
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  but I opened it. And there I read the most
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  beautiful letter. It was from a lady who a couple
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  of months ago I had preached at her son's baptism.
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  And she said as I was preaching the gospel, she fell under
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  conviction of sin, so much so she said she was shaking.
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  And when I presented Christ in the Lords grace alone, the Lord
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  Jesus Christ revealed himself to her and has wonderfully saved
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  her. Why did that mean so much to me?
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  Because as I said in this dark trial I was going through, I was
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  starting to think, Lord, are you still with?
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  Me and here. This woman wrote that letter and
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  it was almost as if God was saying, I'm not finished with
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  you yet, boy, I've still got work for you.
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  You just keep preaching. You just stay faithful to me.
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  And then the third and final encouragement that the Lord God
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  gave to us was this. The local church has just been
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  amazing through this. This is why I firmly recommend
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  every single Christian if you can, if there's a good local
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  church in your area, go there. Be in that fellowship because at
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  times like this, we need to be around believers.
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  He'll pick us up and encourage us.
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  And the pastor of this local church, not long after Anna had
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  passed, came to visit us and he said, Joe, Emma, you know, I
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  actually bought you a book in the post.
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  I don't know if you've heard. Of it.
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  Before but it's called the moon is always round and I bought it
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  for you but for some strange. Reason it's got.
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  Lost in the post Anyway, on the day of the burial we came back.
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  Obviously our eyes are full of of tears, we're sad, we've got a
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  mixture of feelings, knowing that Anna is in heaven, but at
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  the same time we wanted to see her.
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  We wanted to live life with her. As we arrive home, there was a
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  parcel on the floor. What was that?
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  Parcel the moon. Is always round, but you want to
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  hear something crazy? This wasn't the book.
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  This wasn't the exact parcel that our pastor had bought for
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  us. It was actually a lady from the
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  same church that I told you about, where I preached at this
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  young man's baptism. Another lady from that church
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  called Becky Rebecca had sent this book in the post.
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  And in God's providential timing, the exact timing, the
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  very day of our daughter's burial, this book was found on
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  the floor in our house. Can I just read you few pages
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  from it? It's a beautiful book and I'm
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  going to leave a link in the description because I believe
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  every single one of you, if you've gone through any kind of
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  trial, you need to get a copy of this children's book.
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  Even if you're an adult, you should read this.
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  Here are a few pages. When Dad told me that I was
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  getting a little sister, the moon looked like a banana.
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  But Dad said the moon is always round.
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  When the crib was put together, the moon looked like a slice of
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  apple. But Dad said the moon is always
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  round. When Mummy's tummy began to look
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  like a watermelon, the moon looked like a shriveled orange.
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  But Dad said the moon is always round.
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  And that phrase just repeats over and over in the book.
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  And there is a twist. If you don't mind, I'm going to
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  just give you a little spoiler. What does the moon is always
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  round? Mean it means God is always
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  good. And when I realized that twist,
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  it just filled my eyes with. Tears because the.
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  Truth is this whatever trial you're going through?
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  Even though at times we like the moon, we can't see the shape.
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  We can't see it's real shape. It's always round.
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  The moon is always round. God is always good.
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  Even when we cannot see why these things have come into our
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  life, why we are going through this difficulty.
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  OK, now this is a big diversion, but if you are an unbeliever,
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  and if by any chance you're watching this right now, I have
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  a question for you. What are you trusting in?
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  Because in your crisis, you can't trust in your bank
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  balance, can you? You can't trust in this
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  brilliant job you've got. You can't trust in yourself, can
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  you? These things will fail you time
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  after time. And you know that deep down you
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  need one who has risen from the grave.
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  You need one who you can truly say he is greater than I.
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  You need to be led to the rock that is high than you, to the
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  eternal being who can save you. The Bible says therefore we do
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  not lose heart. Even though our outward man is
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  perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day for our
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  light affliction, which is but for a moment is working for us a
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  far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
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  What does that mean? It means if you are trusting in
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  the Lord Jesus Christ, all of these bad things that you go
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  through, none of it is ever wasted.
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  It's all needful. You know the Lord God, He might
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  let her a dreadful wind flow into your life and it'll blow on
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  you, blow you to pieces. But if you are one of God's
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  children, that wind will achieve some good.
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  The Lord will achieve some of His purposes with this temporary
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  affliction that has come upon you.
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  But did you notice that word? It's temporary.
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  And that is why I plead with you, if you are an unbeliever,
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  rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. Come to him in this trial, in
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  this difficulty. Come to Him and he will deal
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  with the eternal. You see, you and I, we're
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  sinners, we failed God, we've made a mess.
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  But the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to die on a
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  cross so that you and I can be forgiven and have something
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  eternal to cling to. Yes, even though this outward
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  man, it's perishing, it's failing day by day.
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  I'm losing my hair. Perhaps you are.
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  We've got, we're going that bit closer to the ground day by day.
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  As you've started this video, have you got more or less
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  heartbeats? You've got less.
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  We're all winding down. We're all perishing, aren't we?
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  But there is one who is eternal, who says, yeah, these things,
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  these difficulties you're going through, they're temporary.
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  But there will be relief. One day when I, the Son of God,
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  return or when I raise you out of the grave, I will give you
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  heaven for all of eternity. Well, there's no care.
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  There's no sorrow. There's just joy.
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  Trust in Him at all times. If you're an unbeliever, come to
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  Him and let you be able to sing that with all of your hearts.
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  I trust in Him at all times because I know the one who died
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  for me lives. I know that my Redeemer lives.
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  But again, maybe you are asking the unanswerable question, Why
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  does God allow bad things to happen?
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  Well, if you'd like me to attempt to try and answer this
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  in the best way I possibly can, check out this video right away.