Latest / Sermon Podcast at Cartersville1st / Hope for the Tribulations of Life

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Hope for the Tribulations of Life · Sermon Podcast at Cartersville1st

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Well, Pastor Kyle has been walking us through the Apostle
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John's first letter, and we're getting to the end of that
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letter. But don't turn there.
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We're taking a break from that today, and I want us to look at
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a text that has really been on my heart for a number of months,
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maybe for the past year. And I've been in a season of
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reflecting on God's Word for a while and seeing God's Word,
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particularly as a lens through which we view all of existence,
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everything, all of reality in God's Word.
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God has revealed a story, and he's brought about that story.
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And that story makes sense of the world, makes sense of all
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reality. And to the degree that we know,
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comprehend, and believe this story, we're able to view it
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through our lenses. We're able to view it, interpret
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it the way that he views and interprets the world.
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And all of us sitting here today are somewhere on the spectrum in
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in regard to grasping the story and all of its details, right?
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And in turn, the world making sense to us.
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But for all of us, there are experiences and circumstances in
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our lives or circumstances around us that just simply don't
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seem to make much sense. And one of these areas is trials
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and tribulations. Now while I believe that many
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Christians and many of you sitting here today can give a
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basic answer as to why we as Christians go through trials and
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tribulations. I also believe that many
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Christians don't reach an understanding or perspection,
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perception or perspective of the true purpose or the true end of
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tribulations in their life. And as a result, they don't have
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the opportunity to experience the fruit that God desires to
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produce through those trials and tribulations.
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When thinking about what God's word says about tribulations or
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trials, we may recall a number of texts.
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Jesus words as recorded in John 1633 that in the world we will
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have tribulation, but we're to take heart.
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Why? Because Jesus has overcome the
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world. Peter tells us in first Peter
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412 that we should not be surprised when fiery trials come
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upon us to test us. It's it's not something strange
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or unusual that's occurring in our lives.
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A chapter later in chapter 5, verse 10, he tells us that
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suffering is temporary. We have this from the language
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after you have suffered for a little while.
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Now, often our suffering doesn't seem temporary, doesn't seem
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like it's going to last a little while.
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But in actual fact, I know that matter how long it lasts, even
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if it lasted the rest of our life, it is only for a little
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while because God's Word says our entire life is but a vapor.
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And then we have the words maybe that have already come to your
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mind. From James chapter 1 verses 2 to
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3. James tells the believers that
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consider it all joy when they encounter various trials because
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they know that the testing of their faith produces endurance.
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Now he says James does encounter count it all joy when you
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encounter various trials. So as you're encountering them,
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you're to count it all joy. I don't often do that in my
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life. Tribulation happens, trial
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happens and I'm joyous doesn't happen very often in my life.
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In verse 4 of chapter James chapter 1, he says endurance has
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a good result, the believer being made perfect and complete,
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lacking in nothing. Later in verse 12 he writes that
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the blessing of the one who perseveres, or for the one who
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perseveres under trial is that he would receive a great reward,
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the crown of life. We could go many other places in
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Scripture. Jesus's words about those who
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are blessed when they are persecuted and experience
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afflictions for following him. We could go to the times when
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the faithful rejoice in the shame they received from
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preaching the gospel. We could go to Paul's statement
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in Acts that through many tribulations we will enter the
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Kingdom of God. We could go to 2nd Corinthians
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12 where Paul says power is perfected in weakness, and
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because of that Paul says he can be content in all circumstances,
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even the difficult ones. But perhaps no text in Scripture
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helps us view our trials in the way that God desires for us to
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view them, as does Romans 5 verses 3 to 5.
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And in this text, we're going to see that God has ordained
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tribulations as the first step in a process toward godliness
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and ultimately toward a hope that he wants his children to
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experience. While we're going to focus on
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verses 3 to 5 in that process, I want to us to read verses 1:00
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to 5:00. So now that you're comfortable,
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I'm going to ask you to stand and we're going to proclaim
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God's words together today. Something a little bit
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different, but we're going to have it on the screen and we're
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going to read God's Word together.
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We're going to have it on the screen and read there we go.
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It worked the second time. So we're going to read His word,
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read the first 5 verses together.
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So let's proclaim the word of the Lord together.
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Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God
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through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have
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obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which
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we stand. And we exalt in the hope of the
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glory of God. And not only this, but we also
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exalt in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings
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about perseverance and perseverance, proven character
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and proven character. Hope.
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And hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been
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poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was
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given to us. This is the word of the Lord.
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You may be seated. Y'all did a wonderful job.
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Wasn't that beautiful to hear? I love hearing our voices praise
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the Lord in song, but I love hearing our voices in unison
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reading and proclaiming God's word.
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In the 1st 5 chapters of the book of Romans, Paul lays the
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foundation for the entire book by establishing that humanity is
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is in need of salvation. And then he presents the
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solution. All people he says, regardless
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of their religious background, Jew and Gentile alike are
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condemned by their sin and they are deserving of God's wrath.
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But Despite that condemnation, the gospel or good news is the
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solution. Fact.
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In Romans chapter 1 he calls it the power.
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That Greek term is dunamis, which is we get the term
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dynamite, for it is the power. The gospel is for salvation to
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all who believe, to the Jew 1st and then the Gentile, and so he
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calls it the power of God unto salvation.
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This good news is that God has provided a way for us to avoid
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the wrath and the condemnation that we deserve.
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The way in which He's provided a solution, a way, is by giving
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His Son what we just celebrated in the ordinance of the Supper.
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By giving His Son as a substitute sacrifice for us, He
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became sin on our behalf. He took the wrath that was
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designed for us. That was that.
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That was our payment for sins. And the reason he did this is in
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order to save, in order to redeem, in order to the
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ultimately declare us justified. He uses the term justification
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to declare us righteous before God because after we place our
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faith in Jesus Christ, he no longer sees Sinner.
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He sees righteous because Christ's righteousness is over
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us. And this declaration of
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justification is available again through faith in Jesus Christ
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apart from any works that one does.
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Finally, this faith in Jesus results in a peace with God and
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a hopeful future. And that brings us to chapter 5
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and chapter 5. The therefore is the first of
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three major transitional therefore's in the book of
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Romans. The second one comes in Romans
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chapter 8, where Paul there says, therefore I now urge you,
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brethren, by the mercies of God, I'm sorry, I'm getting the
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wrong. Therefore, therefore there there
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is now no condemn. Thank you.
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There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are
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in Christ Jesus. The third major transitional
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therefore is in Romans chapter 12.
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He says, therefore I urge you, my brethren, by the mercies of
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God, to present your our bodies as living, holy, acceptable to
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God, sacrifices for this is your spiritual service of worship.
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We're here in verse 1 of chapter 5 that therefore serves to
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transition to the result of this justification, this salvation.
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His answer, his solution to our problem, to every man's problem
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that he's been discussing in the 1st 4 chapters.
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At the outset he states that it results with in peace with God
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through our Lord Jesus Christ and that it should give away
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verse 2 to exuberant elation, to jubilation, to joy.
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He says we exalt, we rejoice, we boast in the hope of the glory
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of God. There is rejoicing, there is
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boasting, there is elation, there's jubilance in what God
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has accomplished in his grace for the believer.
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But in verse 3, in verse 3, Paul transitions to something that we
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may not immediately expect or even think fits the context by
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saying, and not only this, at the beginning of verse 3, not
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only this, but also he adds something else in which those
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who have been justified can rejoice or exalt.
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And what is this additional? What is this additional object
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of the Christians? Boasting or rejoicing?
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Tribulations. Really Paul?
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Rejoicing in tribulations. I get rejoicing and exalting in
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the hope of the glory of God and what he has done for me by
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saving me from death and condemnation.
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But now add on to this. Not only this, but we rejoice in
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tribulations. Really, Paul?
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What? What exactly is Paul asking us
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to do here? What is he telling us that we
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should do? The word translated tribulations
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or afflictions or sufferings implies pressing or pressure.
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What's in view is trouble in life that causes distress,
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oppression, affliction, and tribulation.
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We're not talking here about minor inconveniences, although
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sometimes we make our minor inconveniences into something
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major. But we're not talking about
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minor inconveniences. We're talking about real
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hardships that press us, that pressed us down, weigh us down,
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burden us heavily. And it's likely that the
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majority of us sitting in this room right now are experiencing
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circumstances outside of us that are pressing us, pushing us down
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in various ways. Heaviness.
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And if not right now, you may have just gotten out of one.
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And if you haven't just gotten out of one and you're not in
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right now, that would be a miracle.
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But don't worry about it, because one's coming right
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around the bend. I didn't hear that.
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You tell me afterward. So here Paul is proclaiming that
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the Christian can rejoice when these external circumstances are
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pressing down on them. Troubles and sufferings and
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tribulations and trials are not merely to be endured as
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stoically as possible. Not showing one's feelings and
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not complaining. Not complaining is good.
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But that's not ultimately what Paul is interested in.
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This is not about being cool under pressure.
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This is not about having ice in the veins as the circumstances
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press you in. It's not about letting things
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just roll off your shoulder. Some people do that better than
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others. Paul is not saying here that
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Christians are merely to endure these difficult circumstances
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which press us. They are to be glory.
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Then we are to exalt in our tribulations.
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We're to boast in them. We're to pride ourselves in
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them. We're to rejoice in our
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tribulations. But how are we to do this, Paul?
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God, if you're called allowing me to do this, on what basis can
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I do this? On what basis?
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As trials press me down in life, on what basis can I truly exalt
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and rejoice? Here's the key in the middle of
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verse 3. The key to rejoicing in one's
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tribulations comes here in knowing something.
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This part is simple. Knowing gives the reason, the
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justification, the basis for why, for how we exalt in our
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tribulations, what he is saying. He's about to give a reason for
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why a Christian can do this. He's about to reveal.
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We can think of it like this. He's about to reveal a proper
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view of tribulation and trials in the believer's life.
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He's about to review how God views the tribulation and the
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trial in your life and mine. And if we knew and accepted that
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view, it would allow us to rejoice in the tribulations in
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our life. So what is it that he says
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Christians should know? What is the knowledge that leads
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to rejoicing in the tribulations of my life?
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As we progress in this text, we see that what he reveals is that
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the basis of rejoicing in tribulations is a process.
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And this process has four elements.
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So 4 elements and three steps and in the necessary movement
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from one element to another to another.
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Note the brings about language. Each element produces the
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element which follows. In fact, many of your
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translations actually use the term produces here instead of
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brings about, and it's this verb translated brings about or
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produces that connects the process as we move from one
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element to the next such that we could replace the commas with
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the verb that's driving the process.
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Whether your text says produce or brings about, we know that
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tribulation brings about something and that something
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brings about or produces something, and that something
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brings about or produces something.
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I have this process in your worship guide indicated by the
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four arrows. And we've already noted that
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what Paul is referring to in tribulations is this pressing,
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pressing down, this pressure. But what we noticed when he
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introduces the process is that tribulation is the first element
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in the process. You're going to see the image of
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a barrel press here. I chose this image to help us
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think about the pressure which I talked about of tribulation.
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That's the result of tribulation.
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The barrel grape press presses down with a great amount of
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pressure. It presses the juice out of the
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grape by allowing downward that downward pressure, great
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pressure to press and the juice coming out.
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I guess the question for us is, do we ever feel like, do you
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ever feel like you're being juiced by this life and its
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circumstances? So the process is kicked off,
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initiated by tribulations in my life.
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This means that the process that he set up that is going to, if
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we know it and believe it, is going to give us the ability to
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rejoice in tribulations. The process is kicked off by
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tribulations. It can't even begin without what
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tribulation, which is an important thing for us to note
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even before going further in the text.
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The first element, Tribulation, brings about something, and
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nothing that comes after that can come without the
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tribulation. Now, if we didn't know what the
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next element is, we do know because I, I asked for your
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help. We proclaim God's word together.
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We've read the text. But if you didn't know what the
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next element was that is brought about by tribulation, you might
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be tempted to fill in the result with many things.
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I we could take a poll here and you could just popcorn it off.
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Tribulation brings about sadness for me.
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Tribulation brings about grief. Tribulation brings anxiety in my
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life. Tribulation brings doubt.
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Tribulation brings uncertainty. The trials of my life make me
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angry. I do all sorts of scheming and
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planning to try to get out of the tribulation when it comes.
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Tribulation brings pain. Tribulation produces desperation
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and hopelessness. We could go on and on, but Paul
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does not say that the believer should see any of those as being
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the product of tribulations. Look at what he says that
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tribulation brings about perseverance.
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Perseverance, patient, patient, endurance, steadfastness.
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The definition of perseverance. One definition is the capacity
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to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty or
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tribulation. The capacity to hold up or hold
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out or bear up in the face of difficulty or tribulation.
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Paul says that the believer should know that tribulation
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brings about or produces perseverance.
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Now, you may be thinking, my tribulations don't bring about
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perseverance in my life, but I think Paul's point here is to
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say not that perseverance automatically comes for those
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who have tribulations, but that tribulations are the occurrence.
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They're the event in which perseverance can be produced,
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can evidence itself or become manifest.
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In other words, one cannot have patient endurance or
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steadfastness without tribulations.
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It's a necessary thing. You got to have tribulations.
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You can't get to endurance or perseverance or endurance or
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steadfastness. Remember the definition of
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perseverance that I just said. It's the capacity to hold out or
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bear up in the face of difficulty or tribulation.
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What do you have to have for perseverance?
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You got to have tribulation. Do you see that?
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Perhaps there are better ways than what I have here to to
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illustrate the idea of perseverance, but I chose a
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clock. The reason I chose a clock is it
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symbolizes the necessity of the passing of time.
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What we're talking about is the passing of time during a
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tribulation. It takes time.
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Tribulation produces perseverance.
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The third element in the process is proven character.
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So tribulation, the pressing or pressure of outward
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circumstances in my life, is the context in which we can learn
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and exhibit perseverance, holding up in the face of
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difficulty, which takes place over time and ultimately, Paul
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says, brings about or produces proven character.
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This phrase proven character we get from one word in the
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original Greek, which connotates a testing process that has a
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particular result or a particular product that follows
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the testing process. What we're talking about is a
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process that over time determines the genuineness or
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value of something. This is why in the 1st century,
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this term was quite often used in the concept or in the realm
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of testing of metals to test whether they're genuine.
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The image I have here is not the metal imagery, but it's it's a
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reference to the phrase the proof is in the pudding.
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You young people probably never heard that in your life.
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The proof is in the pudding. It's a wonderful phrase, not the
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least of which the reason for is because it's as its origins or
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roots in in British from Britain.
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Britain and I love all things British.
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So but the original phrase is the proof of the pudding is in
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the OK, somebody said taste. That's close.
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But the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
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That's the original phrase, but the proof is in the pudding.
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What does this phrase mean? The phrase means that the real
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value, the quality of success of the success of something can
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only be judged by seeing or experiencing or tasting.
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Paul, you said tasting the final results, I don't mean to make
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y'all hungry this morning, but the final results of a coach may
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say the proof is in the pudding. And by that he might mean I
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think I know what we got as a team.
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We got a game plan. I think we're ready to go, but
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the proof is in the pudding. I don't really know how genuine
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we are. I don't know how good we are.
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I don't know how we're going to look until we get out there and
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play the game and the clock strikes 0 until the end.
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See, this character cannot be faked.
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It can't be promised even it can't be simulated.
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This character has to be proven over time, and it's proven
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through perseverance. So you have this tribulation and
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you got the perseverance and, and over time, over time, you
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get to proven character. If we progressed in this process
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and that was the end of the process right there.
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And so we're we're persevering under the trials and
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tribulations in our life. We're persevering over time, and
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that leads to proven character. If that was the end, I mean,
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praise the Lord if we would but get to a genuineness of
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character before God, so we're living out our faith in the
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midst of our trials and tribulations, how wonderful that
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would be. But we're not even at the final
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result. We're still climbing up the
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mountain here and we haven't seen the ultimate goal here of
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what we're going to see at the end of the process.
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We get to that end at the end of verse 4 and it's hope.
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The hope was present at the end of verse 2 when Paul stated we
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exalt in the hope of the glory of God, all that God has done in
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saving us, in justifying us by grace through faith in his Son
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Jesus Christ because of what he accomplished in him.
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We rejoice and we exalt, we boast in in Christ.
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We pride ourselves only in Christ.
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But he puts it here at the end of the process, I think because
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it's experienced in a richer and deeper way as we go through
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tribulations, hope has to do with the looking forward to
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something with some reason for confidence.
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There's an expectation of something that's good, something
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positive. There's prospect for the future,
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and it's a positive prospect. But hope is not superficial
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optimism about the future. It's not looking on the bright
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side, if you will. It's not positive thinking, not
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this kind of hope, this kind of hope that's in view here is a
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confident assurance, A certainty that something good is going to
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come to pass. And if we have this kind of
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hope, we know that God is working in our lives to
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accomplish something. We know that he not only has the
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power, but he has the desire to deliver us through the
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tribulation. Now it's very important you hear
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what I say there. He, we know in this hope that he
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has not only the power, but the desire to deliver us through the
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tribulation. Notice I said through and not
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from now. Utilize sort of a silly image
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here for this one to illustrate hope, but it evokes a
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confidence, a strength. A confidence and strength that
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is the result of tested character proven over time in
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the midst of trans tribulation. The important thing to note here
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is that the end of the process is not, as Paul explained it,
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the end of the process is not relief from the tribulation.
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That's not what gives hope. It's not that tribulation is
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taken away per SE, that particular tribulation or trial
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that's pressing you down. It's that there is hope in the
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midst of the tribulation, hope in what seemingly is a hopeless
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situation. You're getting juiced by the
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circumstances in your life, and while in the midst of getting
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juiced, you have hope. I don't have enough time to
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unpack verse 5 fully. It could be its own sermon.
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But Paul speaks as to the certainty of this kind of hope,
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which results from the process that he just laid out.
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This kind of hope will never let the believer down.
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And the simple reason is that it reveals in such a clear and
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undeniable way that God loves us.
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If you own this process, you will know that God loves you.
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The God of the universe has flooded our hearts with his love
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through the Holy Spirit that He has given us.
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So now we're getting the view. Are you with me?
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We're on top of the mountaintop. We're at the apex of this
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process and we're looking out and it's a beautiful view.
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It's a very hopeful view, and we experience a beautiful and
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indescribable hope that's before us.
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We know we understand to a better degree God's true love
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for us, particularly through His presence in the person of the
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Holy Spirit in our life as we go through this tribulation.
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But we can't get there. You can't get there by asking
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God to take the tribulation away.
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You can't get there by not persevering over time in the
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tribulation. You can't get there until you,
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until proven character is produced, this hope.
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It's a journey to the top of the mountain and you can't get there
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in a helicopter. You got to walk through.
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That's the only way to get there for the remaining of our time.
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I just have some observation, some reflections.
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Call these some pastoral concerns.
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Not that I wasn't caring for you as a pastor for the rest of the
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sermon, but these are from my heart to you as one of your
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pastors, as a shepherd. Number one, this process that
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we've just looked at is for believers, the process outlined
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in verse, verses 3 to 4, which is the basis for rejoicing and
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tribulations is only for those who also can rejoice because
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they have the peace with God through Jesus Christ that he
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talks about in verse one. If you're an unbeliever and
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you're sitting here today, these promises regarding hope are not
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for you now. They can be for you and they can
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be for you today. When a moment we'll have a time
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of response. If you're here today, you've
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never trust in Christ. Not only can you rejoice and
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exalt in the hope of the glory of God because God has saved you
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and experienced that today, but you can also rejoice and exalt
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in this process. That is going to be the case for
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you as you encounter various trials in your life.
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But tribulations in your life, if you've never trusted in
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Christ, are there to lead you to depend wholly on Christ.
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They're there to get you to the end of trusting in yourself or
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other human beings to show you that Christ is the only answer,
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and He's the answer to every one of your problems #2 perseverance
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necessarily involves the passing of time.
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I've already belabored this, but without hardship you don't have
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perseverance and without time enduring the hardship, you can't
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have perseverance. You got to withstand the
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hardship for a extended period of time.
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You do that by God's grace #3 God is working in the believers
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tribulation. This is why Paul later on after
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that second therefore in Romans chapter 8 verse one.
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Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are
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in Christ Jesus. He says in Romans 828, we know
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another No, we know that God causes all things to work
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together for good to those who love God and to those who are
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called according to His purpose, all things, all things does all
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things include tribulation and trials, all things.
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And This is why Paul can say this because we know and he
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knows the process to hope that we can rejoice in that.
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Johnny Ardavanis is a pastor who wrote a book this past year or
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maybe this year called Consider the Lilies, Finding Perfect
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Peace in the Character of God. This book is about anxiety.
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Primarily. It's about trusting God.
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But I heard him on a podcast talk about Romans 828 and he
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said something that I can't It's it's, it's branded on my brain
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and I can't get it out of my brain says this.
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There's nothing that God, this is for the believer.
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There's nothing that God is doing for your good that's not
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for his glory. And there's nothing that he's
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doing for his glory that's not for your good.
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I'll say it again, there's nothing that God is doing for
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your good that is not for His glory, and there is nothing that
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He's doing for His glory that is not for your good.
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We can rejoice in the tribulation knowing that He's
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working in that tribulation in our lives #4 God uses
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tribulation to make us look more like Christ in Hebrews 12/1.
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And two, we're told that there's that great cloud of witnesses
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that have surrounded us, that they have gone before us.
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And for that reason we lay aside every encumbrance and the sin
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which entangles us, and we run with endurance the race set
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before us. Number verse 2, Fix our eyes on
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Jesus. That's what we do.
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He's the author and perfector of faith, who for the joy set
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before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has set
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down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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There's no better example of Jesus than Jesus Christ of the
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one who's gone through this process.
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He's our example and God conforms us to his image and you
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know how he does that through trials and tribulations in our
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lives. Romans 829 the verse after we
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know God causes all things to work together for the good of
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those. 11 Romans 829 says for those whom he for new, He also
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predestined to be become conformed to the image of his
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Son, so that we would be the first born among many brethren.
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What I want to tell you is, in tribulation, God wants to
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conform from you into the image of His son #5 Tribulation is
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necessary for hope. I've said this already, but hope
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is produced through the formation of character after
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perseverance through the tribulations of life.
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Earlier I mentioned that for us often tribulation brings
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sadness, It brings grief, it brings anxiety, it brings doubt,
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it brings uncertainty, anger, scheming pain, desperation and
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the tribulations of life. We sometimes experience feelings
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of utter and undeniable hopelessness, but what we see in
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Romans 5 is that idea turn on its head.
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For the believer should know this process, that tribulation
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is necessary for us to have hope.
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That brings me to #6 trivial. And this may be the most
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difficult thing for us to accept.
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This may be the most difficult thing you hear this morning.
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Tribulation is a gift from God. To believers, Tribulation is a
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gift. We should see it as a gift from
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God because it is the necessary first step to proving character
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and to hope. So many times in our life, as I
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mentioned earlier, our hope is to escape the tribulation.
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God, take the tribulation away, we ask God, I ask God to take
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the tribulation away from me. I want to challenge you as I
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have been challenged, that sometimes I am asking God to
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take away the very thing, the very gift that He gives that He
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allows to produce character and lead to hope, which is the
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tribulation or the trial itself. The degree to which we strive to
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avoid tribulation as much as possible, we miss to the same
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degree or maybe greater, the depth of the fruit of this
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process that leads to hope. Finally, rejoicing in one's
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tribulations is no less expected than rejoicing in the glory of
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God. I'm good with verses one to two,
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Paul. I'm good to rejoice and exalt in
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the glory of of God because he saved me.
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But I don't like this rejoicing in tribulations.
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I don't like that. No, no, Paul says.
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We rejoice in both. It's a package deal.
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Rejoicing in one's tribulation is no less expected from God
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then rejoicing in His glory. As John and praise team come, I
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invite you to respond to the word of God this morning.
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I didn't say this in the first in the in the first hour because
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I'm running out of time but now I don't really care.
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Y'all just have to go eat. What do I care?
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This is God's word. I often say that's a dangerous
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thing to open God's word. It's a dangerous thing to open
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God's word and study it. It's a dangerous thing to sit
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under the teaching of God's Word.
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You know why? Because every time God's word is
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living inactive. Every time God's Word comes to
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us, it demands a response. And there's only two ways to
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respond, and you got to respond one of the two ways.
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Everyone in here has to respond one of the two ways.
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You either accept it and believe it and obey it, or you deny it,
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ignore it, which is disobedience, right?
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So I'm inviting you to respond this morning in one of three
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ways. I might have called you 2 up too
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early, John. Sorry.
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One of three ways. The first one is repentance.
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You may be here this morning and you've never trusted in Christ.
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As I've already said. The first question in your
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worship God, do I have peace with God through Jesus Christ?
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If not, am I willing to step out and to trust him as my Lord and
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Savior today, to trust that he died on the cross for my sin?
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The second one is Thanksgiving and rejoicing.
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These are just ideas, ways maybe God is calling you to respond to
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his word this morning. Second question in the worship
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God is if I have peace with God through Jesus, do I rejoice in
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the tribulations in my life? Do you thank God for the
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tribulations in your life and for this process that you have
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lived out? But maybe you've never
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considered it in this this way, you may have experienced the end
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result hope previously through proving character over time,
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persevering through a tribulation.
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And maybe you just need to come and thank the Lord this morning.
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Maybe that was a recent tribulation that he brought you
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through. Maybe you need to just come and
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rejoice. Maybe you just need to spend
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some time worshiping the Lord in the next few minutes for the
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tribulation that he's given you for, for this process, this gift
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that he's given you. So you're rejoicing maybe in the
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very tribulation that you're in right now, Man, that's the
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boldest thing you could do this morning to step out and say,
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God, I recognize this tribulation is pressing me.
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Life's juicing me. I'm going to praise you anyway.
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I'm going to praise you third, the third one, and then I'm
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done. His confession.
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You've trusted in Christ, but you have not or or not viewing
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your tribulations the way that God views them, and you need to
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tell the Lord you're sorry for that this morning.
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Am I willing to see the tribulations in my life as God
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sees them? I think that's the third
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question, as opportunities to build character and as the
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pathway up the mountain to get the beautiful, indescribable
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view that doesn't make sense, that view of hope in the midst
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of the tribulation. God do whatever you would do.
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God do your will. It's not ours, it's yours, as we
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respond to your word this morning.