1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,980 Testing, testing, testing, test, test, testing, testing. If you ever need to turn that up on there, you can just do it via, right there, test, test, test, test. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,640 That is bad, does it? 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:29,980 Thank you. 4 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:59,980 Thank you. 5 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:29,980 Thank you. 6 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:56,580 All right. Good morning. It's good to see you here this morning, and we'll go ahead and get started with a Scripture reading and singing in just a moment. 7 00:02:56,580 --> 00:03:14,700 So we're going to start off in just a moment with the song that you may know, but I don't think that we have ever sung here, and so I want to just sort of lead into our Scripture reading by just talking a little bit about that. 8 00:03:14,700 --> 00:03:24,840 One of the things as we look to who God is and what he has done, one of the things about God is that he knows everything. 9 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:39,080 Now he's the beginning and the end. Matthew will talk about how he knows the number of hairs on our heads, which for some of us is more than others, that nothing is hidden from his sight, that a sparrow can't fall to the ground. 10 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:49,840 I would like him noticing that God knows everything, and he knows us more deeply and sees us more clearly than we see ourselves. 11 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:59,840 Now if you think about us, we are oftentimes sort of tend to be forgetful people, except I think maybe in one category, or at least this is true for me. 12 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:11,840 And that one category is that I find it very easy to remember all of the mistakes, and all of the sins, and all of those things that I've done that you're not supposed to do. 13 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:23,840 You know, we probably all experience that moment where we've woken up in the middle of the night, and we start thinking back through our life, and there's that moment where we go, "Man, I can't believe that I did that." 14 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:30,840 And so one area where we have become experts in remembering is oftentimes in our own shortcomings. 15 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:45,840 And what's remarkable about God's grace and mercy is that the God who knows everything, who knows us more deeply and clearly than we know ourself, who knows our sins more clearly than we know them, 16 00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:54,840 what He does is, the Scripture talks about this, that He separates them as far as the east is from the west, that He remembers them no more. 17 00:04:54,840 --> 00:05:04,840 The one thing that we struggle to forget, the thing that always pops up in our remembrance, God in His mercy remembers them no more. 18 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:18,840 Now this is not some sort of divine amnesia where God just simply forgets, but rather this is God in His forgiveness no longer holding our sins against us. 19 00:05:18,840 --> 00:05:29,840 And so we're going to begin by singing in just a moment a song entitled "His Mercy is More," as we think about how God does not remember the sins of His people. 20 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:38,840 And we're going to begin by reading from Micah, the seventh chapter, where God has been pronouncing judgment upon the sins of His people. 21 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:45,840 And at the end of this chapter, He is going to say something glorious about how He forgives and how He shows mercy. 22 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:52,840 So let's go ahead and be standing, and we're going to read from Micah, the seventh chapter, this morning. 23 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:55,840 So if you would, read with me. 24 00:05:55,840 --> 00:06:06,840 "Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? 25 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:14,840 He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love. 26 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:18,840 He will again have compassion on us. 27 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:22,840 He will tread our iniquities underfoot. 28 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:27,840 You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 29 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:33,840 You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, 30 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:37,840 as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old." 31 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:40,840 This is the word of the Lord. 32 00:06:40,840 --> 00:06:49,840 Father in heaven, we praise you for this glorious word of mercy and grace and of forgiveness and hope. 33 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:54,840 And so we thank you this morning for your mercy and for your forgiveness. 34 00:06:54,840 --> 00:07:00,840 Be with us as we worship together, and we look at your greatness and your goodness and your love for us. 35 00:07:00,840 --> 00:07:03,840 May you encourage us in the depths of our souls. 36 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:06,840 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 37 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:11,840 So this song is "Mercy is More." I think it may be new to some of us. 38 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:18,840 However, it is pretty easy to pick up, so if you want to kind of listen and then sort of start singing along as you feel comfortable, 39 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:25,840 it's pretty easy to pick up, especially the chorus. So we're going to go ahead and give it a try. 40 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:48,840 What God could remember the wrongs we have done. Our nations all knowing He counts not their sum. Thrown into the sea with our bottom or shore. 41 00:07:48,840 --> 00:08:13,840 Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. Praise the Lord. His mercy is more. Stronger than darkness. You every more. Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. 42 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:42,840 What patience would wait as we constantly roam? What Father so tender is calling us home? He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor. Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. 43 00:08:42,840 --> 00:09:03,840 Praise the Lord. His mercy is more. Stronger than darkness, new every more. Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. 44 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:40,840 What riches of kindness He lavished on us. His blood was the payments. His life was the cost. We stood beneath the debt we could never afford. Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. Praise the Lord. His mercy is more. 45 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:47,840 Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. Praise the Lord. His mercy is more. 46 00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:50,840 Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. 47 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:56,840 Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. Praise the Lord. His mercy is more. 48 00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:00,840 Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. 49 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:03,840 Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. 50 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:08,840 Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. 51 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:53,540 You are here, moving in our midst 52 00:10:53,540 --> 00:11:00,500 I worship you, I worship you 53 00:11:00,500 --> 00:11:08,520 You are here, working in this place 54 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:15,780 I worship you, I worship you 55 00:11:15,780 --> 00:11:23,280 You are here, moving in our midst 56 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:31,040 I worship you, I worship you 57 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:37,840 You are here, working in this place 58 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:45,280 I worship you, I worship you 59 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:54,280 We make a miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness 60 00:11:54,280 --> 00:12:00,280 My God, that is who you are 61 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:08,280 We make a miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness 62 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:14,280 My God, that is who you are 63 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:21,280 You are here, touching every heart 64 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:28,280 I worship You, I worship You 65 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:35,280 You are here, healing every heart 66 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:43,280 I worship You, I worship You 67 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:50,280 You are here, turning lives around 68 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:58,280 I worship You, I worship You 69 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:05,280 You are here, bending every heart 70 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:12,280 I worship You, I worship You 71 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:17,280 Way maker, miracle worker 72 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:21,280 Promise keeper, light in the darkness 73 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:27,280 My God, that is who You are 74 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:32,280 Way maker, miracle worker 75 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:36,280 Promise keeper, light in the darkness 76 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:41,280 My God, that is who You are 77 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:46,280 God, that is who You are 78 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:49,280 God, that is who You are 79 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:52,280 God, that is who You are 80 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:43,280 You are. 81 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:13,280 Let's pray. 82 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:43,280 Let's pray. 83 00:16:11,280 --> 00:16:13,280 Amen. 84 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:43,280 Amen. 85 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:13,280 Amen. 86 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:16,280 On Jesus' way. 87 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:32,280 Silent as He stood accused, Feet in mocked and scorned. 88 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:45,280 Bowing to the Father's will, He took a crown of thorns. 89 00:23:45,280 --> 00:24:00,280 Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation, where Your love poured out over me. 90 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:14,280 Now my soul cries out, "Hallelujah!" Praise and honor unto Thee. 91 00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:30,280 Sand of heaven, God's own Son, to purchase and redeem. 92 00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:42,280 And reconcile the very ones who nailed Him to that tree. 93 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:55,280 Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation, where Your love poured out over me. 94 00:24:55,280 --> 00:25:10,280 Now my soul cries out, "Hallelujah!" Praise and honor unto Thee. 95 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:24,280 Now my death is paid, it is paid in full by the precious blood that my Jesus spilled. 96 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:37,280 Now the curse of sin has no hold on me. The Son sets free, O is free indeed. 97 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:53,280 Now my debt is paid, it is paid in full by the precious blood that my Jesus spilled. Now the curse of sin has no hold on me. 98 00:25:53,280 --> 00:26:22,280 The Son sets free, O is free indeed. O that rugged cross, my salvation, where your love poured out over me. Now my soul cries out, "Hallelujah." 99 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:51,280 And all will run to thee. See the stone is rolled away. Behold the empty tomb. Hallelujah, God be praised. 100 00:26:51,280 --> 00:27:20,280 He's risen from the grave. Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation, where your love poured out over me. Now my soul cries out, hallelujah, praise and honor of you. 101 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:27,280 Praise and honor of you. 102 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:41,280 One of the remarkable things about the arrival of Jesus, stepping into our world, in 103 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:49,280 Matthew chapter 1, it's described that you should call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. And I want us just to 104 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:57,280 consider for a moment what that means that God is with us. Because Jesus, as he steps into our world, what you 105 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:06,280 find is he does not remain distant from us. And so that when we come with our struggles, and our hurt, and our 106 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:14,280 brokenness, Jesus doesn't just know about them intellectually, but he has walked where we have walked. And so as you 107 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:22,280 move through the garden, you see Jesus in situations that are remarkably familiar. You find Jesus at times where he 108 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:31,280 is hungry, where he is tired, where he is thirsty, where he is in ministry, and he is so tired that all he wants 109 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:36,280 to do is lay down on the boat and take a nap. And most of us have experienced those days, maybe not with 110 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:43,280 ministry, but with work, and with family, and stress, and pressure, and all we want is a nap. And Jesus has 111 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:52,280 walked with us there. But Jesus has also walked through those darker difficulties with us. He knew what it was 112 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:59,280 like to struggle with family. He knew what it was like to have close friends who sometimes disappointed 113 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:07,280 him, and one who ultimately betrayed him. Jesus knew what it was like to experience the joys of this life. 114 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:12,280 His first miracle happens at a wedding in Cana where he helps the celebration 115 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:20,280 of this couple's beginning their life together to continue. And Jesus knew what it was like and 116 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:26,280 knows what it is like to walk through loss. One of the shortest verses in the New Testament, 117 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:33,280 John chapter 11, verse 35. And as a kid, I memorized this kind of as a joke because it's so easy. 118 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:41,280 It's just simply, "Jesus wept." But while it's just simply two words, it is remarkably deep 119 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:49,280 and wonderful. Because here is this picture of Jesus who stands next to the grave of a friend. 120 00:29:49,280 --> 00:30:02,280 A friend he is about to raise from the dead, but surrounded by the hurt and loss, Jesus weeps next to the grave of his friend and with the family and friends. 121 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:09,280 And so, Jesus hasn't just walked through the joys of this life. He knows what it's like to walk through the loss. 122 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:17,280 And ultimately, Jesus will step and walk to that hill where he is crucified. 123 00:30:17,280 --> 00:30:24,280 And in doing so, he takes the weight of our sin and our brokenness upon himself and pays the price for it. 124 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:30,280 John, as he begins his Gospel, begins it in this remarkable way. 125 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:37,280 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and he was in the beginning with God, and all things 126 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:41,280 were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 127 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:47,280 In him was life, and that life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness 128 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:55,280 has not overcome it." And it begins with the glorious picture of Jesus, who has existed from eternity past. 129 00:30:55,280 --> 00:31:03,280 And he is the light that overcomes our darkness, but then we see this in verse 14, "And the Word became flesh. 130 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:09,280 He came and was with us in our joys and our hurts, ultimately paying for our sin. 131 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:17,280 He dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory as the glory of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth." 132 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:30,280 And down in verse 17, "For from him, from his fullness, we have received grace upon grace." And so as we break this bread 133 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:37,280 and drink this cup this morning, I want us to remember that we have a Savior who is from us. 134 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:44,280 Whether you're in the midst of the joys of your life this morning, or whether you are in the midst of hurt and loss, 135 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:49,280 to remember that you have a Savior who knows, not just intellectually knows, 136 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:57,280 but knows because he has walked that road before you, and he is with you. A Savior who knows you, 137 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:03,280 who loves you, and ultimately has given his life for you. So let's pray, and then we will partake together. 138 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:09,280 Father, we thank you that you have poured out upon us grace upon grace, 139 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:16,280 that you have sent your Son to step into our world, to take our place. 140 00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:21,280 He has died for our sins, and he has risen for our victory, and I ask that you would help us this morning, 141 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:26,280 whether we are joyful or whether we are hurting, that you would direct us to comfort that is found 142 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:32,280 in the good news of the Gospel. We thank you for Jesus, and it's in his name we pray. Amen. 143 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:39,280 If you would take the bread with me this morning, as Jesus did, and when he had given thanks 144 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:45,280 for what God has done in redeeming Israel out of slavery as they celebrate the Passover meal, 145 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:49,280 he will give this to his disciples, and he will say, "This is my body, which is for you. 146 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:55,280 Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also, he took the cup 147 00:32:55,280 --> 00:33:01,280 after supper, saying, "This cup is a new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as 148 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:10,280 you drink it in remembrance of me." He will say, "For as often as you eat this bread 149 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:19,280 and drink this cup, this is all you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." 150 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:24,280 We're going to be sort of as a jumping-off point this morning in 151 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:31,280 1 Peter 1:6-7, and we're going to spend some time talking about this. We've been 152 00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:38,280 trying to walk through a little bit of what the gospel is and what the gospel does. 153 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:44,280 And so we have seen that the gospel is good news, not good advice. It doesn't 154 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:49,280 come to us with a list of demands. Rather, it comes to us with grace that Jesus has 155 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:54,280 taken our brokenness, given us his righteousness, because he stood in our place 156 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:58,280 and defeated sin in our place. And we talked a little bit last week about how 157 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:03,280 that good news of the gospel brings us to this worship that then empowers our 158 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:07,280 Christian life, that we will be able to leave sin behind through the strength and 159 00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:12,280 grace given to us by God, and we will be able to pursue righteousness because of 160 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:17,280 what he has done. And so this morning, we've all probably been there where life 161 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:23,280 takes an unexpected turn, a place where maybe we walk into a valley of 162 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:27,280 darkness, right? We all want the joy of the mountaintops, but we know that the 163 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:32,280 reality of life is that sometimes we will walk through those dark valleys. We see 164 00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:37,280 it reflected in the 23rd Psalm, where the psalmist talks about the still waters 165 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:43,280 and the green pastures, but then he walks also with the Lord through the valley of 166 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:48,280 the shadow of death. And so I want to talk about sort of the gospel as we come to 167 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:53,280 those valleys and difficult places of life. So we're going to pray and then we'll jump 168 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:57,280 right into it this morning. Father in heaven, I thank you for Jesus and 169 00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:02,280 grace and hope, your spirit, and I ask that you would fill us with your spirit, that we 170 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:08,280 would see the good news, not just when life is going well, but that we would be 171 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:15,280 moved to worship in those moments of struggle and difficulty and loss and fear. 172 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:20,280 And when it seems that life is overwhelming us, that you would remind us that we are not alone. 173 00:35:20,280 --> 00:35:25,280 So I ask for strength this morning and clarity that you would help us to see this 174 00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:33,280 good news in a clear, real, and practical way. Be with us. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 175 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:40,280 And so 1 Peter 1:6-7 just simply say this: 176 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:47,280 "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 177 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:55,280 so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested with fire, 178 00:35:55,280 --> 00:36:02,280 may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 179 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:09,280 And one of the things that Peter affirms here, and that we see throughout Scripture, 180 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:17,280 is that the life of God's people is not always sort of a straight line to the glory of heaven. 181 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:24,280 The oftentimes winding road that takes us both through those mountaintops of joy, 182 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:31,280 and those valleys of discouragement, suffering, hurt, and loss. 183 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:40,280 And this here is dealing with a church and with us who will frequently find ourselves in those valleys. 184 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:44,280 And I want you to understand that the trials that Peter talks about this morning, 185 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:49,280 we are not talking in terms of a mild inconvenience, right? 186 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:52,280 He will say, "You have been grieved by various trials." 187 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:58,280 These are not simply like you've stubbed your toe, or you wake up and you're out of coffee, 188 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:03,280 or you wake up and you have a flat tire and it's really inconvenient because you've got to change it and get it fixed. 189 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:12,280 He's not talking about those small inconveniences of life that we so often whine and complain about. 190 00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:21,280 When he talks about trials, what he's talking about is this picture of adversity and affliction and trial. 191 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:28,280 And what he's talking about there is this weight that ultimately threatens to sort of crush our faith. 192 00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:33,280 In fact, that's what is meant by trial because trial has this picture of testing. 193 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:41,280 And when you see this word here in Peter, what he means is that what is happening to those people and what will happen to us 194 00:37:41,280 --> 00:37:49,280 is there are times where it feels like the weight of our sorrow and our grief, our sin and our brokenness, 195 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:56,280 there's so much that's going to crush us. I remember when we were kids we had a game on one of our really old computers, 196 00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:59,280 and it was supposed to be this physics game that taught you about designing bridges. 197 00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:06,280 And so what you do is you build the bridge with different materials, and then you drive progressively bigger and bigger vehicles over it 198 00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:13,280 to see how much it can hold, and frequently we would delight in driving bigger and bigger vehicles over it until what? 199 00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:18,280 It just sort of explodes and crashes. And the picture here of trials is, 200 00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:29,280 not just a small inconvenience, but here is your life of faith, and here comes the truck of affliction. 201 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:34,280 And the question in the mind, not in the mind of God, but in the mind of us, 202 00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:40,280 is am I going to be able to survive when that drives over my faith? 203 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:47,280 We're not talking about minor inconveniences. The picture here when he says grieved, 204 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:54,280 it's a picture of a heavy weight that crushes us down. And he's not talking about a specific situation, 205 00:38:54,280 --> 00:38:59,280 although the trials for this church in 1 Peter is the trial of persecution, but he doesn't say that. 206 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:06,280 He says various trials. He's saying that we will experience, as we walk through this Christian life, 207 00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:16,280 times when it seems like everything is going to crush us with the grief and the weight of a broken world. 208 00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:24,280 And so he comes to this not as an inconvenience, but he also comes to this not as a hypothetical situation, right? 209 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:30,280 These difficult circumstances and seasons, they're not just a hypothetical situation, right? 210 00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:36,280 We're used to it's hypothetical. What happens if this happens, or this happens, or that scenario happens, right? 211 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:43,280 If you want to become really familiar with hypothetical scenarios, watch any news show about politics. 212 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:47,280 Well, this might happen, and this might happen, or this third thing might happen, right? 213 00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:49,280 Sometimes they happen, sometimes they don't. 214 00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:54,280 You and I are really good in life at coming up with hypothetical scenarios, right? 215 00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:58,280 Well, if this happens, then good happens. If this happens, then bad happens, right? 216 00:39:58,280 --> 00:40:02,280 And a lot of times those scenarios just simply remain in our head. 217 00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:08,280 And Peter, as he writes this to the church, as their faith is being sort of coming down, 218 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:15,280 there's a truck of trial coming toward their faith. He's not talking about a situation that's all in their head. 219 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:19,280 He's talking about the reality of what is happening. 220 00:40:19,280 --> 00:40:28,280 As Christians, we will face opposition, we will face suffering, we will face grief, we will face hurt, and we will face loss. 221 00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:34,280 And it's not a very cheerful way to start our text this morning. 222 00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:40,280 It doesn't seem like it's very much good news to be found here, right? 223 00:40:40,280 --> 00:40:46,280 There's trials in our life. They are hard and they are not imaginary for all of us. 224 00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:53,280 And I want you to think about how we often react when those things come into our life. 225 00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:58,280 Right? Sometimes we just respond with anger, right? And we lash out. 226 00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:03,280 Maybe not even at the trial itself, but we lash out to maybe even those who are trying to help us. 227 00:41:03,280 --> 00:41:08,280 Or maybe we become overcome by grief and discouragement, and we just shut down. 228 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:12,280 Sometimes we try to run. Sometimes we try to avoid. 229 00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:16,280 And sometimes we'll even move deeper into sin to try to overcome. 230 00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:23,280 Oftentimes, we do not react well when these seasons come. 231 00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:32,280 And so I want to talk just for a minute about what we can learn about responding to these trials from these two verses. 232 00:41:32,280 --> 00:41:34,280 So I want you to hear them again. 233 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:42,280 "In this you rejoice, though now for a while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 234 00:41:42,280 --> 00:41:48,280 so the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though tested by fire, 235 00:41:48,280 --> 00:41:55,280 may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 236 00:41:55,280 --> 00:42:01,280 And so there is something startling about how Peter writes about a crushing trial filled with grief 237 00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:04,280 in the life of the Christian. Do you notice what he says first? 238 00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:10,280 He says, "First of all, in this you rejoice," so he begins it talking about rejoicing, 239 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:19,280 and then he's going to end it speaking about praise and glory and worship, which is also a picture of rejoicing. 240 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:23,280 And I don't know about you, but for me that is startling because when everything goes wrong, 241 00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:30,280 the last thing that I want to do has been, "Man, this is great! Yes, I should worship! I should rejoice!" 242 00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:36,280 My tendency is to complain and become angry and bitter. 243 00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:46,280 And so Peter is making this assertion here that there is some kind of reason for this in the life of the Christian. 244 00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:54,280 And what Peter is saying is that both at the beginning and the end of the valley of trial, there is an opportunity for praise. 245 00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:59,280 Now I want to stop and clarify two things, and I think these are incredibly important for us. 246 00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:06,280 When it comes to talking about worship and joy in the midst of sorrow and loss. 247 00:43:06,280 --> 00:43:15,280 And the first thing is this, is that joy is not a one-size-fits-all kind of behavior. 248 00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:23,280 And what I mean by that is that joy will express itself differently depending upon the situation. 249 00:43:23,280 --> 00:43:28,280 And so I'll give you an example. If there is something that you and I are very excited about, 250 00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:33,280 or our kids are very excited about, what happens, right? It overflows in this joy 251 00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:40,280 where you celebrate it and you talk about it, and you want a fountain of joy just bubbling out of your life, right? 252 00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:46,280 When something good happens to us and we are joyful, it just is like a firework of joy in our life. 253 00:43:46,280 --> 00:43:55,280 And those moments are wonderful, but joy is not always a fountain of joy, and it's not always a firework of joy. 254 00:43:55,280 --> 00:44:06,280 There are times where joy is not revealed in an explosive way, but joy is revealed through our tears. 255 00:44:06,280 --> 00:44:15,280 And one of those moments that in such clarity, and partly it was in such clarity because of the events that surrounded it. 256 00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:21,280 And there was a period in our life several years ago where, in the span of just a couple weeks, 257 00:44:21,280 --> 00:44:28,280 I was officiated one funeral and was attended another. And the first funeral, and I've shared this with some of you 258 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:35,280 just in person before, is that it was like one of the most hopeless funerals that I had ever attended, right? 259 00:44:35,280 --> 00:44:42,280 There was no hope. There was no future. It was just complete discouragement and loss. 260 00:44:42,280 --> 00:44:50,280 But then, a few weeks later, we went to a second funeral. It was a funeral for my third and fourth grade teacher. 261 00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:59,280 And she was somebody who had a pretty big impact on my life, somebody who had constantly kept a relationship with our family. 262 00:44:59,280 --> 00:45:06,280 Like, as a bachelor, her and her husband would come and stay with me on the way down south to visit people, 263 00:45:06,280 --> 00:45:10,280 and they would always leave me with a Lowe's gift card so I could buy more towels or a bathmat for my bathroom, 264 00:45:10,280 --> 00:45:15,280 because it's like, no woman's ever going to want to live here if you keep living like this, right? 265 00:45:15,280 --> 00:45:19,280 And she was a wonderful lady, and incredibly humble. 266 00:45:19,280 --> 00:45:26,280 So we go to her funeral, and it's this huge church, and it's filled with people. 267 00:45:26,280 --> 00:45:31,280 And we're singing these old hymns as a congregation. 268 00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:35,280 And it's in the midst of this surprising loss. 269 00:45:35,280 --> 00:45:38,280 But you get a glimpse of heaven and the joyousness of the hymns. 270 00:45:38,280 --> 00:45:45,280 And then her little elementary students who she had been teaching, Romans chapter 8, get up in front of this church, 271 00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:51,280 began to recite Romans chapter 8 from memory in the midst of her funeral. 272 00:45:51,280 --> 00:45:59,280 So everybody is emotional, but it's an emotion of loss but mixed with joy. 273 00:45:59,280 --> 00:46:03,280 Because her life was a testimony to the goodness of God. 274 00:46:03,280 --> 00:46:11,280 And in that church, as we worshiped together, as we heard the Word of God, it was a moment of joy and sorrow. 275 00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:15,280 And he says in his epistles that I'm sorrowful but always rejoicing. 276 00:46:15,280 --> 00:46:29,280 And so joy isn't always an explosive. Sometimes it can be this peace and dependence and this assurance that God is in control, even when there's tears running down your face. 277 00:46:29,280 --> 00:46:36,280 And so you have this picture of joy, and we need to understand that when Peter writes about joy, it doesn't necessarily mean you're dancing and skipping. 278 00:46:36,280 --> 00:46:47,280 He can mean that your assurance is in God. And even in the midst of this trial, your hope and your trust, and you know that things will be okay, even as the tears run down your face. 279 00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:55,280 The second thing that Peter is doing, and I think this is very important for us to understand, is that he is not praising the trial. 280 00:46:55,280 --> 00:47:02,280 When he talks about rejoicing, he's not going, "Man, bad stuff is going to happen to you, and it's going to be awesome." 281 00:47:02,280 --> 00:47:11,280 That's not what Peter is doing. He's saying bad stuff is going to happen to you, and it's going to hurt, and it's going to make you cry, but God is awesome. 282 00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:24,280 Do you notice the difference? He's not rejoicing in the hurt and the sorrow. He is rejoicing in the goodness of God that is revealed in the midst of the hurt and sorrow. 283 00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:41,280 He sees light more clearly than in the darkness. And so we need to understand that Peter is not celebrating the brokenness of hurt. He's celebrating the goodness of God in the midst of hurt. 284 00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:51,280 And I want you to see how he does that. First of all, in the midst of trials and in the midst of suffering, we are able to rejoice, 285 00:47:51,280 --> 00:48:01,280 maybe not explosively, but through our tears sometimes, because of what God has done in the past. Because God's faithfulness in the past, 286 00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:11,280 we can trust Him in our trials now. And we can look forward to the future for joy. In fact, you see this very explicitly in this text. 287 00:48:11,280 --> 00:48:19,280 Look at 1 Peter 1:6 where he will say, "In this you rejoice." And what's interesting is he's not talking about the trial here. 288 00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:24,280 He's going, "Look back to what I just said." So let me read the whole thing in context. 289 00:48:24,280 --> 00:48:29,280 "Blessed be, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to His great mercy, 290 00:48:29,280 --> 00:48:35,280 He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 291 00:48:35,280 --> 00:48:41,280 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, kept in heaven for you, 292 00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:47,280 who by God's power are now being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last 293 00:48:47,280 --> 00:48:55,280 time, in this you rejoice." And so Peter says, "As the church, and as we enter the valley of trial, 294 00:48:55,280 --> 00:49:01,280 our rejoicing is not that we are going into the trial, but as we look back to what God has done, 295 00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:09,280 we understand that we have a firm place to stand, that God has shown mercy, that He has caused us to be born again, 296 00:49:09,280 --> 00:49:15,280 that He has given us a living hope that no matter how bad it seems outside of us, there is hope in God, 297 00:49:15,280 --> 00:49:23,280 that He secures us, and that He shows us mercy, and that He will bring us safely home." And so the first thing 298 00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:29,280 Peter does to enable our worship and our joy in the midst of trials is cause us to look back to what 299 00:49:29,280 --> 00:49:35,280 God has done in our life. He's saying, "Look at how God has saved you, how He has shown you mercy, 300 00:49:35,280 --> 00:49:43,280 how He has given you this inheritance, how He now guards you. Understand that because of His faithfulness in the past, 301 00:49:43,280 --> 00:49:51,280 He will not abandon you in the present." And because of what God has done in the past, He is preparing you 302 00:49:51,280 --> 00:49:59,280 for the future. All of those things we read in 1 Peter 3-5, you know what they are? They're a foundation for faith 303 00:49:59,280 --> 00:50:06,280 that does not waver. It doesn't waver because God doesn't waver. He is the one who has saved you. He is the one 304 00:50:06,280 --> 00:50:11,280 who has shown you mercy. He is the one who has given you an inheritance. He is the one who is guarding you. 305 00:50:11,280 --> 00:50:18,280 And so by looking back to what God has done, we are planting our feet firmly upon the rock that is Christ. 306 00:50:18,280 --> 00:50:25,280 The rock that when the storm blows and the wind rages, and it looks like we will be overwhelmed and crushed, 307 00:50:25,280 --> 00:50:33,280 we realize that we stand secure because of what God has done in the past. The second thing that happens 308 00:50:33,280 --> 00:50:39,280 in the past that helps us is God prepares us for these trials. I don't know if you've ever had that experience 309 00:50:39,280 --> 00:50:46,280 of needing a tool that you didn't have. A couple Saturdays ago, when they were putting up the TV, 310 00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:51,280 I was running back and forth to try to find a tool. It's like, "Well, we need this." And so I go look for it 311 00:50:51,280 --> 00:50:57,280 and run back, and I ended up going up and down those stairs a whole lot, not because I was really trying 312 00:50:57,280 --> 00:51:02,280 to go up and down stairs, but because we needed to have the tools, and tools I had laid out were not the right ones, 313 00:51:02,280 --> 00:51:08,280 and it was unprepared, and it's just a frustrating experience when you can't find the tool to do the job that you need to do. 314 00:51:08,280 --> 00:51:15,280 One of the things that God does in the past for us, as we face trials in the present, is that He has equipped you 315 00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:21,280 to face those things. He has equipped you through His mercy, His grace, His faithfulness, His promises, through the 316 00:51:21,280 --> 00:51:26,280 gift of His Spirit in your life, that when you get here, you're not running around up and down the stairs 317 00:51:26,280 --> 00:51:33,280 trying to find the tool you need, because God has prepared you for what you need. In fact, Peter will begin 318 00:51:33,280 --> 00:51:42,280 2 Peter 1 by saying, "God has given you all that you need for life and for godliness." The second reason we're 319 00:51:42,280 --> 00:51:47,280 able to rejoice, we're first able to rejoice because of what God has done in the past. Now, secondly, we're 320 00:51:47,280 --> 00:51:55,280 able to rejoice because of what God is doing in the present. Listen to this: "In this you rejoice, though 321 00:51:55,280 --> 00:52:01,280 now for a little while, if necessary. You have been grieved by various trials, so the tested genuineness of 322 00:52:01,280 --> 00:52:07,280 your faith, more precious than the gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to 323 00:52:07,280 --> 00:52:13,280 result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Right? These times of difficulty, 324 00:52:13,280 --> 00:52:21,280 Peter is saying, are going to work to refine and to strengthen your faith, right? And so when you take 325 00:52:21,280 --> 00:52:27,280 gold, and there's a whole bunch of TV shows about guys who gold pan, guys who gold mine, one of the things 326 00:52:27,280 --> 00:52:32,280 they do when they get their little flakes of gold, you know, they try to rinse it out as much as they can, 327 00:52:32,280 --> 00:52:38,280 then you melt it down. And one of the things that happens when you melt any kind of metal, the impurities 328 00:52:38,280 --> 00:52:44,280 that are within that metal rise to the top and they are scraped off. And so when this happens with things 329 00:52:44,280 --> 00:52:52,280 like steel, what happens is those impurities that would make the steel weak or maybe brittle are able to be removed. 330 00:52:52,280 --> 00:52:58,280 And so what you find is that in the midst of trials, God is doing something for your holiness. 331 00:52:58,280 --> 00:53:05,280 That in those trials, He is allowing those bits of brokenness and self-reliance and pride 332 00:53:05,280 --> 00:53:13,280 and maybe even anger to rise to the surface so that He can scrape them away and purify you. 333 00:53:13,280 --> 00:53:21,280 These impurities that hinder our fullest enjoyment in God's goodness, God is taking away for our good. 334 00:53:21,280 --> 00:53:28,280 One of the great examples of this in 2 Corinthians 1, Paul begins by talking about their suffering. 335 00:53:28,280 --> 00:53:34,280 He'll say this, "We do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, 336 00:53:34,280 --> 00:53:41,280 and that we were burdened extensively beyond our strength, so we despaired even of life." 337 00:53:41,280 --> 00:53:48,280 And if you're following this picture of being refined, that's the fire. "Burdened so deeply we thought we were going to die." 338 00:53:48,280 --> 00:53:55,280 And then he will say this, "Indeed, we have the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not," 339 00:53:55,280 --> 00:54:00,280 listen to this, "trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead." That's the purified goal. 340 00:54:00,280 --> 00:54:06,280 And so Paul is saying this trial that God allowed us to go through beyond our own strength, 341 00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:13,280 what it did was remove and purify the self-reliance that was filling up our life. 342 00:54:13,280 --> 00:54:18,280 And as we felt like we were being broken down and melted down, 343 00:54:18,280 --> 00:54:26,280 this self-reliance rises to the top and is removed so that we can focus and depend deeply on God. 344 00:54:26,280 --> 00:54:34,280 Right? So God takes away Paul's sort of imagined prop of self-reliance and safety. 345 00:54:34,280 --> 00:54:40,280 And he feels this overwhelming sense of being abandoned, not because God didn't love Paul, 346 00:54:40,280 --> 00:54:46,280 but because God looked at Paul, and I said, "I want you to trust in something that doesn't fall apart. 347 00:54:46,280 --> 00:54:49,280 Your own desires, the people around you, those things will fail. 348 00:54:49,280 --> 00:54:53,280 I want you to put your life in the one who doesn't fail." 349 00:54:53,280 --> 00:54:56,280 And so God refines Paul in the fire. 350 00:54:56,280 --> 00:55:02,280 And so one of the things that happens in the present, and it's never pleasant, and it's never easy, right? 351 00:55:02,280 --> 00:55:05,280 It sounds terrible to be refined through fire. 352 00:55:05,280 --> 00:55:10,280 Growth is never easy. Growth is never without pain or sacrifice. 353 00:55:10,280 --> 00:55:17,280 If you are to grow, right, it requires effort and work and struggle and hurt. 354 00:55:17,280 --> 00:55:21,280 And sometimes in the midst of trials, that's where God grows us most deeply. 355 00:55:21,280 --> 00:55:26,280 Second thing I would say is in the present, we are not alone in times of difficulty, right? 356 00:55:26,280 --> 00:55:31,280 Peter is clear. He will say that God is protecting you and guarding you. 357 00:55:31,280 --> 00:55:36,280 That's what he just got done saying. Ready for a salvation to be revealed at the last time. 358 00:55:36,280 --> 00:55:42,280 God is guarding you. You are not by yourself as you walk down this road. 359 00:55:42,280 --> 00:55:50,280 And one of the ways we see the closeness of God in those times of trial is through the closeness of his people. 360 00:55:50,280 --> 00:55:55,280 One of my favorite illustrations of this, I've shared this with you before, is in Acts, the 28th chapter. 361 00:55:55,280 --> 00:56:02,280 Paul is going to Rome in chains. And about halfway through that chapter, in verse 15, 362 00:56:02,280 --> 00:56:08,280 when the Christians in Rome hear that Paul is coming in, surrounded by Roman soldiers in chains, 363 00:56:08,280 --> 00:56:14,280 what they do is they walk out that city, some of them as far as like 20-25 miles, 364 00:56:14,280 --> 00:56:19,280 and they meet Paul, and they'll surround Paul, and they'll walk into the city with him, 365 00:56:19,280 --> 00:56:24,280 and they'll say, "Paul's heart was encouraged." And Paul sees the closeness of God in his trials, 366 00:56:24,280 --> 00:56:30,280 because the church surrounds him and walks with him. And understand, this is not risk-free for the church. 367 00:56:30,280 --> 00:56:36,280 So I've visited people in jail before, and I've never had the fear that if I go in and visit a guy in jail, 368 00:56:36,280 --> 00:56:42,280 they're going to keep me. I'm done. I get to go home and do whatever I want. 369 00:56:42,280 --> 00:56:47,280 Now in the first century, when you surround a guy in chains, a prisoner of Rome like that, 370 00:56:47,280 --> 00:56:53,280 there's no guarantee you get to Rome and they say, "Alright, you guys can go home." You maybe end up in chains just like Paul. 371 00:56:53,280 --> 00:56:58,280 And at the very least, you're going to be labeled with the same label as him. 372 00:56:58,280 --> 00:57:09,280 But the church is willing to sacrifice that to be able to surround their brother in Christ and walk with him through the valley that is filled with fear and uncertainty. 373 00:57:09,280 --> 00:57:16,280 And in that, you see the closeness of God. One of the greatest ways we see God's closeness is through our brothers and sisters in Christ. 374 00:57:16,280 --> 00:57:28,280 We need this group of people, not just in trials for us, but in their trials we must reach out to them to ask and encourage and help our brothers and sisters in Christ. 375 00:57:28,280 --> 00:57:37,280 And additionally, one of the things that happens in the midst of these trials, and this is remarkable to me, is that we grow closer to God. 376 00:57:37,280 --> 00:57:42,280 One of the great examples of this, we mentioned the 23rd Psalm earlier, but if you read through the 23rd Psalm, 377 00:57:42,280 --> 00:57:50,280 you'll notice how the psalmist refers to God "changes." And so in the first couple of verses, he talks about God, right? 378 00:57:50,280 --> 00:57:56,280 He'll talk about how God leads him beside the still waters, makes him lie down in green pastures. 379 00:57:56,280 --> 00:58:03,280 God is doing these things, and then you get to that trial and that valley of difficulty, and he says, 380 00:58:03,280 --> 00:58:10,280 "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." 381 00:58:10,280 --> 00:58:19,280 And it's in the trial and in the difficulty and in the darkness and the fear that the psalmist sees his relationship with God become personal. 382 00:58:19,280 --> 00:58:27,280 Right? Up until that point in the psalm, God is there, yes, but he's kind of there, and he's leading me here, and he's talking about God, 383 00:58:27,280 --> 00:58:33,280 but when he comes into the valley of the shadow of death, he starts talking to God. Do you notice the difference? 384 00:58:33,280 --> 00:58:43,280 There's a difference between talking about someone and talking to someone, and it's in the trial that David stops talking about God and starts talking to God. 385 00:58:43,280 --> 00:58:54,280 So you see that God is working in the past to prepare us, to give us a foundation. He's working in the present to refine us, and to grow us, and to strengthen us, 386 00:58:54,280 --> 00:59:02,280 and to walk with us, to encourage us both by his presence and the presence of his people, and he's deepening our relationship with him. 387 00:59:02,280 --> 00:59:11,280 And then we see that in the midst of trials, we can rejoice because of what God will do in the future, right? 388 00:59:11,280 --> 00:59:17,280 "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 389 00:59:17,280 --> 00:59:23,280 so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than the gold that perishes, though tested by fire, 390 00:59:23,280 --> 00:59:28,280 may be found to result in the praise and the glory and the honor at the revelation of Jesus." 391 00:59:28,280 --> 00:59:32,280 This idea of being found, may be found, is a future action. 392 00:59:32,280 --> 00:59:37,280 And so we see how God has been working in the past, how He's at work in the present. 393 00:59:37,280 --> 00:59:43,280 Now Peter is going to say, "Look at how He is at work in the future." 394 00:59:43,280 --> 00:59:50,280 For the Christian, times of difficulty should not destroy faith, they should confirm it, right? 395 00:59:50,280 --> 00:59:55,280 How do you know something really lasts? So growing up, you know, and most probably kids do, 396 00:59:55,280 --> 00:59:58,280 like sitting around the campfire, and one of the things kids like to do, 397 00:59:58,280 --> 01:00:03,280 I've seen it in my kids, I've seen it in myself, you like to throw stuff into the fire, right? 398 01:00:03,280 --> 01:00:06,280 And sometimes you like to make the fire a little bigger than it should be, 399 01:00:06,280 --> 01:00:10,280 or you try to, you know, move it around, right? And you find very quickly, right, 400 01:00:10,280 --> 01:00:15,280 there's things, some things that burn. Sometimes there's things that burn a whole lot faster. 401 01:00:15,280 --> 01:00:24,280 Sometimes there's things that maybe burn explosively, but then there are things that don't burn in the fire. 402 01:00:24,280 --> 01:00:28,280 So when we start a little campfire and sit back there with our kids around the fire pit, right, 403 01:00:28,280 --> 01:00:33,280 all the wood gets burned up, cardboard gets burned up, the twigs and branches of our kids get burned up, 404 01:00:33,280 --> 01:00:40,280 but the fire pit in its steel remains strong. And one of the things we see about our faith, 405 01:00:40,280 --> 01:00:44,280 that when we are brought through the fire, what it does for us, it reminds us, 406 01:00:44,280 --> 01:00:49,280 has strengthened us, and that He is good, that even though we go through this trial, 407 01:00:49,280 --> 01:00:53,280 He will bring us through the other side, that we will not burn up, but we will come through. 408 01:00:53,280 --> 01:00:58,280 We will come through the other side. One of the questions about our faith 409 01:00:58,280 --> 01:01:01,280 and one of the ways trials help us in the future is when we look back 410 01:01:01,280 --> 01:01:05,280 and we say, "How did I go through that?" And you realize the only answer 411 01:01:05,280 --> 01:01:11,280 and the only reason you were able to go through that fire is because God was the one who sustained you. 412 01:01:11,280 --> 01:01:16,280 I want you to know that there will be times of struggle 413 01:01:16,280 --> 01:01:22,280 and there will be times of loss and times of darkness. But in the midst of these things, 414 01:01:22,280 --> 01:01:26,280 God is at work. He's been at work in the past. He's at work in the present. 415 01:01:26,280 --> 01:01:30,280 And He will be work for your future and for your good. 416 01:01:30,280 --> 01:01:35,280 So I want to tell you three things. First of all, don't come to the valley of trials unprepared. 417 01:01:35,280 --> 01:01:39,280 Now, God will bring His people through those valleys. 418 01:01:39,280 --> 01:01:43,280 But there is a way that is better to go through those valleys than it's not. 419 01:01:43,280 --> 01:01:49,280 So we have a friend who ran the very, very first Marine Corps marathon. 420 01:01:49,280 --> 01:01:54,280 And He did so not by training for those 26-point-whatever miles 421 01:01:54,280 --> 01:01:57,280 and coming up with a great plan and running a little longer every day, 422 01:01:57,280 --> 01:02:00,280 doing some long 12, 15-mile runs on the weekend. 423 01:02:00,280 --> 01:02:05,280 But just with His regular four-mile-a-day runs, He said, "You know what? I'm going to go run a marathon." 424 01:02:05,280 --> 01:02:09,280 And so He goes to this marathon horrendously unprepared. 425 01:02:09,280 --> 01:02:13,280 Now, He finished the marathon, but it was a whole lot harder than it had to be. Why? 426 01:02:13,280 --> 01:02:17,280 Because He wasn't ready. Now, God will bring us all through trials. 427 01:02:17,280 --> 01:02:24,280 But, if your foundation is firm, and you are rooted in the power and the promises of God, right, 428 01:02:24,280 --> 01:02:27,280 it's going to be a different experience. 429 01:02:27,280 --> 01:02:32,280 And so I want to encourage you, don't wait until the trial comes 430 01:02:32,280 --> 01:02:39,280 to root yourself and ground yourself in God's promises and His goodness and in His power. 431 01:02:39,280 --> 01:02:45,280 Look at what God has done in the Gospel. Dive into it. Find yourself encouraged and taught. 432 01:02:45,280 --> 01:02:49,280 And secondly, don't come to the valley of trial alone. 433 01:02:49,280 --> 01:02:53,280 Now, there's one sense that we are never alone because God's always with us. 434 01:02:53,280 --> 01:02:57,280 But I would say this: there is a whole lot of us who have to walk in isolation, right? 435 01:02:57,280 --> 01:03:01,280 God's given us the gift of His church and His people. 436 01:03:01,280 --> 01:03:04,280 And one of the ways we see His presence is in the midst of His people. 437 01:03:04,280 --> 01:03:08,280 In fact, Paul, 2 Corinthians 5 will say, "We're ambassadors of the kingdom of God." 438 01:03:08,280 --> 01:03:12,280 Meaning, we are representatives of God's presence here on earth. 439 01:03:12,280 --> 01:03:18,280 And when you and I isolate ourselves from our brothers and sisters in Christ, 440 01:03:18,280 --> 01:03:21,280 one of the things we are doing is we're going to come to trials, 441 01:03:21,280 --> 01:03:24,280 and it's going to be a whole different scenario. 442 01:03:24,280 --> 01:03:31,280 You can't, or you should not, run and hide from the community that God has put you in. 443 01:03:31,280 --> 01:03:34,280 So first of all, that's our tendency sometimes, right? 444 01:03:34,280 --> 01:03:39,280 Because I just want to sort of sit here, and I don't want to open my life. 445 01:03:40,280 --> 01:03:47,280 And one of the things that if we are to come through trials in a way where we see the presence of God, 446 01:03:47,280 --> 01:03:49,280 is we can't separate ourselves from that. 447 01:03:49,280 --> 01:03:54,280 But secondly, also be willing to reach out into the lives of others. 448 01:03:54,280 --> 01:03:58,280 Say, "Well, I don't know them that well, or I'm not that familiar with them." 449 01:03:58,280 --> 01:04:04,280 God calls us to reach out into the lives of our brothers and sisters to support them and to help them, right? 450 01:04:04,280 --> 01:04:09,280 You need to be active just about receiving community and seeking it out, 451 01:04:09,280 --> 01:04:15,280 and nourishing that community. And I'll say this, for those of you who, like me, are introverts, this is hard, right? 452 01:04:15,280 --> 01:04:20,280 I find my energy being given to me not through being around people a lot, right? 453 01:04:20,280 --> 01:04:25,280 That's where I recharge. I love being around people, but it drains my batteries in the way that I recharge. 454 01:04:25,280 --> 01:04:28,280 And so for introverts, if you're an introvert, this is hard. 455 01:04:28,280 --> 01:04:33,280 And I want to encourage you to open up your life, to let others in, 456 01:04:33,280 --> 01:04:38,280 and I want to encourage you to reach into the lives of others, to encourage them and strengthen them. 457 01:04:38,280 --> 01:04:44,280 Even when it's hard. Even when you say, "Man, I'm not used to this." 458 01:04:44,280 --> 01:04:47,280 Right? It's one of the ways we see the presence of God. 459 01:04:47,280 --> 01:04:56,280 Secondly, don't move, or third, don't move through the valley of trial without understanding there is more to come than just this simple, difficult moment, right? 460 01:04:56,280 --> 01:05:03,280 This trial is not busy work. It's not simply a check box. It's not an initiation that you have to get through. 461 01:05:03,280 --> 01:05:07,280 This is something that provides value in your life. 462 01:05:07,280 --> 01:05:15,280 Now, the trial may not be good, but God is good. And He is going to use this moment to refine you. 463 01:05:15,280 --> 01:05:23,280 So when you find yourselves there, don't waste your trials. Let God refine your sins. Let yourself be open to community. 464 01:05:23,280 --> 01:05:29,280 When you see others in trial, reach out into their life to encourage them and strengthen them and help them. 465 01:05:29,280 --> 01:05:36,280 Understand that this moment, while it will not last forever, is an opportunity to grow and strengthen your faith. 466 01:05:36,280 --> 01:05:40,280 Grow and strengthen your faith through the goodness of God. Right? 467 01:05:40,280 --> 01:05:44,280 There is more to come. There is more to come in this difficult moment. 468 01:05:44,280 --> 01:05:51,280 So I want to encourage you this morning as we consider those valleys that we so often walk through. 469 01:05:51,280 --> 01:05:55,280 Those valleys of darkness, and if you haven't been there, you will be there someday. 470 01:05:55,280 --> 01:06:02,280 Understand that in Christ, there is the only way that you will come through those secure and safe. 471 01:06:02,280 --> 01:06:12,280 And as Christians, we need to understand that God is at work before, during, and pointing us towards something good in the future. 472 01:06:12,280 --> 01:06:19,280 Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for grace, hope. 473 01:06:19,280 --> 01:06:24,280 Thank you that you have reached into our lives and you have changed us and transformed us. 474 01:06:24,280 --> 01:06:31,280 And so help us as we walk through those moments of difficulty, that you would give us strength, 475 01:06:31,280 --> 01:06:35,280 that we would look back and see the foundation you have given us, 476 01:06:35,280 --> 01:06:39,280 that in those moments we would understand that you are purifying us, 477 01:06:39,280 --> 01:06:43,280 that we are not alone, that you have surrounded us with your presence, 478 01:06:43,280 --> 01:06:50,280 and surrounded us with the presence of your people. Help us not in our pride to say, "I don't need anybody else." 479 01:06:50,280 --> 01:06:55,280 And help us not in our comfort to say, "Well, somebody else can help them." 480 01:06:55,280 --> 01:07:00,280 So grab a hold of our hearts this morning. Help us to see that you are at work. 481 01:07:00,280 --> 01:07:04,280 Encourage us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 482 01:07:04,280 --> 01:07:12,280 We're going to stand and sing about blessing God's name, even when things are difficult. 483 01:07:12,280 --> 01:07:15,280 So, we're going to sing "Blessed Be." 484 01:07:30,280 --> 01:07:35,280 Blessed be your name 485 01:07:35,280 --> 01:07:39,280 In the land that is plentiful 486 01:07:39,280 --> 01:07:43,280 Where the streams of abundance flow 487 01:07:43,280 --> 01:07:46,280 Blessed be your name 488 01:07:46,280 --> 01:07:51,280 Blessed be your name 489 01:07:51,280 --> 01:07:55,280 When I'm found in the desert place 490 01:07:55,280 --> 01:07:59,280 Though I walk through the wilderness 491 01:07:59,280 --> 01:08:04,280 Blessed be your name 492 01:08:04,280 --> 01:08:07,280 Every blessing you pour out 493 01:08:07,280 --> 01:08:11,280 I'll turn back to praise 494 01:08:11,280 --> 01:08:14,280 When the darkness closes 495 01:08:14,280 --> 01:08:16,280 And Lord 496 01:08:16,280 --> 01:08:18,280 Still I will say 497 01:08:18,280 --> 01:08:22,280 Blessed be the name of the Lord 498 01:08:22,280 --> 01:08:26,280 Blessed be your name 499 01:08:26,280 --> 01:08:30,280 Blessed be the name of the Lord 500 01:08:30,280 --> 01:08:34,280 Blessed be your glorious name 501 01:08:34,280 --> 01:08:41,280 Blessed be your name 502 01:08:41,280 --> 01:08:45,280 When the sun's shining down on me 503 01:08:45,280 --> 01:08:49,280 When the world's all as it should be 504 01:08:49,280 --> 01:08:51,280 Blessed be your name 505 01:08:51,280 --> 01:08:57,280 Blessed be your name 506 01:08:57,280 --> 01:09:00,280 On the road marked with suffering 507 01:09:00,280 --> 01:09:04,280 While there's pain in the offering 508 01:09:04,280 --> 01:09:08,280 Blessed be your name 509 01:09:08,280 --> 01:09:13,280 Every blessing you pour out 510 01:09:13,280 --> 01:09:16,280 I'll turn back to praise 511 01:09:16,280 --> 01:09:22,280 When the darkness closes in door 512 01:09:22,280 --> 01:09:24,280 Still I will say 513 01:09:24,280 --> 01:09:28,280 Blessed be the name of the Lord 514 01:09:28,280 --> 01:09:32,280 Blessed be your name 515 01:09:32,280 --> 01:09:36,280 Blessed be the name of the Lord 516 01:09:36,280 --> 01:09:40,280 Blessed be your glorious name 517 01:09:40,280 --> 01:09:44,280 Blessed be the name of the Lord 518 01:09:44,280 --> 01:09:48,280 Blessed be your name 519 01:09:48,280 --> 01:09:52,280 Blessed be the name of the Lord 520 01:09:52,280 --> 01:09:58,280 Blessed be your glorious name 521 01:09:58,280 --> 01:10:12,280 I want to thank you for joining us this morning, and thankful for those of you who are here in person, and for those of you who are watching online, we are very thankful for you. Just a couple of announcements. 522 01:10:12,280 --> 01:10:27,280 First of all, Wednesday nights, we are gathering 7 p.m. We're studying through the book of James, and so the way that works is there's a video, I would say brief video, but there's so much there that none of them are brief. 523 01:10:27,280 --> 01:10:37,280 And so there's a video, and then we spend some time discussing it. Sometimes we spend just a little bit of time discussing it, and sometimes, you know, it's past my bedtime and we're still discussing it. 524 01:10:37,280 --> 01:11:02,280 I have an early bedtime. So I would encourage you, if you would like to join us for that, you can. If you would like to watch through the video sessions, and you're not able to be here and you have access to the phone or computer, we have a link that has sort of, we've sort of been archiving these as we started a playlist on, you know, the promo trailer, and then moving to session one, session two, all the way up to where we are now. 525 01:11:02,280 --> 01:11:23,280 So if you would like that, just let me know, and I can pass that off to you. Additionally, one of the things we did a test run on while Debbie was having knee surgery was our setup to be able to text out updates and prayer requests for her, so we were able to sort of joyfully text out that her surgery went well and she was getting ready to come home. 526 01:11:23,280 --> 01:11:44,280 So if you don't get those text message updates, I added everybody that I think I had in my phone, because sometimes I save contacts, just save the number. So if you haven't got those, there's a form on the back. We just need a cell phone number, or if you don't get an email, you can throw that on there too. 527 01:11:44,280 --> 01:11:51,280 So we're just trying to keep our contact information up to date. So if you haven't had much information, we can fill it with you too. 528 01:11:51,280 --> 01:12:05,280 So we're going to go ahead and pray, and then I'm going to read from Hebrews, a passage calling us to put our hope in God and to trust in Him, and then we'll sing the doxology. So let's go ahead and pray. 529 01:12:05,280 --> 01:12:11,280 Father, thank you for your goodness, and thank you for your provision. Thank you that you bring us through safely to the other side. 530 01:12:11,280 --> 01:12:16,280 I thank you for hope and for grace. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 531 01:12:16,280 --> 01:12:22,280 Now, the writer of Hebrews will say this: "Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, 532 01:12:22,280 --> 01:12:31,280 Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we don't have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, 533 01:12:31,280 --> 01:12:37,280 but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 534 01:12:37,280 --> 01:12:42,280 So therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, 535 01:12:42,280 --> 01:12:49,280 that we may find grace, that we may receive mercy, and find grace to help in our time of need." 536 01:12:49,280 --> 01:12:51,280 Let's sing the Doxology. 537 01:13:00,280 --> 01:13:21,280 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 538 01:13:30,280 --> 01:13:32,280 Praise God, Son, and Holy Ghost. 539 01:14:00,280 --> 01:14:30,260 Thank you. 540 01:14:30,280 --> 01:15:00,260 Thank you. 541 01:15:00,280 --> 01:15:30,260 Thank you.