WEBVTT - Billy Lambert - Oct 29 - 10:00 am 0:00:15.130 --> 0:00:18.310 This is Getting to Know Your Bible, a program dedicated 0:00:18.350 --> 0:00:20.970 to the proclaiming of the good news of Jesus Christ. 0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:27.920 Here's Billy Lambert. 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:31.760 Hi there, I'm Ray Reynolds. I'm a marketing director for 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:33.780 Getting to Know Your Bible, and it is a pleasure 0:00:33.820 --> 0:00:36.120 to be with you as we spend some time in 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:38.440 God's Word together today. We want to thank you for 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:41.080 tuning in. If this is your first time, we hope 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:43.479 that you will continue to tune in to the broadcast 0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:45.880 and learn more from God's Word as we study together. 0:00:46.300 --> 0:00:49.300 There are some who are on this program every single time, 0:00:49.340 --> 0:00:52.590 and we appreciate your support as well. You know, we 0:00:52.630 --> 0:00:55.830 offer a free Bible correspondence course. Maybe you've found that 0:00:55.850 --> 0:00:58.390 you'd like to learn a little bit more from God's Word. 0:00:58.430 --> 0:01:00.310 We want to help you in that. So there's a 0:01:00.340 --> 0:01:01.860 phone number here at the bottom of the screen. In 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:03.920 just a moment, we're going to pause and give you 0:01:03.940 --> 0:01:08.000 an opportunity to learn more about this Bible course. And 0:01:08.100 --> 0:01:09.959 as you learn from it and you grow in your 0:01:10.020 --> 0:01:11.960 spiritual walk, we know it will bless you and it 0:01:11.980 --> 0:01:15.310 might also bless others around you as well. So I'm 0:01:15.330 --> 0:01:16.890 going to pause here for just a moment so you 0:01:16.910 --> 0:01:18.470 can learn more about the Bible course and how to 0:01:18.490 --> 0:01:18.890 receive it. 0:01:19.850 --> 0:01:21.790 To help you in your study of the Bible, we 0:01:21.810 --> 0:01:25.520 want to send you this Bible correspondence course. This course 0:01:25.580 --> 0:01:29.679 is non-denominational. It's based on the Bible. It's conducted by mail, 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:33.220 and it's free. To receive this course, write to Getting 0:01:33.260 --> 0:01:36.140 to Know Your Bible, P.O. Box 314, Somerdale, Alabama, 36580. 0:01:36.140 --> 0:01:37.250 Or call toll-free 1-877-711-5214. 0:01:44.380 --> 0:01:50.530 No storm can hide that radiant, peaceful feeling, since Jesus 0:01:50.590 --> 0:01:56.890 came to seek and save the lost. Give me the Bible, 0:01:57.090 --> 0:02:02.660 holy message shining, my life shall guide me in the 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:03.520 narrow way. 0:02:15.810 --> 0:02:17.710 Welcome back to Getting to Know Your Bible. We are 0:02:17.790 --> 0:02:20.790 so blessed to have you here. Last time when I 0:02:20.830 --> 0:02:24.450 was together with you, we spent some time talking about discouragement. 0:02:25.030 --> 0:02:29.400 In fact, we talked about how Jesus handled discouragement. We 0:02:29.440 --> 0:02:32.120 talked about several different characters in the Bible that suffered 0:02:32.180 --> 0:02:35.530 and struggled in But Jesus is our pattern and example. 0:02:36.050 --> 0:02:37.970 And as he has set an example before us, and 0:02:38.010 --> 0:02:41.220 he is a God who sympathizes with our weaknesses, he 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:46.680 walked in the flesh, and we learn how to handle discouragement. Now, 0:02:46.700 --> 0:02:48.139 I want to add to that a little bit and 0:02:48.180 --> 0:02:51.140 talk about some other things we can do to overcome 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:55.860 discouragement in our life. You know, depression, anxiety, the numbers 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:58.669 are extremely high among Americans today. And all over the world, 0:02:58.710 --> 0:03:01.950 people are struggling with different things in their own personal walk. 0:03:02.710 --> 0:03:05.430 Discouragement certainly is on the top of the list. And 0:03:05.450 --> 0:03:08.250 we may be discouraged just for a season and maybe say, well, 0:03:08.350 --> 0:03:11.250 right now, Ray, things are going great. Well, that's awesome. Congratulations. 0:03:11.270 --> 0:03:13.810 That's wonderful. But there will be times in the future 0:03:14.430 --> 0:03:16.410 when you may face discouragement. You may be sitting there 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:18.940 today thinking, you know, I am in the darkest part 0:03:18.970 --> 0:03:21.800 right now in my life. I just am so overwhelmed 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:24.200 and discouraged. Know that you have a high priest that 0:03:24.260 --> 0:03:27.700 sympathizes and know that you have the Holy Scriptures and 0:03:27.740 --> 0:03:30.220 a relationship with God to be able to help you 0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:33.660 through those moments of discouragement. As I shared seven things 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:36.480 that Jesus did to overcome discouragement, I want to give 0:03:36.500 --> 0:03:38.780 you seven more things that are found in the word 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:41.440 of God. The first is we need to remember that 0:03:41.820 --> 0:03:46.470 we were created for companionship. In our last time together, 0:03:46.510 --> 0:03:48.710 we spent some time in Genesis chapter one and two 0:03:48.770 --> 0:03:51.590 and three. We talked a little bit about the creation 0:03:52.010 --> 0:03:54.630 of everything on the earth. The Bible tells us that 0:03:54.670 --> 0:03:56.790 with each part of creation on each day, he would 0:03:56.900 --> 0:03:58.980 end by saying, and it was good. 0:03:59.000 --> 0:03:59.460 It was good. 0:03:59.500 --> 0:04:02.940 It was good. The creation of man even was good 0:04:03.020 --> 0:04:05.710 on that sixth day. But the Bible tells us when 0:04:05.760 --> 0:04:09.470 man was found to be alone, it was not good. 0:04:10.070 --> 0:04:14.860 God created us to have companionship. Even within the New 0:04:14.900 --> 0:04:17.680 Testament church, as Christians, we assemble together as a group. 0:04:18.140 --> 0:04:22.000 It's very difficult to do anything completely by ourselves. And 0:04:22.040 --> 0:04:24.510 it'd be very difficult for us as Christians to exist 0:04:24.610 --> 0:04:27.850 as one singular Christian in a world full of unbelievers. 0:04:28.210 --> 0:04:31.250 But God has, in his foreknowledge, prepared us to be 0:04:31.270 --> 0:04:33.469 a part of a kingdom. And one thing I think 0:04:33.510 --> 0:04:37.300 about every Lord's Day, when we worship together at the 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:40.349 Summerdale Church of Christ, I think about all the other 0:04:40.410 --> 0:04:42.809 people around the world that are worshiping in that very hour, 0:04:42.980 --> 0:04:46.680 maybe even that very day because of time zones. But 0:04:46.700 --> 0:04:48.820 I think about how the Bible teaches us we all 0:04:48.860 --> 0:04:51.540 lift up our praise to God. There's a psalm that 0:04:51.580 --> 0:04:55.640 says God inhabits our praise, literally dwells in it. And 0:04:55.660 --> 0:04:58.960 I think about how our voices may blend, not necessarily 0:04:59.020 --> 0:05:02.280 in unison as song, because we're all singing different hymns, 0:05:02.620 --> 0:05:06.169 but unison of hearts. And think about all the Christians 0:05:06.210 --> 0:05:09.330 that are worshiping on that first day, singing and praying 0:05:09.430 --> 0:05:13.400 and communing with a holy God. Our voices blend with 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:16.640 the angels in the presence of God. Our voices blend 0:05:16.660 --> 0:05:19.540 with all those who have gone before us. And we 0:05:19.660 --> 0:05:22.230 sing and we honor and we praise our God on 0:05:22.270 --> 0:05:25.140 that first day. It's great to do it together. I 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:27.060 love to be able to sing in a group. I 0:05:27.100 --> 0:05:29.700 love to be able to study God's Word in a group. 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:31.960 I love to be able to have communion around my 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:34.520 brothers and sisters in Christ. I love that when we 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:38.120 give as a part of our worship on the Lord's Day, 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:42.220 that we collectively take that offering and use it to 0:05:42.260 --> 0:05:45.469 the glory of God. When we pray together, it's great 0:05:45.510 --> 0:05:47.690 to know that our brothers and sisters are all praying 0:05:47.750 --> 0:05:50.550 for the same reasons, for the same things. with the 0:05:50.589 --> 0:05:53.530 same attitude, a lot of great things can come out 0:05:53.650 --> 0:05:56.650 of our time together on Sunday. If you don't know 0:05:56.690 --> 0:05:58.630 where to go and you're looking for a local church, 0:05:58.670 --> 0:06:00.570 we'd love to help you in doing that because it's 0:06:00.630 --> 0:06:04.940 very important that you become connected to the body of Christ. 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:10.140 You were created. for companionship. Again, going back to Adam 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:13.800 and Eve, he says it's not good that man be alone. 0:06:14.380 --> 0:06:16.300 And as we move through the scriptures, we see many 0:06:16.339 --> 0:06:20.120 times individuals going through their life and with singular purpose 0:06:20.760 --> 0:06:23.900 and deciding that they cannot continue to do it alone. 0:06:24.000 --> 0:06:27.159 They need a companion. I think about Abraham and Sarah. 0:06:27.180 --> 0:06:29.980 I think about Isaac, and I think about Jacob. Whether 0:06:30.000 --> 0:06:35.349 it be Rebecca or Rachel and Leah that Jacob had, 0:06:35.870 --> 0:06:40.870 Rachel was a wonderful bride to Jacob. Those men and women, 0:06:40.930 --> 0:06:44.550 as they lived through their lives, they had companionship. They 0:06:44.610 --> 0:06:48.470 also had friendship with others around them. Jesus did that 0:06:48.510 --> 0:06:52.720 within his ministry. He surrounded himself with companions. And I 0:06:52.779 --> 0:06:55.820 love the way Jesus calls his disciples. You know, we're 0:06:55.860 --> 0:07:00.800 taught in Matthew chapter 4 that Jesus approaches Peter and 0:07:01.400 --> 0:07:05.010 Andrew and later James and John near their boats. And 0:07:05.050 --> 0:07:07.210 he calls these fishermen and he says, come and I'll 0:07:07.230 --> 0:07:10.059 make you a fisher of of men. That's pretty cool. 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:12.290 It's a nice way to be able to illustrate what 0:07:12.320 --> 0:07:14.030 God was going to do with these men who were 0:07:14.130 --> 0:07:18.030 used to a physical activity and turns it into something spiritual. 0:07:18.410 --> 0:07:20.350 You're not going to be fishermen anymore. You're going to 0:07:20.370 --> 0:07:22.830 be fishers of men. I'm going to use you to 0:07:22.870 --> 0:07:27.170 bring people into the kingdom. Later, he'll also go and 0:07:27.210 --> 0:07:30.620 call Matthew. That's another neat little story. where he goes 0:07:30.700 --> 0:07:34.090 to the tax collector booth. That's very bold of Jesus 0:07:34.150 --> 0:07:36.790 to walk right up to these people, right in the 0:07:36.890 --> 0:07:39.290 front in the presence of people that were friendly to 0:07:39.330 --> 0:07:45.110 the Romans and say, Matthew, follow me. And Matthew gets 0:07:45.190 --> 0:07:47.380 up and leaves everything he's got to follow him. Later, 0:07:47.420 --> 0:07:50.500 he meets Jesus in his home for a meal. But 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:53.940 there are times all of these disciples had encounters, whether 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:56.480 it be Nathaniel. And I could go through story after 0:07:56.560 --> 0:08:01.230 story of all these wonderful encounters with Jesus. He had 0:08:01.250 --> 0:08:04.110 a wonderful relationship with Andrew. Every time we see Andrew 0:08:04.150 --> 0:08:06.990 in Scripture, he's bringing people to Jesus. He couldn't wait 0:08:07.030 --> 0:08:10.000 to talk about all the great things that Jesus had done. 0:08:11.070 --> 0:08:15.310 But Jesus surrounded himself with these disciples. And of the 12, 0:08:15.310 --> 0:08:17.310 think about three and a half years of his life 0:08:17.850 --> 0:08:20.410 he spent with these men. Now I've done Bible camp 0:08:20.450 --> 0:08:22.590 a few times. I run a Bible camp in North 0:08:22.690 --> 0:08:26.230 Alabama and the camp runs for eight days. And so 0:08:26.250 --> 0:08:28.380 that's a long time to be with someone. Maybe you 0:08:28.390 --> 0:08:31.340 share a cabin with them or a dorm room for 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:34.020 the week and you learn a lot about them. If 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:36.440 you've ever been camping with someone out into the wilderness 0:08:36.500 --> 0:08:38.860 for a long extended period of time, boy, you learn 0:08:38.900 --> 0:08:42.160 a lot. about that individual. You learn what they like 0:08:42.200 --> 0:08:44.939 to eat. You learn whether or not they snore. These 0:08:44.980 --> 0:08:48.080 are things Jesus would have encountered with the 12 for 0:08:48.140 --> 0:08:50.640 three and a half years. And we know that they 0:08:50.679 --> 0:08:54.450 spent time outside sleeping and camping because there's an occasion 0:08:54.470 --> 0:08:57.450 where Jesus talks about how even foxes have holes and dens, 0:08:58.010 --> 0:09:00.330 but Jesus had nowhere to lay his head. He had 0:09:00.370 --> 0:09:03.620 chosen to leave his home, leave his family, and begin 0:09:03.650 --> 0:09:05.870 his full-time ministry and And I don't think for a 0:09:05.929 --> 0:09:08.350 moment that he abandoned his family. In fact, it's his 0:09:08.429 --> 0:09:12.500 mom in John chapter 2 that encourages Jesus to take 0:09:12.530 --> 0:09:16.339 those first steps, performing his first miracle and readying himself 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:20.360 for a life of service. And again, for three and 0:09:20.380 --> 0:09:24.390 a half years, Jesus traveled with these 12 men. They 0:09:24.429 --> 0:09:27.770 went from city to city. They went from hospital to hospital, 0:09:27.820 --> 0:09:30.560 if you will. They went to the lepers. They went 0:09:30.600 --> 0:09:33.420 to the poor. They ate on the ground. They put 0:09:33.460 --> 0:09:36.719 their heads on rocks. They stayed in close proximity to 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:39.760 one another. They knew their stories. They could tell the 0:09:39.860 --> 0:09:42.380 echoes of their laughter in the hills. When they were 0:09:42.460 --> 0:09:44.810 coming near them, they could understand and hear the voices 0:09:44.910 --> 0:09:46.990 of their friends as you do. You could probably hear 0:09:47.070 --> 0:09:49.589 a friend's voice when they call you. You know exactly 0:09:49.630 --> 0:09:51.860 who it is when you pick up. Or you can 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:54.200 hear him in a crowd and say, I recognize that voice. 0:09:54.740 --> 0:09:59.630 I recognize that image anywhere. Jesus believed in companionship. The 0:09:59.650 --> 0:10:02.850 second thing that we need to do to overcome discouragement 0:10:03.309 --> 0:10:07.650 is to remember that Satan likes single file lines. I 0:10:07.700 --> 0:10:09.900 heard a sermon one time on that subject, and that just, 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:14.179 that resonated with me, that Satan likes single file lines. 0:10:14.500 --> 0:10:18.040 He loves to pick us off one by one. Ever 0:10:18.059 --> 0:10:21.040 wondered in Ephesians, In chapter 6, when it talks about 0:10:21.070 --> 0:10:23.250 putting on the whole armor of God, that doesn't talk 0:10:23.290 --> 0:10:25.469 about the church putting on the whole armor of God, 0:10:25.490 --> 0:10:29.630 but each individual putting on the armor of God. In 0:10:29.630 --> 0:10:32.090 1 Peter 5 and verse 8, we're reminded that the 0:10:32.150 --> 0:10:36.390 devil's roaming about like a roaring lion seeking to devour us. 0:10:36.910 --> 0:10:38.730 And therefore, you and I have to be ready to 0:10:38.790 --> 0:10:41.250 take a stand. We have to be ready to face 0:10:41.610 --> 0:10:44.690 the devil. And he will come after us one at 0:10:44.710 --> 0:10:48.290 a time. Whenever we have a conversion or a baptism 0:10:48.550 --> 0:10:53.480 at our congregation and we go through the experience together 0:10:53.540 --> 0:10:55.000 and we take them down into the water and bring 0:10:55.020 --> 0:10:56.640 them up out of the water and we talk about 0:10:56.679 --> 0:11:00.680 the great privilege it is to be born again, to 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:03.040 become a new creature in Christ, and we talk about 0:11:03.070 --> 0:11:05.429 Romans 6 a little bit and how the symbolism of 0:11:05.450 --> 0:11:07.750 the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is seen there 0:11:08.270 --> 0:11:11.150 in that moment in baptism. But I always tell people 0:11:11.170 --> 0:11:13.810 when they come out of the baptistry, sometimes even in 0:11:13.830 --> 0:11:16.570 the baptistry, That now is the time in your life 0:11:16.620 --> 0:11:19.550 when you're probably the most vulnerable. That it is in 0:11:19.590 --> 0:11:24.270 those moments where you feel spiritual strength and maturity that 0:11:24.390 --> 0:11:28.270 Satan will attack. And he'll hit us. Sometimes he hits 0:11:28.650 --> 0:11:31.060 us so blindsidedly we don't even know where it's coming 0:11:31.100 --> 0:11:34.420 from or how quickly things just happen in our life. 0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:36.580 We say, I didn't see that coming. I couldn't have 0:11:36.620 --> 0:11:39.960 prepared for that. The devil loves to take us out 0:11:40.380 --> 0:11:44.679 one by one. Number three. Not only do you need 0:11:44.700 --> 0:11:47.840 to remember that Satan likes single file lines and he's 0:11:48.020 --> 0:11:52.179 after us individually, but you, number three, are given all 0:11:52.220 --> 0:11:56.210 that you need to overcome it. You and I are 0:11:56.230 --> 0:12:01.430 given everything we need, everything possible to cope with the 0:12:01.450 --> 0:12:05.710 stress and discouragement. The Bible teaches us that he that 0:12:05.790 --> 0:12:08.190 is in us, this is in 1 John, He that 0:12:08.270 --> 0:12:10.989 is in us is greater than he that is in 0:12:11.030 --> 0:12:13.930 the world. The promise of the Holy Spirit dwelling inside 0:12:13.970 --> 0:12:16.820 those believers in Acts 2 must have been enough that 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:21.699 many more wanted to know about the comfort that only 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:24.580 the Lord could provide. Now, as we go through our 0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:27.250 daily walk after we become a New Testament Christian, God 0:12:27.300 --> 0:12:31.330 continues to give us the strength and the comfort to endure. 0:12:32.090 --> 0:12:35.920 Paul writes from a Roman prison cell in Philippians chapter 4, 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:37.770 He's gone through a lot of heartache. In fact, he's 0:12:37.929 --> 0:12:40.970 many times in prison for something that's just a misunderstanding, 0:12:41.429 --> 0:12:44.589 or maybe even that he's completely innocent of those crimes. 0:12:45.410 --> 0:12:48.719 And yet in Philippians chapter 4, in a Roman prison cell, 0:12:48.820 --> 0:12:53.459 Paul says, rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I 0:12:53.500 --> 0:12:56.220 say rejoice. Philippians 4 and verse 4. How could he 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:58.619 say such a thing? How could he say also in 0:12:58.660 --> 0:13:02.840 that text, be anxious for nothing? But by everything, by 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:05.000 prayer and supplication, make your requests known to God. How 0:13:05.020 --> 0:13:06.880 could he say that? How could he say don't be 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:10.960 anxious for anything? Not one thing should cause you an 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:15.900 anxious moment. Along with discouragement, nothing should get you down 0:13:15.990 --> 0:13:19.030 because you have a God that is for you and 0:13:19.090 --> 0:13:23.630 not against you. Later on, chapter 4, also there in Philippians, 0:13:24.190 --> 0:13:28.530 through 11 through about 13, we see Paul talking about 0:13:28.590 --> 0:13:31.850 how he found a way to be content. Now back 0:13:31.900 --> 0:13:33.490 up in verses 8 and 9, he says it's because 0:13:33.530 --> 0:13:37.730 he thought about positive things. And that positive thinking helped 0:13:37.750 --> 0:13:40.870 him overcome all of those things listed. And then there 0:13:40.890 --> 0:13:43.350 at the end, he says this in verse 13, not 0:13:43.390 --> 0:13:46.730 the end of the chapter, but this little section. He says, 0:13:46.809 --> 0:13:50.480 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 0:13:51.220 --> 0:13:54.900 Paul understood that whatever he faced, whatever he dealt with, 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:59.709 whatever he encountered, whatever discouragement was around the bend, that 0:13:59.809 --> 0:14:03.750 Christ would give him the strength to endure it. Similar 0:14:03.790 --> 0:14:07.300 to what he says in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 13, 0:14:07.300 --> 0:14:11.220 that there's a way of escape, that God understands that 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:13.880 there's nothing that happens to us that isn't common to man. 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:18.360 Everybody faces the same trials, same temptations. And so it 0:14:18.380 --> 0:14:21.240 makes sense that God, by giving us his Holy Spirit 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:23.800 and the cleansing of the blood of Christ, by knowing 0:14:23.820 --> 0:14:26.420 that we have the power of prayer, we can cope 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:30.140 with anything. We can deal with it. There are times 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:32.840 in my life where I thought, man, God must really 0:14:32.860 --> 0:14:35.620 have a lot of faith in me. I don't have 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:38.580 that much faith in myself sometimes. But things happen and 0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:40.120 you just go, man, I don't know if I can 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:42.200 handle this. I don't know if I can deal with it. 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:44.660 And we're looking for that way of escape Paul talks 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:47.120 about there in 1 Corinthians 10. We're looking for anything. 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:48.880 If we can't find a door, give us a window. 0:14:48.940 --> 0:14:51.850 Give me a mouse hole, something. Give me a doggy door. 0:14:51.900 --> 0:14:57.690 I want out. But God has faith in you. He 0:14:57.750 --> 0:15:00.890 believes in you. And he knows that you can overcome. 0:15:01.370 --> 0:15:04.800 You can overcome all things. You are more than conquerors 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:10.160 in Christ Jesus. Number four, when you face discouragement, you 0:15:10.180 --> 0:15:15.300 need to remember that you have potential. That Christ died 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:19.950 for you, that you might live a faithful life. You 0:15:20.730 --> 0:15:25.470 have potential. On your worst day, Jesus still would have 0:15:25.490 --> 0:15:28.840 died for you. If you were the only one Christ 0:15:28.860 --> 0:15:30.980 would have still went to the cross. He loves you 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:34.210 that much. You see, God sees something in you. You 0:15:34.250 --> 0:15:37.430 may not see it in yourself, but God sees something 0:15:37.490 --> 0:15:39.830 in you that he can use for the glory of 0:15:39.850 --> 0:15:42.230 his kingdom. You know, if there's ever a character in 0:15:42.290 --> 0:15:45.130 scripture that we would have given up on, it probably 0:15:45.150 --> 0:15:48.200 would have been Solitarsis. There's no doubt in my mind, 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:50.800 if I lived in the first century, if he suddenly 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:53.990 claimed that he converted to Christianity, I'd be questioning it too. 0:15:54.620 --> 0:15:57.570 as the apostles did in Jerusalem, people began to wonder, 0:15:57.650 --> 0:16:01.890 is he really legit? Is he sincere in his conversion? 0:16:02.690 --> 0:16:06.450 But Saul was certainly sincere and he was ready. As 0:16:06.470 --> 0:16:08.210 soon as he's converted to Christ, you see him out 0:16:08.230 --> 0:16:11.390 there preaching. He's ready to talk to people about Jesus. 0:16:11.910 --> 0:16:14.270 He's telling a story over and over through the book 0:16:14.290 --> 0:16:16.370 of Acts. This is what I did to be saved. 0:16:16.630 --> 0:16:19.050 This is why I was so lost in my condition. 0:16:20.370 --> 0:16:22.880 But you see Saul of Tarsus, who later we call 0:16:22.920 --> 0:16:27.479 Paul in Scripture, knew he had potential. You know, God 0:16:27.500 --> 0:16:30.370 even says to him on that road in Acts 9, 0:16:30.370 --> 0:16:33.210 and it's echoed again later in his stories, his accounts, 0:16:34.230 --> 0:16:36.850 that God saw something in him. He wanted him to 0:16:36.890 --> 0:16:42.140 be a teacher to the Gentiles. That's pretty neat. That 0:16:42.180 --> 0:16:46.260 God told Paul, you've got potential. I see something in you. 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:50.240 God sees something in you. He sees something special, a 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:53.590 gift that he has placed within you and something that 0:16:53.610 --> 0:16:55.790 you can do to benefit him, to benefit the kingdom. 0:16:56.070 --> 0:16:59.610 You're useful. I remind people frequently at our congregation. I 0:16:59.670 --> 0:17:01.410 say it in every pulpit where I preach for a 0:17:01.450 --> 0:17:04.270 long period of time. Every one of us in Christ 0:17:04.390 --> 0:17:08.170 are the same and we're equal. Go back to Galatians 0:17:08.710 --> 0:17:10.510 and you'll see how Paul has to explain this to 0:17:10.570 --> 0:17:14.180 the church there. that there is neither slave nor free 0:17:14.240 --> 0:17:17.020 or Jew nor Greek or male nor female. We're all 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:21.379 one in Christ Jesus. We all have potential to be 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:26.230 used in kingdom work. In Psalm 23, you see, David 0:17:26.290 --> 0:17:30.189 understood his relationship with the Lord by seeing himself as 0:17:30.230 --> 0:17:34.359 a sheep and God as a shepherd. Going through some 0:17:34.380 --> 0:17:37.900 of the other Psalms he writes, he sees that even 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:42.219 as a sheep in the kingdom of God, There is usefulness. 0:17:42.980 --> 0:17:45.719 God can find some purpose, some reason. And even if 0:17:45.760 --> 0:17:50.659 that one sheep out of a hundred goes astray, what 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:53.100 does the Bible teach us? A good shepherd's going to 0:17:53.119 --> 0:17:54.939 go after that one sheep. You and I are that 0:17:55.030 --> 0:17:58.869 one sheep. God's constantly trying to chase us around to 0:17:58.890 --> 0:18:01.369 give us an opportunity to come back. We're rebellious. We sin. 0:18:01.390 --> 0:18:04.030 We do things we shouldn't. And God is waiting like 0:18:04.070 --> 0:18:06.550 the prodigal father to receive us the moment we hit 0:18:06.590 --> 0:18:09.470 that road, the moment that we're ready to turn around, repent, 0:18:10.030 --> 0:18:13.230 and come back to God. Number five, if you want 0:18:13.250 --> 0:18:16.149 to overcome discouragement, you need to learn to work well 0:18:16.850 --> 0:18:19.770 with others. Man, this is a tough one. It's important 0:18:19.810 --> 0:18:23.620 for us to see that there's strength in numbers. In 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:27.520 the gospel accounts, again, we see Jesus with his disciples. 0:18:27.580 --> 0:18:31.900 There are 12 present that he calls apostles. And we'll 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:34.510 see story after story through the gospels how they're working 0:18:34.550 --> 0:18:37.510 together two by two or sometimes as a group. But 0:18:37.550 --> 0:18:42.010 Jesus taught them the value of working together as a team. 0:18:42.470 --> 0:18:45.320 As a teenager, I learned how to work well with others. 0:18:45.840 --> 0:18:47.899 In southwest Missouri, where I was raised up in a 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:52.220 little town called Rogersville, outside of Springfield, Missouri, Branson area. 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:56.609 At night, I had a hay crew and we'd haul 0:18:56.670 --> 0:18:58.909 square bales of hay. And we'd have to load up 0:18:58.930 --> 0:19:00.810 the trailers and go fill the barns. And if you've 0:19:00.869 --> 0:19:02.210 ever done that, you know, it's a lot of work. 0:19:02.270 --> 0:19:03.910 It's hot. The reason why we did it at night 0:19:03.930 --> 0:19:06.109 is because it was cooler at night in the summer. 0:19:06.710 --> 0:19:09.330 in Missouri, and I always picked guys that I knew 0:19:09.369 --> 0:19:12.580 I could work well with, good teammates. We had one 0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:14.760 guy on the ground that would pick up the bales 0:19:14.820 --> 0:19:17.649 and throw it on the back of the trailer, and 0:19:17.690 --> 0:19:20.310 then of course you have one person there stacking on 0:19:20.330 --> 0:19:23.310 the trailer, Sometimes you have somebody driving. If we could 0:19:23.330 --> 0:19:26.149 do it right, we could put it in drive and 0:19:26.190 --> 0:19:28.660 just let it coast down through between the square bales, 0:19:28.700 --> 0:19:31.160 and we could work from both sides. But I would 0:19:31.260 --> 0:19:34.080 oftentimes try new guys out, and if they didn't do well, 0:19:34.160 --> 0:19:36.280 I would cut them from the team. But the guys 0:19:36.300 --> 0:19:38.520 that I knew would work well and work hard, we 0:19:38.540 --> 0:19:42.369 could get more done when we worked together. And I learned, again, 0:19:42.630 --> 0:19:44.790 at that early age, if you've got a good team 0:19:44.869 --> 0:19:46.730 around you, I learned that in football, if you've got 0:19:46.750 --> 0:19:49.070 a good team around you, guys that you can trust, 0:19:49.450 --> 0:19:53.000 you can accomplish much more. And again, there's a reason why, 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:55.220 as I said in the beginning, we need to believe 0:19:55.260 --> 0:19:58.590 in a commitment and a companionship with people to work 0:19:58.630 --> 0:20:02.649 together to God's glory. Realize you need good people around you. 0:20:02.670 --> 0:20:06.710 There's strength in numbers. You know, in 1 Timothy, Paul 0:20:06.750 --> 0:20:10.290 talks to Timothy about how He sees that he's learned 0:20:10.310 --> 0:20:14.010 the Holy Scriptures. In fact, in 2 Timothy, he tells 0:20:14.070 --> 0:20:16.170 us how he learned the Scriptures. He learned it from 0:20:16.230 --> 0:20:19.040 his mother and his grandmother, Lois and Eunice. And he 0:20:19.100 --> 0:20:22.520 also encourages him to tell other people about the good news, 0:20:23.020 --> 0:20:25.960 to teach them how to become great leaders and ministers 0:20:26.119 --> 0:20:28.879 in the kingdom. And whenever he's writing to him in 0:20:28.880 --> 0:20:32.220 2 Timothy, he talks about Luke and he talks about 0:20:32.260 --> 0:20:34.220 then John Mark. Now, if you've read the book of Acts, 0:20:34.260 --> 0:20:36.440 you know that Paul had a little conflict with John Mark. 0:20:36.980 --> 0:20:39.560 right after they decided to go on the second missionary journey. 0:20:40.000 --> 0:20:43.400 And it was a very difficult conversation between him and Barnabas, 0:20:43.820 --> 0:20:46.659 so much so that they split ways. And Barnabas ends 0:20:46.740 --> 0:20:49.840 up taking John Mark. Paul goes back to Antioch, and 0:20:49.859 --> 0:20:54.340 he recalls Silas to help him in his ministry. But 0:20:54.380 --> 0:20:58.000 they always went together as teams. They worked together. And 0:20:58.040 --> 0:20:59.680 Paul says, I need you to get John Mark because 0:20:59.700 --> 0:21:02.330 he's useful for me. I need somebody to help me 0:21:02.710 --> 0:21:04.889 and to guide me and to minister to me. And 0:21:05.730 --> 0:21:10.150 also in his mentorship of young John Mark. John Mark 0:21:10.230 --> 0:21:13.050 also was mentored by Peter. And so many times in 0:21:13.090 --> 0:21:16.340 the scriptures, you'll see these individual characters and they've been 0:21:16.410 --> 0:21:19.360 led by or mentored by a great man. And then 0:21:19.420 --> 0:21:22.200 they in turn will mentor someone else. And you need, 0:21:22.240 --> 0:21:23.959 you and I need to learn to do that. The 0:21:24.000 --> 0:21:26.739 relationship we have is so strong and so important that, 0:21:26.760 --> 0:21:29.360 you know, in Matthew chapter five, Jesus says, if you 0:21:29.380 --> 0:21:31.940 have a problem with someone, if you need to make 0:21:31.980 --> 0:21:34.080 something right, and you're in worship, you need to leave 0:21:34.100 --> 0:21:37.230 your altar and go make it right. Matthew chapter 18, 0:21:37.230 --> 0:21:39.070 verses 15 through 17. He said, if you have a 0:21:39.090 --> 0:21:41.880 problem with your brother, go. Go and talk to them. 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:44.800 Confront the brother. Talk to them between the two of you. 0:21:45.040 --> 0:21:47.020 And then he says, take some witnesses and then finally 0:21:47.040 --> 0:21:49.479