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Speaker 1: Let us pray, and the peace of God, which passeth

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Speaker 1: all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ

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Speaker 1: Jesus Philippians four seven. My Father and my God help

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Speaker 1: me to turn my worries into prayers so that my

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Speaker 1: mind can be at peace. To day, I worry about

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Speaker 1: everything from financial matters to what I'll cook for dinner

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Speaker 1: or when I can get some time for myself. Father,

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Speaker 1: ease my mind from anxious thoughts so that I can

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Speaker 1: appreciate the present moment. My worries hinder me from loving, fully,

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Speaker 1: expressing genuinely, and living up to my full potential. Father,

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Speaker 1: guard my heart and my mind when these unfavorable thoughts

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Speaker 1: flood my mind. Amen, thank you for listening to to

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Speaker 1: day's daily prayer for more inspiration and an incredible message

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Speaker 1: from our feature pastor Stay tuned to Pray Sunday Service.

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Speaker 2: Welcome. Thanks for joining Pastor Rick Warren to hear Pastor

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Speaker 2: Rick's free daily Bible teaching program, download free sermon notes,

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Speaker 2: or sign up for his free daily devotional visit pastorig

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Speaker 2: dot com. Now let's join Pastor Rick as your pastor.

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Speaker 3: I am deeply concerned about how you're handling the trauma

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Speaker 3: and the stress of all of the changes that have

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Speaker 3: taken place in your life in the past eighteen months now.

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Speaker 3: Certainly the global pandemic of COVID changed everything, and we're

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Speaker 3: still not out of the woods. We're still not free

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Speaker 3: from it yet. But there's a lot of other changes

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Speaker 3: going on in the world at the same time. And

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Speaker 3: that's why I started this short series a couple of

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Speaker 3: weeks ago that I'm calling strategies for Stressful Times, Strategies

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Speaker 3: for stressful Times, and we're looking at tips and strategies

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Speaker 3: and skills from the scripture on how do you handle

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Speaker 3: when things aren't good? The first message you remember a

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Speaker 3: couple weeks ago, I did a message called finding the

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Speaker 3: strength to keep going when you're emotionally worn out? Anybody

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Speaker 3: ever felt that way? Emotionally worn out? Yeah? And then

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Speaker 3: last week we looked at how do you be happy

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Speaker 3: no matter what happens? And we talked about how happiness

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Speaker 3: is a choice. It doesn't depend on happenings. You're as

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Speaker 3: happy as you choose to be. If you're unhappy, you

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Speaker 3: can't blame your why for your husband or anybody else.

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Speaker 3: You're as happy as you choose to be. I know

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Speaker 3: people in much worse situations than us that have chosen

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Speaker 3: to be happy. This week, in part three of the

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Speaker 3: Strategies for Stressful Times, I want us to look at

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Speaker 3: how do you trust God during changes you don't like?

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Speaker 3: How do you trust God for changes you don't like

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Speaker 3: during those changes? Now, we all know that everything constantly changes.

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Speaker 3: Everything is constantly changing. In fact, even material objects are

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Speaker 3: actually changing at the molecular level constantly. There are protons

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Speaker 3: and neutrons and electrons that are zipping around in these

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Speaker 3: metal bars. They look like they're solid, they're moving at

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Speaker 3: a molecular level. Now, while we love some changes, and

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Speaker 3: we all do, we love some changes, but there are

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Speaker 3: some changes we just hate. And there are seasons like

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Speaker 3: the one we're in right now, where change is so

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Speaker 3: rapid and so relentless that you just get tired of it.

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Speaker 3: And right now we have been hit with so many

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Speaker 3: unwanted changes that as I talk to people, they're reeling

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Speaker 3: from it, literally reeling. And so many people, maybe you

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Speaker 3: feel this way, just feel like they're in limbo right now,

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Speaker 3: they're just treading water because you're unable to get on

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Speaker 3: with your life, unable to get out of what's going on,

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Speaker 3: and it feels like we're we can't really get on

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Speaker 3: going because we don't know how long this thing's going

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Speaker 3: to last. And a lot of people are just overwhelmed

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Speaker 3: and they're just barely getting by. I care about you

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Speaker 3: if you feel that way, And so today, as I've

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Speaker 3: studied God's word all this week, I want to give

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Speaker 3: you some very practical guidance from God's word on how

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Speaker 3: do you trust God when you're going through changes in

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Speaker 3: your life that you don't like. You'll have plenty of

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Speaker 3: those in life. And what I want to do is

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Speaker 3: I want to give you I want to summarize what

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Speaker 3: Scripture says five things, five truths you need to remember

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Speaker 3: and five things you need to do. Okay, so if

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Speaker 3: you get out your message notes, we'll look at these

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Speaker 3: five things you need to remember when you're going through

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Speaker 3: changes you don't like, and how do you keep trusting

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Speaker 3: God in those situations. So anytime you're overwhelmed by change,

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Speaker 3: there are five things you need to remember, So write

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Speaker 3: these down. Number one. This one's kind of obvious, but

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Speaker 3: we need to start with it. Change is unavoidable. Okay,

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Speaker 3: that's the first thing. We all know that, but we

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Speaker 3: just need to be reminded that change is unavoidable. No

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Speaker 3: matter how much you like a change, or how much

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Speaker 3: you dislike a change, no matter how much you like

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Speaker 3: the way things have been, they're not gonna stay the same. Now.

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Speaker 3: When change happens and it's constant, you can complain, or

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Speaker 3: you can grumble, or you can get mad, or you

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Speaker 3: can blame other people. You can even try to stop

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Speaker 3: the change futilely because you can't stop change. But things

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Speaker 3: are still gonna keep changing every moment of your life.

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Speaker 3: You are changing for good or for bad. Now. When

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Speaker 3: God created the earth way back in the beginning, here's

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Speaker 3: one of the first things he said in Genesis eight,

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Speaker 3: verse twenty two. As long as the Earth remains, there

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Speaker 3: will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer,

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Speaker 3: day and night. What's he saying. He's saying that everything

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Speaker 3: on this planet is seasonal. Nothing stays the same. We

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Speaker 3: live in a world of opposites, and the world isn't

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Speaker 3: the same the way it used to be. Your family

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Speaker 3: isn't the same the way it used to be. Your

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Speaker 3: job isn't the same it used to be. You aren't

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Speaker 3: the same that you used to be. As I said,

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Speaker 3: even inanimate audience objects like this table. It looks solid,

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Speaker 3: but actually at a molecular level, it's moving constantly on

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Speaker 3: the inside. Many of you know that I drove the

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Speaker 3: same green Ford truck for twenty years. I liked it, Okay,

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Speaker 3: I didn't. I don't buy a car for bling or

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Speaker 3: to show my status. It got me the same way

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Speaker 3: of rolls Royce would, and it was comfortable, and frankly,

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Speaker 3: I would have driven that twenty year old truck for

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Speaker 3: the rest of the life. But after a quarter of

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Speaker 3: a million miles it started changing, and it started breaking down,

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Speaker 3: and it started falling apart, and I couldn't stand to

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Speaker 3: give it away. So actually it's parked in my barn,

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Speaker 3: even though I don't drive it anymore. Now, I've taught

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Speaker 3: this for decades. Look there in your outline. I've taught

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Speaker 3: you that there is no growth without change. There is

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Speaker 3: no growth without change, There is no change without loss.

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Speaker 3: There is no loss without grief, and there is no

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Speaker 3: grief without pain. A person who wants to grow and

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Speaker 3: be better but not go through the pain of change

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Speaker 3: is like a woman saying I want to have a baby,

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Speaker 3: but I don't want my Tommy to get and I

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Speaker 3: don't want to go through labor. It ain't going to happen.

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Speaker 3: They don't call it labor for nothing. Any of you

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Speaker 3: ladies want to testify to that right now, every to

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Speaker 3: bring new life into the world requires pain. Things change.

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Speaker 3: But remember this, if nothing ever changed, you would have

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Speaker 3: never been born. Because you were a change. You wouldn't

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Speaker 3: have even been born. So change is unavoidable. Okay, we

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Speaker 3: got that one down. Here's number two. This is more important.

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Speaker 3: Change is not always good, but God uses it for good.

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Speaker 3: Change is not always good, but God uses it for

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Speaker 3: good in the lives of those who trust him. It's

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Speaker 3: not good for everybody, but it is good in the

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Speaker 3: lives of those who trust him. One of the greatest

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Speaker 3: promises of the Bible, Romans eight twenty eight. We know not.

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Speaker 3: We're confident that in all things God works for the

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Speaker 3: good of those who love Him, who have been called

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Speaker 3: according to His purpose. Now, as I've said many times,

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Speaker 3: that verse does not say everything is good. There's not

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Speaker 3: a lot of things in the world that are not good.

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Speaker 3: Evil is not good, cancer is not good, rape, molestation

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Speaker 3: is not good, war, prejudice is not good. A lot

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Speaker 3: of bad things in the world. But the Bible says

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Speaker 3: God specializes in bringing good even out of bad. He

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Speaker 3: can turn crucifixions into a resurrection. And the way God

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Speaker 3: works all things together for good is kind of like

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Speaker 3: baking a cake. Now you may not realize this, but

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Speaker 3: I'm a master cake builder. I know how to bake

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Speaker 3: cakes because I figured if I want to eat them,

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Speaker 3: I don't know how to make them. I once made

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Speaker 3: of German chocolate cake from scratch, no box, for my wife,

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Speaker 3: so I know how to make cakes. Now, when you

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Speaker 3: make a cake, the individual ingredients don't taste good at all.

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Speaker 3: In fact, some of them are quite bitter. If you

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Speaker 3: eat flour by itself doesn't taste good. You eat butter

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Speaker 3: by itself doesn't taste good. If you eat baking powder

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Speaker 3: by itself, oil by itself doesn't taste good. Even a

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Speaker 3: little vanilla raw eggs by themselves. None of the ingredients

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Speaker 3: in a cake taste good by themselves. But if you

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Speaker 3: mix them all together, stir it all up, and stir

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Speaker 3: and stir and stir, and then put the heat on it,

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Speaker 3: it's delicious, delicious. In your life, there will be elements

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Speaker 3: of your life that are bitter and unpleasant. Anyhoy that

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Speaker 3: doesn't taste good. I don't like that change in my life.

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Speaker 3: I don't like what just happened. I don't like what's

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Speaker 3: happening in the world today. But God takes it all,

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Speaker 3: and he takes even the bad and the bitter. Have

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Speaker 3: you ever drunk some vanilla by itself is not very tasty?

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Speaker 3: And He mixes it all up. All things work together

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Speaker 3: for the good of those who love God, who are

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Speaker 3: called according to His purpose. Now, the most important word

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Speaker 3: in that verse that we just looked at on your outline,

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Speaker 3: Romans eight twenty eight is the word all, So circle

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Speaker 3: the word all. What does all include? In all things?

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Speaker 3: God works for the good of those who love it.

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Speaker 3: That means all. It literally means all. It means every

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Speaker 3: circumstance you face, every choice you make, every consequence you feel,

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Speaker 3: and every change you experience, including all of the changes

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Speaker 3: we've just had in the last eighteen months, all work

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Speaker 3: together for the good of those who love God. You know,

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Speaker 3: some people act as if God was caught off guard

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Speaker 3: by COVID nineteen, like God goes Wow, I didn't see

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Speaker 3: that coming. I didn't imagine that world global pandemic ever

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Speaker 3: happening and I had no idea what was going to

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Speaker 3: do to all my churches? Man, am I in a mess?

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Speaker 3: God is not sweating this pandemic. The church has outlasted

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Speaker 3: everything for a two thousand years. Every dictator, every pandemic,

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Speaker 3: every fire, every flood, every revolution, every critic is still

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Speaker 3: here and none of those things are now. The difference

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Speaker 3: between whether you're going to be bitter at the end

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Speaker 3: of this season we're in a rapid change and relentless change.

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Speaker 3: Are you going to be bitter? Are you going to

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Speaker 3: be better? The difference is the letter I the DearS

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Speaker 3: being bitter, and better is I. I make the difference

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Speaker 3: my attitude. So I need to remember that change is

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Speaker 3: not always good, but God always uses it for good

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Speaker 3: if I trust him. Number three, here's the third thing

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Speaker 3: to remember. God's purpose in every circumstance, every one of them,

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Speaker 3: including the ones we're going through right now, is to

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Speaker 3: make me more like Jesus. God's purpose in every change

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Speaker 3: in my life is to make me more like Jesus. Now.

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Speaker 3: The promise of Romans eight twenty eight is a wonderful promise,

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Speaker 3: but it doesn't really make sense until you read the

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Speaker 3: next verse. Romans eight twenty nine. So let me read

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Speaker 3: you those two verses together from the New Living Translation.

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Speaker 3: Here's what it says. We know, in other words, we're

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Speaker 3: not guessing. We know that God causes everything, even the

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Speaker 3: bad stuff, even the bad changes. God causes everything to

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Speaker 3: work together for the good of everybody, know for the

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Speaker 3: good of those who love Him and are called to

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Speaker 3: His purpose for them. For God knew in advance who

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Speaker 3: would come to him. He already knew before you decided

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Speaker 3: to accept Christ, that you were going to accept him.

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Speaker 3: He knew in advance who would come to him, and

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Speaker 3: he chose them to circle this become like his son,

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Speaker 3: so that his son Jesus would be the firstborn in

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Speaker 3: his family with many brothers and sisters. God doesn't just

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Speaker 3: want you in his family. He wants you develop the

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Speaker 3: family characteristics of a daughter of God or a son

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Speaker 3: of God, a child of God like father, like son,

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Speaker 3: like father, like daughter. God says, I want you to

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Speaker 3: grow up, and who's the model for maturity, Not you

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Speaker 3: or me Jesus Christ. And God says, my number one

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Speaker 3: goal in your life is to make you like Jesus Christ.

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Speaker 3: His number one goal is not to make you happy.

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Speaker 3: His number one goal is not to make you comfortable.

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Speaker 3: His number one goal is to not make your life pleasant.

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Speaker 3: Those things are the result of becoming like Christ. This

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Speaker 3: is not heaven. In heaven, there's no sorrow, suffering, sadness, sickness.

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Speaker 3: But on earth everything's broken. And so what are we

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Speaker 3: doing here? This is a school in character for the

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Speaker 3: sixty or eighty or ninety or at the most one

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Speaker 3: hundred years you get on this planet. You're in school

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Speaker 3: for character. You're not taking your career to heaven. You're

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Speaker 3: not taking your cash to heaven. You're not taking your

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Speaker 3: reputation to heaven. What are you taking to heaven? Only

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Speaker 3: one thing? Your character? What you became, the man you

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Speaker 3: became on this earth, You're taking that to heaven. The

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Speaker 3: woman you became on this earth, you're taking that to heaven.

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Speaker 3: So his number one goal, God uses everything for our good.

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Speaker 3: And what is that good? He uses it to build

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Speaker 3: my character. He uses it to make me more like Jesus.

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Speaker 3: So what is Jesus like? The best picture of Jesus

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Speaker 3: in the Bible is Galatians chapter two, verses twenty three

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Speaker 3: and twenty four, twenty two and twenty three. They're called

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Speaker 3: the fruit of the spirit. Nine character qualities. The fruit

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Speaker 3: of the spirit are love, Jesus's love, joy, Jesus's total joy, peace,

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Speaker 3: Jesus was always at peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meetness, kindness,

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Speaker 3: self control. These nine qualities are a perfect picture of Jesus. Now,

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Speaker 3: how does God produce that kind of fruit in you?

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Speaker 3: How does God make you more loving? Are you just

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Speaker 3: walking down the street one day and all of a

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Speaker 3: sudden zap, You're filled with love and I'm so loving.

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Speaker 3: I love everybody. I'm just the lover of lovers? No, no, no,

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Speaker 3: it doesn't doesn't zapp There's no pill you could take,

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Speaker 3: No seminar, are you going to tend that's going to

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Speaker 3: turn you from a hater into a lover or from

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Speaker 3: a loving person into a really compassionate person. How does

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Speaker 3: God produce love in your life? How does God produce

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Speaker 3: joy in your life? How does God produce peace and

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Speaker 3: patience in your life? Listen very closely. I've told this

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Speaker 3: for but I'll talk to you again by putting you

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Speaker 3: in the exact opposite situation where you get a chance

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Speaker 3: to learn and practice that character quality. How does God

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Speaker 3: teach you love? It's real easy to love people like

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Speaker 3: you who are cool. If God's going to teach you

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Speaker 3: real love, He's going to put you around some unlovable people,

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Speaker 3: unlovely people. Now, don't look at him right now, don't

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Speaker 3: hit him in the elbow with your elbow. Be cool.

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Speaker 3: But God puts people around you who get on your

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Speaker 3: nerves to teach you real love. Their heavenly sandpaper roughing

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Speaker 3: down your rough edges. Anybody can love the lovely. How

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Speaker 3: do you learn to love the unlovely the way Jesus

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Speaker 3: loves you in spite of all your hang ups and

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Speaker 3: hurts and stuff. How about joy? How does God teach

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Speaker 3: you real joy in the middle of suffering, in the

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Speaker 3: middle of grief. Joy is not happiness. Anybody can be

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Speaker 3: happy when you're out, you know, without a bonfire at

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Speaker 3: the beach, in the sunsetting. Man, it doesn't get any

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Speaker 3: better than this. Anybody be happy, fly fishing in the mountains.

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Speaker 3: If God's gonna teach you real joy, it'll be in

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Speaker 3: the middle when your heart's breaking. How about peace? How

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Speaker 3: does God teach you peace? It's easy to be peaceful

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Speaker 3: when everything's going your way. He'll allow chaos in your life,

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Speaker 3: conflict in your life to teach you inner peace, the

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Speaker 3: peace that passes understanding, which says there's no reason I

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Speaker 3: should be peaceful now, but I am patience. How does

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Speaker 3: God teach you patience? The department of motor vehicles, waiting

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Speaker 3: in line, traffic jams, doctor's appointments, and honor any time

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Speaker 3: you have to wait. God is teaching you the quality

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Speaker 3: of patience to make you more like Jesus. I remember

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Speaker 3: a number of years ago when I was going through

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Speaker 3: major problems and I said, Lord, I need patience. And

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Speaker 3: instead of getting better, they got worse. They got worse.

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Speaker 3: And I said, Lord, I need patience, and the and

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Speaker 3: my problems got worse, and that Lord, I need more patience,

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Speaker 3: it got worse. Finally, after six months, I realized I'm

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Speaker 3: a lot more patient when I started out. It's easy

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Speaker 3: to be patient. Everything goes your way. Have you thought

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Speaker 3: about maybe the last eighteen months, God has been trying

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Speaker 3: to teach you love for people who are unlovely, joy

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Speaker 3: in the middle of crisis, Peace in the middle of

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Speaker 3: chaos and uncertainty and transition when you feel like you're

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Speaker 3: in limbo, Patience with people who won't be won't do

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Speaker 3: what you want them to do, on and on. This

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Speaker 3: is a school we're in right now, and God's watching.

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Speaker 3: Change is not always good, but God uses it for

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Speaker 3: good and the purpose is to always make me more

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Speaker 3: like Jesus. All right, now, here's the fourth thing you

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Speaker 3: need to remember. Write this down. God can even can

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Speaker 3: use even human error and sin. God can use even

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Speaker 3: human error and sin. I'm talking about when you are

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Speaker 3: the innocent victim of somebody else's bad decision. My family

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Speaker 3: isn't what it used to because my husband broke it

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Speaker 3: up and left me, or my wife left me. Whatever.

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Speaker 3: God can use even human error and the sins of

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Speaker 3: other people, not even just my own, for the good

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Speaker 3: in my He can bring good in my life in

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Speaker 3: his plan to grow your character and make you like Jesus.

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Speaker 3: Do you remember the story of Joseph. Remember the story

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Speaker 3: of Joseph, How his brothers were jealous because he was

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Speaker 3: the favorite son, and so his brothers sold Joseph into slavery,

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Speaker 3: and he's taken to Egypt, and for the first forty

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Speaker 3: years of his life, everything goes wrong. He's falsely accused

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Speaker 3: of rape, he's sold into slavery, he's thrown in jail

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Speaker 3: for a crime he didn't commit and sitting in a

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Speaker 3: foreign jail. Forty years later, he's gone, nothing has gone

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Speaker 3: right in my life so far. First forty years. His

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Speaker 3: whole life's downhill. But God had put Joseph exactly where

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Speaker 3: he wanted him to be, and a series of God's circumstances,

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Speaker 3: Joseph is raised up to become the second most powerful

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Speaker 3: leader in the most powerful nation in the world at

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Speaker 3: that time, which is Egypt in the Age of the Pyramids.

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Speaker 3: And when Joseph later and he actually saves two countries

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Speaker 3: from famine. He saves Egypt and he saves Israel from

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Speaker 3: famine because of his wisdom. But it didn't look like

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Speaker 3: things were going good in his life for a long

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Speaker 3: long time. One day, though, he finally has his brothers

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Speaker 3: come to meet him, and he confronts his brothers, the

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Speaker 3: guys who had sold him into slavery in the first

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Speaker 3: forty years of nothing going right in his life, and

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Speaker 3: what was Joseph's attitude? He treats them with grace, not bitterness.

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Speaker 3: Why well, Genesis fifty tells us his perspective that God

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Speaker 3: can use even human error and sin for good. And

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Speaker 3: Joseph says in Genesis fifty twenty you talking to his brothers.

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Speaker 3: You intended to harm me, but God, that's the most

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Speaker 3: important thing. But God intended it for good. To accomplish

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Speaker 3: what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

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Speaker 3: Two entire nations were saved. So out of the sin

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Speaker 3: of his brothers, two nations got saved from famine and destruction.

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Speaker 3: You intended to harm me, but God intended for good. Friends,

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Speaker 3: I'll be honest with you. There are people in your

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Speaker 3: life who intend bad. You will face people in your life,

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Speaker 3: people who resent you at work, they're in competition with you,

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Speaker 3: they're critical of you, they don't like you, or whatever.

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Speaker 3: They intend to hurt you. They intended for bad, but

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Speaker 3: God intends it for good. And so God can even

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Speaker 3: use human error and sin in all the circumstances of life.

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Speaker 3: You know here at Saddleback, we all know the story

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Speaker 3: of how God brought good even out of Danny Dushane's

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Speaker 3: life in prison. How he went to prison for a

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Speaker 3: double murder and was spending all his years in prison

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Speaker 3: is in there nearly thirty years. But he came to

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Speaker 3: the Lord and he lived for God. And today Danny

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Speaker 3: is a pastor of Saddleback and ministers to prisoners all

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Speaker 3: over America. That's grace. That's grace, and that's the kind

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Speaker 3: of church we are. It doesn't matter what your background is.

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Speaker 3: I don't care what you've done, how badly you've done it,

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Speaker 3: or who you did it with, or how long he

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Speaker 3: did it. What matters is the direction of your feet today.

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Speaker 3: That's all it matters, all right. Now, here's the fifth

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Speaker 3: truth that you need to remember when we're going through

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Speaker 3: changes we don't like. It's unavoidable, but God uses it

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Speaker 3: for good, and he wants to make me like Christ.

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Speaker 3: And even he can use the bad things that other

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Speaker 3: people do in my life that spread the problems to

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Speaker 3: me that I didn't ask for. Number five, every change

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Speaker 3: is always a test of my faith. Write that down.

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Speaker 3: Every change in your life is always a test of

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Speaker 3: your faith. One Peter, Chapter one, verse seven says this

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Speaker 3: The purpose of these troubles, you know, the ones you're

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Speaker 3: in right now, the ones we've been facing for eighteen months.

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Speaker 3: The purpose of these troubles is to test your faith.

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Speaker 3: Circle that as fire tests how genuine gold is, your

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Speaker 3: faith is more precious than gold. And by passing the test,

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Speaker 3: it gives praise and glory and honor to God. Now

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Speaker 3: I've told you before that having faith during a time

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Speaker 3: of change, major change, like we're going through these days,

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Speaker 3: these ugly days that we're going through, when it's rapid

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Speaker 3: and it's relentless. Having faith during a time of change

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Speaker 3: is like a trapeze act and a trapeze artist. You've

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Speaker 3: all seen it and the circus and stuff. Trapeez artists

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Speaker 3: out on one bar, the other one comes from the

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Speaker 3: other direction, and at one point they let go of

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Speaker 3: this bar and then grab on to that one and

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Speaker 3: swing across to the other side. At some point in

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Speaker 3: that trapeez artist, you have to let go of this

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Speaker 3: one in order to jump over and grab the other one.

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Speaker 3: And at that point you're hanging suspended in space with

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Speaker 3: nothing holding you up. That is the moment of faith

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Speaker 3: in your life. But when you grab on to that,

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Speaker 3: it'll take you to the other side. If you don't

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Speaker 3: take that risk, if you don't step out in faith,

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Speaker 3: you'll get out there and you go, I'm afraid to

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Speaker 3: do that. Then you swing back here, and you swing

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Speaker 3: back here, swing back here, swinging back here. Pretty soon

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Speaker 3: you're dead center and there's only one way out straight down.

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Speaker 3: You gotta let it go. You gotta stop wishing for

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Speaker 3: the good old days. They're not coming back. Besides that,

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Speaker 3: the good old days weren't as good as you think

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Speaker 3: they were. There were problems then too, and pressures and

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Speaker 3: struggles then too. Now before we look at what God

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Speaker 3: says to do, and we're gonna look at that now

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Speaker 3: in a time of change. I want you to consider

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Speaker 3: how these five truths apply to your life. Okay, so

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Speaker 3: let's look at them again. Number one, change is unavoidable.

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Speaker 3: Are you going to just stop complaining and gripe in

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Speaker 3: and going I wish it were like eighteen months ago

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Speaker 3: or whenever your golden days were. They're not coming back.

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Speaker 3: It's unavoidable, and you're just gonna make yourself miserable. Looking

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Speaker 3: in the past. It's like looking in the past like

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Speaker 3: trying to drive looking in the rear view mirror. You're

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Speaker 3: gonna crash. But you need to remember, you say, God,

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Speaker 3: I believe you're gonna use all of this, even the

427
00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:54,960
Speaker 3: stuff I don't like, the changes I don't like. You're

428
00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:57,359
Speaker 3: gonna use it for good in my life. Okay. And

429
00:27:57,440 --> 00:27:59,160
Speaker 3: I know that you want to work on my character.

430
00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:01,439
Speaker 3: You're more interested in my character that my comfort. So

431
00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,360
Speaker 3: make me like Christ. Help me be more patient, help

432
00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:07,960
Speaker 3: me be more loving, help me be more at peace,

433
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:10,360
Speaker 3: help me be more faithful, help me to have more

434
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:16,080
Speaker 3: self control. All those nine qualities. And then though people

435
00:28:16,119 --> 00:28:21,880
Speaker 3: who've hurt you, or how society has hurt you over

436
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,480
Speaker 3: the past, you just got to go Okay, they intended

437
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,960
Speaker 3: it for bad, but God can use it for good

438
00:28:28,359 --> 00:28:32,120
Speaker 3: in my life. And then to realize that everything in

439
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:37,439
Speaker 3: my life that happens, every change, is a test of faith. Now,

440
00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:39,880
Speaker 3: let me give you five things y'at to do. These

441
00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:45,000
Speaker 3: are action steps. How can I trust God when I'm

442
00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:48,000
Speaker 3: stressed by all the changes in my life? All right?

443
00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:53,040
Speaker 3: Number one, these are very practical. Invest more time alone

444
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,280
Speaker 3: with God. If you don't get anything else side, do

445
00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:57,600
Speaker 3: you I want you to say, I want you to

446
00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:05,440
Speaker 3: get this this weekend, invest our time alone with God. Listen,

447
00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:09,880
Speaker 3: the greater the changes that happen in your life, the

448
00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:13,840
Speaker 3: more you need to invest time alone, time alone with God.

449
00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:15,760
Speaker 3: We're talking about your quiet time where you read a

450
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:17,840
Speaker 3: little bit of the Bible and you talk to God

451
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,000
Speaker 3: in prayer and you just be quiet and you say, God,

452
00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,720
Speaker 3: is there anything you want to say to me? Time

453
00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:27,760
Speaker 3: alone with God is the great stabilizer in your life

454
00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:32,719
Speaker 3: when you're stressed out. It's also the greatest re energizer

455
00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:38,920
Speaker 3: when you're worn out. It's the greatest re energizer of energy. Now,

456
00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:42,160
Speaker 3: have you guys, noticed that you don't have as much

457
00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:47,520
Speaker 3: energy as you did eighteen months ago. You don't because

458
00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:52,200
Speaker 3: chronic stress is draining it out of you every single day.

459
00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:55,600
Speaker 3: All of the changes that we've seen in our personal lives,

460
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,800
Speaker 3: in our church, in our families, in the world, in

461
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:03,080
Speaker 3: our jobs, all those changes sap your strength. They're like

462
00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,720
Speaker 3: pulling it out of you constantly. So the fatigue that

463
00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:11,920
Speaker 3: you're feeling, okay, it's natural. Welcome to the club. Welcome

464
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,160
Speaker 3: to the human race. You get up in the morning

465
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:16,960
Speaker 3: and you had a good night's sleep and a couple

466
00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,200
Speaker 3: hours end of the day, you're going, man, I'm exhausted.

467
00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:24,200
Speaker 3: Welcome to the club. That's called chronic stress. And it's

468
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:29,960
Speaker 3: very normal under prolonged change like we've been through. And

469
00:30:30,040 --> 00:30:33,880
Speaker 3: so you're just trying to get by. Now when I'm

470
00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:36,959
Speaker 3: talking about this lack of energy that you've got, that

471
00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:39,880
Speaker 3: everything's everything's harder for you to do than it was

472
00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:43,320
Speaker 3: two years ago. That you're just trying to get by.

473
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:46,640
Speaker 3: This has nothing or little to do with your age,

474
00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:51,200
Speaker 3: because both young people and older people are feeling this

475
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:56,800
Speaker 3: right now. What's the antidote? Isaiah Chapter forty, verses twenty

476
00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:02,200
Speaker 3: eight to thirty one, this New Living Translation. Don't you

477
00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:08,440
Speaker 3: know that the Lord is the everlasting God, and he

478
00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:10,480
Speaker 3: created everything on this earth? Now that took a lot

479
00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:12,320
Speaker 3: of energy to create everything on this Earth and on

480
00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:16,760
Speaker 3: the planets and in the International Space Station and everywhere

481
00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:23,040
Speaker 3: everything anyway, it says, And he never grows tired or weary.

482
00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:26,000
Speaker 3: God never gets tired, he said, What about what he

483
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,600
Speaker 3: says after the six days of creation, he rested. He's

484
00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:31,400
Speaker 3: just doing that to model it for human beings. He

485
00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:34,240
Speaker 3: wanted to create the Sabbath. God does not get tired,

486
00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:37,760
Speaker 3: He doesn't get worn out. So it says, he never

487
00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:40,480
Speaker 3: grows tired to weary, which means the more time he's

488
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:42,480
Speaker 3: been with him, the more it's going to energize you.

489
00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:46,480
Speaker 3: He never goes tired to weary. Instead, he gives strength

490
00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:49,760
Speaker 3: to those who are weary that's you, and worn out,

491
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,280
Speaker 3: that's you. And he gives power to the weak that's you.

492
00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:58,800
Speaker 3: Even young people become exhausted and want to give up.

493
00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:05,280
Speaker 3: Millennials gen Z, they're tired too. Even young people become exhausted,

494
00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:09,560
Speaker 3: they want to give up. But those who trust and

495
00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:13,880
Speaker 3: wait on the Lord will find new strength, flying high

496
00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:17,000
Speaker 3: like eagles, and they'll run and not grow weary, and

497
00:32:17,040 --> 00:32:21,520
Speaker 3: they'll keep going and not faint. So here's the point.

498
00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:28,080
Speaker 3: When you are stressed by constant, continual, major changes like

499
00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:31,280
Speaker 3: you're going through right now, don't seek a quick fix.

500
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:35,160
Speaker 3: It's not in what you drink or the drug you

501
00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:38,840
Speaker 3: take or what you smoke. It's not a quick fix.

502
00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:43,120
Speaker 3: Don't look for an escape, don't look for a short cut.

503
00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:49,240
Speaker 3: Don't fight changes that you can't possibly control. Instead, seek

504
00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:52,840
Speaker 3: the Lord. Seek the Lord on a daily base. God,

505
00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:57,520
Speaker 3: i'm plugging in on My battery is empty. I need recharging.

506
00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:01,000
Speaker 3: Your quiet time is more important to you right now

507
00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:03,600
Speaker 3: than it ever has been in your entire life. Get

508
00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:09,640
Speaker 3: back to it. Make sure that if anything happens every day,

509
00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:13,840
Speaker 3: you spend time alone with God. Whether anything else gets

510
00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:16,560
Speaker 3: done in your life, you make sure that happens. That's

511
00:33:16,640 --> 00:33:20,760
Speaker 3: the first key to trusting God. When you're stressed by change,

512
00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:26,920
Speaker 3: invest more time alone with God. Number two, Ask God

513
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,520
Speaker 3: this is what you do in that time. Ask God

514
00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:33,560
Speaker 3: to help me see his perspective. In that time alone

515
00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:35,760
Speaker 3: with God, as you're reading and praying, reading the Bible

516
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:38,800
Speaker 3: and praying, say, God, help me to see everything going

517
00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:42,160
Speaker 3: on around me from your perspective, not the way I

518
00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:44,080
Speaker 3: see it, not the way the world sees it, but

519
00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:48,920
Speaker 3: from your perspective you see. If you can begin to

520
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:52,200
Speaker 3: see all the changes that are going on in the

521
00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:55,680
Speaker 3: world and in your life, and in our church and

522
00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:58,520
Speaker 3: in community and in society, you can see them all

523
00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:02,080
Speaker 3: from God's point of view, gonna be a whole lot

524
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,120
Speaker 3: You're gonna feel a whole lot better, and you're gonna

525
00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:08,799
Speaker 3: be a whole lot less stressed. What I'm talking about here,

526
00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,960
Speaker 3: Listen very closely. This is extremely important. What I'm talking

527
00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:15,120
Speaker 3: is the difference between seeing everything that's going on in

528
00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:18,960
Speaker 3: the world that's one thing, and seeing how God is

529
00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:22,359
Speaker 3: working through everything that's going on in the world that's

530
00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:26,760
Speaker 3: a whole different story. This is the difference between having

531
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:30,200
Speaker 3: knowledge of everything that's going on in the world and

532
00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:34,040
Speaker 3: having perspective of, oh, this is what God is doing.

533
00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:41,560
Speaker 3: It is the difference between information and wisdom. Today, friends,

534
00:34:41,680 --> 00:34:46,400
Speaker 3: we're overwhelmed with information. There's an information glot. We're on

535
00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:51,920
Speaker 3: information overload. There are unlimited channels, millions of channels for

536
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,160
Speaker 3: you to find out what's going on in the world.

537
00:34:54,680 --> 00:34:57,480
Speaker 3: You don't need any more information in your life. You

538
00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:00,120
Speaker 3: could turn off a few of those information channels to

539
00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:03,759
Speaker 3: be healthier. What's missing in your life is non information

540
00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:06,520
Speaker 3: about the world. What's missing in your life is understanding.

541
00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:13,640
Speaker 3: Anybody can be informed, but only wise people seek God's

542
00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:17,759
Speaker 3: perspective on current events and go, God, help me to

543
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:21,120
Speaker 3: see this from your point, not from my political viewpoint,

544
00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:24,400
Speaker 3: not from somebody else's political viewpoint, not from that cultural viewpoint,

545
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:27,680
Speaker 3: not from that racial viewpoint, not from that religious viewpoint,

546
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:34,719
Speaker 3: but from your viewpoint God. In the Bible, what separated Moses,

547
00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:38,440
Speaker 3: one of the greatest leaders of all time, from the

548
00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:41,279
Speaker 3: people of Israel is what I'm talking about here. The

549
00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:46,040
Speaker 3: people had knowledge, Moses had perspective. The people could see

550
00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:48,759
Speaker 3: what was going on. Moses knew why it was going on.

551
00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:55,279
Speaker 3: During the Exodus, everybody could see the current events. They

552
00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:58,520
Speaker 3: saw Moses do the ten plagues in Egypt, and the

553
00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:01,000
Speaker 3: Nile turns the Blood and all all the other plagues.

554
00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:04,319
Speaker 3: They saw the Red Sea open when they got out

555
00:36:04,360 --> 00:36:05,839
Speaker 3: there in the desert and there was no water. They

556
00:36:05,840 --> 00:36:10,360
Speaker 3: saw God bring a fountain of water out of a rock.

557
00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:15,480
Speaker 3: Miracle after miracle. They saw the acts of God. They

558
00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:19,040
Speaker 3: saw the deeds of God. They saw what was happening

559
00:36:19,080 --> 00:36:24,200
Speaker 3: in current events. But only Moses understood God's reasons and

560
00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:28,759
Speaker 3: his perspectives and his ways Psalm one oh three. The

561
00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:32,239
Speaker 3: next verse Psalm one oh three, verse seven, on your outline,

562
00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:36,680
Speaker 3: God let the people of Israel see his mighty actions,

563
00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:42,520
Speaker 3: but he revealed his ways to Moses. Now, why am

564
00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:45,640
Speaker 3: I teaching this to you? Because, friends, as your pastor

565
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:51,120
Speaker 3: who loves you, I want you to be better than

566
00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:57,479
Speaker 3: everybody else. I want you to not just know what's

567
00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:01,879
Speaker 3: going on in the world. I want you to understand

568
00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:07,880
Speaker 3: the ways of God. You can get current information from

569
00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:11,520
Speaker 3: any media source. That doesn't make you better than anybody,

570
00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:16,520
Speaker 3: but it doesn't make you better. We have tons of information,

571
00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:23,280
Speaker 3: tons of news, and still are unwise. In my deepest

572
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:27,480
Speaker 3: desire that this church will be filled with women of wisdom,

573
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:38,160
Speaker 3: men of wisdom with understanding, not simply knowledge, with perspective,

574
00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:43,440
Speaker 3: not just information. People are arguing about information around the

575
00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:49,120
Speaker 3: whole world, and they're missing the wisdom of God. And

576
00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:51,960
Speaker 3: that's why they're fighting each other. They don't know the

577
00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:58,799
Speaker 3: wisdom of God. Where does that wisdom come from. Not

578
00:37:58,960 --> 00:38:03,080
Speaker 3: from the news, certainly not from social media. You're not

579
00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:08,480
Speaker 3: gonna get any wisdom from that. You get wisdom from

580
00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:13,000
Speaker 3: two sources. Number one, Write this down, two sources. Number one,

581
00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:18,320
Speaker 3: ask God two words, write it down. Ask God okay,

582
00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:22,680
Speaker 3: Ask God okay to help me see his perspective. Ask

583
00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:26,440
Speaker 3: God to make you wise. James one to five says this,

584
00:38:28,040 --> 00:38:32,359
Speaker 3: If you need wisdom, just ask God. Ask God. When

585
00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:34,000
Speaker 3: was the last time you asked God to make you

586
00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:37,440
Speaker 3: a wise man? When was the last time you ask

587
00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:40,560
Speaker 3: God to make you a wise woman? Ask God for wisdom.

588
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:44,480
Speaker 3: God is generous. He'll gladly tell you what you need.

589
00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:47,200
Speaker 3: But then after you ask God, you got to do

590
00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:52,799
Speaker 3: the second thing, and that is learn from God's word

591
00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:57,000
Speaker 3: and those who teach it. The wisdom is in this book. Now,

592
00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:01,560
Speaker 3: this book sitting closed in your in your library, or

593
00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:05,480
Speaker 3: on your coffee table doesn't do you any good. This

594
00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:08,799
Speaker 3: book is only good if you open it. But all

595
00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:11,960
Speaker 3: the wisdom you need to handle the stress and the

596
00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:18,600
Speaker 3: change in life is here. Second Peter, Chapter one, verse nineteen.

597
00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:20,319
Speaker 3: Some of you maybe have never even seen this. Verse

598
00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:26,319
Speaker 3: says this, we have greater confidence in the message of

599
00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:29,920
Speaker 3: the prophets. What's the message of the prophets. It's the Bible,

600
00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:35,719
Speaker 3: God inspired prophets, godly ment to write down what God

601
00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:37,719
Speaker 3: wanted them to write down. We call it the Old

602
00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:41,360
Speaker 3: Testament of the New Testament. God inspired the message of

603
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:45,720
Speaker 3: the prophets. This is the Bible, God's word, and he says,

604
00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:48,600
Speaker 3: there we have greater conference in the message of the prophets.

605
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:52,799
Speaker 3: Pay close attention. Take a note circle that word, pay

606
00:39:52,880 --> 00:39:57,160
Speaker 3: close attention that phrase to what they wrote for their

607
00:39:57,160 --> 00:40:01,600
Speaker 3: words are like a light shining in a dark place.

608
00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:05,440
Speaker 3: I don't know how much how dark are our culture

609
00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:14,439
Speaker 3: is gonna get. I'm not a soothsayer, but it does

610
00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:16,759
Speaker 3: say when things get dark, you need to go to

611
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:19,600
Speaker 3: the light. And the light is here, not anywhere else.

612
00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:23,640
Speaker 3: It says, pay close attention. Let me just ask you,

613
00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:27,680
Speaker 3: very honestly, somebody who loves you as your friend, what

614
00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:31,560
Speaker 3: do you pay the most attention to these days? The radio,

615
00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:40,520
Speaker 3: talk radio, the media, social media, or God's word? What

616
00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:45,239
Speaker 3: are you paying the most attention to? You're gonna be

617
00:40:45,239 --> 00:40:46,840
Speaker 3: a whole lot less stressed out. You're gonna be a

618
00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:49,040
Speaker 3: lot more at peace if you go to the source

619
00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:53,120
Speaker 3: of truth. That's the third thing you need to do.

620
00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:55,399
Speaker 3: Second thing you need to do. Third thing. Write this down.

621
00:40:56,640 --> 00:41:01,480
Speaker 3: Instead of asking why is all this happening? Ask God?

622
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:05,560
Speaker 3: What do you want me to learn? Instead is going

623
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:08,480
Speaker 3: to God? Why are you allowing this pandemic? Why are

624
00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:11,640
Speaker 3: you allowing the social problems? Why are you allowing people

625
00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:14,160
Speaker 3: to be at each other's throat? People are angry, They're

626
00:41:14,239 --> 00:41:17,719
Speaker 3: arguing over this and that and this and that and why.

627
00:41:17,760 --> 00:41:21,160
Speaker 3: Instead of asking why is this happening? Ask what do

628
00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:25,279
Speaker 3: you want me to learn? God doesn't know us an

629
00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:27,480
Speaker 3: explanation and why he does everything in the world, or

630
00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:30,799
Speaker 3: why he allows everything in the world. So here's what

631
00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:35,000
Speaker 3: I recommend you focus on your character, not the changes

632
00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:42,719
Speaker 3: in society, not the circumstances around you. Romans eight, excuse me,

633
00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:45,440
Speaker 3: Romans five, Verses three and four. It's up here on

634
00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:52,200
Speaker 3: the screen. We can rejoice even in our troubles and

635
00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:57,439
Speaker 3: our struggles. Troubles and struggles. Does that sound familiar. We've

636
00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:01,239
Speaker 3: had eighteen months as troubles and struggles. He says, we

637
00:42:01,280 --> 00:42:05,120
Speaker 3: can rejoice even in our troubles and struggles because we

638
00:42:05,280 --> 00:42:10,160
Speaker 3: know this is wisdom that they teach us. We learn

639
00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:15,640
Speaker 3: endurance that we learn endurance. They teach us endurance, and

640
00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:23,600
Speaker 3: endurance develops strength of character and character creates hope. Now,

641
00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:25,040
Speaker 3: I want to keep this verse on the screen for

642
00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:27,000
Speaker 3: just a minute. Please. I want you to notice a

643
00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:31,920
Speaker 3: couple of things about this verse. Okay. Number one, notice

644
00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:38,080
Speaker 3: that life is a struggle. Everybody agree with that life's tough.

645
00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:42,120
Speaker 3: We shouldn't expect it to be any less. We live

646
00:42:42,160 --> 00:42:45,080
Speaker 3: on a broken planet. This is not heaven. There's no

647
00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:48,799
Speaker 3: struggle in heaven. This is earth. Everything's a struggle on earth.

648
00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:55,120
Speaker 3: We can rejoice even on our struggles and troubles. By

649
00:42:55,160 --> 00:42:58,080
Speaker 3: the way, have you ever wondered why our struggles are

650
00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:02,239
Speaker 3: so relentless? The answer is is because God wants to

651
00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:05,040
Speaker 3: change us and we don't want to change. That's why

652
00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:08,719
Speaker 3: we struggle, because we don't want to surrender to the

653
00:43:08,719 --> 00:43:12,480
Speaker 3: will of God in our lives. God wants to change us,

654
00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:15,840
Speaker 3: and we don't want to change, so we struggle. Now.

655
00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:17,400
Speaker 3: The second thing I want you to notice that of

656
00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:22,640
Speaker 3: that verse is that if we develop character, If you

657
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:27,120
Speaker 3: develop character, you become a person of character. You'll be

658
00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:31,759
Speaker 3: full of hope. You'll be full of hope. But if

659
00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:36,800
Speaker 3: you just complain about why everything sucks in the world today,

660
00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:40,960
Speaker 3: you're going to be full of doubt and unhappiness. Wise,

661
00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:47,840
Speaker 3: mature people with perspective, people of character, are hopeful people.

662
00:43:49,200 --> 00:43:54,719
Speaker 3: Unwise immature people are scared and bitter people, and they're

663
00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:57,640
Speaker 3: picked off at the world and everybody in it, or

664
00:43:57,640 --> 00:44:01,719
Speaker 3: at least half of the world. I want you and me,

665
00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:05,839
Speaker 3: I want us to not be at that level where

666
00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:10,480
Speaker 3: we don't get ticked off at people who disagree with us. No,

667
00:44:10,840 --> 00:44:15,840
Speaker 3: I want us to get to Paul's level of spiritual maturity,

668
00:44:15,960 --> 00:44:19,680
Speaker 3: which is Philippius chapter four. There on your outline, Paul says,

669
00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:23,200
Speaker 3: I've learned. Pause right here circle the word learned. We'll

670
00:44:23,239 --> 00:44:26,919
Speaker 3: come back to that. This is something you learn. See,

671
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:29,840
Speaker 3: ask God, what do you want me to learn? I've

672
00:44:29,920 --> 00:44:37,040
Speaker 3: learned this secret so that anywhere, at any time, I'm content,

673
00:44:38,040 --> 00:44:41,080
Speaker 3: whether I'm full or hungry, or whether I have too

674
00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:44,960
Speaker 3: much or too little, I have the strength to face

675
00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:51,920
Speaker 3: all conditions by the power Christ give me. That, my friends,

676
00:44:51,840 --> 00:44:56,799
Speaker 3: is stability and its maturity. That's what God's trying to

677
00:44:56,800 --> 00:44:59,719
Speaker 3: bring in our lives. And we'll either learn it faster

678
00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:04,800
Speaker 3: learn it slow. Now I said circle that word learned.

679
00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:09,000
Speaker 3: He says, I've learned to trust God. I've learned to

680
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:12,560
Speaker 3: be content in whatever circumstance I'm in, even when I'm

681
00:45:12,600 --> 00:45:20,840
Speaker 3: in an eighteen month old pandemic. Have you learned this yet?

682
00:45:22,400 --> 00:45:24,640
Speaker 3: Have you grown up enough to learn to be content

683
00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:30,200
Speaker 3: in whatever circumstance you're in? Let me ask you another question,

684
00:45:30,280 --> 00:45:32,480
Speaker 3: says ask God what you want to learn? What have

685
00:45:32,560 --> 00:45:36,440
Speaker 3: you learned about yourself in the last eighteen months? Not

686
00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:39,360
Speaker 3: what have you learned about the world? What have you

687
00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:44,560
Speaker 3: learned about you? And your response? I want you to

688
00:45:44,600 --> 00:45:51,000
Speaker 3: write this down. Every situation is an education. Every situation

689
00:45:52,120 --> 00:45:56,680
Speaker 3: is an education. There is no experience in life you

690
00:45:56,760 --> 00:46:00,480
Speaker 3: can't learn from. If you'll just have an humble appe

691
00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:05,719
Speaker 3: there is no situation, big or small, There is no problem,

692
00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:09,839
Speaker 3: there is no change that you cannot learn from, if

693
00:46:09,880 --> 00:46:12,279
Speaker 3: you'll just humbly say Lord, what do you want me

694
00:46:12,320 --> 00:46:22,200
Speaker 3: to learn? Every education? Every situation is in education. Number four.

695
00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:25,759
Speaker 3: Let me give you the last two quickly. Number four.

696
00:46:27,719 --> 00:46:31,360
Speaker 3: When you're going through changes you don't like, focus on

697
00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:38,239
Speaker 3: what never changes. Focus on what never changes. Yeah, there

698
00:46:38,239 --> 00:46:39,799
Speaker 3: are a lot of changes going on in our world

699
00:46:39,880 --> 00:46:41,200
Speaker 3: right now, and a lot of them we don't like.

700
00:46:41,280 --> 00:46:44,239
Speaker 3: They suck. I started to title this message you know

701
00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:49,560
Speaker 3: how to trust God when life sucks. There are many

702
00:46:49,600 --> 00:46:53,959
Speaker 3: things that you don't like that are changing, but there's

703
00:46:53,960 --> 00:46:59,480
Speaker 3: also many things that will never, never, never, never, never change.

704
00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:03,400
Speaker 3: And when you're going through a time of great change,

705
00:47:03,680 --> 00:47:11,279
Speaker 3: relentless like we're talking about, and rapid, then when you're

706
00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:14,240
Speaker 3: going through that kind of change, you need to let

707
00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:19,840
Speaker 3: the unchangeables be your anchor. What's anchoring you right now?

708
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:23,399
Speaker 3: You need to let the unchangeable things that are never

709
00:47:23,440 --> 00:47:27,959
Speaker 3: going to change be your anchor in this time of uncertainty. Now,

710
00:47:28,080 --> 00:47:29,400
Speaker 3: I could give you a bunch of them. Let me

711
00:47:29,440 --> 00:47:32,360
Speaker 3: just mention three. God's love for you will never change.

712
00:47:32,719 --> 00:47:35,919
Speaker 3: God's truth in his word will never change. God's plan

713
00:47:36,040 --> 00:47:40,279
Speaker 3: and purpose for your life will never change. Nothing can

714
00:47:40,400 --> 00:47:45,080
Speaker 3: change those things. Look at these three verses Jeremiah thirty one. Three.

715
00:47:45,280 --> 00:47:49,600
Speaker 3: I've loved you with an ever lasting love. Nothing's ever

716
00:47:49,680 --> 00:47:53,239
Speaker 3: going to change that. He's never going to stop loving

717
00:47:53,280 --> 00:47:57,400
Speaker 3: you no matter what happens. Isaiah forty, verse eight. The

718
00:47:57,440 --> 00:47:59,680
Speaker 3: word of God shall stand forever. What he said is

719
00:47:59,719 --> 00:48:01,839
Speaker 3: the right thing to do will always be the right

720
00:48:01,880 --> 00:48:03,239
Speaker 3: thing to do, and what he said is the wrong

721
00:48:03,280 --> 00:48:05,319
Speaker 3: thing to do will always be the wrong thing to

722
00:48:05,360 --> 00:48:09,200
Speaker 3: do the word of God will stand forever. So I'm

723
00:48:09,239 --> 00:48:14,520
Speaker 3: thirty three eleven. His plans endure forever, and his purposes

724
00:48:14,800 --> 00:48:20,919
Speaker 3: last eternally. Friends, I'm not a prophet and I don't

725
00:48:20,920 --> 00:48:23,719
Speaker 3: predict the future, but I will tell you this, and

726
00:48:23,760 --> 00:48:27,960
Speaker 3: you can bank on this. God will have the last

727
00:48:27,960 --> 00:48:31,959
Speaker 3: word and it's going to be good. You can count

728
00:48:32,000 --> 00:48:35,359
Speaker 3: on that God will have the last word and it's

729
00:48:35,400 --> 00:48:39,759
Speaker 3: going to be good. It's going to be good. When

730
00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:43,560
Speaker 3: you find someone who feels hopeless, it means they're immature

731
00:48:43,600 --> 00:48:48,239
Speaker 3: and unwise. Wise people who see from God's perspective are

732
00:48:48,360 --> 00:48:54,320
Speaker 3: always hopeful, no matter what it looks like. Not optimistic, hopeful,

733
00:48:54,440 --> 00:48:56,160
Speaker 3: big difference. I don't have time to go into that

734
00:48:56,719 --> 00:48:59,480
Speaker 3: number five. Here's the fifth thing you need to do.

735
00:49:00,120 --> 00:49:05,240
Speaker 3: No matter how long this pandemic goes on, Keep telling God.

736
00:49:05,880 --> 00:49:07,759
Speaker 3: In other words, say to this, to God, over and

737
00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:11,440
Speaker 3: over every day of your life, I trust you, no

738
00:49:11,440 --> 00:49:18,799
Speaker 3: matter what. Keep telling God, I trust you no matter what.

739
00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:23,680
Speaker 3: If you do this, you'll be a lot more at peace.

740
00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:27,640
Speaker 3: No matter what happens, and how long all these period

741
00:49:27,680 --> 00:49:31,600
Speaker 3: of this season of rapid chain lasts, regardless how long

742
00:49:31,640 --> 00:49:34,040
Speaker 3: the pandemic lasts. If you do this, God, I trust

743
00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:39,440
Speaker 3: you no matter what. I want you to be a

744
00:49:39,560 --> 00:49:45,560
Speaker 3: righteous person. Some one twelve verse seven says this, the

745
00:49:45,640 --> 00:49:51,040
Speaker 3: righteous man or a woman does not fear bad news

746
00:49:52,640 --> 00:49:59,640
Speaker 3: nor live in dread of what might happen. For he

747
00:49:59,760 --> 00:50:03,480
Speaker 3: is he settled in his mind or her mind that

748
00:50:03,760 --> 00:50:10,160
Speaker 3: God will take care of him. I will trust you

749
00:50:10,920 --> 00:50:15,840
Speaker 3: no matter what. I have had to say that thousands

750
00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:20,120
Speaker 3: of times in my life, I will trust you no

751
00:50:20,160 --> 00:50:25,280
Speaker 3: matter what. I remember when k was going through cancer

752
00:50:25,360 --> 00:50:30,200
Speaker 3: treatments and I thought I'm losing her, I'm losing the

753
00:50:30,239 --> 00:50:36,880
Speaker 3: love of my life. And I remember saying, Father, I

754
00:50:36,920 --> 00:50:42,279
Speaker 3: trust you no matter what, and I'll serve you no

755
00:50:42,320 --> 00:50:47,960
Speaker 3: matter what, even if I lose my wife. When our

756
00:50:48,000 --> 00:50:54,120
Speaker 3: youngest child lost his lifelong battle with mental illness and

757
00:50:54,200 --> 00:50:59,680
Speaker 3: took his life, I had to say, I will trust

758
00:50:59,719 --> 00:51:04,920
Speaker 3: you no matter what. Doesn't mean I understand it, and

759
00:51:05,000 --> 00:51:09,960
Speaker 3: a thousand other times, I will trust you no matter what.

760
00:51:12,719 --> 00:51:17,000
Speaker 3: Anytime anything seems to be falling apart in your life,

761
00:51:17,160 --> 00:51:26,440
Speaker 3: my friends say, I trust you no matter what. Now,

762
00:51:26,520 --> 00:51:29,879
Speaker 3: right now, you may feel under attack. I'm not talking

763
00:51:29,880 --> 00:51:31,520
Speaker 3: about all the stuff we all know what's going on

764
00:51:31,560 --> 00:51:36,880
Speaker 3: stuff in society. I'm talking about stuff in your personal life,

765
00:51:36,920 --> 00:51:40,760
Speaker 3: and you may feel like you're being attacked from every angle.

766
00:51:41,680 --> 00:51:47,239
Speaker 3: I leave you with Psalm twenty seven, verse three. Even

767
00:51:47,280 --> 00:51:54,320
Speaker 3: if a whole army surrounds me, I will not be afraid,

768
00:51:55,880 --> 00:52:01,480
Speaker 3: And even if enemies attack me from all side, I

769
00:52:01,640 --> 00:52:09,239
Speaker 3: will still trust God. That's the kind of life I'm

770
00:52:09,280 --> 00:52:13,680
Speaker 3: going to live. I invite you to live it with me.

771
00:52:16,440 --> 00:52:26,279
Speaker 3: Let's be different than the world that's power heads. Even

772
00:52:26,320 --> 00:52:28,920
Speaker 3: if a whole army surround me, I will not be afraid,

773
00:52:29,760 --> 00:52:32,120
Speaker 3: and even if enemies attack me from all sides, I

774
00:52:32,200 --> 00:52:37,400
Speaker 3: will still trust God. The righteous man does not fear

775
00:52:37,520 --> 00:52:40,720
Speaker 3: bad news nor live in dread of what may happen,

776
00:52:40,920 --> 00:52:44,840
Speaker 3: for he is settled in his mind that God will

777
00:52:45,320 --> 00:52:54,080
Speaker 3: take care of him. Follow me in this prayer. Just

778
00:52:54,120 --> 00:52:56,880
Speaker 3: say it in your mind. Say Dear God, I know

779
00:52:57,280 --> 00:53:06,279
Speaker 3: change is unavoidable, but I thank you that you have

780
00:53:06,360 --> 00:53:09,359
Speaker 3: promised to use it for good in my life. If

781
00:53:09,400 --> 00:53:16,920
Speaker 3: I trust you God, I want to grow up. I

782
00:53:16,920 --> 00:53:20,600
Speaker 3: don't want to be a spiritual baby. I want you

783
00:53:20,680 --> 00:53:24,400
Speaker 3: to make me more like Jesus with love and joy

784
00:53:24,440 --> 00:53:29,400
Speaker 3: and peace and patience and goodness of self control and faith.

785
00:53:32,960 --> 00:53:34,640
Speaker 3: And God, you know the people who've hurt me in

786
00:53:34,640 --> 00:53:39,680
Speaker 3: my life, and I thank you that you can even

787
00:53:39,760 --> 00:53:43,799
Speaker 3: use human error and sin for good if I give

788
00:53:43,840 --> 00:53:50,080
Speaker 3: it all to you. Help me to realize that what

789
00:53:50,160 --> 00:53:53,080
Speaker 3: I'm going through right now is a test of my faith.

790
00:53:53,840 --> 00:54:00,000
Speaker 3: You're testing me and then endurance produces character and care

791
00:54:00,040 --> 00:54:08,200
Speaker 3: character produces hope. Help me to remember these things. And Lord,

792
00:54:08,239 --> 00:54:12,960
Speaker 3: I want to start doing these practical steps during these

793
00:54:12,960 --> 00:54:18,680
Speaker 3: difficult days. I want to invest more time alone with you,

794
00:54:21,239 --> 00:54:23,800
Speaker 3: because those who wait on the Lord will find new strength.

795
00:54:25,440 --> 00:54:29,000
Speaker 3: Run and not grow weary, walk, keep going and not faint.

796
00:54:31,760 --> 00:54:34,560
Speaker 3: And God, I'm asking you to help me see your perspective.

797
00:54:36,040 --> 00:54:38,839
Speaker 3: I don't want to just know what everybody else knows.

798
00:54:39,960 --> 00:54:45,800
Speaker 3: I don't want information. I want wisdom. I want understanding.

799
00:54:46,760 --> 00:54:54,320
Speaker 3: I want to know your ways, God and Father. Instead

800
00:54:54,320 --> 00:54:56,799
Speaker 3: of asking and griping about what why is all this

801
00:54:56,960 --> 00:55:00,839
Speaker 3: going on? I want to ask what do you want

802
00:55:00,840 --> 00:55:05,560
Speaker 3: me to learn? Like Paul, I want to learn to

803
00:55:05,600 --> 00:55:08,920
Speaker 3: be content in any and every situation, no matter what happens.

804
00:55:10,680 --> 00:55:16,600
Speaker 3: That you are my stability, and you are my energy.

805
00:55:17,560 --> 00:55:21,799
Speaker 3: Help me to focus on what never changes. Thank you

806
00:55:21,840 --> 00:55:25,520
Speaker 3: that your word will always be the truth. Thank you

807
00:55:25,560 --> 00:55:29,360
Speaker 3: that you will never stop loving me. Thank you that

808
00:55:29,520 --> 00:55:32,360
Speaker 3: nothing that happens can change your plan or purpose for

809
00:55:32,480 --> 00:55:39,160
Speaker 3: my life. And God, I'm going to tell you the

810
00:55:39,160 --> 00:55:45,040
Speaker 3: rest of my life, including right now. I trust you

811
00:55:45,080 --> 00:55:50,759
Speaker 3: no matter what. I'm going to trust you no matter what.

812
00:55:52,480 --> 00:55:54,680
Speaker 3: Maybe you're doing that for the very first time tonight,

813
00:55:54,719 --> 00:55:59,359
Speaker 3: say Jesus Christ. I'm trusting you no matter what. You're

814
00:55:59,400 --> 00:56:04,200
Speaker 3: opening your life to Christ. Others you're doing it again.

815
00:56:04,840 --> 00:56:09,160
Speaker 3: I trust you. I'm going to trust you no matter what.

816
00:56:11,640 --> 00:56:18,720
Speaker 3: I surrender myself to you in your name. I pray Amen.

817
00:56:22,480 --> 00:56:25,719
Speaker 2: We hope you've been encouraged by this message. To hear

818
00:56:25,800 --> 00:56:30,160
Speaker 2: Pastor Rick's free daily Bible teaching program, download free sermon notes,

819
00:56:30,280 --> 00:56:33,640
Speaker 2: or sign up for his free daily devotional just visit

820
00:56:33,880 --> 00:56:43,480
Speaker 2: pastorick dot com.

821
00:56:43,520 --> 00:56:49,000
Speaker 3: You will be like God. Human unity with God was severed,

822
00:56:49,320 --> 00:56:55,560
Speaker 3: and through it all, God's promise remain true. Follow me, April,

823
00:56:56,239 --> 00:57:02,960
Speaker 3: and I will make you great. This is the Chosen People.

824
00:57:04,880 --> 00:57:09,400
Speaker 3: Listen to the Chosen People at the Chosen people dot com.

825
00:57:09,480 --> 00:57:21,400
Speaker 3: That's the Chosen People. Dot com