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Hello, and welcome to the
Middletown Baptist Church podcast,

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where we are proclaiming the
truth to the world.

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My name is Pastor Josh, and I
want to thank you for listening to

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this podcast.

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I hope that this podcast can
be a blessing to you and strengthen

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you in the word of God.

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Now, come along.

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Let's look into the Bible and
see what God has for us here today.

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Every weight part of endurance
is getting your life to a place where

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you can just serve God and not
be tied up with the things of this

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world.

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A little while back, I got
into running, endurance running,

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and I enjoy it.

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It's like torture because I
hate doing it.

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But then once I'm doing it,
I'm like, I love it.

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I got to keep doing it, okay?

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It's that kind of thing.

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And so part of running is you
want to shed as much as you can of

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weight, right?

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So I don't want to be putting
a ten pound pack on if I don't have

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to.

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I want the lightest shoes that
I can find.

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I want to remove any distractions.

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I don't want to eat a big meal
before I go out.

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Fettuccine Alfredo right
before I go run 10 miles is probably

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not a good plan.

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Okay?

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That's gonna weigh me down.

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It's gonna give me some carbs,
but it's not gonna be good, right?

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And so what the Bible says is
that as we're running this life of

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endurance, we have to remove
these weights.

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And sometimes those weights
can come from outside sources, but

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sometimes those weights can
come from the inside.

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My own thoughts, my own
desires, my own sinful lusts that

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are in my life.

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And you know what?

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I can't serve other people if
I'm serving myself.

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I can't serve the Lord if I'm
serving myself.

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And so what we have to do as a
Christian is part of the endurance,

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is this dying to self and
realizing that it's all about my

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testimony for Jesus Christ.

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It's all about him.

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It's all about pushing forward
for him and not myself.

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So that's what Paul is talking
about here.

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But then he goes on to say
this, okay, so he says, protect your

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testimony, but what kind of
testimony are you supposed to have?

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Well, you see there in verse
four, he says, but in all things,

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approving ourselves as
ministers of the gospel, as servants,

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he says, the focus is being a
servant in much patience.

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It starts right there with patience.

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So I want you to see point
number two.

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Point number one was
protecting your testimony, but point

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number two is a testimony of patience.

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So Paul's first qualification
for living this life of being a minister

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of the Gospel, of a successful
minister of the gospel, we would

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think it would be preaching
loudly, boldness, courageous.

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No.

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What does he say?

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He says, patience.

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Patience.

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Now, this patience is a little
bit different than our patience.

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Okay?

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Anytime you see in the King
James, patience, it's talking about

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endurance.

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It's not just about waiting.

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It's actually an active idea
of pushing forward.

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And so endurance, now, anytime
you see the word long suffering in

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scripture, that's patience.

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And so there is a time where
we need to just wait and be still.

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But that's not this type of patience.

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So a lot of people think,
well, you know, as a Christian, it

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calls me to be patient, so I'm
just gonna sit down and wait for

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things to come to me.

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That's not what this type of
patience is.

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The greek word is endurance.

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Pushing forward consistently,
even if it doesn't feel like I wanna

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move forward, it's that it's
continuing on.

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It's being steadfast in our faith.

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And so we often think of
patience as a passive thing, the

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ability to sit around and wait
for something to happen.

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But no, that's not the idea here.

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Paul says it's an act of
endurance instead of a passive waiting.

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I want you to go with me to
Hebrews chapter twelve.

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We started there this morning,
but this is a great passage of scripture

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that speaks of this idea of patience.

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Endurance, he says, wherefore,
seeing we also are compassed about

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with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every

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weight.

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We already discussed what that means.

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Remove anything from our life
that might be holding us back, and

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the sin which does so easily
beset us.

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And so he says, remove that
sin from your life.

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Don't allow that sin to
dictate your life.

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And let us run the race.

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Let us run with patience.

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Now, how can you run and sit
around and not do anything, right?

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That's a contradiction, right?

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So he's saying, run with endurance.

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And so what we're seeing here
as a Christian is that part of the

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walk, or in this case, the
race, is to run with endurance.

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Now, part of having endurance
is pushing through even when you

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don't feel like going forward.

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I can tell you there are days
where I'm running that I'm thinking,

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okay, just one more mile.

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Just gotta get through one
more mile and then I'll quit.

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Then one more mile, right?

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You just gotta keep going.

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There's days where I wake up
and I don't wanna run.

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Okay, there's days when I wake
up and I say, okay, this is just

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not, there's no point to this.

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I don't wanna do this today.

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And I try to use every excuse
to not go out and run.

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Well, look at the weather.

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Well, look, you know, I just
got this and this and this on my

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plate.

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I gotta do this.

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And the truth is, is that I
could not do it.

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But then ultimately what I
could think about is this.

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It's the greater purpose.

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Now for me, it's a silly purpose.

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Like, I got a race coming up
and I gotta get in shape for that.

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But for us as christians,
there's a bigger purpose.

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There's a bigger purpose.

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And so there's days where we
might wake up and we say, you know

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what?

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I don't wanna run the race today.

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I don't wanna serve Jesus today.

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But we gotta go back to
thinking this.

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There's something bigger,
there's something better.

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And we see what that is.

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It says, looking unto Jesus,
verse number two of Hebrews twelve.

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He says, you don't look to
yourself in the race.

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You don't look to yourself
when it comes to serving God in this

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patience, in this endurance.

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He says, who do you look to,
looking unto Jesus, the author and

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finisher of our faith.

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So we looked at Jesus, who was
the one who was the starter of our

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faith, the one who created our
faith and the one who finishes it.

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He says, you looked at Jesus
because Paul's a good example, but

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the greatest example is Jesus.

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It says here, who, for the joy
that was set before him, endured

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the cross.

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So Jesus is the greatest
example of endurance because he said,

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you know what?

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This is what I'm going to do.

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I'm going to go to the cross.

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Now we know the struggle that
was going on in Jesus heart and his

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mind during this time, right?

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He was asking the Lord Father,
if there's any other way, let this

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cup pass from me.

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God says, no, this is the way
to go.

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Jesus endured that, and it
says that he did it with joy.

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And so what we understand here
as christians is that there's going

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to be times where we don't
feel like pushing forward.

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But what does the Bible say is
true success?

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Well, you could go to one
corinthians, chapter four.

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One Corinthians, chapter four,
verse two, tells us truly what is

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success when it comes to being
a servante.

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It's not praise, it's not
power, it's not painlessness, it's

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faithfulness.

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First Corinthians, chapter
four, verse two.

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He says, moreover, it is
required in stewards, we are all

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stewards.

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We are all just managers of
God's grace in our life and the message

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of grace.

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Moreover, it is required in
stewards that a man be found faithful,

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faithful, patient.

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These are not things that are attractive.

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I've heard people say, I don't
want to pray for patience because

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God's going to send me things.

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Let me just tell you something.

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God's going to send you things
either way.

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Just a matter of how you want
to take it.

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Do you want to take it with
patience and endurance or do you

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want to take it with
bitterness and prideful thinking

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and selfishness?

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And so why do we need endurance?

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Well, let's go back to two
corinthians, chapter six.

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Paul says, it's all wrapped up
in endurance.

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It's all wrapped up in faithfulness.

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You want to be a faithful
steward of God.

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You want to be a faithful
messenger of the message of the gospel

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of Jesus Christ.

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Well, this is what you need.

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You need patience, endurance,
because things are going to happen.

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Now Paul is going to list
three groups of three difficulties.

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So if you do your math, three
of three would be nine.

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So he's going to list nine
difficulties here, okay?

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Three of them are gonna be
difficulties that come for everybody.

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This is just the difficulties
of life, general difficulties that

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we will all face that are
gonna tempt us to quit.

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Then he's gonna talk about
three difficulties that come from

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other people, the outsiders,
people that are naysayers in our

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life, people that hate the
message of the gospel, people that

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hate us because we're
followers of Jesus Christ.

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And then he's gonna talk about
three struggles that he brings upon

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himself.

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Because lest we think that all
the struggles come from other places,

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we also have to understand
that sometimes the struggles come

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within our own life, within
our own problems.

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And so he's gonna list three
groups of three in why we need endurance.

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So let's look at it here in
verse number four.

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He says, you have to have
patience in much patience or endurance.

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And so the first thing he
lists here is afflictions.

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Afflictions, okay, afflictions
are essentially this.

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Afflictions are trials.

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These are the general
struggles of life.

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These are things that are
going to happen to everybody in this

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world, and it's just a matter
of how you see them as they come.

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And so in this case,
affliction would be, it could be

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anything.

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It could be a painful
affliction that you face in your

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life.

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It could be someone's
mistreated you.

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It could just be the struggles
of getting older.

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He says, hey, there's going to
be afflictions that we all face that

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could tempt us to quit.

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There could be a struggle in
our life that could tempt us to quit.

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Really, the word here is burden.

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It's like a burden or a
pressure that's put upon you.

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That's really.

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The original language is
thought here.

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An affliction would be a
pressure in your life, and pressures

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can come from all different places.

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It could come from the workplace.

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It could come from your home life.

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It could come from weather
that's coming in a hurricane.

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It could come from any
different direction.

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He says, one of the things
that's gonna cause us to doubt, one

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of the things that's gonna
cause us to think about quitting

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would be the pressures of this world.

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I encourage you to think about that.

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I encourage you to think about
your perspective in the pressure.

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Sometimes people think, well,
let me just avoid the pressure.

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Truth is that if we try to
squiggle out all the pressure in

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our life, we're just gonna go
and find somewhere else where there's

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pressure.

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Pressure is everywhere in our life.

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And so he's speaking of these
afflictions, and that would be pressure.

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But then we see more.

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00:09:52,660 --> 00:09:54,520
He says, in necessities.

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00:09:55,140 --> 00:09:56,132
In necessities.

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00:09:56,236 --> 00:09:59,268
These would just be like
regular hardships that we face, similar

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00:09:59,324 --> 00:10:02,348
to pressures, but hardships
that we might face in other areas.

245
00:10:02,404 --> 00:10:05,772
And then he says here, in
distresses or calamities, things

246
00:10:05,796 --> 00:10:07,220
that are outside of our control.

247
00:10:07,380 --> 00:10:08,756
Calamities that happen.

248
00:10:08,868 --> 00:10:13,360
And so ultimately, we could
summarize this in as negative circumstances.

249
00:10:13,820 --> 00:10:17,020
Negative circumstances are
going to tempt you to quit.

250
00:10:17,180 --> 00:10:19,604
Negative circumstances are
going to tempt you not to wake up

251
00:10:19,612 --> 00:10:22,200
in the morning and have the
endurance that God has you to have.

252
00:10:22,740 --> 00:10:24,276
You're going to say, well,
this and this and this.

253
00:10:24,308 --> 00:10:26,716
You know, it goes back to that
analogy of me running, right?

254
00:10:26,788 --> 00:10:27,516
Oh, the weather.

255
00:10:27,588 --> 00:10:29,284
Oh, I had a, you know, I'm
tired today.

256
00:10:29,332 --> 00:10:30,580
I have a sore here.

257
00:10:30,740 --> 00:10:33,044
There's all these different
things that we could think about

258
00:10:33,132 --> 00:10:36,372
and excuses to say that this
is a reason why I want to stop.

259
00:10:36,516 --> 00:10:37,320
Okay.

260
00:10:38,060 --> 00:10:41,172
I can sit down with any person
that's been serving in Middletown

261
00:10:41,196 --> 00:10:43,268
Baptist church, and you could
give me a reason why you were tempted

262
00:10:43,284 --> 00:10:43,692
to quit.

263
00:10:43,756 --> 00:10:44,246
I.

264
00:10:44,388 --> 00:10:45,978
This person didn't like me.

265
00:10:46,074 --> 00:10:47,442
This person said something
against me.

266
00:10:47,466 --> 00:10:48,914
We're gonna talk about that
here in a few moments.

267
00:10:49,002 --> 00:10:51,418
But you could just say, hey,
look, the doors were closing.

268
00:10:51,474 --> 00:10:52,562
Circumstances were happening.

269
00:10:52,586 --> 00:10:53,650
So I'm just gonna quit.

270
00:10:53,730 --> 00:10:54,522
I'm just gonna quit.

271
00:10:54,586 --> 00:10:58,818
We've seen so many people walk
away from church because of circumstances,

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00:10:58,994 --> 00:11:02,562
things that are bigger, things
that are not issues that they have

273
00:11:02,586 --> 00:11:04,410
caused in their own life or
other people that have caused.

274
00:11:04,450 --> 00:11:06,394
It's just been general struggles.

275
00:11:06,522 --> 00:11:08,030
But then we see more here.

276
00:11:08,930 --> 00:11:09,866
Verse five.

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00:11:10,018 --> 00:11:12,796
These are the difficulties
that come from other places.

278
00:11:12,898 --> 00:11:15,096
People, people problems.

279
00:11:15,208 --> 00:11:18,608
Let me tell you, if you're in
the ministry, which again, remember,

280
00:11:18,664 --> 00:11:21,152
if you're a Christian, you're
in the ministry, you are going to

281
00:11:21,176 --> 00:11:22,620
have people problems.

282
00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:24,368
It's going to be.

283
00:11:24,384 --> 00:11:24,744
It's real.

284
00:11:24,792 --> 00:11:26,088
Paul had people problems.

285
00:11:26,184 --> 00:11:29,848
He had people that he was
ministering to that had issues.

286
00:11:30,024 --> 00:11:32,496
And not only did they have
issues, but they had issues with

287
00:11:32,528 --> 00:11:32,864
him.

288
00:11:32,952 --> 00:11:35,008
And so if they have issues
with him, they have problems with

289
00:11:35,024 --> 00:11:36,944
him and they're going to cause
problems for him.

290
00:11:37,032 --> 00:11:38,642
And so let's see what his
issues were to.

291
00:11:38,656 --> 00:11:40,822
Let's see if they're as bad as
the issues that you face.

292
00:11:40,966 --> 00:11:41,302
Okay.

293
00:11:41,326 --> 00:11:43,366
His first issue in stripes.

294
00:11:43,478 --> 00:11:44,774
Say, what's a stripe?

295
00:11:44,942 --> 00:11:45,774
He got beat.

296
00:11:45,862 --> 00:11:46,798
That's what it's talking about here.

297
00:11:46,814 --> 00:11:47,582
He got whipped.

298
00:11:47,686 --> 00:11:52,278
People literally took whips
and whipped him and rods and whipped

299
00:11:52,294 --> 00:11:52,422
him.

300
00:11:52,446 --> 00:11:56,862
He says, I have stripes, I
have scars, I have sores on my body

301
00:11:56,926 --> 00:11:58,238
from people hurting me.

302
00:11:58,334 --> 00:12:00,850
He says, that's going to
happen in stripes.

303
00:12:02,070 --> 00:12:07,120
In imprisonment, Paul was
thrown in prison for doing the right

304
00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:07,740
thing.

305
00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:10,624
Paul was mistreated for doing
the right thing.

306
00:12:10,712 --> 00:12:14,368
Paul was removed from his,
from his church family because of

307
00:12:14,384 --> 00:12:15,280
the right thing.

308
00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:21,072
And so in imprisonment, then
he says here in tumults, which isn't

309
00:12:21,096 --> 00:12:23,056
a word that we use quite
frequently, but it would be like

310
00:12:23,088 --> 00:12:23,820
riots.

311
00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:26,600
Okay, so there's been riots
following his ministry.

312
00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:28,540
You remember that they chased
him out of town.

313
00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:34,176
It would be uprisings against
him, mobs, if you will.

314
00:12:34,328 --> 00:12:37,608
So he says, there's going to
be things that people do to me that

315
00:12:37,624 --> 00:12:39,000
are going to cause me to quit.

316
00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:39,888
Now for us.

317
00:12:39,984 --> 00:12:42,552
I don't think any of us here
in Middletown Baptist Church have

318
00:12:42,576 --> 00:12:45,248
ever had someone physically
hurt us for serving the Lord.

319
00:12:45,344 --> 00:12:47,784
Okay, maybe some of you have,
I don't know, maybe some of you were

320
00:12:47,792 --> 00:12:49,940
in other places and someone
physically hurt you.

321
00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:53,424
But we know that that's not
just the physical thing that causes

322
00:12:53,472 --> 00:12:53,944
us to quit.

323
00:12:53,992 --> 00:12:57,030
Sometimes it's when people
hurt you emotionally.

324
00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:58,950
Maybe they say something
against you.

325
00:12:59,330 --> 00:13:02,314
Maybe they give you a side eye
when you do something in ministry.

326
00:13:02,362 --> 00:13:05,786
Maybe they talk about you
behind your back to somebody else.

327
00:13:05,858 --> 00:13:08,042
Doesn't justify what they're
doing, but it's not a reason for

328
00:13:08,066 --> 00:13:08,490
us to quit.

329
00:13:08,530 --> 00:13:11,706
Paul says you need endurance
for when people hurt you.

330
00:13:11,898 --> 00:13:14,338
Let me tell you, there is
going to be people that hurt you

331
00:13:14,354 --> 00:13:15,350
within ministry.

332
00:13:15,810 --> 00:13:17,058
There's going to be people
that hurt you.

333
00:13:17,114 --> 00:13:18,394
There's going to be people
that hurt your family.

334
00:13:18,482 --> 00:13:21,426
There's going to be people
that say things about you negatively.

335
00:13:21,578 --> 00:13:24,346
And that could be a reason for
many people, and it has been a reason

336
00:13:24,378 --> 00:13:26,644
for many people to say, I'm
just done with God.

337
00:13:26,802 --> 00:13:30,240
Now, I'm not saying that it
means that you can't leave a church

338
00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:32,020
because of hardship in that area.

339
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,912
And I'm gonna tell you here
today, there are times where you

340
00:13:35,936 --> 00:13:38,240
might need to separate
yourself from someone who is harming

341
00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,328
you in that way, but never
separate yourself from God.

342
00:13:41,464 --> 00:13:46,584
Don't conflate God's love and
other people's hurt and say, you

343
00:13:46,592 --> 00:13:46,832
know what?

344
00:13:46,856 --> 00:13:48,608
If God loves me, how could he
hurt me?

345
00:13:48,624 --> 00:13:49,368
He's not hurting you.

346
00:13:49,384 --> 00:13:51,616
It's the people and their sin
that are hurting you.

347
00:13:51,688 --> 00:13:53,824
And so Paul doesn't blame God
for his stripes.

348
00:13:53,912 --> 00:13:55,704
He doesn't blame God for his imprisonments.

349
00:13:55,792 --> 00:13:57,384
He doesn't blame God for the mobs.

350
00:13:57,472 --> 00:13:59,896
He says, Lord, this is why I
need endurance.

351
00:14:00,048 --> 00:14:03,328
And so you could summarize all
of these struggles in persecution

352
00:14:03,384 --> 00:14:04,376
or disorder.

353
00:14:04,528 --> 00:14:09,488
Persecution or disorder,
folks, you're gonna face these things,

354
00:14:09,544 --> 00:14:11,888
the general struggles, the
general pressures.

355
00:14:11,984 --> 00:14:13,744
You're gonna face people problems.

356
00:14:13,832 --> 00:14:17,272
But then he says here in group
three, and a lot of people would

357
00:14:17,296 --> 00:14:19,856
read this and skim right over
this and not think about what he's

358
00:14:19,888 --> 00:14:20,818
really saying here.

359
00:14:20,904 --> 00:14:23,326
But I believe that he's
bringing up issues that he has brought

360
00:14:23,358 --> 00:14:24,330
upon himself.

361
00:14:24,790 --> 00:14:28,942
Okay, so he says, in stripes,
in imprisonments, in tumults, in

362
00:14:29,006 --> 00:14:33,710
labors, essentially, what he's
saying is, in working overworking.

363
00:14:33,830 --> 00:14:38,638
He says, I've gotten so tired
of overworking myself that I need

364
00:14:38,654 --> 00:14:41,318
to be remembering the
endurance that God has called me

365
00:14:41,334 --> 00:14:44,614
to have some of us overwork
ourselves in the ministry.

366
00:14:44,742 --> 00:14:45,854
Some of us say, you know what?

367
00:14:45,902 --> 00:14:48,206
If I can just do one more
thing or if I can start one more

368
00:14:48,238 --> 00:14:49,004
ministry?

369
00:14:49,182 --> 00:14:53,040
And so he says, sometimes we
overwork ourselves with good intentions

370
00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:55,264
but get to a place in our life
where we want to quit.

371
00:14:55,352 --> 00:14:57,560
These are all things in our
life that tempt us to quit.

372
00:14:57,600 --> 00:14:59,856
One thing would be just
overworking ourselves.

373
00:14:59,968 --> 00:15:02,512
The other phrase that you
could put with this is being burnt

374
00:15:02,536 --> 00:15:02,792
out.

375
00:15:02,856 --> 00:15:03,528
You've heard this a lot.

376
00:15:03,544 --> 00:15:04,320
I'm just burnt out.

377
00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,536
In ministry, there's a time
and a place for a rest.

378
00:15:07,648 --> 00:15:10,896
There is a time and a place to
manage what God has for you in your

379
00:15:10,928 --> 00:15:11,096
life.

380
00:15:11,128 --> 00:15:13,120
And sometimes we overwork ourselves.

381
00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:17,144
I'm sitting up here as one of
the constant offenders of this, okay?

382
00:15:17,192 --> 00:15:20,160
I overwork myself to the place
where I say, if I can just write

383
00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:22,480
one more sermon, Jesus will
love me just a little bit more.

384
00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:24,060
Folks, that's not how it works.

385
00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:26,472
God doesn't love you more by
the more you serve him.

386
00:15:26,496 --> 00:15:29,312
He loves you infinitely
because he sent his only begotten

387
00:15:29,336 --> 00:15:30,016
son for you.

388
00:15:30,128 --> 00:15:31,792
God loves you so, so much.

389
00:15:31,816 --> 00:15:33,000
He's already proven his love.

390
00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:35,192
You don't have to do more for
him to love you more.

391
00:15:35,296 --> 00:15:36,600
That's sometimes what people teach.

392
00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,488
Sometimes people teach, well,
if you love Jesus, keep loving, and

393
00:15:39,504 --> 00:15:41,620
then if you serve more, he'll
love you more.

394
00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:43,588
That's not how it works, okay?

395
00:15:43,684 --> 00:15:46,748
That's an empty pit, because
how can we all love him as much as

396
00:15:46,764 --> 00:15:47,372
he's loved us?

397
00:15:47,436 --> 00:15:48,244
We can't.

398
00:15:48,412 --> 00:15:50,452
And so we will always fail in that.

399
00:15:50,516 --> 00:15:52,260
You ever seen people say,
well, yeah, I've just failed God

400
00:15:52,300 --> 00:15:53,004
so many times.

401
00:15:53,092 --> 00:15:55,300
The truth is, yes, we all fail God.

402
00:15:55,420 --> 00:15:58,020
We fail God every single day.

403
00:15:58,060 --> 00:15:59,908
But he still loves us.

404
00:16:00,084 --> 00:16:03,796
And so we say, I don't do this
out of gaining more love from God.

405
00:16:03,828 --> 00:16:06,500
I do this because of God's
infinite love in my life.

406
00:16:06,620 --> 00:16:08,602
And so he's talking about
motives here.

407
00:16:08,716 --> 00:16:12,142
So he says, don't overwork,
because that overworking will cause

408
00:16:12,166 --> 00:16:14,502
us to get to this place where
we think it's all about us.

409
00:16:14,526 --> 00:16:15,654
So he says, in labors.

410
00:16:15,742 --> 00:16:20,182
And then he says, here in the
king James, in watchings, you say,

411
00:16:20,206 --> 00:16:21,134
what is he talking about?

412
00:16:21,222 --> 00:16:25,774
It's essentially him saying,
sleeplessness, missing sleep for

413
00:16:25,862 --> 00:16:26,690
his work.

414
00:16:27,190 --> 00:16:29,614
He says, I've been sleepless.

415
00:16:29,662 --> 00:16:32,574
Now, we could argue that other
people doing things to him has caused

416
00:16:32,622 --> 00:16:33,598
him not to sleep.

417
00:16:33,694 --> 00:16:34,846
Or we could maybe even argue.

418
00:16:34,878 --> 00:16:36,846
Maybe he had some kind of
medical condition where he couldn't

419
00:16:36,878 --> 00:16:37,296
sleep.

420
00:16:37,398 --> 00:16:41,228
But essentially, we all are
kind of in control of what we do

421
00:16:41,244 --> 00:16:41,756
with our sleep.

422
00:16:41,788 --> 00:16:43,516
Now, we could argue that.

423
00:16:43,548 --> 00:16:45,996
Some people could argue, I
want a sleep pastor, but I can't.

424
00:16:46,028 --> 00:16:46,484
Okay.

425
00:16:46,572 --> 00:16:49,580
In this case, I believe he's
talking about issues, that he's missing

426
00:16:49,620 --> 00:16:52,804
sleep for his service of God,
traveling and whatever.

427
00:16:52,892 --> 00:16:55,932
So he says, sleeplessness,
fastings, and hunger.

428
00:16:55,996 --> 00:16:57,444
That's what he's saying here
in this case.

429
00:16:57,532 --> 00:17:03,052
So after watching, he says, in
fastings, well, obviously, he's the

430
00:17:03,076 --> 00:17:04,604
one that decides whether or
not he eats.

431
00:17:04,652 --> 00:17:07,132
And so there are times where
he's saying that he's working so

432
00:17:07,156 --> 00:17:08,821
hard, he's skipping his meals.

433
00:17:08,995 --> 00:17:12,441
And so there are things in our
life that we can actually do that

434
00:17:12,465 --> 00:17:15,029
can cause us to get to a place
where we want to quit.

435
00:17:15,649 --> 00:17:19,217
We can mismanage what God has
for us in our life to a place where

436
00:17:19,313 --> 00:17:22,161
we're so overwhelmed that we
say, you know what?

437
00:17:22,185 --> 00:17:23,257
It's just not worth it.

438
00:17:23,313 --> 00:17:24,009
And we give up.

439
00:17:24,049 --> 00:17:25,229
We don't have the endurance.

440
00:17:26,089 --> 00:17:30,289
And so we see these three
groups of struggles, and certainly

441
00:17:30,329 --> 00:17:32,705
these are real things that all
of us could probably identify with

442
00:17:32,737 --> 00:17:34,749
in some way in our lives.

443
00:17:35,470 --> 00:17:38,966
But then Paul lists three
groups of blessings that come with

444
00:17:38,998 --> 00:17:42,486
the christian life rooted in a
life of endurance.

445
00:17:42,678 --> 00:17:46,454
I want you to cross reference
this passage with Galatians chapter

446
00:17:46,502 --> 00:17:46,710
six.

447
00:17:46,750 --> 00:17:50,130
Some of you know Galatians
chapter six, verse nine.

448
00:17:50,750 --> 00:17:56,450
Galatians six nine says, and
let us not be weary in well doing,

449
00:17:57,030 --> 00:18:00,190
for in due season we shall reap.

450
00:18:00,270 --> 00:18:02,090
If we faint, nothing.

451
00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:05,518
So the Bible says, don't quit,
because sometimes the blessings,

452
00:18:05,574 --> 00:18:10,366
sometimes the fruit comes
later on after we display faith and

453
00:18:10,398 --> 00:18:12,850
endurance in our life and
patience in our life.

454
00:18:13,750 --> 00:18:17,774
And so Paul is going to tell
us here in this next section, in

455
00:18:17,782 --> 00:18:21,342
two Corinthians chapter six,
that, yes, there are going to be

456
00:18:21,366 --> 00:18:23,070
difficulties that tempt you to quit.

457
00:18:23,190 --> 00:18:25,614
There's going to be
difficulties that put pressure upon

458
00:18:25,662 --> 00:18:29,936
you, but there's blessings in
the endurance through those issues.

459
00:18:30,088 --> 00:18:33,416
And so go with me to two
Corinthians chapter six, go back.

460
00:18:33,448 --> 00:18:36,800
And he's gonna list now the
blessings, because what if he just

461
00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:37,232
stopped there?

462
00:18:37,256 --> 00:18:39,792
He says, okay, you're gonna
have pressure, you're gonna have

463
00:18:39,816 --> 00:18:42,216
persecution, you're gonna have
problems in your own life.

464
00:18:42,288 --> 00:18:43,328
You're gonna have people problems.

465
00:18:43,384 --> 00:18:45,328
So just have endurance and get
through it.

466
00:18:45,464 --> 00:18:47,160
That's sometimes how I was taught.

467
00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:53,208
Just keep going 1ft before the
other life is gonna be miserable,

468
00:18:53,264 --> 00:18:55,068
but you just gotta keep on
with it.

469
00:18:55,144 --> 00:18:56,692
Keep on keeping on.

470
00:18:56,876 --> 00:18:59,532
Truth is, though, that's never
how God leaves us.

471
00:18:59,636 --> 00:19:02,268
God doesn't leave us in the
problem and say, figure it out on

472
00:19:02,284 --> 00:19:03,836
your own, just keep going.

473
00:19:03,988 --> 00:19:08,000
He says, no, there's blessings
in the midst of endurance.

474
00:19:08,660 --> 00:19:09,892
There's blessings here.

475
00:19:09,956 --> 00:19:11,772
God has not come to give us a
miserable life.

476
00:19:11,796 --> 00:19:14,036
He's come to give us life and
life more abundantly.

477
00:19:14,148 --> 00:19:15,620
You say, well, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait.

478
00:19:15,700 --> 00:19:16,924
You're contradicting yourself.

479
00:19:17,012 --> 00:19:19,132
You just listed all the
struggles of ministry, and now you're

480
00:19:19,156 --> 00:19:20,116
saying you can have a good life.

481
00:19:20,148 --> 00:19:23,076
Yes, you can have a good life
in spite of the difficulties.

482
00:19:23,228 --> 00:19:24,388
That's what Paul had.

483
00:19:24,524 --> 00:19:26,364
And so what we see here in
second Corinthians chapter six, he

484
00:19:26,372 --> 00:19:28,356
says, okay, so these are all
the problems.

485
00:19:28,388 --> 00:19:29,708
Here's the three groups of problems.

486
00:19:29,764 --> 00:19:29,956
Now.

487
00:19:29,988 --> 00:19:35,148
Here's the three groups of
blessings by pureness, pureness,

488
00:19:35,204 --> 00:19:35,956
purity.

489
00:19:36,108 --> 00:19:38,596
He says, in the life of
Christ, you can have purity in your

490
00:19:38,628 --> 00:19:39,200
lives.

491
00:19:39,780 --> 00:19:44,140
Folks, sometimes in our
culture today, that word purity is

492
00:19:44,180 --> 00:19:45,480
so misunderstood.

493
00:19:46,670 --> 00:19:50,610
Our world today is the
opposite of purity.

494
00:19:51,190 --> 00:19:55,070
Purity is living not just with
the right intentions, but living

495
00:19:55,110 --> 00:19:56,886
with the right actions before God.

496
00:19:57,038 --> 00:20:01,278
Purity, he says, so we can
have purity in endurance.

497
00:20:01,374 --> 00:20:02,590
We can live lives of purity.

498
00:20:02,630 --> 00:20:03,798
We can live life separated.

499
00:20:03,854 --> 00:20:06,010
Going back to that idea of
being a testimony.

500
00:20:06,630 --> 00:20:07,734
How can I be a testimony?

501
00:20:07,782 --> 00:20:08,638
Live a life of purity.

502
00:20:08,694 --> 00:20:09,662
It's not your own purity.

503
00:20:09,726 --> 00:20:11,450
It's a purity of God in your life.

504
00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:12,920
And then he goes on to say more.

505
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,420
He says, in pureness by knowledge.

506
00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:18,016
What kind of knowledge is this?

507
00:20:18,048 --> 00:20:19,296
Well, this is the knowledge of God.

508
00:20:19,328 --> 00:20:21,672
We're gonna get there in a
second with the word of truth.

509
00:20:21,816 --> 00:20:23,176
But he says, having knowledge
of God.

510
00:20:23,208 --> 00:20:26,904
So the more that we are
enduring the difficulties, the more

511
00:20:26,952 --> 00:20:28,912
knowledge of God that we can
have in our lives.

512
00:20:28,936 --> 00:20:31,992
And that knowledge of God
brings us strength, and that knowledge

513
00:20:32,016 --> 00:20:33,808
of God brings us faith.

514
00:20:33,864 --> 00:20:36,248
Because the Bible says faith
cometh by hearing and hearing by

515
00:20:36,264 --> 00:20:37,048
the word of God.

516
00:20:37,144 --> 00:20:40,870
And so we get the knowledge of
God in our lives, and then we see

517
00:20:40,910 --> 00:20:43,190
here by long suffering.

518
00:20:43,350 --> 00:20:44,854
Long suffering would be patience.

519
00:20:44,942 --> 00:20:47,150
And so we actually receive
patience in this.

520
00:20:47,230 --> 00:20:49,690
So as we're enduring, we
receive patience.

521
00:20:50,870 --> 00:20:52,530
Patience is a good thing to have.

522
00:20:52,990 --> 00:20:56,286
We're all probably at some way
in our life struggling with that

523
00:20:56,318 --> 00:20:57,010
patience.

524
00:20:57,470 --> 00:21:00,286
But ultimately, what the Bible
says is that we can have purity,

525
00:21:00,398 --> 00:21:03,854
we can have knowledge, we can
have this long suffering or patience.

526
00:21:03,902 --> 00:21:06,710
And then we see the second
group by kindness.

527
00:21:07,690 --> 00:21:08,082
Okay?

528
00:21:08,106 --> 00:21:11,250
The Bible tells us that as a
Christian, we can live a life characterized

529
00:21:11,290 --> 00:21:12,234
by kindness.

530
00:21:12,402 --> 00:21:15,194
As Ephesians chapter four
says, being tender hearted, forgiving

531
00:21:15,242 --> 00:21:15,990
one another.

532
00:21:16,610 --> 00:21:19,670
The Bible says, Christians, as
Christians, we should be kind.

533
00:21:21,210 --> 00:21:26,602
Kindness should be a fruit of
our relationship with God.

534
00:21:26,786 --> 00:21:29,434
How many Christians are not
characterized by their kindness?

535
00:21:29,522 --> 00:21:31,270
They're characterized by their anger.

536
00:21:32,090 --> 00:21:32,898
I'm just gonna be.

537
00:21:32,954 --> 00:21:34,506
Let's be real this morning, okay?

538
00:21:34,578 --> 00:21:40,170
How many character, how many
people that are Christians proclaiming

539
00:21:40,210 --> 00:21:42,242
christians, if you spent 20
minutes with them, you'd say, wow,

540
00:21:42,266 --> 00:21:43,630
that guy's pretty angry.

541
00:21:44,250 --> 00:21:46,714
He's pretty angry with what's
going on today in politics.

542
00:21:46,762 --> 00:21:48,922
He's pretty angry about what's
going on in his workplace.

543
00:21:49,026 --> 00:21:51,466
If we're only characterized by
our anger.

544
00:21:51,618 --> 00:21:54,266
Now, I know where some of you
are going, pastor.

545
00:21:54,298 --> 00:21:56,330
I know I'm allowed to sin.

546
00:21:56,450 --> 00:21:59,090
I'm allowed to be angry and
sin nothing.

547
00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:03,926
Yes, I believe there is an
area for righteous indignation against

548
00:22:04,038 --> 00:22:06,610
the wrongs of evil.

549
00:22:07,750 --> 00:22:12,254
It's okay to be angry at sin, okay?

550
00:22:12,422 --> 00:22:16,118
But this is anecdotal.

551
00:22:16,214 --> 00:22:20,550
But in my experience, most of
us are not angry at sin predominantly.

552
00:22:20,590 --> 00:22:23,846
We're more angry at our own
ego being hurt or someone doing something

553
00:22:23,878 --> 00:22:26,770
that makes us Madden,
something that's displacing us from

554
00:22:26,850 --> 00:22:28,738
our life that we think we
should have.

555
00:22:28,834 --> 00:22:31,354
And so many times we're not
characterized by kindness.

556
00:22:31,442 --> 00:22:34,590
We're characterized by anger
and bitterness.

557
00:22:35,130 --> 00:22:41,122
So he says, kindness, but you
would say, okay, so what you're telling

558
00:22:41,146 --> 00:22:45,602
me now is that if I keep
pushing forward on my own, I can

559
00:22:45,626 --> 00:22:50,690
live a life of purity,
knowledge, long suffering, or patience

560
00:22:50,770 --> 00:22:51,578
and kindness?

561
00:22:51,634 --> 00:22:53,882
Well, I think I could do that.

562
00:22:53,986 --> 00:22:55,586
Let me tell you, you can't do
that on your own.

563
00:22:55,618 --> 00:22:56,562
Because what does he say here?

564
00:22:56,586 --> 00:22:57,282
The next thing?

565
00:22:57,386 --> 00:22:59,790
And I love how he inserts it
right in the middle.

566
00:23:02,130 --> 00:23:04,594
I would have put it at the
front, but Paul puts it right in

567
00:23:04,602 --> 00:23:04,906
the middle.

568
00:23:04,938 --> 00:23:10,354
He says here by the Holy
Ghost, meaning you can't do any of

569
00:23:10,362 --> 00:23:14,194
these things unless the Holy
Ghost is living within you and directing

570
00:23:14,242 --> 00:23:14,762
you.

571
00:23:14,906 --> 00:23:17,586
You can serve yourself or you
can serve the spirit.

572
00:23:17,658 --> 00:23:20,372
You can feed the flesh or you
can feed the spirit of.

573
00:23:20,386 --> 00:23:22,944
And the Bible says the only
way that you can do these things

574
00:23:23,032 --> 00:23:26,688
and have purity in your life
and kindness in your life and all

575
00:23:26,704 --> 00:23:28,920
of these things that are the
blessings of endurance.

576
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,992
The only way that you can have
endurance in and of itself is by

577
00:23:32,136 --> 00:23:36,880
the Holy Ghost living within
you and leading you in your life.

578
00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:40,160
The Holy Ghost, it's all based
in the Holy Spirit.

579
00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:42,056
And so he says, it's by the
Holy Ghost.

580
00:23:42,168 --> 00:23:46,300
And then through that comes
unfeigned love.

581
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:47,152
Love.

582
00:23:47,216 --> 00:23:49,820
Unfeigned meaning authentic love.

583
00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:56,672
So he says, a life of
endurance through difficulty can

584
00:23:56,696 --> 00:24:02,260
be characterized by pureness,
knowledge, long suffering, kindness,

585
00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:06,300
true love by the Holy Spirit.

586
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:08,480
Through the Holy Spirit.

587
00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:10,912
Now, I want to stop there just
for a moment and talk about what

588
00:24:10,936 --> 00:24:12,840
that unfeigned love really is.

589
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:13,712
Unfeigned love.

590
00:24:13,776 --> 00:24:15,220
Is that agape love?

591
00:24:16,190 --> 00:24:17,450
It's true love.

592
00:24:18,190 --> 00:24:20,990
Now, you know, you watch a
Disney movie and they'll say, true

593
00:24:21,030 --> 00:24:21,422
love.

594
00:24:21,526 --> 00:24:22,774
That's not what this is
talking about.

595
00:24:22,862 --> 00:24:26,970
It's talking about authentic
love that backs up what it says.

596
00:24:27,670 --> 00:24:29,606
And so as a Christian, we can
say, I love you.

597
00:24:29,678 --> 00:24:30,650
Love you, brother.

598
00:24:31,230 --> 00:24:32,170
Love ya.

599
00:24:33,310 --> 00:24:34,238
But do we?

600
00:24:34,374 --> 00:24:35,410
That's the question.

601
00:24:36,590 --> 00:24:38,678
And we actually see here that
it's not an inconvenience.

602
00:24:38,734 --> 00:24:40,270
Paul lists this in the blessings.

603
00:24:40,390 --> 00:24:43,206
So actually loving other
people within the church is a blessing

604
00:24:43,238 --> 00:24:46,058
that we receive by walking in
faith with God.

605
00:24:46,234 --> 00:24:48,570
Sometimes we don't see loving
others as a blessing.

606
00:24:48,610 --> 00:24:50,750
We see loving others as an inconvenience.

607
00:24:51,130 --> 00:24:53,870
The Bible says, no, we should
be excited to love one another.

608
00:24:54,930 --> 00:24:57,202
And I encourage you to think
about this here today.

609
00:24:57,346 --> 00:25:00,522
In the midst of ministry, in
the midst of conflict, in the midst

610
00:25:00,626 --> 00:25:05,018
of people maybe coming against
you, in the midst of our own struggles,

611
00:25:05,034 --> 00:25:08,150
in our own life, we have to be
characterized by that love.

612
00:25:08,930 --> 00:25:12,798
It's not a sappy love that's
empty and romantic.

613
00:25:12,854 --> 00:25:14,374
That's not what this is
talking about.

614
00:25:14,502 --> 00:25:15,918
It's not a love that condones.

615
00:25:15,974 --> 00:25:18,090
It's not a love that
celebrates sin.

616
00:25:18,390 --> 00:25:19,690
It's the opposite.

617
00:25:20,550 --> 00:25:24,890
If I love my children, I will
not celebrate their sin.

618
00:25:25,550 --> 00:25:27,294
I will call it out.

619
00:25:27,462 --> 00:25:30,062
I will address it, I will
discipline it.

620
00:25:30,126 --> 00:25:32,038
I will say, guys, this is not good.

621
00:25:32,134 --> 00:25:34,430
I love you, and I'm telling
you that this is not good.

622
00:25:34,510 --> 00:25:37,860
That should be how it is
within the midst of the church.

623
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:41,140
Folks, there's been people
that have said this.

624
00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,144
If someone walks into our
church building that has a different

625
00:25:44,192 --> 00:25:47,400
lifestyle than we have, don't
ever let them in, folks.

626
00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:49,840
How are they ever going to
hear the truth of Jesus Christ and

627
00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:52,500
change from where they are to
where they need to be?

628
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:55,816
But we don't accept it where
it is.

629
00:25:55,968 --> 00:25:58,620
So, yes, come as you are,
believe changed.

630
00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,112
We accept anybody to come into
this building to hear the gospel

631
00:26:02,136 --> 00:26:03,540
of Jesus Christ, okay?

632
00:26:03,620 --> 00:26:05,668
And if you don't like that, I
think it's biblical.

633
00:26:05,724 --> 00:26:06,476
I know it's biblical.

634
00:26:06,508 --> 00:26:06,892
Okay?

635
00:26:06,956 --> 00:26:09,020
Now there are some security
things, okay?

636
00:26:09,060 --> 00:26:11,700
Someone comes in and they're
like, hey, I'm gonna hurt everybody.

637
00:26:11,740 --> 00:26:12,772
That's another whole thing.

638
00:26:12,836 --> 00:26:14,972
I'm talking about just someone
coming in with a different lifestyle

639
00:26:14,996 --> 00:26:15,972
than we have.

640
00:26:16,156 --> 00:26:17,716
We don't celebrate that, though.

641
00:26:17,748 --> 00:26:19,692
We don't go, hey, come on in.

642
00:26:19,796 --> 00:26:21,028
Yeah, just stay as you are.

643
00:26:21,044 --> 00:26:23,092
No, we want to preach Jesus
Christ to them.

644
00:26:23,236 --> 00:26:24,720
That's unfeigned love.

645
00:26:25,100 --> 00:26:26,724
Now, you would say, well, they
become a member.

646
00:26:26,772 --> 00:26:28,324
No, becoming a member is different.

647
00:26:28,372 --> 00:26:31,548
There's a public testimony
with that, that there's a responsibility

648
00:26:31,644 --> 00:26:35,350
there to not be a person
that's living in unrepentant sin.

649
00:26:35,850 --> 00:26:38,594
But for someone to come and
hear the gospel of Jesus Christ,

650
00:26:38,722 --> 00:26:43,266
we have to love them, but not
condone, not celebrate sin.

651
00:26:43,378 --> 00:26:45,578
So, like, say, for example, a
husband and wife come to me in the

652
00:26:45,594 --> 00:26:47,522
church, and the husband goes,
hey, you know, I'm really having

653
00:26:47,546 --> 00:26:49,310
a hard time being faithful to
my wife.

654
00:26:49,930 --> 00:26:50,298
Okay?

655
00:26:50,314 --> 00:26:52,658
I'm a believer in Jesus
Christ, or I'm not a believer in

656
00:26:52,674 --> 00:26:53,050
Jesus Christ.

657
00:26:53,090 --> 00:26:54,642
Either way, what do I say to him?

658
00:26:54,666 --> 00:26:57,634
I say, well, I love you,
brother, so just do what you want

659
00:26:57,642 --> 00:26:58,080
to do.

660
00:26:58,170 --> 00:26:58,780
Okay?

661
00:26:58,900 --> 00:27:00,160
I'll celebrate you.

662
00:27:00,580 --> 00:27:01,044
Sorry.

663
00:27:01,092 --> 00:27:01,596
Sorry, ma'am.

664
00:27:01,628 --> 00:27:03,388
You know, I'll celebrate you
too, but I gotta.

665
00:27:03,484 --> 00:27:07,444
You see the cognitive
dissonance there, the mental.

666
00:27:07,572 --> 00:27:10,220
I have to say, I love you,
brother, but that's wrong.

667
00:27:10,340 --> 00:27:12,772
Let's do everything that we
can, according to scripture to get

668
00:27:12,796 --> 00:27:14,972
you to a place where you can
stay faithful to your wife and faithful

669
00:27:14,996 --> 00:27:15,652
to God.

670
00:27:15,796 --> 00:27:17,804
There's nothing hateful about that.

671
00:27:17,972 --> 00:27:19,596
There's nothing evil about that.

672
00:27:19,668 --> 00:27:21,732
And a lot of times in the
world today, they'll say, if you

673
00:27:21,756 --> 00:27:23,996
love someone, you gotta be
okay with what they're doing.

674
00:27:24,028 --> 00:27:24,794
That's nothing.

675
00:27:24,832 --> 00:27:27,078
What the Bible says, so
unfeigned love.

676
00:27:27,134 --> 00:27:30,150
Our lives should be
characterized by unfeigned, unhypocritical

677
00:27:30,190 --> 00:27:30,366
love.

678
00:27:30,398 --> 00:27:33,894
The Bible says in Romans,
chapter twelve, love without dissimulation,

679
00:27:33,982 --> 00:27:35,542
which you're like, what's dissimulation?

680
00:27:35,606 --> 00:27:36,806
That's hypocrisy.

681
00:27:36,958 --> 00:27:39,950
Don't love with hypocritical intentions.

682
00:27:40,030 --> 00:27:42,414
Okay, so there's that.

683
00:27:42,542 --> 00:27:43,446
The unfeigned love.

684
00:27:43,478 --> 00:27:47,502
But then the last group of
three here, he says, this is kind

685
00:27:47,526 --> 00:27:49,486
of how we can get to these places.

686
00:27:49,558 --> 00:27:51,220
So he says it's in the Holy Spirit.

687
00:27:51,310 --> 00:27:54,112
But then he says in verse
seven, by the word of truth.

688
00:27:54,136 --> 00:27:57,296
The only way that we can ever
understand all of these things is

689
00:27:57,328 --> 00:27:58,232
through the word of truth.

690
00:27:58,256 --> 00:27:58,952
What's the word of truth?

691
00:27:58,976 --> 00:28:00,140
It's the word of God.

692
00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:02,368
Colossians, chapter one.

693
00:28:02,424 --> 00:28:05,712
Colossians, chapter one, verse
five tells us about this word of

694
00:28:05,736 --> 00:28:06,232
truth.

695
00:28:06,336 --> 00:28:09,392
It says, for the hope which is
laid up for you in heaven, whereof

696
00:28:09,416 --> 00:28:12,420
ye have heard before in the
word of truth.

697
00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:14,500
Of the gospel.

698
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:16,048
It is the gospel.

699
00:28:16,144 --> 00:28:19,480
You cannot do any of this
outside of knowing and believing

700
00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,920
and trusting in the gospel of
Jesus Christ.

701
00:28:24,500 --> 00:28:27,880
All of this is wrapped up in
having a gospel ministry.

702
00:28:28,380 --> 00:28:29,276
What is the gospel?

703
00:28:29,308 --> 00:28:30,468
The gospel is simply this.

704
00:28:30,564 --> 00:28:33,052
That Jesus Christ came to this
earth, died on the cross for our

705
00:28:33,076 --> 00:28:35,236
sins, was buried three days later.

706
00:28:35,268 --> 00:28:36,140
He rose from the grave.

707
00:28:36,180 --> 00:28:37,540
He conquered death through the resurrection.

708
00:28:37,580 --> 00:28:40,596
And now he's ruling and
reigning and allowing us to receive

709
00:28:40,628 --> 00:28:42,260
the gift of grace that he has
extended to us.

710
00:28:42,300 --> 00:28:43,580
That is the gospel.

711
00:28:43,700 --> 00:28:46,884
So he says, to do all of this,
to understand what it means to be

712
00:28:46,892 --> 00:28:50,056
a minister of the gospel, to
have endurance, to live a life of

713
00:28:50,088 --> 00:28:53,248
purity, to live a life of
kindness, to live a life of love,

714
00:28:53,344 --> 00:28:56,584
we must be based, as it says
there in verse seven, by the word

715
00:28:56,632 --> 00:28:57,280
of truth.

716
00:28:57,360 --> 00:28:59,424
It is not by the word of
Pastor Josh.

717
00:28:59,512 --> 00:29:01,224
It's not by the word of some church.

718
00:29:01,312 --> 00:29:02,984
It's not by the word of the world.

719
00:29:03,072 --> 00:29:04,352
It's by the word of truth.

720
00:29:04,376 --> 00:29:06,584
The word of truth is God's word.

721
00:29:06,632 --> 00:29:08,016
Jesus is the word.

722
00:29:08,088 --> 00:29:10,420
And so ultimately we preach
the gospel.

723
00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:12,048
People need the gospel.

724
00:29:12,144 --> 00:29:14,920
People need the gospel to get
saved, and people need the gospel

725
00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:16,260
to grow in their faith.

726
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:21,884
We must be a gospel preaching
church, not a works based church.

727
00:29:21,932 --> 00:29:22,244
Okay?

728
00:29:22,292 --> 00:29:27,172
So what it can look like is
this, come to our church, you gotta

729
00:29:27,196 --> 00:29:29,400
make sure that you do this,
this, this.

730
00:29:30,780 --> 00:29:31,884
Then you can get saved.

731
00:29:31,972 --> 00:29:34,348
And then after you do this,
this, this, and this, then you can

732
00:29:34,364 --> 00:29:34,676
do this.

733
00:29:34,708 --> 00:29:35,052
Okay.

734
00:29:35,116 --> 00:29:37,732
The truth is, is that if we
start laying out all these rules

735
00:29:37,836 --> 00:29:40,708
that are not in the word of
God, we've gotten ourselves out of

736
00:29:40,724 --> 00:29:41,348
whack.

737
00:29:41,524 --> 00:29:44,950
We've mistaken what God has
called us to live in.

738
00:29:45,100 --> 00:29:47,370
We don't live a list of rules.

739
00:29:47,530 --> 00:29:49,282
We live a life of the gospel.

740
00:29:49,426 --> 00:29:52,002
The life of the gospel will
change us away from those things

741
00:29:52,026 --> 00:29:52,786
of this world.

742
00:29:52,898 --> 00:29:55,830
But all of you can follow a
list to a certain degree.

743
00:29:57,130 --> 00:29:59,066
Let's have another
hypothetical guy come in here.

744
00:29:59,098 --> 00:30:01,522
Hypothetical guy comes in, he
says, I want to be a Christian.

745
00:30:01,666 --> 00:30:02,710
What do I say?

746
00:30:04,290 --> 00:30:06,602
Do I give him the gospel or do
I say, well, this is what it looks

747
00:30:06,626 --> 00:30:07,378
like to be a Christian.

748
00:30:07,434 --> 00:30:08,430
How do I start?

749
00:30:08,850 --> 00:30:12,206
Okay, start with the gospel,
because I could tell the guy, okay,

750
00:30:12,278 --> 00:30:14,770
well, all you got to do is
look this way.

751
00:30:15,110 --> 00:30:16,610
Don't say these words.

752
00:30:17,070 --> 00:30:18,414
Say these words.

753
00:30:18,582 --> 00:30:21,718
Don't take this in your body,
but put this in your body.

754
00:30:21,894 --> 00:30:22,798
Make sure.

755
00:30:22,974 --> 00:30:24,102
So he's got a list here.

756
00:30:24,126 --> 00:30:27,398
He's got like a 55 checkbox list.

757
00:30:27,414 --> 00:30:29,014
And he says, okay, I'm going
to wake up tomorrow morning, I'm

758
00:30:29,022 --> 00:30:30,054
going to try to do all these.

759
00:30:30,222 --> 00:30:31,822
That does not make him a Christian.

760
00:30:31,926 --> 00:30:33,862
Could he do some of the things
on that list?

761
00:30:34,046 --> 00:30:36,366
Yeah, okay, I'm not going to
say that word anymore.

762
00:30:36,398 --> 00:30:38,972
I know that's not a good word
to say, but guess what happens?

763
00:30:39,036 --> 00:30:40,924
He might get upset that day
and say a bad word.

764
00:30:41,012 --> 00:30:42,600
Oh, man, now I'm not a Christian.

765
00:30:42,940 --> 00:30:46,036
You see the flaw in list keeping.

766
00:30:46,228 --> 00:30:49,236
And so many times we want to
say, well, pastor, are we just supposed

767
00:30:49,268 --> 00:30:50,060
to let him go?

768
00:30:50,140 --> 00:30:52,044
Are we supposed to just let
him get saved and not know?

769
00:30:52,092 --> 00:30:56,172
Then we preach the gospel and
then we get the gospel deeply rooted

770
00:30:56,196 --> 00:30:56,868
in his heart.

771
00:30:56,964 --> 00:30:59,764
And then we say, hey, here's
what the Bible says about purity.

772
00:30:59,852 --> 00:31:01,548
Here's what the Bible says
about grace.

773
00:31:01,644 --> 00:31:03,410
Here's what the Bible says
about forgiveness.

774
00:31:03,500 --> 00:31:04,862
And so we work that way with them.

775
00:31:04,886 --> 00:31:07,246
It's always in the word of truth.

776
00:31:07,358 --> 00:31:09,370
We can sometimes do this.

777
00:31:09,990 --> 00:31:10,982
This Bible is good.

778
00:31:11,006 --> 00:31:13,170
But then we have other things
we want to add onto it.

779
00:31:13,510 --> 00:31:17,910
This Bible is great, but we
want to add some more in there.

780
00:31:17,950 --> 00:31:19,510
And you say, we don't do that.

781
00:31:19,630 --> 00:31:20,230
Come on.

782
00:31:20,310 --> 00:31:21,342
We have all been there.

783
00:31:21,366 --> 00:31:23,558
We have all said, I can't
point you into the Bible.

784
00:31:23,614 --> 00:31:24,414
But that is.

785
00:31:24,502 --> 00:31:25,494
I don't like that.

786
00:31:25,622 --> 00:31:28,222
Okay, well, the truth is that
sometimes we have to be careful with

787
00:31:28,246 --> 00:31:31,222
that and not putting those
things outside of scripture, in front

788
00:31:31,246 --> 00:31:31,858
of scripture.

789
00:31:31,934 --> 00:31:34,650
And so he says, we do this by
the word of truth.

790
00:31:34,770 --> 00:31:35,658
Then he says, what?

791
00:31:35,714 --> 00:31:37,590
By the power of God.

792
00:31:37,930 --> 00:31:43,026
So we have the word of truth
by the power of God, and then through

793
00:31:43,058 --> 00:31:46,602
the power of God, by the armor
of righteousness on the right hand

794
00:31:46,626 --> 00:31:47,554
and on the left.

795
00:31:47,722 --> 00:31:49,434
Now, you know the armor of God.

796
00:31:49,482 --> 00:31:51,034
You know the armor of righteousness.

797
00:31:51,122 --> 00:31:51,866
This is what he's saying.

798
00:31:51,898 --> 00:31:54,922
He says, God has given us
everything that we need through the

799
00:31:54,946 --> 00:31:58,802
word, through the power of
God, through the Holy Spirit, to

800
00:31:58,826 --> 00:32:01,866
arm ourselves with all the
tools that we need to do the work

801
00:32:01,898 --> 00:32:06,310
of the ministry, to have
endurance, to lay aside every weight.

802
00:32:06,890 --> 00:32:10,546
And so, yes, Paul is the
example here in this passage, but

803
00:32:10,578 --> 00:32:12,202
we know in a greater way it's Jesus.

804
00:32:12,266 --> 00:32:13,906
It is the word of God.

805
00:32:14,058 --> 00:32:16,266
It is the power of God.

806
00:32:16,378 --> 00:32:21,186
And it is the armor of God and
the resources of God that he gives

807
00:32:21,218 --> 00:32:23,630
us to go about our daily walk.

808
00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:26,236
And so if you're tempted to
say, you know what?

809
00:32:26,308 --> 00:32:30,396
I want to quit today, or maybe
not today, but I was willing to quit

810
00:32:30,428 --> 00:32:33,884
yesterday, or I might be
willing to quit next week, the Bible

811
00:32:33,932 --> 00:32:37,500
says that we have a power
that's living within us.

812
00:32:37,620 --> 00:32:38,996
I want you to see point number three.

813
00:32:39,028 --> 00:32:39,812
And this is the last point.

814
00:32:39,836 --> 00:32:42,572
So we have protect the testimony.

815
00:32:42,756 --> 00:32:44,684
We have the testimony of patience.

816
00:32:44,852 --> 00:32:47,588
And then lastly here, the
power of truth.

817
00:32:47,644 --> 00:32:48,316
The truth of what?

818
00:32:48,348 --> 00:32:49,386
The truth of God.

819
00:32:49,548 --> 00:32:51,150
The truth of God is found in
his word.

820
00:32:51,230 --> 00:32:53,638
The truth of God is seen
through his power in our life.

821
00:32:53,734 --> 00:32:57,646
And the truth of God can be
seen manifested by those tools that

822
00:32:57,678 --> 00:33:00,810
God gives us in the armor of
God, in the armor of righteousness.

823
00:33:01,310 --> 00:33:02,430
It's not our righteousness.

824
00:33:02,470 --> 00:33:03,730
It's his righteousness.

825
00:33:04,030 --> 00:33:06,326
And so we've got this
understanding of.

826
00:33:06,358 --> 00:33:09,774
To be a person of endurance,
we must protect our testimony.

827
00:33:09,902 --> 00:33:13,454
We must understand that there
is this testimony of patience in

828
00:33:13,462 --> 00:33:16,180
our life that has to
characterize our life, that testimony

829
00:33:16,220 --> 00:33:16,932
of endurance.

830
00:33:17,036 --> 00:33:21,140
And then lastly, we have to be
driven by the power of truth, the

831
00:33:21,180 --> 00:33:22,720
power of God.

832
00:33:23,860 --> 00:33:26,700
And so we see him ending it
here in verse number seven.

833
00:33:26,740 --> 00:33:29,356
At least this thought, he's
gonna pick it up in verse eight,

834
00:33:29,388 --> 00:33:30,652
which we're gonna talk about
next week.

835
00:33:30,676 --> 00:33:33,628
But he ends it here in the
armor of righteousness on the right

836
00:33:33,684 --> 00:33:34,988
hand and on the left.

837
00:33:35,164 --> 00:33:38,052
Now, you can look at this from
two different perspectives, right

838
00:33:38,076 --> 00:33:40,396
and left, meaning he's got us
on every side.

839
00:33:40,548 --> 00:33:43,188
But then I've also heard some
commentators say that this means

840
00:33:43,284 --> 00:33:44,540
that you have the defensive side.

841
00:33:44,580 --> 00:33:47,308
The defensive side used to be
the left side, and you had the offensive

842
00:33:47,364 --> 00:33:48,316
side, which was the right side.

843
00:33:48,348 --> 00:33:50,564
If you were right handed, you
were attacking with the right, you

844
00:33:50,572 --> 00:33:51,660
were defending with the left.

845
00:33:51,740 --> 00:33:54,740
The Bible says that God has us
in his armor, not only through the

846
00:33:54,780 --> 00:33:56,708
defensive, but also on the offensive.

847
00:33:56,844 --> 00:33:59,908
We know that some of those
armors, the elements of the armor

848
00:33:59,924 --> 00:34:04,300
of God, was defensive, is
defensive and also offensive.

849
00:34:04,460 --> 00:34:06,492
And so we can see here that
God has got us.

850
00:34:06,516 --> 00:34:08,292
He has got us under control.

851
00:34:08,436 --> 00:34:12,001
He's given us everything that
we need to protect ourselves from

852
00:34:12,025 --> 00:34:14,817
the enemy and ultimately
allowing God to protect us from the

853
00:34:14,833 --> 00:34:19,601
enemy, but then also attacking
the evil, attacking the difficulties,

854
00:34:19,665 --> 00:34:21,209
attacking those naysayers.

855
00:34:21,249 --> 00:34:24,281
And so what the Bible tells us
here in this case is, as we want

856
00:34:24,305 --> 00:34:27,937
to live a life of endurance,
we have to really do a couple things.

857
00:34:27,993 --> 00:34:31,709
One, to understand what our
goal is.

858
00:34:32,089 --> 00:34:36,430
Number two, to understand
where our power is, and then number

859
00:34:36,470 --> 00:34:41,814
three, to understand what the
goal is at the end, the eternal purpose.

860
00:34:41,982 --> 00:34:45,370
So our goal, our power and our purpose.

861
00:34:46,590 --> 00:34:47,606
And so what is our purpose?

862
00:34:47,638 --> 00:34:50,006
Well, we know the purpose
ultimately is to glorify God and

863
00:34:50,038 --> 00:34:52,090
to preach the message of the gospel.

864
00:34:52,510 --> 00:34:53,970
Hebrews chapter twelve.

865
00:34:56,190 --> 00:34:57,770
Lay aside every weight.

866
00:34:59,590 --> 00:35:00,942
Run the race with endurance.

867
00:35:01,006 --> 00:35:02,490
Run the race with patience.

868
00:35:02,950 --> 00:35:05,126
Folks, I don't know about you,
but you might be running the race

869
00:35:05,158 --> 00:35:08,518
right now, but you've got all
of the baggage of this world, and

870
00:35:08,534 --> 00:35:10,174
you're like, I just can't go
any further.

871
00:35:10,342 --> 00:35:13,030
I can't go any further with
the general struggles that I'm facing.

872
00:35:13,110 --> 00:35:15,318
I can't go any further with
the problems that people are bringing

873
00:35:15,334 --> 00:35:16,086
to me in my life.

874
00:35:16,158 --> 00:35:18,286
I can't go any farther with
the problems that I have in my own

875
00:35:18,318 --> 00:35:20,198
life that I'm bringing upon myself.

876
00:35:20,374 --> 00:35:22,230
The Bible says that there's
victory over that.

877
00:35:22,350 --> 00:35:24,910
And that is what does verse
number two say of Hebrews chapter

878
00:35:24,950 --> 00:35:25,414
twelve?

879
00:35:25,542 --> 00:35:29,540
Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher.

880
00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:31,864
Folks, it's never too late.

881
00:35:31,992 --> 00:35:34,952
If you're taking in breath,
it's never too late for you to lay

882
00:35:34,976 --> 00:35:37,896
aside those weights and keep
your eyes fixed on Jesus and run

883
00:35:37,928 --> 00:35:39,096
that race with patience.

884
00:35:39,168 --> 00:35:40,776
Run that race with endurance.

885
00:35:40,888 --> 00:35:43,520
Some of you might say I'm not
running like I used to.

886
00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:47,656
Okay, man, back in the day
when I first got saved, I was running

887
00:35:47,808 --> 00:35:50,208
at a five minute pace on that
mile I was moving.

888
00:35:50,264 --> 00:35:52,040
Then over time, you know what?

889
00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:53,262
I'm stumbling.

890
00:35:53,456 --> 00:35:57,538
Well, the Bible doesn't say
that we have to run as fast as we

891
00:35:57,554 --> 00:35:58,830
can every single time.

892
00:35:59,690 --> 00:36:01,938
I can tell you what, if you
ever see me out there running, you

893
00:36:01,954 --> 00:36:03,482
can tell where I'm at on my
pace of running.

894
00:36:03,506 --> 00:36:05,434
If I'm running really quickly,
I've just got started.

895
00:36:05,482 --> 00:36:08,690
If I'm running and I'm limping
and it looks like I'm like a different

896
00:36:08,730 --> 00:36:09,834
color, okay?

897
00:36:09,922 --> 00:36:11,950
It could be really red or it
could be like white.

898
00:36:12,730 --> 00:36:14,378
Who knows what's going on out there?

899
00:36:14,554 --> 00:36:16,138
It might be that I'm towards
the end, okay?

900
00:36:16,154 --> 00:36:17,122
But I'm pushing, right?

901
00:36:17,186 --> 00:36:17,994
I'm pushing.

902
00:36:18,122 --> 00:36:20,070
And the cases with running is this.

903
00:36:21,770 --> 00:36:23,858
There are going to be times
where we're tempted to quit, and

904
00:36:23,874 --> 00:36:27,418
we have every reason to quit
in the world's perspective.

905
00:36:27,554 --> 00:36:30,426
But the Bible says no, we go,
we race to that finish line.

906
00:36:30,458 --> 00:36:31,802
We're pushing forward.

907
00:36:31,986 --> 00:36:34,530
And when we're tempted to
quit, when we have all these areas

908
00:36:34,610 --> 00:36:37,482
of difficulties in our life
that are stacking up, we don't think

909
00:36:37,506 --> 00:36:38,346
about those difficulties.

910
00:36:38,378 --> 00:36:39,226
What do we do?

911
00:36:39,378 --> 00:36:40,858
We think about those blessings.

912
00:36:41,034 --> 00:36:43,842
We think about the purity that
can come through the holy spirit.

913
00:36:43,906 --> 00:36:45,728
We think about that kindness,
that love.

914
00:36:45,874 --> 00:36:49,972
We think about, ultimately the
power of God, the truth of God, and

915
00:36:49,996 --> 00:36:51,428
that armor that God has given us.

916
00:36:51,444 --> 00:36:52,108
And we say, you know what?

917
00:36:52,124 --> 00:36:54,740
The purpose is that one day I
will be with my savior.

918
00:36:54,780 --> 00:36:56,212
I'm an ambassador for now.

919
00:36:56,316 --> 00:36:57,780
I'm a pilgrim in this world.

920
00:36:57,860 --> 00:37:00,780
But ultimately I'm going to be
sitting with my savior face to face.

921
00:37:00,860 --> 00:37:02,820
And that is why I'm going
forward today.

922
00:37:02,980 --> 00:37:04,012
One more day.

923
00:37:04,156 --> 00:37:05,100
One more day.

924
00:37:05,220 --> 00:37:08,228
And just keep pushing forward
one step before the other.

925
00:37:08,324 --> 00:37:09,516
But it's not in our own strength.

926
00:37:09,548 --> 00:37:10,940
It's in the power of God.

927
00:37:11,100 --> 00:37:14,450
And so I don't know about you,
but maybe you're the one this morning,

928
00:37:15,230 --> 00:37:17,690
like, I've been tempted to quit.

929
00:37:19,030 --> 00:37:23,410
Tempted just to stop and say,
you know what?

930
00:37:23,790 --> 00:37:25,130
It's not worth it.

931
00:37:26,710 --> 00:37:28,410
I don't have any more endurance.

932
00:37:29,150 --> 00:37:30,070
I'm tired.

933
00:37:30,190 --> 00:37:31,130
I'm weary.

934
00:37:31,470 --> 00:37:32,606
The Bible says, don't get weary.

935
00:37:32,638 --> 00:37:34,406
And well doing for in due
season, right?

936
00:37:34,478 --> 00:37:35,610
It's in his time.

937
00:37:36,190 --> 00:37:37,930
You will reap if you faint not.

938
00:37:38,390 --> 00:37:40,990
The Bible says in Hebrews,
chapter eleven, verse six, it's impossible

939
00:37:41,030 --> 00:37:42,450
to please God without faith.

940
00:37:42,820 --> 00:37:43,468
Why?

941
00:37:43,604 --> 00:37:45,892
Because we have to believe
that he is and that he is a rewarder

942
00:37:45,916 --> 00:37:47,732
of them that diligently seek him.

943
00:37:47,916 --> 00:37:50,972
Folks, we have to believe that
God is going to reward us for our

944
00:37:50,996 --> 00:37:51,460
faithfulness.

945
00:37:51,500 --> 00:37:53,960
If not, why are we doing
anything that we're doing?

946
00:37:54,980 --> 00:37:58,652
If I didn't believe that there
is a heaven one day and I didn't

947
00:37:58,676 --> 00:38:01,748
believe that there's rewards,
and I didn't believe that God is

948
00:38:01,764 --> 00:38:05,220
going to get me through this,
why do anything that we're doing?

949
00:38:05,340 --> 00:38:06,956
Might as well live for myself.

950
00:38:07,148 --> 00:38:08,564
Might as well live for my flesh.

951
00:38:08,612 --> 00:38:10,500
Might as well live for the
almighty dollar.

952
00:38:10,580 --> 00:38:12,468
Might as well get as many toys
as I can now.

953
00:38:12,564 --> 00:38:14,428
But the Bible says that there
is something different.

954
00:38:14,524 --> 00:38:15,900
There is a bigger purpose.

955
00:38:15,980 --> 00:38:17,480
There is a finish line.

956
00:38:18,620 --> 00:38:21,660
And I'm gonna tell you this,
folks, when you cross that finish

957
00:38:21,700 --> 00:38:24,484
line, that's when it all begins.

958
00:38:24,612 --> 00:38:26,476
That's when the blessings
really start pouring out.

959
00:38:26,508 --> 00:38:31,180
The rewards, the presence of
God, the painlessness, right?

960
00:38:31,300 --> 00:38:33,124
One day there will be painlessness.

961
00:38:33,292 --> 00:38:35,388
One day we're all just gonna
be sitting there with God and there's

962
00:38:35,404 --> 00:38:36,724
not gonna be any more problems.

963
00:38:36,812 --> 00:38:38,344
But not yet.

964
00:38:38,532 --> 00:38:39,168
Not yet.

965
00:38:39,224 --> 00:38:41,680
There's still going to be
struggles, and we have to push forward

966
00:38:41,720 --> 00:38:42,580
to the end.

967
00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:44,700
I'm going to tell you this.

968
00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:48,400
We're going to be tempted to quit.

969
00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:52,416
But what we have to do is we
have to say, lord, I know that it's

970
00:38:52,448 --> 00:38:53,180
worth it.

971
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,816
I know that living for myself
is not the right way to go.

972
00:38:56,848 --> 00:38:58,752
I know that my flesh is lying
to me.

973
00:38:58,816 --> 00:39:00,900
I know that the enemy is lying
to me.

974
00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:04,296
And the travesty of all of
this is that we have christians who

975
00:39:04,328 --> 00:39:05,708
say that they believe in heaven.

976
00:39:05,824 --> 00:39:07,988
We have christians who say
that they tasted of the grace of

977
00:39:08,004 --> 00:39:11,440
God, but yet are living in the
same way that the world lives.

978
00:39:12,060 --> 00:39:15,636
Living for now, why on earth
would we live for the here and now

979
00:39:15,668 --> 00:39:17,800
when we know that we've got
something else in eternity?

980
00:39:18,820 --> 00:39:21,396
Let me just tell you right
now, folks, it's going to be worth

981
00:39:21,428 --> 00:39:21,860
it.

982
00:39:21,980 --> 00:39:26,356
The Bible says that it will be
worth it all when we see Jesus.

983
00:39:26,508 --> 00:39:28,748
And so what is this message
about today?

984
00:39:28,804 --> 00:39:30,596
This message is the example of endurance.

985
00:39:30,668 --> 00:39:33,010
Paul is an example of endurance.

986
00:39:33,170 --> 00:39:34,870
But ultimately, it was Jesus.

987
00:39:35,570 --> 00:39:37,962
He endured the cross because
he loves us.

988
00:39:38,146 --> 00:39:42,154
Are we willing to endure this
short time on this earth because

989
00:39:42,202 --> 00:39:43,226
we love him?

990
00:39:43,418 --> 00:39:45,090
He endured the cross for you.

991
00:39:45,250 --> 00:39:49,314
Are we willing to endure the
temporary discomfort in the short

992
00:39:49,362 --> 00:39:54,658
amount of time so that we can
show, demonstrate, manifest the love

993
00:39:54,674 --> 00:39:55,506
of God in our lives?

994
00:39:55,578 --> 00:39:57,952
I hope that is your testimony
here this morning.

995
00:39:58,026 --> 00:40:00,300
I'm gonna ask everyone to
stand, if you're able to, with me,

996
00:40:00,420 --> 00:40:01,668
every head bowed, every eye closed.

997
00:40:01,684 --> 00:40:03,200
As the music plays this morning.

998
00:40:03,940 --> 00:40:06,160
I want you to think about that
message of endurance.

999
00:40:08,900 --> 00:40:12,800
Am I protecting my testimony?

1000
00:40:13,220 --> 00:40:17,364
Or am I living such a way that
my obstacles are holding me back

1001
00:40:17,492 --> 00:40:19,160
from people coming to Christ?

1002
00:40:19,820 --> 00:40:25,024
Am I living a life of
sacrifice and of service so that

1003
00:40:25,072 --> 00:40:28,060
people can see the goodness of
Jesus Christ in my life?

1004
00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:29,952
Or number 02:00 a.m.

1005
00:40:29,976 --> 00:40:31,680
i willing to live a life of endurance?

1006
00:40:31,720 --> 00:40:34,100
Am I willing to have that
testimony of patience?

1007
00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:37,864
Or am I focused on those
struggles that were listed in scripture

1008
00:40:37,912 --> 00:40:41,220
so much that I can't focus on
the blessings?

1009
00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:43,960
You're really going to be able
to only look at one are you going

1010
00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:45,256
to look at the struggles?

1011
00:40:45,448 --> 00:40:46,976
Is that going to characterize you?

1012
00:40:47,008 --> 00:40:50,260
Or are you going to be
characterized by that second list,

1013
00:40:51,420 --> 00:40:56,280
the word of truth, the power
of God, the armor of righteousness?

1014
00:40:57,940 --> 00:41:01,484
Are you willing to say, I'm
trusting in the power of truth today

1015
00:41:01,532 --> 00:41:02,396
to push me forward?

1016
00:41:02,468 --> 00:41:07,160
Or am I trusting in the lies
of this world, the flaws of my flesh,

1017
00:41:08,660 --> 00:41:13,220
the emptiness of materialism
to define my reason to move forward?

1018
00:41:13,260 --> 00:41:14,092
What is your reason?

1019
00:41:14,156 --> 00:41:15,204
What is your why?

1020
00:41:15,332 --> 00:41:17,076
Is it the power of truth?

1021
00:41:17,188 --> 00:41:19,600
Or is it the power of this world?

1022
00:41:20,260 --> 00:41:22,452
If it's the power of this
world, you're always going to have

1023
00:41:22,476 --> 00:41:23,680
the why to stop.

1024
00:41:24,700 --> 00:41:28,364
But when you live with that
eternal perspective, that eternal

1025
00:41:28,412 --> 00:41:30,440
perspective can give you that endurance.

1026
00:41:31,900 --> 00:41:34,924
And so are we going to be
christians characterized by endurance?

1027
00:41:35,012 --> 00:41:40,132
Are we going to be christians
characterized by our flesh and our

1028
00:41:40,156 --> 00:41:41,000
limitations?

1029
00:41:41,500 --> 00:41:44,436
God says that he's given us
everything that we need to push forward.

1030
00:41:44,588 --> 00:41:47,212
And so this morning, if you
need to dedicate your life to that

1031
00:41:47,236 --> 00:41:52,644
endurance one more mile, one
more day, we need him every hour.

1032
00:41:52,692 --> 00:41:54,120
We need him every day.

1033
00:41:54,540 --> 00:41:57,692
So maybe you just need to be
revitalized in your commitment to

1034
00:41:57,716 --> 00:41:58,756
him and your endurance.

1035
00:41:58,868 --> 00:42:00,740
Lord, I pray that you be in
this time of invitation, working

1036
00:42:00,780 --> 00:42:01,532
hearts and lives.

1037
00:42:01,636 --> 00:42:03,988
Lord, if there's someone here
today that doesn't know you as savior,

1038
00:42:04,124 --> 00:42:06,100
maybe today can be the day of salvation.

1039
00:42:06,260 --> 00:42:08,972
Maybe today can be the day of
understanding what the gospel is

1040
00:42:08,996 --> 00:42:13,390
all about, trusting in Jesus
and him alone for salvation.

1041
00:42:13,550 --> 00:42:16,822
If that be the case, Lord, I
pray that you call hearts to come

1042
00:42:16,846 --> 00:42:19,238
forward this morning and to
hear the truth of God through the

1043
00:42:19,254 --> 00:42:19,758
word.

1044
00:42:19,894 --> 00:42:20,774
We thank you.

1045
00:42:20,902 --> 00:42:23,582
I pray that you be with those
folks that are challenged with the

1046
00:42:23,606 --> 00:42:25,718
endurance this morning.

1047
00:42:25,774 --> 00:42:26,678
We thank you and we love you.

1048
00:42:26,694 --> 00:42:27,606
In Jesus name, amen.

1049
00:42:27,638 --> 00:42:29,830
As the music plays, if you
need to follow him this morning,

1050
00:42:29,990 --> 00:42:31,038
recommit your endurance.

1051
00:42:31,094 --> 00:42:33,010
Recommit your commitment to him.

1052
00:42:33,590 --> 00:42:36,150
Thank you again for listening
to the Middletown Baptist Church

1053
00:42:36,190 --> 00:42:36,996
podcast.

1054
00:42:37,158 --> 00:42:39,700
I hope that this sermon has
been a blessing for you.

1055
00:42:40,080 --> 00:42:41,192
If you would like to find out.

1056
00:42:41,216 --> 00:42:43,560
More information about our
church or this sermon, you can find

1057
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:48,940
us@middletownbaptistchurch.org
or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

1058
00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:54,648
You can also email me directly@joshmissaroiddletownbaptistchurch.com.

1059
00:42:54,824 --> 00:42:58,328
if you've enjoyed this
podcast, please subscribe and follow

1060
00:42:58,384 --> 00:43:01,340
along for future podcasts and updates.

1061
00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:02,920
Thank you so much.

1062
00:43:03,040 --> 00:43:03,864
God bless.

1063
00:43:03,992 --> 00:43:05,040
Have a wonderful day.