1 00:00:30,739 --> 00:00:34,020 We'll be just reading four short verses in this passage, but 2 00:00:34,052 --> 00:00:38,532 we'll jump around to different or other passages for our Scripture 3 00:00:38,588 --> 00:00:44,652 tonight. But I want to cause title this message tonight. Strength 4 00:00:44,708 --> 00:00:50,436 in weakness. Strength in weakness. Let's go ahead and dig 5 00:00:50,460 --> 00:00:54,636 into our reading here. In verse number seven of chapter 12 6 00:00:54,700 --> 00:01:01,082 in 2 Corinthians it says, and lest I should be exalted above measure, 7 00:01:01,218 --> 00:01:05,694 through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me 8 00:01:06,234 --> 00:01:10,922 a thorn in the flesh. This is Paul speaking, the messenger of Satan 9 00:01:10,978 --> 00:01:16,650 to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing 10 00:01:16,682 --> 00:01:20,946 I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me. And 11 00:01:20,970 --> 00:01:26,042 he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength 12 00:01:26,098 --> 00:01:30,650 is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore will I rather 13 00:01:30,722 --> 00:01:35,362 glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon 14 00:01:35,418 --> 00:01:40,810 me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in 15 00:01:40,842 --> 00:01:45,738 necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. 16 00:01:45,866 --> 00:01:51,212 For when I am weak, then I am strong. Pray. Lord, just want to 17 00:01:51,228 --> 00:01:54,564 thank you again for allowing me the chance to preach in my home 18 00:01:54,604 --> 00:01:57,764 church tonight, Lord. Help me not take it lightly, Lord. Lord, 19 00:01:57,804 --> 00:02:00,316 I just pray that you would hide me behind your cross, Lord, 20 00:02:00,340 --> 00:02:03,316 that it would be your words, not mine, Lord, that speak through 21 00:02:03,340 --> 00:02:05,916 this message. Lord, I pray you'd speak to heart. Speak to my 22 00:02:05,940 --> 00:02:10,580 heart as well, Lord, in just saying I pray. Amen. Years ago, I 23 00:02:10,612 --> 00:02:15,652 used to work in concrete construction. If you've ever done 24 00:02:15,708 --> 00:02:20,124 concrete construction, it's some hard work. But to kind of paraphrase 25 00:02:20,164 --> 00:02:24,228 how a week would go, Monday through Friday is basically a normal 26 00:02:24,276 --> 00:02:28,884 week. And sometimes you'd work on Saturdays. And now Saturdays were 27 00:02:28,924 --> 00:02:31,492 kind of a different, little bit more laid back of a workday. 28 00:02:31,588 --> 00:02:35,556 So Saturdays we would most of the time be more just cleanup. We'd 29 00:02:35,580 --> 00:02:39,348 go to our different job sites, we'd pick up our forms, or we'd wreck 30 00:02:39,396 --> 00:02:44,580 a house or we'd wreck a driveway. And by wreck, I don't mean 31 00:02:44,772 --> 00:02:48,468 tearing the concrete up, I mean wrecking our forms that we've 32 00:02:48,516 --> 00:02:53,196 used to pour that concrete. So after the concrete's flashed, we 33 00:02:53,220 --> 00:02:57,740 usually go in on a Saturday morning real fast and we pull all 34 00:02:57,772 --> 00:03:01,700 these forms out and we call it a day. And hopefully usually you're 35 00:03:01,732 --> 00:03:04,964 done around noonish, so you have kind of rest your afternoon, 36 00:03:05,004 --> 00:03:09,244 and then of course you're off on Sundays. So I remember one Saturday 37 00:03:09,324 --> 00:03:13,166 going in, I went in at about 7 o'clock. It was a beautiful day. 38 00:03:13,190 --> 00:03:18,534 It was a beautiful morning. It was during The I believe this was 39 00:03:18,574 --> 00:03:22,390 before COVID but I think it was the summer before COVID And I 40 00:03:22,422 --> 00:03:26,670 remember going in that day and I was like, it's a good day. We just 41 00:03:26,702 --> 00:03:30,758 got two driveways to wreck. And they're really small driveways. 42 00:03:30,806 --> 00:03:33,318 They're right down the street from each other. We'll get it done. 43 00:03:33,366 --> 00:03:36,118 We'll be out of there before even it's breakfast time. That's 44 00:03:36,126 --> 00:03:39,456 what I was feeling like, right? So we go in, we wreck the 45 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,208 forms, we'd head back to the shop, we load everything up, drop 46 00:03:43,256 --> 00:03:46,592 the trailers, and I get a phone call from my mother. And it 47 00:03:46,608 --> 00:03:49,576 was not a bad phone call, it was actually good news. And she calls 48 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,512 me and she says, hey, breakfast is being served at the 49 00:03:53,568 --> 00:03:56,152 property. Now, if you don't know what the property is, that is 50 00:03:56,168 --> 00:04:00,008 the day Reid compound out in Boyd or. That's where all my grandparents 51 00:04:00,056 --> 00:04:03,280 live. That's where my aunt and uncles live. And they were out there 52 00:04:03,312 --> 00:04:07,240 cooking breakfast and they invited our family over to join them 53 00:04:07,272 --> 00:04:11,800 for it. So of course I was like, I'm there. And I took a 15 54 00:04:11,872 --> 00:04:14,384 minute drive and cut it down to about two and a half minutes. 55 00:04:14,424 --> 00:04:19,124 It was really impressive, right? But anyway, so I get there, 56 00:04:20,104 --> 00:04:23,600 we ate breakfast. We were having a good fellowship together. 57 00:04:23,672 --> 00:04:26,880 It was probably around 11 o'clock in the morning and I was 58 00:04:26,912 --> 00:04:29,504 feeling good. I was like, this is a great day. It's a beautiful 59 00:04:29,544 --> 00:04:33,338 day. I'm probably going to go fishing later. It's a good day. And 60 00:04:33,346 --> 00:04:36,106 I remember sitting there talking on the back porch with my 61 00:04:36,170 --> 00:04:40,274 family, and all of a sudden something hit my ear and it was like 62 00:04:40,314 --> 00:04:44,386 kind of right here in my earlobe. And I kind of did this, 63 00:04:44,450 --> 00:04:47,474 kind of swiping it away because I thought it was a fly or 64 00:04:47,514 --> 00:04:49,426 maybe even a spider or something. Just didn't know what 65 00:04:49,450 --> 00:04:54,946 it was. But instead of it going off of me, it actually dove 66 00:04:55,050 --> 00:05:01,174 into my ear canal and actually went all the way to my eardrum. And 67 00:05:01,334 --> 00:05:05,406 it turns out it was actually a moth that had flown into my ear. 68 00:05:05,590 --> 00:05:10,166 And of course, this is like sci fi horror in real life. It was 69 00:05:10,230 --> 00:05:13,806 insane, right? Insane moment, right? And it really felt like there 70 00:05:13,830 --> 00:05:16,686 was an alien in my head. It was a very uncomfortable experience. 71 00:05:16,750 --> 00:05:20,662 And I remember feeling and hearing the. In my ear. Yes. It was 72 00:05:20,678 --> 00:05:23,326 a very uncomfortable situation. And I remember kind of 73 00:05:23,350 --> 00:05:26,494 panicking and I almost couldn't do anything. I couldn't 74 00:05:26,534 --> 00:05:29,446 move. It was just kind of scaring me. It was freaking me out 75 00:05:29,470 --> 00:05:33,958 a little bit. And I remember we went to a CVS clinic all Right. 76 00:05:34,006 --> 00:05:37,750 They have those at a couple of CVS's. And we were just hoping like, 77 00:05:37,782 --> 00:05:41,766 hey, can you just try to fish this bug out of my ear? We had managed 78 00:05:41,790 --> 00:05:46,174 to drown it with rubbing alcohol. We put in my ear. And we 79 00:05:46,214 --> 00:05:49,270 were like, can you just fish something out? Well, the lady kind 80 00:05:49,302 --> 00:05:52,470 of did some things and she didn't really help. And she just 81 00:05:52,502 --> 00:05:56,196 kind of sent us on our way. Kind of treated me like I was crazy. 82 00:05:56,350 --> 00:05:59,064 And of course, that did not make me feel good. And of course 83 00:05:59,104 --> 00:06:03,072 we go home and I'm still in this weird state of, this has ruined 84 00:06:03,128 --> 00:06:07,576 my day. And I'm just very unhappy about the situation. And 85 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,976 I remember just telling my mother, just saying, hey, just take 86 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,392 me to the ER or something after surgery to get this bug out 87 00:06:14,408 --> 00:06:16,920 of me. Do it kind of thing. It's freaking me out. I don't like 88 00:06:16,952 --> 00:06:22,256 this. So I remember we went to an urgent care because I think my 89 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:25,248 mom called him actually and said, hey, we have this situation. 90 00:06:25,336 --> 00:06:28,656 Can y'all do anything about this? And like, yeah, we can go ahead 91 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:32,080 and send them in. Like, come in. See them, they come in, they 92 00:06:32,112 --> 00:06:35,184 flushed my ear and out and a couple of times, and out came this 93 00:06:35,224 --> 00:06:40,976 moth. And it's hilarious how a bug this big caused so much chaos 94 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:46,952 for about a six hour experience. And it kind of ruined 95 00:06:47,008 --> 00:06:50,392 my day. I was like, I didn't end up going. I think I did end up 96 00:06:50,408 --> 00:06:53,878 going fishing that night. But it ruined my whole day. And I was 97 00:06:53,926 --> 00:06:58,766 not happy. And I just remember thinking, so helpless. By the way, 98 00:06:58,790 --> 00:07:02,942 I named the moth Earl, by the way, because it has the name. Ear 99 00:07:02,998 --> 00:07:06,382 is in the name. Just want to let you know. Anyways, so that was 100 00:07:06,398 --> 00:07:10,638 just a little tidbit from me. Anyways. I just remember feeling 101 00:07:10,686 --> 00:07:15,686 so helpless. I could not. This small little thing was just preventing 102 00:07:15,710 --> 00:07:19,700 me from enjoying my Saturday, my day off. I've been working all 103 00:07:19,732 --> 00:07:23,428 week. I want to enjoy myself a little bit. And I remember feeling 104 00:07:23,476 --> 00:07:27,780 so helpless until I went to that urgent care and someone finally 105 00:07:27,932 --> 00:07:32,292 gave me some help. Now that may be a kind of a silly story, kind 106 00:07:32,308 --> 00:07:37,132 of a long, drawn out, kind of crazy story, right? But I say all 107 00:07:37,148 --> 00:07:41,344 of that to say, have you ever been in a situation in your life 108 00:07:41,644 --> 00:07:45,910 where your strength has been completely taken from you and now 109 00:07:45,942 --> 00:07:48,830 you feel like the weakest person alive? Maybe spiritually, 110 00:07:48,902 --> 00:07:52,754 emotionally, physically even. Have you ever been to that place? 111 00:07:54,294 --> 00:07:58,038 A famous line that's always used especially when playing sports. 112 00:07:58,086 --> 00:08:02,998 I heard it constantly. A chain is only as strong as its weakest 113 00:08:03,086 --> 00:08:08,526 link, right? So I have a question. For you tonight. How weak 114 00:08:08,670 --> 00:08:13,526 are you tonight? I'd like to go over the three weaknesses that 115 00:08:13,590 --> 00:08:18,974 perfect God's strength in our lives. Number one, I would like us 116 00:08:19,014 --> 00:08:23,774 to see weakness in ability. Look back in verse number seven of 117 00:08:23,814 --> 00:08:26,542 chapter 12 of Second Corinthians, verse number seven, 118 00:08:26,598 --> 00:08:30,870 it says, this is Paul speaking, right? Lest I should be 119 00:08:30,902 --> 00:08:35,470 exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations, there 120 00:08:35,502 --> 00:08:40,904 was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to 121 00:08:40,944 --> 00:08:47,080 buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. So Paul's 122 00:08:47,112 --> 00:08:51,152 thorn in the flesh. There's been lots of conversations about, 123 00:08:51,288 --> 00:08:54,360 you know, what that could be. A lot of people believe that it may 124 00:08:54,392 --> 00:08:58,128 have been his eyesight, that he may have not fully regained his 125 00:08:58,296 --> 00:09:03,432 eyesight from the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared before 126 00:09:03,488 --> 00:09:06,934 him on that road. And some people believe that maybe he had 127 00:09:06,974 --> 00:09:11,502 malaria from his travels around the world and being a missionary. 128 00:09:11,558 --> 00:09:15,358 And some people even think that he may have had some sort of 129 00:09:15,406 --> 00:09:19,094 speech impediment or he had. He had struggled getting words out 130 00:09:19,134 --> 00:09:22,550 at times. And so because it's interesting, you don't see a whole 131 00:09:22,582 --> 00:09:25,966 lot of sermons about Paul in the Scripture, but you see a lot 132 00:09:25,990 --> 00:09:28,566 of his writings. It's pretty interesting if you have that sort 133 00:09:28,590 --> 00:09:32,448 of connection. But the Bible doesn't necessarily say exactly what 134 00:09:32,536 --> 00:09:37,896 Paul's issue was. But Paul describes it here as the messenger 135 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:44,408 of Satan to buffet me. Now, this is something that cannot be 136 00:09:44,456 --> 00:09:50,072 taken lightly, a message from Satan. This kind of reminds me a 137 00:09:50,088 --> 00:09:52,664 little bit of the story of Job. Remember what happened with 138 00:09:52,704 --> 00:09:57,800 Job? Job was an upright man. And God said to Satan, look at this 139 00:09:57,832 --> 00:10:01,510 servant of mine, Job, Satan, I will allow you to do whatever you 140 00:10:01,542 --> 00:10:05,198 want to him. You just can't kill him. And Satan takes everything 141 00:10:05,286 --> 00:10:08,566 away from him. And still through it all, Job did not curse 142 00:10:08,630 --> 00:10:12,326 God. He didn't sin. He just gave glory and honor to God the whole 143 00:10:12,350 --> 00:10:16,926 time. Right. But so we see a little bit of maybe, maybe Paul is 144 00:10:16,950 --> 00:10:19,742 calling back to that story a little bit with that message of Satan 145 00:10:19,798 --> 00:10:23,974 a little bit. But also, I want you to leave that word buffet there. 146 00:10:24,054 --> 00:10:27,506 Now, when you Google this word, often it comes up as buffet. 147 00:10:27,630 --> 00:10:30,602 It's kind of funny, but that's actually not what this is talking 148 00:10:30,618 --> 00:10:33,730 about. It's not talking about the food line here. It's talking 149 00:10:33,762 --> 00:10:38,242 about a buffet is to strike. This is kind of the short version, 150 00:10:38,298 --> 00:10:43,258 to strike suddenly or to hinder suddenly. So this is probably 151 00:10:43,346 --> 00:10:48,010 something physically that has come into Paul's life and all of 152 00:10:48,042 --> 00:10:53,170 a sudden has. It will pop up all of a Sudden and prevent him from 153 00:10:53,202 --> 00:10:57,402 doing a certain. For God or make it even harder to do. Right? 154 00:10:57,538 --> 00:11:00,618 And so obviously there's probably this frustration with Paul, 155 00:11:00,666 --> 00:11:06,002 this confusion, right? This was used as a hindrance to his ministry. 156 00:11:06,138 --> 00:11:09,874 It may have had his. It may have affected his ability to perform 157 00:11:09,994 --> 00:11:13,938 certain tasks. Right, Turn with me real fast to Luke chapter 158 00:11:13,986 --> 00:11:19,690 13. Luke chapter 13. This also calls to another story in the bible, 159 00:11:19,842 --> 00:11:24,962 Luke chapter 13. And we'll read in verse number 10, and I'll 160 00:11:24,978 --> 00:11:28,266 go ahead and read it for the sake of time. It says, and he, this 161 00:11:28,290 --> 00:11:32,170 is Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 162 00:11:32,322 --> 00:11:37,058 And behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity 18 163 00:11:37,146 --> 00:11:43,202 years and was bowed together and could. And could in no wise lift 164 00:11:43,258 --> 00:11:47,258 herself. Lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her 165 00:11:47,306 --> 00:11:52,138 to him and said to her, woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. 166 00:11:52,266 --> 00:11:57,002 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight 167 00:11:57,098 --> 00:12:00,970 and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue answered with 168 00:12:01,002 --> 00:12:05,226 the indignation because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, 169 00:12:05,330 --> 00:12:08,530 and said unto the people, there are six days in which men ought 170 00:12:08,562 --> 00:12:13,610 to work in them, therefore come and be healed, and not on the 171 00:12:13,642 --> 00:12:18,324 Sabbath day. The Lord then answered him and said, thou hypocrite, 172 00:12:18,484 --> 00:12:23,372 doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass 173 00:12:23,428 --> 00:12:28,268 from the stall and lead him away to watering? And ought not this 174 00:12:28,316 --> 00:12:32,620 woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound lo, 175 00:12:32,692 --> 00:12:38,564 these 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? So 176 00:12:38,644 --> 00:12:42,204 to kind of paraphrase this story, Jesus is teaching in the synagogue 177 00:12:42,244 --> 00:12:46,118 one day, and there is this woman that says she has been bowed 178 00:12:46,286 --> 00:12:50,374 roughly for about 18 years. Now, a lot of people will say it's 179 00:12:50,414 --> 00:12:54,294 bowed or bowed. It kind of depends on who you ask. But this 180 00:12:54,334 --> 00:12:58,926 kind of describes that she's in a state of this constantly. She's 181 00:12:58,990 --> 00:13:04,006 not able to lift herself up. And she has lived life like that 182 00:13:04,070 --> 00:13:09,068 for 18 years. And when Jesus looks on her, he has pity on her, 183 00:13:09,166 --> 00:13:12,608 he has compassion on her. And he says, you know what? I'm going 184 00:13:12,616 --> 00:13:16,272 to heal you. You don't have to dwell within this infirmity anymore. 185 00:13:16,288 --> 00:13:19,624 I'm going to go ahead and heal you. So Jesus calls her over to him 186 00:13:19,664 --> 00:13:23,048 and he lays hands on her and he heals her. And she's able to lift 187 00:13:23,096 --> 00:13:26,312 herself up, and she's able probably to walk like a normal. Like 188 00:13:26,328 --> 00:13:30,536 a normal human being, right How God designed it, right? And of 189 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:33,464 course, the rulers of the synagogue they kind of get upset 190 00:13:33,504 --> 00:13:36,610 that Jesus did this on the Sabbath, and Jesus kind of rebukes 191 00:13:36,642 --> 00:13:38,898 them and kind of puts them in their place. I kind of like that 192 00:13:38,946 --> 00:13:43,538 story, but no doubt that Paul was probably calling back to this 193 00:13:43,626 --> 00:13:47,706 instance and thinking about this. And we'll go into this in our 194 00:13:47,730 --> 00:13:50,586 next point. He's probably thinking about that God can take 195 00:13:50,610 --> 00:13:55,074 me out, God can take this away from me, but he hasn't. It's preventing 196 00:13:55,114 --> 00:14:00,090 me from doing my task that I'm supposed to do for Him. Now let's 197 00:14:00,122 --> 00:14:03,556 think about our thorn for a minute. What is our thorn in the 198 00:14:03,580 --> 00:14:08,916 flesh? Oftentimes it could be something actually physical. Some 199 00:14:08,940 --> 00:14:12,804 of us may struggle with our eyesight. Some of us may struggle 200 00:14:12,924 --> 00:14:17,396 walking. Some of us may struggle with speaking. Right. Some 201 00:14:17,420 --> 00:14:21,564 of us may have a lot of sickness, may have a lot of pain. 202 00:14:21,684 --> 00:14:25,100 And we have these thorns in the flesh. And sometimes they can 203 00:14:25,132 --> 00:14:28,542 kind of cause us to get in a bad mood sometimes and kind of caused 204 00:14:28,598 --> 00:14:34,390 us to be in an unrighteous state of mind. Right. And so. But 205 00:14:34,462 --> 00:14:38,150 I would like to draw attention to the thorn in your flesh that is 206 00:14:38,182 --> 00:14:43,014 the sin in your life. Each one of us has a thorn in our flesh tonight. 207 00:14:43,134 --> 00:14:46,974 What is that sin that is preventing you from doing the will 208 00:14:47,014 --> 00:14:51,726 of God? Oftentimes I have to even check my own self and say, what 209 00:14:51,790 --> 00:14:55,678 sin is preventing me from performing the task that God has 210 00:14:55,726 --> 00:15:00,106 me to do? Is there a hindrance in your life that makes it hard to 211 00:15:00,130 --> 00:15:04,122 do the right things? Is there something that's blocking. We'll 212 00:15:04,138 --> 00:15:08,338 go in that inside of something that's blocking a relationship with 213 00:15:08,386 --> 00:15:13,298 Jesus Christ in your life? Why would God do this? Why would God 214 00:15:13,346 --> 00:15:19,226 allow Paul to go through this? Well, and why would God allow us 215 00:15:19,290 --> 00:15:23,562 to have some of the sin in our lives? Why can't God just take it 216 00:15:23,578 --> 00:15:27,800 all away? Well, for one, he wants us to humble ourselves and 217 00:15:27,832 --> 00:15:31,504 know that we are a fallen people. And he wants us to come back 218 00:15:31,544 --> 00:15:35,152 to Him. And secondly, he may want us to teach something or he 219 00:15:35,168 --> 00:15:38,136 wants to teach us something. And that may be more on the physical 220 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:42,096 aspects of things instead of the sin aspect. But these are certain 221 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:47,472 things that God wants to teach us. I remember my going back to kind 222 00:15:47,488 --> 00:15:50,552 of concrete construction. I remember my first day of going into 223 00:15:50,608 --> 00:15:55,224 work, working concrete. I remember waking up early that day. 224 00:15:55,564 --> 00:15:59,300 I can't remember what time it was. It was before the sun was up, 225 00:15:59,492 --> 00:16:03,684 and I remember getting ready and it was pouring rain outside. 226 00:16:03,844 --> 00:16:06,164 Now, if you know anything about construction, especially in 227 00:16:06,204 --> 00:16:09,784 concrete, you cannot do much when it is pouring rain. Outside 228 00:16:10,284 --> 00:16:13,844 when it is raining cats and dogs, you cannot do much concrete 229 00:16:13,884 --> 00:16:17,252 work, right? And so, but so I was like, I don't know if they're 230 00:16:17,268 --> 00:16:20,442 going to be working today. I haven't really had any contact information. 231 00:16:20,498 --> 00:16:24,970 These guys. I just kind of was offered this job third party. And 232 00:16:25,082 --> 00:16:28,122 so I was like, well, I'll just go and just see what happens, right? 233 00:16:28,218 --> 00:16:32,410 I remember on my way there, I nearly got into a car accident because 234 00:16:32,482 --> 00:16:36,826 a car pulled out in front of me and slammed on their brakes at 235 00:16:36,850 --> 00:16:40,938 the stop sign that was right there in front of me. And I had to 236 00:16:41,026 --> 00:16:45,204 ditch my truck for a minute to make sure I did not hit them because 237 00:16:45,314 --> 00:16:48,808 roads are slick. So when I slam on my brakes, out of reaction, 238 00:16:48,856 --> 00:16:53,200 I slide, right? Thankfully, the Lord protected me. But I started 239 00:16:53,272 --> 00:16:57,360 asking God, you know, lord, are you trying to prevent me from 240 00:16:57,392 --> 00:17:00,712 getting there? For some reason, I remember I making it and 241 00:17:00,728 --> 00:17:04,496 it was kind of awkward. There was no one there. I remember sitting 242 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:06,968 in the truck for a few hours and no one showed up. I'm like, am 243 00:17:06,976 --> 00:17:11,680 I in the right spot? Where am I? And eventually a truck started 244 00:17:11,712 --> 00:17:14,776 to pull up and they had been waiting for the rain to kind of go 245 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,990 away, and the rain went away. And I remember I got to work that 246 00:17:18,022 --> 00:17:21,510 day and I had done some hard work in the past. I remember doing 247 00:17:21,542 --> 00:17:24,230 yard work growing up doing yard work, helping build fences, 248 00:17:24,302 --> 00:17:27,926 things of that nature. And all of a sudden, this is some backbreaking 249 00:17:27,990 --> 00:17:32,574 work this day. I did not realize how much work I was getting 250 00:17:32,614 --> 00:17:37,758 myself into. I remember digging beams for a house. I remember 251 00:17:37,846 --> 00:17:43,402 pouring a job that was a for a house. I remember doing that. And 252 00:17:43,418 --> 00:17:46,106 I remember doing so many different jobs and just one day, 253 00:17:46,130 --> 00:17:49,818 and I remember going home that night going, I don't know about this. 254 00:17:49,866 --> 00:17:53,442 This is some hard work, right? But I stuck with it, right? And I'm 255 00:17:53,458 --> 00:17:55,922 not necessarily trying to point attention to myself, but I 256 00:17:55,938 --> 00:17:59,650 remember sticking with it because guess what? Concrete taught 257 00:17:59,682 --> 00:18:03,690 me hard work. And it taught me to push through when things get hard 258 00:18:03,722 --> 00:18:07,016 and tough, when you're tired. It taught me lots of those things. 259 00:18:07,170 --> 00:18:10,236 But see, that's the same thing in our lives. When there's something 260 00:18:10,300 --> 00:18:13,652 in your life that may be hard, it may not necessarily be sin. It 261 00:18:13,668 --> 00:18:16,516 could be sin at times, but sometimes we have to push through 262 00:18:16,540 --> 00:18:20,988 that and use God and call upon God and say, God, I need this thorn 263 00:18:21,036 --> 00:18:24,412 in my flesh. I need your help, and I need your help to push through 264 00:18:24,428 --> 00:18:28,572 it. So, number one, weakness in ability. Number two, I'd like 265 00:18:28,588 --> 00:18:34,408 to draw attention to weakness in relation now we see here in verse 266 00:18:34,456 --> 00:18:38,480 number eight of chapter 12 in 2 Corinthians, it said, for this 267 00:18:38,512 --> 00:18:42,720 thing, I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from 268 00:18:42,752 --> 00:18:50,400 me. Now, this word besought means that Paul was begging God to 269 00:18:50,432 --> 00:18:54,304 take this away. This wasn't just some short little, hey, God, 270 00:18:54,344 --> 00:18:58,504 can you just kind of take this away from me? No, no, no. Paul was 271 00:18:58,544 --> 00:19:04,732 on his knees and he was begging, God, God, please take this 272 00:19:04,788 --> 00:19:10,508 from me. It is a hindrance. I cannot do the things that you want 273 00:19:10,556 --> 00:19:17,140 me to do because this thorn in my flesh is preventing me from doing 274 00:19:17,172 --> 00:19:22,340 what you want me to do. It's hard, God. I don't have to go through 275 00:19:22,372 --> 00:19:26,122 this. I don't want to go through this. And you see here that 276 00:19:26,138 --> 00:19:31,290 he doesn't just ask God once, right? He asks him not twice, but 277 00:19:31,322 --> 00:19:36,042 he asks him three times, which that means the first time, God said 278 00:19:36,098 --> 00:19:41,498 no. The second time, God said no. And we're gonna see here the 279 00:19:41,546 --> 00:19:47,082 third time God also says no. But obviously he goes and asks God 280 00:19:47,138 --> 00:19:51,282 three times because he was not happy with the answer that God gave 281 00:19:51,338 --> 00:19:55,450 him the first two times. He may have been a little frustrated 282 00:19:55,482 --> 00:19:59,642 with the Lord. We don't know. I think that I would probably be 283 00:19:59,658 --> 00:20:03,410 frustrated in this situation. I mean, I'm human. I would probably 284 00:20:03,482 --> 00:20:06,602 react in a certain way out of anger or frustration, maybe even 285 00:20:06,658 --> 00:20:11,490 blame on God. And yet we see that Paul is just begging God to 286 00:20:11,522 --> 00:20:17,250 take this away. But God said no. He said no twice, and Paul went 287 00:20:17,282 --> 00:20:20,988 back to him a third time. And God says this in verse number nine. 288 00:20:21,106 --> 00:20:28,844 And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee. My grace. 289 00:20:29,304 --> 00:20:35,080 Now, growing up, I learned that mercy is getting something or 290 00:20:35,152 --> 00:20:38,760 is not getting something that you deserve. Grace, on the other 291 00:20:38,792 --> 00:20:44,764 hand, is getting something that you don't deserve. God's grace. 292 00:20:45,904 --> 00:20:51,244 And it says right here, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 293 00:20:51,664 --> 00:20:58,064 We see the reason that God has had this thorn in his flesh. Just 294 00:20:58,104 --> 00:21:02,880 because he's like, Paul, Paul, I don't want you to get too puffed 295 00:21:02,912 --> 00:21:08,496 up a little bit, Paul. I need to be able to kind of rein you in 296 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:13,472 a little bit and keep you somewhat weak so that I can be powerful 297 00:21:13,648 --> 00:21:19,022 and people through you can see me in your life, right? I need you 298 00:21:19,078 --> 00:21:22,766 to be that witness for me in your life. And that requires you 299 00:21:22,830 --> 00:21:27,486 to be weak first. Paul undoubtedly became frustrated with 300 00:21:27,510 --> 00:21:32,174 the Lord about his answer. Let's turn over real fast to Matthew 301 00:21:32,214 --> 00:21:38,014 in chapter 26. Matthew, chapter 26, Matthew, chapter 26. 302 00:21:38,054 --> 00:21:41,248 And we'll begin reading verse number 36. I would like to call attention 303 00:21:41,296 --> 00:21:45,792 to this Paris or this passage of Scripture here. It says here in 304 00:21:45,808 --> 00:21:50,632 verse number 36, then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called 305 00:21:50,728 --> 00:21:55,816 Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, sit ye here while I go 306 00:21:55,920 --> 00:22:00,576 and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of 307 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:05,296 Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith 308 00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:10,158 he unto them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. 309 00:22:10,286 --> 00:22:14,222 Tarry ye here and watch with me. And he went a little further 310 00:22:14,278 --> 00:22:17,318 and fell on his face and prayed, saying, o my Father, oh, 311 00:22:17,366 --> 00:22:22,798 my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me nevertheless, 312 00:22:22,886 --> 00:22:29,382 not as I will, but as thou wilt. We know this story very, very 313 00:22:29,438 --> 00:22:34,954 clear. We know what this is. Jesus is about to go to the cross. 314 00:22:35,684 --> 00:22:41,004 And guess what? It's going to be a painful experience. Jesus knows 315 00:22:41,044 --> 00:22:45,636 that coming in. Now, there's a lot of speculation about what cup 316 00:22:45,700 --> 00:22:50,468 is Jesus asking to be passed from him. Is he asking for the cross, 317 00:22:50,516 --> 00:22:54,036 or is he asking for something else that's weighing him down? What 318 00:22:54,060 --> 00:22:56,868 is it that he's asking for? But there's something right here 319 00:22:56,956 --> 00:23:00,616 that Jesus is going through right now, and he's saying, God, 320 00:23:00,740 --> 00:23:04,768 if it be your will, let this cup pass for me. This is a similar 321 00:23:04,856 --> 00:23:08,568 prayer to what Paul was praying to for, about his thorn in 322 00:23:08,576 --> 00:23:12,784 the flesh, saying, God, take this from me. Take it away. I don't 323 00:23:12,824 --> 00:23:15,656 have to go through this. You know, there's things in our lives 324 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:20,768 that are going to make us uncomfortable. Financial debt, loss 325 00:23:20,816 --> 00:23:28,032 of loved ones, sickness, hurting, maybe even relational issues 326 00:23:28,088 --> 00:23:31,682 in marriage with your kids, with your other family members, whatever 327 00:23:31,738 --> 00:23:35,114 it is. You are going to go through some hard things in life. 328 00:23:35,194 --> 00:23:38,946 And we can sit here and ask God constantly, God, don't let me 329 00:23:38,970 --> 00:23:41,322 go through that. Take that away from me. I don't want to have 330 00:23:41,338 --> 00:23:48,290 to go through that. But guess what? Sometimes God says, no, I need 331 00:23:48,322 --> 00:23:54,924 to take. I need you to go through that. Because when you are 332 00:23:54,964 --> 00:24:03,364 weak, that's when you're strong. I remember that when Covid 333 00:24:03,444 --> 00:24:11,660 hit, it was such a crazy time. I was in college and I had come home 334 00:24:11,852 --> 00:24:18,304 briefly for a few days for a funeral. And it was a weird feeling. 335 00:24:18,804 --> 00:24:22,780 Me and my wife were dating at the college at the time, and I remember 336 00:24:22,852 --> 00:24:25,668 saying bye to her, and it was just kind of a short, hey, I'll see 337 00:24:25,676 --> 00:24:29,132 you in a few days. You know, like, I'll let you know when I land. 338 00:24:29,228 --> 00:24:32,228 It was a very quick passing conversation. And I was on my way 339 00:24:32,236 --> 00:24:36,436 to the airport. I went Home surprised. The family went to the 340 00:24:36,460 --> 00:24:41,212 funeral. And literally the day after the funeral, Covid happened. 341 00:24:41,268 --> 00:24:45,700 And the world shut down. And it was kind of. Everything was in 342 00:24:45,732 --> 00:24:49,140 a scramble mode. Half of my stuff, my truck was all the way back 343 00:24:49,172 --> 00:24:54,974 in California, and my girlfriend is now headed back to 344 00:24:55,314 --> 00:24:59,386 Canada because she's from Canada. And it was like this whole 345 00:24:59,450 --> 00:25:04,690 just mix of emotions in my life of just, whoa, this is hitting. 346 00:25:04,762 --> 00:25:08,458 This is really weird that it's about to happen. This is strange. 347 00:25:08,506 --> 00:25:12,162 I've never gone through something like this before. And I 348 00:25:12,178 --> 00:25:15,266 remember me and my wife had already, or at the time, we had been 349 00:25:15,290 --> 00:25:17,790 talking a little bit about, you know, marriage, and we had been 350 00:25:17,822 --> 00:25:20,870 thinking about that, and obviously that was. That was something 351 00:25:20,902 --> 00:25:25,670 that was on the table. But I remember we went eight months without 352 00:25:25,742 --> 00:25:29,494 seeing each other. And that was hard. That was hard to go through 353 00:25:29,534 --> 00:25:34,678 being separated for someone that you love. And I know God's grace 354 00:25:34,726 --> 00:25:39,034 was honest during that time because, you know, we often thought, 355 00:25:39,494 --> 00:25:41,566 are we going to make it through this? Are we ever going to 356 00:25:41,630 --> 00:25:44,566 even be able to get married? Like, we can't even cross the borders 357 00:25:44,590 --> 00:25:49,878 to see each other. And eventually, after eight months, the 358 00:25:49,926 --> 00:25:53,878 borders kind of half opened between Canada and the United States. 359 00:25:54,046 --> 00:25:58,014 So we had to prove that we had been dating for over a year and had 360 00:25:58,054 --> 00:26:03,246 actually just submit evidence of us to having a relationship before 361 00:26:03,390 --> 00:26:07,886 so I could come and visit her. And thankfully, God allowed us to 362 00:26:07,910 --> 00:26:12,312 do that. And I got during that time, that's when I asked her father 363 00:26:12,368 --> 00:26:15,176 if I could have her hand in marriage. And of course, he gave 364 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:18,152 me his blessing during that time. And of course, and then we 365 00:26:18,168 --> 00:26:20,992 went another eight months without seeing each other. But it 366 00:26:21,008 --> 00:26:25,176 was hard at the time. I wish that we didn't have to go through 367 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:30,280 that. I wish that there was some things that I wish we did differently. 368 00:26:30,312 --> 00:26:33,944 I wish that some things went a little differently. This was something 369 00:26:33,984 --> 00:26:38,136 that was unplanned. And I know many of you were affected by it as 370 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:43,748 well, but it was hard at the time. It was difficult. And I remember 371 00:26:43,796 --> 00:26:47,316 praying to God, God, take this away. God, take this away. God, take 372 00:26:47,340 --> 00:26:51,180 this away. God, like, let things go back to normal. And God 373 00:26:51,212 --> 00:26:56,812 just said, no, not yet. I need you to go through this right now 374 00:26:56,868 --> 00:27:00,036 because this is what's going to strengthen your relationship with 375 00:27:00,060 --> 00:27:04,708 your wife and with me. And it was a time where I got kind of a 376 00:27:04,716 --> 00:27:08,180 little bit closer with God and spent some focus on him during that 377 00:27:08,212 --> 00:27:13,664 time. And I can see now in hindsight, that it was good for us. 378 00:27:14,004 --> 00:27:19,444 But one, we saw that weakness in ability and two, we saw weakness 379 00:27:19,524 --> 00:27:27,260 in relation, and now we see weakness in trials. Now look at verse 380 00:27:27,372 --> 00:27:31,756 going back to second Corinthians in chapter 12. Let me 381 00:27:31,780 --> 00:27:37,830 turn back over there. I've lost my place as well. 2nd Corinthians, 382 00:27:37,902 --> 00:27:42,822 chapter 12. If you're curious where 2 Corinthians is, it's after 383 00:27:42,878 --> 00:27:47,254 1st Corinthians. Anyways, in verse number. Let's look in verse 384 00:27:47,294 --> 00:27:50,086 number nine, the second half of that verse. We'll read the whole 385 00:27:50,110 --> 00:27:54,878 verse for context. It says, and he said unto me, my grace is 386 00:27:54,926 --> 00:27:59,350 sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 387 00:27:59,542 --> 00:28:05,046 Most gladly, therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that 388 00:28:05,110 --> 00:28:10,662 the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure 389 00:28:10,838 --> 00:28:16,274 in infirmities. That seems backwards. Pleasure and infirmities, 390 00:28:16,974 --> 00:28:20,014 pleasure and reproaches, pleasure and necessities, pleasure 391 00:28:20,054 --> 00:28:25,314 and persecutions, pleasures and distress. That doesn't seem right. 392 00:28:25,734 --> 00:28:28,702 There's something not connecting the dots here. I don't 393 00:28:28,718 --> 00:28:34,220 know. Why is it pleasure? Well, it says right here, for Christ's 394 00:28:34,252 --> 00:28:40,836 sake, Paul took pleasure in his trials. He accepted. He came 395 00:28:40,860 --> 00:28:44,188 to the point in his life where he accepted the conditions that God 396 00:28:44,236 --> 00:28:48,584 had placed him in. With open arms, he embraced the hardships. 397 00:28:50,284 --> 00:28:52,868 Just turning the page over to chapter seven, verse number four. 398 00:28:52,876 --> 00:28:55,700 You don't have to turn there. I'll go and read. It says, great 399 00:28:55,812 --> 00:29:00,382 is my boldness of speech toward you. Great is my glorying 400 00:29:00,478 --> 00:29:04,846 of you. I am filled with comfort. I am exceeding joyful in 401 00:29:04,910 --> 00:29:10,374 all tribulation. Exceeding joyful in all tribulation. The world 402 00:29:10,414 --> 00:29:13,150 will look at that and say, that's backwards way of thinking. 403 00:29:13,302 --> 00:29:16,054 You've got to get your life right. There's something wrong with 404 00:29:16,094 --> 00:29:20,230 you. You've got it all backwards. But right here in verse 405 00:29:20,262 --> 00:29:23,262 number 10, it says, for Christ's sake, Paul is willing to 406 00:29:23,278 --> 00:29:28,100 go through all this for Christ's sake. And it's, what do 407 00:29:28,132 --> 00:29:31,940 we do in our trials? How do we respond when we go through those 408 00:29:31,972 --> 00:29:35,180 thorns in our lives? How do we respond when we go through the trials 409 00:29:35,212 --> 00:29:38,588 in our lives when the hardships come? What do we say? We 410 00:29:38,636 --> 00:29:43,916 say, God, I don't want to do this. This isn't fair to me. That's 411 00:29:43,940 --> 00:29:47,988 a lot of our mindsets. Oftentimes we sulk, complain, blame, 412 00:29:48,036 --> 00:29:53,024 and we quit on God. If you look in James, chapter number one, 413 00:29:53,714 --> 00:29:56,226 James, chapter number one. You don't have to turn there. I'll read 414 00:29:56,250 --> 00:29:59,970 for the sake of time. James, chapter one, it says, verse number 415 00:30:00,002 --> 00:30:03,434 two, my brethren, this is right after the church has just been 416 00:30:03,474 --> 00:30:07,194 separated the church in Jerusalem has just been separated 417 00:30:07,314 --> 00:30:10,274 throughout all the world because of persecution. It says, 418 00:30:10,314 --> 00:30:14,666 my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations. 419 00:30:14,770 --> 00:30:20,244 Count it all joy knowing this, at the trying of your faith worketh 420 00:30:20,364 --> 00:30:26,268 patience. That doesn't make sense. What do you mean that count 421 00:30:26,316 --> 00:30:29,796 it joy when we fall into diverse temptations. That's the trials, 422 00:30:29,860 --> 00:30:32,748 that's the test. That's the hard things in our lives. What do 423 00:30:32,756 --> 00:30:36,676 you mean? What do you mean, count it joy? What do you mean, be 424 00:30:36,740 --> 00:30:42,068 happy about it? It doesn't seem right, but this is what Paul. 425 00:30:42,116 --> 00:30:44,990 Look at Paul's example right here. He just embraces it because 426 00:30:45,022 --> 00:30:50,094 he says, it's all for God. It's all for Christ. I'm embracing 427 00:30:50,134 --> 00:30:54,486 it. I take pleasure in my infirmities, in the reproaches, in 428 00:30:54,510 --> 00:30:57,878 the necessities, in the persecutions, in the distresses, 429 00:30:57,926 --> 00:31:02,830 for Christ's sake. Now, these are just words, but Paul was shipwrecked, 430 00:31:02,902 --> 00:31:06,350 he was stoned, he was persecuted, he was nearly killed. 431 00:31:06,382 --> 00:31:10,806 He eventually was killed. Paul went through so much. And he says, 432 00:31:10,910 --> 00:31:15,614 hey, it's all good. I'm happy about it. That's backwards. We don't 433 00:31:15,654 --> 00:31:20,486 think that way. We think, oh, God, you're evil. You're mean to 434 00:31:20,510 --> 00:31:24,230 me. I don't want anything to do with you now because now you're 435 00:31:24,262 --> 00:31:26,854 putting me in a hard place. But God just saying. Whoa, whoa, 436 00:31:26,894 --> 00:31:30,110 whoa, whoa. Hold it right there. I need you to be weak for 437 00:31:30,142 --> 00:31:35,318 a second. Because right here in verse number 10, right after Paul 438 00:31:35,366 --> 00:31:39,762 writes, for Christ's sake, he says, for when I am weak, then I 439 00:31:39,778 --> 00:31:43,946 am strong. And God says in verse number nine, it says, for my 440 00:31:44,010 --> 00:31:48,738 strength is made perfect in weakness. Let me ask you, how weak 441 00:31:48,786 --> 00:31:53,498 are you tonight? How weak are you? Are you too strong for God tonight? 442 00:31:53,626 --> 00:31:56,282 I'm not talking about being a strong soul winner. I'm not talking 443 00:31:56,298 --> 00:32:00,562 about standing up for God. I'm talking about your relationship with 444 00:32:00,618 --> 00:32:04,908 God. How strong are you? How. How much pride do you have in your 445 00:32:04,956 --> 00:32:10,804 life? We must embrace the trials with open arms because God 446 00:32:10,924 --> 00:32:19,704 wants us to rely on him when he takes us through it. Last May, 447 00:32:20,724 --> 00:32:26,988 I had just quit my job at Southlake, and I had started working 448 00:32:27,036 --> 00:32:30,314 here. I started cleaning the church. I knew that this is what 449 00:32:30,354 --> 00:32:35,586 God had for me. I was thankful for my job at South Lake. It was 450 00:32:35,610 --> 00:32:39,802 a good job. I learned lots of things there. And it was definitely 451 00:32:39,938 --> 00:32:43,522 God provided that job for me. It allowed me and my wife to have 452 00:32:43,538 --> 00:32:47,722 the finances to get married and things of that nature. But I 453 00:32:47,738 --> 00:32:50,994 just felt like God wasn't fully blessing me there anymore, 454 00:32:51,034 --> 00:32:54,282 and I feel like that I had to move on. And God kind of laid on 455 00:32:54,298 --> 00:32:57,466 my heart to just come to the church and start cleaning. I knew 456 00:32:57,490 --> 00:33:01,778 there was a need there, and so I asked around about it. And Pastor 457 00:33:01,826 --> 00:33:05,690 talked to me about it, and he offered me the position. And literally 458 00:33:05,762 --> 00:33:12,498 the week of my first week, my wife and I found out that she was 459 00:33:12,546 --> 00:33:19,202 pregnant. And then. So I remember going that whole week thinking, 460 00:33:19,298 --> 00:33:21,290 this is right before Mother's Day. I remember going that whole 461 00:33:21,322 --> 00:33:25,314 week thinking, wow, I'm about to be a dad. Like, life's changing. 462 00:33:26,094 --> 00:33:31,430 Obviously, God wanted me to put me in this position because he 463 00:33:31,462 --> 00:33:34,926 wanted me here. So when we have our first child, this is where 464 00:33:34,950 --> 00:33:39,814 he wants me. And we went and took blood tests, and it was confirmed 465 00:33:39,854 --> 00:33:43,994 that my wife was pregnant at the time. And then two days later, 466 00:33:45,494 --> 00:33:51,984 she was no longer pregnant. And then you kind of start asking 467 00:33:52,024 --> 00:34:03,216 God questions like, why did you. Why? I just did what you told 468 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:15,870 me to do. I gave up a good job. I gave up comforts. Why? Why 469 00:34:15,902 --> 00:34:20,974 do you put my wife through so much hardship and sorrow? She hasn't 470 00:34:21,014 --> 00:34:25,966 done anything wrong. I remember asking those questions in 471 00:34:25,990 --> 00:34:32,550 my mind. And of course, it was not a very easy time. We kept it 472 00:34:32,582 --> 00:34:35,086 quiet at the time. We didn't want to draw too much attention to 473 00:34:35,110 --> 00:34:40,254 it. And one of our friends ended up also getting pregnant at 474 00:34:40,294 --> 00:34:45,512 around the same time. And. And obviously that was hard for us to 475 00:34:45,528 --> 00:34:51,200 see that as well. But you know what? After the time, we started 476 00:34:51,232 --> 00:34:55,376 to heal a little bit about it. We now have a beautiful baby boy. 477 00:34:55,400 --> 00:35:00,408 He's in the nursery right now. And I'm very thankful for him. But 478 00:35:00,456 --> 00:35:05,968 during that time, I see now what God was doing in my life. God 479 00:35:06,016 --> 00:35:10,064 grew my relationship during that time with him. Him. Because 480 00:35:11,244 --> 00:35:20,316 I was weak emotionally, spiritually, mentally. My wife and 481 00:35:20,340 --> 00:35:25,772 I's relationship was strengthened during that time. It 482 00:35:25,788 --> 00:35:29,732 wasn't easy, but we got through it. And guess what? It's 483 00:35:29,748 --> 00:35:35,142 amazing how you get so weak and then all of a sudden, wow, some 484 00:35:35,158 --> 00:35:38,510 of these other things that were the big things don't seem so 485 00:35:38,542 --> 00:35:44,590 big anymore. I see what God's doing now. God was preparing. God 486 00:35:44,622 --> 00:35:50,886 was working in my life. We go through hardships. It becomes very 487 00:35:50,950 --> 00:35:55,838 easy to appoint, to point the finger back at God and say, it's 488 00:35:55,886 --> 00:36:01,686 not fair. But guess what? If you look in the Bible, it's full 489 00:36:01,710 --> 00:36:06,870 of situations that are unfair. You look back in Genesis, Abel was 490 00:36:06,902 --> 00:36:10,726 killed by his own brother. That wasn't fair. Abraham told to 491 00:36:10,750 --> 00:36:14,554 leave his family and go into another land he had never been before. 492 00:36:15,014 --> 00:36:18,950 That wasn't fair. Jacob stealing his brother's birthright, 493 00:36:19,102 --> 00:36:23,686 that wasn't fair. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. 494 00:36:23,830 --> 00:36:27,470 Moses and the children of Israel wandered the wilderness for 495 00:36:27,502 --> 00:36:31,454 40 years. David was hunted by his own king and driven out of his 496 00:36:31,494 --> 00:36:36,150 homeland. Daniel taken into captivity as his life was just beginning 497 00:36:36,182 --> 00:36:43,526 to start. Hosea was told to marry an unfaithful wife. Mary had 498 00:36:43,550 --> 00:36:48,086 to give birth as a virgin. Apostles and early Christians had 499 00:36:48,110 --> 00:36:54,002 to suffer persecutions in the most brutal way. Paul shipwrecked, 500 00:36:54,058 --> 00:36:59,122 stoned, hated, persecuted for serving Christ. But guess what? It 501 00:36:59,138 --> 00:37:04,138 also wasn't fair that Jesus died on the cross for our sins because 502 00:37:04,186 --> 00:37:08,034 that's God's grace in our life. Jesus on that cross took your 503 00:37:08,074 --> 00:37:12,354 sins and my sins, and he says, I'm going to take your place on that 504 00:37:12,394 --> 00:37:15,370 cross. You deserve, this is what you deserve, this is what would 505 00:37:15,402 --> 00:37:19,242 be fair, is for you to die and go to hell because you are a sinner. 506 00:37:19,298 --> 00:37:22,774 And, and you have sinned against me. And so. But guess what? 507 00:37:23,154 --> 00:37:27,314 It's not fair. So I'm going to take your place. Maybe we have to 508 00:37:27,354 --> 00:37:30,570 shift our perspectives around a little bit, look at things in a 509 00:37:30,602 --> 00:37:34,866 different light. What, what is unfair in your life may be the perfect 510 00:37:34,930 --> 00:37:38,474 will of God. There are some things that happen, there are some 511 00:37:38,514 --> 00:37:41,074 things that are hard, there are some trials that we go through, 512 00:37:41,154 --> 00:37:44,810 and it may seem unfair, it may seem hard, it may seem difficult, 513 00:37:44,922 --> 00:37:48,696 it may seem cruel. But guess what? God's working. And as long 514 00:37:48,720 --> 00:37:54,924 as you stay faithful to him, all things work together for him. 515 00:37:57,904 --> 00:38:04,440 When we are weak in ability, we are then strong in ability. When 516 00:38:04,472 --> 00:38:08,816 we are weak in relation, we are then strong in relation. When 517 00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:14,004 we are weak in trials, we are strong in trials. All through the 518 00:38:14,044 --> 00:38:20,944 help of Jesus Christ. The problem is we have too many strong 519 00:38:21,364 --> 00:38:25,964 Christians that do not allow God to do something great in their 520 00:38:26,004 --> 00:38:31,148 lives. Be thankful for the hardships, be thankful for those 521 00:38:31,196 --> 00:38:34,700 trials, because that means God is not done with you. He's working 522 00:38:34,772 --> 00:38:39,126 something out. He wants to take you through something. God doesn't 523 00:38:39,150 --> 00:38:43,078 want you to react to those things in a bitter way, in an angry 524 00:38:43,126 --> 00:38:47,158 way, but this is what he wants you to do. If you turn to Psalm chapter 525 00:38:47,206 --> 00:38:56,846 number 51, Psalm chapter number 51, and look in verse number 526 00:38:56,910 --> 00:39:05,488 17, it says, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken 527 00:39:05,536 --> 00:39:12,364 and contrite heart. O God, thou wilt not despise. This is David, 528 00:39:13,984 --> 00:39:23,096 a plea for forgiveness. David hadn't obviously is a man after God's 529 00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:26,344 own heart. That's how the Bible describes him. But he sins 530 00:39:26,384 --> 00:39:31,254 with Bathsheba and now he's having this plea of forgiveness. 531 00:39:32,314 --> 00:39:36,330 And he says, God, I can't sacrifice the way you want me to 532 00:39:36,362 --> 00:39:40,106 sacrifice. Because what you truly want is you want me to be a 533 00:39:40,130 --> 00:39:46,054 broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart humbled before you. 534 00:39:47,994 --> 00:39:55,242 Let me ask you one more time. How weak are you? How unfair is your 535 00:39:55,298 --> 00:40:04,244 life? And where is your joy? Grounded? As the musicians prepared 536 00:40:05,144 --> 00:40:14,404 for invitation. Life is full of trials. Life is full of hardships. 537 00:40:15,384 --> 00:40:19,724 Been saying the whole service. Life is full of disappointments. 538 00:40:21,594 --> 00:40:26,530 That just means God's not done with you yet. God wants you to humble 539 00:40:26,562 --> 00:40:31,738 yourself before him, to come to an altar and to cry out to him 540 00:40:31,786 --> 00:40:37,114 saying, God, I am nothing without you. I am weak and I need 541 00:40:37,194 --> 00:40:42,178 your strength. I'm done being prideful. I'm done. I'm done with 542 00:40:42,266 --> 00:40:45,002 putting up the face. I'm done with putting up the walls. I'm done 543 00:40:45,018 --> 00:40:51,980 with the strength of my life. I'm ready to be weak again. God help 544 00:40:52,012 --> 00:40:56,756 me to rely on you and my strength. Some of you tonight may 545 00:40:56,780 --> 00:41:01,244 have not accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior. I pray that 546 00:41:01,284 --> 00:41:05,684 tonight would be the night that you do so. Put away the pride 547 00:41:05,724 --> 00:41:10,724 that's in your heart. Come to Jesus and say, lord, I am a sinner 548 00:41:10,764 --> 00:41:15,534 and I need help. I need you. I need you to save me from an eternal 549 00:41:16,034 --> 00:41:22,306 place called Hell. You took that place on the cross for me. Maybe 550 00:41:22,330 --> 00:41:25,970 you're going through something in your life. Maybe you're frustrated 551 00:41:26,002 --> 00:41:29,690 about it. Maybe you're angry, maybe you're sorrowful, depressed 552 00:41:29,722 --> 00:41:36,094 even. But just remember this. My grace is sufficient for thee, 553 00:41:36,514 --> 00:41:41,184 for my strength is made perfect and weakness. Let's pray. 554 00:41:41,524 --> 00:41:44,132 Lord, I just want to thank you again for this message, God, as I 555 00:41:44,148 --> 00:41:47,504 know you have used this message in my own life, Lord, and 556 00:41:48,444 --> 00:41:52,544 you've spoken to my heart this Lord. Lord, I pray that tonight that 557 00:41:55,524 --> 00:41:58,740 souls would be touched tonight, Lord, and that people would 558 00:41:58,772 --> 00:42:02,464 come back to you, relationships would be restored. 559 00:42:03,284 --> 00:42:06,744 Lord, help me to always remember that the trials, the hardships, 560 00:42:06,784 --> 00:42:10,568 the pain, Lord. As long as I keep you first in my life, Lord, 561 00:42:10,616 --> 00:42:14,616 that those things will all work out, Lord. Because when I am 562 00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:19,376 weak, God, you are strong. We thank you, Lord. And please be with 563 00:42:19,400 --> 00:42:21,384 this time of invitation just now I pray. Amen.