Open—David So
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I suppose I have a.
Slightly different burden than our brother has presented.
This morning we spent a lot of time praying for many who needed help.
And rightly so. When we have this many people gather here, we know that we all are going through.
Different circumstances. You know the phrase that the world phrase has this thing called smooth sailing. I don't believe we find that in scriptures. Why do we have problems sometimes? Health.
Sometimes jobs, sometimes we don't like to talk about this money.
But there are various trials that the Lord put before us. Sometimes we find persecuted by those that are without.
If you notice when you present the name of Christ, the world doesn't want to hear about that.
When do you stand up for the principle from the Word of God, the.
The world doesn't want any part of that. In fact, they will use the phrase that you're intolerant. So do we stop presenting the word of God? Do we stop?
Standing up for the principled because it's much easier not to say anything that you won't be persecuted.
That's from worthoud and then.
Perhaps the problem even go deeper and say is from within.
That it seems that maybe there are times that our brethren don't seem to understand us.
I don't know if you feel that. And why does the Lord allow that? I'd like to turn to a portion first to begin with. I believe it's in Second Corinthians chapter one.
Let's begin it with the Word of God on that won't expand much upon it. I like to take more on the application side than the going through it in detail.
Two Corinthians chapter one beginning of verse two. Let us read couple verses and we'll comment it very briefly. Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the and the God of.
All comfort who comforteth us?
In all tribulation, that we may abide in comfort, I'm sorry that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God for as the sufferings of Christ.
Abound in us, so our consolation also.
Are bound by Christ, and whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer, or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
Whereby reading this thing that.
We will be comforted in our tribulation. I think it goes without saying that there are tribulations in our lives.
And we all deal with that differently. Sometimes some of us are very thick skinned. So when someone tell us things we either don't understand or we let it go over our head. So perhaps those.
Scourging in a sense doesn't appear to us as much. And then there are some that perhaps one of the word they feel the sensitivity of it and they feel badly and say, Yep, I know they're talking about me. Well, whether it be so or not, we have difficulties.
The Lord allowed that, doesn't He? He tells us that it is for our consolation. Do we think of that when there are circumstances before us?
That perhaps later on.
When the trial was over and perhaps it may even be years down the road, we can use that. You know, it's, it's kind of interesting for our family being very small. My father was the only child. In fact, it was like that for four generations. So we have no relatives per SE. So I understand who aunts and uncles and cousins, I understand what that means.
00:05:21
I really didn't know what it's like to have them.
And the first time as a family we taste that death was when my mother went home with the Lord. So for me, prior to that, when I say to someone who have lost their loved ones and say I can feel for you, I'm not sure how true that is. I do, but it's not the same feeling, is it? Then afterwards when we've gone through that trial of losing my own mother.
I have a little bit different appreciation.
When I tell someone I feel for you losing your loved one.
The Lord allowed that for us too, but we forget something here too that we tend to think.
About me As a brother already mentioned, we have this problem called the knee syndrome. Everything happened. We think it's about me.
I'm the center of this universe, God, and we even think about our prayer. How do we pray?
We may say, well, we prayed about it. Did you look to the Lord to ask for help? Or let me say mildly, what we demanding from the Lord that certain solution should come?
Did the Lord want to allow the trial to continue on in our lives or perhaps in our brethren's life? We don't know.
You think about the Lord when he taught his disciples to prayer, a lot of people call that the Lord's prayer really is the disciples prayer, isn't it? What did he teach them? I know the school system have taken that away, but that shouldn't be gone from our hearts. First thing is to address God as our Father.
Our Father, thou art in heaven. Do we acknowledge that? First of all, we have a God as our Father, who is up in the heavenly places on high, the one who is mighty and majesty. A Father thou art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Do we acknowledge that we have a holy one? It's not about you, it's not about me.
And then that could go on and say thy will be done.
Do we remember that thy will be done? What would his will be? Could that will be for that trial to go on a little bit longer?
And I believe everything that happened, whether it's right or wrong, the Lord has his hand in it. Perhaps you see, I was accused wrongly.
And perhaps it's true.
Did you think the Lords Hand is in there that you accused wrongly? I believe so. Can we still say thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven?
We forget that, don't we? So we find the apostle here. Open the chapter by saying he didn't say, let me pray for you about your trial. That's not how he begins. He started off by saying in verse 2, grace be to you.
Grace, as the apostle can say, My grace is sufficient for thee.
Go into the book of Peters, you'll find Peter begins with grace and then he commanded them in the end with that by saying grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. I'll let you look that up yourself. And I believe that's also studying, isn't it? When we hear something, we need to confirm that from the word of God.
Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed.
Be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When we in trials and difficulties, do we remember to bless that the one who is the blessed One, the one whom we acknowledge as our God and our Father?
If we didn't see that first, it's difficult to find comfort because then it's back to me. Why me, Lord? Why me?
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From what I learned, even from the human standpoint, we learned that whenever we asked the question, beginning with why we're in trouble already, it's not for us to ask the Lord why He allowed it.
Like to just turn to for a brief example, I was thinking as we were speaking, I was thinking of Joseph. Let's turn to somewhere around the 4440 fifth chapter of Genesis.
Joseph.
Was an interesting character, isn't it that?
He from what we understand that Joseph.
Word of God didn't say anything bad. Any fault is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is a savior. We know the story is not my thought to go into the story of Joseph.
And if you don't know the story of Joseph, or if you haven't gone through the story of Joseph in a while, I would encourage you to study that. It's a wonderful story. Just go through that. But I just wanted to take some applications of that. Let's go to the 41St chapter first.
Here's something that Joseph did that many of us.
Have done.
I see young people we were mentioning here. I see some who are expecting little ones and they see some already have little one and some of us used to have little one who are now big ones.
We had the privilege of naming them.
In scriptures, when you name a child, often there's a meaning to that name.
We know that we can look it up various meaning I enjoy my name. David beloved. Isn't it wonderful to think instead of just David?
Next time you see someone named David, can you look at him and say?
We're reminded, beloved of God.
See, the Lord knows we forget, so He we needed to be reminded.
In the gospel we may say, well, everything around us reminded us of the salvation of God. You come through into this room, you walk through a door. What do we think from the sands of Scripture? The door that the Lord can say I am the door by me if any man enter in.
We forget that you pick up that bread, He's the bread of life, you pick up that water and so on. But in our everyday life too. So let's just read that to get my point there. Genesis chapter 41, just two verses I want to read here, verse 51 and Joseph.
Called the name of the first born Manasseh.
For God said he hath made me forget all my toil, and all my Father's house.
We know the name Manassas. Let's go on and read the 2nd 52nd verse and the name of the 2nd.
Called he Ephraim, for God hath caused me to be fruitful.
In the land of my affliction.
Now can you picture this?
Every time you look at his two boys.
It's not just Manassas.
Is not just Ephraim. He named them for reason I know for us. If you hear your mother or your father calling you by name, it means you're in a bit of a trouble.
If they call you by your full name, then you know you're in real trouble and it's time to come quickly. But here, Manasseh, can you picture that he's reminded? He said he named a Manassas for God said he hath made me forget all my toil.
Now let's go back to Joseph's life for a minute. Do you think he had an easy life?
He didn't, did he accused? Do you think you know what it meant to be accused, to be betrayed, to be forsaken? But yet he said, you look at Manassas, he's all those toils. I'm going to forget them because I know that God has something better.
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Ahead for me do we dwell with the problems we have in this world?
This is a father's land.
Is that what we occupied with? I'll leave their thoughts to you. And he said he wanted that. He reminded him to forget all the toy of all the difficulties in his father's house. That means he's not even holding grudges in a sense, concerning his brethren who sold him to Egypt. Do we hold grudges?
Do we feel bad about certain things?
And then when God blessed him with a second son, he named him Ephraim.
Oh, look at his thoughts, he said. He hath made me forget. I'm sorry, he said, For God had caused me to be fruitful.
Is that it?
No fruitful in the land of affliction.
Or he realized and recognized there were afflictions in his life, but God put him there for reason that he is to be a fruitful. We find that later on when he met up with his brethren, he explained to them why. Let's turn to 45th chapter. We know these verses, these stories, 45th chapter, verse 5.
He said when he met up with his brethren.
Actually I'll read the end of verse four. He said, I'll read the whole verse. Verse four on. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold to Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved.
Nor angry with yourselves that ye sold me? Hit her.
For God did send me before you.
To preserve life.
He didn't forget.
But he forgave, didn't he? He didn't help righteous against his brethren. And how precious that he can say, come near. Come dear. You know, as I read through those passages the other day, I couldn't help but the tears come down my eyes. And many of you know that I wish raised that grown man Don't cry.
So it was difficult to see that and when he embraces.
Can we be like Joseph of old? Do we look at something and say we need to forget things of this world? We talk about this world is not our home, but are we reminded that this world truly is not my home? He knew the blessings of his affliction is for the blessings of his own.
For his family, just I want to leave room for others. Just one more thought. And there are so much more concerning.
Joseph, let's go to the.
Last chapter of Genesis here. So Joseph to his old age, right to the end, as if it were. And Joseph didn't see the fruits as if it were of the land that was promised to them, but he had faith in God. So let's just read.
First Verse 24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die.
And God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land, unto the land which he swear to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of his children, of his, of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones.
From Hands and Joseph.
Died. But wait a minute, for faithful men of such he died.
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That's part of God's will, isn't it? It's part of his scheme, part of his plan. Is that what we want to see? Someone we love, someone we like, someone we enjoyed? Is it? How can the law take him home? We can't say that we don't know.
We leave that in the Lord's hand.
We can pray. Isn't it a privilege for us to pray one for another, pray for those who are not well? What a privilege. And trusting that our Lord is able, those who need to be comforted, we can pray that the Lord can comfort them, comfort their hearts. And you know what we don't pray for often?
Many of us were able to come out regularly now, Brother reminded us earlier on. It's so easy to get puffed up and get exalted and perhaps distracted.
Just because you see someone who seems to walk so closely with the Lord.
We need to pray for one another too, don't we? We can fail so easily.
You look at the prophets of old one morning they were so powerful, so mighty, so faithful before God, and that same afternoon we see failures. That's us. We need depending. We need to be dependent. We need to pray one for another that we can walk in a way pleasing to the Lord every step of our pathway. But Joseph had a vision. He knew that this is not the end of the story.
Brethren.
What is the end of your story?
Is it to grow up well, to see your children and your grandchildren?
And the Lord has blessed many of us to be able to see that. But it's the end of the Is that the end of your story?
What about your heavenly portion? Oh yes, I know I'll go to I'll go to be with the Lord when I died. And I believe that statement is true. But do you believe that we have one who said surely I come quickly.
We have a better place. This world is temporary.
Is to be where the Lord is.
Do we have that hope before us? We're reminded that that any moment we could hear that shout. And we remind us. I hear that all the time. Oh, I'm glad you do. Is that in your heart? In fact, this is what I've learned. Now, when Ted addressed older people, I'm not sure he was looking at me. I did notice he looked down that way. So I don't know if I'm older or younger. I feel I'm in between. I'm not old. I'm not young.
But.
I do know something that regardless of our age, we need to be reminded often.
Same old story. And then there is one more thing. Till we forget there's yet another generation.
Are you grounded in the Word of God? Young people, this is the best time to learn the Word of God when there are no difficulties.
To always storm cloud when things seem so good and easy. The Lord would stir and.
Want to wake us up? We need to be grounded. What are the principles from the word of God? Now, I'm not going to speak on this. I'll tell you one that's on my heart right now.
There are among us.
Since I was a young people, there's always something we say.
There's not, there's. This is not the Lord's place. He can be anywhere as long as they're Christians.
Be very careful, search it out from scripture. It's not my thought to go into this today.
Learn why you are here.
Learn and understand the ground that we stand for. Joseph knew. He knew that Egypt, though he has all the glory and palm that was in his final destination even before he died. He commanded his bones to be carried out with them because in spirit he wanted to be where the Lord want them to be.
I'll submit this to you, brother.