Open—P. Jennings, M. Allan
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36 in the back of the book and #36 in the Atlantic.
We go to meet the Savior, His glorious face, to see what manner of behavior does with this corporate dream in the 36 in the attendance.
Of all right now.
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I have to admit to everyone that when I sat down in my chair for this meeting.
I had no intention or thought of getting up to speak umm, but the Lord has brought some thoughts to my heart and He's also caused me to realize that there's a need, umm.
Uh, with us, Umm, And I trust that what he has placed upon my heart will be, uh, a blessing. I'd like to start with the verse that we had.
In our reading in James.
Averse.
That I did not understand at 10:00 this morning.
Umm, but the Lord has given me a little bit of light through the health of the ministry that was in the meeting and umm, so I want to read this verse first. Umm James chapter one and verse 12.
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Blessed is the man that endures temptation.
For when he has tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him.
I begin my talk this afternoon by saying a couple hours ago, I didn't, I didn't understand what that verse meant. I did not know what the crown of life meant. And uh, through the help of ministry here, the Lord kind of turned a light on in my soul and I came to realize that it's the benefit of the new life, the new nature, our life in Christ Jesus.
That the desires which that life generates in the soul that creates.
A umm, a barrier or.
Umm, it creates new desires which don't give in to the temptations that lust and sin in the flesh present to us.
And as we enjoy the life that God has given us, the new, the new nature in the power of the Spirit of God as it is enlightened by the word of God, there's a change that is brought about.
In our life, and this crown of life is.
The the extreme benefit that we have of having that new nature, it's the reward that it brings us in a practical way of of enjoying the benefits of the life which we possess in Christ.
So we'll talk a little bit this afternoon about that life that we have in Christ.
And that life is always in contrast to the life that we had in Adam.
And so.
It's very helpful for us to realize, you know, the young people that were here, this isn't a new topic to you at all. Because the brother that spoke, umm, brother Greg that spoke he to us, uh, during the young people's time, he, he, he put it in a way that I've never considered it, but he spoke of the old age and the new age.
The old age was the Adam age, and the new age is the Christ age.
And he also told us that there's a little overlap. The Christ age is going to take us on into eternity, into the heavenlies, and there is not going to be anything, not a scrap or a remnant of what exists, what existed in the old age, which was.
Which was?
Umm, that which was dominated by Adam and sin and death and, and he said there's a, there's an overlap now where where we have remnants of both ages. We are, we are umm, in umm by birth, naturally, we still have what is connected with the old age in the sense that you know.
You know, you have natural relationships you have you enjoy the intimacy that they that they spoke about.
And in the new age, we have the new life, we have our life in Christ and we have the desires and the righteousness of God and we possess those things. And so there is, there is an overlap. And uh, so the, the verse that came home to my soul in the reading meeting this morning has to do with the new age has the has to do with the life that we possess in Christ in connection.
With temptation.
And so somewhat of as we're speaking here, we, we still have the overlap, don't we? We have that which is still working in us, the desires of the flesh to create sin, and that which is now in us in a new man in Christ, which is, has the desires that are after God and in righteousness.
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And so I would just like to share a verse, another verse in Romans chapter 14.
This verse is a verse I've been thinking a lot about and, uh, I've come to realize.
Just this afternoon we were having a conversation. This is often how it works in in my in I'm I'm seeing how the Lord works. Sometimes the Lord sees a real need.
In our midst, He knows that there is a need in in the hearts and souls and prophecy.
Is that which is given of God to meet that specific need. And that's what this meeting is. This meeting is this meeting is not for a brother, including myself, to stand up and speak about his favorite topics.
It's a meeting that addresses a specific need at the present time that God sees His children need, and I trust that the Spirit is in control and that He is providing answers to specific needs. And so let's just go on over to Romans chapter 13. I'm sorry, Romans 13.
This has to do really with the verse, the verses that we're going into in our reading, meeting, the question of the temptations that we face in life. And it says verse 14 of Romans 13, it says, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill.
The lusts thereof. Now I will say without any reservation, that if we obey this verse, by the grace of God, in the power of the Spirit of God that He has given us, will wear the crown of life.
Over the crown of life, because we will endure temptation.
But let's talk about what this verse. Sometimes we can read a verse, but we ask we don't have much understanding as to what it means and we don't understand how it is applied in our daily life. And so this verse tells us to do something, but how can I do it if I don't understand anything about what it's telling me to do?
This is a spiritual application. It could be nothing more than a spiritual application.
Put ye, put ye, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.
I will just give a false definition of this so that we understand what it doesn't mean. Put you on the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that would mean that we come to all the meetings and that we read our Bibles and that we do the very best we can and be good Christians and we won't fulfill the loss of the flesh.
That is not a good definition or a a good way to to explain what this verse means. We all know from our own practical experience. Most likely we've already tried that.
And we've already tried as we have in our use, and I don't speak necessarily of age, but in our Christian development we have.
Sought in our own strength to curb the appetite and the desires of the flesh.
We've really tried to change the circumstances that exist.
In us, we have a nature that always will do its own will and seek its own pleasure. That nature will never, ever, ever change. And so if we're going to get rid of it, often times we first try in our own strength to curb its appetite.
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To make no provision for it.
We noticed the order of this verse. Let's read it again.
But put you on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.
Now I'm going to read it backwards.
And make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Reading it backwards would probably be more of the experience of most of us who have been saved and maybe gathered to the Lord's name as well, because that is our natural and inclination to think that the flesh is something that can be handled by, you know, our wills and our determination.
But that's not the truth of this verse at all.
That's not God's instruction to us at all. God does not tell us to put off the Lord Jesus Christ or to put off the flesh or don't make provision for the flesh and then put on the Lord Jesus Christ. He tells us first of all put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And you know, it's, it's umm, it's something that I wish I could say, you know.
I'm just gonna explain this verse to you and then you can go home and do it and you'll have great success.
But if I told you that was possible, I would be lying to you, because that's not been my experience. I have not known what it was like from the beginning of my desire to follow the Lord. I have not known what it was to put on the Lord Jesus Christ in such a way that it hindered the power of the flesh to work within me.
Putting on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is something that I believe.
Takes learning at the Lord Jesus feet regarding what took place at Calgary at the cross.
You know you noticed the order of where Romans 14 is towards the end of the book.
And Romans 123456789 Ten come first.
And really this verse is saying.
You have an identification.
With the Lord Jesus Christ positionally before God.
You no longer are seen in the first man before God because that the cross. God dealt with Adam and settled that score. He dealt with the powers and he he dealt with the law at the cross and that's what Romans want 4567 deals with.
That's where God gives us the understanding of what it means to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it's not my desire to spend a lot of time going over those that teaching today because I I, I just feel like the Lord has given me just something specific.
And then that'll give room for someone else who might have something specific to share with you too.
But.
It will be necessary.
If we want to wear the crown of life.
To understand what it means to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And.
What is beautiful is.
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We have the truths that come before in this book.
Which help help us to become established and what it means to put him on.
What it means that we are now in Christ Jesus.
God sees us that way. He no longer sees us connected with the old age and he sees us in connection with the new age. So this this, this is specifically, I would say those that had the ministry brought before them this week would would, would would have more insight into that expression than the others. But this verse put put put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Has to do with the new, has to do with God's answer in man, and that is the Lord Jesus has become the man that God has set up for us now to find our identification.
And and so maybe maybe I haven't given you in this little short.
Umm, as I share this verse, it has come to mean something to me today. I haven't necessarily given you all of the the answers, but I trust that I what what did your appetite? Because there is a reward.
When our lives are lived in such a way that we endure temptation, and believe me, we're not going to endure temptation under any.
Any, umm, stretch of the imagination. We're not going to endure temptation.
In the first name.
But in Christ there is wonderful provision.
And that new life which we possess and the power that's been given to us in the Spirit of God, and all of this, all of these truths are found in the beginning of Romans.
You know, when Paul wrote to Romans, he wrote and his heart was specifically for one reason.
That they might be established in the gospel.
He wanted to establish them in the gospel, and when a soul is established in the gospel, they know what it means to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And then it doesn't say you won't make provision. Doesn't We don't have a guarantee that we won't have to put forth energy in the Christian life to resist the temptations that we're going to find in the pathway and also to deal with what still exists in that old nature that we have. I just want to share with you just some more truth from Romans so that it will give you hope to realize there is an answer.
There is actually.
There is comfort and encouragement that there can be deliverance from this evil nature that I have in Romans 8. It tells us ye are not in the flesh.
And that's a pretty amazing thing to hear God say.
Ye are not in the flesh.
Well, I can't say that I live in the constant enjoyment of how God sees me and in the power of being able to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
But.
This is what God tells me to do, and if He tells me to do it, He's given provision and He's given the instruction for me to learn what it means and how it's applied in my everyday life.
None of these things that God gives the believer are unattainable.
Because God's not going to give us something that we can't enjoy living in the good of.
Will it only be through having the light of these truths brought home to our soul by the Spirit of God?
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Yes, we will learn nothing except it be as the Spirit of God instructs us.
But there might be some here that say I have such a deep serious.
Agonizing. Troubling.
Weakness.
That I know there's no power, there's no ability to overcome it.
And according to the word of God, that's a lie.
Let's see.
Is it true that in my personal practical experience, I may have to stumble, I may have to get up again, I may have to learn, I may have to see how failing I am before I understand the power of new life?
It's not. It's not not, it's not. There's not a question as to whether that's that's true. That is true.
That God will bring us into these things and we will have to learn through experience and we will find ourselves on our faces, but the truth of God. And I wanna quote a verse that I rather quoted last night. Actually I want to quote the other verse he quoted. The sun shall set you free.
And I want to quote the truth shall set you free.
And you know, I just want, I'm going to stop now by going back to the verse and I realize I've gone all over the place and that's just fine. Umm want to go back to the verse that we that God brought light home to my soul.
To encourage your heart.
That God is offering us this.
Blessed is the man verse 12 of James chapter one.
Plus, it is the man that endureth temptation.
For when he has tried, he shall receive the crown of life.
There's a crown of life.
We're going to wear it.
I don't know it's right to say I've said things that weren't quite right before.
So it's something we're going to enjoy in eternity. We may not always be wearing it now because we may choose not to use the tools God has given us.
To endure temptation. But those tools are there, and God has given us all that we need in order to.
Be able to enjoy the life and all of its fruit.
That God has chosen to bless us with.
I'd like to just, uh, share a few thoughts from Daniel chapter one.
This chapter was recommended a few weeks ago.
In real Ferry for the reading meeting and uh, you know, I've heard it spoken on many times as a young person. I'm sure probably everyone here in this room.
Has umm as well, particularly the verse that Daniel purposed in his heart that he wouldn't defile himself with a portion of the King's meat and the umm wine which he drank and I just as we were going through it this time.
There were some things in it that really struck my heart. Recognizing in my own life. Umm.
My own failings and the Lord's dealing with me as a believer, umm, actually before it was mentioned in the meeting, I had been overseas for work and I was on my own and just pondering on my mind how can I be a testimony for the Lord in a situation where I'm.
Around people who have no care for God at all. And I went through the book a little bit more, the first part, not the last part. And I know there's tremendous amount in all of it, but it really struck home. And so I'd like to just read through. I know we don't have umm, a lot of time and just share a few thoughts of things that I enjoyed. So in Daniel chapter one.
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand with the part of the vessels of the House of God, which he carried into the land of Shiner to the House of his God. And he brought the vessels into the treasure House of his God. And the king spake the Espana's master of the eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the King's seed, and of the Princess children, in whom was no blemish, but well favored and skillful.
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In all wisdom and cunning and knowledge and understanding science.
And such as had ability in them to stand in the King's palace.
And whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed unto them a daily provision of the King's meat, and of the wine which he drank, so nourishing them three years, that at the end they're off, they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, unto whom the Prince of the eunuchs gave names. For he gave unto Daniel the name Belteshazzar, and to Hananiah of Shadrach and Michel.
Of Meshach and Azariah Abednego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the King's meat, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the Prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Now God had brought Daniel into favor, and tender love with the Prince of the eunuchs, And the Prince of the eunuch said to Daniel, I fear the Lord King, who hath appointed your meat and your drink, For why should he see your faces? Worse likely.
Liking than the children which are of your sort, then shall you make me and Daniel endanger my head to the king. Then Daniel Then said Daniel to Malzahr, whom the Prince of the eunuchs had said over Daniel, Hananiah, Michel, and Azariah, prove thy servants, I beseech thee 10 days, and let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink. They're not our accountants, is the looked upon before the and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the King's meat. And as I'll see us deal with thy servants, so he consented to them.
In this matter improve them 10 days, and at the end of the 10 days their accountances appeared fairer and fatter and flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the King's meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pulse. As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding and all visions and dreams.
Now at the end of the day the king had said that he should bring them in. Then the Prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar, and the king communed with them, and among them all was found none like Daniel and Hananiah and Michel and Azariah. Therefore stood they before the king, and in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them 10 times better than all the magicians and astrologers.
That were in all his realm, and Daniel continued even under the first year of King Cyrus.
Well, I just umm, one of the things that I.
Enjoy about this chapter is putting it in its context you know this was a time in Israel's history where they had been taken captive and if you were to back up this chapter talks about the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim and I was trying to.
Put in my mind, how much did Daniel know or not know previous to being taken captive? And you know, we live in a day when we have to acknowledge the Lord's coming is very near and this nation has rejected God and we're suffering the consequences of it. This was a time in Israel's history. And although, umm, in a different administration, umm, Israel had rejected God and just as he said he would, they were going to be taking captive. And I don't know exactly.
Umm, what? Daniel knew or didn't know when he was taking captive, but he seemed it. It mentions here specifically that it was in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim. And you know, there's a lot around us that could get us discouraged. A lot. You know, it's very easy to sit in the meetings.
And I say this for myself and I hear it from my children and I hear it from other people in the assembly, and they don't come away with a lot from the meetings. And you know, part, most of it is probably our own fault for not spending enough time feeding on the word of God.
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But, you know, if we recognize that the Lord wants to bring blessing in all circumstances, it's amazing. You know, I was thinking Jeremiah, he prophesied, interestingly enough. I just like to turn back to this quickly and Jeremiah 20.
6:00 So I was trying to put this book in its context.
Daniel probably had. I don't know who he would have remembered, whether he would have remembered Jeremiah.
Or not. He refers to him later in the book. He certainly studied what he had written and, uh.
I was just thinking he would have had every reason to be discouraged here. He's ripped from his own land. He's taken into Babylon. We don't know exactly what happened to him. You know, I pondered on whether he was made a unit or not or what doesn't say that it would seem like he was, but what a brutal circumstance to be brought in. You know, he obviously was a very talented individual or it it seems like that was who had been selected to be taken captive. And, you know, from all intents and purposes it would have been.
Just horrible to be in a situation. But you know, maybe he looked back and saw Jeremiah, who was a man who preached he believed God. I was destruct this morning when we were eating in James. You know what a tremendously important thing it is to have faith and we can have it in the weakest of times to just believe the Lord and what he says and take it as truth. You know, it's such a simple thing. We can say things, but do we really, you know, our our actions give evidence to the fact of whether we actually believe it or not.
You know, in the first part of, of, uh, Jeremiah 26, I'm not gonna read it because of time, but you see, umm, in the beginning of the reign of Joy and the son of Josiah, king of Judah came this, this word from the Lord. And he goes. And just down in verse seven, it says, so the priest and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the House of the Lord. It says all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words. Here's a man and please correct me if I'm wrong on any of these.
Dates who preached for our 40 years or so that Israel was going to be taking half of, and nobody hardly believed them.
And just after this, we see, umm, what Jeremiah had priests come through. And maybe I don't know whether Daniel learned about it before or after, but he saw a man who trusted God and maybe that played a little bit into how he acted in the chapter that we had in, in Daniel. Well, I just going on in Daniel chapter one, think about that context because it's amazing. You know, it's so nice if we can look at a few people who have, we can see in their life that they trusted the Lord and the Lord did exact, he kept his promises. You know, this world, there is almost no absolutes anymore. Everything has become.
Relative, but with the Word of God, it is perfectly solid. We can stand on its promises. And you know, one of the things that umm is sad, but the Bible is being neglected. You know, I've had the opportunity to meet with an older brother who's 15 years my senior and a younger brother, umm, who's umm.
20 years my junior, every other week over the past year and a half, and you know, it's been searching for the three of us to just be together.
And recognize that if we.
Put the Lord first in our life, how he brings blessing, but the second that he, he becomes second. Umm, we tend to struggle and you know, I'm not saying that we're to.
Umm, try and follow a set of rules because we can't do it in the flesh. I appreciate what was said previously. You know, we have to recognize that positionally we're in price. I think Daniel must have recognized positionally that even if Israel had sinned, he could still turn towards Jerusalem and fall on his face and cry to the Lord, and the Lord would bring them back there again. You know, I think he recognized that positionally. He certainly grappled with that and the Lord gave just tremendous, tremendous.
Understanding of things during this time well, this is the context of the book here we have Daniel he's in an impossibly difficult situation. He has been given a new name. He's in another and they're trying to educate him to become to and I I just want to mention this specifically verse five. The king appointed them daily proportion provision of the King's meet and of the wine which you drank so that so nourishing them at the end they're off they might stand before the king. He wanted to have them.
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To teach these so that they could stand before the king.
The difference is, and I had a brother mention this to me last week, he said that she, the Prince of the Unix, was scared of the king. But Daniel looked at everything in terms of standing before God and the king. In order to, umm, have them ready to stand before me takes three years. And he said he lays out in front of them this plan of how he's going to get them trained up to stand in his presence. And he offers them this umm.
Wine.
And meat and, uh, all of this training and they were gonna stand before him. And, you know, Daniel recognized that.
It wasn't gonna be good enough. You know, this look good and it probably smells good and I'm sure it tasted good and it was probably the best of of what they had for people in that situation. And, you know, I was thinking.
The God of this world is trying to lay before, particularly the young people and even the older ones, things that look good, that taste good, that are enticing to us. You know, all of the advances of technology around us look so good. They and yet within them very often. And I'm not making any rules here, but there's defilement. And you know, I was thinking how that's what this world thinks you need maybe to have a good job or maybe to be in a position of.
Of being able to make a difference in this world, but Daniel recognized that the filement that was associated with that.
Would be far worse and if he had on what the Lord on food that didn't file him he would be in a far better position to stand before the king and you know sometimes we.
Maybe we look at the word of God as being a little bit boring. And I, I say that carefully, you know.
How many have you have read cover to cover, adults included? You know, it's, it gets neglected so quickly. And I say that for myself. You know, when I was in high school, I felt very convicted by reading a book that the Lord wanted me to get up and read my Bible every day. And it's something I've tried at 6:00 in the morning. And it's something I've tried to do. You know, I've battled with it even as it as late as this week, getting up at 6:00, my alarm goes off and I get out of bed in the fog. And, you know, some weeks I do a little bit exercise first and a little more clear. And other weeks I'm not as clear. And sometimes I get stuff from it I don't. But this.
The Bible.
Is the foundation that we can stand on We had a little bit of that this afternoon, but the asking God for wisdom. You know what you won't get wisdom if we don't know we don't understand we don't dig into this book and you know it's I just I, I, I say that because sometimes it appears as something that umm we don't we might not think we look up as both perhaps and I and I, I, I know it's not maybe the direct application here, but I just.
Mention that. But you know, the remarkable part of this story is that did that pulse?
It prepared them to stand before the king in a absolutely, phenomenally better way than the the, the wine that the king had in the meat, the meat that he had. You know, Daniel could go and stand before Nebuchadnezzar and say you're going to be a lunatic and eating grass.
Which is almost incomprehensible. We live in a world where you say the wrong thing and you get fired from your job. And, you know, he was given phenomenal confidence to stand before the king when nobody else in the greatest Kingdom of the entire world at that time could stand before, uh, it could stand before the king. Unbelievable confidence. You know, talk about believing God this morning. Daniel was so convinced.
That if he got rid of this defilement, he, he said, just put me on test for 10 days and the end of it. I'm gonna look better than the others. I it's not even enough time. It it it's not even comparable. But you know, he trusted the Lord that much. What a beautiful thing to see his confidence in in the Lord. And you know, I'm not going to go into the detail of this. Our time is almost up. But I just encourage you to look at this chapter in this context, you know, Daniel.
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The Lord, one of the things I've appreciated with Daniel is he established hobbits in his life that the Lord used. He he prayed three times a day. And later on in Chapter 9, we find that he studied what Jeremiah had written. He had, he came to understand the 70 years captivity and, and, and far beyond that. He he's given us an, umm outline that stretches far beyond the scope of that time period.
And you know, the Lord used and yet probably every day he had things that he battled with. You know, he had ups and downs. When this book was re mentioned in our in the assembly. The reason it was mentioned is because Daniel here you have a steady person throughout the whole book in a time when it was like this, it was up and down unbelievable. There are certain certain periods of time where you don't hear about Daniel at all. There's others periods of time when the Lord uses them mightily and yet.
You know, if we can establish those periods of thought every day in our life, put the Lord first, spend a little bit of time reading, spend a little bit of time praying, umm, really trust the Lord for what he says. The results of that can be phenomenal. You know, we don't even, it's interesting that in the context of this chapter, at the end of it, I know this has been mentioned 100 times before. This is Daniel continued under the first year of King Cyrus.
There's an aspect of the return after the 70 years that Daniel probably knew or influenced her and I don't know, I'd be interested in hearing others people's thoughts on it, but that are just staggering to comprehend. The Lord used him in this extremely difficult time to bring tremendous blessing to the Lord's people, tremendous blessings to the Lord's people. And I say that because you know America.
Canada.
Are giving up God at an incredibly rapid rate. The family is falling apart. This world is changing very rapidly. The Lord's return is just around the corner. And you know, we can get so caught up with the busyness of everyday life, our jobs, our family, umm.
That the Lord doesn't get the place that He should. And you know, if we can put on the Lord, we recognize our position because it's not a matter of what we do, but if we recognize our position as believers.
The Lord, it is a tremendous, tremendous thing. And the Lord can bring blessing in the darkest, deepest circumstances and, and he can bring such blessing, such streams in the desert. You know, there may be things in our life and there are things in my own life that I don't have answers for. And you know, I pray with them for a long time and I've asked myself a question. I don't have the answers for them. There are situations with the young people that I don't fully comprehend, but I do know.
That this book is true, and when I've leaned on it, I could trust it. You know, I hope that everyone here in this room, myself included, because.
I'll go back to work a week from now and my alarm will go off at 6:00 in the morning and.
There's a question as to how much do I value that time with the Lord? Do I really spend time reading and praying or do I get my snooze, you know?
It's amazing to me and one of the reasons that I wanted to just get up and say these few words this afternoon is in talking and looking at my own life and talking to this other young person and an older brother that I'm meeting with.
You know, I'll look at my day at work on the days when I ignored that, and I'll look at this, umm, younger brother's day when he's ignored it, but maybe not just ignored it, but hasn't put it in the preempt the Lord in the preeminent place and the impact of that and, and how much easier it is for Satan to and then to, umm.
To cause trouble in our lives. Well, I just, I, I mentioned these things not, not because this is new, because I know this is a chapter that's been brought up many, many, many times, but just to encourage, to dig into this a little bit, to think about how the Lord can work in incredible ways when we trust them. And you know, you can look at a situation. And I've been impressed with this just in the last week and from a natural perspective.
It looks absolutely impossible to change, but the Word of God says that with God all things are possible.
You know.
00:50:02
We need to be like children and just trust them more. And He can bring such blessing from that, you know, even.
This coming week, and I just share this, just to let you know my own, we're going to, umm, share the gospel of West Virginia where Bruce and Bonnie have been going for a while. And I'm nervous about it because my last week and 1/2 has been insanely busy. And I'm not naturally a person who, who can knock on doors. And, uh, it's tremendous encouragement to see those who, who do. But you know, when we trust the Lord. And I see this every day in my own life. If I go to work and there's a problem there, I've been keeping a bit of a prayer journal at work.
I can take a big problem and I'll write down, and I've been trying to ask the Lord things that I can watch and see Him work on. It is phenomenal to see what the Lord can do. If we take a little problem and lay it at His feet. He may not answer it the way that we expect. He may not.
It may not be what we think, but we can look back and say, wow, look what the Lord had done. And you know, I look back in my life and I see that, you know, I'll be honest, I'm petrified. Reason my children. And you'll probably look over to our governor and say there's chaos there. But you know, but you know what, We can trust the Lord and, uh, his word. And I hope that each one here develops an appetite for reading the word of God and tries not to be critical of the Lord's people. You know, there is.
Tons of reasons to be critical, but umm, you know what? The Lord is faithful. Lord is faithful.
312.
Oh my God.
On the Father this afternoon we thank Thee for thy word.
Pray that we might be encouraged by it. Go on with Thy glory for practical victory in our lives here.
You think of Daniel, who purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.
We ask that same purpose of heart for each one here.
We know it's our purpose to fill and satisfy our hearts. We ask that we might not be satisfied with less than myself.
Asking Jesus name Amen.