1 00:00:09,620 --> 00:00:15,630 I want to talk about what it means 2 00:00:15,630 --> 00:00:17,930 to our lives when we glorify God. 3 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,580 That is the subject matter today. 4 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,760 You know, in English language, the word glorify 5 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:32,180 means that you honor someone in such a 6 00:00:32,180 --> 00:00:37,020 way that it causes other people to see 7 00:00:37,020 --> 00:00:39,560 that person in the most favorable light. 8 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,080 Now that's just my definition, I don't know 9 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:45,000 what Webster would say about that, but you 10 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:45,980 think that's about right? 11 00:00:46,660 --> 00:00:49,620 That, you know, it's something we're doing or 12 00:00:49,620 --> 00:00:52,320 saying or whatever is causing others to see 13 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:57,780 that person who we're glorifying, honoring, in a 14 00:00:57,780 --> 00:00:58,860 positive light. 15 00:00:58,860 --> 00:01:03,220 It's kind of the opposite of tearing someone 16 00:01:03,220 --> 00:01:07,280 down, gossiping about them, criticizing them or whatever. 17 00:01:11,470 --> 00:01:15,050 Well, you know, once you took the name 18 00:01:15,050 --> 00:01:19,090 Christian on, when you came to the Lord, 19 00:01:19,990 --> 00:01:23,470 you set yourself up in the role as 20 00:01:23,470 --> 00:01:26,250 being a representative of God on earth. 21 00:01:26,810 --> 00:01:29,470 Whether you meant to or not, whether you 22 00:01:29,470 --> 00:01:33,350 intended to or not is secondary, it doesn't 23 00:01:33,350 --> 00:01:35,230 matter, because as soon as you call yourself 24 00:01:35,230 --> 00:01:37,490 Christian, that's the reality. 25 00:01:38,130 --> 00:01:40,150 That the way you live your life is 26 00:01:40,150 --> 00:01:42,990 going to be a direct representation upon what 27 00:01:42,990 --> 00:01:46,730 the character of God truly is. 28 00:01:50,410 --> 00:01:52,430 So, you know, that's all in the sense 29 00:01:52,430 --> 00:01:55,510 of glorifying someone, but I want to focus 30 00:01:55,510 --> 00:01:59,650 on the Hebrew term, really, more than the 31 00:01:59,650 --> 00:02:00,450 English term. 32 00:02:01,370 --> 00:02:05,050 And the Hebrew word for glorify is the 33 00:02:05,050 --> 00:02:05,810 word kabed. 34 00:02:07,030 --> 00:02:13,970 And kabed literally means heavy, weighty, you know. 35 00:02:14,090 --> 00:02:16,330 So, I mean, sometimes in Scripture it's used 36 00:02:16,330 --> 00:02:18,350 in a literal sense, and it actually does 37 00:02:18,350 --> 00:02:21,150 mean, you know, something that's a heavy burden 38 00:02:21,150 --> 00:02:22,590 or something like that. 39 00:02:22,590 --> 00:02:23,490 That's the word kabed. 40 00:02:24,330 --> 00:02:27,730 But most of the time in Scripture, that 41 00:02:27,730 --> 00:02:31,430 word is extended to refer to a person. 42 00:02:31,810 --> 00:02:35,970 It's extended to refer to a weighty character. 43 00:02:37,490 --> 00:02:38,810 Weighty character. 44 00:02:40,610 --> 00:02:44,130 And so when the Old Testament writers would 45 00:02:44,130 --> 00:02:48,110 talk about glorifying God, what they were saying 46 00:02:48,110 --> 00:02:52,210 is that they wanted others to recognize the 47 00:02:52,210 --> 00:02:54,550 weighty character of God. 48 00:02:56,390 --> 00:02:59,430 That He is someone of substance. 49 00:03:00,410 --> 00:03:02,670 He is a substantial person. 50 00:03:03,110 --> 00:03:06,090 His character, His nature, His personality. 51 00:03:06,650 --> 00:03:08,670 You know, not just, okay, He's big, He's 52 00:03:08,670 --> 00:03:11,810 majestic, you know, He's powerful, all those things. 53 00:03:11,810 --> 00:03:15,070 When you're glorifying God, you're not really talking 54 00:03:15,070 --> 00:03:18,830 about those kind of physical, as it were, 55 00:03:19,290 --> 00:03:19,810 attributes. 56 00:03:20,070 --> 00:03:22,810 No, you're more talking about who He is 57 00:03:22,810 --> 00:03:23,470 as a person. 58 00:03:25,780 --> 00:03:29,900 So to kabed God means that you are 59 00:03:29,900 --> 00:03:37,780 ascribing to Him the reality of His character. 60 00:03:38,300 --> 00:03:39,640 Who He is as a person. 61 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:43,720 Now, there's a short little phrase out of 62 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:46,700 1 Samuel 2.30. You don't even need 63 00:03:46,700 --> 00:03:47,300 to turn to it. 64 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:48,400 I'm just going to tell you what it 65 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:48,980 says. 66 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:52,900 This is what the Lord spoke. 67 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:59,600 He said, those who honor Me, those who 68 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:06,480 glorify Me, those who kabed Me, I will 69 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:07,180 honor. 70 00:04:07,500 --> 00:04:09,740 Those who honor Me, I will honor. 71 00:04:09,740 --> 00:04:13,040 Those who glorify Me, I will glorify. 72 00:04:14,300 --> 00:04:17,839 Those who kabed Me, I will kabed. 73 00:04:18,500 --> 00:04:23,180 Them and them alone will be honored by 74 00:04:23,180 --> 00:04:23,540 Me. 75 00:04:25,460 --> 00:04:30,860 And, the second phrase, those who despise Me 76 00:04:30,860 --> 00:04:34,520 will be lightly esteemed. 77 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,340 All right, now, I said, this is a 78 00:04:39,340 --> 00:04:40,140 positive message. 79 00:04:40,140 --> 00:04:41,740 I want to talk about what it means 80 00:04:41,740 --> 00:04:42,820 to glorify God. 81 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:44,960 But just as a contrast, I want to 82 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:46,940 focus on the negative just for a second. 83 00:04:48,580 --> 00:04:51,540 This second group of people, because really this 84 00:04:51,540 --> 00:04:55,380 verse refers to every single human being who 85 00:04:55,380 --> 00:04:56,320 has ever lived. 86 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:02,280 Every human has either glorified God or he 87 00:05:02,280 --> 00:05:05,100 has despised God. 88 00:05:05,700 --> 00:05:08,260 And what I mean by despise, not what 89 00:05:08,260 --> 00:05:10,460 I mean, who cares what I think about 90 00:05:10,460 --> 00:05:13,860 it, what the word means is literally that 91 00:05:13,860 --> 00:05:15,000 word means light. 92 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:17,100 Isn't that interesting? 93 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:22,980 The literal meaning of despise, I can't remember 94 00:05:22,980 --> 00:05:25,000 what the Hebrew word is, but the literal 95 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,480 meaning of that word is light. 96 00:05:27,820 --> 00:05:31,840 So, you've got to see this balance of 97 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:33,100 weightiness here. 98 00:05:33,740 --> 00:05:39,000 Those who recognize the weighty character of God 99 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:40,640 and treat Him as such. 100 00:05:41,740 --> 00:05:43,560 And then on this side, which is the 101 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:49,920 enormously vast majority, those who treat God as 102 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:54,160 if He, His word, His commandments, and so 103 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:55,880 on are a trifling matter. 104 00:05:56,060 --> 00:05:59,180 You know, just nothing of significance, nothing of 105 00:05:59,180 --> 00:05:59,660 importance. 106 00:05:59,660 --> 00:06:04,080 And they live their lives focused on self 107 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:06,500 and focused on this earth and so on. 108 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:11,420 It says here they are lightly esteemed. 109 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,960 And I think it could be said that 110 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,580 their souls will become increasingly depleted. 111 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:22,920 I think that's true. 112 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:28,840 They will become lighter and lighter and lighter 113 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:30,740 as they go on. 114 00:06:31,460 --> 00:06:33,240 And it's interesting, you know, if you've ever 115 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,760 read The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis' book, 116 00:06:36,580 --> 00:06:38,940 outstanding little book, outstanding. 117 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,520 And it's interesting that the people who come 118 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:44,480 down to this middle place, I won't get 119 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,160 into the story, but from heaven, he calls 120 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:49,580 them the solid ones. 121 00:06:49,580 --> 00:06:51,900 And the ones that have come to this 122 00:06:51,900 --> 00:06:54,380 place from hell are ghosts. 123 00:06:54,660 --> 00:06:55,760 He calls them ghosts. 124 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:58,500 And that is exactly the reality of the 125 00:06:58,500 --> 00:06:59,140 situation. 126 00:07:00,220 --> 00:07:03,320 It's the exact opposite of what our fleshly 127 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:04,120 eyes see. 128 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,200 We see substance and we talk about God 129 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:09,260 in the ethereal, you know, like He's the 130 00:07:09,260 --> 00:07:12,120 one that's not really there almost, you know, 131 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:13,600 He's just spirit. 132 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:15,320 There's no substance to Him. 133 00:07:15,340 --> 00:07:17,280 But it's the opposite of what our eyes 134 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:17,940 tell us. 135 00:07:19,510 --> 00:07:23,670 So the unbelievers of this world, you know, 136 00:07:23,730 --> 00:07:25,850 it could be said that they're all empty 137 00:07:25,850 --> 00:07:26,390 suits. 138 00:07:28,570 --> 00:07:30,410 All unbelievers are empty. 139 00:07:30,990 --> 00:07:34,330 All unbelievers are going from nothing to nothing 140 00:07:34,330 --> 00:07:35,770 in life. 141 00:07:36,650 --> 00:07:38,410 The psalmist said they are like chaff which 142 00:07:38,410 --> 00:07:39,630 the wind drives away. 143 00:07:42,340 --> 00:07:45,740 It's interesting that, you know, in our verse 144 00:07:45,740 --> 00:07:49,300 here, those who despise me will be lightly 145 00:07:49,300 --> 00:07:50,160 esteemed. 146 00:07:50,940 --> 00:07:55,300 Or as one translation says, esteemed as nothing. 147 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:58,860 And it's that same sense of just ghosts 148 00:07:58,860 --> 00:08:02,720 with no reality, no substance. 149 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:08,120 Now, just on a brief side note, that 150 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:09,700 is true of all unbelievers. 151 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:15,300 All unbelievers are substance-less, if I could 152 00:08:15,300 --> 00:08:18,560 say it that way, or without true substance. 153 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,940 But there's a secondary phenomenon spiritually that also 154 00:08:22,940 --> 00:08:23,940 goes on. 155 00:08:24,660 --> 00:08:31,220 And that secondary phenomenon is this, that the 156 00:08:31,220 --> 00:08:35,400 more a person gives over and indulges in 157 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:39,740 sin, the more depleted he becomes in life. 158 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:44,200 And I think that probably most of you 159 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:48,160 guys know that feeling too well, right? 160 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:52,240 I can remember my days of being given 161 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:56,120 over to sin, and just the utter emptiness 162 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:58,600 and misery of life. 163 00:08:59,340 --> 00:09:01,860 And it's like the more I gave over 164 00:09:01,860 --> 00:09:04,320 to try to fill that void, the bigger 165 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:06,560 the void became inside me. 166 00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:10,280 And so I think that that whole process 167 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:14,920 is really a picture of the just desserts 168 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,660 of sinners when they stand in judgment before 169 00:09:18,660 --> 00:09:19,280 God. 170 00:09:20,780 --> 00:09:23,520 That the reality of the way they live 171 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:25,680 their lives, hell is not going to be 172 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:26,940 the same for everybody. 173 00:09:27,780 --> 00:09:29,360 You know, I know some people say, well, 174 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:30,800 they all get thrown in the lake of 175 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:31,080 fire. 176 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:36,340 Well, that's a very simplistic perspective of hell. 177 00:09:36,340 --> 00:09:39,000 I guarantee you that people are going to 178 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,740 be judged by what they did in life. 179 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:44,760 Adolf Hitler is not going to get the 180 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,120 same judgment as some little old lady who 181 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:51,020 just kind of lived a simple, quote-unquote, 182 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:53,120 decent life, but never gave her heart to 183 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:53,560 Christ. 184 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:56,520 They are going to live two completely different 185 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:57,800 hells. 186 00:09:58,420 --> 00:10:00,640 And that's about as far as I can 187 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:02,360 go with figuring that out. 188 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,740 But I believe that this whole thing of 189 00:10:04,740 --> 00:10:08,880 giving over to sin, there's something that so 190 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:15,300 depletes the soul and increases the agitation of 191 00:10:15,300 --> 00:10:18,220 lust that a person has to live in 192 00:10:18,220 --> 00:10:19,040 for eternity. 193 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:22,260 You understand what I'm saying? 194 00:10:22,540 --> 00:10:26,100 You know, I don't know how well I 195 00:10:26,100 --> 00:10:27,020 even understand it. 196 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,180 I don't know if anyone really understands it. 197 00:10:29,180 --> 00:10:31,400 But there is something in that. 198 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:32,780 All right. 199 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:34,600 But anyway, like I said, I want to 200 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:35,880 focus on the positive. 201 00:10:36,020 --> 00:10:39,400 I want to focus on what occurs in 202 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:44,620 our lives as believers, as true, sincere believers, 203 00:10:45,540 --> 00:10:49,200 when we glorify the Lord. 204 00:10:49,980 --> 00:10:51,780 And, you know, I don't think I need 205 00:10:51,780 --> 00:10:54,700 to tell you that we glorify the Lord 206 00:10:54,700 --> 00:10:57,100 mostly by the way we live our life. 207 00:10:57,100 --> 00:10:59,180 It's not what we say. 208 00:10:59,380 --> 00:11:01,580 You know, we all sang some very wonderful 209 00:11:01,580 --> 00:11:04,180 worship songs in here today. 210 00:11:04,420 --> 00:11:07,580 And I don't think that that means much 211 00:11:07,580 --> 00:11:08,360 to the Lord. 212 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:11,400 When He hears people who in their daily 213 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:15,860 life are doing anything but representing His character, 214 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:18,220 and then they come to church and just 215 00:11:18,220 --> 00:11:22,000 sing some songs that supposedly glorify Him, do 216 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:23,600 you think that's pleasing to Him? 217 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:26,620 All right. 218 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:29,260 So, like I said, I want to focus 219 00:11:29,260 --> 00:11:32,600 on those who glorify the Lord. 220 00:11:33,940 --> 00:11:36,620 And, you know, I kind of alluded to 221 00:11:36,620 --> 00:11:40,480 it, that as we glorify God in the 222 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:42,660 way that we live our lives, we are 223 00:11:42,660 --> 00:11:47,580 adding weighty substance to our souls. 224 00:11:47,580 --> 00:11:53,040 We are becoming increasingly more solid and more 225 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:56,400 substantial inside. 226 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:02,960 Weightiness of character is being built inside of 227 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:03,280 us. 228 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:06,860 And so I want to talk about three. 229 00:12:07,020 --> 00:12:08,800 I always like to make these little three 230 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:09,500 -point sermons. 231 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:11,120 They're just nice and neat and tidy. 232 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:13,580 But I'm going to just share. 233 00:12:13,860 --> 00:12:15,840 I suppose there's others as well. 234 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:17,580 I've picked out three that I felt like 235 00:12:17,580 --> 00:12:18,420 were most pertinent. 236 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:23,100 Three ways that we glorify God or should 237 00:12:23,100 --> 00:12:27,000 be glorifying God and how that affects us 238 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:27,640 as well. 239 00:12:28,180 --> 00:12:31,560 But with each of these is an inherent 240 00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:32,740 challenge. 241 00:12:34,890 --> 00:12:37,250 And what I mean by that is that 242 00:12:37,250 --> 00:12:40,690 it does not come naturally. 243 00:12:40,690 --> 00:12:45,210 And so the challenge is to go against 244 00:12:45,210 --> 00:12:49,550 what comes naturally and to fight against that 245 00:12:49,550 --> 00:12:54,090 and to attempt in our best efforts, by 246 00:12:54,090 --> 00:12:57,450 God's grace, to do the things that will 247 00:12:57,450 --> 00:12:59,050 bring glory to the Lord. 248 00:12:59,710 --> 00:12:59,950 Okay? 249 00:13:00,150 --> 00:13:02,870 So, you know, number one is we glorify 250 00:13:02,870 --> 00:13:04,790 God by loving other people. 251 00:13:05,550 --> 00:13:09,070 And I suppose, you know, that that is 252 00:13:09,070 --> 00:13:12,990 maybe the thing that glorifies him the most. 253 00:13:13,170 --> 00:13:15,790 I'm not sure exactly, you know, how you 254 00:13:15,790 --> 00:13:17,670 weigh one against the other. 255 00:13:17,790 --> 00:13:21,190 But I know that it certainly glorifies God 256 00:13:21,190 --> 00:13:25,990 when we treat other people with his love. 257 00:13:26,910 --> 00:13:31,730 Jesus said, Let your light shine before men 258 00:13:31,730 --> 00:13:34,430 in such a way that they may see 259 00:13:34,430 --> 00:13:38,810 your good works and glorify your Father who 260 00:13:38,810 --> 00:13:39,550 is in heaven. 261 00:13:41,190 --> 00:13:45,570 And those good works, almost always in Scripture, 262 00:13:45,790 --> 00:13:49,890 refers to doing good to those in need. 263 00:13:50,070 --> 00:13:51,510 You know, whatever that may mean. 264 00:13:51,730 --> 00:13:54,290 There's a million different ways to meet needs. 265 00:13:54,290 --> 00:13:57,230 And God has a special calling on each 266 00:13:57,230 --> 00:13:58,190 of your lives. 267 00:13:58,410 --> 00:14:00,750 That's not just talk from this pulpit. 268 00:14:00,810 --> 00:14:02,190 I want you to understand that. 269 00:14:02,490 --> 00:14:05,730 That's not just trying to rouse you up 270 00:14:05,730 --> 00:14:10,410 and somehow get you, you know, all stirred 271 00:14:10,410 --> 00:14:11,990 up that when you leave here you're going 272 00:14:11,990 --> 00:14:13,770 to go do some great thing for God. 273 00:14:14,390 --> 00:14:16,630 I'm telling you, just as a matter of 274 00:14:16,630 --> 00:14:20,390 course, as a matter of fact, spiritually speaking, 275 00:14:20,390 --> 00:14:22,590 that each of you has a direct call 276 00:14:22,590 --> 00:14:23,810 on your life. 277 00:14:24,370 --> 00:14:27,790 A direct pathway that has been written out 278 00:14:27,790 --> 00:14:29,810 in ages in the past. 279 00:14:31,230 --> 00:14:34,570 I shared it in a different message that 280 00:14:34,570 --> 00:14:38,190 God has written a DNA on your heart. 281 00:14:38,710 --> 00:14:41,230 And that pathway, you know, that path that 282 00:14:41,230 --> 00:14:45,730 a DNA is physically, spiritually, is your life 283 00:14:45,730 --> 00:14:46,610 of good works. 284 00:14:46,610 --> 00:14:49,750 How you're going to love other people. 285 00:14:50,050 --> 00:14:52,830 You know, there's the general sense of just 286 00:14:52,830 --> 00:14:56,770 being kind with people, being compassionate, and things 287 00:14:56,770 --> 00:14:57,370 like that. 288 00:14:57,370 --> 00:14:59,990 But there's something much more specific for you, 289 00:15:00,270 --> 00:15:02,490 you know, that God has in mind. 290 00:15:03,650 --> 00:15:06,550 The other night, when we were here in 291 00:15:06,550 --> 00:15:10,290 the chapel, sitting in silence, waiting on the 292 00:15:10,290 --> 00:15:13,450 Lord, I opened my Bible to 1 Corinthians 293 00:15:13,450 --> 00:15:15,830 13, and I was just sitting there, just, 294 00:15:16,950 --> 00:15:19,310 I started reading at the beginning of the 295 00:15:19,310 --> 00:15:20,930 chapter, and I got stuck. 296 00:15:21,370 --> 00:15:23,450 As soon as I got to verse 3, 297 00:15:25,270 --> 00:15:28,490 I just sat there and pondered those first 298 00:15:28,490 --> 00:15:29,150 three verses. 299 00:15:29,790 --> 00:15:31,710 And I looked at them, and I thought 300 00:15:31,710 --> 00:15:34,330 about them, and I prayed over them, and 301 00:15:34,330 --> 00:15:37,770 I considered them, and I knew vaguely what 302 00:15:37,770 --> 00:15:39,350 I was going to be preaching on today. 303 00:15:39,350 --> 00:15:41,030 And so it was just kind of stirring 304 00:15:41,030 --> 00:15:41,890 in my heart. 305 00:15:42,030 --> 00:15:43,910 Let me just read those briefly. 306 00:15:45,670 --> 00:15:49,250 We're talking about glorifying God by loving others. 307 00:15:50,310 --> 00:15:51,970 And this is what Paul says, and he 308 00:15:51,970 --> 00:15:54,510 refers to himself, which is very interesting. 309 00:15:54,630 --> 00:15:58,330 He doesn't point at some, you know, I 310 00:15:58,330 --> 00:16:00,450 don't know, make-believe Christian out there or 311 00:16:00,450 --> 00:16:00,730 something. 312 00:16:00,830 --> 00:16:02,030 He talks about himself. 313 00:16:02,030 --> 00:16:05,290 If I, the Apostle Paul, you know, if 314 00:16:05,290 --> 00:16:09,010 I speak with the tongues of men and 315 00:16:09,010 --> 00:16:13,530 of angels, but do not possess this thing 316 00:16:13,530 --> 00:16:20,310 called love, agape, I have become a noisy 317 00:16:20,310 --> 00:16:22,850 gong or a clanging cymbal. 318 00:16:24,310 --> 00:16:27,750 If I have the gift of prophecy and 319 00:16:27,750 --> 00:16:30,430 know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if 320 00:16:30,430 --> 00:16:33,210 I have all faith so as to remove 321 00:16:33,210 --> 00:16:38,490 mountains, but do not have love, I am 322 00:16:38,490 --> 00:16:38,830 nothing. 323 00:16:40,270 --> 00:16:42,990 And if I give all my possessions to 324 00:16:42,990 --> 00:16:46,050 feed the poor, and if I surrender my 325 00:16:46,050 --> 00:16:48,270 body to be burned, but do not have 326 00:16:48,270 --> 00:16:51,330 love, it profits me nothing. 327 00:16:53,770 --> 00:16:57,630 Now, there's a couple of things that stood 328 00:16:57,630 --> 00:17:00,170 out to me when I looked at this. 329 00:17:00,450 --> 00:17:04,030 First of all, that verse 1 refers to 330 00:17:04,030 --> 00:17:09,550 speech, and verse 2 refers to knowledge or, 331 00:17:09,690 --> 00:17:11,810 I don't know, the workings of the mind, 332 00:17:12,510 --> 00:17:15,530 and verse 3 refers to behavior. 333 00:17:16,369 --> 00:17:18,710 And it kind of basically covers all the 334 00:17:18,710 --> 00:17:19,670 bases, doesn't it? 335 00:17:21,940 --> 00:17:24,740 And the second thing that stood out to 336 00:17:24,740 --> 00:17:27,620 me is that this very much shows how 337 00:17:27,620 --> 00:17:30,080 our lives will be evaluated one day. 338 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,820 Notice, here's the word that caught my attention. 339 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:35,760 Okay, so here's the truth. 340 00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:38,700 This is why it grabbed my attention the 341 00:17:38,700 --> 00:17:39,400 other night. 342 00:17:40,100 --> 00:17:42,980 The last word of verse 2 and the 343 00:17:42,980 --> 00:17:44,260 last word of verse 3. 344 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:45,600 Nothing. 345 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:48,680 Because I very much had in my mind 346 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:50,440 this whole concept of weight. 347 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:51,860 You know, I knew I was going to 348 00:17:51,860 --> 00:17:53,420 be preaching on this subject. 349 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:57,380 And when I started chewing on that word 350 00:17:57,380 --> 00:18:01,560 nothing, I started realizing, you know, if I 351 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:07,140 don't possess love, then at the end of 352 00:18:07,140 --> 00:18:12,720 my timeline on earth, when I stand before 353 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:18,250 the Lord, what am I going to be? 354 00:18:19,030 --> 00:18:21,630 What am I going to possess? 355 00:18:23,250 --> 00:18:23,930 Nothing. 356 00:18:25,510 --> 00:18:26,190 Nothing. 357 00:18:27,510 --> 00:18:30,310 Now, I don't know how that figures into 358 00:18:30,310 --> 00:18:31,890 our salvation. 359 00:18:32,090 --> 00:18:32,950 I won't go there. 360 00:18:33,290 --> 00:18:37,850 But I suppose it could be true of 361 00:18:37,850 --> 00:18:42,270 those Christians referred to by Paul in 1 362 00:18:42,270 --> 00:18:46,090 Corinthians 3 where he says they just escape 363 00:18:46,090 --> 00:18:48,070 as though by fire. 364 00:18:48,770 --> 00:18:51,510 You know, somehow they make it through just 365 00:18:51,510 --> 00:18:54,950 barely, but they end up with nothing to 366 00:18:54,950 --> 00:18:56,150 show for their lives. 367 00:18:56,290 --> 00:18:56,690 Nothing. 368 00:18:59,660 --> 00:19:02,120 And then, of course, there's the vast majority 369 00:19:02,120 --> 00:19:05,940 of mankind who just are nothing. 370 00:19:06,700 --> 00:19:12,900 They have substanceless souls, ghosts, bodiless beings. 371 00:19:13,860 --> 00:19:15,880 I don't know how you would say it, 372 00:19:15,980 --> 00:19:19,940 but it reminded me of something someone said. 373 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:24,520 The great day of judgment determines nothing. 374 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:28,920 It only makes visible and palpable what we 375 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:29,800 really are. 376 00:19:31,420 --> 00:19:32,560 And that's true. 377 00:19:33,380 --> 00:19:37,900 The reality of who you are is going 378 00:19:37,900 --> 00:19:44,980 to be shown before millions of angels and 379 00:19:44,980 --> 00:19:47,660 dear saints who have paid a dear price 380 00:19:47,660 --> 00:19:50,100 with their lives. 381 00:19:51,340 --> 00:19:53,600 Who and what you are is going to 382 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:55,860 be seen by all, and me too. 383 00:19:57,480 --> 00:19:58,540 Me too. 384 00:19:58,540 --> 00:20:04,570 But these three verses, let me just kind 385 00:20:04,570 --> 00:20:05,930 of rephrase them a little bit. 386 00:20:05,970 --> 00:20:08,830 If we reverse the logic on these verses, 387 00:20:09,610 --> 00:20:12,670 again, I'm trying my best to be positive 388 00:20:12,670 --> 00:20:13,410 this morning. 389 00:20:13,970 --> 00:20:16,150 It doesn't come naturally to me. 390 00:20:16,990 --> 00:20:19,430 It's not my call to be positive. 391 00:20:20,090 --> 00:20:21,030 It's Jeff's call. 392 00:20:21,130 --> 00:20:24,930 He's the pastor, and I'm the one who 393 00:20:24,930 --> 00:20:27,890 has the gift of making people feel bad. 394 00:20:27,890 --> 00:20:32,580 And it is a gift. 395 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,020 And I've been greatly endowed with it, as 396 00:20:40,020 --> 00:20:40,400 you know. 397 00:20:43,500 --> 00:20:46,100 So let's reverse the logic on these verses, 398 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:48,220 and let me say them this way. 399 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:51,140 Verse 1, if I allow love to dominate 400 00:20:51,140 --> 00:20:56,080 my speech, my words will have significance and 401 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:56,620 weightiness. 402 00:20:59,370 --> 00:21:02,290 Verse 2, if I allow love to dominate 403 00:21:02,290 --> 00:21:06,290 my attitudes and perspectives and my viewpoints of 404 00:21:06,290 --> 00:21:10,330 Scripture and spiritual life and people, etc., my 405 00:21:10,330 --> 00:21:14,070 value to God will only increase. 406 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:18,820 And verse 3, if I allow love to 407 00:21:18,820 --> 00:21:22,160 dominate my actions and behavior, the way that 408 00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:27,980 I treat people, great profit will be affixed 409 00:21:27,980 --> 00:21:30,640 to my life on that day. 410 00:21:32,950 --> 00:21:34,130 I think that's pretty true. 411 00:21:34,890 --> 00:21:35,870 Would you say so? 412 00:21:36,930 --> 00:21:39,170 I think that's pretty right on. 413 00:21:41,500 --> 00:21:49,040 Okay, number 2, we glorify God through humility. 414 00:21:51,940 --> 00:21:53,800 Now here again, we have a challenge. 415 00:21:54,540 --> 00:21:59,020 The challenge is that naturally we're prideful. 416 00:22:01,500 --> 00:22:09,260 We just have this innate desire to glorify 417 00:22:09,260 --> 00:22:10,700 ourselves, don't we? 418 00:22:12,930 --> 00:22:14,650 I've got one person that nods their head, 419 00:22:14,750 --> 00:22:16,110 and everyone else quickly looks away. 420 00:22:20,540 --> 00:22:24,020 We just naturally want to grab honor for 421 00:22:24,020 --> 00:22:25,060 ourselves, don't we? 422 00:22:25,820 --> 00:22:30,920 We just naturally are prone to do that. 423 00:22:31,300 --> 00:22:33,900 And we do it in a thousand different 424 00:22:33,900 --> 00:22:36,160 subtle ways. 425 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:37,580 What is pride? 426 00:22:37,700 --> 00:22:40,800 Pride is exalting yourself at the expense of 427 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:41,680 those around you. 428 00:22:42,060 --> 00:22:43,260 That's what pride is. 429 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,080 I once gave this illustration. 430 00:22:47,260 --> 00:22:48,980 I think I was in a prison when 431 00:22:48,980 --> 00:22:49,660 I was doing it. 432 00:22:49,660 --> 00:22:52,840 I made one of the guys stand up 433 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:56,140 on a chair, and I used him as 434 00:22:56,140 --> 00:22:57,900 an example of pride. 435 00:22:58,040 --> 00:22:59,800 I said, now see him. 436 00:22:59,900 --> 00:23:00,840 He's standing up. 437 00:23:00,940 --> 00:23:02,280 Everyone's looking at him. 438 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:03,680 He's the center of attention. 439 00:23:03,980 --> 00:23:06,600 He's just glowing and basking in all this 440 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:07,100 attention. 441 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:10,140 But look at where you are in relation 442 00:23:10,140 --> 00:23:10,720 to him. 443 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:13,620 But that's what pride does. 444 00:23:13,620 --> 00:23:18,080 This desire to glorify ourselves. 445 00:23:18,260 --> 00:23:22,420 Jesus saw this in the Pharisees in a 446 00:23:22,420 --> 00:23:23,600 lot of different ways. 447 00:23:23,940 --> 00:23:26,340 But one of the times he really grabbed 448 00:23:26,340 --> 00:23:26,520 it. 449 00:23:26,620 --> 00:23:27,340 Man, it was good. 450 00:23:27,460 --> 00:23:30,820 In Luke 14, he saw something that was 451 00:23:30,820 --> 00:23:31,780 going on. 452 00:23:32,220 --> 00:23:34,280 I think it was at a wedding feast. 453 00:23:34,700 --> 00:23:39,460 He saw something happening there, and he used 454 00:23:39,460 --> 00:23:39,680 it. 455 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:43,940 But he always used situations and things around 456 00:23:43,940 --> 00:23:46,360 him to illustrate spiritual truths. 457 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:48,380 And he did that in this case. 458 00:23:48,420 --> 00:23:50,060 And I'm just simply going to read this 459 00:23:50,060 --> 00:23:54,320 because it really, you'll get it. 460 00:23:54,380 --> 00:23:55,300 You'll see what I'm saying. 461 00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:57,820 Luke 14, verse 7. 462 00:23:59,500 --> 00:24:02,460 And he began speaking a parable to the 463 00:24:02,460 --> 00:24:04,660 invited guests when he noticed how they had 464 00:24:04,660 --> 00:24:07,300 been picking out the places of honor at 465 00:24:07,300 --> 00:24:07,840 the table. 466 00:24:09,180 --> 00:24:13,660 Saying to them, When you're invited by someone 467 00:24:13,660 --> 00:24:17,060 to a wedding feast, do not take the 468 00:24:17,060 --> 00:24:19,860 place of honor for someone more distinguished than 469 00:24:19,860 --> 00:24:23,740 you may have been invited by him. 470 00:24:24,180 --> 00:24:26,920 And he who invited you both will come 471 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:29,120 and say to you, Give your place to 472 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:31,600 this man, and then in disgrace you proceed 473 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:33,520 to occupy the last place. 474 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:36,520 But when you are invited, go and recline 475 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:38,400 at the last place so that when the 476 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:40,640 one who has invited you comes, he may 477 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:42,780 say to you, Friend, move up higher. 478 00:24:43,140 --> 00:24:45,860 Then you will have, what? 479 00:24:47,500 --> 00:24:50,380 Honor in the sight of all who are 480 00:24:50,380 --> 00:24:51,580 at the table with you. 481 00:24:52,260 --> 00:24:55,460 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, 482 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:59,500 and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 483 00:24:59,500 --> 00:25:03,860 And that last phrase, or that last sentence 484 00:25:03,860 --> 00:25:10,740 there, that Jesus said, is expressed by him 485 00:25:10,740 --> 00:25:13,420 in a number of different occasions in the 486 00:25:13,420 --> 00:25:14,060 Gospels. 487 00:25:14,340 --> 00:25:18,400 And also, Peter said it, and I think 488 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,540 it was James that said it as well. 489 00:25:21,900 --> 00:25:23,580 I mean, this was one of the most 490 00:25:23,580 --> 00:25:27,160 important truths that Jesus wanted to leave with 491 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:27,940 his disciples. 492 00:25:27,940 --> 00:25:31,040 If you try to exalt yourself, I guarantee 493 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,060 you, you will be put in your place. 494 00:25:33,800 --> 00:25:38,020 But if you'll humble yourself, God will raise 495 00:25:38,020 --> 00:25:38,400 you up. 496 00:25:38,620 --> 00:25:39,840 God will exalt you. 497 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:41,220 God will honor you. 498 00:25:42,220 --> 00:25:43,900 And that is the truth. 499 00:25:44,020 --> 00:25:48,000 That is a spiritual reality, men, that if 500 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:53,940 you'll just humble yourselves, you are entrusting your 501 00:25:53,940 --> 00:25:56,500 life to God, and you're saying, Lord, you 502 00:25:56,500 --> 00:25:59,280 know better than me how I should be 503 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:01,540 honored, if I should be honored, and so 504 00:26:01,540 --> 00:26:01,760 on. 505 00:26:01,820 --> 00:26:03,900 You know how to handle all that, Lord. 506 00:26:05,300 --> 00:26:08,340 But again, it's our natural tendency to want 507 00:26:08,340 --> 00:26:10,280 to bring it to ourselves. 508 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,140 We do it in just so many different 509 00:26:13,140 --> 00:26:13,620 ways. 510 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:19,180 Boasting, name-dropping, gossiping about others to make 511 00:26:19,180 --> 00:26:20,860 ourselves look better somehow. 512 00:26:21,380 --> 00:26:26,640 There's just endless ways that we can try 513 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:29,340 to exalt ourselves at the expense of others. 514 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:35,900 Jesus used this situation to illustrate that truth. 515 00:26:37,470 --> 00:26:41,290 I'll illustrate it in another manner just to 516 00:26:41,290 --> 00:26:43,150 kind of hopefully bring it out a little 517 00:26:43,150 --> 00:26:43,710 bit better. 518 00:26:44,990 --> 00:26:49,330 There were two little boys that went to 519 00:26:49,330 --> 00:26:50,070 a parade. 520 00:26:50,790 --> 00:26:53,790 And there was this big parade in the 521 00:26:53,790 --> 00:26:55,570 middle of Boston, let's say. 522 00:26:55,950 --> 00:26:58,130 And these two little boys didn't know each 523 00:26:58,130 --> 00:26:59,850 other, and they were there with their dads. 524 00:27:00,530 --> 00:27:05,570 And all the different processions were going through 525 00:27:05,570 --> 00:27:06,030 and stuff. 526 00:27:06,030 --> 00:27:11,170 And then came this smartly dressed military academy 527 00:27:11,170 --> 00:27:15,470 marching in cadence going right down the main 528 00:27:15,470 --> 00:27:16,050 street. 529 00:27:16,730 --> 00:27:18,730 And both of these little boys had the 530 00:27:18,730 --> 00:27:23,950 same reaction to seeing these other boys in 531 00:27:23,950 --> 00:27:27,910 their uniforms and their hats and marching just 532 00:27:27,910 --> 00:27:30,990 in perfect step and all of that. 533 00:27:31,150 --> 00:27:33,310 And both of them had the same reaction. 534 00:27:33,590 --> 00:27:35,230 I want to be in that school. 535 00:27:35,230 --> 00:27:37,690 I want that to be the reality of 536 00:27:37,690 --> 00:27:38,270 my life. 537 00:27:38,330 --> 00:27:41,670 And so they both talked to their dads, 538 00:27:42,350 --> 00:27:46,030 and their dads took them separately, of course, 539 00:27:46,370 --> 00:27:47,350 to this school. 540 00:27:48,530 --> 00:27:53,470 Well, Jimmy, his father was well-to-do. 541 00:27:54,250 --> 00:27:58,330 So Jimmy's father takes him into the headmaster 542 00:27:58,330 --> 00:27:59,230 of the school. 543 00:28:00,050 --> 00:28:04,650 And he makes a sizable donation to the 544 00:28:04,650 --> 00:28:08,430 school and says, look, I want to make 545 00:28:08,430 --> 00:28:11,170 sure that Jimmy is taken care of. 546 00:28:11,950 --> 00:28:15,330 I want to make sure, in fact, I 547 00:28:15,330 --> 00:28:18,890 expect Jimmy to be that kid that was 548 00:28:18,890 --> 00:28:21,410 out in front of that marching formation. 549 00:28:21,410 --> 00:28:24,670 Next year, I want to see my little 550 00:28:24,670 --> 00:28:27,850 boy be the one who's out in front 551 00:28:27,850 --> 00:28:29,610 of that formation. 552 00:28:29,770 --> 00:28:31,370 Do you understand what I'm saying? 553 00:28:32,050 --> 00:28:34,410 And, of course, the headmaster, he's a good 554 00:28:34,410 --> 00:28:37,190 man and all that, but he has a 555 00:28:37,190 --> 00:28:39,750 great financial need for the school. 556 00:28:40,050 --> 00:28:44,250 And so he bends and compromises his integrity 557 00:28:44,250 --> 00:28:45,950 some, and he makes the promise. 558 00:28:46,410 --> 00:28:48,190 So Jimmy enters the school. 559 00:28:48,190 --> 00:28:50,610 Well, Bobby, on the other hand, comes from 560 00:28:50,610 --> 00:28:53,170 a lower-middle-class family there in Boston, 561 00:28:53,410 --> 00:28:56,190 and he's been saving his money for some 562 00:28:56,190 --> 00:28:59,090 amount of time, and his dad decides to 563 00:28:59,090 --> 00:28:59,930 match funds. 564 00:29:00,150 --> 00:29:02,690 And between the two of them, they're able 565 00:29:02,690 --> 00:29:04,710 to pay for the first semester in this 566 00:29:04,710 --> 00:29:05,710 military academy. 567 00:29:06,730 --> 00:29:08,310 And so they go in for the interview, 568 00:29:08,430 --> 00:29:09,750 and he's accepted as well. 569 00:29:10,870 --> 00:29:14,950 So all through this school year, Jimmy is 570 00:29:14,950 --> 00:29:16,670 given preferential treatment. 571 00:29:17,470 --> 00:29:19,830 And the instructors have all been told, you 572 00:29:19,830 --> 00:29:21,890 make sure he passes, you make sure he 573 00:29:21,890 --> 00:29:23,770 gets this, he gets what he wants, you 574 00:29:23,770 --> 00:29:24,810 know, et cetera, et cetera. 575 00:29:25,070 --> 00:29:26,830 And by the end of the school year, 576 00:29:27,050 --> 00:29:29,890 you know, he becomes that lead cadet. 577 00:29:30,990 --> 00:29:34,550 Well, Bobby doesn't have that, you know, all 578 00:29:34,550 --> 00:29:35,290 those privileges. 579 00:29:35,690 --> 00:29:38,170 He's got to fight his way for everything. 580 00:29:38,670 --> 00:29:39,990 He's got to go the hard way. 581 00:29:40,030 --> 00:29:41,050 He's got to earn it. 582 00:29:42,590 --> 00:29:44,290 Here's what I want to say to you. 583 00:29:44,290 --> 00:29:46,130 And this is the point I'm trying to 584 00:29:46,130 --> 00:29:50,250 get at, is those two little boys represent 585 00:29:50,250 --> 00:29:52,050 the way that we can do the Christian 586 00:29:52,050 --> 00:29:52,610 life. 587 00:29:53,510 --> 00:29:55,230 You know, there's always going to be those 588 00:29:55,230 --> 00:29:57,830 people who want the easy path and they 589 00:29:57,830 --> 00:30:00,010 want the honor without earning it. 590 00:30:00,350 --> 00:30:01,550 They want the name. 591 00:30:02,270 --> 00:30:03,690 They want to be exalted. 592 00:30:03,850 --> 00:30:06,270 They want their name up in the lights 593 00:30:06,270 --> 00:30:07,210 and so on. 594 00:30:08,610 --> 00:30:11,070 But they're not willing to pay the price, 595 00:30:11,330 --> 00:30:12,350 you know. 596 00:30:12,350 --> 00:30:14,630 And just the way things are in the 597 00:30:14,630 --> 00:30:21,630 spiritual realm, God doesn't necessarily honor outwardly those 598 00:30:21,630 --> 00:30:24,850 who he esteems highly in his kingdom. 599 00:30:26,070 --> 00:30:26,890 You know, he doesn't. 600 00:30:27,350 --> 00:30:29,830 Daniel Nebuchadnezzar is a perfect example. 601 00:30:30,890 --> 00:30:34,970 Daniel was highly esteemed in heaven, the angel 602 00:30:34,970 --> 00:30:35,630 told him. 603 00:30:36,110 --> 00:30:37,270 But who was he? 604 00:30:37,310 --> 00:30:39,690 He was just a bureaucrat in Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom. 605 00:30:39,690 --> 00:30:42,470 And that's a picture of what we see 606 00:30:42,470 --> 00:30:43,730 in the church so often. 607 00:30:44,130 --> 00:30:50,990 Sometimes the big names in God's kingdom, lightweights. 608 00:30:52,250 --> 00:30:53,910 I'm not saying all the time. 609 00:30:54,030 --> 00:30:56,710 You know, don't take that beyond where it's 610 00:30:56,710 --> 00:30:57,230 meant to be. 611 00:30:57,310 --> 00:31:00,550 But I'm telling you from much experience, that 612 00:31:00,550 --> 00:31:02,270 is the reality spiritually. 613 00:31:02,270 --> 00:31:05,590 I have met very big names, and the 614 00:31:05,590 --> 00:31:09,170 sense you get around them, spiritual lightweights. 615 00:31:10,570 --> 00:31:14,130 But, you know, you take a Bobby who's 616 00:31:14,130 --> 00:31:16,470 had to go the hard route. 617 00:31:17,130 --> 00:31:18,610 And can I say to you guys that 618 00:31:18,610 --> 00:31:19,890 that's what you're doing here? 619 00:31:20,650 --> 00:31:21,710 God bless you. 620 00:31:22,070 --> 00:31:23,550 You're fighting through. 621 00:31:24,310 --> 00:31:26,390 You know, you're doing the hard thing. 622 00:31:26,710 --> 00:31:29,030 You're not the one who just flakes out 623 00:31:29,030 --> 00:31:30,570 because things get rough. 624 00:31:30,570 --> 00:31:32,830 You're still in there fighting. 625 00:31:33,830 --> 00:31:35,010 Bless your hearts. 626 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:40,440 Solomon said, a man's pride will bring him 627 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:45,720 low, but a humble spirit will obtain kabed. 628 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:51,340 Yes, a humble spirit will obtain honor. 629 00:31:52,180 --> 00:31:52,960 All right, number three. 630 00:31:54,140 --> 00:31:58,040 We glorify God by the way we handle 631 00:31:58,040 --> 00:31:58,680 adversity. 632 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:03,240 Here again, the challenge is to go against 633 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:03,880 our nature. 634 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:05,520 All of us are this way. 635 00:32:05,660 --> 00:32:11,500 Nobody enjoys trials and opposition and hardships and 636 00:32:11,500 --> 00:32:13,240 affliction and adversity. 637 00:32:13,700 --> 00:32:16,060 And none of us enjoy persecution. 638 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:19,680 Who in the world wants to go through 639 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:20,300 any of that? 640 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:22,080 I don't, you know. 641 00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:26,580 And yet, if we can handle these things 642 00:32:26,580 --> 00:32:28,600 in the right way, they are the very 643 00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:32,320 things that bring God glory. 644 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:35,680 And they're the very things that are the 645 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:42,580 most effective ways of building weighty character into 646 00:32:42,580 --> 00:32:43,440 our beings. 647 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:45,600 It's just true, guys. 648 00:32:45,900 --> 00:32:47,200 It's the difficulties. 649 00:32:48,140 --> 00:32:49,380 It's the difficulties. 650 00:32:49,380 --> 00:32:53,860 You know, I've said this before that God 651 00:32:53,860 --> 00:32:56,800 will occasionally give us those mountaintop experiences. 652 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,740 Pastor Jeff had one this morning that we 653 00:33:00,740 --> 00:33:01,440 heard about. 654 00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:06,300 You know, glorious revelation of the eternal kingdom. 655 00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:09,600 You know, and it just thrilled his soul. 656 00:33:10,940 --> 00:33:13,900 But Pastor Jeff, tomorrow is Monday. 657 00:33:17,940 --> 00:33:20,120 And Monday, huh? 658 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:26,060 I backslid temporarily. 659 00:33:31,820 --> 00:33:34,300 I'll encourage you at the end. 660 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:39,380 But Monday's coming, was that one sermon. 661 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:41,480 It's Friday, but Sunday's coming. 662 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:43,660 Well, I'm telling you, it's Sunday, but Monday's 663 00:33:43,660 --> 00:33:43,980 coming. 664 00:33:47,210 --> 00:33:50,610 Monday, you find yourself down slogging through the 665 00:33:50,610 --> 00:33:51,670 jungle floor. 666 00:33:52,230 --> 00:33:56,510 You know, through swamps and hard areas and 667 00:33:56,510 --> 00:34:00,030 muck and mire and opposition and snakes and 668 00:34:00,030 --> 00:34:02,170 lions roaming around. 669 00:34:02,350 --> 00:34:03,470 And you don't know what you're going to 670 00:34:03,470 --> 00:34:04,010 run into. 671 00:34:04,230 --> 00:34:08,270 Dangerous toils and snares, John Newton called it. 672 00:34:08,510 --> 00:34:11,270 That's the reality of the daily life in 673 00:34:11,270 --> 00:34:12,550 Christianity, isn't it? 674 00:34:13,030 --> 00:34:14,989 That is the pilgrim's progress. 675 00:34:14,989 --> 00:34:16,989 It's to go through all that. 676 00:34:17,989 --> 00:34:21,510 But God does give us those mountaintop experiences 677 00:34:21,510 --> 00:34:23,429 to encourage us along the way. 678 00:34:24,730 --> 00:34:28,050 But the mountaintop experiences don't build character. 679 00:34:28,889 --> 00:34:33,550 Jeff is no more godly of character today 680 00:34:33,550 --> 00:34:34,730 because of this morning. 681 00:34:35,409 --> 00:34:37,290 But what he went through, you know, in 682 00:34:37,290 --> 00:34:41,030 Central America, you know, the hardships, the difficulties, 683 00:34:41,290 --> 00:34:43,790 the battles and all of that, fighting through. 684 00:34:43,790 --> 00:34:47,130 Those are the things that build godly character. 685 00:34:47,510 --> 00:34:53,889 That's where you're changed and transformed. 686 00:34:55,370 --> 00:34:57,050 And, you know, when you're going through it, 687 00:34:57,110 --> 00:34:57,510 it's hard. 688 00:34:57,590 --> 00:34:59,190 I understand it's difficult. 689 00:34:59,670 --> 00:35:00,590 It's a struggle. 690 00:35:01,190 --> 00:35:03,150 And it is hard to get your eyes 691 00:35:03,150 --> 00:35:06,450 out of the small little picture of your 692 00:35:06,450 --> 00:35:07,310 own little world. 693 00:35:08,290 --> 00:35:10,470 But I can tell you from experience, when 694 00:35:10,470 --> 00:35:14,470 I look back over my life, and this 695 00:35:14,470 --> 00:35:15,530 is the truth. 696 00:35:15,690 --> 00:35:17,330 Of course, it's easy saying it from here. 697 00:35:17,590 --> 00:35:20,170 But it was the hardships that I thank 698 00:35:20,170 --> 00:35:21,570 God for most of all. 699 00:35:21,830 --> 00:35:23,070 That is the truth. 700 00:35:23,570 --> 00:35:24,690 It was the hardships. 701 00:35:25,510 --> 00:35:27,690 It was the times I was humiliated. 702 00:35:27,690 --> 00:35:30,850 It was the times that people got right 703 00:35:30,850 --> 00:35:33,290 in my face and called me names and 704 00:35:33,290 --> 00:35:35,970 ripped into me after I poured my heart 705 00:35:35,970 --> 00:35:39,470 out at a church service or something. 706 00:35:39,970 --> 00:35:42,250 It was the times when I would pour 707 00:35:42,250 --> 00:35:44,250 my heart out to some man sitting up 708 00:35:44,250 --> 00:35:46,550 here in an office, and he would, you 709 00:35:46,550 --> 00:35:48,610 know, turn on me in hatred. 710 00:35:49,770 --> 00:35:53,630 Those were the things that built character into 711 00:35:53,630 --> 00:35:53,910 me. 712 00:35:53,910 --> 00:35:56,430 Those are the things that God used to 713 00:35:56,430 --> 00:35:59,530 change me and soften me and humble me 714 00:35:59,530 --> 00:36:00,290 and so on. 715 00:36:01,010 --> 00:36:03,290 You know, it's just the reality of the 716 00:36:03,290 --> 00:36:04,250 Christian life. 717 00:36:04,890 --> 00:36:08,770 Paul said in Romans 5, he said, not 718 00:36:08,770 --> 00:36:12,150 only this, but we also exult in our 719 00:36:12,150 --> 00:36:12,910 tribulations. 720 00:36:13,230 --> 00:36:13,550 Why? 721 00:36:14,110 --> 00:36:16,330 Why would we exult in our tribulations? 722 00:36:16,450 --> 00:36:17,190 Are you crazy? 723 00:36:18,190 --> 00:36:23,850 Because this, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance 724 00:36:23,850 --> 00:36:31,390 and perseverance proven character and proven character hope. 725 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:37,680 You know, I remember a time, guys, that 726 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:40,740 I don't know how to say it. 727 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:42,820 I was just a big baby. 728 00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:47,280 I couldn't take the slightest crossing of my 729 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:47,660 will. 730 00:36:47,660 --> 00:36:50,980 You know, every little thing in life had 731 00:36:50,980 --> 00:36:54,100 to go my way, or I was whatever, 732 00:36:54,340 --> 00:36:56,220 bent out of shape or whatever. 733 00:36:57,200 --> 00:37:00,640 I was very much that way, very, very 734 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:01,700 much that way. 735 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:04,980 And, you know, the Lord helped me to 736 00:37:04,980 --> 00:37:08,240 grow through this process over the years and 737 00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:10,460 did change me. 738 00:37:10,460 --> 00:37:12,740 But it's through that process. 739 00:37:13,060 --> 00:37:16,100 I can't explain it, but when God takes 740 00:37:16,100 --> 00:37:19,040 you through a hardship, somehow you come out 741 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:21,100 the other end of it with brighter hope. 742 00:37:21,780 --> 00:37:22,940 It's just true. 743 00:37:23,020 --> 00:37:25,680 And the reason why is because you've been 744 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:31,080 carrying 500 pounds, if I could say it 745 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:33,340 that way, 500 pounds in the wrong way, 746 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:35,680 500 pounds of flesh. 747 00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:39,080 And God has used some experience to carve 748 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:40,420 off 50 pounds of it. 749 00:37:40,500 --> 00:37:42,920 And you're only, now you're walking at 450 750 00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:44,880 and you feel light as a feather, you 751 00:37:44,880 --> 00:37:45,120 know. 752 00:37:47,310 --> 00:37:49,090 It's not a good analogy because it's kind 753 00:37:49,090 --> 00:37:50,190 of backwards, isn't it? 754 00:37:51,870 --> 00:37:54,910 But, you know, that's just the process that 755 00:37:54,910 --> 00:37:59,270 God takes us through to change us. 756 00:38:00,390 --> 00:38:03,830 And it happens little by little through life. 757 00:38:05,170 --> 00:38:08,430 You know, a person with a weighty character, 758 00:38:10,870 --> 00:38:12,990 everything can be taken from him. 759 00:38:14,210 --> 00:38:17,550 And one day I believe that's what's going 760 00:38:17,550 --> 00:38:18,890 to happen to true believers. 761 00:38:19,530 --> 00:38:22,410 That's where we're headed, that they are going 762 00:38:22,410 --> 00:38:24,070 to persecute us. 763 00:38:24,690 --> 00:38:26,810 The false church are going to be right 764 00:38:26,810 --> 00:38:29,990 at the forefront of the persecution. 765 00:38:30,210 --> 00:38:31,190 You better know that. 766 00:38:31,910 --> 00:38:34,310 The pseudo-Christians that you feel like are 767 00:38:34,310 --> 00:38:35,490 your brothers aren't. 768 00:38:37,010 --> 00:38:39,830 And one day they're going to turn on 769 00:38:39,830 --> 00:38:41,790 true believers, the remnant. 770 00:38:43,390 --> 00:38:47,310 And they can take everything we own away 771 00:38:47,310 --> 00:38:47,810 from us. 772 00:38:47,890 --> 00:38:49,950 They can take our loved ones away from 773 00:38:49,950 --> 00:38:50,210 us. 774 00:38:50,470 --> 00:38:52,810 They can take our freedom away from us. 775 00:38:53,050 --> 00:38:55,130 They can take all our stuff away from 776 00:38:55,130 --> 00:38:55,350 us. 777 00:38:55,570 --> 00:38:57,830 They can even take our health away from 778 00:38:57,830 --> 00:38:58,210 us. 779 00:38:58,210 --> 00:39:01,270 And they will take our lives. 780 00:39:02,070 --> 00:39:09,750 But they can't take the spiritual substance that 781 00:39:09,750 --> 00:39:12,310 God has built within our souls. 782 00:39:12,470 --> 00:39:14,670 They can't lay a finger on that. 783 00:39:15,230 --> 00:39:17,650 They can't lay a finger on it. 784 00:39:18,730 --> 00:39:22,490 And as God takes you through difficult circumstances 785 00:39:22,490 --> 00:39:26,830 like this live-in program, He's building something 786 00:39:26,830 --> 00:39:30,770 so wonderful inside you. 787 00:39:31,870 --> 00:39:34,230 Again, the Apostle Paul. 788 00:39:35,450 --> 00:39:39,530 This is 2 Corinthians 4.16. Therefore, we 789 00:39:39,530 --> 00:39:40,830 do not lose heart. 790 00:39:41,690 --> 00:39:45,490 But though our outer man is decaying, yet 791 00:39:45,490 --> 00:39:48,890 our inner man is being renewed day by 792 00:39:48,890 --> 00:39:49,350 day. 793 00:39:50,570 --> 00:39:54,470 For momentary light affliction is producing for us 794 00:39:54,470 --> 00:39:57,490 an eternal weight of glory. 795 00:39:58,010 --> 00:40:00,290 Far beyond all comparison. 796 00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:05,120 While we look not at the things which 797 00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:06,800 are seen, but at the things which are 798 00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:07,740 not seen. 799 00:40:08,340 --> 00:40:10,460 For the things which are seen are temporal, 800 00:40:10,660 --> 00:40:13,100 but the things which are not seen are 801 00:40:13,100 --> 00:40:13,600 eternal. 802 00:40:16,110 --> 00:40:17,630 Let me read that in a couple other 803 00:40:17,630 --> 00:40:18,410 translations. 804 00:40:18,410 --> 00:40:20,830 Phillips says it this way. 805 00:40:21,790 --> 00:40:22,650 Verse 17. 806 00:40:23,530 --> 00:40:27,430 These little troubles, which are really so transitory, 807 00:40:27,910 --> 00:40:31,670 are winning for us a permanent, glorious, and 808 00:40:31,670 --> 00:40:35,750 solid reward out of all proportion to our 809 00:40:35,750 --> 00:40:36,210 pain. 810 00:40:37,350 --> 00:40:41,770 And the Amplified says it like this. 811 00:40:41,770 --> 00:40:46,650 For our light, momentary affliction, this slight distress 812 00:40:46,650 --> 00:40:50,430 of the passing hour is ever more and 813 00:40:50,430 --> 00:40:55,470 more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for 814 00:40:55,470 --> 00:40:59,450 us an everlasting weight of glory beyond all 815 00:40:59,450 --> 00:41:05,230 measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations. 816 00:41:05,230 --> 00:41:11,250 A vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never 817 00:41:11,250 --> 00:41:12,190 to cease. 818 00:41:12,850 --> 00:41:13,470 Hallelujah! 819 00:41:14,470 --> 00:41:17,250 That's what God is doing in your lives, 820 00:41:17,410 --> 00:41:17,690 men. 821 00:41:18,070 --> 00:41:20,410 It's hard to see it sometimes, I know. 822 00:41:20,710 --> 00:41:22,970 But that is the reality of what He's 823 00:41:22,970 --> 00:41:24,450 doing inside of you. 824 00:41:25,430 --> 00:41:30,250 The eternal, long-lasting picture of what's going 825 00:41:30,250 --> 00:41:30,710 on. 826 00:41:33,430 --> 00:41:37,930 You know, it's interesting that Jesus, when He 827 00:41:37,930 --> 00:41:42,530 referred to the cross, He often talked about 828 00:41:42,530 --> 00:41:46,690 how He and how His Father would be 829 00:41:46,690 --> 00:41:48,150 glorified through that. 830 00:41:49,470 --> 00:41:51,330 Now think about the reality of that. 831 00:41:51,890 --> 00:41:59,530 Jesus was stripped and beaten and mocked and 832 00:41:59,530 --> 00:42:03,670 spit upon and nailed to that cross. 833 00:42:04,210 --> 00:42:07,990 The worst thing that the world could do 834 00:42:07,990 --> 00:42:11,070 to a human being would be to treat 835 00:42:11,070 --> 00:42:11,750 Him like that. 836 00:42:11,870 --> 00:42:14,570 A spectacle in front of everybody. 837 00:42:14,570 --> 00:42:18,370 I mean, that's about as humiliating as you 838 00:42:18,370 --> 00:42:20,590 could possibly be. 839 00:42:22,490 --> 00:42:24,930 And that, in the Kingdom of God, is 840 00:42:24,930 --> 00:42:27,030 what it means to be glorified. 841 00:42:27,170 --> 00:42:31,410 To glorify God and to be glorified in 842 00:42:31,410 --> 00:42:33,670 the most extreme sense. 843 00:42:33,830 --> 00:42:34,530 You know what I'm saying? 844 00:42:34,610 --> 00:42:35,870 That's the extreme. 845 00:42:37,270 --> 00:42:39,930 In God's Kingdom, and you study it out, 846 00:42:40,030 --> 00:42:40,990 I promise you it's true. 847 00:42:42,490 --> 00:42:43,910 That you will find that it's true. 848 00:42:43,910 --> 00:42:46,090 It's when they persecute you. 849 00:42:46,330 --> 00:42:48,990 Great is your reward in heaven, Jesus said, 850 00:42:49,690 --> 00:42:51,130 when they revile you. 851 00:42:51,550 --> 00:42:58,710 That is where you're truly glorified and esteemed 852 00:42:58,710 --> 00:42:59,950 in God's eyes. 853 00:42:59,970 --> 00:43:01,810 When you go through that sort of thing. 854 00:43:03,530 --> 00:43:06,550 And when He expressed that in John 12, 855 00:43:07,450 --> 00:43:09,830 He said, The hour has come for the 856 00:43:09,830 --> 00:43:11,310 Son of Man to be glorified. 857 00:43:11,310 --> 00:43:13,870 He went on to say, If anyone serves 858 00:43:13,870 --> 00:43:17,610 Me, the Father will honor him. 859 00:43:18,450 --> 00:43:20,590 The Father will honor him. 860 00:43:21,070 --> 00:43:23,110 The Father will honor him. 861 00:43:23,890 --> 00:43:26,750 That's a very interesting statement. 862 00:43:27,010 --> 00:43:29,450 The Father will honor him. 863 00:43:30,150 --> 00:43:31,110 Do you know, men? 864 00:43:33,220 --> 00:43:36,780 The Father will one day honor you. 865 00:43:37,340 --> 00:43:39,280 For everything you've done. 866 00:43:39,920 --> 00:43:41,120 For God. 867 00:43:41,120 --> 00:43:45,340 It says in 1 Corinthians 4, just after 868 00:43:45,340 --> 00:43:50,200 Paul has described the foundation, the building of 869 00:43:50,200 --> 00:43:53,300 our judgment and so on. 870 00:43:55,750 --> 00:43:58,790 The fire will test the quality of each 871 00:43:58,790 --> 00:44:00,250 man's work and so on. 872 00:44:00,310 --> 00:44:03,330 Then in chapter 4, he says, Praise will 873 00:44:03,330 --> 00:44:05,110 come to him. 874 00:44:05,330 --> 00:44:08,150 Meaning a godly Christian. 875 00:44:08,630 --> 00:44:10,830 Praise will come to him from God. 876 00:44:10,830 --> 00:44:14,890 What an incredible concept. 877 00:44:15,690 --> 00:44:19,170 I can't imagine God praising Steve Gallagher. 878 00:44:19,470 --> 00:44:22,150 I cannot comprehend that. 879 00:44:22,450 --> 00:44:24,010 I can't comprehend that. 880 00:44:25,110 --> 00:44:28,910 And yet, that is basically what he's saying. 881 00:44:29,510 --> 00:44:31,390 That if we will live our lives in 882 00:44:31,390 --> 00:44:34,350 such a way that glorifies God, one day 883 00:44:34,350 --> 00:44:40,730 before multitudes, God will glorify us. 884 00:44:41,010 --> 00:44:42,890 Not because he really, I mean, he will 885 00:44:42,890 --> 00:44:44,410 say some things, I'm sure. 886 00:44:44,850 --> 00:44:48,310 But it will just be the reality of 887 00:44:48,310 --> 00:44:49,190 who we were. 888 00:44:50,190 --> 00:44:52,650 Of what God built inside of us throughout 889 00:44:52,650 --> 00:44:53,710 our lives. 890 00:44:53,990 --> 00:44:55,550 Will be seen by all. 891 00:44:56,610 --> 00:44:59,930 There won't be any more of the facades 892 00:44:59,930 --> 00:45:03,170 and the lies and the flattery and all 893 00:45:03,170 --> 00:45:04,250 the falsehood. 894 00:45:04,590 --> 00:45:06,630 All of that will be swept away on 895 00:45:06,630 --> 00:45:07,550 the day of judgment. 896 00:45:08,070 --> 00:45:10,050 And the reality of who we are and 897 00:45:10,050 --> 00:45:12,070 what we are will be revealed to all. 898 00:45:14,630 --> 00:45:15,690 But it's a process. 899 00:45:15,970 --> 00:45:17,410 It doesn't happen overnight. 900 00:45:19,110 --> 00:45:23,450 We're building something for an eternity, aren't we? 901 00:45:23,850 --> 00:45:25,490 We're not building something. 902 00:45:25,870 --> 00:45:29,190 We're not throwing together a shack that we 903 00:45:29,190 --> 00:45:30,750 can live in for a few months or 904 00:45:30,750 --> 00:45:31,030 something. 905 00:45:31,030 --> 00:45:34,690 We're building something that is meant to last 906 00:45:34,690 --> 00:45:35,430 us forever. 907 00:45:35,870 --> 00:45:41,170 Now, I have a little illustration here that 908 00:45:41,170 --> 00:45:42,190 I'm going to show you. 909 00:45:42,870 --> 00:45:45,690 Because I want this to get inside you. 910 00:45:46,410 --> 00:45:47,990 You know, I don't want you to ever 911 00:45:47,990 --> 00:45:52,530 forget the reality of what I'm sharing with 912 00:45:52,530 --> 00:45:53,530 you this morning, okay? 913 00:45:53,530 --> 00:45:56,610 Pastor Steve has so much love for you 914 00:45:56,610 --> 00:46:01,310 guys that I went down to Fort Knox 915 00:46:01,310 --> 00:46:02,310 yesterday. 916 00:46:02,570 --> 00:46:04,110 I ran down there and I talked to 917 00:46:04,110 --> 00:46:05,650 the commander and I asked him, could I 918 00:46:05,650 --> 00:46:08,490 borrow a few bars of gold? 919 00:46:09,170 --> 00:46:10,990 And he was kind enough to give me 920 00:46:10,990 --> 00:46:11,490 these. 921 00:46:12,470 --> 00:46:13,090 Loan them to me. 922 00:46:13,610 --> 00:46:18,650 You can see here, this is your life 923 00:46:18,650 --> 00:46:21,470 from God's eyes. 924 00:46:21,470 --> 00:46:24,410 This is what God is doing inside of 925 00:46:24,410 --> 00:46:24,650 you. 926 00:46:25,330 --> 00:46:27,770 And everything that you are going through in 927 00:46:27,770 --> 00:46:33,030 life is adding to that building, to that 928 00:46:33,030 --> 00:46:38,390 eternal building that God is building inside you. 929 00:46:40,380 --> 00:46:46,020 So when you resist that sinful thought and 930 00:46:46,020 --> 00:46:47,980 it seemed like such a struggle and you've 931 00:46:47,980 --> 00:46:54,200 forgotten it in moments and it's gone, God 932 00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:59,760 has just added another block, another gold brick 933 00:46:59,760 --> 00:47:00,860 to your soul. 934 00:47:01,320 --> 00:47:04,660 And when you did that kind deed to 935 00:47:04,660 --> 00:47:10,130 that lady down the street, God has just 936 00:47:10,130 --> 00:47:13,110 added a little more substance to your inner 937 00:47:13,110 --> 00:47:13,590 being. 938 00:47:14,450 --> 00:47:17,490 And when you humbled yourself before that brother 939 00:47:17,490 --> 00:47:19,450 and you just went under and you let 940 00:47:19,450 --> 00:47:21,430 him think that he was the big shot, 941 00:47:21,890 --> 00:47:24,250 God was watching. 942 00:47:25,690 --> 00:47:28,070 He went away a little more depleted and 943 00:47:28,070 --> 00:47:30,790 you went away a little more weighty. 944 00:47:32,610 --> 00:47:36,030 And when you gave yourself over to spending 945 00:47:36,030 --> 00:47:43,090 time in intercession for some lost soul, more 946 00:47:43,090 --> 00:47:45,610 weight was being added to your soul. 947 00:47:46,810 --> 00:47:49,750 And when you poured out your heart to 948 00:47:49,750 --> 00:47:52,670 someone in need, more weight. 949 00:47:53,630 --> 00:47:56,990 When you gave of yourself and of your 950 00:47:56,990 --> 00:47:58,830 substance, more weight. 951 00:48:00,170 --> 00:48:02,770 That's the reality, men, of what's going on 952 00:48:02,770 --> 00:48:03,570 inside you. 953 00:48:04,050 --> 00:48:06,210 And I hope that you can get a 954 00:48:06,210 --> 00:48:06,890 sense of it. 955 00:48:07,670 --> 00:48:09,530 I hope that you can get a sense 956 00:48:09,530 --> 00:48:09,930 of it. 957 00:48:09,930 --> 00:48:15,340 I hope that you can see what a 958 00:48:15,340 --> 00:48:20,200 glorious and awesome thing that God is doing 959 00:48:20,200 --> 00:48:25,240 inside you as you go through this process 960 00:48:25,240 --> 00:48:30,500 that can seem so difficult at times.