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<v Speaker 1>God pays attention to the details of my pain. Some

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<v Speaker 1>of you are in tremendous pain right now, and you

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<v Speaker 1>think God doesn't even care. God doesn't even know. Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>he knows. More than he knows. He's keeping a record,

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<v Speaker 1>and more than keeping a record, it pains him. God

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<v Speaker 1>suffers with us. We serve a suffering God. Now, let

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<v Speaker 1>me start by just giving you a definition of trauma.

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<v Speaker 1>I wrote it down. Trauma is an experience of feeling

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<v Speaker 1>either overwhelmed or helpless or paralyzed. Overwhelmed, helpless, paralyzed, may

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<v Speaker 1>be frightened by a deeply distressing event. That's what trauma is.

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<v Speaker 1>Being overwhelmed or paralyzed, or frightened, or just feeling helpless

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<v Speaker 1>by some kind of deeply traumatizing event in your life. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>trauma can come from a lot of different places. It

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<v Speaker 1>can come from abuse, It can come from abandonment, come

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<v Speaker 1>from you know, mistreatment, It comes from betrayal, It can

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<v Speaker 1>come from rejection, It can come from abandonment. Obviously, the

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<v Speaker 1>death of a loved one can be very traumatic. Divorce

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<v Speaker 1>can be traumatic. A deeply distressing event in your life,

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<v Speaker 1>a violent accident, being a victim of a crime can

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<v Speaker 1>be like a scam. You've been scammed, you were swindled.

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<v Speaker 1>That can be traumatizing. But the kind of trauma that

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<v Speaker 1>I want us to focus on this weekend is the

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<v Speaker 1>kind that has occurred when an evil person traumatizes you

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<v Speaker 1>with their evil, either an abuse or in some way

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<v Speaker 1>you have been traumatized by the actions of another person.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not talking about hurricanes, I'm not talking about, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>a bankruptcy. I'm talking about when you've been traumatized by

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<v Speaker 1>the actions of somebody else who was very hurtful, maybe violent,

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<v Speaker 1>towards you. Now, at some point in your life, you're

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<v Speaker 1>going to have the most traumatizing event. Mine was six

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<v Speaker 1>years ago when my youngest son took his life after

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<v Speaker 1>struggling with mental illness for his entire life. Nothing I

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<v Speaker 1>can imagine would be more traumatic than losing my son

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<v Speaker 1>who took his own life. But every day in the world,

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<v Speaker 1>there are evil people doing evil things to innocent people.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's what I want us to talk about this weekend.

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<v Speaker 1>Every day there's injustice. Every day there is bigotry, there's bias,

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<v Speaker 1>there is prejudice, there's unfairness, things like that, And as

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<v Speaker 1>I said, at some point, you're going to face trauma

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<v Speaker 1>in your life, So what does God say about it?

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<v Speaker 1>What does God say about evil? And what does God

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<v Speaker 1>say about trauma? Now, when we talk about this, the

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<v Speaker 1>first thing that people always ask is, Okay, this is

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<v Speaker 1>a good question. If God is truly good, if God

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<v Speaker 1>is truly loving, if God is so loving and good

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<v Speaker 1>and gracious, why do you think you just get rid

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<v Speaker 1>of evil? Why didn't just wipe it out? Why does

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<v Speaker 1>he let bad things happen to good people? Why didn't

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<v Speaker 1>just wipe out all kinds of evil? What's good? Questions

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<v Speaker 1>a legitimate question. First, you have to define evil. What

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<v Speaker 1>is evil? Because we always think evil is something out there.

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<v Speaker 1>Evil is anything that opposes God, rebels against God, disobeys God,

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<v Speaker 1>rejects God, or ignores God. Now, if that's what evil

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<v Speaker 1>is the opposite of what God is. God is good

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<v Speaker 1>and evil is the opposite of God, then I have

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<v Speaker 1>made evil choices in my life, and so have you.

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<v Speaker 1>So have you? You have not always done what God

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<v Speaker 1>said to do. You have not always done what's best

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<v Speaker 1>for other people. You have made evil choices, and I

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<v Speaker 1>have made evil choices too. The Bible says no one

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<v Speaker 1>gets off clean on this one, and so really the

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<v Speaker 1>answer of why does God allow evil in the world,

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<v Speaker 1>why do he need to just wipe out evil right now?

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<v Speaker 1>The answer actually has two parts. The first is, in fact,

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<v Speaker 1>God is going to wipe out evil one day at

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<v Speaker 1>the end of history. He's going to send all evil

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<v Speaker 1>to Hell. The Bible says Hell was created for evil.

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<v Speaker 1>Hell was created for the devil and his angels, and

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<v Speaker 1>God is going to banish it all and there will

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<v Speaker 1>be an eternal punishment in Hell. God is going to

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<v Speaker 1>end evil one day. He said, why doesn't he do

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<v Speaker 1>it right now? Well he could. In fact, God could

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<v Speaker 1>eliminate evil instantly by doing one simple thing, take away

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<v Speaker 1>our freedom to choose, because where does evil come from?

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<v Speaker 1>Our bad choices? See, if God took away my freedom

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<v Speaker 1>to choose, your freedom to choose, then there wouldn't be

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<v Speaker 1>any evil in the world. Everything would always be good,

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<v Speaker 1>but you would have no choice about it. You would

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<v Speaker 1>always do the right thing, you would never do anything wrong,

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<v Speaker 1>you never do anything selfish, you'd never do anything unkind,

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<v Speaker 1>you'd never do anything hurtful. Be real simple. God takes

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<v Speaker 1>away your freedom of choice and there would be no evil.

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<v Speaker 1>Now I need to give you a little backstory on

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<v Speaker 1>why you exist. The first thing is the Bible tells

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<v Speaker 1>God is love. The God is a God of love,

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<v Speaker 1>and you were created to be loved by God. That's

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<v Speaker 1>why you exist. God made you to love you. God

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<v Speaker 1>wanted a family. God wanted children. That's the first thing

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<v Speaker 1>you need to know, the whole reason you exist because

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<v Speaker 1>God made you to love you, and if he hadn't

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to love you, you would not exist. God made

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<v Speaker 1>you to love you. God wanted children to love. Second

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<v Speaker 1>thing you need to know is he wants you to

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<v Speaker 1>love him back. Nothing wrong. Every parent understands that. Every

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<v Speaker 1>parent wants their kids to love them back. God wants

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<v Speaker 1>you to love him back. But here's the issue. Love

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<v Speaker 1>cannot be coerced. It can't be forced. You can't make

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<v Speaker 1>people love you. Anybody who's been through a divorce knows

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<v Speaker 1>that you couldn't make somebody fall in love with you. You

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<v Speaker 1>can't make somebody stay in love with you. Love cannot

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<v Speaker 1>be forced. It has to be voluntary. It has to

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<v Speaker 1>be willing. It has to be a choice. If there's

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<v Speaker 1>no choice, there's no love. That makes sense. Okay, so

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<v Speaker 1>I can't love God unless I have the freedom cannot

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<v Speaker 1>love him. Does that make sense. It's not real love.

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<v Speaker 1>If I'm forced to love him, then I'm just a puppet.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a marionette on strings, and it's not real love.

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<v Speaker 1>So God gave you the freedom to choose. That's your

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<v Speaker 1>greatest blessing, and it's your greatest curse. And all of

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<v Speaker 1>the evil that exists from the world is because we

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<v Speaker 1>were given the freedom to choose. And we don't always

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<v Speaker 1>choose to do what's right. In fact, people to choose

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<v Speaker 1>to do wrong all the time. I do, you do,

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<v Speaker 1>and everybody else dose Hitler did, and everybody else. God

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<v Speaker 1>could easily get rid of evil just take away our

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<v Speaker 1>freedom to choose. It is the alternative or the alternative

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<v Speaker 1>that allows you to willingly love him. And God says, Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to give you the freedom to choose. And

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<v Speaker 1>you can either accept me or reject me. You can

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<v Speaker 1>obey me or you can disobey me. You can love

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<v Speaker 1>me or not love me. You can trust me or

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<v Speaker 1>you can distrust me, you can doubt me. That's all.

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<v Speaker 1>God gives you that freedom. You're free to make any

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<v Speaker 1>choice you want. You're not free from the consequences of it,

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<v Speaker 1>but you are free to make your choice, and so

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<v Speaker 1>God could have just taken away all of our freedom

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<v Speaker 1>and then we wouldn't have any evil in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>The Bible says, every human being has made wrong choices,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's called sin. I've made wrong choices. You have to.

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<v Speaker 1>There have been times I say, I know what God

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<v Speaker 1>wants me to do, but I'm gonna do what I

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<v Speaker 1>think is best because I think I know better than God.

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<v Speaker 1>I think this will give me more pleasure. I think

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<v Speaker 1>this will make me more happy. I think this is

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<v Speaker 1>what I want. It's not what other people want, it's

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<v Speaker 1>not what God wants, what I want, and that's called sin.

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<v Speaker 1>Now here's what the Bible says. Look at the verse

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<v Speaker 1>Romans five twelve. Sin came into the world because of

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<v Speaker 1>what one man did, that's Adam. And with sin came death.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you know that before Adam sin there was no death.

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<v Speaker 1>Adam could have just lived for eternity on Earth in

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<v Speaker 1>the Garden of Eden, could have lived for eternity in Paradise.

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<v Speaker 1>But the moment sin and evil enter the world, God goes,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't want you living on a planet where there's

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<v Speaker 1>sin and evil for eternity, and so death entered the world.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm glad I don't have to live on this planet

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<v Speaker 1>for eternity. I want to live forever. I just don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to live where there's suffering and sorrow and sadness

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<v Speaker 1>and sickness and disease and death and depression and racism

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<v Speaker 1>and all the other problems in the world. I just

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to live there for eternity. I want to

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<v Speaker 1>live for eternity. I just want to live any perfect place.

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<v Speaker 1>And once Earth was broken by sin and death, God says, well,

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<v Speaker 1>you're not going to live here forever now, it says

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<v Speaker 1>Notice that verse. It says sin came into the world

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<v Speaker 1>because of what one man did. He chose between the

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<v Speaker 1>knowledge of good and evil, and he chose evil. And

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<v Speaker 1>with sin came death. By the way, not just death

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<v Speaker 1>came with that. Sin created a lot of other problems too.

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<v Speaker 1>Let me read you a list. I made this list

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<v Speaker 1>this yesterday. None of us, none of the things on

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<v Speaker 1>this list were in the Garden of Eden. In paradise, decay, damage, debauchery, debt, disability,

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<v Speaker 1>these deceit, defeat, defiance, defilement, dehumanization, none of these were

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<v Speaker 1>in garden. I mean delusions, dementia, depravity, deprivation, deviants, dictators, disunity, deportation, despotism, disloyalty, disgrace, depression, destruction, devastation, desertion, distress, disease, divorce, dysfunction.

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<v Speaker 1>None of these were in paradise, distrust, disputes, destitution, disease, disasters, desperation,

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<v Speaker 1>and despair. That's what sin brought into the world. So

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<v Speaker 1>you want to know why they're suffering in the world.

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<v Speaker 1>They're suffering in the world because of sin and evil.

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<v Speaker 1>And why is they're sin and evil in the world

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<v Speaker 1>because God gave us the choice, and none of us

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<v Speaker 1>have chosen correctly all the time. Now, let me give

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<v Speaker 1>you a couple other things the Bible says about it.

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<v Speaker 1>Number two, everything on Earth. This leads to the second one.

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<v Speaker 1>Everything on Earth is broken by sin and by evil.

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<v Speaker 1>Everything on Earth is broken by sin and by evil.

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<v Speaker 1>Nothing on this planet works correctly all the time. The

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<v Speaker 1>only thing perfect on planet Earth is God's word. But

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<v Speaker 1>our relationships are broken. The weather is broken, the economy

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<v Speaker 1>is broken, your body is broken. It does. Have you

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<v Speaker 1>noticed your body doesn't always work correctly? Have you noticed

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<v Speaker 1>your relationships don't always work correctly? The economy doesn't always

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<v Speaker 1>work correctly. Nothing works correctly because we live now on

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<v Speaker 1>a planet broken by evil and by sin. Now, Jesus

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<v Speaker 1>warn in the world you will have tribulation, said, count

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<v Speaker 1>on it, because we're on a broken planet. This is

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<v Speaker 1>not heaven. We want heaven to be. We want earth

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<v Speaker 1>to be heaven Heaven. Everything is perfect, it works perfectly.

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<v Speaker 1>God's will has done completely, instantly, continuously, quickly all the time.

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<v Speaker 1>None of that's true on Earth, will done seldom, incompletely incorrectly,

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<v Speaker 1>and often just ignored. That's why James says in the

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<v Speaker 1>Book of James, he says, don't be surprised when you

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<v Speaker 1>have trials on the Earth. You know this is not Heaven.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the place that's perfect. Things don't work here. Nothing

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<v Speaker 1>works perfectly here. That's why Jesus said in Matthew twenty four,

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<v Speaker 1>verse twelve, there will be more and more evil in

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<v Speaker 1>the world, so most people will stop showing their love

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<v Speaker 1>for each other. He said, it's going to increase over time.

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<v Speaker 1>Number three. This is an interesting point. God grieves when

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<v Speaker 1>he sees us hurting. Sin and evil cause pain, coust suffering,

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<v Speaker 1>calls hurt, and he said, well, what does God think

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<v Speaker 1>about all this. When he sees people hurting from all

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<v Speaker 1>these things I just read abuse and assault and abandonment

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<v Speaker 1>and all those. God grieves when he sees his children hurting.

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<v Speaker 1>It may surprise you to know that God has emotions.

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<v Speaker 1>God has emotions, But why does God? Why do you

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<v Speaker 1>have emotions? The only reason you have emotions is you

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<v Speaker 1>were made in God's image. The Bible says God gets angry.

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<v Speaker 1>The Bible says God grieves. The Bible says God laughs.

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<v Speaker 1>The Bible says God is sorrowful, He's sad. God has emotion.

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<v Speaker 1>God is an emotional God. He feels things when he

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<v Speaker 1>sees us hurting each other. When he sees man's inhumanity

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<v Speaker 1>to humanity, it bothers him, It grieves him. Look up

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<v Speaker 1>here on the screen. In Genesis chapter six, it says,

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<v Speaker 1>in Noah's day, the Lord was deeply grieved that he

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<v Speaker 1>had made man, and his heart was filled with pain.

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<v Speaker 1>His heart was filled with pain. You know, the shortest

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<v Speaker 1>verse in the Bible is this next one, John eleven

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<v Speaker 1>thirty five, Jesus wept. It's the shortest verse in the Bible,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's filled with importance. Why because it shows that

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<v Speaker 1>God grieves. Jesus wept God. When God sees you in pain,

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<v Speaker 1>he grieves too, all right, And so like a parent

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<v Speaker 1>watching a child in pain. Look at this verse. The

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<v Speaker 1>Bible says in Isaiah sixty three, verse nine, in all

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<v Speaker 1>their suffering, he that's God suffered too. In all their suffering.

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<v Speaker 1>He suffered too. I want you to write this down

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<v Speaker 1>on your outline. God suffers with me. That's one of

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<v Speaker 1>the most important things I want you to learn today

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<v Speaker 1>is that God suffers with me. When I suffer. God suffers.

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<v Speaker 1>We don't have an apathetic God who's an apathetic to pain.

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<v Speaker 1>When he sees me suffering, he suffers with me. When

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<v Speaker 1>he sees you suffering, he suffers with you. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>the greatest example of this was when Jesus came to earth.

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<v Speaker 1>He suffered evil with us. The greatest evil ever done

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<v Speaker 1>one was done to Jesus Christ on the cross, where

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<v Speaker 1>someone who was perfect, the only perfect person to ever lived,

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<v Speaker 1>because he was God, the son of God. He was innocent.

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<v Speaker 1>He's tortured, he's abused, he's humiliated, he's murdered. That was evil,

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<v Speaker 1>That was evil before Easter. God suffers with me. Look

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<v Speaker 1>at this next or Psalm fifty five, verse eight. You

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<v Speaker 1>Lord keep a record of all my sorrows. You collected

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<v Speaker 1>all my tears in your bottle, and you list each

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<v Speaker 1>one in your book. Is that one of the most

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<v Speaker 1>amazing verses? Let me read it again. You Lord keep

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<v Speaker 1>a record of all my sorrows, and you collected all

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<v Speaker 1>my tears in your bottle, and you list each one

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<v Speaker 1>in your book. Not only has God seen every tear

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<v Speaker 1>that's fallen from your face, He's counted them. That's how

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<v Speaker 1>much God cares about you. That's how much God loves you.

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<v Speaker 1>That's how compassionate. That's how much God feels your pain.

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<v Speaker 1>He's not just seen every tear you've cried, He's counted them.

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<v Speaker 1>He's recorded them in a book. I want you to

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<v Speaker 1>write this on your outline. God pays attention to the

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<v Speaker 1>details of my pain. Some of you are in tremendous

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<v Speaker 1>pain right now, and you think God doesn't even care.

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<v Speaker 1>God doesn't even know. Oh he knows. More than he knows.

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<v Speaker 1>He's keeping a record, and more than keeping a record,

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<v Speaker 1>it pains him. God suffers with us. We serve a

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<v Speaker 1>suffering God. Lady once asked me where was my God?

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<v Speaker 1>Where was God when my son died, I said. He

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<v Speaker 1>was the same place he was when his son died.

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<v Speaker 1>He was weeping. He was grieving at what men, what humanity,

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<v Speaker 1>was doing to his son, Jesus Christ, Christ, he was grieving.

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<v Speaker 1>He was weeping. God says, I suffer with you. I

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<v Speaker 1>grieve with you. I pay attention to the details of

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<v Speaker 1>your pain. Number four. The fourth thing we know about

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<v Speaker 1>evil and trauma is that one day God will judge

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<v Speaker 1>everyone justly. God will judge everyone justly one day. God

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<v Speaker 1>is a God of justice, and evil will not get

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<v Speaker 1>away with evil forever. There is a day of reckoning coming.

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<v Speaker 1>There is a judgment day. God is not just loving,

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<v Speaker 1>he is lovingly just. God is both. God cares about justice.

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<v Speaker 1>God cares about justice more than you do. You say,

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<v Speaker 1>I want justice for what was done to me. Believe me,

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<v Speaker 1>there will be a day of justice. There will be

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<v Speaker 1>a day of reckoning. There will be a day of judgment.

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<v Speaker 1>The Bible says it is an awesome and fearful thing

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<v Speaker 1>to hand fall in the hands of God in the

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<v Speaker 1>day of justice. Because God's not just a God of love,

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<v Speaker 1>he is a God of justice, and what is wrong

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<v Speaker 1>must be righted. Hebrews eleven twenty seven. Look up here

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<v Speaker 1>on the screen. God has appointed that every person will die,

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<v Speaker 1>and after that they face the judgment. God is appointed.

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<v Speaker 1>That is one appointment you're not gonna be late for.

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<v Speaker 1>That is one appointment you can't cancel. That is one

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<v Speaker 1>appointment you're not gonna miss. That appointment has already been

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<v Speaker 1>set in history when you're gonna die, and it says

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<v Speaker 1>after that you're gonna face the judgment. Now, a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people think they're getting away with secret sin. But

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<v Speaker 1>let me show you another verse. Look at this Hebrews

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<v Speaker 1>four thirteen. People ain't well. Nobody knows what I'm doing.

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<v Speaker 1>Well God does. Hebrews four thirteen says nothing can be

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<v Speaker 1>hidden from God. Everything in all creation is exposed to

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<v Speaker 1>his and each of us will give an account of

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<v Speaker 1>our lives to him. That's the justice part of God.

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<v Speaker 1>That's why we need salvation. It's why we need a savior,

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<v Speaker 1>because without that, all we've got is justice and judgment.

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<v Speaker 1>Nothing can be hidden from God's eyes. God sees it all.

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<v Speaker 1>I think I'm getting away with something because maybe nobody

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<v Speaker 1>knows about it. The most important person in the world

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<v Speaker 1>in the universe knows God knows, and so what am

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<v Speaker 1>I saying? God says this about evil and trauma. Evil

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<v Speaker 1>is the downside of our free choice. It's the downside

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<v Speaker 1>of our free choice. Number two. Everything on earth is

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<v Speaker 1>broken by sin and evil. Number three. God grieves when

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<v Speaker 1>he sees evil and sin hurt us. Number four. God's

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<v Speaker 1>going to judge everyone justly one day. But there's one more,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is good news. Number five. God can bring

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<v Speaker 1>good out of bad if we trust him, and only

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<v Speaker 1>God can do that. Anybody can bring good out of good.

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<v Speaker 1>That's no big deal. You can do that. I could

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<v Speaker 1>do that bring good out of good. God specializes in

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<v Speaker 1>bringing good out of bad. God specializes in turning crucifixions

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<v Speaker 1>into resurrections. And the worst thing that happened, the worst

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<v Speaker 1>evil in history, God used to save the world. He

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<v Speaker 1>can bring good out of bad if we trust him.

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<v Speaker 1>We looked at this verse last week Romans eight twenty eight.

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<v Speaker 1>We know that in all things, that's even the bad stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>God works for the good of those who love him,

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<v Speaker 1>for those who have been called according to his purpose.

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<v Speaker 1>If we're living for God's purpose, God is saying, I

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<v Speaker 1>will use even the bad stuff, even the trauma, even

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<v Speaker 1>the parts that you're most embarrassed or ashamed or wish

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<v Speaker 1>had never happened. He says, I can even use that too.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a God who knows how to bring good, even

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<v Speaker 1>out of bad. If you'll get give me the pieces,

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<v Speaker 1>I will give you peace.