WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:06.360 Hello, and welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope with Rick Warren. 2 00:00:06.519 --> 00:00:08.759 We are so glad you're here with us. Today. 3 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:12.000 We're going to continue our series called The Keys to 4 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:15.679 a Blessed Life. And when these messages, Rick walks through 5 00:00:15.800 --> 00:00:18.800 Jesus's Sermon on the Mount and shows us how to 6 00:00:18.839 --> 00:00:22.800 live a truly hopeful and purpose filled life. And here's 7 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:26.199 the final part of how God blesses broken hearts. 8 00:00:26.679 --> 00:00:29.160 Now, there's a third thing that God does in blessing 9 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:32.039 our broken hearts, and that is this, God gives us 10 00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:36.840 a church family for support. God never meant for you 11 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:41.200 to go through life on your own, and God says, 12 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:45.119 I didn't intend for you to go through grief. You 13 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:48.560 know the old statement that when you share a joy, 14 00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:52.479 it's doubled, and when you share a sorrow, it's halved. 15 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:56.399 When you carry it all yourself, you're carrying a load 16 00:00:56.399 --> 00:00:59.000 that God never intended for you to have. When something 17 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:01.119 bad happens to you and you say, I'm not gonna 18 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:03.159 tell anybody about this, I'm gonna keep it a secret. 19 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:06.159 I'm gonna keep it to myself, you have just broken 20 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:09.560 one of the principles of God's word. God says We're 21 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:14.040 meant to grieve in community. We healing comes in groups. 22 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:18.120 Healing comes in the church. Healing comes in community. We're 23 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:21.159 better together. You weren't meant to carry it on your own. 24 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:25.040 Look at this verse Romans twelve, five, ten, and fifteen. 25 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.920 Three verses in Romans chapter twelve. In Christ, we who 26 00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:34.959 are many, form one body, and each member belongs to 27 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:39.560 all the others. Be devoted to each other like a 28 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:45.159 loving family. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with 29 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:48.640 those who mourn. Now these are commands, and if you 30 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:51.120 call yourself a follower of Christ, they're commanded for you. 31 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:54.159 In Christ, we form one body. That's the Church. The 32 00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:56.519 church is the family of God, and it's the body 33 00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:59.599 of Christ. And the Bible says each member belongs to 34 00:01:59.640 --> 00:02:01.319 all the other. Now I'm not gonna ask you to 35 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:02.640 do this, but you could turn to the people on 36 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:05.599 either side or say you belong to me. We might 37 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:10.039 have a few marriage proposals, but we belong to each other. 38 00:02:10.520 --> 00:02:12.919 We are brothers and sisters in God's family, and we're 39 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:14.919 part of the body of Christ. And then it says 40 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:17.439 we are to be devoted to each other like a 41 00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:20.120 loving family. And how do we how are we devoted? 42 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:23.639 We sympathize each other. When you have a victory, I 43 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:28.199 shouldn't be jealous. I should celebrate your success. And when 44 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:31.000 you have a defeat, I shouldn't gloat over that. I 45 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:34.599 should mourn with those who mourn. Now, I'm not going 46 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:36.199 to go into this because you've heard me talk about 47 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:38.080 it a thousand knots. But you need a small group. 48 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:41.759 If you don't have a small group, you have no 49 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:45.479 safety net when the road winds come. I would not 50 00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:47.759 be standing before you today if it weren't for my 51 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:52.159 small group. My small group was there in the darkest 52 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:56.719 days of my life. They were there just being the 53 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:59.719 ministry of presents. They didn't have to say anything, They 54 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:02.199 didn't have to give me an advice. They just showed up. 55 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:07.120 Who are you doing that for? Who knows that you 56 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:11.199 would show up in their crisis and who has that 57 00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:13.800 same kind of commitment to you. You need to get 58 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:17.159 in a small group. There is no reason at all 59 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:19.800 for you to go through the pain on your own. 60 00:03:21.479 --> 00:03:24.159 It's just your own pride that will keep you from 61 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:27.319 getting involved in the support. The Bible says God gives 62 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:29.960 us a church family for support, where to rejoice with 63 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:34.479 those rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. One Thessalonians 64 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:40.080 five eleven says, comfort each other and give each other strength. Now, 65 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:43.360 let me give you a couple suggestions, because right now 66 00:03:43.719 --> 00:03:47.120 you're in one of two positions. You're either going through 67 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:51.120 pain yourself and you need comfort, or you're not going 68 00:03:51.159 --> 00:03:54.719 through pain and you need to comfort others. You either 69 00:03:54.759 --> 00:03:57.560 need comfort or you need to be comforted. You need 70 00:03:57.599 --> 00:03:59.199 to be comforted, or you need to be a comforter. 71 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.080 Either need help or you need to help. Either way, 72 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:06.680 this is a message that you need to be using. 73 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:10.240 If you're not in major pain right now, you need 74 00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:13.800 to be thinking, how can I follow what Jesus tells 75 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:16.680 me to do and comfort the people in pain around me? Well, first, 76 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:19.160 you got to be aware, and if you care, you'll 77 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:21.519 be aware. There are people in pain sitting on your 78 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:23.720 row and you don't even know what their pain is. 79 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:28.000 If you care, you'll be aware. Let me give you 80 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:32.160 two suggestions for comforting people when they go through any 81 00:04:32.319 --> 00:04:36.160 kind of loss, financial loss, physical loss, health loss, loss 82 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:37.600 of a loved one, ornything. Let me just give you 83 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:43.800 to you write these down. Number one, never minimize another's pain. 84 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:52.040 The pain of others. Never minimize other's pain. Kay was 85 00:04:52.120 --> 00:04:54.480 talking the other day. We were in London and she 86 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:56.879 was speaking and she said, one of the words you 87 00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:00.360 can delete from your vocabulary when you're talk talking to 88 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:05.240 somebody in pain is the word at least. And she 89 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:08.560 told me about a lady, a mother who had lost 90 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:14.160 a child through drowning, and a neighbor came over and 91 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:18.279 in a meaningful attempt to comfort, said, well, at least 92 00:05:18.360 --> 00:05:22.600 you're young enough to have another child. Are you kidding me? 93 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.360 I'm sure with that. Mama said, I'm not wanting another child. 94 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:30.120 I want my child back. I want my child back. 95 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:33.879 Don't tell me, well, at least you've got three other kids, 96 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:36.680 Are you kidding me? Well, at least you've got your 97 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:42.040 Eliminate the phrase at least from your vocabulary when talking 98 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:45.920 to somebody in pain. It doesn't help. It's not you're 99 00:05:45.959 --> 00:05:48.920 trying to minimize the pain by pointing out something good. 100 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:52.600 Just never minimize the pain of others. And I would 101 00:05:52.600 --> 00:05:54.600 say again, parents, stopped trying to teach your kids the 102 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:58.879 stuff and don't cry. Now you know the typical reaction 103 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:02.120 when somebody's in pain, We try to fix it immediately. 104 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:04.759 Don't be in a hurry to fix anything. You don't 105 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:08.240 need to fix it. God will fix it and do time. 106 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:11.360 What you need to do is just be there and 107 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:14.199 be aware and care, so never minimize. The other thing 108 00:06:14.279 --> 00:06:21.920 is never rush people. Never rush people. Pain and grief 109 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:25.279 takes time, and nobody can figure out how long the 110 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:27.800 grief's going to take for any particular thing in your life. 111 00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:31.399 But you I can't tell you what's the appropriate time 112 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:34.600 to grieve for anything in your life. You're just going 113 00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:36.680 to have to figure that one out yourself. And it's 114 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:41.519 different for everybody else. You know. In marriages, the death 115 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:44.759 of a child is often the predictor of a divorce. 116 00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:46.920 In fact, marriages that have the death of a child 117 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:50.879 don't have a pretty good rate of staying together. Kay 118 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:53.680 and I knew that statistic, and when Matthew died, we 119 00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:56.839 determined that we were going to let this draws closer 120 00:06:56.839 --> 00:06:59.360 to each other rather than divide us. And it was 121 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:02.079 all because one thing, showing grace to each other and 122 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:06.920 realizing whatever you're feeling right now is okay. And I 123 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:08.959 don't try to talk Kay out of her feelings, she 124 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:10.839 doesn't try to talk me out of mind, and we 125 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:13.560 just enter into each other's pain. A feeling is neither 126 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:16.680 right or wrong. It's just a feeling. Let me see 127 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:19.079 that one again. A feeling is never right or wrong. 128 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:21.720 It's just feeling. So, husband's quit trying to talk your 129 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:25.480 wife out of feelings, and whise quit trying to talk 130 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:28.199 your husband's out of feelings. Feeling is neither right nor wrong, 131 00:07:28.360 --> 00:07:32.439 just feeling. And so you showed grace to each other, 132 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:38.399 and you never rush people. Ka wrote a column, our 133 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:42.959 little Post and Facebook about how she was starting to 134 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:45.439 feel people kind of rushing her and saying, you know 135 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:47.399 when you're gonna go back to teaching, and you know 136 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:49.639 when you're gonna be back on the stage, and and 137 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:51.759 you know, and and and kind of like, aren't you 138 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:56.160 over it yet? And she stopped trying to push people 139 00:07:56.199 --> 00:07:59.040 get over it? She wrote this little post. Did it 140 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:04.560 hit a nerve? Over three million people reposted it. Why? 141 00:08:04.759 --> 00:08:09.279 Because that's the way anybody who deep pain feels they understand. 142 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:11.800 Don't tell me to get over it. You don't get 143 00:08:11.839 --> 00:08:14.680 over it. You get through it. You get through it. 144 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:18.000 So God gives us a family, and we're not to 145 00:08:18.040 --> 00:08:21.000 minimize and we're not to rush the people in our 146 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:25.519 lives There's a fourth way that God blesses broken hearts 147 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:30.079 all right. He gives us a church family, He gives 148 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:33.279 us his own presence. He grieves with us. Number four, 149 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:38.759 God uses grief to help us grow. God uses grief. 150 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:43.879 God uses pain even to help us grow, and he 151 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:46.320 does it in three ways. Here are three verses that 152 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:50.960 illustrate three different ways. First, God uses pain to get 153 00:08:50.960 --> 00:08:54.799 our attention. C. S. Lewis wrote, God whispers to us 154 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:57.600 in our pleasure, but he shouts to us in our pain. 155 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:06.320 Pain is God's megaphone. Pain is saying hello. We rarely 156 00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:10.000 change when we see the light. We change when we 157 00:09:10.039 --> 00:09:14.840 feel the heat. Here's what the Bible says Proverbs twenty, 158 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:19.600 verse thirty. Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make 159 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:22.519 us change our ways. That's in the today's English version. 160 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:27.279 Anybody agree with that verse. Yeah, Sometimes it takes a 161 00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:30.200 painful experience to make us change our ways. So God 162 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:33.200 uses grief to help us grow by getting our attention. 163 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:36.679 Second way, he brings good out of bad. One of 164 00:09:36.679 --> 00:09:39.320 the most famous verses in the Bibles, Romans eight twenty eight. 165 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:44.759 We know we know not guests, not hope. We know 166 00:09:45.480 --> 00:09:49.080 that in all things not some, not just the good 167 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:54.120 in all things. God works in all things. God works 168 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:57.559 for the good of those who love him. It's an 169 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:02.720 opportunity to grow in character. Every time you go through pain. 170 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:06.360 You can't control the pain you go through. You may 171 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:10.039 have chronic pain, and that pain may be with you 172 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:13.399 for years and years and years. You can't always control that, 173 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:16.759 but you can decide whether it's going to make you 174 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:21.960 bitter or better, whether it's going to be a stepping 175 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:25.679 stone or it's going to be a stumbling block. God 176 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:28.240 brings good out of bad. And the third thing he 177 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:30.519 does is he prepares us for eternity. Look at this 178 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:36.440 next verse two Corinthians four seventeen and eighteen. These troubles 179 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:42.000 are getting us ready for an eternal glory. What troubles, 180 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:46.080 the pain you're going through right now, these troubles, that sickness, 181 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:51.759 that sadness, that suffering, that lack, that loss, that pain, 182 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:56.440 that pressure, that problem, these troubles are getting this ready 183 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:00.799 for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles 184 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:08.519 seem like like nothing, like nothing. Things that are seen 185 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:13.679 don't last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. 186 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:16.840 And that's why we keep focused on the things that 187 00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:20.480 can't be seen. You've heard me say before. You're not 188 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:23.600 taking your car to heaven. You're not taking your china heaven. 189 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:26.399 You're not taking your clothes to heaven. You're not taking 190 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:28.960 your career to heaven. But you are taking your character. 191 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:33.639 You're taking you. And so God's more interested in your 192 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:37.720 character development than in your comfort. Why because comfort is 193 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:40.000 going to be on for trillions and trillions and trillions 194 00:11:40.039 --> 00:11:42.679 and trillions a year. This is the get ready stage. 195 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:44.919 This is the learning stage, This is the warm up back. 196 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:48.159 This is the school. It's a preschool. And God says, 197 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:51.480 these troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory. 198 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:57.000 That's a comfort, you see. You can handle an enormous 199 00:11:57.039 --> 00:11:58.840 amount of pain when you can realize there's a good 200 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:04.679 purpose in it, labor and having a baby. But when 201 00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:08.679 you don't see any purpose in the pain, then it's 202 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:12.559 easy to give up. When the pain is unceasing, when 203 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:15.720 the pain never stops, when the pain keeps going. You 204 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:18.960 need to see God's purpose And what is God doing? First? 205 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:22.639 Is he trying to get my attention? Second? Is he 206 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:25.879 trying to bring good out of bad? Third? Is he 207 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:29.440 preparing my character for heaven is he giving me an 208 00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:33.159 opportunity to grow in Christ's likeness. Things that are seeing 209 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:36.200 don't last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. 210 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:41.720 Number five. The fifth way that God comforts us when 211 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:44.840 we mourn is that God gives us the hope of heaven. 212 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:52.039 And this one has been particularly beautiful and meaningful to 213 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:55.559 me this last year. That this life is not all 214 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:59.240 there is, that this is just the warm up act, 215 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:01.840 and that we're moving for so much more. The amount 216 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:03.759 of time you're going to spend on earth is really 217 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:06.559 quite small. You're only going to get eighty ninety at 218 00:13:06.559 --> 00:13:11.960 the most, maybe one hundred years. That's nothing, nothing, It's 219 00:13:11.960 --> 00:13:15.320 gonna be over before you realize it. It's nothing compared 220 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:18.559 to millions and millions and millions and millions and millions 221 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:24.080 and millions of years in heaven. The Bible says we 222 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:27.240 have the hope of heaven. If there were no hope 223 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:31.360 of heaven, I would be in despair because there's just 224 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:34.200 too much bad in the world. There's too many rapes, 225 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:38.080 too many people getting molested, too many children being abused, 226 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:43.200 too many wars, too many people having being tortured, too 227 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:46.799 many people being burned up, by chemicals and all kinds 228 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:51.879 of things. The fact is the Bible, says one Thessalonians 229 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:56.960 four thirteen. Talking about believers who die, Paul says, we 230 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:01.039 don't want you to be ignorant about believers who've died. 231 00:14:02.039 --> 00:14:05.600 We don't want you to grieve like the people who 232 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:10.159 have no hope. Circle the people who have no hope. 233 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:13.360 There's two kinds of grief. You can grieve with hope 234 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:17.080 or you can grieve without hope. Let me tell you 235 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:21.039 you want the first one. As a pastor, I have 236 00:14:21.159 --> 00:14:23.679 done I don't know hundreds and hundreds under you. I 237 00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:26.799 don't know, maybe thousands. I don't know how many funerals 238 00:14:27.080 --> 00:14:29.799 that I've done. I don't know how many times I've 239 00:14:29.799 --> 00:14:32.559 stood at the bedside of somebody taken their last breath. 240 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:35.799 I have been at the funerals and looked in the 241 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:39.159 faces of people who had no hope when a loved 242 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:43.000 one died, and I've seen the terror on their face 243 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:47.559 and the despair on their face. You see the test 244 00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:51.000 of your faith, the test of your belief system. The 245 00:14:51.039 --> 00:14:53.639 test of your worldview is not how you handle the 246 00:14:53.639 --> 00:14:56.639 parties of life. The test of your worldview is how 247 00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.799 you handle the failures and how you handle the f 248 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:06.960 funerals and how you handle the deaths of life. That's 249 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:10.919 the acid test. The Bible says we have a hope, 250 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:14.279 and so we grieve, but we grieve with hope. When 251 00:15:14.279 --> 00:15:21.639 a Christian dies, why do we grieve? I mean that 252 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:24.639 Christian is going to heaven. They're going where they're made for. 253 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:26.960 They're going where they're gonna spend eternity. And they're going 254 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:28.879 where you're gonna go too, if you know the Lord. 255 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:32.320 So why do we grieve? We're not grieving them in 256 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:39.000 a funeral. We're grieving us. We miss them, We're now 257 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:44.360 grieving them. My son, Matthew, for twenty seven years, was 258 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:50.679 tortured by mental illness and it was agony. And honestly, 259 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:57.440 when he died, I grieved his extremely painful life more 260 00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:02.279 than I grieved is extremely painful death, because I know 261 00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:06.200 today he has no fear, he has no pain, he 262 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:09.799 has no depression, he has he is Every one of 263 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:13.600 his questions has been answered, he has joy, he has 264 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:17.240 the understanding everything he's always won. Why was I made 265 00:16:17.399 --> 00:16:21.120 like this? Why didn't I get well? All those questions 266 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:25.399 are answered. I'm not grieving the fact that he's in heaven. 267 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:28.559 I grieve the fact that I miss him. I want 268 00:16:28.600 --> 00:16:33.399 my son back. I miss him now. And so when 269 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:36.840 a Christian grieves, we grieve in a very very different 270 00:16:36.840 --> 00:16:41.120 way than the rest of the world. We grieve with hope. 271 00:16:41.399 --> 00:16:49.320 Non believers grieve without any hope. And that's disastrous, it's devastating, 272 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:55.720 it's debilitating, it's sparing. What is our hope? Revelation twenty one, 273 00:16:55.799 --> 00:17:01.080 verse four says this God will wipe every from their eyes, 274 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:06.519 and there will be no more death or mourning or 275 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:12.799 crying or pain, for the old order of things will 276 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:16.160 have passed away. I am looking forward to that day 277 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:20.599 so much. It's one of the things that allows me 278 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:25.279 to go to places like Africa and see people starving 279 00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:28.680 from poverty, and allows me to go into the inner 280 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:34.079 city and see people being beat up and abused and misused, 281 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:35.759 and allows me to see all the pain in the 282 00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:41.039 world which could be depiltating and its depressing nature. If 283 00:17:41.079 --> 00:17:43.240 I didn't know that one day God is going to 284 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:46.039 settle the score, He's going to even the odds, he's 285 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:49.480 going to balance the accounts, and one day in heaven, 286 00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:52.440 God's going to wipe away every tear and there will 287 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:55.400 be no more death, and there will be no more mourning, 288 00:17:56.839 --> 00:17:59.440 and there will be no more suffering, and no more crying, 289 00:17:59.640 --> 00:18:02.079 and no more pain, for the old order will have 290 00:18:02.160 --> 00:18:06.240 passed away. That is one of the six hopes that 291 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:09.920 blessed are those who mourn, for they should be comforted. 292 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:13.319 Find me. There's one more thing, and this is a 293 00:18:13.319 --> 00:18:20.519 big one. God uses our pain to help others. There's 294 00:18:20.599 --> 00:18:24.000 a purpose in your pain. This is called redemptive pain. 295 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:27.279 This is the highest and best use of the pain 296 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:30.240 you go through. God does not want you to waste 297 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:34.039 to hurt. God never wastes to hurt, but we often 298 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:36.599 do because we're not willing to use it to help 299 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:40.519 other people. God uses our pain to help others. This 300 00:18:40.599 --> 00:18:44.319 is the highest and best use. Who can better help 301 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:50.839 the mother of a special needs child than another mother 302 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:55.559 of a special needs child? Who can better help somebody 303 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:59.160 who's lost a son or daughter in a war than 304 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:02.119 somebody who lost on a daughter in a war? Who 305 00:19:02.119 --> 00:19:06.759 can better help somebody who lost a limb than somebody 306 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:11.039 who's lost a limb? Who could better help somebody who 307 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:16.880 has gone through the pain of an addiction or marriage failure, 308 00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:21.440 or molestation or any of the other evils in the world, 309 00:19:22.119 --> 00:19:26.599 then somebody who went through that. God does not want 310 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:30.039 you to waste your hurt. This is redemptive hurt. He 311 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:33.519 wants you to redirect your focus. Second Corinthians one four. 312 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:38.119 God comforts us in all our troubles so that we 313 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:42.240 can comfort others with the same comfort we receive from God. 314 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:49.079 Now listen very closely. Your greatest ministry will come out 315 00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:54.200 of your deepest hurt. You might write this down, My 316 00:19:54.359 --> 00:20:00.319 greatest ministry will come out of my deepest hurt because 317 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:02.960 you can relate. You could say, been there, done, that 318 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:07.440 went through. I had a mother who was abusive, I 319 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:10.720 had a dad who was distant and left the family. 320 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:16.359 I had a failure in this area or that area. 321 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:20.400 Your greatest ministry will come out of your deepest hurt. 322 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:23.039 You see, we think the world is impressed by how 323 00:20:23.079 --> 00:20:27.240 we handle prosperity, but the world is actually impressed by 324 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:31.000 how we handle adversity. We think that it is our 325 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:34.799 success that gives us credibility to be a witness, but 326 00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:39.519 God says no, it is our suffering that gives us credibility. 327 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:43.640 You would not believe the open doors that have happened 328 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:48.319 in my life since Matthew died, and when I began 329 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:51.480 to journal about it on social media, people began to 330 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:54.359 come out of the woodwork, and some people you wouldn't 331 00:20:54.359 --> 00:20:57.759 believe and said, I've never told this to anybody else. 332 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:02.400 We think that fame earned respect, but actually it's faithfulness 333 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:05.920 and tough times. Well, here's the bottom line. I'll say 334 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:09.000 it again. We're in a broken world and so every 335 00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:12.799 day nothing works perfectly, and that means every day you 336 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:17.640 need to be either you either need comfort or you 337 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:21.720 need to comfort others. Right now, you're in one of 338 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:24.519 two categories. Put yourself on it. Right now. You either 339 00:21:24.599 --> 00:21:28.240 need help because you're in really bad pain, or you 340 00:21:28.359 --> 00:21:33.799 need to help others, and maybe, just maybe God wants 341 00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:36.119 to do both at the same time. It's called being 342 00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:41.319 a wounded healer. If you wait until you're completely healed 343 00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:44.119 to help other people, guess what, You're gonna wait a 344 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:46.480 long time because you're not going to be fully healed 345 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:48.720 of everything in your life until you get to heaven. 346 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:52.559 If you're going through a tough time right now, the 347 00:21:52.599 --> 00:21:56.079 Bible says, comfort one another and give each other strength. 348 00:21:56.119 --> 00:21:58.240 That's what the Body of Christ, that's what the families 349 00:21:58.279 --> 00:22:01.079 to do. We're supposed to help you, so we want 350 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:03.319 to help you. Don't carry this on your own going 351 00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:05.880 through a tough time. Right now, just stand up, and 352 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:09.720 Tommy's going to come and pray. 353 00:22:10.839 --> 00:22:17.440 Father, thank you for seeing us. Even though oftentimes we 354 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:19.880 feel that you perhaps have forgotten us, Lord, we know 355 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:23.599 through your word that that's not true. You see what 356 00:22:23.640 --> 00:22:26.079 breaks our hearts, You see what keeps us up. 357 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:28.039 At night when everyone else is sleeping. 358 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:31.920 You see those places in our hearts that are so hurt, 359 00:22:32.119 --> 00:22:35.839 where we feel hopeless and we feel helpless. And God, 360 00:22:35.880 --> 00:22:38.519 we know in your word, through the promise of Isaiah 361 00:22:38.599 --> 00:22:41.000 sixty one, that you said you comfort all who mourn, 362 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:46.440 You provide for those who grieve, and you promise to 363 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:50.000 bestow and grandaunt each of us a crown of beauty 364 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:54.319 instead of ashes. And you said to us that you 365 00:22:54.319 --> 00:22:59.079 would give us joy instead of our mourning. So today 366 00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:03.759 we stand for you as a family, together with open 367 00:23:03.799 --> 00:23:08.720 hearts and hands before you, saying Father and asking, as 368 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:11.839 you are our daddy, Lord, we pray for healing. There 369 00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:14.480 are those who are standing that are in physical pain, 370 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:18.240 that are sick. They have diseases, whether it be cancer 371 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:23.200 or hepatitis or aids, or lime. 372 00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:25.359 Or even diseases. 373 00:23:25.400 --> 00:23:27.400 They may not even have answers, for they're living in 374 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:32.160 medical mystery land. They're just in pain. So, Lord, you 375 00:23:32.200 --> 00:23:34.039 said you are the great physician, and we believe that. 376 00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:37.319 So we pray for physical healing. Now, Lord, we ask 377 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:40.160 for wisdom when we do go to the doctor, that 378 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:43.000 you give doctors the wisdom beyond even their own understanding. 379 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:45.319 That you would bring healing in any way you want 380 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.319 in our lives. And we pray for healing for broken 381 00:23:48.359 --> 00:23:53.079 hearts and broken relationships. Lord, that you would reconcile relationships. 382 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:56.759 You would reconcile those relationships in our lives with family, 383 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:59.519 and would love ones and with spouses and with our 384 00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:04.680 kids and coworkers and whatever it may be. And Father, 385 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:07.440 we pray for courage, give us the courage of job 386 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:10.440 when he said, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, 387 00:24:10.759 --> 00:24:13.799 but I will still bless his name. And in those 388 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:16.519 hard places in our lives when we feel like giving up, Lord, 389 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:19.839 help us remember that our hope lies in you, and 390 00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:22.640 that no matter what happens in our life, we will 391 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:26.519 bless your name. Make us all in our brokenness living 392 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:29.839 trophies of your grace. That others would see that we 393 00:24:29.880 --> 00:24:32.720 have not given up on you, but our hope is 394 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:35.119 in you. Give us the courage to do what is right, 395 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:37.599 no matter how we feel, and give us the courage 396 00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:40.079 to ask for help if we need it, and even 397 00:24:40.119 --> 00:24:43.039 the courage to accept that help. And Father, we pray 398 00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:44.759 for strength, and for some of us we ask for 399 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:47.200 the strength just to get out of bed, just to 400 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:50.559 make it another day, the strength that we find in you. 401 00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:52.480