WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>Every test you're going to go through in life is

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<v Speaker 1>already in this book. And if you study this book,

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<v Speaker 1>then you're going to see from the characters in this

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<v Speaker 1>book how to pass each test. God's number one goal

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<v Speaker 1>in your life is to make you like Jesus. God's

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<v Speaker 1>goal on earth is not to make you happy. God's

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<v Speaker 1>goal on your life is to grow you up to

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<v Speaker 1>spiritual maturity. Happiness comes from holiness, and in heaven you're

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<v Speaker 1>going to be happy for trillions and trillions of years.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the growing stage. This is the development stage.

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<v Speaker 1>Not everything works perfectly and not everything goes the way

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<v Speaker 1>you wanted to go because God is much more interested

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<v Speaker 1>in your character than he is your comfort. So you know,

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<v Speaker 1>shouldn't expect everything to go right.

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<v Speaker 2>In this life.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not going to God wants to grow your character.

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<v Speaker 1>He wants you to make you spiritually mature. Then wants

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<v Speaker 1>you to be a spiritual baby all your life, and

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<v Speaker 1>he wants you to grow up in. Our model, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>is Jesus Christ, who was love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness,

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<v Speaker 1>self control. He was the fruit of the spirit, and

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<v Speaker 1>he's our model for spiritual maturity. Now one of the ways,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the ways that God grows you up is

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<v Speaker 1>by testing you. You know, when you work out in

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<v Speaker 1>a gym, you test your muscles by lifting weights, and

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<v Speaker 1>the more weight you can lift, the more it tests

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<v Speaker 1>your muscle, the more it grows your muscle. And God

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<v Speaker 1>builds your character the same way through a series of tests.

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<v Speaker 1>And those tests test your faith, They test your character,

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<v Speaker 1>they test your patience, they test all kinds of things

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<v Speaker 1>in your life. Now, the good news behind that is

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<v Speaker 1>that there is a purpose behind every problem in your life.

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<v Speaker 1>Problems are not simply arbitrary. Problems are not simply by chance.

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<v Speaker 1>The problems that come into your life are there to

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<v Speaker 1>test your character, to grow your character, to grow your faith,

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<v Speaker 1>to help you become all that God wants you to be,

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<v Speaker 1>the man God wants you to be, the woman God

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<v Speaker 1>wants you to be. So every problem has a purpose

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<v Speaker 1>and it's designed to help you grow. Now we know

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<v Speaker 1>that from what the Bible says. They're at the top

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<v Speaker 1>of your outline, James, chapter one. It says this, whenever

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<v Speaker 1>troubles come your way, whenever troubles trouble comes your way,

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<v Speaker 1>let it be an opportunity for joy.

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<v Speaker 2>Huh. Oh oh, I got another problem.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm happy. Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be

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<v Speaker 1>an opportunity for joy. Now, if it just stopped there,

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<v Speaker 1>that wouldn't make any sense. But then it gives you

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<v Speaker 1>the reason for the joy. For when your faith is tested,

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<v Speaker 1>your endurance has a chance to grow.

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<v Speaker 2>So let it grow. Let it grow, for when.

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<v Speaker 1>It is fully developed, you will be read it with me.

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<v Speaker 1>Strong in character and ready for anything. I want you

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<v Speaker 1>to be strong in character.

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<v Speaker 2>I want you.

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<v Speaker 1>To be ready for anything that happens in life that

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<v Speaker 1>you're able to handle. You are resilient, you are responsible,

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<v Speaker 1>you are strong.

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<v Speaker 2>You're a strong woman. You're a strong man.

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<v Speaker 1>Because you have strength of character and you have you're

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<v Speaker 1>ready for anything because your faith is tested.

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<v Speaker 2>Now notice those two phrases.

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to circle the phrase faith is tested,

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<v Speaker 1>and circle the phase strong in character, and draw a

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<v Speaker 1>line between those two because they go together. The way

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<v Speaker 1>you become strong in character is to have your faith tested.

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<v Speaker 1>God uses the conflicts and the problems and the pressures

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<v Speaker 1>and the trials and the difficulties and the disasters and

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<v Speaker 1>the dangers and the difficult dead end and the disappointments.

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<v Speaker 1>He uses all of it. Just test your faith and

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<v Speaker 1>to grow you strong in character. And if you intend

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<v Speaker 1>to be the man or the woman God wants you

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<v Speaker 1>to be, God will test your faith. Now, what I'm

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<v Speaker 1>going to do today is just take you through six

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<v Speaker 1>of the many tests you're going to go through. Fortunately,

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<v Speaker 1>God wants you to pass the test. Okay, he wants you,

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<v Speaker 1>so he gives you the answers in advance.

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<v Speaker 2>Didn't you always like those open book tests? You go,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, the.

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<v Speaker 1>Answers are right there. All you got to go do

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<v Speaker 1>is look it up. Well, the answers are all right here.

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<v Speaker 2>They're in that.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the answer book for all the tests of

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<v Speaker 1>your life. And God gives us many examples in the

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<v Speaker 1>Bible to prepare us for the many different kinds of tests.

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<v Speaker 2>Every test you're going to go through in life.

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<v Speaker 1>Is already in this book. And if you study this book,

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<v Speaker 1>then you're going to see from the characters in this

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<v Speaker 1>book how to pass each test. Now, all we have

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<v Speaker 1>time for today is to go through about five or

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<v Speaker 1>six of these different tests.

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<v Speaker 2>And we're gonna use three.

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<v Speaker 1>Different characters of the Bible, Noah, Abraham, and Moses, three

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<v Speaker 1>guys you've all heard of and they went through tests,

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<v Speaker 1>and you're going to go through those exact same tests,

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<v Speaker 1>these six tests.

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<v Speaker 2>I've been through them dozens of times in my life.

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<v Speaker 2>You have too.

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<v Speaker 1>You may not even realize it was a test, but

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<v Speaker 1>you have been going through these tests over and over

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<v Speaker 1>in your life. Now, good news. As I said, God

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<v Speaker 1>wants you to pass the test. Now let's start with

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<v Speaker 1>this first guy, Noah. The Bible tells us that when

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<v Speaker 1>God created the earth is perfect, there were no problems.

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<v Speaker 1>They're no sorrows, no sin, no sadness, no suffering, no tears,

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<v Speaker 1>no trials, no temptation. It was just a perfect place.

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<v Speaker 2>It was an Eden.

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<v Speaker 1>But man messed it up. And the longer man went along,

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<v Speaker 1>we start having pollution. We started having problems. We had conflict,

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<v Speaker 1>we had wars, we have injustice, we have racism, have all.

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<v Speaker 2>Of these problems in life.

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<v Speaker 1>We have sexual abuse and all the God didn't start

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<v Speaker 1>any of these things. Man started murder, Man started jealousy,

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<v Speaker 1>Man started you know, cheating and dishonesty and adultery and

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<v Speaker 1>all these different things. Anyway, the world got worse and

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<v Speaker 1>worse and worse, until the Bible says God was so

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<v Speaker 1>grieved that he had even made the Earth because it

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<v Speaker 1>was going in the wrong direction, and he said, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>just going to start over. And when he looked down

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<v Speaker 1>on the earth, the Bible says the earth was so

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<v Speaker 1>evil he could only find one guy. He'll only find

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<v Speaker 1>one righteous guy in the entire planet. And the guy's

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<v Speaker 1>name was Noah. And the Bible tells us that Noah

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<v Speaker 1>found grace in the eyes of the Lord. I'm grateful

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<v Speaker 1>for Noah because if it weren't for him, none of

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<v Speaker 1>us would be here. Now, when we talk about, by

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<v Speaker 1>the way, racism and race, really there's only one race.

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<v Speaker 1>It's the human race because we all came from Noah.

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<v Speaker 1>Every one of us here came from Noah. And after

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<v Speaker 1>the flood, his son spread out all around the world

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<v Speaker 1>and started at different cultures and different.

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<v Speaker 2>Things like that.

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<v Speaker 1>But we're all from no We all have all of

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<v Speaker 1>our blood bleeds red. None of you bleed green blood. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>we may look different on the outside, but on the inside,

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<v Speaker 1>we're really all the same because we all came from

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<v Speaker 1>this one guy, Noah, who obviously came from Adam. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>imagine if you are this guy Noah, or you're his wife,

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<v Speaker 1>or you're one of his kids, and you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>world's a pretty evil place. And God comes to your

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<v Speaker 1>dad or your husband and says, I'm gonna start over.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm gonna wipe out everything.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna flood the earth, and I want you to

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<v Speaker 1>build a big boat. We're gonna call it an ARC.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm gonna bring all the animals to you. And

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<v Speaker 1>you're gonna put your families and you and all these

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<v Speaker 1>animals on ARC and we're just gonna start over.

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<v Speaker 2>You. Would you believe that? Would you think? Am I

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<v Speaker 2>hearing right? What? What are you talking about? Now? This

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<v Speaker 2>is the very first test. Write this down.

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<v Speaker 1>You're gonna go through a kind of test like this

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<v Speaker 1>in your life many many times. And it is a

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<v Speaker 1>new task, a new task, or a new dream. God's

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<v Speaker 1>gonna come to you and say, here's what I want

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<v Speaker 1>you to do, or here's what I'm asking you to do,

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<v Speaker 1>or here's what I'm telling you to do. And it

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<v Speaker 1>could be so big that it just seems impossible. It's

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<v Speaker 1>an impossible dream or it's an impossible task. I call

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<v Speaker 1>this the what test, because when God comes to you

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<v Speaker 1>and talks to you and says, here's.

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<v Speaker 2>What I want you to do, you go what.

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<v Speaker 1>Wa me, No way, you got the wrong guy. I

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<v Speaker 1>think that person lives down the street. What that's the

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<v Speaker 1>what test in life? When God asked you to do

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<v Speaker 1>something that's so new or so difficult, you don't.

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<v Speaker 2>You don't.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't even imagine yourself doing it. And here's what

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<v Speaker 1>the Bible says, and Hebrews chapter eleven, and all the

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<v Speaker 1>verses today are out of Hebrews chapter eleven. It was

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<v Speaker 1>by faith that Noah built an arc to save his

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<v Speaker 1>family from the flood, and he obeyed God who warned

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<v Speaker 1>him about something that noticed. This had never happened before.

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<v Speaker 1>The Bible tells us that up to this time, it

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<v Speaker 1>had never rained on earth. That's why they had never

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<v Speaker 1>seen a rainbow. It never rained. The Bible tells us

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<v Speaker 1>that a mist came up from the ground at night,

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<v Speaker 1>kind of like do a condensation. There was some kind

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<v Speaker 1>of condensation that happened in the earth that watered all

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<v Speaker 1>of the animals and all of the vegetables and all

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<v Speaker 1>the plants. This is why before the flood people lived

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<v Speaker 1>a whole lot longer. The atmosphere changed. People lived two hundred,

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<v Speaker 1>three hundred, four hundred years. I think God did that

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<v Speaker 1>intentionally so they'd have lots of kids to populate the earth.

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<v Speaker 1>But after all of a sudden, the flood, the birth,

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<v Speaker 1>that the age starts going down, and that people aren't

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<v Speaker 1>living as long. Something changed in the environment, in the firmament,

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<v Speaker 1>in the climate, in that environment. But notice it says

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<v Speaker 1>there it had never happened. For when you have this

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<v Speaker 1>first test, it's going to be when God comes to

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<v Speaker 1>you and says, I want you to do this.

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<v Speaker 2>Now.

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<v Speaker 1>That may not be building ARC, but it's something Number one,

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<v Speaker 1>you've never done before. And number two, it seems impossible.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the what test? What are you kidding me? You're

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<v Speaker 1>going to go through the what test? You've never done

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<v Speaker 1>it before? Or it is it seems impossible. Now, what

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<v Speaker 1>is faith? This is a test? Write this down. Faith

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<v Speaker 1>is facing the future without knowing what. Faith is facing

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<v Speaker 1>the future without knowing what. Noah built in Arc by faith.

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<v Speaker 1>And in Hebrews eleven, verse one, it says faith is

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<v Speaker 1>being sure of what we hope for and being certain

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<v Speaker 1>of what we do not see. Faith is facing the

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<v Speaker 1>future without knowing what's.

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<v Speaker 2>Going to happen.

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<v Speaker 1>And you've got this big task, this new task. It's impossible.

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<v Speaker 1>You've never done it before. You're going to have that

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<v Speaker 1>test many many times in life. God will ask you

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<v Speaker 1>to do something you've never done before. Number two, here's

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<v Speaker 1>the second test, a major change, a major change. First

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<v Speaker 1>a new task. The second is a major change. And

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<v Speaker 1>I call this the where test?

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<v Speaker 2>Where are we going? Lord? Where are we going? With

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<v Speaker 2>this one?

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<v Speaker 1>And you have a major change upset in your life.

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<v Speaker 1>A good example of this kind of test is the

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<v Speaker 1>guy named Abraham, and the Bible tells us in Hebrews eleven,

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<v Speaker 1>verse eight to ten, it was by faith that Abraham

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<v Speaker 1>obeyed when God called him to leave home. See, this

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<v Speaker 1>is a big change to leave home and go to

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<v Speaker 1>another land. He's going to make a major move that

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<v Speaker 1>God would give him as in his inheritance. And he

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<v Speaker 1>went noticed without knowing where circle the where this is

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<v Speaker 1>the were test? Without knowing where he was going. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>Abraham is a guy who lived in a city called Er,

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<v Speaker 1>which is in the er of the Kaldis over in

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<v Speaker 1>the Iraq Iran area or the Kaldis.

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<v Speaker 2>How'd you like to live in Er? Where are you from?

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<v Speaker 1>Er?

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<v Speaker 2>Sorry? Head gas, where are you from?

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<v Speaker 1>Er?

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<v Speaker 2>You burped again? Er? Okay?

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<v Speaker 1>Abraham lived in the city big city called Er and

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<v Speaker 1>God says, I've picked you out and I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>make you a great nation. But I'm not going to

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<v Speaker 1>make you a great nation here in the Iraq area.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to move you over to the Palestine area,

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<v Speaker 1>to the Israel area, and I want.

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<v Speaker 2>You to get ready to move. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>This is an especially difficult move, major change for Abraham.

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<v Speaker 2>Why.

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<v Speaker 1>First, he's seventy five years old, and when he's ready

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<v Speaker 1>for social security, God says, get ready for social insecurity.

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<v Speaker 2>When he's ready to hang.

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<v Speaker 1>It up and slow down and play golf, God says,

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<v Speaker 1>take it down, put it on, get ready for the

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<v Speaker 1>adventure of your life at age seventy five. That's not

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<v Speaker 1>really when you're getting ready to start your greatest adventure

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<v Speaker 1>in life, Okay, But this is a major change. At

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<v Speaker 1>age seventy five, he's ready to retire. God says, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>ready to inspire. You're getting ready to move into your

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<v Speaker 1>greatest victory in life after age seventy five.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, Abraham had a lot to move because.

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<v Speaker 1>The Bible tells us he was a very wealthy guy.

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<v Speaker 1>So he had years of accumulation. He had a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of cattle, he had a lot of sheep, He had

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of goats, He had a lot of family,

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<v Speaker 1>He had a lot of people working for him, lots

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<v Speaker 1>of people employees. And God says, I'm going to move

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<v Speaker 1>you to a new country. And Abraham says, where are

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<v Speaker 1>we going? He says, I'll let you know. He said,

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<v Speaker 1>how will I know when I get there? He said,

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<v Speaker 1>I'll let you know. He said what direction? He said,

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<v Speaker 1>just head that way? And and and how long is

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<v Speaker 1>it gonna take?

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<v Speaker 2>I'll let you know. Would you move.

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<v Speaker 1>If God said I'm not gonna tell you where you're going,

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<v Speaker 1>how long it's gonna take, where you're gonna end up,

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<v Speaker 1>what it's gonna be.

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<v Speaker 2>Like, Just trust me.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the second test of life, a major take change.

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<v Speaker 1>The test of life is the wear test.

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<v Speaker 2>Imagine how how long is it gonna tay? I'll let

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<v Speaker 2>you know. It's totally on faith.

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<v Speaker 1>Abraham, by faith obeyed God to leave home and go

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<v Speaker 1>to another land.

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<v Speaker 2>Would you do that?

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<v Speaker 1>You're gonna be tested by God when he's gonna say

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to go that direction, and you go where?

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<v Speaker 2>Head that way? What's at the end.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll let you know. This is a test. Some of

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<v Speaker 1>you are in the wear test.

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<v Speaker 2>Of life.

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<v Speaker 1>Right now, some of you are in that first test, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>what But some of you are in the wear test,

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<v Speaker 1>and the wear test of God said I'm gonna move

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<v Speaker 1>you and you don't know where. That is a test

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<v Speaker 1>if your character, test your faith. Don't write this down.

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<v Speaker 1>Faith is following God's leading without knowing where. Faith is

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<v Speaker 1>following God's leading without knowing where. Sometimes God might say,

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to quit your job. What's the new job.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll let you know. I want you to sell your house.

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<v Speaker 1>Where we're gonna move, I'll let you know. That is

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<v Speaker 1>the second test of life, the where that builds your character,

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<v Speaker 1>the what and the where, the new task, and the

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<v Speaker 1>major change. Faith is following God's leading without knowing where.

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<v Speaker 1>So Abraham does this, and he packs up all of

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<v Speaker 1>his wealth and all of his cattle and camels and

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<v Speaker 1>chiefs and goats and employees and family and grandkids and everyone,

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<v Speaker 1>and he heads off that direction, having no idea where

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<v Speaker 1>he's going. He eventually gets to Canaan, but still when

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<v Speaker 1>he gets to the land, he doesn't get to settle down.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, he has to live in tents the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of his life. And that leads me to the third

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<v Speaker 1>test and write this down. The third test you're going

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<v Speaker 1>to have in life is a delayed promise. You can

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<v Speaker 1>count on this one, folks. God has over seven thousand

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<v Speaker 1>promises in the Bible for you. He is not guaranteed

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<v Speaker 1>to fulfill every one of them instantly. I've told you this,

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<v Speaker 1>for God is not a vending machine where you put

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<v Speaker 1>in the prayer and pull the promise button and you

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<v Speaker 1>get everything instantly. If you did, it wouldn't require any faith.

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<v Speaker 1>If every prayer of yours was instantly answered, you'd think

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<v Speaker 1>God was your genie. Your wish is my command. God

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<v Speaker 1>is not your genie. God doesn't work for you. You work

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<v Speaker 1>for God. God is not your genie. He has made

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<v Speaker 1>all these promises, but he has all of eternity to

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<v Speaker 1>fulfill them. Some of the promises that God has made

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<v Speaker 1>you are not even going to be filled here in

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<v Speaker 1>this lifetime. They're going to be fulfilled in eternity. He's

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<v Speaker 1>got all of heaven eternity to fulfill them. But the

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<v Speaker 1>delayed promise is what I call the wind test. First,

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<v Speaker 1>you're going what, Lord, what? Then you're going where, Lord, Where?

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<v Speaker 1>And in this one you're going when Lord, when? When

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<v Speaker 1>are you going to answer my prayer.

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<v Speaker 2>When are you gonna hear me?

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<v Speaker 1>When are things going to change in my marriage? When

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<v Speaker 1>am I gonna get married? When am I gonna graduate?

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<v Speaker 1>When am I going to have a baby? When am

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<v Speaker 1>I going to get that promotion? It's the win question

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<v Speaker 1>of why that's the third test. You're going to go

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<v Speaker 1>through the wind test many many times in life. Hebrews

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<v Speaker 1>eleven eight to ten says this. Even after Abraham reached

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<v Speaker 1>the land God had promised him, he lived there by faith,

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<v Speaker 1>for he was like a foreigner living in a tent.

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<v Speaker 1>He couldn't even settle down. He's living in a tent,

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<v Speaker 1>moving around the country. God and said I'm giving you.

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<v Speaker 1>And by the way, he says, so did Isaac and Jacob.

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<v Speaker 1>That's his son and his grandson. So over three generations,

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<v Speaker 1>they're kind of like nomads. Even though God said I'm

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<v Speaker 1>giving you this country called Israel, you're not going to

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<v Speaker 1>get it in this time table, even living in a tent.

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<v Speaker 1>So did Isaac and Jacob, to whom God gave the

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<v Speaker 1>same promise. Abraham did this because he was confidently looking

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<v Speaker 1>toward forward to a city whose eternal foundations, a city

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<v Speaker 1>designed and built by God. Now in that verse, I

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<v Speaker 1>want you to circle the word it's in caps, promise.

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<v Speaker 1>Circle the word promise. It's used twice. And this is

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<v Speaker 1>a very important word. It was promised to him the

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<v Speaker 1>same promise. God wants us to base our lives on promises,

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<v Speaker 1>not explanations. If you ever understand that you're going to

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<v Speaker 1>take a giant leap in your character and a giant

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<v Speaker 1>leap in your faith. God wants you to build your

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<v Speaker 1>life on his promises, not his explanations. God doesn't owe

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<v Speaker 1>you an explanation for anything in your life. God is

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<v Speaker 1>God and you're not. And God is not going to

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<v Speaker 1>explain why everything happens and when it happens, and how

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<v Speaker 1>it happens, and the reasons and all. God doesn't owe

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<v Speaker 1>you an explanation for everything. He wants you to trust

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<v Speaker 1>his promises, not wait for explanations. Now, God had promised

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<v Speaker 1>him this land of Israel. But after he gets said,

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<v Speaker 1>there's this delay and transfer of ownership. And I'm sure

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<v Speaker 1>Abraham is constantly going, when Lord, when you gave me

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<v Speaker 1>this promise, when are you going to fulfill Is it

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<v Speaker 1>time yet? Is it time yet? Time yet? He lives

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<v Speaker 1>intents for three generations that's a long wait. He's unable

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<v Speaker 1>to settle down. The Bible calls him a stranger in

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<v Speaker 1>his own country. You may be in this test right now,

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<v Speaker 1>the wind test, where you've been waiting for an answer,

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<v Speaker 1>and that doesn't seem like there's any end in sight.

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<v Speaker 1>You're going to win when, Lord, when you're going to

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<v Speaker 1>take care of this problem? When are you going to

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<v Speaker 1>take care of this issue? When are you going to

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<v Speaker 1>take care of this relationship? When are you going to

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<v Speaker 1>take care of my finances? When are you going to

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<v Speaker 1>take care of my health? When are you going to

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<v Speaker 1>take care of my future? And here's going to win? Lord?

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<v Speaker 2>When? Not what? Not where? But when?

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to write this down. Faith is waiting

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<v Speaker 1>for God's timing without knowing. When waiting for God's timing

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<v Speaker 1>without knowing?

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<v Speaker 2>When? Now here's the fourth test.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's the fourth These are many, many tests, but I'm

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<v Speaker 1>just covering a few this weekend. Number four is an

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<v Speaker 1>unsolvable problem. Now you've all had this one, and this

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<v Speaker 1>is what I.

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<v Speaker 2>Call the how test.

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<v Speaker 1>You get a problem and you go, how in the

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<v Speaker 1>world we're going to solve this one?

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<v Speaker 2>This is a test.

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<v Speaker 1>Now God told Abraham that not only was he going

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<v Speaker 1>to move him to a new country and give him

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<v Speaker 1>this land, and he would be the father of a

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<v Speaker 1>great nation. He told him that he was going to

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<v Speaker 1>have a kid that would have more kids, would have

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<v Speaker 1>more kids wor kids, and they would populate it. He

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<v Speaker 1>was not just giving him land. He was going to

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<v Speaker 1>give him as his heritage, a great nation. They were

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<v Speaker 1>all going to come from Abraham. Now, remember he's seventy

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<v Speaker 1>five years old. When God tells him this promise. He

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<v Speaker 1>moves to the land of Canaan, which is going to

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<v Speaker 1>be called Israel. And while he's there, he keeps waiting

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<v Speaker 1>for his wife to get pregnant, and by age ninety nine,

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<v Speaker 1>he still doesn't have a son. This is what you

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<v Speaker 1>might call an unsolvable problem. Now it is physically impossible

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<v Speaker 1>for him, Abraham and his wife Sarah to have a problem.

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<v Speaker 2>It's physically impossible. This is how in the world we're

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<v Speaker 2>gonna have a baby.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm ninety nine, okay, Sarah's a little bit younger, but

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<v Speaker 1>Abraham's ninety nine years olgo. The Bible says Abraham looked

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<v Speaker 1>at his body and said no way, jose Sarah looked

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<v Speaker 1>at abraham body, he said yeah, double no way with

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<v Speaker 1>you and me, Okay, this isn't gonna happen. And the

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<v Speaker 1>Bible says when God said you're gonna have a baby,

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<v Speaker 1>and Abraham's ninety nine years old, it says Abraham laughed,

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<v Speaker 1>and it said Sarah laughed.

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<v Speaker 2>And so when they actually.

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<v Speaker 1>Did get pregnant and had this baby, they named him Isaac,

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<v Speaker 1>which means laughter, because Isaac was God's joke to the world.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, Abraham's now one hundred years old and he's

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<v Speaker 1>the father of his first child. Now, God had changed

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<v Speaker 1>his name from Abram to Abraham, which means father of

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<v Speaker 1>a great nation. How'd you mean, how'd you like going

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<v Speaker 1>into a restaurant today?

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<v Speaker 2>Sir?

424
00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:38.359
<v Speaker 1>What's your name? Father of a great nation? How many

425
00:22:38.400 --> 00:22:38.920
<v Speaker 1>kids you got?

426
00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:39.240
<v Speaker 2>None?

427
00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:44.119
<v Speaker 1>How old are you a hundred? It's kind of embarrassing.

428
00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:46.079
<v Speaker 1>God gave him the name way in advance.

429
00:22:46.599 --> 00:22:49.000
<v Speaker 2>But they laughed. God had the last laugh.

430
00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:52.079
<v Speaker 1>We know that Sarah, when God told her she was pregnant,

431
00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:55.559
<v Speaker 1>that she didn't believe it because she laughed. And the

432
00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:58.200
<v Speaker 1>truth is, any woman who's seventy five and told she's

433
00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:02.799
<v Speaker 1>pregnant and believed it would not laugh she cry. Sarah

434
00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:05.319
<v Speaker 1>did not cry she laughed, Eid, what a joke.

435
00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:05.880
<v Speaker 2>You know.

436
00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:07.680
<v Speaker 1>I got to tell you this story. Fred Krattick is

437
00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:11.920
<v Speaker 1>a famous preacher. He's now in heaven. Back in the South,

438
00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:15.359
<v Speaker 1>he overheard a conversation one time in a restaurant between

439
00:23:15.400 --> 00:23:19.559
<v Speaker 1>a seventy five year old a waitress and an older man.

440
00:23:20.119 --> 00:23:23.200
<v Speaker 1>And the older man said to the waitress, Anna, can

441
00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:24.440
<v Speaker 1>I walk you home tonight?

442
00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:27.079
<v Speaker 2>And she said no.

443
00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:31.839
<v Speaker 1>He said, well why not, because she said, because I

444
00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:33.680
<v Speaker 1>then would become great with child.

445
00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:41.359
<v Speaker 2>He goes, Anna, you're too old, you're too old, He said, well,

446
00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:41.920
<v Speaker 2>she said.

447
00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:45.519
<v Speaker 1>Well, Sarah had a child at seventy five. He goes,

448
00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:48.759
<v Speaker 1>how is that possible? He said, she believed in the

449
00:23:48.759 --> 00:23:52.039
<v Speaker 1>man upstairs. He said, well, if I were a woman,

450
00:23:52.039 --> 00:23:56.839
<v Speaker 1>I wouldn't believe in the man upstairs. But sometimes God

451
00:23:57.079 --> 00:24:00.480
<v Speaker 1>does what I call an unsolvable problem. This is the

452
00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:04.960
<v Speaker 1>how test. Hebrews eleven eleven and twelve says this. It

453
00:24:05.079 --> 00:24:10.079
<v Speaker 1>was by faith that Sarah, together with Abraham, was able

454
00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:11.319
<v Speaker 1>to have a child.

455
00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:12.920
<v Speaker 2>This is an unsolvable problem.

456
00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:16.319
<v Speaker 1>Even though they were too old and Sarah was barren,

457
00:24:17.240 --> 00:24:20.599
<v Speaker 1>Abraham believed that God would keep his promise, and so

458
00:24:20.680 --> 00:24:24.160
<v Speaker 1>a whole nation came from this one man, Abraham, who

459
00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.799
<v Speaker 1>was too old to have any children, but a nation

460
00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:29.680
<v Speaker 1>with so many people that, like the stars of the

461
00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:32.680
<v Speaker 1>sky and the sands of the seashore, there's no way

462
00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:35.839
<v Speaker 1>to count them. God had the last laugh. Here's the

463
00:24:35.960 --> 00:24:37.480
<v Speaker 1>fourth thing I want you to learn and write it down.

464
00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:43.319
<v Speaker 1>Faith is expecting a miracle without knowing how. That's what

465
00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:46.160
<v Speaker 1>faith is. I'm teaching you today what it means to

466
00:24:46.160 --> 00:24:49.319
<v Speaker 1>have faith. Faith is facing the future without knowing what,

467
00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:53.519
<v Speaker 1>following God's leading without knowing where, waiting for God's timing

468
00:24:53.559 --> 00:25:00.720
<v Speaker 1>without knowing when, expecting a miracle without knowing how is

469
00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:03.400
<v Speaker 1>the test of your character. That is a test your eight.

470
00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:06.519
<v Speaker 1>Let's go on to the fifth test. The fifth test

471
00:25:06.599 --> 00:25:10.480
<v Speaker 1>is also in Abraham's life, and it is a senseless loss.

472
00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:15.279
<v Speaker 1>A senseless loss. When you have a loss in your

473
00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:19.359
<v Speaker 1>life that makes no sense at all, it seems irrational,

474
00:25:19.640 --> 00:25:23.559
<v Speaker 1>it seems illogical, it doesn't make sense. And this, of

475
00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:29.440
<v Speaker 1>course was the ultimate test, the ultimate test in Abraham's life.

476
00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:31.160
<v Speaker 1>And I want to tell you, friends, it will be

477
00:25:31.559 --> 00:25:35.359
<v Speaker 1>yours too. This will be the ultimate test in your life.

478
00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:40.559
<v Speaker 1>A senseless loss. A lot of what happens in life, friends,

479
00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:48.640
<v Speaker 1>it just doesn't make sense, and when we look for

480
00:25:48.680 --> 00:25:50.039
<v Speaker 1>an explanation, we're not going.

481
00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.880
<v Speaker 2>To find one. A lot in life just doesn't make sense.

482
00:25:55.880 --> 00:25:58.200
<v Speaker 1>You spend your whole life thinking that if I get

483
00:25:58.200 --> 00:26:00.839
<v Speaker 1>an explanation, then I'll feel better this loss.

484
00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:03.200
<v Speaker 2>You won't.

485
00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:08.319
<v Speaker 1>If my wife were to drop dead tonight and I

486
00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:11.480
<v Speaker 1>knew why, I knew the explanation, it wouldn't make it

487
00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:18.079
<v Speaker 1>any less painful. Explanations never comfort. What you need when

488
00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:20.200
<v Speaker 1>you're in pain. What you need when you've had a

489
00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:23.319
<v Speaker 1>major loss is you need the presence of God, not

490
00:26:23.839 --> 00:26:28.519
<v Speaker 1>the explanation of God. Explanation will not make it any

491
00:26:28.599 --> 00:26:33.759
<v Speaker 1>less painful, So stop looking for the why. What you

492
00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:36.599
<v Speaker 1>need is simply God's presence in your life. A lot

493
00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:39.119
<v Speaker 1>of what happens in life doesn't make sense. Now, God,

494
00:26:39.480 --> 00:26:43.599
<v Speaker 1>after Abraham had had this miracle baby at a hundred

495
00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:48.319
<v Speaker 1>named Isaac. Isaac is now a young man, and God says,

496
00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:52.519
<v Speaker 1>one day, I want you to sacrifice your son to me.

497
00:26:53.920 --> 00:26:56.880
<v Speaker 1>Now this seems so unheard of, It seems so brutal,

498
00:26:57.079 --> 00:27:00.559
<v Speaker 1>it seems so bloody, it seems so nonsensical. Why would

499
00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:03.880
<v Speaker 1>God ask me to sacrifice the very son that he

500
00:27:03.960 --> 00:27:09.160
<v Speaker 1>gave me through a miracle. This is a test. God

501
00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:14.039
<v Speaker 1>knows what he's doing. He's testing Abraham's faith. God is

502
00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:16.839
<v Speaker 1>not a cruel god. God is not a capricious god.

503
00:27:17.079 --> 00:27:22.720
<v Speaker 1>God is not a mean God. Abraham knew that, and

504
00:27:22.759 --> 00:27:26.440
<v Speaker 1>so He's going to obey, knowing that God's going to

505
00:27:26.519 --> 00:27:29.839
<v Speaker 1>do something about it, because I know God is not

506
00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:30.799
<v Speaker 1>that kind of God.

507
00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:32.799
<v Speaker 2>But this is the ultimate test.

508
00:27:33.200 --> 00:27:36.920
<v Speaker 1>Isaac represented everything God had given Abraham.

509
00:27:37.079 --> 00:27:41.200
<v Speaker 2>If his son dies, there's no future nation. Now.

510
00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:43.720
<v Speaker 1>Our response to this, when we look at everything out says,

511
00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:48.160
<v Speaker 1>this is unfair. Have you ever said that in life

512
00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:51.799
<v Speaker 1>it's not fair? Well, let me tell you something, folks.

513
00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:55.880
<v Speaker 1>Life is not fair. Who said it was fair? This

514
00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:58.839
<v Speaker 1>is not heaven. This is life is not fair on

515
00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:02.039
<v Speaker 1>earth because it's filled with sin and sorrow and suffering

516
00:28:02.200 --> 00:28:05.039
<v Speaker 1>and evil and your choice and you do things that

517
00:28:05.079 --> 00:28:08.839
<v Speaker 1>aren't fair and everybody else does too. God could make

518
00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:12.599
<v Speaker 1>life very fair, just take away our freedom of choice.

519
00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:16.119
<v Speaker 1>But God asked him Isaac to sacrifice his own son,

520
00:28:16.359 --> 00:28:19.160
<v Speaker 1>and our response is shock. How in the world could

521
00:28:19.160 --> 00:28:23.720
<v Speaker 1>God even ask Abraham to do this. In Verses seventeen

522
00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:26.920
<v Speaker 1>and eighteen of Hebrews eleven, it says this it was

523
00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:33.240
<v Speaker 1>by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when

524
00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:38.519
<v Speaker 1>God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God's promise,

525
00:28:39.559 --> 00:28:43.599
<v Speaker 1>was ready to sacrifice his only son, even though God

526
00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:48.640
<v Speaker 1>had promised him Isaac is the son through which your

527
00:28:48.680 --> 00:28:52.559
<v Speaker 1>descendants will be counted. This is one of the most

528
00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:57.279
<v Speaker 1>gripping stories in scripture. Abraham is trusting the goodness of

529
00:28:57.319 --> 00:28:59.680
<v Speaker 1>God's that God's going to figure out a way. This

530
00:29:00.160 --> 00:29:04.640
<v Speaker 1>will be the most gut wrenching test in your life.

531
00:29:05.960 --> 00:29:10.480
<v Speaker 1>When God says the dream I've given you, do you

532
00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:12.680
<v Speaker 1>love the dream more than me?

533
00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:15.519
<v Speaker 2>Or do you love me more than the dream? Do

534
00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:16.640
<v Speaker 2>you trust me?

535
00:29:18.759 --> 00:29:21.319
<v Speaker 1>If you love the dream more than you love God,

536
00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:26.920
<v Speaker 1>you've made the dream an idol. Now God is a

537
00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:30.279
<v Speaker 1>good God, and we know there are many layers to

538
00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:32.880
<v Speaker 1>this story. The fact God had already a thousand years

539
00:29:32.920 --> 00:29:35.640
<v Speaker 1>before Abram had been born, before he asked Abram to do,

540
00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:37.119
<v Speaker 1>he already knew what he was going to do.

541
00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:39.000
<v Speaker 2>He was going to provide a lamb.

542
00:29:40.200 --> 00:29:43.920
<v Speaker 1>As a symbol, as a metaphor, as an illustration of

543
00:29:43.960 --> 00:29:46.519
<v Speaker 1>the fact that in a few thousand years he was

544
00:29:46.559 --> 00:29:48.720
<v Speaker 1>going to provide the lamb of God his own son,

545
00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:53.920
<v Speaker 1>and he would sacrifice God would sacrifice his son for you.

546
00:29:58.400 --> 00:29:59.359
<v Speaker 2>God is a god of love.

547
00:29:59.400 --> 00:30:03.839
<v Speaker 1>He is not a go out of anger or retribution

548
00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:07.640
<v Speaker 1>to those who love him and put their trust in him.

549
00:30:07.799 --> 00:30:11.480
<v Speaker 1>He says, I will provide the lamb, but you will

550
00:30:11.519 --> 00:30:12.920
<v Speaker 1>be tested in your life.

551
00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:14.680
<v Speaker 2>Do you love the dream?

552
00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:17.440
<v Speaker 1>Do you love the promise more than you love the

553
00:30:17.480 --> 00:30:22.680
<v Speaker 1>promiser and the dreamgiver? Abraham passed the test. How in

554
00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:25.039
<v Speaker 1>the world was he able to obey God in faith? Well,

555
00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:29.599
<v Speaker 1>the Bible tells us how Hebrews eleven, verse nineteen. Abraham

556
00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:33.599
<v Speaker 1>reasoned that word there literally means he calculated. It's an

557
00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:38.119
<v Speaker 1>accounting term. He reasoned, he calculated. He figured in his

558
00:30:38.359 --> 00:30:43.400
<v Speaker 1>mind that God could raise the dead. If God can

559
00:30:43.480 --> 00:30:45.880
<v Speaker 1>give me a miracle sign at age hundred, he can

560
00:30:45.960 --> 00:30:49.160
<v Speaker 1>raise him back to life. And figuratively speaking, he did

561
00:30:49.200 --> 00:30:53.400
<v Speaker 1>receive Isaac back from death. Abraham thought, well, if this

562
00:30:53.480 --> 00:30:55.880
<v Speaker 1>goes through, I know God can raise him back to life.

563
00:30:56.359 --> 00:30:58.960
<v Speaker 1>That's the kind of God I serve. I want you

564
00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:02.440
<v Speaker 1>to write this down. This is the fifth test. Faith

565
00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:07.480
<v Speaker 1>is trusting God's purpose without knowing why.

566
00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:17.319
<v Speaker 2>Faith is trusting God's purpose without knowing why.

567
00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:21.440
<v Speaker 1>If you can explain everything in your life, you are

568
00:31:21.480 --> 00:31:24.920
<v Speaker 1>not living by faith. There's some things in your life

569
00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:33.200
<v Speaker 1>that just aren't explainable, and you have to live by faith. Now,

570
00:31:33.240 --> 00:31:35.319
<v Speaker 1>I could do a series on the tests of God

571
00:31:35.440 --> 00:31:37.319
<v Speaker 1>and go for a year, but let me just give

572
00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:41.119
<v Speaker 1>you one more. This is test number six, and it's

573
00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:46.240
<v Speaker 1>a tough one too. The sixth test is prolonged pain.

574
00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:54.000
<v Speaker 1>Prolonged pain, and this is the how long test. It

575
00:31:54.039 --> 00:31:57.720
<v Speaker 1>could be a chronic pain in your life. That could

576
00:31:57.759 --> 00:32:00.599
<v Speaker 1>be a chronic physical pain. It could be a chronic

577
00:32:00.920 --> 00:32:05.640
<v Speaker 1>emotional pain. It could be a chronic spiritual pain. It

578
00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:08.880
<v Speaker 1>could be a chronic relational pain. It could be a

579
00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:13.680
<v Speaker 1>chronic financial pain. It is extended suffering. It's suffering that

580
00:32:13.880 --> 00:32:19.000
<v Speaker 1>doesn't go away. You're just having to live with it,

581
00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:23.200
<v Speaker 1>maybe maybe your entire life.

582
00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:28.440
<v Speaker 2>This is a test. It is the how long test?

583
00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:29.960
<v Speaker 2>How long? Lord?

584
00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:33.000
<v Speaker 1>And so many of the prophets in the Bible talk

585
00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:35.920
<v Speaker 1>and about this and ask how long Lord are you

586
00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:36.960
<v Speaker 1>going to let this keep going?

587
00:32:38.720 --> 00:32:38.839
<v Speaker 2>Now?

588
00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:45.160
<v Speaker 1>A good example of this is Moses. Moses had incredible persistence.

589
00:32:45.319 --> 00:32:48.039
<v Speaker 1>He put up with enormous pain in his life. His

590
00:32:48.119 --> 00:32:52.640
<v Speaker 1>life is divided into three passages forty years in Pharaoh's court,

591
00:32:54.160 --> 00:32:56.440
<v Speaker 1>as learning to be a somebody, forty years on the

592
00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:59.319
<v Speaker 1>backside of a desert learning to be a nobody, and

593
00:32:59.359 --> 00:33:04.000
<v Speaker 1>then forty eight years leading a million griping babies across

594
00:33:04.039 --> 00:33:09.880
<v Speaker 1>a desert. He put up with enormous criticism, enormous conflict,

595
00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:15.680
<v Speaker 1>enormous misunderstanding, enormous pain, and he has every right to say,

596
00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:19.000
<v Speaker 1>how long. Lord Hebrews eleven twenty four to twenty six.

597
00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:21.720
<v Speaker 1>Moses gave up everything that we try to spend our

598
00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:26.559
<v Speaker 1>lives achieving fame, fortune, pleasure, possessions.

599
00:33:26.599 --> 00:33:29.519
<v Speaker 2>Position. He was the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

600
00:33:29.559 --> 00:33:32.359
<v Speaker 1>I mean, he's a grandson of the most powerful man

601
00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:34.000
<v Speaker 1>in the world. At that time, he's living in the

602
00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:36.240
<v Speaker 1>lap of luxury. He gave it all up to go

603
00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:41.519
<v Speaker 1>lead a bunch of slaves across the desert. He gave

604
00:33:41.599 --> 00:33:43.640
<v Speaker 1>up the very things we spend our lives trying to

605
00:33:43.680 --> 00:33:49.400
<v Speaker 1>get satissex, salary, that passion, possession, position, the American dream.

606
00:33:49.480 --> 00:33:51.279
<v Speaker 1>He gave it all up. The Bible says in verse

607
00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:54.400
<v Speaker 1>twenty forty twenty six. By faith Moses, when he had

608
00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:57.039
<v Speaker 1>grown up. That's a mark of maturity. Remember, God wants

609
00:33:57.079 --> 00:33:59.720
<v Speaker 1>you to grow up spiritually. He didn't make this decision

610
00:33:59.720 --> 00:34:03.119
<v Speaker 1>as a baby. When he was a baby, his parents

611
00:34:03.119 --> 00:34:06.200
<v Speaker 1>made the decisions, but when he had grown up, he

612
00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:09.000
<v Speaker 1>refused to be known as a son of Favaro's daughter.

613
00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:11.280
<v Speaker 2>He knew his identity.

614
00:34:11.320 --> 00:34:15.440
<v Speaker 1>He chose to be mistreated along with the people of

615
00:34:15.480 --> 00:34:19.159
<v Speaker 1>God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for

616
00:34:19.199 --> 00:34:20.920
<v Speaker 1>a short time with the people who weren't the people

617
00:34:20.960 --> 00:34:26.559
<v Speaker 1>of God. He disregarded disgrace. He regarded disgrace for the

618
00:34:26.599 --> 00:34:31.280
<v Speaker 1>sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures

619
00:34:31.320 --> 00:34:35.639
<v Speaker 1>of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

620
00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:38.320
<v Speaker 1>You know, our culture says, base all your decisions on

621
00:34:38.360 --> 00:34:42.239
<v Speaker 1>your feelings and live for the now. If it feels good,

622
00:34:42.519 --> 00:34:44.679
<v Speaker 1>do it. If it doesn't feel good, don't do it.

623
00:34:44.800 --> 00:34:47.280
<v Speaker 1>And most people today make their decision on, well, this

624
00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:51.239
<v Speaker 1>feels good, so it must be right. Not everything that

625
00:34:51.280 --> 00:34:54.719
<v Speaker 1>feels good is right, and not everything that feels wrong

626
00:34:54.880 --> 00:34:58.559
<v Speaker 1>is bad. You can't go by your feelings. Your feelings

627
00:34:58.639 --> 00:35:01.760
<v Speaker 1>lie to you all the time, tell you things are

628
00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:03.639
<v Speaker 1>better than they are or they're worse than they are.

629
00:35:03.880 --> 00:35:08.079
<v Speaker 1>Your feelings lie. You're manipulated by your moods. The truth is,

630
00:35:10.639 --> 00:35:15.719
<v Speaker 1>I don't always feel like being nice to people. Everybody

631
00:35:15.719 --> 00:35:18.519
<v Speaker 1>thinks I'm a nice person. I'm not always a nice person.

632
00:35:20.159 --> 00:35:22.960
<v Speaker 1>I don't always feel like being nice to people anymore

633
00:35:23.039 --> 00:35:29.000
<v Speaker 1>than you do. Sometimes I feel grumpy, cranky. Sometimes I

634
00:35:29.079 --> 00:35:31.039
<v Speaker 1>just want to go home and get in bed. I

635
00:35:31.079 --> 00:35:39.400
<v Speaker 1>don't always feel like teaching you. In fact, by so

636
00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:42.960
<v Speaker 1>what if I only preach the times that I feel

637
00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:44.519
<v Speaker 1>like preaching or taught to you at the times that

638
00:35:44.599 --> 00:35:47.320
<v Speaker 1>you like teach? Well, you know I it'd be a

639
00:35:47.360 --> 00:35:47.840
<v Speaker 1>lot less.

640
00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:48.679
<v Speaker 2>I just say that.

641
00:35:51.159 --> 00:35:53.599
<v Speaker 1>You don't always feel like doing the right thing. You

642
00:35:53.599 --> 00:35:55.599
<v Speaker 1>know what, I'm going to let you listen. I don't

643
00:35:55.599 --> 00:36:00.000
<v Speaker 1>always feel like helping my wife, and when my kids

644
00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:01.559
<v Speaker 1>were at home, I didn't always feel like helping my

645
00:36:01.639 --> 00:36:04.760
<v Speaker 1>kids with their homework. I hated homework. I didn't like it.

646
00:36:04.920 --> 00:36:06.360
<v Speaker 1>I didn't want my kids to do it. I didn't

647
00:36:06.360 --> 00:36:09.679
<v Speaker 1>want my grandest kids to do it. So if you're

648
00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:13.440
<v Speaker 1>a teacher, stop all homework just easing.

649
00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:17.400
<v Speaker 2>But I really didn't like it. But did I help him?

650
00:36:17.440 --> 00:36:19.760
<v Speaker 1>Yeah? I don't always like to read my Bible that

651
00:36:19.880 --> 00:36:24.239
<v Speaker 1>I know it helps. I don't always feel like praying.

652
00:36:24.400 --> 00:36:26.960
<v Speaker 1>I find that when when I least feel like praying,

653
00:36:27.000 --> 00:36:30.360
<v Speaker 1>that's when I need it the most. When I don't

654
00:36:30.360 --> 00:36:35.280
<v Speaker 1>feel like praying. Faith is being persistent. Faith is refusing

655
00:36:35.320 --> 00:36:38.400
<v Speaker 1>to give up. Faith is keeping on no matter how

656
00:36:38.440 --> 00:36:41.840
<v Speaker 1>tired you are. Write this down. Faith is continuing to

657
00:36:41.960 --> 00:36:48.519
<v Speaker 1>persist without knowing how long. Faith is continuing to persist

658
00:36:48.960 --> 00:36:50.719
<v Speaker 1>without knowing how long.

659
00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:55.280
<v Speaker 2>This is the how long test of life? Now? How

660
00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:59.880
<v Speaker 2>do you develop persistence? How do you develop endurance?

661
00:37:00.440 --> 00:37:02.519
<v Speaker 1>How do you keep on doing the right thing year

662
00:37:02.559 --> 00:37:04.760
<v Speaker 1>after year after year when you don't always feel like

663
00:37:04.800 --> 00:37:07.119
<v Speaker 1>doing the right thing, You don't always feel like staying married.

664
00:37:10.920 --> 00:37:13.000
<v Speaker 1>How do you keep on doing the right thing when

665
00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:15.159
<v Speaker 1>you don't feel like you always feel like get up

666
00:37:15.199 --> 00:37:19.559
<v Speaker 1>and going to work? How do you have that persistence?

667
00:37:20.280 --> 00:37:26.280
<v Speaker 1>How do you handle prolonged pain by doing what Moses did?

668
00:37:26.400 --> 00:37:31.360
<v Speaker 1>And that is hearing from God. Moses had a burning bush.

669
00:37:31.760 --> 00:37:33.760
<v Speaker 1>You don't need a burning bush because he wrote it

670
00:37:33.760 --> 00:37:37.199
<v Speaker 1>all down and it's in here. Everything God wants to

671
00:37:37.239 --> 00:37:38.920
<v Speaker 1>say to you is right here. You don't have to

672
00:37:38.960 --> 00:37:42.199
<v Speaker 1>go have some mystical experience. People say, why didn't God

673
00:37:42.280 --> 00:37:44.320
<v Speaker 1>just write it in the sky. He's not going to

674
00:37:44.360 --> 00:37:49.079
<v Speaker 1>do He wrote it in a book. Stop looking for

675
00:37:49.159 --> 00:37:55.639
<v Speaker 1>a vision, start looking for a verse, Stop looking for

676
00:37:55.679 --> 00:37:58.599
<v Speaker 1>a sign in the sky. Start looking for a scripture

677
00:37:58.800 --> 00:38:03.159
<v Speaker 1>in the word. It's all here. It's all here, and

678
00:38:03.199 --> 00:38:06.719
<v Speaker 1>it will give you the ability to pass the how

679
00:38:06.760 --> 00:38:11.400
<v Speaker 1>long test? When you're going through prolonged pain, continuing to

680
00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:14.880
<v Speaker 1>persist without knowing how long? Hebrews eleven twenty seven, last

681
00:38:14.960 --> 00:38:21.039
<v Speaker 1>verse by faith. He that's Moses left Egypt, not fearing

682
00:38:21.079 --> 00:38:21.920
<v Speaker 1>the king's anger.

683
00:38:22.119 --> 00:38:24.000
<v Speaker 2>He persevered. How did he persevere?

684
00:38:24.280 --> 00:38:29.960
<v Speaker 1>Because he saw him who is invisible. You keep your

685
00:38:30.039 --> 00:38:33.360
<v Speaker 1>eyes on God. If you keep your eyes on your pain,

686
00:38:33.719 --> 00:38:37.719
<v Speaker 1>you're going downhill. If you keep your eyes on the

687
00:38:37.760 --> 00:38:43.000
<v Speaker 1>pain reliever, on the Savior, on the God who loves you,

688
00:38:43.000 --> 00:38:44.159
<v Speaker 1>you're going to go through it.

689
00:38:45.119 --> 00:38:45.280
<v Speaker 2>Now.

690
00:38:46.320 --> 00:38:47.719
<v Speaker 1>There's a lot more I can say about this, but

691
00:38:47.719 --> 00:38:50.320
<v Speaker 1>we're out of time. Which of these tests are you

692
00:38:50.480 --> 00:38:55.639
<v Speaker 1>facing right now? An impossible task and you're going.

693
00:38:55.719 --> 00:38:56.480
<v Speaker 2>What Lord?

694
00:38:56.559 --> 00:39:03.039
<v Speaker 1>What are you considering a major change? And you're going where?

695
00:39:03.280 --> 00:39:03.599
<v Speaker 2>Lord?

696
00:39:03.679 --> 00:39:07.559
<v Speaker 1>Where are you facing a delayed promise?

697
00:39:09.079 --> 00:39:14.679
<v Speaker 2>Delayed answer? When? Lord? When are you facing an unsolved problem?

698
00:39:14.800 --> 00:39:15.039
<v Speaker 1>How?

699
00:39:15.239 --> 00:39:17.039
<v Speaker 2>Lord? How? How are you going to do this?

700
00:39:18.320 --> 00:39:23.679
<v Speaker 1>You're facing a senseleus loss that you're grieving over. Why Lord?

701
00:39:23.800 --> 00:39:28.519
<v Speaker 1>Why are you struggling with prolonged pain?

702
00:39:30.559 --> 00:39:36.199
<v Speaker 2>How long? Lord? You know there's nothing wrong with asking.

703
00:39:35.840 --> 00:39:38.639
<v Speaker 1>God what and when and where and why and how

704
00:39:38.679 --> 00:39:41.280
<v Speaker 1>and how long as long as you understand you're not

705
00:39:41.320 --> 00:39:43.159
<v Speaker 1>going to get the answer. The real issue is what

706
00:39:43.199 --> 00:39:45.079
<v Speaker 1>are you going to do when you don't get an answer.

707
00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:48.719
<v Speaker 1>Even Jesus on the cross said my God, my God, why,

708
00:39:48.800 --> 00:39:50.760
<v Speaker 1>So it's okay for you to ask why. But he

709
00:39:50.800 --> 00:39:56.800
<v Speaker 1>didn't get an answer, and you won't either. The key

710
00:39:56.920 --> 00:40:00.000
<v Speaker 1>is will you trust God without knowing how or when

711
00:40:00.280 --> 00:40:04.840
<v Speaker 1>or why or how long or where. I don't have

712
00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:07.119
<v Speaker 1>time to go in this, but there's a pattern seen

713
00:40:07.159 --> 00:40:09.079
<v Speaker 1>in all three of these men. I wrote it down.

714
00:40:09.119 --> 00:40:11.800
<v Speaker 1>Toot your outline. I won't teach you on it. But

715
00:40:12.079 --> 00:40:15.159
<v Speaker 1>and firse, God gives you an opportunity, He gives your promise.

716
00:40:15.440 --> 00:40:18.119
<v Speaker 1>Then there's an obstacle or an opponent that holds you back.

717
00:40:18.400 --> 00:40:21.199
<v Speaker 1>Then there's an ordeal, and it's a waiting or testing period.

718
00:40:22.039 --> 00:40:23.719
<v Speaker 1>You're going to go through that over and over and

719
00:40:23.760 --> 00:40:26.159
<v Speaker 1>over hundreds of times in your life. So let me

720
00:40:26.199 --> 00:40:30.079
<v Speaker 1>summarize what it means to live by faith. It's facing

721
00:40:30.119 --> 00:40:36.039
<v Speaker 1>the future without knowing what. Faith is, following God's leaving.

722
00:40:36.920 --> 00:40:43.679
<v Speaker 2>Without knowing where. Faith is waiting on God's timing without

723
00:40:43.679 --> 00:40:44.239
<v Speaker 2>knowing when.

724
00:40:45.559 --> 00:40:53.599
<v Speaker 1>Faith is expecting a miracle without knowing how. Faith is

725
00:40:53.639 --> 00:41:03.679
<v Speaker 1>trusting God's purpose without knowing why, continuing to persist without

726
00:41:03.760 --> 00:41:09.960
<v Speaker 1>knowing how long. This is a test that's bow our heads,

727
00:41:15.119 --> 00:41:20.880
<v Speaker 1>if their heads vowed. With human test, the key is

728
00:41:20.920 --> 00:41:26.519
<v Speaker 1>knowing all the answers. But with God's test, the key

729
00:41:27.480 --> 00:41:30.599
<v Speaker 1>is not knowing all the answers. With God's test, the

730
00:41:30.639 --> 00:41:36.360
<v Speaker 1>key is trusting God to know the answer. Pray this

731
00:41:36.440 --> 00:41:39.800
<v Speaker 1>prayer in your heart. Follow me as I say this prayer,

732
00:41:40.920 --> 00:41:45.039
<v Speaker 1>Dear God, stay it in your mind. Dear God, I

733
00:41:45.079 --> 00:41:49.440
<v Speaker 1>want to be a man or a woman a faith.

734
00:41:52.199 --> 00:41:54.480
<v Speaker 1>I want to be a man or a woman of

735
00:41:54.719 --> 00:42:01.920
<v Speaker 1>character that you can use in a mighty way. So,

736
00:42:02.079 --> 00:42:08.480
<v Speaker 1>Dear Jesus Christ, help me face the future in faith

737
00:42:10.079 --> 00:42:16.960
<v Speaker 1>without knowing what. Jesus, help me follow your leading without

738
00:42:16.960 --> 00:42:23.880
<v Speaker 1>knowing where. Help me wait for your timing without knowing when.

739
00:42:26.280 --> 00:42:33.000
<v Speaker 1>Help me to expect a miracle without knowing how. Help

740
00:42:33.079 --> 00:42:38.719
<v Speaker 1>me to trust your plan and purpose without knowing why.

741
00:42:41.079 --> 00:42:46.760
<v Speaker 1>And help me to continue to persist and endure without

742
00:42:46.800 --> 00:42:51.480
<v Speaker 1>knowing how long. If you've never opened your life to Christ,

743
00:42:51.480 --> 00:42:54.320
<v Speaker 1>say Jesus Christ, come into my life right now, Be

744
00:42:54.719 --> 00:42:59.199
<v Speaker 1>my manager of my life, the Lord of my life,

745
00:42:59.480 --> 00:43:01.000
<v Speaker 1>be the behavior of my life.

746
00:43:01.199 --> 00:43:07.800
<v Speaker 2>I need you. In your name, I pray Amen.