305: Brian Adams - Exhortation: The Lord IS

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   Welcome to good Chris Selfian talks. I’m Levi. I’m Chris. I’m Jason. And I’m Brian, thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our Daily News feed. Each week we post a talk that we previewed from suggestions sent in by listeners from around the world.

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   Then we record a short intro beforehand as a personalized recommendation to you on why we are sharing the talk. And now let’s talk more about this week’s talk.

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   Welcome to the good Christadelphian Talks podcast. This is brother Brian. This week’s talk is one of my own by request of the July 300 episode format that we’re doing. So this is an expectation that I gave earlier this year called The Lord Is. I had multiple people suggest that it eventually be uploaded on the podcast if and when we ever put up our own. So it was a top pick among a handful that I’m actually very fond of.

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   But what stands out to me was how personally impactful it was. At the time that I gave it, I was a week away from doing classes for a young people’s weekend, and common logic would be just test run one of those talks. But this content just kind of bubbled up out of nowhere.

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   It came from a very vulnerable place and it was based on a lot of tough conversations with friends in the truth who struggle with mental health stemming from both real life trauma as well as perceived hopelessness. So the simple premise is countering all of the what ifs of what could go wrong in our life with a reminder of who and what God is and how His presence is both everlasting and unchanging. Hopefully the comfort this can give us can help to strengthen our resolve to fight our battles, both real and perceived, and to go into the furnace like Daniel’s friends or suffer tremendously like Job and be able to say, even if, even if this trial never leaves me, I will not let this break my faith.

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   I will not lose sight of who God is. So as always, we hope this strengthens your faith and brightens your day. Brother Bryan Adams the Lord is.

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   Your undivided attention is what he said. Thank you. Good morning, Morristown. What if I get cancer? It’s a question I’m worried about. What if I lose my job?

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   What if we lose a child? What if we’re unable to have children? What if my car is stolen? What if all my investments tank? What if my parents find out?

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   What if I need surgery and we can’t afford it? What if my plan for college doesn’t pan out and I’m stuck? What if I’m doing the exact same thing 10 years from now, wishing that I made a change, wishing I’d done something different?

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    They’ll bury you. The what ifs, worrying about the unknown, having anxiety over what could go wrong, the dwelling on the worst case scenarios and uncertainty.

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    This can be wrapped up in depression. This can be the side effects of anxiety disorder. This can be a direct result of trauma that we faced, and this is all very real for the human experience. And I’m aware that some of these questions would hit home with those of us in the room. They are real fears.

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    These are real possibilities, and there’s plenty worse ones that I don’t want to say out loud, and especially not from the podium. But there are worse what ifs.

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    There is plenty of evil in the world. The wicked, who certainly do plot against the righteous as we read the wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright.

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    But what do we have to counter these fears, as irrational as they may be? Hope and trust in the Lord and His Word and His plan and His son. And the theme that I’d like to address this morning is the concept of countering the what if with what is, or perhaps a better way to express it, the even ifs.

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    And if this sounds familiar, it’s because it is. The main thrust of my exhort this morning is going to be very similar to Brother Eric’s last week. Thank you for delivering those words on Romans 8. As soon as you began and I picked up on the direction you’re going, I was pumped because I knew I was going to address a lot of the same points.

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    So thank you, Brother Eric, for giving us that encouragement last week. I hope that this will only just reinforce what we’ve been reminded about, that every little thing will be all right. That even if things go wrong and we don’t know how, we don’t know how or if they will get better,

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    they will. I was looking at the readings ahead of time, and I had noted that there was a pattern. These are not all on the same date, but there’s a common thread that I thought we could take advantage of marking up in our Bibles. So we’re going to look at Genesis 37, Psalm 37, and then Matthew 22.

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    The theme that we’ll notice is the possibility of getting stuck in the unknown as compared to focusing on what is and what will not change. So I advise you, let’s pull up Genesis 37 first. You might have some of this already marked up. This is the familiar story of Joseph being put in the pit by his own brothers and then after that sold into slavery, which continues with his false imprisonment, and then languishing in prison for two more years after that. And through it all, he could have reasonably been thinking, what if my brothers kill me?

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    What if I never see my family again? What if the Egyptians kill me for this false charge? What if I never get out of this pit? What if I never get out of this prison? What if this is my life? Or as I’ve alluded to in a previous exhortation, we can feel sometimes stuck in those pits, stuck in those quiet corners, stuck in the wilderness and wonder, is this really where God wants me to be?

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    How am I supposed to be able to give Him glory if I feel like no one can see my light? How am I supposed to be faithful if I feel like I’ve been forgotten?

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    But through it all, we are told that God, the Lord was with Joseph. It says in verse 30 or sorry, not verse 39. If you come over to chapter 39,

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    you’ll note multiple times it says the Lord was with him, the Lord was with them. The Lord blessed his efforts in verses 2 and verses 3 and verses 5, you come down to verse 21. The Lord was with Joseph in prison, showed him steadfast love. It repeats that point again. The Lord was with him in prison. In your trials, do you feel that the Lord is with you? I would suggest that He trusted you to have those trials in the 1st place.

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    And I’ll repeat that phrase again. The Lord trusted you to have the trial that you do because He believes in your ability to bear that burden through Him.

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    For Joseph, there were parts of his life that would not go back to the way they were. But Joseph is a prime example of God being able to benefit others by his faith, by his steadfastness. Even if, even if I am stuck in this prison, I will glorify the Lord.

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    Joseph even said as much later in chapter 45 when he’s comforting his brothers and chapter 45, verses 7 and eight, he tells them, God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God.

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    In David, we as well have another example of a highly faithful disciple whose life took all kinds of crazy turns. I mean, there could be a whole slew of what ifs that he could ask many heartbreaking things. But thanks to his eloquent conviction throughout the Psalms, we have some of the greatest reminders of instead what is.

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    Or as I’ll explain at the end, the Lord is David was willing to be LED through the valley of the shadow of death because he believed first and foremost that the Lord is my shepherd. So where he leads me, I will find green pastures and still waters. So in we’re in chapter 37 of the Psalms, which I had read for us this morning, there’s two phrases that stood out to me, and one of them stood out because it doesn’t come up very often.

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    Our opening phrase, Fred, not yourself. And only of course, four times in Scripture. And three of those four are right here in this Psalm. This is the Psalm that tells us fret not yourself. Do not worry. Don’t be stuck in the what ifs. Fret not yourself over the wicked. Fret not yourself over the evil doers, those who seem like they’re going to capture you and said focus on what is and the other phrase you’ll see quite often mark this up occurs 456 times. The righteous shall inherit the land. Those who wait on the Lord shall inherit the land shall inherit the land.

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    The meek shall inherit the land. They shall inherit the land they shall dwell in the land that will happen. The Lord will act. Don’t be stuck in the what if, because soon they will fade, they will perish like grass, they will float away like the bitter herb, but in trust in the Lord do good and dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

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    Why you see this? Why you see the wicked and are told for the Terry? Why you’re told to fret not yourself because of them is because they’re present just as the wicked, or present in every verse or just about every verse. That’s our reality just about every day. We are beset by evil. We’ll beset by trials.

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    We’re beset by our flesh itself. All the worst possible things that could happen certainly do give us anxiety. But again, our mindset should not be Get Me Out of here.

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    I’ve said this before, I want to emphasize it again. I don’t believe that we should have an escape pod mentality about the Kingdom. Lord Get Me Out of here. Because it is US who are planted as the strong rooted tree that will not be blown over. We are meant to be the lights that shine in the darkness, the ambassadors for Christ, that even through the schemes of the wicked, even through the trials that we bear, even through investments dropping out, even through cancer, we’re told to stand firm and wait patiently on the Lord. We will inherit the land.

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    Our question in the face of burden should not be how will I ever handle this, but instead how does God have a hand in this? Where have I seen this before?

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    What does this remind me of? Even if this gets worse, what can I hope ultimately put my hope in? Says that those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. He delivers them. He delivers them from the wicked for those who take refuge in him.

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    And if you flipped over a page or two to Psalm 40, there’s a verse that I’ve always loved because it reminds me so much of Joseph, David’s own thoughts. That could be Joseph himself. In verse one and two of Psalm 40I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction out of the miry bog and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. One moment we can feel depressed and under siege, and soon after the Lord can change our circumstances so swiftly that it feels that we’re living a completely different life, planted securely on the rock.

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    So what I’m trying to emphasize is that the danger of the what ifs, it’s burning your energy on things that haven’t happened, things that might never happen, things that are beyond our control. Sometimes I do focus on the worst case scenario, things that I fear. If I encounter that scenario in my life, I don’t know if I could bear it. And that reveals, I think, sometimes our truest fears, our our weaknesses and anxiety and worry is a major problem for some people.

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    I’ve had a lot of really tough conversations with family, friends, brothers and sisters. It is a plague in and of itself that some people need constant reinforcement to hold back that worry, that fear. And we’re told, you know, very clearly in first Peter 5, to cast all of our cares and anxieties on him because he cares for us.

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    But that’s a lot easier said than done. It’s a shame to be living in fear of what could go wrong because we can get so caught up in the lies that our mind tells us. It can shake our confidence in God. It can deprive us of the peace that we should have. There is a a quote that I love and I need to keep reminding myself of why I love it so much.

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    The quote is comparison is the thief of all joy. You know, me worrying about what someone else has and what I don’t have can rob me of the joy of what I do have. But I think there’s another add on that you can take with that, which is that worry and doubt are the thieves of peace.

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    We’re supposed to be able to have peace of God that transcends all that we think about. So that’s why I suggest we try to consider the even if Isaiah 43, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you.

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    When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep you over. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze. Who did that speak to? Let’s go to Daniel 3 and Daniel 3 verse 16 and 18. We have Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who replied to King Nebuchadnezzar. We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.

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    If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know that your Majesty, we will not serve your gods or worship the idols that you’ve set up.

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    Even if this is it, we’re still going to have faith. Sadly, it is true that sometimes the worst case scenario does play out. We lose. The ones that we love. Had an unfair time.

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    We hurt each other in anger and desperation. Sometimes things really don’t get better and that hurts, hurts. In this life there is a tremendous amount of suffering and that’s a such a distinct need for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our prayer is for that relief to come, but until then we have each other to speak words of comfort and to wait patiently on the Lord and help carry what burdens we can.

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    There’s a sister in the room that I’ve had a conversation with that reminded me that sometimes there isn’t much more you can do than just be present. Be present for someone who is hurting, to pray often for them, and to reflect on the promise that one day we will see all things restored.

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    So I’ll take you now to our last example of the what if. First, what is? And this comes from Matthew 22. This is the hypothetical question that was given to Jesus. This is kind of what caught my attention. You have in verse 24, this crazy scenario tucked into a number of testing questions that the Pharisees and Sadducees put before Jesus in order to trick him. And although the phrase is not present, this story has the same connotation as a what if exploring an unnecessary possibility just for the sake of stirring up trouble. What if?

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    Let’s just say, what if a woman is married to an entire slew of brothers, one after the other, and they all are not able to give her children? Talk about that family reunion. It’s a preposterous suggestion, and part of the tone of Jesus’s response is a lesson for us. There is no value in trying to imagine where the line gets crossed in a worst case scenario. There’s no value in trying to find the exception to the rule or the loophole that somehow shows that something won’t work. Jesus answered them.

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    You’re wrong. You’re wrong because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. He then gives us this incredible exposition in the resurrection. They neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they’re like the angels of heaven. And As for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God?

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    I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

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    Our take away from this we have to allow buffer room in what we either cannot control or cannot understand about the way that God works. Getting tripped up on hypotheticals is not going to strengthen your faith.

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    So the lesson for us through this expectation is to neutralize the what ifs by letting that scenario play out even to its worst extent and saying, well, even then, like Job, even if I lose everything, even if it all goes, SI will not let this separate me from the love of God. I will not let this be the thing that causes my light to stop shining. Even through this, I will magnify his name, and I recognize that that’s a lot easier said than done to have that kind of boldness towards any circumstance. As I said, trials will surely come, but we should not fear the damage that they may do.

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    But we can have comfort that they are a sign of God trusting our ability to be able to bear them again. What we perceive as burdens are a sign from God that he fully trusts us to bear it without breaking. Just like Matt, one of these days you’re going to give Olivia a hot, heavy dish to carry to the table.

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    And you know that, you know, she might bobble it this way or that way, but you’re allowing her to bear that with the trust that she will be able to deliver it to the table. I know it’s a silly analogy, but in a way, I think that that’s how God really does work with us.

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    That as Brother Eric said, even when we are beset on every side, everything will be all right. So to conclude, when you’re faced with your next bout of anxiety and what ifs, ask yourself a different set of questions.

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    Who is the Lord? What is He like? How has He proven himself trustworthy? What do I know about Him? The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

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    The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, and whom I take refuge. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?

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    The Lord is my strength and my shield, the upholder of my life. The Lord is the strength of His people. He is the saving refuge of His anointed.

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    The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves the crushed. In spirit. The Lord is good, His steadfast love endorsed forever and His faithfulness to all generations.

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    The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is on my side. I shall not fear. What can man do to me?

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    The Lord is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made. The Lord is faithful in all of His words and kind in all of His works.

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    The Lord is righteous in all of His ways and a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, who call upon Him in truth.

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    The Lord is God and He has made His light to shine upon us. The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is. Thank you for listening to the Good Christadelphian Talks podcast. We hope this talk helped you in your walk and brightened your day. If you would like to hear more, please subscribe for new episodes. We are on all major podcast platforms and also on YouTube. If you enjoyed this particular talk, please share it with someone else who you think might enjoy it too. For show notes on the talk you just listened to, visit [email protected] or check out the Show Notes section of your podcast player.

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