312: Jeremy Wolfe – Exhortation: True Happiness = Joy

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Welcome to good Chris Selfian
talks.

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I’m Levi.
I’m Chris.

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I’m Jason.
And I’m Brian, thank you for

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joining us this week.
On this podcast, we select one

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talk a week to help us get the
Bible in our Daily News feed.

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Each week we post a talk.
That we previewed from

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suggestions sent in by listeners
from around the world.

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Then we record a short intro
beforehand as a personalized

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recommendation to you on why we
are sharing the talk.

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And now let’s talk more about
this week’s talk.

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Hello, this is Brother Chris.
This week we’re listening to an

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excitation that was given
earlier this year in April by

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Brother Jeremy Wolf at the
Abilene Ecclesia in Texas.

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And into that expectation,
brother Jeremy is drawing from

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some discussions that he had
with another brother while they

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were working on a project
talking about what is the

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meaning of true happiness.
What I really enjoyed about this

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with brother Jeremy, other than
it’s just enjoyable always to to

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chat with brother Jeremy and to
talk through things.

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And you can tell he is someone
who who thinks very deeply about

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things and has lots of
perspectives that I found to be

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really interesting is he talks
about how that the happiness

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that the world pursues is not
the same as the happiness that

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we’re supposed to have in our
walk.

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And that instead that happiness
is found through the sense of

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joy the scriptures talk about.
And by finding that sense of

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joy, we’re able to find
contentment regardless of the

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state that we might find
ourselves in, whether that is,

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by worldly definition, a good
time or a bad time or anywhere

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in between.
And I find this just to be a

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good reminder.
It’s something that I think your

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expectations and your
perspectives as things are going

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on can have a dramatic impact on
your outlook.

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And so brother Jeremy goes into
a lot of detail and a lot of

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examples of how to look at
things and how that perspective

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can really have a dramatic
impact on your walk.

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And I found it to be a really
encouraging expectation.

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And I hope that you find it to
be just as encouraging on your

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walk.
So this was sent in as a

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recommendation from somebody in
Texas who heard the excitation

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and recommended this one to us.
So I hope that you find this

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excitation by Brother Jeremy
Wolf to be encouraging to you

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and will help you to find that
sense of joy, to find the true

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happiness that we have in our
walk.

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So with that, I will turn it
over to brother Jeremy Wolf for

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his excitation entitled True
Happiness Equals Joy.

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Morning everyone.
I have to say, and maybe I

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should do so somewhat
apologetically, that this

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exhortation comes from the same
source as my last one, where I

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announced that it came from
brother Nathaniel and I working

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on a construction project.
Talking too much, probably, and

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but it was.
It’s nice to be able to spend so

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many hours with someone like
minded with you.

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And it gets me to thinking, you
know, the times in my life where

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I’ve probably felt the most
resilient to the pressures and

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pain in the world around me is
when I am getting to spend so

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much time with brethren.
And I think about building this

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house and and Nate’s been up
there with me quite a bit.

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And we sometimes we don’t get a
lot done because we have to stop

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because the conversation gets so
good.

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You know, we’re, we’re solving
so many problems, but also think

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about, you know, when we first
bought that property we’re

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building, Ryan and I got to work
together a lot clearing brush

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and trying to keep goats hemmed
in.

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And that was a good time.
And we were able to get closer

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and bounce ideas off of each
other.

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And I think about when I was
young and building houses with

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my dad and most days I was with
dad and Todd Landon and people

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that are like minded with me.
And there’s something in that,

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you know, where you here, you’re
on the same mission as the

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people around you and it builds
resilience in you that comes

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directly from scripture.
It’s similar to if you do the

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readings every day or or have
some sort of spiritual food out

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of the book, the the evil in our
own minds and the temptations

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and pressures of the world tend
to bounce off of us better.

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So I was thinking about that how
you know that that makes us more

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resilient.
And then Native recommended to

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me in our conversation at class
that he had listened to with his

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family.
So my family and I listened to

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it also.
And it was about happiness.

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And this guy had distilled down
what happiness is and he’d come

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up with the formula that’s
events in your life minus the

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expectations.
So like basically when we’re not

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happy to choose it because
expectations not met.

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And there’s, there’s kind of a
lot to unpack there that I won’t

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get into a lot, but what it did
is it, it kind of triggered in

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my mind some some thoughts I’ve
had for years.

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So I went digging through some
old notes that I had.

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And because I can remember, my
dad had handed me a book when I

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was pretty young and it was the
genius of discipleship, my

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brother Dennis Gillett.
Really good book if you haven’t

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read it.
And there was something in it

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that really impacted me.
And, and it, as I look back

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through this, it made me
realize, well, as a young man,

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this really did it kind of set a
template for how I tend to look

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at things because it, it, it
caused me to do a bit of a deep

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dive into what is it that makes
us feel stable and good and our

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walk and, and trying to adhere
to the gospel.

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And I decided back then through
the influence of that book,

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that’s not happiness.
It’s something deeper than that.

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And brother Gillett utilizes the
term joy as superior to

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happiness.
And it’s not all, it’s not all

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that simple because that’s these
are English words and we’re,

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we’re trying to grapple with
using English words to explain

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what was recorded for our
learning.

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But if you think about
happiness, well, the first thing

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I’ll say is if you, if you do a
Bible search for happiness, you

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get about the same result you
get when you search for a mortal

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soul or fallen Angel or it’s not
in there.

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And there, there are things in
there like cheerfulness,

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rejoicing, joy, things like
that.

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But I just think that’s
interesting that if you were to

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ask anybody in the world, and
probably a lot of us, what, what

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do you want?
What do you need?

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I just need to be happy, right?
That’s kind of what people are

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wired to want to feel happy,
feel good.

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And we all too often are looking
for that low hanging fruit of

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this temporary feeling of
cheerfulness is what is what

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we’re actually after.
But we know through this book

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that it’s not about us.
God didn’t create us just to

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save us.
He didn’t create us just to make

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us happy.
He created us to be something

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holy and better and to have an
opportunity that we can seek.

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And in that comes a deep seated
feeling that is much better than

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happiness, that happiness can
actually spring out of.

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And we’ll use the term joy to
cover that in this talk, that

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more substantial foundational
feeling of stability.

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And if I really think about it,
what where it comes from as

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being fully converted.
You know, we’re all in here

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because we believe in this book.
We believe in the gospel.

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We all agree on our first
principles together and and

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Christadelphian teaching.
And if we really do though, if

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we really believe what this book
has to offer, then we stand with

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a quiet confidence and a
resilience and not I don’t want

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to do too much of A dive into
root words and things like that,

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but there’s a couple of Old
Testament words translated joy.

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One of them is translated often
in joy and but it’s more often

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translated except to accept
something.

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And I don’t want to act like a
language expert or anything, but

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that resonates with me.
There’s a good it’s a good

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feeling to be able to accept
things because we’re we’re

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victims of our own minds all the
time.

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And like I said leading up to
this is we have all these

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expectations and hopes and ideas
and desires and needs, and then

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we forget reality.
And you know, you can’t change

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the people around you.
You can’t change your

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circumstances all too often, but
you can’t accept them.

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You can accept people for the
way they are.

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You can accept that you do have
the flesh in you and that you

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are weak, not accepted as in go
with it, but you can accept that

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that’s going to be there.
Satan’s going to go with you

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wherever you go and what are you
going to do about it is where

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you have to settle.
And God built us that way where

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we need purpose, we need, we
need a mission, we need

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direction, we need a struggle to
to work through, something to

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overcome.
And so there’s a lot of

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accepting.
We have to accept the

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circumstance we’re in.
We’re in a dire circumstance.

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We’re mortal, we’re dying,
everybody we love is dying.

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So we have to accept that, be
fully converted, that there is

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hope.
And then amazingly, we can feel

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pretty good anyway.
We can feel all right because

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there’s there’s something else
better out there.

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And so into the New Testament,
the word most often used for joy

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is best translated a calm
delight according to the the

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concordance.
And so that goes right along

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with it too in the New Testament
is, you know, this isn’t some

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sort of a spring up and jump
around in the aisles and dance

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kind of joy.
It’s a quiet, calm confidence

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that gives you delight.
And that is exactly what we

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feel.
I think that describes what we

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feel whenever we we read the
hope of the gospel that Jesus

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was pressing forward so
fervently.

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That’s what it gives me when I
feel like I really believe this

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and I really want to be a part
of this.

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It gives you direction and it
calms you.

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And that’s the feeling that
we’re actually after is a

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feeling of stability and hope.
And so while joy is an English,

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it’s a, you know, the definition
would be a strong feeling of

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pleasure or our motion of
gladness and happiness and the

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light that’s caused by something
good.

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So that, that is all.
That’s, that’s a good definition

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of what we want to feel.
And I think it’s important, you

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know, to, to think about the
severity of not looking at it

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this way and the, the, the
pitfalls that you can go into.

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And I’ll back up a little bit
right here and say, you know,

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the severity of not moving
forward toward the gospel and

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something that you really hope
for and feeling joy in it.

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You know, what is the, what’s
the alternative?

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You know, it can, it’ll, it’ll
bury you.

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And the class that Native
recommended to me, the guy said

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something that really struck me
for a couple of reasons.

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He said, this guy said his son
had died and he said his mind,

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his brain reminds him, I think
he said 16,000 something times.

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It’s, you know, just just
constantly he’ll be doing OK and

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his, his mind will say, yeah,
but your son’s dead, you know,

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and you’re, they said every
single time it’s excruciating

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pain.
And I can’t imagine more pain.

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You know, I don’t think a human
could feel more pain than that.

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Unfortunately, we all know
people and that have that have

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experienced that.
And he described it as a sharp

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pain that went down in the
bottom right corner of his

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heart.
And that jumped out at me

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because I, I know that feeling
he’s talking about where

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something is so painful you
can’t process it and you just

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feel it.
And he said, you know, we’re,

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we’re a victim of our own minds,
which is what the Bible tells

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us, right?
The deceiver in our mind.

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It’s, it’s always lying to us.
And at best, our brain is

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telling us what it thinks is
right at best.

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And it’s usually wrong.
And he said it this way.

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He said my brain tells me my son
died, and I have to tell my

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brain.
Yeah, But he lived.

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And that was kind of beautiful
to me because I think about

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people that I’ve lost or, you
know, whenever something

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terrible happens and it changes
your circumstance, it’s, you

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00:13:53,760 –> 00:13:55,680
know, it’s like, yeah, but
everything that led up to that,

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we had that or, you know, it
doesn’t really matter.

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You can use a lot of different
examples, but our brain doesn’t

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tend, you know, God built us for
survival.

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And if we’re not careful, you
know, the our brain wants to

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focus on what’s negative because
what’s negative is what kills us

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or hurts us.
And so we tend to focus on it.

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But consciously, as we’re
invited to elevate our way of

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00:14:22,480 –> 00:14:26,360
thinking into a heavenly
position through Christ, we have

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00:14:26,360 –> 00:14:30,080
this opportunity to override
that negative bias that we have

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00:14:30,080 –> 00:14:33,760
and say, no, but he lived.
You know, he, he’s dead.

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But, but remember, he lived.
Remember all these good times

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that we had.
And you would never want to live

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in a world he’s, you know, this
man would have never wanted to

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live in a world where that child
wasn’t in his world.

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And you can just go on and on on
that vein of it takes me

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00:14:49,760 –> 00:14:52,480
straight to Romans 8, which I go
to often personally.

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I would imagine a lot of you do,
and I’ll just read it.

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We know God causes all things to
work together for good to those

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who love God, to those who are
called according to His purpose.

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For those whom He foreknew, He
also predestined to become

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conformed to the image of His
Son.

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So that would be the first born
among many brethren.

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And they and these whom He
predestined, He also called, and

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these whom He called He also
justified.

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And then these whom He justified
He also glorified.

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What then should we say to these
things if God is for us, who is

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against us?
So that’s that’s where I go

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00:15:32,360 –> 00:15:38,600
whenever, when I’m down and I
think about am I fully

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00:15:38,600 –> 00:15:42,040
converted?
Am I, I believe that I’m called

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00:15:42,240 –> 00:15:46,400
and if I’m called by God, I need
to accept that.

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It’s my duty to accept that
because I think I said that.

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I can’t remember if I said this
in the CYC or or when’s it not

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00:15:55,560 –> 00:15:58,920
class or something recently, but
we all kind of know how sorry we

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00:15:58,920 –> 00:16:00,840
are inside.
Not kind of we know like we all

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00:16:00,840 –> 00:16:03,360
know our weaknesses.
We know how we go wrong.

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So it’s really easy to be down
on ourselves and think, why me?

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Why would God call me?
Well, he did call you.

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He did and you have an
opportunity to declare his

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00:16:14,360 –> 00:16:17,360
righteousness in doing so.
And one of the ways that we can

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00:16:17,360 –> 00:16:20,600
do that is to accept that
calling and all of our flawed

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00:16:21,600 –> 00:16:27,640
way of doing things and, and put
forth effort for him and that

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00:16:27,640 –> 00:16:31,400
will give us joy.
That is unbelievable because

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00:16:31,400 –> 00:16:33,160
that’s the purpose that we were
created for.

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00:16:34,240 –> 00:16:39,600
And one thing I think about, you
know, talking about the severity

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of, of giving in to that loop of
negativity where we don’t

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00:16:44,040 –> 00:16:46,280
interrupt it with God’s way of
looking at things from that

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00:16:46,280 –> 00:16:51,000
bigger picture where like I read
in Romans, God’s providing

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something for us even through we
don’t even know.

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Sometimes we can look back on
our life and see something

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00:16:56,760 –> 00:16:59,520
terrible that happened and
something better came from it.

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00:17:00,000 –> 00:17:02,600
But usually we can’t.
A lot of times we won’t know

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00:17:02,600 –> 00:17:05,359
until we’re in the Kingdom how
all of that work together for

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00:17:05,359 –> 00:17:09,000
good.
And how even in our groanings,

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as it says earlier in this
chapter, like our flesh is

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00:17:11,040 –> 00:17:13,040
groaning and we don’t even know
how to pray.

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00:17:13,319 –> 00:17:16,800
And God is yet he is still there
for us, still listening, still

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there to provide for us.
And so we need to really

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00:17:24,359 –> 00:17:29,560
understand the absolute
importance of consciously

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00:17:30,400 –> 00:17:34,000
thinking in a positive way
that’s filled with hope.

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Because if we don’t I, I noticed
in Deuteronomy, I’ve written

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00:17:39,440 –> 00:17:45,360
this down years ago.
This is in Deuteronomy 28 where

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00:17:45,360 –> 00:17:50,600
we have all the blessings for
serving God and all the cursings

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00:17:52,160 –> 00:17:56,600
for, for not doing the things
that God desires of us.

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00:17:56,640 –> 00:17:58,680
And it’s terrible.
I mean, it just goes through

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00:17:58,680 –> 00:18:02,520
these horrible curses that the
people will have to live

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00:18:02,520 –> 00:18:05,600
through.
And it says in verse 47,

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00:18:05,600 –> 00:18:09,120
Deuteronomy 28, it’s because you
did not serve the Lord your God

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00:18:09,120 –> 00:18:16,120
with joy and a glad heart.
And you know, back in verse 37,

286
00:18:16,120 –> 00:18:19,160
it uses the word horror.
It’ll become you’ll become a

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00:18:19,160 –> 00:18:24,160
horror.
And I think it’s important to

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00:18:24,160 –> 00:18:27,000
look at it that way.
We want to run away from that

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00:18:27,000 –> 00:18:31,040
horror that that leads to flesh
that we, that is, we’re led to

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00:18:31,040 –> 00:18:35,680
by fleshly thinking.
And the reason we can go there

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00:18:35,680 –> 00:18:37,320
is because we forgot to serve
God with joy.

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00:18:37,320 –> 00:18:41,760
That’s what it says in
Deuteronomy is all of that

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00:18:42,600 –> 00:18:46,400
pathological disaster of, of
falling away and falling away

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00:18:46,400 –> 00:18:49,680
and falling away.
It came from not having that

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00:18:49,680 –> 00:18:53,680
goal in mind of, of, of joyfully
serving God.

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00:18:54,720 –> 00:19:01,160
And so I think of it like this.
You know, if, if we read this

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00:19:01,160 –> 00:19:05,960
book, like they, like they
tended to do when they were

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00:19:05,960 –> 00:19:08,480
living under the law, especially
they look at these laws and the

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00:19:08,480 –> 00:19:14,160
rules and you know, we don’t
want to serve God because it’s

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00:19:14,160 –> 00:19:16,120
the rules.
We want to serve God because

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00:19:16,120 –> 00:19:17,360
that’s what we’re supposed to
do.

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00:19:17,360 –> 00:19:20,120
And we love God and that’s what
he made us for.

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00:19:20,640 –> 00:19:23,480
And it’s similar.
I can think of it in my own way,

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00:19:23,480 –> 00:19:26,280
Like I don’t want my wife to
love me or my kids to respect me

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00:19:26,280 –> 00:19:29,720
because I told them to, because
this book tells them to

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00:19:29,720 –> 00:19:32,920
necessarily.
I wanted to do it because all of

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00:19:32,920 –> 00:19:37,640
my effort and all of my love for
them makes them want to fight

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00:19:37,640 –> 00:19:39,360
for me and love me and respect
me.

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00:19:39,360 –> 00:19:41,920
And that gives me great joy when
that’s working.

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00:19:43,400 –> 00:19:46,760
And God is exponentially more
that way.

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00:19:46,760 –> 00:19:49,640
He’s provided this thing for us,
this opportunity that if we grab

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00:19:49,640 –> 00:19:52,800
hold of it, the joy goes to him
also.

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00:19:54,000 –> 00:19:58,920
And man, what an unbelievable
thing to think about it that

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00:19:58,920 –> 00:20:00,160
way.
It’s not about us.

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00:20:00,800 –> 00:20:03,880
When we think it’s about us,
It’s disappointing because we’re

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00:20:03,880 –> 00:20:07,520
kind of sorry, like I said, but
if we have this chance to give

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00:20:07,520 –> 00:20:12,040
God joy now there’s something
that I can that I can feel like

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00:20:12,040 –> 00:20:17,600
I, I would like to do that.
And, you know, I think it’s

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00:20:17,600 –> 00:20:20,720
important to.
To think about the simple things

320
00:20:20,720 –> 00:20:24,960
that hinder us, you know, doubt,
fear, worrying over small

321
00:20:24,960 –> 00:20:29,880
problems and, and allowing that
fear, that negativity bias in

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00:20:29,880 –> 00:20:34,680
our brain to to tend us toward
dread and, you know, fearing the

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00:20:34,680 –> 00:20:42,840
judgement.
You know, it’s just those things

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00:20:43,240 –> 00:20:46,640
we need to look at as, as things
that it’ll all fall into place

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00:20:46,760 –> 00:20:49,200
if we’re just moving forward and
serving God.

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00:20:52,320 –> 00:20:56,880
So, you know, in the Old
Testament, you think about joy

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00:20:56,920 –> 00:21:00,080
and when it uses the words
translated into joy in the Old

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00:21:00,080 –> 00:21:04,480
Testament especially, it’s often
expressed with like singing and

329
00:21:04,480 –> 00:21:06,520
even dancing.
And then, you know, in events

330
00:21:06,520 –> 00:21:11,440
like enthronements or after a
victory of some kind.

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00:21:11,440 –> 00:21:17,480
And my, my, my mind goes to
David immediately with his, not

332
00:21:17,480 –> 00:21:22,760
only in the stories of his
jubilation and his, he had a

333
00:21:22,760 –> 00:21:26,800
very expressive way of showing
his joy that we would probably

334
00:21:26,800 –> 00:21:30,280
shy away from now, you know, in
our serious way of doing things.

335
00:21:33,080 –> 00:21:38,000
But you can see in the Psalms
that he wrote why he expressed

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00:21:38,000 –> 00:21:40,240
joy.
And we won’t look him up for the

337
00:21:40,240 –> 00:21:43,360
sake of time.
But Psalm 511, he, he expresses

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00:21:43,360 –> 00:21:46,080
that he has joy because of the
protection that God provides

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00:21:46,080 –> 00:21:51,280
him.
Psalm 16, he talks a lot about

340
00:21:51,280 –> 00:21:57,040
hope that gives him joy.
Psalm 21, the confidence of

341
00:21:57,040 –> 00:22:00,120
strength and of God, confidence
in God’s strength.

342
00:22:01,120 –> 00:22:04,720
Psalm 32, God’s mercy gives him
joy.

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00:22:05,880 –> 00:22:11,400
And Psalm 51 he refers to
salvation, the hope of salvation

344
00:22:11,400 –> 00:22:14,080
giving him joy.
So protection, hope, confidence

345
00:22:14,080 –> 00:22:17,400
in God’s strength, God’s mercy,
salvation, what those things all

346
00:22:17,400 –> 00:22:19,520
have something in common when I
look at it, they’re very

347
00:22:19,520 –> 00:22:22,920
substantial and they’re very
relevant.

348
00:22:22,920 –> 00:22:27,080
And good times or bad times, if
you’re really happy and you feel

349
00:22:27,080 –> 00:22:30,120
like God’s protecting you,
that’s a good feeling.

350
00:22:30,200 –> 00:22:32,520
If you’re really sad and you
feel like God’s protecting you,

351
00:22:32,680 –> 00:22:36,960
that’s a good feeling.
So that’s that resilience that

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00:22:36,960 –> 00:22:42,200
we’ll get into even more that
the difference starts to to

353
00:22:42,200 –> 00:22:47,480
distill the way of a biblical
joy versus the happiness that we

354
00:22:47,480 –> 00:22:49,400
all want to seek in our daily
lives.

355
00:22:51,600 –> 00:22:55,080
In the Bible, we’re seeing
something that’s very deep

356
00:22:55,080 –> 00:22:58,520
seated, very foundational,
something that we have to really

357
00:22:58,520 –> 00:23:05,040
believe in.
And I think we know, you know,

358
00:23:05,040 –> 00:23:07,800
we can look at each other’s
examples and sharpen one

359
00:23:07,800 –> 00:23:09,800
another.
And I think we all know whether

360
00:23:09,800 –> 00:23:14,760
it’s in this room or people that
we’ve known in our wall that

361
00:23:14,760 –> 00:23:17,000
that seem to kind of have this
together, whether they would

362
00:23:17,000 –> 00:23:20,160
describe it this way or not.
And there’s something really

363
00:23:20,160 –> 00:23:23,400
there.
And a lot of times you might not

364
00:23:23,400 –> 00:23:27,480
recognize it.
Brother Gillett used an example

365
00:23:27,480 –> 00:23:31,000
in in his book about how when
you can’t find something, you’re

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00:23:31,000 –> 00:23:32,360
looking for something
everywhere.

367
00:23:33,160 –> 00:23:37,440
And then finally you do find it.
And it turns out it was you just

368
00:23:37,640 –> 00:23:41,440
couldn’t remember exactly the
shape and color and, and then

369
00:23:41,440 –> 00:23:43,840
you find it and it’s, it’s great
because you found this thing.

370
00:23:43,840 –> 00:23:49,280
And you know, a lot of times we
get this wrong image of what a

371
00:23:49,280 –> 00:23:53,320
happy, well adjusted person is.
But then you find yourself drawn

372
00:23:53,320 –> 00:23:57,520
to these certain people.
And if you, if you adjust that

373
00:23:57,520 –> 00:24:00,520
vision of what is it I’m looking
for in this person, you see it.

374
00:24:00,520 –> 00:24:04,120
All of a sudden they have this
deep seated joy in their life.

375
00:24:04,120 –> 00:24:06,080
They tend to be the people that
you’re most drawn to.

376
00:24:06,080 –> 00:24:09,160
And I’ve really thought about
this of people in my life that

377
00:24:09,600 –> 00:24:11,800
and throughout the years that
have helped me.

378
00:24:13,960 –> 00:24:16,200
And I think that’s beneficial
because we want to be there for

379
00:24:16,200 –> 00:24:17,640
each other.
And I, I want to be able to

380
00:24:17,640 –> 00:24:20,880
develop into some someone that
people can lean on and look to

381
00:24:21,640 –> 00:24:24,920
because that’s a big part of Our
Calling as as a part of the

382
00:24:24,920 –> 00:24:27,880
body.
And so I think it’s important

383
00:24:27,880 –> 00:24:32,600
that we get that wrong image out
of our head about the bubbly

384
00:24:32,600 –> 00:24:34,200
happy.
Sometimes they are that

385
00:24:34,440 –> 00:24:37,360
sometimes people do have that.
That’s more of like a

386
00:24:37,360 –> 00:24:40,320
temperament thing though.
But what the people that are

387
00:24:40,320 –> 00:24:45,080
generally well adjusted and
happy and strong, that’s deep

388
00:24:45,080 –> 00:24:47,200
seated joy.
And they’re getting that because

389
00:24:47,200 –> 00:24:49,560
they’re fully converted and
they’re confident and it gives

390
00:24:49,560 –> 00:24:52,040
that like the real word you’re
trying to express that

391
00:24:52,040 –> 00:24:56,880
acceptance or that calm delight.
You know, we can be accused of

392
00:24:56,880 –> 00:25:02,160
lacking joy in our services and
sometimes maybe there’s some

393
00:25:02,640 –> 00:25:05,680
validity to that criticism.
But when I look at this group,

394
00:25:06,440 –> 00:25:09,280
there’s a lot of joy, there’s a
lot of belief, there’s a lot of

395
00:25:09,280 –> 00:25:12,800
faith, and we just need to be
sure what we’re looking for with

396
00:25:12,800 –> 00:25:17,280
each other.
And you know, I think a lot of

397
00:25:17,440 –> 00:25:22,640
about when I think about this,
the the peril of the sower, I

398
00:25:22,640 –> 00:25:24,360
won’t turn there for now.
We all know the story.

399
00:25:24,360 –> 00:25:28,280
The when the seed falls among
the rocks and springs up, it’s

400
00:25:28,280 –> 00:25:31,640
like someone that springs up
with joy, but not it’s not that

401
00:25:31,640 –> 00:25:33,160
real joy.
It’s not that same joy.

402
00:25:33,160 –> 00:25:36,640
It’s like, you know, you don’t
want to hear the gospel and

403
00:25:36,640 –> 00:25:40,080
think that sounds amazing, but
then you have no root and so you

404
00:25:40,080 –> 00:25:45,040
die away.
So like I said earlier, where we

405
00:25:45,040 –> 00:25:48,880
go, Satan goes, our brain goes
with us.

406
00:25:50,200 –> 00:25:53,680
The deceptive thoughts that lie
to us all the time.

407
00:25:54,360 –> 00:25:56,720
Like I said, at best our brains
telling us what it thinks is

408
00:25:56,720 –> 00:25:58,880
true.
That goes with us everywhere we

409
00:25:58,880 –> 00:26:01,560
go.
So when we hear something in

410
00:26:01,560 –> 00:26:04,520
this book that gives us hope, it
can be right, it can be correct,

411
00:26:04,680 –> 00:26:08,360
it can be good, but don’t let
don’t be that person that

412
00:26:08,360 –> 00:26:14,720
doesn’t let it take root and,
and really meditate on those

413
00:26:14,720 –> 00:26:18,680
things and develop something
deep inside yourself, because

414
00:26:18,680 –> 00:26:23,240
then it just becomes a frivolous
happiness that comes kind of

415
00:26:23,240 –> 00:26:25,400
from a good plate of food or
something.

416
00:26:25,400 –> 00:26:26,760
You know, you don’t want it to
be like that.

417
00:26:26,760 –> 00:26:29,480
You want it to be something
real, something that sustains

418
00:26:29,480 –> 00:26:33,400
you through anything.
And, you know, we, we try to

419
00:26:33,400 –> 00:26:37,440
draw a distinction between US
and the, the other churches say

420
00:26:37,440 –> 00:26:41,440
that sometimes they appear,
appear to be more joyful in

421
00:26:41,440 –> 00:26:44,320
their services.
And they’re, you know, we know

422
00:26:44,320 –> 00:26:47,920
better than to to allow the
stimulation of, you know, things

423
00:26:47,920 –> 00:26:51,200
being induced by frivolous
doctrine or music or whatever it

424
00:26:51,200 –> 00:26:53,920
might be.
But but, but let’s look inward.

425
00:26:54,600 –> 00:26:56,480
Let’s think about what do we do
that’s like that?

426
00:26:56,480 –> 00:27:01,680
You know, do we put out a facade
of, of what we want people to

427
00:27:01,680 –> 00:27:05,600
think we are?
Do we, you know, we can accuse

428
00:27:05,600 –> 00:27:07,320
the other churches of that, but
what about us?

429
00:27:07,320 –> 00:27:08,960
Do we do that?
Of course we do.

430
00:27:10,040 –> 00:27:13,680
And we we think people are
buying this image that we

431
00:27:13,680 –> 00:27:17,080
project of ourselves.
What good am I doing you if I

432
00:27:17,080 –> 00:27:22,320
project an image of this happy,
well adjusted individual with

433
00:27:22,320 –> 00:27:25,760
inside?
I’m not, I’m not doing you any

434
00:27:25,760 –> 00:27:27,280
good and I’m not doing me any
good.

435
00:27:27,960 –> 00:27:30,440
And let’s make sure within our
brotherhood and within this

436
00:27:30,440 –> 00:27:33,760
ecclesia, we’re not doing that.
Let’s be real with each other

437
00:27:34,440 –> 00:27:37,120
and let’s be aware of each
other’s problems.

438
00:27:37,400 –> 00:27:42,240
Let’s confess our faults to one
another and and bolster one

439
00:27:42,240 –> 00:27:46,960
another.
You know, there’s nothing wrong

440
00:27:46,960 –> 00:27:50,320
with cheerfulness.
There’s nothing wrong with joy

441
00:27:50,320 –> 00:27:52,680
and songs and dance and cheerful
faces.

442
00:27:53,680 –> 00:27:56,880
But if that stuff’s not there,
you can’t assume that somebody’s

443
00:27:56,880 –> 00:28:01,560
not doing well and, and doing
the right thing and worthy of,

444
00:28:02,200 –> 00:28:04,680
of following and, and working
together with them.

445
00:28:04,680 –> 00:28:09,240
Because just because life is, is
turning rough for someone

446
00:28:09,240 –> 00:28:12,640
doesn’t mean that they’re not
looking at things the right way.

447
00:28:12,640 –> 00:28:16,520
And, and, and those people are
the best examples for us.

448
00:28:19,000 –> 00:28:23,640
There’s a good, a good thing
that I, I’d written down where

449
00:28:24,200 –> 00:28:28,160
but Jesus did say be of good
cheer several times told people

450
00:28:28,160 –> 00:28:29,880
be of good cheer.
And it was always when something

451
00:28:29,880 –> 00:28:32,960
horrible was going on.
So what is that about?

452
00:28:33,120 –> 00:28:38,840
And I’ll just kind of run
through the the palsy man that

453
00:28:38,840 –> 00:28:43,720
was led down through the roof
when the disciples were in peril

454
00:28:43,720 –> 00:28:45,120
on the sea.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been

455
00:28:45,120 –> 00:28:50,000
in peril on the sea.
I mean, I think that I have one

456
00:28:50,000 –> 00:28:55,600
time people that live more in a
sea going culture might laugh at

457
00:28:55,600 –> 00:28:56,960
me, but I thought it was pretty
scary.

458
00:28:57,760 –> 00:29:02,360
And you know, on a on a small
boat in cold water with, with

459
00:29:02,360 –> 00:29:05,920
large swells, that is very
unsettling.

460
00:29:07,880 –> 00:29:11,600
And the woman that had the issue
of blood and the disciples when

461
00:29:11,600 –> 00:29:15,040
they were about to lose, lose
Jesus, he tells them to be a

462
00:29:15,040 –> 00:29:17,120
good cheer.
And you know, all those cases

463
00:29:17,120 –> 00:29:19,760
like me saying how how terrified
I’ve been on the water, like

464
00:29:19,760 –> 00:29:21,600
somebody would have told me to
cheer up right then I’d have

465
00:29:21,600 –> 00:29:25,640
been like, yeah, I wish I could.
But this is, this is one of

466
00:29:25,640 –> 00:29:27,800
those cases of very poor
translation.

467
00:29:27,840 –> 00:29:33,720
The word it’s, it’s, it’s kind
of odd that most modern quality

468
00:29:33,720 –> 00:29:39,240
translations do it this way.
But what it what the word means

469
00:29:39,240 –> 00:29:41,360
is to have courage.
He was telling to have courage.

470
00:29:41,360 –> 00:29:45,400
That’s way different.
You know, he was saying, now if,

471
00:29:45,560 –> 00:29:48,680
if I’m scared on the water and
he says Jesus, and if you know

472
00:29:48,680 –> 00:29:51,360
Jesus and he tells you be of
good courage.

473
00:29:51,360 –> 00:29:54,560
Now I can get behind that.
That would that would kind of

474
00:29:54,560 –> 00:29:58,120
resonate with me a little bit
more or if you the palsy or the

475
00:29:58,120 –> 00:30:00,400
issue of blood or when you’re
about to lose someone you love

476
00:30:00,400 –> 00:30:03,240
and you’re trying to come to
grips with that courage.

477
00:30:04,080 –> 00:30:05,880
That doesn’t mean the pain is
not going to be there.

478
00:30:05,880 –> 00:30:07,560
That doesn’t mean the fear is
not going to be there.

479
00:30:07,560 –> 00:30:11,840
All that means is stand strong
in the face of it.

480
00:30:12,520 –> 00:30:15,960
And and Christ had given the
people that he says this to

481
00:30:17,480 –> 00:30:19,960
something substantial.
He talked about the gospel.

482
00:30:20,680 –> 00:30:23,680
He talked about hope.
He talked about things that are

483
00:30:23,680 –> 00:30:28,760
real and these are things that
when he has instilled that in

484
00:30:28,760 –> 00:30:31,080
you and then he says have have
good courage.

485
00:30:32,120 –> 00:30:35,320
You can you can think about the
lessons he’s taught you and

486
00:30:35,320 –> 00:30:37,600
plant your feet on those and you
do feel courage.

487
00:30:39,440 –> 00:30:42,880
And so I want to, I want to step
away from that.

488
00:30:45,200 –> 00:30:48,440
Like I said, we don’t want to
have that cheerful, happy thing

489
00:30:48,520 –> 00:30:52,160
that that only can exist under
favorable circumstances.

490
00:30:53,720 –> 00:30:55,360
You know, you can feel joy at a
funeral.

491
00:30:57,400 –> 00:31:00,320
You probably aren’t going to
feel happy or cheerful at a

492
00:31:00,320 –> 00:31:04,400
funeral, but you can feel joy.
You can feel a deep seated hope

493
00:31:04,480 –> 00:31:06,840
that comes from really believing
that there’s something more.

494
00:31:08,320 –> 00:31:12,920
In 2nd Corinthians 10, six verse
10, Paul says you can be

495
00:31:12,920 –> 00:31:18,960
sorrowful yet always rejoicing.
Does that make sense to people

496
00:31:18,960 –> 00:31:20,560
in the world?
Do you think people that don’t

497
00:31:20,600 –> 00:31:23,280
people haven’t read this book to
be sorrowful and rejoicing at

498
00:31:23,280 –> 00:31:26,560
the same time?
Like that sounds like what you

499
00:31:26,560 –> 00:31:31,840
would call an oxymoron, but it’s
not because I think everybody in

500
00:31:31,840 –> 00:31:34,960
this room has experienced that
to be sorrowful, sorrowful yet

501
00:31:34,960 –> 00:31:37,920
rejoicing.
And that is a weirdly

502
00:31:38,040 –> 00:31:41,200
comfortable, powerful place to
be.

503
00:31:42,160 –> 00:31:44,520
And I you can all think of your
own examples of that.

504
00:31:44,520 –> 00:31:48,600
If it if it’s losing someone you
love that that that had this

505
00:31:48,600 –> 00:31:52,440
show to life, well lived, that
endured to the end and you lose

506
00:31:52,440 –> 00:31:58,480
that person, grief is there.
But like I said earlier, that I

507
00:31:58,480 –> 00:32:00,960
thought was neat that that guy
said, but that person lived and

508
00:32:00,960 –> 00:32:06,360
they were part of of your life
and they have a hope and there’s

509
00:32:06,360 –> 00:32:08,160
some kind of powerful joy in
that.

510
00:32:08,160 –> 00:32:10,240
That’s not really the same as
any other kind of joy.

511
00:32:11,000 –> 00:32:14,840
So not only is it possible to be
sorrowfully yet rejoicing, but

512
00:32:14,840 –> 00:32:17,880
it’s, it’s, it’s like some of
the most powerful joy you can

513
00:32:17,880 –> 00:32:22,080
possibly feel because it’s got
your mind reduced down to its

514
00:32:22,080 –> 00:32:27,040
basic elements of what we really
are and what a dire circumstance

515
00:32:27,040 –> 00:32:29,040
we’re in.
And yet you still have hope.

516
00:32:30,640 –> 00:32:35,560
And that’s where you can really
feel like we have something here

517
00:32:36,360 –> 00:32:40,680
and we really do.
And that gives me so much joy.

518
00:32:40,680 –> 00:32:47,280
I think it’s worth looking up.
I read in Romans earlier, just a

519
00:32:47,280 –> 00:32:50,560
couple pages over for me, Romans
5.

520
00:32:54,400 –> 00:33:01,080
Let’s see verses 2 through 6
through.

521
00:33:01,080 –> 00:33:04,160
And we’ve also obtained our
introduction into faith into

522
00:33:04,160 –> 00:33:10,080
this grace in which we stand.
And we in this in, in this

523
00:33:10,080 –> 00:33:15,000
translation, it says exalt or to
or to have or to rejoice in hope

524
00:33:15,000 –> 00:33:17,800
of the glory of God.
And not only this, but we also

525
00:33:17,800 –> 00:33:20,840
exalt in our tribulations,
knowing that tribulation brings

526
00:33:20,840 –> 00:33:23,520
about perseverance and
perseverance, proven character

527
00:33:23,520 –> 00:33:26,960
and proving character, hope and
hope does not disappoint because

528
00:33:26,960 –> 00:33:29,440
the love of God has been poured
out within our hearts through

529
00:33:29,960 –> 00:33:32,800
the Holy Spirit.
It was given for to us.

530
00:33:33,440 –> 00:33:36,560
For while we were still helpless
at the right time, Christ died

531
00:33:36,640 –> 00:33:40,480
for the ungodly.
So there’s just there’s a lot

532
00:33:40,480 –> 00:33:42,880
there that I could I could just
make the whole excitation on

533
00:33:42,880 –> 00:33:47,360
those few verses right there.
You know, the love shown to us

534
00:33:47,360 –> 00:33:48,840
while we’re the mess that we
are.

535
00:33:49,440 –> 00:33:55,160
How does that not give us hope,
You know, and and he he brings

536
00:33:55,160 –> 00:33:57,280
perseverance into it.
And that’s what I’m trying to

537
00:33:57,280 –> 00:34:03,440
get at is that acceptance, that
stability, that fool, that

538
00:34:03,440 –> 00:34:05,120
feeling of being fully
converted.

539
00:34:06,000 –> 00:34:09,760
That is what gives us that
perseverance.

540
00:34:10,600 –> 00:34:13,080
We’re able to persevere.
We’re able to be those that

541
00:34:13,080 –> 00:34:15,880
overcome and inherit these
things that are promised to us.

542
00:34:19,199 –> 00:34:23,560
And I just think that’s just
such a great a great thing to

543
00:34:23,560 –> 00:34:27,600
try to to try very consciously
to develop into our lives and

544
00:34:28,760 –> 00:34:34,800
and doesn’t matter what comes
our way.

545
00:34:34,800 –> 00:34:38,600
Then we’re standing on the same
thing and good times and the bad

546
00:34:38,600 –> 00:34:43,800
times.
James one, we all know the verse

547
00:34:43,800 –> 00:34:45,960
count it all joy when you fall
into temptation.

548
00:34:45,960 –> 00:34:49,800
Even, you know, there’s, there’s
a lot to unpack there, but

549
00:34:49,800 –> 00:34:53,440
there’s there’s just opportunity
to serve everywhere, to overcome

550
00:34:53,440 –> 00:34:58,320
temptation serves God to not be
angry, to not have a bad

551
00:34:58,320 –> 00:35:03,680
reaction, to constantly turn our
mind back to the way he has

552
00:35:03,680 –> 00:35:06,360
taught us to be.
That is service to God.

553
00:35:06,840 –> 00:35:09,840
And we all believe in this
gospel.

554
00:35:09,840 –> 00:35:11,040
We all want to be in the
Kingdom.

555
00:35:12,520 –> 00:35:14,960
We all wish we just knew how to
serve sometimes, right?

556
00:35:14,960 –> 00:35:17,000
We do.
But if you want to know how to

557
00:35:17,000 –> 00:35:18,760
serve, think about what your
problems are.

558
00:35:18,760 –> 00:35:20,880
Think about what the problems
are, the person sitting beside

559
00:35:20,880 –> 00:35:22,600
you.
There’s your opportunity to

560
00:35:22,600 –> 00:35:25,400
serve.
There’s your opportunity to

561
00:35:25,400 –> 00:35:32,040
joyfully work on something, work
on those problems and allow the

562
00:35:32,040 –> 00:35:36,120
mind of God to break those
things down for you and show and

563
00:35:36,120 –> 00:35:37,680
help you to see what they really
are.

564
00:35:40,080 –> 00:35:42,520
You know, it’s interesting, as I
said, like happiness is not, is

565
00:35:42,520 –> 00:35:45,160
not really a word used in the
Bible.

566
00:35:45,320 –> 00:35:47,440
It’s not in the fruits of the
Spirit, but joy is.

567
00:35:48,080 –> 00:35:53,120
And so when you think about
fruit, it goes along the same

568
00:35:53,120 –> 00:35:58,360
thing that I’ve been saying
fruits, not it’s not like sugar,

569
00:35:58,360 –> 00:36:00,440
you know, like it’s not like
eating a sugary bowl of cereal.

570
00:36:00,440 –> 00:36:01,760
Fruit is something that’s
substantial.

571
00:36:01,760 –> 00:36:06,880
It’s full of good nutrients and
fiber and it’s, you can’t just

572
00:36:06,880 –> 00:36:12,680
make fruit, you know, God put it
there and it grows steadily.

573
00:36:13,160 –> 00:36:17,440
It grows on dull days, it grows
on sunny days because it has to

574
00:36:17,440 –> 00:36:21,240
grow slowly.
And all these fruits of the

575
00:36:21,240 –> 00:36:24,040
spirit of that way.
And that’s how joy is as one of

576
00:36:24,040 –> 00:36:27,480
those fruit.
It’s it, it grows deeply into

577
00:36:27,480 –> 00:36:32,240
your character and it’s, it’s
not this quick dramatic thing

578
00:36:32,240 –> 00:36:33,760
that comes to us and then
leaves.

579
00:36:34,480 –> 00:36:42,960
It’s a part of us.
I want to say this, you know, I,

580
00:36:42,960 –> 00:36:48,760
I was thinking about Paul and
Silas singing in prison, and it

581
00:36:48,760 –> 00:36:51,000
talks about them feeling joy
while they’re in prison.

582
00:36:52,080 –> 00:36:54,600
And I was thinking about how
soft we are.

583
00:36:55,240 –> 00:36:57,240
You know, we really are.
We’re very coddled.

584
00:36:58,000 –> 00:37:00,400
We’re talking to Sunday school
about living in this country and

585
00:37:00,400 –> 00:37:03,120
being protected by laws and
thinking that we’re really free

586
00:37:03,120 –> 00:37:07,560
and we have insurance.
We have refrigerators and

587
00:37:07,560 –> 00:37:11,800
microwaves and air conditioning
and the Internet and social

588
00:37:11,800 –> 00:37:15,280
media.
And we’re very we’re soft, we’re

589
00:37:15,280 –> 00:37:21,920
distracted.
But we are made out of the same

590
00:37:21,920 –> 00:37:25,680
stuff as Paul and Silas.
We are capable of what they did.

591
00:37:26,040 –> 00:37:29,800
Let’s not sell ourselves short.
We are capable of building

592
00:37:29,800 –> 00:37:33,560
inside of ourselves something
that could make Paul and Silas

593
00:37:33,560 –> 00:37:37,240
sing in prison.
We have the same king that they

594
00:37:37,240 –> 00:37:39,440
had.
We have the same gospel

595
00:37:39,440 –> 00:37:46,240
presented to us that they had.
We don’t have to be as weak and

596
00:37:46,240 –> 00:37:48,160
soft as we are.
We don’t have to be.

597
00:37:48,280 –> 00:37:52,480
We can make the decision not to
be and we really we better

598
00:37:52,560 –> 00:37:55,280
because bad things are going to
come.

599
00:37:56,040 –> 00:37:59,000
We know that, but we also know
that we can overcome those

600
00:37:59,000 –> 00:38:00,520
things.
And it’s the overcoming of those

601
00:38:00,520 –> 00:38:06,160
things that makes us different.
That’s who we’re promised we’ll

602
00:38:06,160 –> 00:38:07,960
inherit the things of the
Kingdom.

603
00:38:09,880 –> 00:38:12,720
So I’ll stop there.
You know, as we, as we protect

604
00:38:12,720 –> 00:38:17,120
the bread and wine, I hope that
we can feel that solemn joy.

605
00:38:18,200 –> 00:38:22,560
You know, that as unworthy as we
are, we’re shown mercy and we’re

606
00:38:22,560 –> 00:38:24,200
given hope and we’re given
opportunity.

607
00:38:25,240 –> 00:38:29,280
And then as we go about our
daily lives, you know, I hope we

608
00:38:29,280 –> 00:38:33,080
can feel that joy that Paul did,
that he was kind of worthy to

609
00:38:33,080 –> 00:38:35,240
have opportunities to suffer in
the name of God.

610
00:38:36,640 –> 00:38:42,160
And and remember in our lives
and our relationships, our

611
00:38:42,160 –> 00:38:43,880
life’s going to be disappointing
sometimes.

612
00:38:44,000 –> 00:38:46,280
Our relationships are going to
be disappointing sometimes.

613
00:38:47,320 –> 00:38:50,600
But God didn’t put these things
in our lives to make us happy.

614
00:38:50,840 –> 00:38:52,560
Only hopefully they do make us
happy.

615
00:38:52,560 –> 00:38:55,640
But that’s not the point.
The point is this framework that

616
00:38:55,640 –> 00:38:59,720
he put us in, the way life
happens to us and the way our

617
00:38:59,720 –> 00:39:01,840
relationships with each other
are, they’re there to make us

618
00:39:01,840 –> 00:39:03,680
holy.
They’re there to make us better.

619
00:39:03,960 –> 00:39:05,640
They’re not just there to make
us happy.

620
00:39:06,600 –> 00:39:09,000
And so that helps us to have
that acceptance that I was

621
00:39:09,000 –> 00:39:16,080
talking about.
And we can identify then not

622
00:39:16,080 –> 00:39:18,200
only with Paul and Silas, but
with Jesus himself.

623
00:39:18,680 –> 00:39:21,600
Because what was it that got him
through the cross?

624
00:39:23,920 –> 00:39:25,840
Acts 12/2.
It was the joy that was set

625
00:39:25,840 –> 00:39:27,240
before him that he endured the
cross.

626
00:39:27,240 –> 00:39:35,960
Despise the shame.
So I was close with something

627
00:39:35,960 –> 00:39:38,360
that can help.
That really helps to still my

628
00:39:38,360 –> 00:39:47,800
hope and Jesus words.
Matthew 25.

629
00:39:53,320 –> 00:39:56,400
He alludes in the parable to
what we can hope to hear from

630
00:39:56,400 –> 00:40:00,120
him when we come face to face
with him.

631
00:40:00,120 –> 00:40:01,840
Well done, good and faithful
servant.

632
00:40:02,320 –> 00:40:03,840
You’re faithful with a few
things.

633
00:40:04,120 –> 00:40:05,920
I’ll put you in charge of many
things.

634
00:40:06,640 –> 00:40:08,520
Enter into the joy of your
master.

635
00:40:24,040 –> 00:40:26,120
Thank you for listening to the
Good Christadelphian Talks

636
00:40:26,120 –> 00:40:28,720
podcast.
We hope this talk helped you in

637
00:40:28,720 –> 00:40:30,240
your walk and brightened your
day.

638
00:40:31,400 –> 00:40:33,440
If you would like to hear more,
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639
00:40:33,440 –> 00:40:35,960
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640
00:40:35,960 –> 00:40:40,080
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641
00:40:40,080 –> 00:40:42,560
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642
00:40:42,560 –> 00:40:45,320
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643
00:40:45,320 –> 00:40:49,400
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644
00:40:49,680 –> 00:40:52,200
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