[0:00] And chapter number 10. Last Wednesday night, we were in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13.
[0:18] And I want to revisit that message. And I think just on thinking on it yesterday and more today, that there's just more to extract from this truth.
[0:32] Last week, we read this verse here, and we'll read it again in a moment, and connected it to James, some thoughts about temptation and enduring temptation, and gave you some examples of some people that did not, that were looking for a different way of escape, and then gave some examples of some men that did the right thing, and trusted God, and endured, and watched God open up and give that way of escape that he promises here in this verse.
[1:04] And so let's take a look and read the verse again. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13. There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.
[1:19] But will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Now, I want to just rehash a little of this, and then really try to draw some more out that we kind of just brushed by.
[1:34] Last week was more of a Bible study with an application. I think there's more to draw out. It says in verse 13 that there hath no temptation taken you. It's taken you.
[1:45] It's a description of you being held captive. You're in something, and you can't get out of it. You're taken by this temptation. It's also called in the Bible a trial, or another place, a test.
[1:59] And so something's taken a hold of you, and you cannot just loosen yourself and just brush it off and get away. Now, a few things let's notice about this.
[2:11] Number one, in this verse, it says, there hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. So you're not the first one to ever face such a thing, such a situation, or such a trial.
[2:24] You're not the first one. It feels like it because it's new to you, perhaps. Maybe it's your first time, but you're not the first human being to endure something or to get caught up in something that's hard or that's got some problems with it.
[2:37] And so this is something that's common to man. It feels unique, but it's really not. And so know that. That's something that the Bible says. We believe that. No temptation hath taken you, but such as is, number one, common to man.
[2:49] Then it goes on to say, but God is faithful. And remember that also when we're talking on this topic before we get into anything of this all. God is faithful. He's always faithful.
[3:01] In everything, God is faithful. And so you're not alone. And so the Lord hasn't just left you be taken captive by something and just off.
[3:11] Good luck with that. I didn't see that coming. No, God hasn't gone anywhere. And if you're taken in such a thing and it hurts and it's hard to get out of, you don't see the end. God, he sees the end from the beginning.
[3:23] The Lord God sees the present and he sees the future. He sees the inside. He sees the out. So God is faithful. You can count on that. The third thing to note from this verse is that God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.
[3:39] That's a good thing to notice. That's a good thing to grab a hold of, that God has allowed this, but he will not allow it to be more than I can bear. He will never do that to anybody.
[3:52] When somebody gives up, it's not because of their fault. When somebody quits and walks away, it's their fault, a flaw in them. When somebody says the only way to have it is just pound some pills or pull out a gun and blow my brains out, that's on them.
[4:06] That's not the Lord. The Lord's there. The Lord's faithful to them and he won't suffer any one of us to be tempted above that ye are able. What that tells me is I can get the victory.
[4:19] And maybe it's not going to be on my timetable. And if I'm taken in such a thing, I can get the victory. I can endure it. I don't have to quit. I don't have to give up. That's not the way of escape that God promised.
[4:30] It's for me to say, forget all this. My life was better before this. And so another thing let's notice is coming toward the end of the verse. He will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it.
[4:48] Notice again how it says will with the temptation. It's something I pointed out last week. It's not outside of the temptation, but in it. It says that ye may be able to bear it.
[5:01] And so God's offering, as we'll see in a minute, the grace to bear it and to endure it and to get through it. He will, with the temptation, as in within that trial that's taken you, he'll offer you the grace.
[5:15] He'll allow you, and even in this context, to make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it. Now finally he says he'll make a way to escape, and that's a promise. It's a promise of an end, a way out.
[5:28] For the Apostle Paul, as far as we know, his way out was death, the time of his departure, for something that he had to deal with, and he asked God to take it away, and God didn't take it away. And so his way out was maybe not the way out he chose or would have liked at the time.
[5:44] But he'll make a way to escape. So God's way is going through the temptation or the trial. God's way of escape is for you to go through it and trust him in it.
[5:58] Now here's the thing. Not one of us in here, not one of us in here wants to go through anything. We don't want to go through a cotton-picking thing.
[6:08] We don't want to deal with anything. We want it to all be fixed. And as soon as there's a little problem, God, or blame it on everybody else. But it's a problem.
[6:19] We don't want to deal with it. Nobody wants to go through anything. And I'm guilty. I'm just the same as you are on this. We all want to escape, and we all want to escape now. So pray for me, brethren.
[6:30] Pray for me. Pray for this. Pray for that. Let's get out of this. Let's fix this. Fix, fix, fix, fix, fix. You know why the prosperity gospel has gotten so much popularity and taken just traction? And it's worldwide.
[6:41] You know why? Because it just feeds or preys on maybe the innate carnal desires of every one of us to just have it made. To have no flaws, no problems, just peace and happiness and health.
[6:57] And God wants that for me? Oh, sounds good. Health and wealth. Who doesn't want that? Smooth sailings. Who wants to face marital problems and struggles?
[7:11] Who wants to have rebellious children and teenagers? And who wants to have broken relationships that don't get mended ever or 10 years later or something?
[7:21] Who says, God, could I please have a trial in this life? We don't want it. We want to escape the trial. We want it over with. We don't want the trial.
[7:33] And so often man will seek a way out because he doesn't want to go through the hard times. He'll seek a way of escape, but not necessarily the way that God promised that he would give and provide.
[7:44] All right. All right. So let's just rehash quickly these examples from last week. The Lord Jesus Christ, not finding him with fault, believe me. But in that moment of weakness in the garden, he said, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.
[8:00] Christ wanted to escape what was in front of him. He wanted a way out. If God, if it's possible, I sure would like to get past this or get around it. And so he was looking for an escape.
[8:13] And yet he submitted. And we'll see that as well. The disciples that night, remember, he told Peter, you're going to deny me. And Peter said, I'll not deny you. If I should die tonight, I'll not deny you.
[8:25] Likewise, said they all. And then when the swords and the staves showed up in the garden and Jesus Christ said, hey, John, would you hand me my, John, Andrew? The Bible says they all forsook him and fled.
[8:39] And those men that were so tight, they wanted to find a way of escape because this situation is nothing they want to be caught up in. And then the apostle Peter, we saw him.
[8:49] He was working his way back to Jesus Christ and trying to stay out of sight, off the radar. And he warms himself by the fire and he gets spotted. And he says, I didn't know him.
[9:02] What happened right there? He wanted to escape. I'm caught. Busted. And so what does he do? He lies about who he is and who he knows. And by the end of that, the third thing here, he's vehement about it.
[9:16] He's beginning to curse and to swear, saying as the Lord, God liveth. I don't know that man. Never saw him before my life. They said, you're one of him. You're a Galilean. You're from up north.
[9:27] Yeah. And he just gets louder and louder and louder, showing his passion, showing how, of course, I didn't. I'm telling you the truth. I'm getting angry. And so the apostle Peter, looking for a way to escape.
[9:41] Judas found himself condemned. Found himself that he was in a mess between him and God. He messed up big time. This money is on his hands. Got to get rid of it.
[9:52] And so he went back to try to get rid of it. Tried to escape this problem he got himself into. And that didn't work. So then what else can you do from there? Thinking in his mind, I'll never be able to get back to where I was.
[10:06] I'll never be a disciple again. The Lord will never forgive me. I'm guilty. This whole thing's on me. And goes out and hangs himself, looking for a way of escape. But it wasn't the one God had for him.
[10:17] Pilate tried to get out of it. And we covered that last week as well. Got himself in a pickle. So there were some examples of those that tried to find a way of escape. But it wasn't the way that God laid out in front or the right way.
[10:31] And though Jesus Christ, however, in that situation, did submit, nevertheless, not my will, but thine. And he did submit to the will of God. He endured the suffering that night.
[10:41] He endured hell for our sins. And then he found his way of escape. And the gates of hell couldn't hold him in. And he resurrected and ascended on high.
[10:54] And he's seated at the right hand of the Father. And how did he get that way of escape? Because he went through the temptation. He went through the suffering and the anguish. He went through the affliction.
[11:05] And God brought him out. And it made a way to escape. We looked at also those three Jewish captives in the plain of what?
[11:16] Something, Gura, Shinar? I forget the term of it there in Daniel 3. And the music's going to play. The image is set up. They've got to bow down and worship. And those three men said, I'm not bowing down.
[11:28] Are you bowing? I'm not bowing down. I'm not violating my consecration to Jehovah God and bowing down. No. And so they didn't bow down.
[11:40] But that was an opportunity to escape what was surely to be death, a furnace of fire. And they said, no, we're not going. And we'll go through it.
[11:51] And they went through it. And lo and behold, there shows up Jesus Christ in the fire. And they didn't have any harm done to them at all. God provided a way of escape, but they had to go through it.
[12:02] Daniel had the same opportunity, as mentioned, with the law about not praying to any God or a petition but to the king. And as soon as he heard that, opened his windows down on his knees.
[12:13] And he could have left the windows shut. He could have found another way. He could have tried to escape this potential situation in front of him. Don't you think for a minute that Daniel and any of these guys, like this wasn't a kick in the gut, a shaking of just getting their mind consumed.
[12:29] What's going to happen? We fret over little stuff. This was big stuff. And so don't think that he was just yawning. And then, ah, just pray again and have a cup of sweet tea.
[12:41] I'm sure he was nervous. I'm sure he was praying about that very situation. But he was praying nonetheless. And they took him and threw him into the den of lions. And God provided a way of escape.
[12:52] But it was in the temptation. It was in the trial. All right, now go to 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Here's another guy I mentioned, the apostle Paul, last week. But we did not turn to this scripture at all.
[13:04] And I believe there's some nuggets, some truth in this passage that can help us. So 2 Corinthians 12, this is where Paul has this thorn in his flesh.
[13:17] In verse number, look at 7 and 8. Paul says, So Paul begged God on three separate occasions.
[13:46] I don't think this is just Paul saying it three times in a row. I think Paul is, if I know Paul, and you read his epistles, he's an educated man.
[13:57] He's good with words. He's not intimidated to talk. You remember in Acts, I think it's at the end of 21 going into 22, he's standing before all of his brethren, the Hebrews, men and brethren.
[14:10] And when he, what's it say, beckoned to them with his hand or something, and when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue, they kept the more silence. And he just goes on and just talking, and he goes through talking about the history.
[14:21] And he's not a guy that is short with words. And so what I'm saying is I imagine Paul is building a case with God, saying, listen, Lord, this thing that you've allowed in my life is really holding me back.
[14:36] I could do so much better if you just take this from me. I could serve you more if you take this from me. You know this is hard, slowing me down. This is harming me.
[14:47] I didn't ask for this. He said in the verse that lest I should be exalted above measure. But he could have made the case, God, I didn't get puffed up over anything. You didn't see that in me.
[14:58] I'm not displaying that. I'm humble. I'm your servant. I'm a servant of Jesus Christ. And everybody knows that. And so I doubted that Paul was just a little flippant. I think he besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me.
[15:11] I think he presented his case. He articulated an earnest plea for God to take it from him. And the Lord said, nope. It's not going anywhere.
[15:24] And so now the Apostle Paul had a decision on how to respond to what the Lord said. Now, what could he do? Probably what we would do. Murmur and complain about it and pray about it every day.
[15:37] The more I pray, the more he'll get annoyed. So he'll fix it. I'm just going to keep bombarding God. Or I'm going to, you know, play the card of pity to everybody that I go to and see. And, oh, you know me.
[15:48] I would do more. But God's just, he just won't heal me. He won't give me this victory. And I've got this problem. He could be playing the card of pity from the brethren. Paul could really milk this thing out.
[16:00] Or he could use it as a crutch. He could use it to slow him down like Christians would, no doubt. Saying, I can't do that. Like Moses, I'm not of eloquent speech.
[16:10] I can't speak. I can't go back there to Pharaoh. Looking for an excuse not to do something. Paul could have did that and said, Lord, you won't take this from me? Fine. I'm going to be pretty limited from here on out.
[16:22] No more ships for me. No more big trips. You know how it is. No more missionary journeys. The Apostle Paul could have taken that, perhaps.
[16:33] Or, what he did was embrace it. This is going to be tough. But take a look at verse number 9. The Lord says to him, He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
[16:47] Now here's Paul's response. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Continuing, therefore, I take pleasure.
[17:01] Paul, you are one weird guy. I'm taking pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake.
[17:14] For when I am weak, then am I strong. Paul's going to take pleasure, and he's going to gladly glory in these infirmities that God places in his life.
[17:29] What a difference. Now, this is what Paul chose to do, was embrace it. Embrace it. And when we're considering the temptation that you find yourself in, or the trial, as James calls it, the trying of your faith, when you find that happening in your life, you have options too.
[17:47] And I'd say, let's follow Paul's example and embrace it. Now, that does sound weird, and it sounds just sadistic even. It sounds hard. It doesn't sound right at all. We should resist it.
[17:59] The preachers today would say, no, that's not the will of God. God wants you to be perfect and healthy and wonderful and happy. And God would never do that, so something's wrong with you. You don't have enough faith or something.
[18:11] No. Embrace this trial. I don't know if I could use the word take pleasure in it like Paul does, but that's what our apostle does. Takes pleasure in it.
[18:22] Because Paul's an all or nothing kind of guy. If Paul's going to serve God, it's all out. And if God, and he says, no, Paul, I'm not taking it from you, then Paul realizes, this is what God has for me.
[18:35] So I'm going to glory in it. Because this is what God has for me. I don't like it. But this is what he has for me. So what am I going to do?
[18:47] Most gladly, therefore, will I glory in it. I'm going to take pleasure in this. Because God's going to use it. And he's going to find a way. So Paul embraces it. And here's one thing that we'll understand about this.
[19:00] Verse 9, here's what God said. My grace is sufficient for thee. I'm not taking it away. But I'm going to give grace to you to endure it. To endure the affliction and the distress of it all.
[19:15] So we can learn that. If we'll embrace the temptation that we find ourselves in, instead of trying to fight against it or escape it on our own, if we'll embrace it, God will give us grace.
[19:28] Because he allowed it. And when we submit to it like that, then he'll provide the grace to endure it. If you fight against it, you're not going to get the grace to endure it. You'll only get frustration and heartache and pain and loss.
[19:44] And there'll be no peace. And there'll be no hope that it'll ever get better. Because you're fighting against God ultimately. So embrace it. I know that sounds weird.
[19:56] Depending on what it is in your heart or in your life, I know that doesn't feel right to you when it's not pretty. But if you understand that this is something God's put in your life, then your job is to glory in it and embrace it.
[20:09] Because God is right. And trust him through it. You could say this, God, you allowed it. And I want to glorify you in it. And he'll give you grace to do exactly that.
[20:20] So embrace it. Another reason to embrace it is found in this verse. Look at 9 again. He said, My grace is sufficient for thee. And then he says this, For my strength is made perfect in weakness.
[20:31] My strength. At the end of verse number 10, he said, For when I am weak, then am I strong. Oh no, the end of verse 9 is what I wanted. I will rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
[20:44] My strength. The power of Christ. There's another reason to embrace it. Because God will give you strength. God will give you his power. You'll experience, like Paul did, the power of Christ resting on you.
[20:57] Not your own power to endure through this hardship or through this trouble in life, this tragedy, this hard, or this, the hard times, the trying times.
[21:08] You'll enjoy and taste of the power of Christ holding you up, carrying you through it as you trust him to endure it. So Paul welcomed the adversities and the afflictions knowing that they were a means by which God would be glorified in his life.
[21:26] And for the Apostle Paul and for us as well, it ought to be, that's the goal. The goal is to glorify God. And if God says, I can be glorified if I put you in this trial and you trust me and you stay in it, as long as I want to keep you in it, you stay in it and you just walk with me.
[21:45] And you just call on me and we have fellowship together. I'll give you the grace. I'll give you the strength to endure it. You can day by day get through it. And then I'll provide a way to escape it too when I think it's right.
[21:58] And you can glorify God in that. I know it's not a normal thought, but that's it. That's what Paul says. Now let's go to James chapter 1 and dig in a little bit more onto this passage that we looked at last week briefly.
[22:14] James 1. James 1. This Bible, if you'll let it, will renew your mind.
[22:29] It'll give you another perspective that you didn't think about, you wouldn't naturally think about. It'll give you what God wants to see out of you. And if you'll obey the book, you'll please God.
[22:41] James chapter 1, remember verse number 2, This is really the first thing he says to them. Count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations.
[22:56] Count it all joy. Well, Paul took pleasures. Paul rejoiced in it. Count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
[23:11] But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Notice how it words that. Let patience have her perfect work.
[23:22] Let her have it. Let her do what she's trying to do in you. Patience. Tribulation. The trying of your faith worketh patience. So, let it be.
[23:36] Let it be, Lord. Let it be. Let patience have her perfect work. Don't resist it. Why? That ye may be entire, that ye may be perfect, entire, wanting nothing.
[23:47] There's going to be growth that comes from this tragedy or trial in your life, the trying of your faith. There's going to be maturity. There's going to be blessing as well. Look at verse 12. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation.
[24:00] Not only a blessing, but a reward. For when he has tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Now, there's blessing and reward.
[24:14] There's maturity, perfection, growth, all in your submission and your endurance in the temptation rather than you trying to get out. Fix it, God.
[24:25] Run away. No, if you stick in that thing and trust God through it, you're going to grow. Now, come to James chapter 5 all the way to the end of this epistle. James 5 and notice verse number 11.
[24:40] Just the beginning of this verse. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Now, I know this is some tribulation doctrine in the book of James that we could really be, it's going to play, these thoughts and these words are going to play a major role in that future time.
[24:55] But this book starts and stops with the same theme. I'm not saying it's carried through every verse and every line, but it's there, this enduring.
[25:06] When trials arise, endure it by faith. Grow in patience and grow in spiritual maturity. We count them happy which endure. I don't know if you can think about it or think of somebody, but I feel like I can think of several people that are spiritually minded people that they've been through some things.
[25:34] I mean some trying of their faith. And I think on them and I realize they're a strong spiritual character. These few individuals I'm thinking of, the ones that quit, they don't come to my mind at all when I'm thinking of a strong Christian.
[25:55] When I think of a strong Christian though, I can go back and kind of think back through their life and say they've been through some stuff. And the reason they're strong is because they came through it.
[26:06] They endured it by the grace of God and by His strength. And they know some things. And they're matured in the Lord. And they can handle some things because they've trusted God through it already.
[26:18] And they don't get shook when the next one comes down the road. It's almost like they're prepared for it. I wonder if you can think of some spiritual people that you've ever met.
[26:28] They're folks that have been through some trials. Now the book of James uses several examples in this epistle. Look back at chapter 2. James uses several examples.
[26:39] And I'm not going to bend these to fit some narrative that I want to present here. But the people that he mentions by name, they kind of do work. They fit this thought of the trials and enduring them and counting it joy.
[26:54] And think of Abraham. He's mentioned in chapter 2, verse 21. He's the first person mentioned by name besides the Lord. In verse 21, Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
[27:07] You know that was Genesis chapter 22, verse 1. And it says that the Lord was going to tempt Abraham. They're going to put him through a test. And he tested his man, Abraham, and said, Take thy son, thy only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and take him up onto one of the mountains of Moriah where I'll offer him up there, which I'll tell thee of.
[27:30] And so what did Abraham do? Packed up his bags, his son, saddled the ass, and off they went to the land of Moriah looking for this mountain that God's going to tell them of.
[27:45] I mean, did he look for a way to escape? Or did he just start heading right through it? And in that thing, he found, even at, I just thought of this, later in Genesis 22, it says he rejoiced, or Christ said he rejoiced to see my day.
[28:01] There's the joy in that thing as well. Anyway, Abraham, God tempted Abraham with that thing. He put him through a trial of his faith, and Abraham went right ahead into it.
[28:13] Didn't seek a way to escape, but found the escape from God when he satisfied him. The next person mentioned by name is Rahab. She's right there in the same chapter, down in verse 25.
[28:24] Rahab, the harlot, justified by works when she had received the messengers, sent them. It talks about Rahab. I'm not studying her in the passage, but rather considering her life.
[28:36] And, I mean, did that lady seek a way of escape? Did she seek, say, no, you guys are leaving, I'm leaving with you right now. I'm going down the wall. I'm going to get out while I can get out.
[28:48] No, they said, you stay right here. You stay right on that wall in your home. And she did. And don't you think she got a little nervous when she saw those Jews walking around and walking around and walking around?
[29:02] Don't you think she saw that? Don't you think she felt a little nervous when the walls started shaking? And she could feel it? I bet her family there is looking at her saying, what did you get us into? She just had to say, it's going to be all right.
[29:15] Did she escape it on her own? No. She had to do what she was told and trust that this was what the Lord was going to do. That's how she escaped. Staying right where she was, the very place that God destroyed.
[29:29] Mentions in chapter five, nobody else is really mentioned by name here, but come to chapter five toward the end and here's a little bit of a generic mention in verse 10. Take my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering affliction and of patience.
[29:50] The prophets, we could go down the list. I just picked three. Jeremiah, a prophet, a great example of suffering affliction for the job he was given to do for God, thrown in prison on multiple occasions, in and out of prison, down in the dungeon.
[30:06] Looks like they wanted him dead, accused him of treason. These people hated him. All the politicians hated Jeremiah, the preacher. The king would not listen to him. He kept asking him for advice and he wouldn't take his advice and ended up getting his eyes plucked out.
[30:22] And his sons killed and Jeremiah is a free man in the end. What did Jeremiah do? Did he take off running saying, they're coming in, I'm out of here. He just stayed and trusted God that I'm just a servant of God wherever he puts me, that's where he puts me.
[30:37] He escaped though in the end, he's a free man. Another prophet I thought on was Amos. Amos had a priest tell him, get lost, Amos. Get out of here.
[30:48] You go preach somewhere else. He's up there in the northern tribes and they say, you go down there to Jude in Jerusalem, go preach down there but you're not on the king's council or anything, get out of here.
[30:59] And Amos didn't take off. He just kept on preaching and enduring. They hated him. They didn't want to hear him. They mocked him. Hosea married a wife of Hortums and later he took an adulteress.
[31:12] That man had to do some things that he would have never wanted to do in his life. Would have been defiled. And yet he was told to do some things. He had to endure some things and he was another prophet that was hated and hated and hated and they didn't listen to him.
[31:27] I forgot about Ezekiel. Ezekiel, God killed his wife and God told him, you're not going to weep, you're not going to mourn, you're not going to shed a tear for her.
[31:38] And so he just had to suck it up and had to deal with it. And we count them happy which endure, verse 11 says. But then look in verse 11, there's Job.
[31:53] Verse 11 says, you've heard of the patience of Job, have seen the end of the Lord. The Lord's very pitiful and of tender mercy. So Job's another example here. His wife suggested that he curse God and die.
[32:06] That would have been a way out of all the misery and all the pain and all this just mess, just total chaos his life has fallen into. That would have got him out of it if he would have just died.
[32:18] But Job endured and we count them happy which endure and Job had to patiently endure until God in verse chapter 42 says he turned the captivity of Job.
[32:29] The captivity. That reminds me of where we started. There is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. And Job was taken in a captivity that the Lord eventually turned and provided a way of escape.
[32:44] A much needed way of escape for Job that his latter end was blessed more than the beginning and there he was rewarded. So the two thoughts with this is number one embrace the temptation.
[32:58] Embrace this situation this trial and give allow God to give the grace to endure it and allow him to give you the strength to endure it.
[33:09] And that's the second thought then is to endure it because you'll come out better. You'll come out purged. You'll come out purified and perfected wanting nothing. You can be a vessel that's useful more useful to God than you were before you ever entered into it.
[33:25] You can be somebody who can go through something without complaining because you know God is faithful. He'll get me through it and he'll provide a way to escape. You can be one that won't quit in it.
[33:36] God can trust you and then you can be an example a very much needed example for other people to follow and say hey they did they went through that and look at them sitting on the front pew every time the doors are open.
[33:50] They're loving the Lord. Turn to one more place in the Bible here 2nd Timothy chapter number 3. 2nd Timothy chapter number 3.
[34:01] and here Paul just kind of rehashes some of the things in a nutshell that he's been through and he makes a powerful statement.
[34:16] 2nd Timothy 3 and let's read verses 10 and 11. Paul says but thou has fully known my doctrine manner of life purpose faith long suffering charity patience persecutions afflictions which came upon me at Antioch and Iconium at Lystra what persecutions I endured amen but out of them all the Lord delivered me but he didn't deliver them before he endured them he endured them so what he said what persecutions I endured and then the Lord got me out when he decided it was time and so Paul endured before he escaped God will make a way to escape he promises he will he's a faithful God to do that but it may follow some testing it may follow some affliction it may follow longer trial than you wanted but if you can just be patient and you can just take it to him and stay with him and stay right with him and endure it and endure it it's gonna come out better for you and right for him and you'll look back and I can say this with all assurance you'll look back and say
[35:37] God is good and thank God for what that was it was tough but it was worth it and the Lord is righteous and if you can get that mindset that's what this is all about getting your mind to think that way the way the scripture tells us to think to take it to trust him to plan on enduring it until he gives the way to escape but don't try to get out of it on your own power don't try to go through it on your own power let God make a way to escape and trust him until he does alright I think you got the message I thought there was a little bit more there than what we were able to hit last week and I hope that helps you and I hope that the word of God does in fact renew your mind and program you to think the right way so you can be prepared and that you can endure and that you can come out tried like Job said when I come forth when he tries me I'll come forth as gold and one day you'll get tried in the fire and that's what we want father thank you for this book and for the truth that it preaches to us and lord help us to embrace the trials and the hardships in life and to go to you be our helper
[36:54] I pray you give the grace that we need I know you will you promised you will your grace is sufficient we believe you and lord help us to just knuckle down and to endure in your strength and in the power of christ and may the world see something different about us when we endure some things and may we have peace in our hearts lord prepare us for the days ahead and for the trials ahead that we will face and god may we have that resolve within us that will be steadfast that will be unmovable that jesus christ will be glorified in how we respond and how we live and how we trust you lord i love you tonight thank you for calvary for washing our sins away in the blood of jesus christ and thank you for your holy bible for giving it to us and for allowing us to read it to believe it and then to act upon it lord please give us a good rest of this week we pray for safety we pray that you give us a good weekend here at this church that souls will come in that the word of god will go forth that you'll change us that we'll be walking in the spirit and in joy we pray this in jesus name amen amen to