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[0:00] I just want to encourage you around the theme of rising up, rising up for God.

[0:16] ! Proverbs 24 verse 16 it says,! For a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again.

[0:28] ! A wicked shall fall into mischief. A just man shall fall seven times and riseth up again.

[0:39] I'm talking about how to bounce back. Rising up again after you've been struck down with trouble or hardship or discouragement. Rising up again seven times.

[0:52] Rising up again. Rising up again. Rising up again. We can have triumph. We can have victory. We can have victory. We can have victory. Someone has said that the word triumph is just oomph.

[1:04] Add it to try. Try. God will give you the oomph. He'll help you to have triumph. To get back on your feet again. To get back on your feet again. To have victory.

[1:15] To have victory. We are more than conquerors. Through him that loved us. That's what it says. Habakkuk is a case in point. If you'd like to turn to Habakkuk chapter 3 verse 17.

[1:28] And this might be a familiar one as it's been popularised in a song. Where Habakkuk shows us real hope. Despite times of trouble and hardship.

[1:41] Even in the darkest of times. In Habakkuk 3 from verse 17. It says, Although the fig tree shall not blossom. Neither shall fruit be in the vines.

[1:53] The labour of the olive shall fail. And the field shall yield no means. The flock shall be cut off from the fold. And there shall be no herd in the stalls.

[2:05] Yet will I rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength. And he will make my feet like hinds feet.

[2:19] And he will make me to walk upon my high places. Here's Habakkuk. He's in that kind of farm setting. He's saying that the fig tree is not going to blossom.

[2:29] There's going to be no fruit there. The labour of the olive tree. The fields are going to yield no food. The flock cut off from the fold. No herd in the stalls. Yet will I rejoice in the Lord.

[2:43] But I will joy in the God of my salvation. But Lord God is my strength. He said that in faith. Trust in God. No matter his circumstance.

[2:54] He says, Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. Even in those darkest of times. We can have that same stand of faith. We can have that same stamina.

[3:05] Amen. Of yet I will rejoice. Yet I will. We can have rejoicing even in those desperate days. No matter our circumstance.

[3:16] We can rejoice in the Lord. You can bounce back. From whatever it is. That's pushed you down. And you've fallen. You can bounce back.

[3:27] You can rise up again. God will give you that ability. To get back on your feet again. And to keep on pressing on. Pressing forward. Coping and breaking through.

[3:38] Whatever barriers lie ahead of you. And keep on rejoicing. No matter what. Yet I will. Rejoice in the Lord. Like Habakkuk. Keep on rejoicing.

[3:49] He is your strength. When you feel weak. He is your strength. And someone was telling me lately. How they've been through a very dark place. A very dark place. But yet.

[4:00] They've been. And they've got through it. To the other side. To the other side. You know. Psalm 23. It tells us how. Even though we walk through the valley. Of the shadow of death. Yet I will fear no evil.

[4:13] Why? Because thou art with me. You are with me. You are my strength. You are my shield. You are my shepherd. You'll see me through. Even the valley. Of the shadow of death.

[4:23] We need fear no evil. No evil. No harm. We need fear nothing. Because he is with us. Right through. Right through. In James 1 verse 12. It says.

[4:34] Blessed is the man that endureth temptation. Or you could say adversity. Those hard times. Those times of testing. Those times of tempting.

[4:45] Those times of trial. Blessed is the man that endures such times. Such times. Blessed. It means happy. There's a joy there.

[4:56] Even in the midst. Of those times of temptation. As you endure. Because it goes on. For when he has tried. He shall receive a crown of life. Which the Lord has promised to them that love him.

[5:09] Blessed is that one. That goes through. That endures that temptation. Because there's a crown of life. God has promised. To them that love him. Are you enduring temptation?

[5:20] Are you enduring trial? Are you enduring some trouble in your life? That word adversity. It's not just a theory to you. It's real life. It's happening. And you can taste it.

[5:32] That time of trial. Some of you will be truly crowned. Truly crowned. Think of these men and women. In these trying places. And yet their faith endures still.

[5:43] And through times of. Absolute persecution. Yet. I will rejoice in the Lord. They know what that means. And God has promised. A crown of life to such ones.

[5:55] This is truly a blessing. And it will be worth it all. Even for you. For me. In this land of plenty. Really. When we have some. Tempting. Some testing. Some trial. That we can.

[6:06] Know it's worth it all. That enduring. Will be rewarded. And sometimes life is full. Of these testings. It could be ill help. It could be lack. It could be.

[6:18] Relationship concerns. Of discouragements. Of those. Trials of. Every day. Making do. He has promised. To them that love him.

[6:31] A crown of life. There's a blessing. There's a reward. He has promised. His presence. To you. And to me. To them that love him.

[6:41] If you love him. He'll help you through those things. When he has tried. He shall receive. The crown of life. What will we do.

[6:52] When we face these times of testing. Will we rise up again. Seven times. Now you might feel like giving up.

[7:03] On the. Fall number six. When you've fallen six times. But he rises up again. He rises up again. Luke 18. It says. The Lord Jesus spoke a parable. And.

[7:14] Unto them. To this end. That. Men ought always. To pray. And not to. Fain. He spoke a parable. Of a persistent woman. I've known some persistent women.

[7:27] In my life. Have you known some persistent women? Persistent women. God bless them. This was a persistent woman. And she was persistent. In a good thing. In a good thing.

[7:38] Wasn't she? She persisted and persisted. With the judge. She kept knocking on his door. And. Beseeching him. Imploring him. Asking him. And.

[7:49] The Lord Jesus said. That this woman. That kept. Praying. Kept. Beseeching the judge. That she is a picture of prayer. Of persevering prayer.

[8:00] Persevering prayer. Ongoing. Constant prayer. Men ought always. To pray. Always. To pray. Don't wait for the prayer meeting.

[8:11] Don't wait. For a holy moment. When you come into. A holy building. Live a holy. Time. With God. God. Wherever you are. Each moment.

[8:22] Can be that moment of prayer. Men ought always. To pray. And not to faint. In other words. Don't. Quit. Pray. Pray. Pray through.

[8:33] Pray through. There was a pastor of a church. Related how. At this particular church. They used to have some. Kind of food program. To help. The needy. Of the city. And they gave out.

[8:44] These lunches to people. Every day. And with a little strip of paper. That was inside the lunch. That they gave out. A little strip of paper. And on this strip of paper.

[8:55] Was a bible verse. And one day. There was a man. Who came there. For the lunch time. And he got his bag of lunch. And he sat down. On the side there.

[9:05] And he rifled through the bag. Looking for what was inside. And the pastor thought. Oh. He must have. Forgot to put some food in there. Maybe he wants another. Apple. Or another.

[9:16] Cookie. Or whatever it be. And when the man. Came back to the preacher. He thought. Well. He must be after some more food. There's something we didn't put in his bag.

[9:27] And the man said to him. Where are the words? Where are the words? The scripture verse. Was missing from his bag. That was more important to him. That was more.

[9:40] Precious to him. Than the food. Was the bible verse. The verse of scripture. And he was glad to get the food. But he wanted the words. The words.

[9:51] That was what he needed too. And it's the same for us. Brothers and sisters. The words. Of eternal life. God's words. Are so. Precious to us.

[10:04] Exceeding. Great. And precious promises. And it nourishes us. When those. Times of. Lack come. You know.

[10:14] The word tells us. Of a time of a. Famine. Of hearing the words of God. Like a desert. A drought. A famine. Of the words of God.

[10:28] And we need the word. To nourish. To comfort. To strengthen. To feed us. Perhaps. Perhaps. One of those scriptures. That man might have got. In his bag.

[10:39] Was something like this one. Psalm 43. Verse 5. Psalm 43. Verse 5. Why art thou.

[10:51] Cast down. O my soul. And why art thou. Disquieted. Within me. Hope. In God. For I shall yet.

[11:02] Praise him. Who is the health. Of my countenance. And my God. Why art thou. Cast down. O my soul. He was talking to his soul.

[11:15] It's a good thing to do sometimes. Isn't it. You know. There's times where he says. O my soul. Praise him. Praise the Lord. Bless the Lord. O my soul. Bless the Lord.

[11:26] Talk to your soul. And tell it. What to do. Tell it to praise God. Tell it to thank him. Tell your soul. To love God. Tell your soul. To hope in God. Who is the health.

[11:37] Of your countenance. Of your face. He is. Your life. He is your sustainer. He is your source. The health of my countenance. And say. O my God. I shall.

[11:48] Yet. Praise him. When you have those times. When you're cast down. Why are you cast down. O my soul. Hope in God. Hope in God.

[11:58] Tell your soul. What to do. Maybe that man. Would have found. Just such a word. To have lifted him. In his lunch bag. The scriptures. That give us hope.

[12:10] That sustain us. That lift us. That get us back. On our feet again. It's the word. That brings us hope. In Romans 15. 4. We read. For whatsoever things.

[12:21] Were written aforetime. You know. Back through the history. Of the men. And women of God. Through the pages. Of the Bible. Right through the Genesis. To the beginning. What things were written.

[12:32] Aforetime. Before. Were written. For our learning. This has been written. For our learning. This is the textbook. The textbook.

[12:42] For life. Written for our learning. That we through patience. And comfort. Of the scriptures. Might have hope. There's patience.

[12:52] There's perseverance. There's comfort. There's hope. Because of the scriptures. And God's word for you. Is your source. Your source of comfort. Plug in.

[13:04] To that source. Of power. To that source. Of comfort. That source. Of rejoicing. For your heart. It's filled. With promises. Jam packed. And you can put your name there.

[13:17] When it says. You. You can put your name there. Of course. There's contextual things. And there's applications. To particular peoples.

[13:28] And times. And situations. But. You can put your name there. When it says. God so loved the world. God so loved. You can put your name there.

[13:40] And think. Wow. Thank God for that. It's real. And it's applicable. For you. And you can put your name there.

[13:53] You can apply it. To your life. It's not time limited. This book is eternal. And the truths are eternal. Not changing. They're unchanging.

[14:04] Truths. So you can have. Patience. And comfort. Of the scriptures. And have hope. It's God speaking to us. Apply it.

[14:16] Don't let it rest. Unread. Don't let it rest. Gathering dust. Read it. Read it. Read it. And put your name there.

[14:29] He's talking to you. He's talking to you. It helps us to endure when we have the comfort of the scriptures. There's an encouragement from the scriptures.

[14:39] And it helps us to bounce back and find hope. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 16. It says. Of a time of testing. For which cause we faint not. Though our outward man perish yet.

[14:52] The inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction. Which is but for a moment. Worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

[15:02] The light affliction is working for us. An eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen.

[15:15] But at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. But the things which are not seen are eternal. What are you looking at?

[15:29] What are you looking for? Sometimes we can spend so much time looking at the temporal. And getting upset. Discouraged.

[15:41] Instead of looking for that which is forever. That which is more everlasting. Sometimes we can spend so much energy. Applying ourselves to the passing things.

[15:54] Placing our attention there. To the neglect. Of that which is eternal. Eternal. That will never pass away. Let's not miss that. Consider your life span.

[16:05] It's just a blink of an eye. A limited time. In contrast with eternity. And there's a weight of glory just around the corner. For you.

[16:17] For you. That endure that light affliction. Which is but for a moment. and some of you are going to have a heavier weight of glory.

[16:35] It's stored up for you. When you've been through those times, and you've got through on the other side, there's more weight there, as it were. I'm picturing it, I'm imagining it, as I can understand it.

[16:53] And maybe this is just my observation, but for some of you, perhaps there's a bigger weight of glory, because you've been through more stuff than me.

[17:04] You've been through some things, but there'll be some measure of glory. There'll be something to show for that, that you've been through for the Lord. And so, you can bounce back.

[17:18] You can rise up again. You can get back on your feet. After failure, after defeat, after setback, after difficulty, you can rise up.

[17:30] Rise up. Many come to me and I try to encourage and offer scripture and rejoicing, cause for rejoicing in God's Word.

[17:40] I encourage people. You can bounce back. Sometimes people get weighed down and they lose hope. They lose heart. They lose faith.

[17:52] But you can bounce back and walk stronger, taller, because of what you've been through. And bless others too, because of what you've been through. Because of the storms you've weathered, you'll be better equipped to help others too.

[18:05] And so you can, even if you fall seven times, even if it seems like every time you're back on your feet, you're bashed down, you're falling down again and again and again.

[18:17] And there's many discouragements to battle through. You can be stronger because of that. And you can have a weight of glory, a crown of life. Hang on to your promises.

[18:29] These are for you. They're your promises. God's promises to you, to you, to you. God has written this book for you. And He can make you stronger.

[18:42] Job 23.10, it says, But He knoweth the way that I take. When He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. What was Job going through?

[18:56] Well, I can't imagine. Job 23.10, When He has tried me, I'll come forth as gold. Now, there's a bit of a tongue-in-cheek story here about a parakeet.

[19:13] A parakeet in a cage. And this parakeet was called Chippy. Chippy the parakeet. And the story goes like this.

[19:25] Chippy never saw it coming. One second, One second, he was peacefully perched in his cage, singing a song through the air. The next second, he was sucked in, washed up, and blown dry.

[19:37] His problem began when his owner decided to clean his cage with a vacuum cleaner. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Nice, quick way to clean the birdcage.

[19:50] She stuck the nozzle in to vacuum up the seeds and the mess, the feathers at the bottom of the cage. Then the phone rang. And so instinctively, she turned to pick it up.

[20:02] And she barely said hello when, Chippy got sucked in to the vacuum cleaner. She gasped, let the phone drop and switched off the vacuum.

[20:13] With her heart and her mouth, she opened the dust bag of the vacuum cleaner. And there was Chippy. He was still alive. He was still alive, but stunned. Covered with grey dust, she grabbed the bird and rushed to the bathtub.

[20:28] And she turned the faucet on full blast and made sure that Chippy was nice and clean under that torrent of water, power washing him clean. Then poor Chippy was soaking wet and shivering, so she did what any compassionate pet owner would do.

[20:43] She snatched up the hairdryer and blastered him with hot air. Did Chippy survive? Yes, but he doesn't sink so much anymore.

[20:54] He just sits on his perch and he stares. It's not hard to see why. Life is like that sometimes. Maybe you feel a bit like Chippy sometimes. It's not hard to see why he lost his song.

[21:09] And we can lose the song in our heart. But you can bounce back. Brother, you can bounce back. Sister, you can rise up again. You can rise up again.

[21:20] You can be like that man in Proverbs. And God's people can bounce back. God can help us to have resilience. You know, it's a word that social workers use.

[21:31] Certain people have got resilience. It's a kind of new age term you could kind of say. But there is a truth to it in the sense that he helps us to get back on our feet again.

[21:42] So have resilience. It's a bit like, you know, that rubber band that can be stretched and yet still maintain its function. It can still recover.

[21:53] And we can still recover through life's trials, whether it be illness or misfortune, all those setbacks of the past, those heartaches and hard times we recall.

[22:04] we can bounce back. Just as a ball would bounce back and still maintain its function. And so we too can bounce back.

[22:17] And some of us can maybe bounce back quicker than others, but God will help us, as his word promises, when we can have that resilience, that bouncing back.

[22:28] And some of the scriptures that can give us that enheartment are Psalm 9 verse 9, for example. It says, The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed.

[22:39] A refuge in times of trouble. The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed. Psalm 9 verse 9, a refuge in times of trouble.

[22:50] God is your refuge. And we need to be refugees. We need to be refugees and leave the city of destruction and flee to the refuge.

[23:05] The place of refuge. The one who is our refuge in times of trouble and at all times. Psalm 31 verse 15, it says, My times are in thy hand. Psalm 31 verse 15, My times are in thy hand.

[23:18] Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies and from them that persecute me. That's another encouraging scripture. You might feel like there's people having a go at you. There's people opposed to you. There's people slandering you.

[23:34] My times, Lord, are in thy hand. Deliver me from the hand of mine enemies and from them that persecute me. There's comfort for you today.

[23:46] We've had times of that. Julie and I have had times of that. People are committed enemies for no reason that we can understand. Without cause.

[23:57] Without cause. And it does your head in when it happens to you. But my times are in thy hand. God knows. God knows what we are and what we've done or not done.

[24:09] There's a comfort for us here from the scriptures. And none of us knows how long that we have. This lifespan is finite. This time is limited that we have.

[24:20] And so, but we do, I pray, trust, as the psalmist cried, my times are in thy hand. Let it be that he has control of your life from cradle to grave.

[24:35] That he is the one in charge of your life. There's a comfort there to know that. There's a man, James Ryle, said this about my times.

[24:47] He said this, My times are in thy hands. My God, I wish them there. My life, my friends, my soul, I leave entirely to thy care.

[25:03] My times are in thy hands. Whatever they may be, pleasing, painful, dark, or bright, as best as seems to be.

[25:14] My times are in thy hands. Why should I doubt or fear? My Father's hand will never cause his child a needless tear. My times are in thy hands.

[25:27] Jesus, the crucified. Those hands my cruel sins have pierced are now my guard and guide. My times are in thy hands.

[25:38] I'll always trust in thee. And after death in thy right hand my time shall ever be. My times are in thy hands.

[25:51] Have that outlook on life. It is just a passing moment, a fleeting prayer. Make the most of your day and find his help in your life.

[26:03] Knowing that your times are in his hands. in Nahum 1 verse 7 it says, The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him.

[26:15] That's a good scripture to take to heart, isn't it? Nahum 1 verse 7, The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him.

[26:31] He knows your name. He knows your name. He knew you before you were born. He knows your name. And for you that are saved, it's written down.

[26:43] It's written down in his book, the Lamb's Book of Life. And you can rebound. You can rise again. You can pick yourself up from the floor again.

[26:54] There's more for you to do. That's why you're here. That's why you've got breath. There's more for you to do. He's still yet more to do in your life. And when we can get hit by life, we can bounce back and hold on and get through.

[27:10] People can lose things, but he will never lose us or forsake us. It says, here's another way someone else has put this truth.

[27:27] About losing things, treasures, treasures, treasures, where do we place our treasures? Treasures, one by one, he took them from me. All the things I valued most.

[27:42] Until I was empty handed, every glittering toy was lost. And I walked earth's highways, grieving, in my rags and poverty, till I heard his voice inviting, lift your empty hands to me.

[28:03] So I held my hands toward heaven, and he filled them with a store of his own transcendent riches, till they could contain no more.

[28:15] And at last I comprehended, with my stupid mind and dull, that God could not pour his riches into hands already full.

[28:28] Now sometimes we've got to drop things. We've got to let go of things that we hang on to, and lift our empty hands to God. Lift your empty hands to him, and he will fill your life.

[28:39] Sometimes he has to take so that he can give. We don't always understand those times of loss. It's hard. We know personally such things going on in people's lives, people that we love, of loss, tragic things.

[29:04] But sometimes God's wanting to arrest our attention. He's wanting to reach us, to draw us back closer to him. He's still holding us.

[29:15] We're in his hands. There's a story told of an explorer of old. It's just a secular account, but it pictures this resilience factor, I suppose.

[29:27] There was this man who goes down in the annals of history as a picture of endurance. Endurance. And it was a 20th century explorer called Sir Ernest Shackleton.

[29:43] Ernest Shackleton. He led this voyage to Antarctica. And it was the earliest days of World War I. There was 27 men. 27 men sailed off in this ship, was named the Endurance, strangely enough, the Endurance.

[30:00] And they sailed off in the Endurance with this ambition to reach this frozen continent and to be the first to cross it by foot. But just one month after setting sail, the ship was trapped in ice.

[30:19] And it remained trapped for 10 months. Though Shackleton hoped to be able to weather, wait out the weather and sail on, the ice prevailed.

[30:30] And eventually it crushed and sank, the wooden ship. And the entire crew escaped the wreck and established a camp on the drifting ice flows, these packs of ice.

[30:41] And they had dwindling supplies, no radio, no polar fleece or high-tech gear. You know, it was the time of World War One. No idea how they could be rescued. And they enjoyed these sub-zero temperatures and winds gusting 200 miles per hour.

[30:56] And after five months in these disastrous conditions, it got worse. The ice began to splinter. There was no stable surface and the stress crew, they climbed onto three small life boats.

[31:09] They sailed for seven days without protection from the water, from the elements, from the fridged water and air in almost continuous darkness. Continuous darkness in this place.

[31:21] There was very little sunlight time. And so they landed on this remote island called Elephant Island and there were no hotels or stores there. There was nothing, nothing but ice and wind.

[31:33] And after a few days of rest, Shackleton and five men climbed onto their life boats and set out again, they crossed 1,000 miles of wild currents in open sea to reach a whaling station nearly two years after they began.

[31:47] They were heading back to where they started, never having reached the frozen continent and fighting for all their lives. Would you be ready to give up? They didn't.

[31:59] They sailed for 15 days in the dark through a hurricane that sank a 500 tonne steamer nearby until against the greatest navigational odds they landed.

[32:11] They landed on the far, the wrong side of the island. Now they had to walk a frozen plane some three impossible days to the other side, ragged and frozen, near collapse, yet they reached their destination.

[32:24] And 21 men were living meantime back on the island in the shelter made from two upturned lifeboats, laying on frayed blankets in relentless polar darkness, their body hit melting the ice beneath and they were constantly wet and cold.

[32:40] You can't imagine what it was like, you can't picture it, and yet through this time they estimated that their leader would reach the wailing station in four weeks, and indeed they had, but their rescue was foiled three times by bad weather and the ice, so it was four more months before help finally arrived.

[33:00] And in the end, no one gave up. No one gave up. No one walked off into the dark cold to die. No one killed anyone else. They all endured. They hung on.

[33:12] How did they do it? How did they keep going? Even though their ship was sucked under the water, smashed up under the splitting ice, as they were constantly blown by the whipping frozen, salt-stinging winds.

[33:26] Now they're just secular, a secular group of people. Yet they hung on. What about us as Christians? When we get those sandbags, when we get those hard things come our way, do we quit?

[33:42] Do we give up? Let's press on. Press on regardless. And so stand fast in the Lord, it says in Philippians 4 verse 1. 2 Thessalonians 3.13 It says, be not weary in well-doing.

[33:58] There's times when you're going to feel worn down. It's going to be tough, hard times. Life hasn't always gone as easy for you. It may yet be harder.

[34:09] God forbid. But you may have regrets, discouragements, things you're ashamed of in your past. be not weary.

[34:23] Be weary. Endure. Endure. Press on. Stand fast in the Lord. We all can think of experiences we'd rather not have had.

[34:39] Some people can even say cancer was a gift. Strange to say, isn't it? some people actually say that. Make them wake up to the finiteness of their life and make the most of what they had left.

[34:55] It's been said that smooth seas do not make a skilful sailor. as a Christian, those rough seas might make you stronger for God.

[35:08] We may have heard someone who we've cared for in that final journey through their grief and tears say, I'm so grateful I could be there.

[35:23] And when you see someone, and I've seen people in those last hours of life and there's a strengthening that can come in fame to see you through those twilight days of life, how can we endure?

[35:39] How can we have that bouncing back, that resilience? There's another secular source here. I know we might not consider it as a great source.

[35:54] A psychologist was asked this. What would you advise a person to do if they felt a nervous breakdown coming on? And he says, lock up your house, go across the road, find somebody in need and help that person.

[36:12] So overcome discouragement, don't focus on yourself, get involved in the lives of other people. Now that's just a secular advice, isn't it? But you know, there's still truth in that.

[36:24] There's truth in even what people who don't know God say. You can pick the bones out of it, can't you? And sometimes we can get so obsessed where, woe is me, I'm having such a hard life.

[36:37] What about the next person, the other person, that you can help? And I know in the industry I'm familiar with, working with people with disabilities, you can do nothing for themselves.

[36:49] sometimes you can get a reward, a satisfaction from helping them. And helping those who can't help themselves, it just does something for you.

[37:01] And it's a blessing, it's amazing. So think of those in your life that might be worse off than you. When you're feeling like despairing, when life hits you hard, there's others that are doing it tougher than you.

[37:15] And so find that one that you can bless. and be strong, even though you feel a bit like chippy, sucked up, washed out, blown dry, and you feel like you've lost the song in your heart, he can give you the song back again.

[37:32] He can do that again. There's a wonderful joy you can know. You can bounce back. And there's much more we could say. Let me read one more little section here.

[37:49] When you've trusted God and walked his way, when you've felt his hand lead you day by day, but your steps now take you another way, start over. When you've made your plans and they've gone awry, when you've tried your best and there's no more try, when you've failed yourself and you don't know why, start over.

[38:11] When you've told your friends what you planned to do, when you've trusted them and they didn't come through and now you're all alone and it's up to you, start over.

[38:22] When you've failed your kids and they've grown and gone, when you've done your best but it's turned out wrong and now your grandchildren have come along, start over. When you've prayed to God so you'll know his will, when you've prayed and prayed and you don't know still, when you want to stop because you've had your fill, start over.

[38:42] When you think you're finished and want to quit, when you've bottomed out in life's deepest pit, when you've tried and tried to get out of it, start over.

[38:55] When the year has been long and success is few, when December comes and you're feeling blue, God gives a January just for you, start over. Start over, brother, sister.

[39:09] When you come to that place in the road and you feel like you've fallen many times, rise up, rise up. You know, it's about perspective sometimes. Just one more quick story.

[39:19] This puts it in perspective. When you think about life, there was a young soldier huddled in the foxhole and there was bullets flying everywhere, flak and bombs and you name it.

[39:34] He was there on this battlefield in the foxhole. He hadn't heard back from home for weeks and weeks. He'd never got a mail. He'd never gotten any letters from home. And here he was, even in imminent danger, he was glad to hear, wow, there's some mail for you.

[39:50] You've got a letter. He was so glad, even in that imminent danger. Wow, something back from home. And when he opened it, he burst out laughing as he read it.

[40:06] It was a bill. And it said his account was $25, overdue. And it said if it wasn't paid in seven days, he was going to be in serious trouble.

[40:24] Puts it in perspective, doesn't it? Doesn't it put it in perspective? That lie afflictions, just for a moment, yields for you eternal weight of glory. He will help you.

[40:35] He'll be a stronghold, your stronghold in the day of trouble. What are you filled with? What are you filled with? As a Christian, who are you filled with?

[40:46] Who? The Lord Jesus. You're filled with God. You're filled with the Holy Spirit. Now when you take that sponge and squeeze it, what's inside of it comes out of it, doesn't it?

[40:59] It's the same with you and your life. It's like, I've heard it said about tea bags, isn't it? It's what comes out is what's inside it. What comes out of that sponge is what's inside the sponge.

[41:13] And when you go through that squeezing times, it may be that he is evident. That when you're squeezed, when the pressure is on, then he will show through.

[41:26] Bear with me. One more thing. I've just got to say one more thing to close. There was a pastor one day. He was pastor with a wife and three small children.

[41:39] And his wife was pregnant with the fourth child, but it came time for delivery. And there were some complications. And both the mother and the baby died. And during the funeral service, the preacher was officiating and noticed the man writing something on the piece of paper, the husband.

[41:58] And after the service, the minister asked him about it and he handed him the paper with a poem that he had just written, which was titled, He Maketh No Mistake. He Maketh No Mistake.

[42:11] And this is how it read. This was the man who just lost his wife and his child to be in this childbirth. He maketh no mistake. My father's way may twist and turn, my heart may throb and ache, but in my soul I'm glad to know, he maketh no mistake.

[42:31] And my cherished plans may go astray, my hopes may fade away, but still I'll trust the Lord to lead, for he doth know the way. Though night be dark and it may seem that day will never break, I'll pin my faith, my all in him.

[42:48] He maketh no mistake. There's so much now I can't see, my eyesight's far too dim, but come what may, I'll simply trust and leave it all to him. For by and by the mist will lift and plain it all he'll make.

[43:03] Through all the way, though dark to me, he made not one mistake. And he's got your future in his hands. My times are in his hands. He knows the way you're going to take.

[43:15] A just man falleth seven times and riseth up again. ending. Thank you.