[0:00] Father, we thank you for your manifold grace that you display for us. It is the power of life that not only saves us, but engages us for how we live this life.
[0:10] Father, may we be a testimony of your grace as we live this life in your power. May we certainly be always willing to turn this over, this life to you in all times.
[0:26] Thank you for your word again as we come to it in your name. Amen. So please take out your Bible, Psalm 63. I don't know how things were in your home this week, but I'm sure at least some of you, maybe one of you might have been paying attention to the ongoing drama that was occurring in the United States.
[0:54] Whether you happen to be an American or you have American friends or you're just a political junkie or you just really want to get excited about something, this was your week, right?
[1:08] You wanted to know about uncertainty? This was the week. If you were to have an opinion, this was the week to have an opinion. Now, some of you might have had an exciting week as it ended up apparently yesterday, but the judges or the courts haven't ruled on that, or you may have been disappointed.
[1:33] It's interesting if you read any of the articles. Let's be honest. American politics is a lot more interesting than Canadian politics.
[1:44] Am I right on that? Right? You know, there's a little bit of distinction, and it does affect how things happen here. One guy wrote that the Biden-Trump was a tough matchup.
[2:01] One guy seems really nice but holds policies that are largely antithetical to the Christian faith, and the other guy seems to have no understanding of Christian faith, but for some reason his policies are a lot of policies that Christians agree with.
[2:18] One guy said, boy, God sure uses crooked sticks to draw straight lines sometimes, right? I thought Al Mohler had the best commentary.
[2:31] He wrote a lot because he did not vote for Trump in 2016, but he was voting for him this time, and he said after looking at all that, he said, listen, if I had to choose a neighbor, it would be Joe Biden, right?
[2:44] He'd be a nice guy. He could come over and have hamburgers and tell really great stories. Donald Trump, on the hand, will probably force you to move out because he wants to extend his swimming pool, right?
[2:54] It's just loud and noisy with that guy. And interesting enough, it caused a lot of divisions within Christians. There was a lot of group of Christians of why we can support Trump.
[3:05] There was a group of Christians that wrote why we support Joe Biden. It's interesting, social media is full of stories about how to have family dinners with your loony Democratic aunt or your belligerent, rude Republican uncle, right?
[3:27] They're getting ready for Thanksgiving. And I'm not kidding. These are articles that were online, how to get along with different family members. It was interesting. One Christian website was sending me articles every single day, how to preach forgiveness from across the political aisle, how to be kind or charitable to your Democratic or Republican neighbor.
[3:54] Another Christian one was theological principles for political debates. And one admonition, which is a good one, is remember how to be sensitive to those who lost and encourage humilities and those who won.
[4:10] In my pastor mailbox, I subscribe to many periodicals during the week. No different. How to pastor in uncertain times. How to pastor when political division shows up in your church.
[4:24] And one, how to preach unity for purple churches. And the term purple churches means a church of both Democrats and Republicans. The reality is political beliefs run deep.
[4:40] For others, political beliefs run really deep. We have these opinions and we hold on to these opinions.
[4:51] And let's be honest, any opinion that we hold, we believe to be a righteous opinion, right? Why else would we hold it? But often with politics, I am holding a righteous position.
[5:05] That must mean that someone who's holding a different opinion must be holding to an unrighteous opinion. The opinion comes true that my opinion is blessed by God.
[5:20] The other one must be cursed by God. And of course, this leads to all sorts of lies, mischaracterization, mischaracterizations, demonizations, deceptions that are believed of the other people.
[5:36] And since we hold the Bible in our hands, we think we must be right. We think we have the whole story. We feel a confidence in our condemnations.
[5:51] When we spread these opinions, either by tweeting or Facebook or to anyone who will listen to us, terms such as evil, they're baby killers, they're white supremacists, they're communists.
[6:10] It goes on and on and on. And sadly, our society has this thing called the media, which to this day, it's the one instrument that I am most critical of.
[6:27] Media used to be hard research. They were supposed to have no position and just look at the facts. But today, they read more like Hollywood glam magazines.
[6:41] It was interesting, and this wasn't about political. How many people saw the article online about the woman who was swallowed by the whale? Anybody see that article?
[6:53] No? Okay. Thank you. All right. You see that article, a woman swallowed by the whale. That's got to be a really great article, right? So you click on it, you go to the article, it's on one of the magazines, and it turns out there's a group of people out in kayaks whale watching.
[7:11] And the humpback whale comes out, it's eating its krill, and it hits her kayak and flips her over. All right. There's a big difference between being hit by a kayak and being eaten by a whale.
[7:23] Am I not right on that? But that, you know, but you get, it engages you, right? And that's the same thing with all the politics. The lies, they embellish. And it creates this sort of excitement.
[7:39] These headlines are meant to stoke emotion, whether it be anger, fear. Sometimes it's to make us feel like we have no power. And it's a dangerous recipe.
[7:51] And sadly, we Christians are sometimes no different. We pass on those false articles. We believe them. We pass them on.
[8:03] We lean to the side we agree with or not agree with. Then we hate, we avoid, and ultimately we spread lies.
[8:14] We spread fear. We spread anger. Fear. So I've been asked over the years to speak on the issue of politics. And I've always hesitated to do so.
[8:27] In case you don't know, my pastoral beginnings, I actually pastored a church in the middle of Illinois when Obama was running. That was supposed to be the end of the world.
[8:38] And the reason why I was asked to do this and why we think it's a good thing is that we believe it hurts the Christian testimony when we lie, when we condemn, when we speak hate, when we speak words of anger, when we spread on deception.
[9:02] So my sermon is titled, Why I Don't Preach Politics. Now, I write this sermon as one who used to pay a lot of attention to politics.
[9:14] I used to be that guy in university who would regularly write articles to the newspaper engaging the political thought of the day. I write this as a pastor. I write this sermon as one who was a member of the Canadian government where I had access to some of our nation's secret secrets.
[9:35] I write this as one who has many friends involved in politics at the highest levels. I have worked with ambassadors, ministers, high-ranking civil servants, people from the Department of Foreign Affairs to ministers of trade, ministers of justice.
[9:58] I've sat next to those who are lawyers who work and are involved in the United Nations. Some of them have been Christians. Some of them have been non-Christians.
[10:09] Some of them have been honorable men and women. Some of them have been dishonorable men and women. One of the more interesting jobs that I had when I was with CESES is that once in a while I had to do a security background check on someone who was being promoted to a high-level, sensitive, secret positions.
[10:29] I had to be able to provide an overview of whether I believe they are of the highest character, morality, and truly wanted to help serve mankind.
[10:41] I've been blessed with meeting some of these people. And as I said, I should remind you, I worked in Ottawa with Christian groups intending on lobbying the government.
[10:54] I worked with Stockwell Days, Sun, all these people. And I learned one indomitable truth from all that experience that I speak of. Politics can't save you.
[11:08] Politics cannot save you. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that politics or that a life in politics or in civil servant is a bad thing or a wrong thing.
[11:22] Politics and working for the government can be a virtuous calling, a noble calling. But if we believe in the core of our hearts that it can be used to save people, save countries, then we as evangelicals can change these same things through political engagement, I believe we are severely mistaken.
[11:50] Listen, I get it. We see a culture today that if someone was transported in their prime from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, today they would not recognize it.
[12:08] No one knows if you ask someone what is the Judeo-Christian faith, they would have no idea. You could ask them what are the Ten Commandments. Probably name three at best.
[12:22] Back then, everyone knew, every law house, every institute had the Ten Commandments. We spoke of God.
[12:34] Now we hear more practical atheism, moral relativism, as we move into a more pagan society. And even now, right before our eyes, we see anti-biblical legislation.
[12:51] We also witness a Christian worldview that is swept aside in the name of political correctness, tolerance, even when it appears to be complete mind-numbing craziness.
[13:06] It was interesting, one person on the left, down the states, said, if Christians think they can hide behind their prejudiced ways, behind their Bibles, I will do everything in my power to stop that.
[13:23] Doesn't that stoke the fire, though, right? You want to get out. You want to bring righteousness back to the political discourse. And I have many friends, both in Canada and the United States, involved in raising support, busy lobbying the government.
[13:41] They work for these big groups that are active in lobbying the government in order to turn the tide of our society.
[13:54] They want the moral majority. In fact, in the States, it is largely recognized that the evangelical Christians are the largest voting bloc in all of America.
[14:09] And we think if we can only somehow mobilize all these people to bring about the law of God and somehow, some way, change this country. If you believe that our social problems can be changed at the voting booth, let me ask you a question.
[14:29] Do you believe that today's cultural problems or issues are more a problem of politics or of spiritual issues?
[14:40] Let me repeat that. Are today's cultural problems more of a spiritual problem or a political problem?
[14:52] If you answered that politics is the answer, you believe that by advocating for political conservatism can save a nation, you have what is known as a liberal theology that states that salvation can come by fixing society.
[15:14] Two, you believe that our spiritual fortunes rise and fall on who or who isn't in government. Three, if you believe the nation is blessed because a supposed Christian is at the helm of the government, you will make every excuse to make that person a pure Christian.
[15:39] And fourth, you believe that better institutions lead to better men and women as opposed to better men and women make better institutions.
[15:51] So, before I get into a text, I want to give you four reasons why I don't preach politics. One, politics is political expediency.
[16:05] What that means is to get your way, you need to compromise. And being a Christian, we are to be a people of principle.
[16:17] And no matter where you are on the political spectrum, you somehow have gotten there some way by compromise. And sometimes this leads to compromise with people who do not hold Christian values or Christian truths.
[16:35] People get confused when they look at us. I remember when I was in CSIS and I was working on an investigation and I believed I had everything to rights, we were ready to prosecute, and then my whole investigation got pulled away because it wasn't politically expedient because it was going to look bad on one of our political parties.
[16:59] For a young 30-year-old who's trying to make his mark in the world by trying to keep Canada safe, this was a devastating lesson to me. It wasn't right or wrong that mattered, but there was a bigger political issue to be considered.
[17:16] Third, two, and I think this is probably the most important part, the reality is political change is superficial and temporary.
[17:27] Political change is superficial and temporary. The reforms that one party brings in is essentially done away with the next party, right? Look what all the things that Obama brought in, Trump did his very best to get rid of them.
[17:41] The first article I read is Biden's going to try to undo everything that Trump did. It's just an ongoing battle. Fourth, politics easily confuses the message of the church and thereby confuses our testimony to the world.
[18:04] Are we really about seeing souls saved or for conservative legislation in championing social causes? Our message, the Bible makes clear, is to preach Christ crucified to sinners, that they have been reconciled to a just and holy God.
[18:25] And four, political engagement turns the mission field into enemies. Political engagement turns the mission field into enemies.
[18:38] We start to feel more comfortable around liberals and or conservatives, and we assume they are believers. And as one person said, politics makes strange bedfellows.
[18:53] We think because there's a political agreement, they're Christians, and then we get surprised when they act differently. Let me conclude this short beginning with saying that, please don't misunderstand me, that political work is an un-Christian or an unalterable or honorable job.
[19:18] I believe and wish more Christians were engaged in the political discourse. I know Squamish is very different from Ottawa, where I used to live.
[19:31] Everywhere in Ottawa was engaged at some level of politics. I'm sure if you ask Dave or perhaps Rachel, who spent a lot of their times in the States, most people here don't even know there's political discourse, right?
[19:47] But down there, everybody's loud and proud about something. And I'm also not saying that what doesn't happen at the ballot box doesn't hurt us.
[20:03] I'm not saying that political decisions are without consequence. Nobody here likes injustice.
[20:14] When it comes to the discussion of abortion, nobody wants to talk about that. It's a horrible thing that our society has adopted.
[20:30] So what do we do when we feel hurt? We feel let down? How do we react to this deep level of disappointment?
[20:41] Let's take a look at Psalm 63. Now, I know I've already read the psalm, but I did not tell you the context of this psalm.
[20:52] The context of this psalm tells us everything about the power of the words that David is using here. This psalm was written by David when he was in the wilderness.
[21:04] Not at the quote-unquote beginning of his kingship, but decades into being a king. He had a son named Absalom.
[21:18] And Absalom wanted the throne. So for years, Solomon would wait at the city gates, and he'd meet and talk to all the people who had complaints against David.
[21:31] And he would gather all these complaints, and he would talk to other people about them. Yes, it would be better if my father did that. Yes, it would be better if my father did that.
[21:43] That is a great idea. I wish my father would only listen to your reason. And then it just wasn't strangers, but well-known other people in positions of power started listening to Absalom.
[22:01] And then the people who listened to Absalom were some of David's closest friends. Some of his mighty men. Some of his generals.
[22:14] Those he had fought shoulder to shoulder in battles with. And then it got to the point, you know who could probably do a better job than David?
[22:26] Absalom. Absalom, his son. Maybe it's time to raise him to be king and do away with David.
[22:39] So this is this context that things aren't working so well for David politically at this point. Righteousness is not being spoken.
[22:52] Lies are being told. Mischaracterizations. And honestly, when lies are told about us, often we don't care. Unless it's someone who knows us.
[23:05] And then they start believing the lie. And then you start asking, you've known me for 10, 20, 30 years. Why would you believe that?
[23:18] But they go all in on the lie, the mischaracterization, the poison. So this is David's day.
[23:34] It's miserable. So what he's doing, he runs away to the wilderness. He's not even safe in his own palace. What do we learn from this?
[23:47] I'm going to use David as an example of what a Christian, what is the mark of a true believer and what he does in adversity. So as we see from verse one, let's take a look.
[23:59] It says, Oh God, you are my God. Earnestly, I seek you. The first mark of a true blue card carrying Christian is that he's always driven to Jesus Christ or God in adversity.
[24:14] The first response. This is David. If you've been around the church long enough, you have undoubtedly heard the stories and heard the questions, why has God done this to me?
[24:28] Why have you let this happen? People feel that then when we're dealing, when we're being dealt with unfairly or there's lies or uncharacteristics, some people even leave the faith.
[24:41] God can't be true if he allowed that to happen. What value is my faith if God allows me to suffer in this way?
[24:51] But in David, we find a complete opposite response. When trouble comes, a true believer draws near to God.
[25:02] Yes, sometimes there is a pause. Sometimes there is a stumble. You take out a compass. The compass kind of wheels around till it points its way north, right?
[25:13] That's the way it is with us. I'm not saying there's an immediacy in the middle of adversity, but we're going to get there like that compass. We're going to paint point north and the believer is going to draw close to God.
[25:28] Notice it says, earnestly I seek you. Some of your virgins might say, early will I seek you. What David is communicating here is two things.
[25:38] One, the first thing David does is seeks God. It is his first priority. He doesn't add it to the 18th list of things to do.
[25:50] Try to assassinate my son. Try to spread bad rumors. Get on Facebook and those generals are now majors. I'm going to demote them. No. It's to get down to God.
[26:04] And what is the second thing he does? Is he seeks God. God is the priority. And notice that word seek. It's an action verb. David is not sitting back in the wilderness waiting for God to show himself to him.
[26:22] He's actively seeking him out. It's the same command we have and it brings us to a reminder of Matthew 6.33. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.
[26:38] The reality is a true Christian through the grace that God gives him will pursue God above everything else.
[26:53] God is not the last resort. God is the only resort. So that's the first thing.
[27:04] So for those who, and I get this, I've gotten texts this week, people are in political pain. It's kind of interesting. If you're paying attention, Biden took the early lead in Texas and if you know anything about Texas, it's a red state.
[27:20] I started going, what's going on with you guys? You know, you guys are going to lose it for the president, you know, which couldn't be a bigger insult. They said if it's true, they're going to come up to Canada and live here instead.
[27:33] They pulled it out. But some of them were desperately concerned. And most of my buddies down there, they're not going to be preaching a sermon like this. It's going to be 10 times as intense because they're dealing with 10 times the intensity of hurt, pain, and sorrow.
[27:50] Now the second mark of a true Christian is, a Christian understands, and you guys need to know this more than anything else, we have every right to come to God.
[28:02] Do you get that? We are children. Just like every child has a right to go to their mother and father when under duress or any other issue, the Christian, the believer in Christ, the saint, has every right to come to God.
[28:22] Well, God, I know this isn't that big of a problem and I don't think I should bother you with it. That's not a reality in a Christian's life.
[28:34] The true Christian turns to God because they know God. When trouble comes, a Christian does not happen to pray to do whatever God will answer their prayers.
[28:48] We do not offer Hail Mary prayers just hoping if I can say the right word at the right time with the right attitude, God will somehow give me the right feeling or the right attention or the right to listen to me.
[29:07] The God we pray to is not distant. The God we pray to is not remote. The God we pray to is not an eternal being that is unrelated to our reality.
[29:24] Jesus Christ was both God and man. He walked this earth. I was even thinking of the dynamics.
[29:37] What happens if Jesus Christ, when he went into Jerusalem, said, we're going to make you king. He said, okay, let's go with this. Let's see what happens. Right? Israel becomes the greatest nation that ever lived, probably the greatest mission, endeavor.
[29:53] But at some point, it would have had to have ended. And the message would not have been far-reaching. The message would not have allowed to have even come to our land for us and our forefathers to have heard it.
[30:09] You see, we do not cry out to a vague God who may hear us or may be pleased to hear us.
[30:22] Listen to what he says. Oh God, you are my God. Oh mighty God, my God. What he's saying here is not just great, great, great God. He's saying my personal God.
[30:34] You see, a true believer knows God. That is a personal relationship. That means we just don't know about God. We don't approach God with doubt or uncertainty.
[30:49] What child approaches their father wondering if they are loved? But here, David comes to God instinctively.
[31:03] And notice what he simply says. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh faints for you.
[31:18] As in a dry and weary land where there is no water. That dry and weary land is what a lot of people are facing right now.
[31:31] No political hope. The fears that their worst dreams are going to happen. See, true believers don't come to God after trying everything else out.
[31:46] We don't try the other 50 gods that are offered and come to this one as a last resort. We don't talk ourselves into talking to him. The reality is God knows our great thirst and he knows that he is the only one that satisfies this thirst.
[32:07] It echoes the words of the psalmist in Psalm 42. As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
[32:20] Remember singing that song? As the deer pants for the water, so my soul pants for you. See, the true believer comes to God with the longest deeping of his soul.
[32:35] So the first one, he goes to him right away and he comes to God with everything. And the third mark of a true believer in this context is his greatest desire is to experience God's presence.
[32:50] Our greatest desire is to experience God's presence. It's not come to get my political wishes answered. It's we come because our greatest desire is to worship God, is it not?
[33:07] It's to feel the presence of God and know that that communion is real. Check out David. Here he is.
[33:17] He's in a dry and thirsty land. He is surrounded by enemies. He's been betrayed by some of his closest friends. Even with all of this before him, his soul thirsts, his flesh faints.
[33:31] It's all of him that is engaged in. And his desire is for intimate knowledge, intimate experience of God the Father.
[33:42] This is the biggest and most important thing in his life. So look what he says in verse 2. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary.
[33:57] Beholding your power and glory. Remember, the temple wasn't a great building. David wanted to build a great temple. And God said, no, you've been a man of war.
[34:09] I'm going to have your son build that temple. So it was like a basic tent. It was not a basic tent. It was a pretty major tent. And inside was the ark of the covenant and the tabernacle.
[34:23] And that was in the interior. That's where the priest would come. And the sanctuary was a picture of where forgiveness of our sins could be found.
[34:37] It's where the sacrifices were done. It was the place where we came to be made right with God, right? That's the old sacrificial system.
[34:48] Get our unblemished lamb. If we can't afford that, we have doves. We know we've sinned. We got to go to the temple. We got to go see God. We got to have this dealt with.
[34:59] And David says, so I have looked upon you in the sanctuary. He's talking about the place where one is made right with God.
[35:14] David wants the assurance that God is still with him. He wants the assurance that God will not leave him. He wants the assurance that God will not forsake him.
[35:27] And what's interesting is that whatever experience that he has in the sanctuary, he wants it right there in the wilderness. You see, the experience is not something that you can do yourself.
[35:43] You cannot construct it by singing certain songs. You cannot manufacture it by hanging out with certain people. It's a work that God does.
[35:55] And it marks the difference between true faith and dead religion. You can create religion, but you cannot fake true faith.
[36:09] David is seeking it. He's crying out for it. You see, this is something a child of God wants above all else.
[36:21] Tell me he's not worrying. Did I do something wrong? Did I dishonor God? Did I ignore the prophets that I should be here now in the wilderness?
[36:36] My son trying to kill me, to overthrow me, and my friends are wanting to help him? But David knows something.
[36:48] David knows that even in the wilderness, in the pain, in the dryness, in where he thirsts, the closeness of God can be had.
[37:03] It doesn't happen to happen, it doesn't have to happen at a church, a Bible study, a prayer group, a retreat, or a Christian camp. You can actually experience God in your bed.
[37:19] You can experience God in your hospital bed. You can experience God at your dining room table. You can experience God in your car.
[37:35] You can experience God whether it rains or it pours. You can experience God, even there's a Democrat or a Republican power, a liberal or conservative, an NDP or liberal.
[37:49] It matters not. The fact is, we should feel this way about God during the storm of life in these times of darkness.
[38:00] We should always be seeking the closeness of God. Let me ask you a question.
[38:15] Do you even long for God? Even when the times are great, do you long for Him? Or is He just a name you call out to because times are tough?
[38:31] You see, David makes it clear that the marks of a true believer are driven to God in adversity. We come to God instinctively and above all, we desire the presence of God.
[38:52] Take a look at verse 3. There's something else a true believer knows. He says, because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
[39:04] So I will bless you as long as I live. In your name, I will lift up my hands. See, mature believers know that God's love is better than life.
[39:20] What this means is whatever area of life they are in, their eye is always on God. Paul, Philippians 1.21, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
[39:34] Philippians 3.10, that I may know Him in the power of His resurrection and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in death. What Paul is saying is what David is saying.
[39:49] Of all things in this life, the best thing is to know God. Amen? This is the object of our lives, my friend. These men who bear witness that God is all, one writes from the wilderness, the other writes from prison.
[40:10] And why can they say this? I want to tell you three quick words. This is why Christians aren't fretting who's in power. One, we live in a passing world.
[40:23] A mature Christian knows that this world always wants you, but we need to understand that it is, how do I say this?
[40:37] Life is transient. It is not forever. The writer of Hebrews reminds us in Hebrews 13.14, for here we have come, no fasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
[40:52] First John 5.4, for everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
[41:08] Listen, the reality is the world wants your attention. Newspapers, media, Facebook, journals, but those aren't the things we place our emphasis in. The second thing that a Christian understands is that this world will not completely satisfy.
[41:23] Listen, this world is interesting. There's attractive things here. There's knowledge to be attained. Come on, we live in Squamish for a reason, because there's beauty to be seen.
[41:36] There's parks to be walked through. Gorgeous things. Families to be had to enjoy that closeness.
[41:47] There's things in this world that are helpful, fun, but the reality in it will not spiritually satisfy. The cares of this life are here.
[41:59] There will be trials, and there's no escaping these things. I've had the pleasure of meeting professional athletes. You can read their stories, whether Paul Henderson, the hockey player, or even Michael Phelps, the recent Olympian, who was said to be the greatest Olympian that ever lived, and as he's turned to Christ, he came to that knowledge because everything else that he accomplished meant nothing in the scope of life.
[42:27] It didn't speak to his soul. I've made men that have been retired in their 30s, so they had so many millions. I've got friends that worked for Disney and had major movies made about them.
[42:44] They will all attest the same thing. It all burns. You see, the trick of the world and the devil is to keep you thinking about heaven, your sin, and hell.
[43:02] When our eyes need to be pointed on Jesus Christ, and the third thing a Christian understands is the world is mostly vain and empty. Pleasures fade. Christians see through this and won't satisfy the deepest longing of their soul.
[43:18] Matthew tells us that moth and rust will come in, destroy. Now let's take a look at these last verses, verse 5. Here's David communicating everything else pales, everything else recedes and everything else is insignificant.
[43:39] My soul will be satisfied as with the fat of rich food and my mouth will praise you with the joyful lips. When I remember you upon my bed and meditate on you in the watches of the night for you have been my help and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
[43:58] this is something that he describes the world does not give us. Politics does not provide this.
[44:10] There's only one person alone who can provide this and that is Jesus Christ. Christ. As I stated a couple of weeks ago the Rusk minister catechism simply states the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
[44:33] Are you enjoying him? If you're not may I suggest that possibly your mind heart and soul is more engaged with the world than it is on Christ.
[44:51] Let me pray. It's been a weird week Lord.
[45:03] I have spoken to friends that have been in tears. Some are scared and some are scared for the right things but may be scared for the wrong reasons.
[45:22] Father I have friends that live in the reality where their churches have been persecuted for a great many years. The county or the state has been coming against them constantly threatening to put taxes that would force them to move to sell and yes these are legitimate causes for concern oh Father but let's be honest we have Christian brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who do not live in democracies who live in war torn countries who live under despots who live under broken governments but their praise and prayer is just as real.
[46:13] Their faith grows your word spreads and more and more people come to the saving knowledge of Christ.
[46:30] Lord let us be thankful for everything that you provide for us here a building and friends to freely come and speak to. Lord I just rejoice that Dr.
[46:41] Bonnie Henry this weekend when shutting down everything recognize that church is essential. Praise God you moved in our heart that this is a need just like it is for our kids to go to school.
[46:58] We just need to know to read articles that say governments are trying to stop prayer meetings and Bible studies because they are not essential. I do not know why we have found favor but I thank you for it.
[47:16] Father I also know that there's people here in deep trials of life through families or through fear work is not as plentiful people.
[47:31] And yet through this we've been managing to provide to go forward. No one is starving. I'm thankful for an attitude of church that seeks to help that it seeks to take.
[47:50] What a blessed witness this is to my wife and I. father for those that are showing that have that consternation of the future.
[48:02] I pray they would set this verse aside this chapter that they would read the words of David under intense pain discouragement his son trying to kill him.
[48:25] He still lifts up your name in a way that I have never been able to speak like. Thank you.
[48:37] In your name, amen.