WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.900 This morning, I want to begin a series, another series, this time about choices. 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:11.560 And I want to preface it by saying just a few things. 00:00:11.660 --> 00:00:14.099 This series is going to probably last about five messages. 00:00:14.280 --> 00:00:19.359 I don't know all exactly right now, but I think probably I'll do about five messages along this line. 00:00:19.740 --> 00:00:24.620 But these first two messages are dealing with a particular aspect of our choices, 00:00:24.620 --> 00:00:30.480 and that is how do we deal with disaster when disaster strikes in our lives? 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:32.280 I want to preface the message. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:36.020 If you'll give me about two minutes, I want to preface it, and then we'll jump right into the message. 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:40.320 But I believe, to kind of tell you my philosophy on life, 00:00:40.939 --> 00:00:49.859 I believe that primarily life is a series of choices that we make, that we get the life we bargain for. 00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:52.200 Now, there are some things that are out of our control. 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:57.540 I can't control where I'm born, to whom I'm born, when I'm born, any of those kind of things. 00:00:57.660 --> 00:01:00.040 I can't control how smart I am. 00:01:00.380 --> 00:01:03.219 I can't control a whole lot about my life. 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:08.939 But most of the things, day to day to day to day, God gives us the freedom to make choices, 00:01:09.099 --> 00:01:16.659 and those choices are reflected, I believe, much of the time, most of the time, in the way I live my life. 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:19.659 If I have a good life, it's because I've made some good choices. 00:01:19.659 --> 00:01:24.679 If I have a life that's just filled with turmoil, not always is it the case, 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:26.939 because sometimes I said things are unavoidable, 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:32.000 but oftentimes the turmoil I experience in life is my own doing. 00:01:32.179 --> 00:01:33.479 We all understand that, right? 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:37.699 We know that there's a penalty that comes with sin, and even in my own personal choices, 00:01:37.699 --> 00:01:41.420 that sometimes there are consequences of my actions that impact my life. 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:43.640 So choices are really, really important. 00:01:43.879 --> 00:01:45.659 So the next five weeks, we're thinking about choices. 00:01:45.659 --> 00:01:52.219 This morning, we're thinking about choices regarding disaster that arises in our life. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:57.599 Now, some of you are thinking, well, Pastor, you can't avoid disaster, and you're exactly right, you can't. 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:02.939 But you can choose how you respond to the disaster that comes your way in life. 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:05.039 And some people would even argue that point. 00:02:05.140 --> 00:02:07.459 They'd say, no, certain things happen, they're unavoidable, 00:02:07.459 --> 00:02:12.780 and so you just have to kind of go with the flow and let the disaster take you wherever it will. 00:02:12.900 --> 00:02:15.259 I'm telling you, that's erroneous thinking. 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:24.099 In fact, if you want to make wise choices and good choices in a time where the world you're living in is falling apart around you, 00:02:24.359 --> 00:02:26.419 I think there are two things that are very, very necessary. 00:02:26.620 --> 00:02:33.500 One, you have to condition yourself prior to the hardship to prepare yourself for when that hardship comes. 00:02:33.500 --> 00:02:38.259 There are some mental pictures you need to get in your mind, and I've got to say to you today, 00:02:38.539 --> 00:02:43.280 a lot of believers, they understand what I'm going to say in these five points. 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:46.939 They understand intellectually they would nod their head in agreement, 00:02:47.340 --> 00:02:51.080 but they don't live in the reality of those five points. 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:58.099 Oftentimes, we're more optimistic than we should be about certain things. 00:02:58.099 --> 00:03:04.060 I know it kind of sounds mysterious to you, but you'll see it as the message unfolds this morning. 00:03:04.419 --> 00:03:08.259 So let's just look at these different things in just a moment. 00:03:08.419 --> 00:03:14.859 Before we do that, though, I want you to understand that life can become very, very difficult and hard. 00:03:15.219 --> 00:03:17.939 We all can suffer disasters in our life. 00:03:17.939 --> 00:03:28.900 In fact, we all, if you live long enough, will experience some disasters, some setbacks, some real dire difficulties in your life. 00:03:29.219 --> 00:03:31.060 Let me tell you some forms they can take. 00:03:31.419 --> 00:03:33.840 First of all, there can be a death in our family. 00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:35.560 Boy, that always shakes us up, right? 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:40.419 When we have someone in our family that dies or one of our close friends dies. 00:03:40.699 --> 00:03:43.300 I lost an aunt just two days ago. 00:03:43.300 --> 00:03:47.460 I'm going to Seneca right after this service today to be with the family over there. 00:03:47.980 --> 00:03:50.420 And yet, it was one of those things. 00:03:50.520 --> 00:03:51.719 She died of Alzheimer's. 00:03:52.060 --> 00:03:54.700 We have been praying that God would soon take her. 00:03:54.860 --> 00:03:58.260 So it's not such a setback when that's a circumstance, right? 00:03:58.380 --> 00:04:00.480 You've all known those kind of situations. 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:03.340 But sometimes, it's a real tragedy. 00:04:03.760 --> 00:04:07.840 When you're in the middle of a good night's rest and the highway patrol knocks at your door 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:10.480 and they tell you that loved one has died in a car wreck. 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:12.720 Boy, that's devastating, isn't it? 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:15.419 It just sucks the life right out of us. 00:04:15.500 --> 00:04:19.199 Or they're involved in some freak accident that we couldn't foresee. 00:04:19.459 --> 00:04:22.819 Or they suddenly get cancer and we didn't see it coming. 00:04:22.899 --> 00:04:25.439 Or they have a heart attack and they die in the moment. 00:04:25.779 --> 00:04:29.639 That takes us by surprise and that's difficult to deal with. 00:04:30.019 --> 00:04:33.879 There is financial disaster that sometimes strikes us, right? 00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:37.259 Some of you, two years ago, were doing very, very well financially. 00:04:37.259 --> 00:04:43.379 But you would admit this morning, some of you, not all of you, some of you, it's been a good time the last two years. 00:04:43.860 --> 00:04:47.019 But for some of you, the last two years has been a real struggle. 00:04:47.659 --> 00:04:54.120 I know in Greenville, there are just any number of people who own restaurants who have closed their doors. 00:04:54.259 --> 00:04:55.240 They can't find help. 00:04:55.319 --> 00:04:56.899 They can't keep the restaurant open. 00:04:56.899 --> 00:05:00.939 They weren't able to have supplies delivered to them in time. 00:05:01.259 --> 00:05:04.139 And many of them have just thrown in the towel, so to speak. 00:05:04.219 --> 00:05:06.379 They've said, we can't make a living doing this. 00:05:06.500 --> 00:05:09.359 And so life can be uncertain economically. 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:14.879 Life can also be uncertain in terms of our health, right? 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:20.939 You can be on top of your game, so to speak, eating right, exercising, doing all the right things. 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:21.620 Go to the doctor. 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:25.219 He does a blood test and calls you in three days and says, you know what? 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:26.480 We've got a problem. 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:29.219 You need to come in here and let's do some additional tests. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:34.719 And you find out subsequent to that, I have cancer or my loved one has cancer and we're having to go through radiation. 00:05:34.980 --> 00:05:36.480 We're having to go through chemotherapy. 00:05:37.019 --> 00:05:38.439 There's some surgery involved. 00:05:38.819 --> 00:05:41.040 Boy, that just throws our life in disarray. 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:44.219 How do you deal with life when those kind of things come? 00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:46.680 There are other problems that can come. 00:05:47.200 --> 00:05:48.200 Solid families. 00:05:48.460 --> 00:05:50.140 I mean solid families. 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:51.900 You think would go the distance. 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:56.500 They can just sometimes unexpectedly fall apart. 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:02.680 And children are often hurt when those marriages come apart at the seams. 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:10.500 When a husband comes home and announces to his wife, I found someone else and I no longer love you and I want out of this marriage. 00:06:10.580 --> 00:06:12.920 Or a wife does that to a husband. 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:13.140 A husband. 00:06:14.140 --> 00:06:18.140 Suicide can wreak havoc in a family's life. 00:06:18.540 --> 00:06:22.319 A business is closed and people are laid off jobs and fired. 00:06:22.699 --> 00:06:24.379 And on and on and on we could go. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:26.040 We don't like to think about those things. 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:27.100 Those are negative things. 00:06:27.100 --> 00:06:36.700 But the truth of the matter is, every one of us in this room have probably already experienced one or more of those kind of situations. 00:06:37.140 --> 00:06:38.240 Here's the big question. 00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:41.000 Here's what we're looking at for the next two weeks. 00:06:41.320 --> 00:06:44.480 How do we respond when that happens? 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:46.759 How can we respond? 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:49.759 Well, first of all, we can get angry. 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:55.560 Have you ever seen anybody that got really angry over any or all those situations I previously met? 00:06:55.640 --> 00:06:56.680 I've seen lots of folks. 00:06:57.120 --> 00:06:59.379 They get so angry they could just bite nails. 00:06:59.379 --> 00:07:01.959 I've seen them just clench their fist in anger. 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:05.920 I've seen the veins in their neck protrude when they begin to talk about it. 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:10.480 They're just so angry it just destroys them with anger. 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:17.540 I've seen other folk who become, over a period of time, not so angry as they become bitter. 00:07:17.540 --> 00:07:22.660 They get over that initial crisis, but it just leaves a bad taste in their mouth. 00:07:23.020 --> 00:07:29.000 And as Hebrew says, a root of bitterness springs up in their life, and they come to the place that they're not angry over anything in particular. 00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:31.900 They're just bitter toward lie. 00:07:32.980 --> 00:07:34.180 Have you ever seen folk like that? 00:07:34.860 --> 00:07:38.820 Just day to day to day, they just live their life with a sense of bitterness. 00:07:39.400 --> 00:07:44.020 It's often because of hardship that has occurred at some point in their life. 00:07:44.019 --> 00:07:50.039 Some people, unfortunately, I see this pretty often, they're active in the church. 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:51.060 They love God. 00:07:51.259 --> 00:07:51.899 They proclaim. 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:53.299 They love God. 00:07:53.899 --> 00:08:00.479 Something tragic happens in their life, something that creates a real hardship in their life, and they just withdraw from God. 00:08:00.579 --> 00:08:02.120 They just walk away from God. 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:04.099 They say, I'm not going to church anymore. 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:05.399 I'm not reading my Bible anymore. 00:08:05.479 --> 00:08:06.299 I'm not praying anymore. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:12.599 If this is how God treats me after how I have tried to be obedient to Him, then I'm just out of here. 00:08:12.600 --> 00:08:15.660 And they absolutely withdraw from God. 00:08:16.320 --> 00:08:18.740 Now, here's a surprising thing, too, maybe for some of you. 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:29.660 Sometimes when hardship comes, people respond in exactly the opposite fashion, and they draw closer to God in times of crisis than they've ever been. 00:08:29.740 --> 00:08:36.840 They rightfully recognize that He's in control, and they need to be dependent upon Him, and they actually draw closer. 00:08:36.980 --> 00:08:40.220 That's another way that we can respond to heartache and to crisis. 00:08:40.220 --> 00:08:42.980 Some people fall into depression. 00:08:43.740 --> 00:08:46.980 You've seen folk who just withdraw, and they stay home. 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:48.320 They stop being social. 00:08:48.460 --> 00:08:49.420 They stop going out. 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:51.180 They close the curtains. 00:08:51.379 --> 00:08:54.680 They sometimes come on the television and watch it just incessantly. 00:08:55.060 --> 00:08:57.320 Sometimes they just have nothing to do with anybody. 00:08:57.879 --> 00:08:59.980 Their whole world goes dark. 00:09:00.740 --> 00:09:03.460 Some people surrender, wither, and die. 00:09:03.460 --> 00:09:14.840 Believe it or not, believe it or not, every one of those responses are reflective of choices that we make. 00:09:15.460 --> 00:09:16.440 Are you listening? 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:24.680 Every one of those different responses I talked about is a choice that somebody makes. 00:09:25.639 --> 00:09:28.180 The truth of the matter is most folk don't see that. 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:31.720 Most folk think, I just responded just naturally. 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:34.320 I didn't have a choice in the matter, but I want to tell you something. 00:09:34.860 --> 00:09:43.600 You always have a choice about how you respond to what life deals you over the course of time. 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:50.019 And if you make wise ride choices, you'll weather that storm better than if you don't. 00:09:50.620 --> 00:09:58.240 So this morning, I want to give you a few tips about how do you deal with disaster when it comes knocking at your door. 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:01.299 And I take no delight in saying this to you this morning. 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:03.320 I don't want to depress anyone here, but I'm going to tell you something. 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:08.759 It's going to come knocking at your door before you get out of this world. 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:09.899 You understand that? 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:12.039 No one is immune to it. 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:13.240 And that's one of the problems. 00:10:13.500 --> 00:10:15.620 The first part of this message is going to deal with that, son. 00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:23.639 A lot of times believers live as though they're immune to heartache and hardship and disaster. 00:10:24.019 --> 00:10:30.019 And they create for themselves a mentality that doesn't prepare them well for when disaster does strike. 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:33.779 Because they live in this world with rose-colored glasses thinking, 00:10:33.779 --> 00:10:41.319 If I love God and I go to church and I do right, then all that will be avoidable in my life. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:47.939 And I'm here to tell you this morning, heartache, believers, I don't care how much you pray, how much you love God, 00:10:48.019 --> 00:10:53.860 how much you read the Word of God, how faithful you are in church, how much you give to wonderful charitable causes, 00:10:54.620 --> 00:10:58.620 you are not immune to heartache and hardship in life. 00:10:58.759 --> 00:11:01.799 And it will sooner or later come knocking at your door. 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:04.359 So how are you going to respond when it does come? 00:11:05.079 --> 00:11:06.679 I think two things have to happen. 00:11:06.799 --> 00:11:08.199 One, you have to be mentally prepared. 00:11:08.319 --> 00:11:11.000 And secondly, you have to take some right actions. 00:11:11.359 --> 00:11:14.319 Next week, if you'll come back, I'm going to tell you what those right actions are. 00:11:14.419 --> 00:11:16.479 Today, we're going to think on the mental part. 00:11:17.339 --> 00:11:21.679 How do I prepare myself mentally for hardship that could be lying at my door? 00:11:22.379 --> 00:11:24.579 Five things you need to come to grips with. 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:27.859 First of all, life isn't fair. 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:30.740 Would you write that down if you're taking notes this morning? 00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:33.799 You say, well, Pastor, I already know that. 00:11:33.819 --> 00:11:36.639 Or some of you would even argue the point and say, no, I think life is fair. 00:11:36.699 --> 00:11:38.159 Because you see, God is just. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:42.639 And therefore, if God is just and God is in control, everything that happens in life is fair. 00:11:42.719 --> 00:11:43.339 I want to tell you something. 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:45.419 You need to pull your head out of the ground. 00:11:46.579 --> 00:11:48.019 Because life is not fair. 00:11:48.019 --> 00:11:55.659 We oftentimes, as Americans, want to believe that everything is equitable and everything is just and everything is fair. 00:11:55.860 --> 00:11:57.120 And it's even Stephen. 00:11:57.720 --> 00:12:01.899 And that should be our goal, to treat people equitably all the time. 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:03.500 But I want to tell you something. 00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:07.240 It doesn't typically play out that way. 00:12:08.199 --> 00:12:10.019 Life just isn't fair. 00:12:10.019 --> 00:12:14.699 The Bible declares that God is just again and again and again. 00:12:14.980 --> 00:12:20.399 But as we like to think about fairness, the Bible never says that God is fair. 00:12:21.100 --> 00:12:25.500 The Bible never declares, I'm going to treat every man the same. 00:12:26.379 --> 00:12:28.659 The Bible says exactly the opposite. 00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:32.159 Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated. 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:34.399 You understand that? 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:39.720 So God doesn't even treat all of us on an equal basis. 00:12:41.199 --> 00:12:47.579 God demonstrates favor and grace to whom he demonstrates favor and grace. 00:12:48.360 --> 00:12:50.899 But life just isn't fair. 00:12:51.059 --> 00:12:51.899 And I want to tell you why. 00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:53.779 It's not because of anything God's done. 00:12:53.860 --> 00:12:57.059 It's because of what we have done to ourselves. 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:00.960 Adam and Eve sinned against God in the garden. 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:05.519 And immediately, if you can picture this, our world became broken. 00:13:06.340 --> 00:13:10.600 And all their children who were ever born after them were born with a bent toward sin. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:13.240 And the evidence is that we are all sinners. 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:16.440 We have all fallen in their path. 00:13:16.820 --> 00:13:19.240 And as a result of that, our world is broken. 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:20.480 It is marred. 00:13:20.620 --> 00:13:21.639 It is unjust. 00:13:22.540 --> 00:13:24.820 And it just flat isn't fair. 00:13:26.019 --> 00:13:28.420 Now let me give you some biblical evidence of that. 00:13:28.419 --> 00:13:33.039 And also some experiential evidence that you'll quickly see if you desire to. 00:13:33.979 --> 00:13:35.599 First of all, here's biblical evidence. 00:13:36.919 --> 00:13:39.219 Jesus lived a perfect life. 00:13:39.699 --> 00:13:39.919 Amen. 00:13:40.699 --> 00:13:41.599 That's yes and no. 00:13:41.979 --> 00:13:43.419 He lived a perfect life. 00:13:43.479 --> 00:13:43.699 Amen. 00:13:46.099 --> 00:13:52.620 He would not have been subject to die on the cross if the world were fair, if life was fair. 00:13:53.799 --> 00:13:55.240 That was totally unfair. 00:13:55.240 --> 00:14:01.139 It was the plan of God, but it was totally unfair that Jesus should have to die for us. 00:14:01.220 --> 00:14:02.240 But they put him to death. 00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:07.700 John the Baptist was the one that Jesus said was the best man ever born of woman. 00:14:08.899 --> 00:14:14.060 John the Baptist was beheaded because he preached the truth to Herod. 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:19.360 If the world were just, if the world were always fair, that would never have happened. 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:20.960 Remember Joseph? 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:24.960 Joseph in the Old Testament is sold into slavery by his brothers. 00:14:25.240 --> 00:14:28.580 In a just world, that would never happen. 00:14:28.680 --> 00:14:33.280 In a world where things were fair and equitable, that would never have happened. 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:38.860 He's sold after he's taken into slavery to a man by the name of Potiphar, a wealthy guy. 00:14:39.560 --> 00:14:42.139 His wife is a piece of work. 00:14:42.139 --> 00:14:47.659 She sets her sights on Joseph and desires to sleep with Joseph. 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:51.439 And Joseph does absolutely the right thing. 00:14:51.779 --> 00:14:53.000 He flees from her. 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:53.340 Remember? 00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:55.279 Leaves his coat in her hand. 00:14:55.779 --> 00:14:56.360 What does she do? 00:14:56.439 --> 00:14:57.439 She cries rape. 00:14:58.699 --> 00:15:00.379 You know what the end result of that story is? 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:01.939 He's thrown in prison. 00:15:01.940 --> 00:15:07.260 In a just world, in a fair world, that doesn't happen. 00:15:07.980 --> 00:15:08.800 Do you understand that? 00:15:09.680 --> 00:15:14.880 You see those commercials shot by St. Jude's Hospital, Shriners Hospital? 00:15:15.580 --> 00:15:17.740 My wife and I give to some of those ministries. 00:15:17.900 --> 00:15:19.560 I tell you, every time I see them, they break my heart. 00:15:19.960 --> 00:15:20.900 Because I want to tell you something. 00:15:21.380 --> 00:15:22.480 It isn't fair. 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:26.700 It shouldn't be that my little boy and girl can run and play, 00:15:26.899 --> 00:15:30.779 and somebody else's little girl and boy is confined to a wheelchair, 00:15:31.220 --> 00:15:33.659 that they're born without arms and without legs, 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:39.960 that parents have to sit with their children as they watch them suffer and even die with cancer. 00:15:40.820 --> 00:15:41.879 It's not fair. 00:15:42.940 --> 00:15:44.100 It's just not fair. 00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:45.259 But I'm going to tell you something. 00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:48.560 In this world, it's always going to be that way. 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:51.720 In the world to come, it will be fair. 00:15:52.980 --> 00:15:55.740 But in this world, life just isn't fair. 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:58.600 Now, you say, well, Pastor, why do you believe me? 00:15:58.639 --> 00:15:59.899 It's because that's kind of depressing. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:01.700 I'm going to tell you something. 00:16:02.500 --> 00:16:07.399 If you don't live with that mentality when hardship comes to your door, 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:11.920 you're going to be tempted to get angry with God and say, wait a second, this isn't fair. 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:13.060 You ever heard a believer say that? 00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:14.820 Why is this happening to me? 00:16:15.560 --> 00:16:17.279 I mean, I love God. 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:17.820 I pray. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:18.779 I do right. 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:20.680 This just isn't right. 00:16:20.679 --> 00:16:22.899 I'm telling you, life isn't right. 00:16:23.859 --> 00:16:24.859 You've got to accept that. 00:16:24.899 --> 00:16:29.179 If you're going to deal with disaster in the way that God would have us to deal with disaster, 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:31.779 you've got to keep in mind all the time, life isn't fair. 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:33.519 I'm not going to expect it to treat me fair. 00:16:33.719 --> 00:16:34.699 I hope it will. 00:16:34.979 --> 00:16:36.319 I'm going to treat others fair. 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:40.439 But I will understand that life just isn't always fair. 00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:42.379 Everybody got that? 00:16:43.059 --> 00:16:44.079 Let me tell you a second thing. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:47.860 Life is also uncertain and fragile. 00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:53.500 Now, we know that as believers because the Bible tells us that any number of places. 00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:54.860 But I want to tell you something. 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:56.700 We dupe ourselves into believing. 00:16:57.259 --> 00:17:02.139 And this is the, I think, a problem brought on sometimes by even Christian preachers, 00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:07.720 prosperity preachers, who give us this notion, if you love God and you'll tithe and you'll do right, 00:17:07.860 --> 00:17:10.600 you can expect the Wells Fargo truck to pull up any day. 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:14.599 That things are just always going to go smoothly for you. 00:17:14.879 --> 00:17:16.939 That if you get sick, you're just praying God's going to heal you. 00:17:18.179 --> 00:17:19.179 And I'm going to tell you something. 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:21.619 Life is fragile. 00:17:22.359 --> 00:17:24.379 And it is absolutely uncertain. 00:17:24.879 --> 00:17:27.879 Listen to what James says in James 4, 13 and 14. 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:33.980 Come now, you who say, today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there 00:17:33.980 --> 00:17:35.939 and do business and make a profit. 00:17:36.339 --> 00:17:40.339 You don't even know what tomorrow will bring, what your life will be. 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:41.259 Here's why. 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:49.159 For you are a bit of smoke, get this, that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:53.720 How many of you can remember going to work? 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:56.519 You pull up at this red light. 00:17:56.619 --> 00:17:58.959 It catches you almost every time you start to work. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:02.400 It's the middle of winter, February. 00:18:03.180 --> 00:18:06.000 It's about 25, 30 degrees outside. 00:18:06.660 --> 00:18:12.319 The exhaust from that car in front of you is just boiling up so fast, you can't see the car hardly. 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:16.639 But just as quickly as you notice it, what happens? 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:19.000 It just disappears. 00:18:20.439 --> 00:18:24.939 And you sit there a second longer and the engine keeps running and it produces more vapor. 00:18:24.940 --> 00:18:28.160 And just like the other vapor, it disappears. 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:34.000 And you sit there another second and it does it again and again until the traffic light changes and you take off. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:37.160 Can I tell you that's how it is in life? 00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:42.839 One generation comes and lives and they look so much in control and they're the story. 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:43.579 And guess what? 00:18:43.660 --> 00:18:46.960 As soon as you think they're the story, they vanish and they're gone. 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:53.319 And their children fall in suit and their children fall in suit and their children fall in suit. 00:18:53.740 --> 00:18:58.500 And five generations later, no one hardly even knows anyone in that first generation ever lived. 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:00.380 Isn't that so? 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:04.340 Now, again, I don't mean to be depressing, but I'm going to tell you something. 00:19:04.620 --> 00:19:09.779 It'll help you to deal with difficulties when they arise in your life if you can understand. 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:12.200 This life is uncertain. 00:19:12.380 --> 00:19:12.860 It's fragile. 00:19:13.360 --> 00:19:14.880 Don't confuse yourself. 00:19:15.019 --> 00:19:16.319 Don't tempt yourself into believing. 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:16.379 Don't tempt yourself into believing. 00:19:16.740 --> 00:19:18.799 Boy, you are good to go. 00:19:19.740 --> 00:19:20.980 Because you're just not. 00:19:22.139 --> 00:19:22.919 It is fragile. 00:19:23.179 --> 00:19:25.720 You don't need to go around, oh my goodness, we're going to die. 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:26.659 We're all going to die. 00:19:27.740 --> 00:19:31.779 But you do need to live in the reality of the fact life is fragile. 00:19:32.399 --> 00:19:34.619 Because you have it today doesn't mean you'll have it tomorrow. 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:38.279 Because we're here today doesn't mean we're here tomorrow. 00:19:38.579 --> 00:19:43.119 You know, we can't even ensure that every one of us in this room will still be living this time next week. 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:46.859 Not a one of us in this room can ensure that. 00:19:47.179 --> 00:19:48.779 Because life is uncertain. 00:19:49.299 --> 00:19:50.559 It is fragile. 00:19:51.399 --> 00:19:53.399 You can even think you're on top of your game. 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:55.799 Let me just give you one illustration for the sake of time. 00:19:55.879 --> 00:19:56.439 I'll press on. 00:19:56.819 --> 00:19:58.379 Remember Uzzah in the Old Testament? 00:19:58.380 --> 00:19:59.500 How many of you remember that name? 00:19:59.580 --> 00:20:00.800 U-Z-Z-A-H. 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:02.460 See, a number of you. 00:20:03.280 --> 00:20:05.820 Uzzah was a man in David's army. 00:20:06.460 --> 00:20:09.700 David is going to recapture the Ark of the Covenant. 00:20:09.840 --> 00:20:11.460 He's going to bring it to Jerusalem again. 00:20:11.640 --> 00:20:13.340 It's a red-letter day for King David. 00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:14.640 He is pumped. 00:20:15.800 --> 00:20:18.640 Uzzah thinks he's won the lottery. 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:20.880 I know you probably never thought about it like this. 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:21.580 But you know why? 00:20:22.220 --> 00:20:25.539 He's the guy who gets to stand nearest the Ark of the Covenant. 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:28.419 I mean, how cool is that, right? 00:20:28.500 --> 00:20:30.599 They're going to get it and bring it home. 00:20:30.919 --> 00:20:35.299 And he's the one chosen to walk right there beside the Ark of the Covenant. 00:20:35.579 --> 00:20:37.159 And so they're heading toward Jerusalem. 00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:38.279 It's a happy time. 00:20:38.500 --> 00:20:39.319 He's so fortunate. 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:41.079 He can tell his friends the next day, 00:20:41.579 --> 00:20:43.980 I was the guy up there nearest the Ark of the Covenant. 00:20:43.980 --> 00:20:45.180 But guess what? 00:20:45.940 --> 00:20:47.000 An oxen stumbles. 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:48.539 The cart shifts. 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:51.559 The Ark of the Covenant looks like it's about to fall. 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:54.440 And he reaches out thinking he's doing a good thing. 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:56.019 And he touches it. 00:20:56.099 --> 00:20:59.980 And when he does, the Levitical law, if he had read it, which he hadn't, 00:21:00.740 --> 00:21:02.460 had said you're never to do that. 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:07.140 It had special instructions about how it was to be maneuvered and carried 00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:09.299 and who could, and he wasn't one of those. 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:14.019 So when he touches it because of the holiness of God, he struck immediately dead. 00:21:14.339 --> 00:21:18.000 What looked like a red-letter day became the worst day of his life. 00:21:18.940 --> 00:21:20.019 And I'm going to tell you something. 00:21:20.819 --> 00:21:25.039 There are a lot of folk out there that happens in their lives day after day after day 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:28.200 where it looks like, man, I'm on top of my game. 00:21:28.319 --> 00:21:29.279 Everything's going great. 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:35.220 And out of nowhere, life is so cruel and life is so hard. 00:21:35.220 --> 00:21:39.660 Third thing I want you to see that you need to keep in mind, 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:44.259 life on this earth is going to end. 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:48.000 Again, hang with me. 00:21:48.600 --> 00:21:50.120 It's not all going to be bad news. 00:21:51.220 --> 00:21:54.220 But I want to promise you, it sounds a little bit depressing, but it's true. 00:21:54.460 --> 00:21:56.799 Life on this earth is going to end. 00:21:57.160 --> 00:21:59.839 We aren't going to make it out alive. 00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:02.880 Hebrews 9.27 says this, 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:09.880 And I want to tell you something. 00:22:09.980 --> 00:22:11.560 You can't argue with the stats. 00:22:12.760 --> 00:22:17.380 Since Adam, for every one man who has ever been born, guess how many have died? 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:18.960 One. 00:22:20.360 --> 00:22:22.360 Every last one. 00:22:23.340 --> 00:22:25.900 We keep seeing advances in medicine. 00:22:25.900 --> 00:22:29.280 And I'm fearful that many of us think, well, you know what? 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:31.940 We may come to a place where we'll live forever. 00:22:32.259 --> 00:22:33.120 Never going to happen. 00:22:33.820 --> 00:22:34.720 Not in this life. 00:22:36.220 --> 00:22:42.040 God told Adam and Eve, the soul that sins shall surely die and that curse is on us and we're going to die. 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:49.380 There was a Harvard demographer that just a few weeks ago issued a statement. 00:22:49.380 --> 00:22:51.620 You know what he said? 00:22:52.780 --> 00:22:58.060 He said, if you wiped away all cancer, if we could eradicate every form of cancer, 00:22:58.200 --> 00:23:01.040 and that's the thing we fear probably as much as anything on earth, right? 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:04.760 If you could eradicate every form of cancer, 00:23:05.580 --> 00:23:09.800 you know how long he projects man would increase in his lifespan? 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:13.039 2.2 years. 00:23:15.180 --> 00:23:17.700 Then if you took cancer off the table altogether, 00:23:18.220 --> 00:23:25.059 the average lifespan would still only be 2.2 years longer than it is at the present. 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:29.399 I'm telling you, you can eat right, you can exercise, 00:23:29.819 --> 00:23:32.119 you can do everything you know to do, 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:35.919 but if you've got it in mind, I'm going to avoid death because I'm going to be so healthy, 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:37.940 or I'm going to be so godly, or I'm going to be so spiritual, 00:23:37.940 --> 00:23:41.759 you better think again because it's not going to happen. 00:23:42.220 --> 00:23:44.500 You can't get out of this life alive. 00:23:45.700 --> 00:23:51.799 Fifthly, or fourthly, only God knows the length of our days. 00:23:52.700 --> 00:23:56.640 Look, if you will, at Psalm 139 and verse 16. 00:23:57.720 --> 00:24:00.940 In Psalm 139 verse 16, David writes these words, 00:24:01.500 --> 00:24:04.140 Your eyes saw me when I was formless. 00:24:04.140 --> 00:24:10.220 All my days were written in your book and plan before a single one of them began. 00:24:11.320 --> 00:24:13.300 Job 14.5 says, 00:24:13.420 --> 00:24:14.900 Man's days are determined. 00:24:15.060 --> 00:24:18.800 The number of his months depends on you, God. 00:24:20.180 --> 00:24:23.200 I'm telling you, you can live as healthy as you want to, 00:24:23.620 --> 00:24:25.759 do everything in your power. 00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:31.120 You cannot extend your life beyond that which God desires for you to live. 00:24:31.200 --> 00:24:32.200 Now listen to me carefully. 00:24:32.200 --> 00:24:37.180 In the book of Isaiah chapter 38, there's a man by the name of Hezekiah. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:37.860 He's king. 00:24:38.880 --> 00:24:43.519 He develops what appears to be, in his mind, a relatively small health issue. 00:24:44.220 --> 00:24:45.740 But he doesn't get better. 00:24:47.860 --> 00:24:50.180 Isaiah receives a message from God. 00:24:51.140 --> 00:24:55.259 Isaiah is told, Go to the palace and tell Hezekiah he's not going to get well. 00:24:55.259 --> 00:24:58.220 Isaiah goes to the palace. 00:24:58.379 --> 00:24:59.319 He sees King Hezekiah. 00:24:59.539 --> 00:25:01.220 He says, Hezekiah, I got some bad news for you. 00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:02.000 You've been a good king. 00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:06.259 But God says, This illness you've got is going to take your life. 00:25:06.339 --> 00:25:06.960 You're going to die. 00:25:08.460 --> 00:25:09.619 Hezekiah is distraught. 00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:14.579 He does probably what most every one of us in this room would do under those kind of circumstances in our life 00:25:14.579 --> 00:25:16.119 or in the lives of somebody we love. 00:25:16.180 --> 00:25:16.680 You know what he does? 00:25:16.839 --> 00:25:17.839 He falls face down. 00:25:18.140 --> 00:25:20.480 He doesn't even wait until Isaiah gets out of the palace. 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:21.599 He falls down. 00:25:21.720 --> 00:25:24.539 He says, God, please, God, I've been a good man. 00:25:24.620 --> 00:25:25.860 I've tried to do the right thing. 00:25:25.980 --> 00:25:28.099 I'm not perfect, but I've tried to do the best I can do. 00:25:28.660 --> 00:25:30.019 Would you please heal me of this? 00:25:30.099 --> 00:25:32.460 Would you please extend my life 15 years? 00:25:33.880 --> 00:25:37.620 Before Isaiah can get out of the palace, God speaks to him and says, Go back. 00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:38.860 I've changed my mind. 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:43.620 And Isaiah turns around and goes back to Hezekiah, and he comes to Hezekiah, and he says, 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:44.940 Hezekiah, I've got news for you. 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:48.500 God has heard your prayer. 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:51.859 He's going to extend your life 15 years. 00:25:52.619 --> 00:25:53.779 Can I tell you something? 00:25:54.180 --> 00:25:55.500 God did just that. 00:25:56.019 --> 00:25:56.859 But get this. 00:25:57.759 --> 00:25:59.759 16 years later, he died. 00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:07.380 Now, I want you to know there are people in your life and in my life, in fact, one of my dear friends, 00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:10.059 Bill Abels, passed away this past Tuesday. 00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:16.759 I've been praying for Bill for four years, every morning, every night, sometimes in the middle of the day. 00:26:16.759 --> 00:26:20.539 Pray for he and his wife, Bill and Joyce, Abels. 00:26:21.440 --> 00:26:22.279 Love him to death. 00:26:22.359 --> 00:26:23.339 Got another friend with cancer. 00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:25.559 Same way, every morning, every night, I call his name. 00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:28.920 There are a host of folk like that. 00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:31.839 And my wife and I know are good personal friends. 00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:33.140 But I'm going to tell you something. 00:26:33.259 --> 00:26:33.940 Some of them live. 00:26:34.500 --> 00:26:35.279 Some of them die. 00:26:35.279 --> 00:26:42.460 But even though that we pray for folk and God extends their life, they're all going to die sooner or later. 00:26:43.819 --> 00:26:44.859 You know that, right? 00:26:45.879 --> 00:26:46.980 You've seen that happen. 00:26:47.160 --> 00:26:48.059 You just know that. 00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:55.059 Because we can't get out of this life alive and we can't control the days in which we're going to live. 00:26:55.059 --> 00:27:00.079 So you say, well, preacher, I'm about as depressed as I've ever been, right? 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:04.419 I thought you were going to tell me how to deal with disaster. 00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:05.960 I'm going to. 00:27:06.279 --> 00:27:06.579 You ready? 00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:10.039 Here's the final and fifth point in this message. 00:27:10.899 --> 00:27:15.019 You need to know all those things if you're going to deal effectively with disaster. 00:27:15.019 --> 00:27:20.700 But there's one final thing that needs to top the charts that needs to be at the center of your thing above everything else. 00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:22.180 Here's what it is. 00:27:22.980 --> 00:27:28.759 God is sovereign and in control, period. 00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:31.259 End of story. 00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:34.579 I want you to repeat that with me, would you? 00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:41.299 God is sovereign and in control, period. 00:27:41.299 --> 00:27:45.839 God is sovereign and in control, period. 00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:48.019 Now, don't take my word for it. 00:27:48.119 --> 00:27:49.299 Listen to what God's word says. 00:27:49.399 --> 00:27:50.319 Listen as I read this. 00:27:50.399 --> 00:27:52.079 I think they're going to put it on the screen for you. 00:27:52.940 --> 00:28:02.720 Yours, yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor. 00:28:03.220 --> 00:28:04.879 Kind of like one of those songs we sang this morning. 00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:11.160 For everything in heaven and earth is yours. 00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:14.520 It all belongs to you. 00:28:15.320 --> 00:28:16.000 Listen to this. 00:28:16.660 --> 00:28:18.360 Yours, Lord, is the kingdom. 00:28:19.320 --> 00:28:21.880 You are exalted as head over all. 00:28:22.820 --> 00:28:24.980 Wealth and honor comes from you. 00:28:25.840 --> 00:28:29.120 You are the ruler of all things. 00:28:29.119 --> 00:28:37.719 In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. 00:28:38.419 --> 00:28:40.759 1 Chronicles 29, 11, and 12. 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:44.419 Listen to this verse in Psalm 135, 6. 00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:45.379 This is the one I really like. 00:28:45.439 --> 00:28:46.099 It's so simple. 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:48.219 My simple little mind can get it. 00:28:48.799 --> 00:28:50.959 The Lord does whatever he pleases. 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:53.819 Did you hear that? 00:28:53.819 --> 00:29:02.259 The Lord does whatever he pleases in the heavens and on the earth and in the seas and all their depths. 00:29:03.480 --> 00:29:05.279 He just does what he pleases. 00:29:05.919 --> 00:29:07.779 He's not bound by gravity. 00:29:07.939 --> 00:29:10.659 He's not bound by time. 00:29:11.539 --> 00:29:13.179 You and I are finite. 00:29:13.619 --> 00:29:14.980 There are so many things we cannot do. 00:29:15.019 --> 00:29:16.740 Even if we want to do it, we cannot do them. 00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:18.819 He's not bound by absolute. 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:21.379 He does whatever he wants. 00:29:21.380 --> 00:29:23.880 Now, I hear people say, 00:29:24.460 --> 00:29:28.420 the president of that nation, the king of that nation, the queen of that nation, 00:29:28.980 --> 00:29:30.260 they are sovereign. 00:29:31.700 --> 00:29:32.780 Eh, to an extent. 00:29:34.540 --> 00:29:37.780 In a small way with a small S, they're sovereign. 00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:41.420 They control that nation so long as God lets them breathe. 00:29:42.420 --> 00:29:43.060 But I'm going to tell you something. 00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:44.420 There is only one sovereign. 00:29:44.820 --> 00:29:45.440 You got that? 00:29:46.220 --> 00:29:49.620 And the only one who is really sovereign is God. 00:29:49.619 --> 00:29:52.719 So knowing that my life is going to run out 00:29:52.719 --> 00:29:55.639 and knowing that I'm subject to all these disasters 00:29:55.639 --> 00:29:57.739 and knowing that life is fragile, 00:29:58.159 --> 00:29:59.619 how do I keep from wringing my hands? 00:29:59.699 --> 00:30:00.799 Because of that fifth truth. 00:30:01.959 --> 00:30:03.239 I'm not going to deceive myself. 00:30:03.339 --> 00:30:03.859 I'm going to tell myself, 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:05.279 here's the real world I live in. 00:30:05.339 --> 00:30:06.439 Boy, it's a tough world. 00:30:07.019 --> 00:30:08.019 There's hardship coming. 00:30:08.159 --> 00:30:09.219 I know it's going to come. 00:30:09.339 --> 00:30:10.559 I don't have to guess it's going to come. 00:30:10.579 --> 00:30:11.519 It's going to come. 00:30:12.299 --> 00:30:13.419 I know life is fragile. 00:30:13.539 --> 00:30:14.439 I know it's uncertain. 00:30:14.819 --> 00:30:15.699 I know it's short. 00:30:15.700 --> 00:30:17.960 I know it's like a vapor appears for a little while and vanishes away. 00:30:18.140 --> 00:30:20.000 I know I can't do anything to extend my life. 00:30:20.279 --> 00:30:21.259 But I do know this. 00:30:21.940 --> 00:30:23.420 He is in control. 00:30:24.580 --> 00:30:26.120 Not the world, not anybody else. 00:30:26.460 --> 00:30:29.259 God and God alone is calling the shots. 00:30:30.140 --> 00:30:31.539 He's in absolute control. 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:33.360 And you say, well, how does that bring you comfort? 00:30:33.819 --> 00:30:34.759 Here's how it brings me comfort. 00:30:34.860 --> 00:30:35.039 Ready? 00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:39.440 Here are the hands of God, figuratively speaking. 00:30:40.700 --> 00:30:41.880 I'm in those hands. 00:30:42.840 --> 00:30:43.860 I'm in those hands. 00:30:43.859 --> 00:30:44.819 I'm his. 00:30:45.139 --> 00:30:45.899 I know that. 00:30:45.959 --> 00:30:46.379 He's promising. 00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:46.819 I'm his. 00:30:46.839 --> 00:30:48.379 I'm his adopted son. 00:30:49.939 --> 00:30:54.299 Nothing can penetrate those fingers that God does not allow. 00:30:55.579 --> 00:30:57.779 And there's great, great, great comfort in that. 00:30:58.939 --> 00:31:00.779 Am I scared of Alzheimer's and cancer? 00:31:00.919 --> 00:31:01.319 Yeah. 00:31:01.639 --> 00:31:02.659 They scare me a little bit. 00:31:03.659 --> 00:31:04.819 They scare me a lot sometimes. 00:31:05.959 --> 00:31:08.419 But not when I get thinking that he is in control. 00:31:08.419 --> 00:31:13.839 And if it happens, and it may, he's still got it. 00:31:14.839 --> 00:31:16.000 He's still in control. 00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:18.099 He's not going to lose. 00:31:18.500 --> 00:31:20.439 It surprises me all the time. 00:31:20.579 --> 00:31:22.019 It never surprises him. 00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:22.839 Isn't that amazing? 00:31:23.299 --> 00:31:24.299 He's never caught off guard. 00:31:24.379 --> 00:31:25.539 He says, oh, that happened. 00:31:26.099 --> 00:31:27.079 He's never had that experience. 00:31:27.139 --> 00:31:28.039 I have it all the time. 00:31:29.259 --> 00:31:30.139 He's never had it. 00:31:30.419 --> 00:31:32.740 He's always, always in control. 00:31:33.619 --> 00:31:34.699 That's a real comfort. 00:31:35.699 --> 00:31:39.199 And you can deal with disaster when you know he's got this. 00:31:39.480 --> 00:31:40.720 I don't have to deceive myself. 00:31:40.840 --> 00:31:42.259 I don't have to tell myself, I'm going to live forever. 00:31:42.360 --> 00:31:43.799 Nothing bad ever going to happen in my life. 00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:44.500 Yeah, it is. 00:31:45.319 --> 00:31:46.420 But he's still got it. 00:31:46.660 --> 00:31:47.420 He's in control. 00:31:49.120 --> 00:31:50.180 That's about a good prayer. 00:31:50.180 --> 00:31:54.500 Father, encourage these believers here today. 00:31:54.500 --> 00:32:02.160 Help them to live in the reality of truth where we know this is not our final destination. 00:32:02.779 --> 00:32:05.420 We can't live healthy enough that we're going to make it through. 00:32:05.859 --> 00:32:09.339 And we are going to lose some people we love and are dear to us along the way. 00:32:09.339 --> 00:32:16.500 And there's going to be ups and downs in our finances and ups and downs in our relationships with people. 00:32:17.339 --> 00:32:20.399 But God, you're the one thing that's always constant. 00:32:21.639 --> 00:32:24.779 You're faithful and you're good and you're sovereign and you're strong. 00:32:25.939 --> 00:32:30.939 And today, I pray collectively, we would put ourselves in your hands and see ourselves, picture ourselves, 00:32:31.299 --> 00:32:34.279 whenever anything comes our way in life, as being in your hands. 00:32:34.279 --> 00:32:38.599 And nothing can penetrate those fingers that you don't allow. 00:32:39.339 --> 00:32:41.159 So we're good with that. 00:32:42.299 --> 00:32:45.199 We make this prayer in your powerful and precious name. 00:32:45.919 --> 00:32:46.259 Amen.