WEBVTT 00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:06.219 We thank you that you have given us health and strength to be here this morning, 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:15.240 to be able to hear from your word, to hear from your truth. 00:00:17.500 --> 00:00:22.440 And Father, we want your word to speak into our lives, to bring us encouragement, 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:34.480 to bring us comfort, to bring us help as we face the reality of death itself. 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:41.760 Lord, help us, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:00:41.760 --> 00:00:41.820 Amen. 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:42.820 Amen. 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:54.240 Tom Curran cared lovingly for his partner, Marie Fleming, for 15 years. 00:00:54.719 --> 00:01:01.200 She had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a disease which attacks the central nervous system. 00:01:02.420 --> 00:01:06.879 Marie died on the 20th of December, 2013. 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:12.799 Tom, her partner, said this. 00:01:13.799 --> 00:01:20.459 She knew that she faced the likelihood of a prolonged and possibly painful death. 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:26.620 And she, as a strong-willed person, was not prepared to let that happen. 00:01:27.919 --> 00:01:29.219 Marie didn't want to die. 00:01:30.060 --> 00:01:30.899 Far from it. 00:01:31.039 --> 00:01:32.199 Marie wanted to live. 00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:33.620 She was never suicidal. 00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:37.799 But she didn't want a bad death. 00:01:39.219 --> 00:01:45.000 Just over a year ago, Tom admitted that he had assisted Marie to die. 00:01:46.859 --> 00:01:54.400 Assisted suicide, he said, is about providing a peaceful and painless death. 00:01:54.400 --> 00:02:04.200 Euthanasia, sometimes referred to as assisted suicide or physician-assisted suicide, 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:14.060 is the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:21.340 Others prefer to call it merciful release or easeful death. 00:02:21.340 --> 00:02:30.840 Gail O'Rourke was a long-standing friend and carer of a lady called Bernadette Ford. 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.460 Bernadette also suffered with MS and wanted to die. 00:02:36.819 --> 00:02:43.580 As the pain and disability increased, Bernadette asked for her trusted friend Gail to help her. 00:02:43.580 --> 00:02:53.760 Bernadette died in 2011 after taking a lethal dose of barbiturates, which was ordered by Gail from Mexico. 00:02:55.140 --> 00:02:59.320 She'd been suffering for a decade and decided to take her own life. 00:03:00.820 --> 00:03:07.860 Gail was the first person in Ireland to be charged, but later acquitted, for helping someone to die. 00:03:07.860 --> 00:03:16.960 Gail asked in an interview on the Late Late Show, asked if she felt any guilt, Gail said this, 00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:24.560 The guilt I would feel is that if Bernadette was now confined to a nursing home or a care home, 00:03:24.940 --> 00:03:30.360 where she was going through the indignities that she wanted to avoid so much. 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:36.480 The sad reality is we will all one day die. 00:03:37.860 --> 00:03:40.960 And for some that's going to involve painful suffering. 00:03:42.200 --> 00:03:46.160 For some it could be dementia, for another it could be disability. 00:03:47.380 --> 00:03:49.320 The need of 24-hour care. 00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:51.980 Unable to feed yourself. 00:03:52.980 --> 00:03:55.420 Needing to be changed and taken to the toilet. 00:03:55.419 --> 00:03:59.339 None of us wants a painful death. 00:04:00.559 --> 00:04:03.319 And none of us wants to see our loved ones suffer. 00:04:04.799 --> 00:04:09.599 And for some the most loving thing to do is to end their life. 00:04:11.299 --> 00:04:19.599 Stephen Hawking, the renowned physicist, who himself is confined to a wheelchair and needing care, said this, 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:29.379 Those who have a terminal illness and are in great pain should have the right to choose to end their lives. 00:04:30.520 --> 00:04:33.500 And those who help them should be free from prosecution. 00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:40.700 You see, this is not an intellectual issue that we have to kind of get our heads around. 00:04:40.699 --> 00:04:48.819 This is a deeply personal issue that every family will have to face. 00:04:52.219 --> 00:04:56.680 At one level, it sounds a good and right thing to do. 00:04:57.919 --> 00:05:05.740 It's presented as the simple choice between a quick ending to life or a long life of pain. 00:05:06.279 --> 00:05:08.219 After all, who wants to suffer? 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:15.860 And it's arguments like this that has made assisted suicide legal in the Netherlands and Belgium. 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:19.140 But it's not that simple. 00:05:20.540 --> 00:05:24.920 The Iona Institute for Religion and Society in Ireland noted, 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:27.160 here's the quote, 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:38.060 that in both the Netherlands and Belgium, assisted suicide was initially made available for terminal illnesses. 00:05:38.060 --> 00:05:42.860 But soon, I'm going to have to read that again. 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:44.379 Sorry, I've got my wording wrong. 00:05:44.660 --> 00:05:50.639 In both the Netherlands and Belgium, assisted suicide was initially made available for terminal illnesses only. 00:05:51.259 --> 00:05:58.000 But soon the law was changed to include non-terminal conditions, including psychiatric illnesses. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:02.480 I'm going to quote some of the findings. 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:08.339 So in the Netherlands, euthanasia was legalized in 2001. 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:22.379 The number of euthanasia and assisted suicide deaths went from 1,882 in 2002 to 6,091 in 2016. 00:06:22.379 --> 00:06:32.860 That represents a 324% increase in just 14 years, despite the warnings that it would be very, very rare. 00:06:33.659 --> 00:06:41.579 The grounds for assisted suicide and euthanasia have also widened so that they take in non-terminal conditions. 00:06:41.579 --> 00:06:55.819 So in 2016, 141 people were killed because of dementia, 60 for psychiatric reasons and 244 for advanced age. 00:06:56.919 --> 00:07:02.099 And if that's not bad enough, non-voluntary euthanasia is also permitted. 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:07.019 That is where a patient is euthanized without their explicit consent. 00:07:07.019 --> 00:07:16.859 As a result, many elderly people are now carrying cards to say that they don't want to be euthanized. 00:07:17.819 --> 00:07:25.039 In Belgium and Switzerland, mental illness can be a basis for euthanasia or assisted suicide. 00:07:25.959 --> 00:07:36.019 A study published in 2015 in the British Medical Journal shows that of 100 patients who requested euthanasia for psychiatric reasons, 00:07:36.019 --> 00:07:39.019 not one was terminally ill. 00:07:39.019 --> 00:07:46.139 They suffered from mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, eating disorders. 00:07:46.939 --> 00:07:49.019 The most frequent diagnosis was depression. 00:07:51.019 --> 00:08:01.620 Belgium also allows children of all ages to choose euthanasia, provided parental consent is granted. 00:08:01.620 --> 00:08:13.420 In Washington, one of the US states where euthanasia is legal, a report noted that 61% of those who chose assisted suicide 00:08:13.420 --> 00:08:21.740 stated as one of the reasons for their decision, their feeling that they were a burden on family, friends and caregivers. 00:08:21.740 --> 00:08:31.740 You see, what has started out as a personal choice to end your suffering is fast becoming a choice made by others, 00:08:32.500 --> 00:08:34.320 whether you live or die. 00:08:36.019 --> 00:08:43.060 And with growing costs in health care and long-term care, families are put under increasing financial pressure, 00:08:43.059 --> 00:08:50.719 and governments are providing a way out by making the removal of life legal. 00:08:54.059 --> 00:08:59.519 Euthanasia could be spelt by using the word Holocaust. 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:00.519 Euthanasia could be spelt by using the word Holocaust. 00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:01.939 Euthanasia could be spelt by using the word Holocaust. 00:09:01.939 --> 00:09:04.860 If we can make laws that end the life of the unborn, 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:12.139 then we can easily end the life of those we choose or deem to be a burden to society. 00:09:12.220 --> 00:09:13.199 Euthanasia could be spelt by the word Holocaust. 00:09:13.199 --> 00:09:13.779 Euthanasia could be spelt by the word Holocaust. 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:17.019 We are facing into a very real issue. 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:22.120 But there is another way. 00:09:24.419 --> 00:09:29.340 Three things that I want us to be encouraged by through God. 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:35.299 First, life is God's right to give and to take. 00:09:35.699 --> 00:09:38.039 Life is God's right to give and to take. 00:09:38.120 --> 00:09:43.539 Right at the very beginning of the Bible where we've started all our talks in this series, 00:09:44.259 --> 00:09:48.259 we see that God alone has authority over all life. 00:09:49.340 --> 00:09:51.919 Go to Genesis chapter 1 with me. 00:09:52.019 --> 00:09:54.460 We'll read some verses there together. 00:09:54.460 --> 00:09:59.800 Genesis chapter 1. 00:10:05.460 --> 00:10:09.820 You might remember some of these things from our study on Wednesday night. 00:10:11.220 --> 00:10:17.000 That God speaks by his very word and brings life into existence. 00:10:18.860 --> 00:10:21.060 Genesis 1 verse 27. 00:10:21.059 --> 00:10:26.359 The culmination of God's creation process. 00:10:27.219 --> 00:10:29.059 Chapter 1 verse 27. 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:32.219 So God created mankind in his own image. 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:36.699 In the image of God he created them, male and female. 00:10:37.239 --> 00:10:38.299 He created them. 00:10:39.459 --> 00:10:45.199 And then when we get to Genesis 2, we get a more detailed account of the creation of mankind. 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:50.620 And here we have an account of how God created man in more detail. 00:10:50.780 --> 00:10:52.420 So chapter 2 verse 7. 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:55.540 It says there, 00:10:55.700 --> 00:11:00.440 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:05.660 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. 00:11:06.640 --> 00:11:09.240 And the man became a living being. 00:11:09.240 --> 00:11:14.200 So you remember in Genesis 1, there's a lot of forming that's going on. 00:11:14.279 --> 00:11:16.039 God is forming creation. 00:11:16.639 --> 00:11:17.279 Shaping it. 00:11:17.500 --> 00:11:18.259 Designing it. 00:11:18.399 --> 00:11:19.039 Ordering it. 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:20.860 And here in 2 verse 7, 00:11:21.060 --> 00:11:23.259 we have the picture of God as it were, 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:25.940 picking up the earth, the dust from the ground 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:27.639 and forming it, 00:11:28.680 --> 00:11:29.480 shaping it, 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:31.560 into a man, 00:11:31.639 --> 00:11:32.879 into a being. 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:35.799 But it doesn't stop there. 00:11:35.939 --> 00:11:42.580 For God must breathe into mankind the breath of life. 00:11:43.939 --> 00:11:47.480 And man becomes a living being. 00:11:47.740 --> 00:11:49.700 God gives life. 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:51.659 God sustains life. 00:11:52.059 --> 00:11:54.299 And therefore God rules over life. 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:58.740 Of course the alternative is that we are simply here by chance. 00:11:58.740 --> 00:12:02.899 That we're just a random collection of atoms and molecules 00:12:02.899 --> 00:12:04.720 that have evolved over time. 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:06.460 We've come from nowhere 00:12:06.460 --> 00:12:08.060 and we're headed nowhere. 00:12:08.419 --> 00:12:12.820 We're simply the results of some impersonal scientific process. 00:12:13.860 --> 00:12:15.340 And if that is true, 00:12:16.259 --> 00:12:18.720 well then we're free to do what we want. 00:12:19.580 --> 00:12:22.519 We are autonomous, independent beings 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:24.240 with no moral compass. 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:28.700 We decide who lives. 00:12:28.740 --> 00:12:30.360 And who dies. 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:35.159 But if we are a special creation of God, 00:12:35.539 --> 00:12:37.259 made in his likeness, 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:39.440 given the very breath of life, 00:12:39.560 --> 00:12:42.799 then we are not free to choose whatever we want to do. 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:45.659 We are formed by God 00:12:45.659 --> 00:12:48.659 and we are filled with life by God. 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:50.759 God gives us life 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:54.480 and so God rules over our life. 00:12:56.220 --> 00:12:58.580 So God is the one who gives life. 00:12:58.740 --> 00:13:01.259 And second, 00:13:01.500 --> 00:13:04.360 God is the one who takes life. 00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:08.240 In Genesis chapter 4, 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:10.519 we meet the first children of Adam and Eve, 00:13:10.680 --> 00:13:11.340 Cain and Abel. 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:15.320 We pick up the story in chapter 4, verse 8. 00:13:16.279 --> 00:13:17.019 It's the account, 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:19.019 there's jealousy between them. 00:13:20.139 --> 00:13:22.580 Abel is accepted, 00:13:22.779 --> 00:13:24.940 his sacrifice has been accepted by God. 00:13:24.940 --> 00:13:27.440 Cain's attitude has been wrong. 00:13:28.740 --> 00:13:30.660 And Cain comes up with a plan. 00:13:30.800 --> 00:13:31.980 Chapter 4, verse 8. 00:13:32.060 --> 00:13:34.180 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 00:13:34.400 --> 00:13:36.540 let's go out to the field. 00:13:36.660 --> 00:13:38.220 And while they were in the field, 00:13:38.800 --> 00:13:40.660 Cain attacked his brother Abel 00:13:40.660 --> 00:13:41.920 and killed him. 00:13:41.919 --> 00:13:47.439 Now because life was not Cain's to take, 00:13:48.219 --> 00:13:50.379 God punished Cain 00:13:50.379 --> 00:13:52.659 and he said you'll wander the wilderness. 00:13:55.379 --> 00:13:57.399 And look how Cain responds. 00:13:57.759 --> 00:13:59.679 Look at the end of verse 14. 00:14:01.259 --> 00:14:02.559 He says to God, 00:14:02.699 --> 00:14:04.699 he responds to him, 00:14:04.700 --> 00:14:07.980 I will be a restless wanderer on the earth 00:14:07.980 --> 00:14:10.180 and whoever finds me will kill me. 00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:12.900 But the Lord said to him, 00:14:13.259 --> 00:14:14.040 not so. 00:14:14.920 --> 00:14:16.640 Anyone who kills Cain 00:14:16.640 --> 00:14:19.120 will suffer vengeance seven times over. 00:14:19.940 --> 00:14:22.280 Then the Lord put a mark on Cain 00:14:22.280 --> 00:14:24.900 so that no one who found him 00:14:24.900 --> 00:14:26.820 would kill him. 00:14:28.520 --> 00:14:30.259 You see, life is precious. 00:14:30.259 --> 00:14:34.919 Even those who have taken life, 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:37.679 their life is precious. 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:40.819 We do not have the right 00:14:40.819 --> 00:14:42.720 to take life as we desire. 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:45.120 And what God said to Cain 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:47.000 was later written in law 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:48.419 for all God's people. 00:14:48.740 --> 00:14:50.080 In the Ten Commandments, 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:51.740 you're familiar with this, 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:54.700 God said you shall not murder. 00:14:56.580 --> 00:14:59.620 The Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 6, 00:14:59.620 --> 00:15:01.060 it's recorded for us there 00:15:01.060 --> 00:15:02.360 in his Sermon on the Mount, 00:15:03.060 --> 00:15:04.700 reiterated the same command. 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:06.299 You shall not murder. 00:15:07.539 --> 00:15:08.659 The implication is 00:15:08.659 --> 00:15:10.139 we are to protect life, 00:15:10.580 --> 00:15:11.500 value life, 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:12.639 keep life. 00:15:14.340 --> 00:15:15.659 In fact, God 00:15:15.659 --> 00:15:18.600 alone has the authority 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:20.360 to take life. 00:15:22.620 --> 00:15:24.440 Deuteronomy 32 says, 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:26.879 See now that I myself am he. 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:30.139 There is no God beside me. 00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:31.899 I put to death 00:15:31.899 --> 00:15:34.500 and I bring to life. 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:36.500 I have wounded 00:15:36.500 --> 00:15:38.519 and I will heal. 00:15:39.620 --> 00:15:40.899 And no one can deliver 00:15:40.899 --> 00:15:42.379 out of my hand. 00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:46.120 It's a very, very dangerous thing 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:49.240 for us to start playing God with life. 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:51.759 It is not our role. 00:15:53.220 --> 00:15:55.419 Life is a gift from God. 00:15:55.419 --> 00:15:57.439 And only God 00:15:57.439 --> 00:15:58.439 has the right 00:15:58.439 --> 00:16:00.740 to take that life. 00:16:02.419 --> 00:16:03.459 So first, 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:03.959 life 00:16:03.959 --> 00:16:05.639 is God's right 00:16:05.639 --> 00:16:06.319 to give 00:16:06.319 --> 00:16:07.779 and to take. 00:16:09.819 --> 00:16:11.099 The second thing 00:16:11.099 --> 00:16:11.819 is that 00:16:11.819 --> 00:16:12.579 suffering 00:16:12.579 --> 00:16:14.139 is used by God 00:16:14.139 --> 00:16:14.620 for 00:16:14.620 --> 00:16:15.719 our good. 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:16.860 Suffering is used 00:16:16.860 --> 00:16:17.439 by God 00:16:17.439 --> 00:16:18.099 for our good. 00:16:18.699 --> 00:16:19.259 For many, 00:16:19.459 --> 00:16:19.779 suffering 00:16:19.779 --> 00:16:21.039 is a good reason 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:22.019 to help someone 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:23.339 end their life. 00:16:23.340 --> 00:16:24.720 the patient 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:25.300 doesn't want 00:16:25.300 --> 00:16:25.780 to suffer 00:16:25.780 --> 00:16:27.460 and the carer 00:16:27.460 --> 00:16:28.000 doesn't want 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:29.040 to see them suffer. 00:16:30.180 --> 00:16:30.639 Now, 00:16:30.680 --> 00:16:31.300 while God 00:16:31.300 --> 00:16:32.440 never ever says 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:33.160 that suffering 00:16:33.160 --> 00:16:34.000 is good, 00:16:35.259 --> 00:16:36.639 on the other hand, 00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:37.639 God uses 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:38.300 suffering 00:16:38.300 --> 00:16:39.600 for our good. 00:16:42.280 --> 00:16:43.240 Two things 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:44.100 we want to note 00:16:44.100 --> 00:16:45.460 with this. 00:16:45.620 --> 00:16:45.940 First, 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:47.379 God is over 00:16:47.379 --> 00:16:48.280 suffering. 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:48.339 suffering. 00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:49.779 Let's look at 00:16:49.779 --> 00:16:50.579 the book of Job. 00:16:50.659 --> 00:16:51.720 It's on page 00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:54.240 507. 00:16:55.299 --> 00:16:56.740 The book of Job 00:16:56.740 --> 00:16:57.620 on page 00:16:57.620 --> 00:16:59.079 507, 00:16:59.220 --> 00:16:59.819 if you're using 00:16:59.819 --> 00:17:00.439 a church 00:17:00.439 --> 00:17:01.620 Bible. 00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:11.319 Page 507. 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:12.799 Job 1 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:13.779 introduces us 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:14.679 to this man 00:17:14.679 --> 00:17:15.960 who loved God. 00:17:17.859 --> 00:17:18.859 But chapter 1 00:17:18.859 --> 00:17:19.539 tells us 00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:20.359 the account 00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:21.039 of his life 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:21.939 that he was a man 00:17:21.939 --> 00:17:23.099 who suffered greatly. 00:17:23.720 --> 00:17:24.500 He lost 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:25.919 his entire wealth. 00:17:27.899 --> 00:17:28.859 He lost 00:17:28.859 --> 00:17:30.039 all his children 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:32.659 in a tornado. 00:17:33.779 --> 00:17:34.619 And on top 00:17:34.619 --> 00:17:35.119 of that, 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:35.819 he lost 00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:36.720 his health. 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:38.419 He was 00:17:38.419 --> 00:17:39.079 afflicted 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:39.659 with a 00:17:39.659 --> 00:17:40.259 disabling 00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:41.579 painful 00:17:41.579 --> 00:17:42.619 skin disease 00:17:42.619 --> 00:17:43.059 of which 00:17:43.059 --> 00:17:43.579 there seems 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:44.000 to be 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:45.099 little relief. 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:45.619 They didn't 00:17:45.619 --> 00:17:45.980 have the 00:17:45.980 --> 00:17:46.579 medication 00:17:46.579 --> 00:17:47.059 that we 00:17:47.059 --> 00:17:47.759 have today. 00:17:48.919 --> 00:17:49.079 And 00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:49.960 understandably, 00:17:50.099 --> 00:17:50.799 Job's wife 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:51.619 didn't like 00:17:51.619 --> 00:17:52.059 and didn't 00:17:52.059 --> 00:17:52.740 want to see 00:17:52.740 --> 00:17:53.579 him suffer. 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:55.899 So we pick 00:17:55.899 --> 00:17:56.339 it up in 00:17:56.339 --> 00:17:57.480 Job chapter 2 00:17:57.480 --> 00:17:58.960 verse 9. 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:03.699 So Job 00:18:03.699 --> 00:18:04.179 has been 00:18:04.179 --> 00:18:04.679 suffering 00:18:04.679 --> 00:18:05.259 greatly 00:18:05.259 --> 00:18:05.919 physically 00:18:05.919 --> 00:18:07.980 and his 00:18:07.980 --> 00:18:08.599 wife comes 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:08.959 to him 00:18:08.959 --> 00:18:09.579 chapter 2 00:18:09.579 --> 00:18:10.519 verse 9 00:18:10.519 --> 00:18:11.039 and says, 00:18:11.139 --> 00:18:11.439 are you 00:18:11.439 --> 00:18:11.919 still 00:18:11.919 --> 00:18:12.579 maintaining 00:18:12.579 --> 00:18:12.939 your 00:18:12.939 --> 00:18:13.559 integrity? 00:18:15.439 --> 00:18:15.819 Curse 00:18:15.819 --> 00:18:16.219 God 00:18:16.219 --> 00:18:16.819 and die. 00:18:18.639 --> 00:18:19.139 The 00:18:19.139 --> 00:18:19.579 suggestion 00:18:19.579 --> 00:18:19.899 is, 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:20.279 Job, 00:18:20.740 --> 00:18:21.459 why don't 00:18:21.459 --> 00:18:21.939 you just 00:18:21.939 --> 00:18:22.619 end your 00:18:22.619 --> 00:18:23.039 life? 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:24.219 Why don't 00:18:24.219 --> 00:18:24.579 you just 00:18:24.579 --> 00:18:25.539 end the 00:18:25.539 --> 00:18:25.980 suffering 00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:26.459 that you're 00:18:26.459 --> 00:18:26.719 going 00:18:26.719 --> 00:18:27.019 through? 00:18:30.139 --> 00:18:31.179 I remember 00:18:31.179 --> 00:18:31.819 listening to 00:18:31.819 --> 00:18:32.480 the testimony 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:33.179 of a family 00:18:33.179 --> 00:18:33.699 friend 00:18:33.699 --> 00:18:35.699 who suffers 00:18:35.699 --> 00:18:36.500 with severe 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:37.179 crippling 00:18:37.180 --> 00:18:37.900 back pain. 00:18:39.620 --> 00:18:40.140 They 00:18:40.140 --> 00:18:40.799 told how 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:41.299 one day 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:41.799 they sat 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:42.080 on the 00:18:42.080 --> 00:18:42.400 edge of 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:42.740 the bed 00:18:42.740 --> 00:18:43.220 with all 00:18:43.220 --> 00:18:43.940 their pills 00:18:43.940 --> 00:18:44.340 in their 00:18:44.340 --> 00:18:44.820 hand, 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:46.240 ready to 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:46.700 overdose. 00:18:49.259 --> 00:18:50.060 It's not 00:18:50.060 --> 00:18:50.880 unthinkable 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:51.640 for any 00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:52.279 one of us 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:52.640 in this 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:53.220 room to 00:18:53.220 --> 00:18:53.680 want to 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:54.220 end the 00:18:54.220 --> 00:18:54.640 pain 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:55.500 and 00:18:55.500 --> 00:18:55.980 suffering. 00:18:57.220 --> 00:18:57.920 That can 00:18:57.920 --> 00:18:58.320 be a 00:18:58.320 --> 00:18:59.080 real issue. 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:01.700 Look how 00:19:01.700 --> 00:19:02.620 Job responds, 00:19:02.619 --> 00:19:03.399 chapter 2 00:19:03.399 --> 00:19:04.000 verse 10. 00:19:06.579 --> 00:19:07.619 He replied 00:19:07.619 --> 00:19:08.179 to his 00:19:08.179 --> 00:19:08.599 wife, 00:19:09.739 --> 00:19:10.119 you are 00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:10.859 talking like 00:19:10.859 --> 00:19:11.519 a foolish 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:11.919 woman. 00:19:13.379 --> 00:19:14.159 Shall we 00:19:14.159 --> 00:19:14.959 accept good 00:19:14.959 --> 00:19:15.659 from God 00:19:15.659 --> 00:19:16.399 and not 00:19:16.399 --> 00:19:16.819 trouble? 00:19:18.299 --> 00:19:18.959 In all 00:19:18.959 --> 00:19:19.239 this, 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:19.819 Job did 00:19:19.819 --> 00:19:20.399 not sin 00:19:20.399 --> 00:19:20.859 in what 00:19:20.859 --> 00:19:21.599 he said. 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:23.779 You see, 00:19:23.879 --> 00:19:24.859 Job recognized 00:19:24.859 --> 00:19:25.739 that all 00:19:25.739 --> 00:19:26.299 of life, 00:19:26.459 --> 00:19:26.879 whether it 00:19:26.879 --> 00:19:27.239 was in 00:19:27.239 --> 00:19:28.019 good health 00:19:28.019 --> 00:19:29.099 or whether 00:19:29.099 --> 00:19:29.500 he was 00:19:29.500 --> 00:19:30.079 suffering, 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:31.359 was 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:32.119 completely 00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:33.379 in God's 00:19:33.379 --> 00:19:33.799 sovereign 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:34.879 control. 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:37.079 The 00:19:37.079 --> 00:19:37.500 Apostle 00:19:37.500 --> 00:19:38.159 Paul picks 00:19:38.159 --> 00:19:38.500 up the 00:19:38.500 --> 00:19:38.799 same 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:39.220 theme 00:19:39.220 --> 00:19:40.199 in 00:19:40.199 --> 00:19:40.579 Romans 00:19:40.579 --> 00:19:40.980 8. 00:19:42.220 --> 00:19:42.500 A 00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:42.859 familiar 00:19:42.859 --> 00:19:43.240 verse 00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:43.779 to us. 00:19:44.599 --> 00:19:45.119 Paul in 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:45.839 chapter 8 00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:46.240 has been 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:46.980 talking about 00:19:46.980 --> 00:19:47.599 the present 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:48.419 sufferings, 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:49.500 the struggles 00:19:49.500 --> 00:19:50.339 that we 00:19:50.339 --> 00:19:50.960 face in 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:51.259 life, 00:19:51.679 --> 00:19:52.039 and then 00:19:52.039 --> 00:19:52.439 he says 00:19:52.439 --> 00:19:53.179 this towards 00:19:53.179 --> 00:19:53.699 the end. 00:19:54.099 --> 00:19:54.500 He says, 00:19:54.579 --> 00:19:54.740 and we 00:19:54.740 --> 00:19:55.240 know that 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:55.899 in all 00:19:55.899 --> 00:19:56.439 things, 00:19:56.539 --> 00:19:57.259 that all 00:19:57.259 --> 00:19:57.960 things is 00:19:57.960 --> 00:19:58.740 in all 00:19:58.740 --> 00:19:59.500 kinds of 00:19:59.500 --> 00:20:00.019 struggles, 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:01.059 in all 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:01.759 kinds of 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:02.259 pain, 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:03.199 in all 00:20:03.199 --> 00:20:03.839 kinds of 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:04.299 things that 00:20:04.299 --> 00:20:04.699 we go 00:20:04.699 --> 00:20:05.220 through in 00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:05.639 life, 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:09.299 God works 00:20:09.299 --> 00:20:09.859 for the 00:20:09.859 --> 00:20:10.619 good of 00:20:10.619 --> 00:20:11.240 those who 00:20:11.240 --> 00:20:11.919 love him, 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:13.579 who have 00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:14.139 been called 00:20:14.139 --> 00:20:15.619 according to 00:20:15.619 --> 00:20:16.539 his purpose. 00:20:17.939 --> 00:20:18.859 God takes 00:20:18.859 --> 00:20:19.759 every illness, 00:20:20.439 --> 00:20:21.519 every disease, 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:22.779 and every 00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:23.379 struggle, 00:20:24.659 --> 00:20:25.119 and says, 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:25.759 in the midst 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:26.359 of all of 00:20:26.359 --> 00:20:26.720 that, 00:20:27.939 --> 00:20:28.659 I work 00:20:28.659 --> 00:20:29.139 good, 00:20:29.140 --> 00:20:31.160 for those 00:20:31.160 --> 00:20:31.640 who love 00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:31.920 me, 00:20:32.400 --> 00:20:33.360 and who 00:20:33.360 --> 00:20:33.620 have been 00:20:33.620 --> 00:20:33.960 called 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:34.759 according to 00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:35.520 my purpose. 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:37.560 You see, 00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:38.100 God is 00:20:38.100 --> 00:20:38.960 over 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:39.820 suffering, 00:20:40.820 --> 00:20:41.660 and while 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:42.040 he never 00:20:42.040 --> 00:20:42.840 says suffering 00:20:42.840 --> 00:20:43.640 is good, 00:20:45.120 --> 00:20:46.000 God uses 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:47.120 suffering for 00:20:47.120 --> 00:20:48.580 our good. 00:20:48.579 --> 00:20:49.579 suffering, 00:20:49.579 --> 00:20:57.019 it's never 00:20:57.019 --> 00:20:57.439 easy, 00:20:58.439 --> 00:20:59.359 and while we 00:20:59.359 --> 00:20:59.679 never, 00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:00.439 or perhaps 00:21:00.439 --> 00:21:00.960 don't get 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:01.599 the answers 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:02.039 that we 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:02.980 always want, 00:21:04.579 --> 00:21:05.279 God does 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:05.579 in his 00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:06.099 word show 00:21:06.099 --> 00:21:06.460 us how 00:21:06.460 --> 00:21:07.099 he uses 00:21:07.099 --> 00:21:07.859 it for 00:21:07.859 --> 00:21:08.740 our good. 00:21:10.119 --> 00:21:10.639 There's 00:21:10.639 --> 00:21:11.240 many ways 00:21:11.240 --> 00:21:11.639 it will be 00:21:11.639 --> 00:21:11.960 a very 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:12.740 helpful study 00:21:12.740 --> 00:21:13.079 for you 00:21:13.079 --> 00:21:13.559 to think 00:21:13.559 --> 00:21:14.220 about that. 00:21:14.220 --> 00:21:15.819 in fact, 00:21:15.980 --> 00:21:16.360 Desiring 00:21:16.360 --> 00:21:16.799 God 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:17.519 this week 00:21:17.519 --> 00:21:17.860 had a 00:21:17.860 --> 00:21:18.140 little 00:21:18.140 --> 00:21:18.900 article, 00:21:19.380 --> 00:21:19.900 I think, 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:20.319 on that 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:20.579 very 00:21:20.579 --> 00:21:21.000 subject. 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:21.299 You 00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:21.640 could look 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:21.920 it up 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:22.220 when you 00:21:22.220 --> 00:21:22.740 go home. 00:21:24.200 --> 00:21:24.539 But I 00:21:24.539 --> 00:21:24.839 want to 00:21:24.839 --> 00:21:25.200 show us 00:21:25.200 --> 00:21:25.839 three ways 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:26.339 that God 00:21:26.339 --> 00:21:27.019 uses it 00:21:27.019 --> 00:21:27.539 for our 00:21:27.539 --> 00:21:27.779 good. 00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:28.120 Have a 00:21:28.120 --> 00:21:28.460 look at 00:21:28.460 --> 00:21:29.400 2 Corinthians, 00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:32.039 which is 00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:32.519 on page 00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:33.860 1159. 00:21:35.860 --> 00:21:37.160 2 Corinthians 00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:39.339 chapter 1, 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:40.460 which is 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:41.000 on page 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:42.660 1159. 00:21:42.660 --> 00:21:42.940 9. 00:21:57.519 --> 00:21:58.360 So let's 00:21:58.360 --> 00:21:58.800 keep this 00:21:58.800 --> 00:21:59.140 in mind. 00:21:59.220 --> 00:21:59.700 God doesn't 00:21:59.700 --> 00:22:00.400 say suffering 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:01.080 is good, 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:03.100 but in 00:22:03.100 --> 00:22:03.560 God's 00:22:03.560 --> 00:22:04.019 ways, 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:05.060 God uses 00:22:05.060 --> 00:22:05.779 the suffering 00:22:05.779 --> 00:22:06.240 that we 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:06.700 face, 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:07.779 and he 00:22:07.779 --> 00:22:08.800 uses it 00:22:08.800 --> 00:22:09.940 for our 00:22:09.940 --> 00:22:10.220 good. 00:22:10.340 --> 00:22:10.800 So three 00:22:10.800 --> 00:22:11.360 ways he 00:22:11.360 --> 00:22:11.940 does that. 00:22:11.940 --> 00:22:12.940 first, 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:15.100 for our 00:22:15.100 --> 00:22:15.539 comfort. 00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:16.960 Chapter 1, 00:22:17.019 --> 00:22:17.500 verse 3, 00:22:17.620 --> 00:22:18.240 Praise be 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:18.620 to the 00:22:18.620 --> 00:22:19.100 God and 00:22:19.100 --> 00:22:19.660 Father of 00:22:19.660 --> 00:22:20.080 our Lord 00:22:20.080 --> 00:22:20.440 Jesus 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:21.039 Christ, 00:22:21.860 --> 00:22:22.279 the 00:22:22.279 --> 00:22:22.779 Father of 00:22:22.779 --> 00:22:23.340 compassion 00:22:23.340 --> 00:22:23.779 and the 00:22:23.779 --> 00:22:24.180 God of 00:22:24.180 --> 00:22:24.920 all comfort, 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:25.720 who comforts 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:26.080 us in 00:22:26.080 --> 00:22:27.140 all our 00:22:27.140 --> 00:22:27.660 troubles. 00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:29.120 You see, 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:29.480 in our 00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:29.920 suffering, 00:22:30.080 --> 00:22:30.380 we're not 00:22:30.380 --> 00:22:30.680 alone. 00:22:30.860 --> 00:22:31.180 God is 00:22:31.180 --> 00:22:31.900 not immune 00:22:31.900 --> 00:22:32.640 to the 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:33.019 struggles 00:22:33.019 --> 00:22:33.779 we face. 00:22:34.820 --> 00:22:35.340 God 00:22:35.340 --> 00:22:36.059 comforts 00:22:36.059 --> 00:22:36.279 us, 00:22:36.380 --> 00:22:37.180 he sustains 00:22:37.180 --> 00:22:37.539 us, 00:22:37.620 --> 00:22:38.240 he keeps 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:38.640 us, 00:22:39.640 --> 00:22:40.240 he draws 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:40.799 near to 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:41.000 us, 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:41.440 he gives 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:41.899 us all 00:22:41.899 --> 00:22:42.259 that we 00:22:42.259 --> 00:22:42.859 need in 00:22:42.859 --> 00:22:43.079 that 00:22:43.079 --> 00:22:43.539 moment. 00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:47.819 But it's 00:22:47.819 --> 00:22:48.299 not just 00:22:48.299 --> 00:22:48.740 for our 00:22:48.740 --> 00:22:49.099 own 00:22:49.099 --> 00:22:49.700 good that 00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:50.019 God 00:22:50.019 --> 00:22:50.659 comforts 00:22:50.659 --> 00:22:50.819 us. 00:22:50.899 --> 00:22:51.119 Look at 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:51.480 the rest 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:51.839 of verse 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:52.159 4. 00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:53.559 He 00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:54.319 comforts 00:22:54.319 --> 00:22:54.700 us in 00:22:54.700 --> 00:22:55.299 all our 00:22:55.299 --> 00:22:55.779 troubles 00:22:55.779 --> 00:22:56.960 so that 00:22:56.960 --> 00:22:58.200 we can 00:22:58.200 --> 00:22:58.579 comfort 00:22:58.579 --> 00:22:59.159 those in 00:22:59.159 --> 00:22:59.559 any 00:22:59.559 --> 00:23:00.059 trouble 00:23:00.059 --> 00:23:01.619 with the 00:23:01.619 --> 00:23:02.339 comfort we 00:23:02.339 --> 00:23:02.919 ourselves 00:23:02.919 --> 00:23:03.680 receive 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:04.500 from God. 00:23:04.500 --> 00:23:06.460 our 00:23:06.460 --> 00:23:07.119 personal 00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:07.920 sufferings 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:08.680 enable us 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:09.019 in the 00:23:09.019 --> 00:23:09.539 midst of 00:23:09.539 --> 00:23:09.980 suffering 00:23:09.980 --> 00:23:10.799 to comfort 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:11.740 and strengthen 00:23:11.740 --> 00:23:12.539 others. 00:23:13.460 --> 00:23:14.099 Through the 00:23:14.099 --> 00:23:14.660 pain that 00:23:14.660 --> 00:23:15.180 we may 00:23:15.180 --> 00:23:15.980 experience, 00:23:16.099 --> 00:23:16.559 whether it's 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:17.079 the loss 00:23:17.079 --> 00:23:17.420 of a 00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:17.920 loved one 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:19.839 or watching 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:20.619 someone we 00:23:20.619 --> 00:23:21.740 love dearly 00:23:21.740 --> 00:23:22.339 go through 00:23:22.339 --> 00:23:23.539 hard times, 00:23:24.759 --> 00:23:26.000 as we go 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:26.619 through that 00:23:26.619 --> 00:23:27.099 pain, 00:23:28.259 --> 00:23:28.839 so we're 00:23:28.839 --> 00:23:29.539 enabled to 00:23:29.539 --> 00:23:30.059 feel and 00:23:30.059 --> 00:23:30.799 understand the 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:31.279 pain of 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:31.579 others, 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:32.460 to simply 00:23:32.460 --> 00:23:33.599 sit with 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:33.839 them. 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:35.619 To cry 00:23:35.619 --> 00:23:36.140 with them, 00:23:36.380 --> 00:23:36.980 to listen 00:23:36.980 --> 00:23:37.500 to them, 00:23:38.299 --> 00:23:40.420 to comfort 00:23:40.420 --> 00:23:40.839 them. 00:23:45.779 --> 00:23:46.420 Second, 00:23:46.660 --> 00:23:47.220 dependence. 00:23:47.619 --> 00:23:48.059 Look down 00:23:48.059 --> 00:23:48.559 at chapter 00:23:48.559 --> 00:23:48.859 1, 00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:49.480 verse 8. 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:53.819 We do 00:23:53.819 --> 00:23:54.319 not want 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:54.980 you to be 00:23:54.980 --> 00:23:55.900 uninformed, 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:56.700 brothers and 00:23:56.700 --> 00:23:57.079 sisters, 00:23:57.220 --> 00:23:57.720 about the 00:23:57.720 --> 00:23:58.539 troubles we 00:23:58.539 --> 00:23:59.619 experienced in 00:23:59.619 --> 00:24:00.200 the province 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:00.740 of Asia. 00:24:01.740 --> 00:24:02.519 We were 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:03.339 under great 00:24:03.339 --> 00:24:03.920 pressure, 00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:04.880 far beyond 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:05.660 our ability 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:06.539 to endure, 00:24:06.539 --> 00:24:11.700 so that we 00:24:11.700 --> 00:24:12.640 despaired of 00:24:12.640 --> 00:24:14.039 life itself. 00:24:17.320 --> 00:24:18.279 We often 00:24:18.279 --> 00:24:18.880 think of 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:19.519 Paul as 00:24:19.519 --> 00:24:20.080 being this 00:24:20.080 --> 00:24:21.120 strong man 00:24:21.120 --> 00:24:22.640 facing anything. 00:24:22.640 --> 00:24:27.320 but here 00:24:27.320 --> 00:24:27.920 he tells 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:28.500 us that he 00:24:28.500 --> 00:24:29.380 despaired of 00:24:29.380 --> 00:24:30.340 life itself. 00:24:31.340 --> 00:24:32.060 The pressures, 00:24:32.280 --> 00:24:33.060 the intensity, 00:24:33.360 --> 00:24:34.060 the suffering 00:24:34.060 --> 00:24:34.680 that he was 00:24:34.680 --> 00:24:35.440 going through, 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:37.080 partly his 00:24:37.080 --> 00:24:38.100 own illness 00:24:38.100 --> 00:24:38.620 because he 00:24:38.620 --> 00:24:39.320 talked about 00:24:39.320 --> 00:24:39.780 his own 00:24:39.780 --> 00:24:40.180 illness, 00:24:40.780 --> 00:24:41.620 partly because 00:24:41.620 --> 00:24:42.600 of persecution 00:24:42.600 --> 00:24:43.360 and opposition, 00:24:44.360 --> 00:24:45.360 but all 00:24:45.360 --> 00:24:45.900 these things, 00:24:46.020 --> 00:24:46.780 the intensity 00:24:46.780 --> 00:24:47.580 of it all 00:24:47.580 --> 00:24:48.340 is that Paul 00:24:48.340 --> 00:24:48.820 had reached 00:24:48.820 --> 00:24:49.460 the point in 00:24:49.460 --> 00:24:49.900 his life 00:24:49.900 --> 00:24:50.160 where he 00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:50.640 just wanted 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:51.200 to die. 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:53.060 He'd had 00:24:53.060 --> 00:24:53.460 enough. 00:24:56.780 --> 00:24:57.680 Verse 9, 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.340 indeed he 00:24:58.340 --> 00:24:58.640 said, 00:24:58.720 --> 00:24:59.460 we felt we 00:24:59.460 --> 00:25:00.160 had received 00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:00.880 the sentence 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:01.500 of death. 00:25:02.540 --> 00:25:03.120 He couldn't 00:25:03.120 --> 00:25:03.780 bear it or 00:25:03.780 --> 00:25:04.240 take it 00:25:04.240 --> 00:25:04.680 anymore. 00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:08.320 But, 00:25:08.320 --> 00:25:11.040 but this 00:25:11.040 --> 00:25:11.660 happened that 00:25:11.660 --> 00:25:12.280 we might not 00:25:12.280 --> 00:25:12.800 rely on 00:25:12.800 --> 00:25:13.440 ourselves, 00:25:14.100 --> 00:25:15.040 but on 00:25:15.040 --> 00:25:15.560 God who 00:25:15.560 --> 00:25:16.240 raises the 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:16.500 dead. 00:25:16.500 --> 00:25:19.480 God takes 00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:20.200 the suffering 00:25:20.200 --> 00:25:20.980 and uses 00:25:20.980 --> 00:25:22.559 it so that 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:22.920 we can 00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:23.619 depend on 00:25:23.619 --> 00:25:24.019 the Lord 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:24.619 of life. 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:27.319 Our pain 00:25:27.319 --> 00:25:27.940 that we go 00:25:27.940 --> 00:25:28.200 through, 00:25:28.299 --> 00:25:28.980 the struggles 00:25:28.980 --> 00:25:29.599 that we go 00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:29.900 through, 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:31.180 God moves 00:25:31.180 --> 00:25:31.799 it so we 00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:33.579 rest and 00:25:33.579 --> 00:25:34.180 rely on 00:25:34.180 --> 00:25:35.759 him who 00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:36.279 gives us 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:36.819 strength. 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:42.119 The third 00:25:42.119 --> 00:25:43.160 area is 00:25:43.160 --> 00:25:43.640 the area 00:25:43.640 --> 00:25:44.460 of salvation. 00:25:44.460 --> 00:25:47.940 to help 00:25:47.940 --> 00:25:48.559 us through 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:48.960 this, 00:25:49.319 --> 00:25:49.620 I want 00:25:49.620 --> 00:25:50.120 to give 00:25:50.120 --> 00:25:50.440 us a 00:25:50.440 --> 00:25:51.039 foundation, 00:25:51.980 --> 00:25:52.220 and that 00:25:52.220 --> 00:25:52.799 is first 00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:53.340 to think 00:25:53.340 --> 00:25:53.700 of the 00:25:53.700 --> 00:25:54.279 sufferings 00:25:54.279 --> 00:25:54.880 of Christ 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:55.340 on the 00:25:55.340 --> 00:25:55.720 cross. 00:25:57.120 --> 00:25:57.920 Because it 00:25:57.920 --> 00:25:58.660 is through 00:25:58.660 --> 00:25:59.559 the sufferings 00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:00.059 of Christ 00:26:00.059 --> 00:26:00.360 on the 00:26:00.360 --> 00:26:01.059 cross that 00:26:01.059 --> 00:26:02.799 salvation 00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:03.940 flows to 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:04.420 the world. 00:26:04.579 --> 00:26:04.779 Without 00:26:04.779 --> 00:26:05.620 Christ 00:26:05.620 --> 00:26:06.440 dying for 00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:06.740 us, 00:26:06.840 --> 00:26:07.200 there would 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:07.700 be no 00:26:07.700 --> 00:26:08.279 salvation. 00:26:09.840 --> 00:26:10.400 And as 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:10.860 we put 00:26:10.860 --> 00:26:11.519 our faith 00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:12.380 in Christ, 00:26:12.380 --> 00:26:14.300 for him 00:26:14.300 --> 00:26:14.960 who died 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:15.440 for us 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:15.720 and took 00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:16.240 the blame 00:26:16.240 --> 00:26:16.820 for us 00:26:16.820 --> 00:26:17.880 through those 00:26:17.880 --> 00:26:18.420 sufferings, 00:26:18.460 --> 00:26:18.960 as Christ 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:19.780 suffered hell 00:26:19.780 --> 00:26:20.280 itself, 00:26:20.680 --> 00:26:21.680 we receive 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:22.380 the blessings 00:26:22.380 --> 00:26:23.340 of life 00:26:23.340 --> 00:26:23.860 and life 00:26:23.860 --> 00:26:24.340 eternal. 00:26:25.500 --> 00:26:26.300 So God 00:26:26.300 --> 00:26:28.220 uses the 00:26:28.220 --> 00:26:29.440 sufferings of 00:26:29.440 --> 00:26:30.120 Christ to 00:26:30.120 --> 00:26:31.360 bring salvation 00:26:31.360 --> 00:26:32.640 to us, 00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:33.720 to the 00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:34.060 world. 00:26:35.760 --> 00:26:36.420 Now that 00:26:36.420 --> 00:26:37.360 foundation we 00:26:37.360 --> 00:26:38.080 keep in mind 00:26:38.080 --> 00:26:38.760 as we read 00:26:38.760 --> 00:26:39.480 verse 5. 00:26:39.600 --> 00:26:40.180 Go back to 00:26:40.180 --> 00:26:40.840 verse 5. 00:26:42.380 --> 00:26:44.180 For just 00:26:44.180 --> 00:26:44.640 as we 00:26:44.640 --> 00:26:45.140 share 00:26:45.140 --> 00:26:46.140 abundantly 00:26:46.140 --> 00:26:46.780 in the 00:26:46.780 --> 00:26:47.360 sufferings 00:26:47.360 --> 00:26:48.040 of Christ, 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:50.900 so also 00:26:50.900 --> 00:26:51.820 our comfort 00:26:51.820 --> 00:26:52.640 abounds 00:26:52.640 --> 00:26:53.660 through Christ. 00:26:54.360 --> 00:26:55.040 If we 00:26:55.040 --> 00:26:56.060 are distressed, 00:26:56.660 --> 00:26:57.620 it is for 00:26:57.620 --> 00:26:58.420 your comfort 00:26:58.420 --> 00:26:59.460 and salvation. 00:27:02.280 --> 00:27:03.300 You see, 00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:04.260 God works 00:27:04.260 --> 00:27:05.740 through the 00:27:05.740 --> 00:27:06.400 sufferings of 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:07.020 Christ to 00:27:07.020 --> 00:27:07.960 bring salvation. 00:27:08.800 --> 00:27:09.320 And now 00:27:09.320 --> 00:27:09.860 he's saying 00:27:09.860 --> 00:27:10.300 that for 00:27:10.300 --> 00:27:10.900 those who 00:27:10.900 --> 00:27:11.460 are in 00:27:11.460 --> 00:27:11.980 Christ. 00:27:13.400 --> 00:27:14.100 As we 00:27:14.100 --> 00:27:14.559 are in 00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:14.960 Christ, 00:27:15.100 --> 00:27:15.440 we will 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:16.019 go through 00:27:16.019 --> 00:27:16.640 sufferings 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:17.100 in different 00:27:17.100 --> 00:27:17.480 ways, 00:27:17.880 --> 00:27:18.259 but yet 00:27:18.259 --> 00:27:19.019 through our 00:27:19.019 --> 00:27:19.380 weakness, 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:20.039 through our 00:27:20.039 --> 00:27:20.440 pains, 00:27:20.600 --> 00:27:20.980 through our 00:27:20.980 --> 00:27:21.600 struggles, 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:23.220 God is 00:27:23.220 --> 00:27:23.900 bringing about 00:27:23.900 --> 00:27:24.480 not just 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:25.160 the comfort 00:27:25.160 --> 00:27:25.900 of people, 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:28.079 but he is 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:28.660 bringing about 00:27:28.660 --> 00:27:29.500 the salvation 00:27:29.500 --> 00:27:30.900 of people. 00:27:30.900 --> 00:27:30.960 people. 00:27:33.840 --> 00:27:34.640 A lot of 00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:34.960 you will 00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:35.640 know the 00:27:35.640 --> 00:27:36.300 lady 00:27:36.300 --> 00:27:37.080 Joni or 00:27:37.080 --> 00:27:37.580 Joni 00:27:37.580 --> 00:27:38.200 Erickson 00:27:38.200 --> 00:27:38.640 Tada. 00:27:39.840 --> 00:27:40.540 She's been 00:27:40.540 --> 00:27:41.759 a quadriplegic 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:42.400 for over 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:43.340 50 years 00:27:43.340 --> 00:27:43.680 now. 00:27:44.820 --> 00:27:45.500 As a 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:45.960 teenager, 00:27:46.120 --> 00:27:46.620 she suffered 00:27:46.620 --> 00:27:47.180 a diving 00:27:47.180 --> 00:27:47.700 accident, 00:27:48.700 --> 00:27:49.540 and as a 00:27:49.540 --> 00:27:50.120 young teen, 00:27:50.180 --> 00:27:50.640 as she lay 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:50.880 in the 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:51.820 hospital unable 00:27:51.820 --> 00:27:52.259 to be 00:27:52.259 --> 00:27:52.740 moved, 00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:54.700 she longed 00:27:54.700 --> 00:27:55.180 for her 00:27:55.180 --> 00:27:56.100 miserable life 00:27:56.100 --> 00:27:56.519 to be 00:27:56.519 --> 00:27:56.900 taken, 00:27:57.900 --> 00:27:58.640 longing that 00:27:58.640 --> 00:27:59.340 someone would 00:27:59.340 --> 00:28:00.220 just literally 00:28:00.220 --> 00:28:00.900 pull the 00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:01.240 plug. 00:28:03.200 --> 00:28:04.080 But through 00:28:04.080 --> 00:28:04.800 her faith, 00:28:05.660 --> 00:28:07.220 she found 00:28:07.220 --> 00:28:07.960 purpose in 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:08.360 Christ. 00:28:09.600 --> 00:28:10.040 Today, 00:28:10.259 --> 00:28:10.740 she still 00:28:10.740 --> 00:28:11.200 struggles, 00:28:11.360 --> 00:28:11.759 she needs 00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:13.080 24-7 care, 00:28:13.640 --> 00:28:14.200 she has no 00:28:14.200 --> 00:28:14.780 use of her 00:28:14.780 --> 00:28:15.440 body below 00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:16.040 her neck, 00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:18.400 still suffering, 00:28:19.040 --> 00:28:19.720 God has 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:20.600 used her to 00:28:20.600 --> 00:28:22.000 reach and 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:22.520 comfort 00:28:22.520 --> 00:28:23.780 thousands upon 00:28:23.780 --> 00:28:24.640 thousands of 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:25.220 people through 00:28:25.220 --> 00:28:25.860 her teaching 00:28:25.860 --> 00:28:26.620 ministry and 00:28:26.620 --> 00:28:27.020 through her 00:28:27.020 --> 00:28:27.440 books. 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:29.520 And she 00:28:29.520 --> 00:28:30.080 has led 00:28:30.080 --> 00:28:30.580 many, 00:28:30.820 --> 00:28:31.300 many people 00:28:31.300 --> 00:28:32.140 to Christ, 00:28:33.140 --> 00:28:34.040 pointing them 00:28:34.040 --> 00:28:35.160 to the one 00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:35.560 who can 00:28:35.560 --> 00:28:36.000 save. 00:28:37.460 --> 00:28:37.900 You see, 00:28:38.100 --> 00:28:38.840 suffering in 00:28:38.840 --> 00:28:39.360 the hands 00:28:39.360 --> 00:28:39.920 of God 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:40.680 can be used 00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:41.500 for great 00:28:41.500 --> 00:28:43.380 and eternal 00:28:43.380 --> 00:28:43.840 good. 00:28:45.480 --> 00:28:46.340 Suffering is 00:28:46.340 --> 00:28:47.160 never wasted 00:28:47.160 --> 00:28:49.000 in God's 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:49.360 hands. 00:28:55.420 --> 00:28:56.100 Third, 00:28:56.099 --> 00:28:58.039 death is 00:28:58.039 --> 00:28:59.279 determined and 00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:00.219 conquered by 00:29:00.219 --> 00:29:00.619 God. 00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:01.359 It's 00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:02.259 determined and 00:29:02.259 --> 00:29:02.899 conquered by 00:29:02.899 --> 00:29:03.179 God. 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:04.259 When people 00:29:04.259 --> 00:29:04.899 seek out 00:29:04.899 --> 00:29:05.719 euthanasia, 00:29:06.679 --> 00:29:07.459 they simply 00:29:07.459 --> 00:29:08.119 come to the 00:29:08.119 --> 00:29:08.939 conclusion that 00:29:08.939 --> 00:29:09.619 life is not 00:29:09.619 --> 00:29:10.219 worth living 00:29:10.219 --> 00:29:10.679 anymore. 00:29:11.699 --> 00:29:12.359 They see no 00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:13.000 value or 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:13.759 purpose in 00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:14.379 living another 00:29:14.379 --> 00:29:15.240 day or drawing 00:29:15.240 --> 00:29:16.039 another breath. 00:29:17.899 --> 00:29:18.740 But Scripture 00:29:18.740 --> 00:29:19.339 has another 00:29:19.339 --> 00:29:19.740 answer. 00:29:19.919 --> 00:29:20.679 God provides 00:29:20.679 --> 00:29:21.079 us with 00:29:21.079 --> 00:29:21.740 something much 00:29:21.740 --> 00:29:22.159 different, 00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:23.119 that every 00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:23.819 day of our 00:29:23.819 --> 00:29:24.659 life, God 00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:25.920 gives us 00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:26.620 purpose. 00:29:28.759 --> 00:29:29.360 First, 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:30.620 death, God 00:29:30.620 --> 00:29:31.240 determines 00:29:31.240 --> 00:29:31.740 death. 00:29:33.820 --> 00:29:34.340 Job knew 00:29:34.340 --> 00:29:34.759 that his 00:29:34.759 --> 00:29:35.320 life was 00:29:35.320 --> 00:29:35.900 in God's 00:29:35.900 --> 00:29:36.400 control. 00:29:38.540 --> 00:29:39.519 Just working 00:29:39.519 --> 00:29:40.000 your way 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:40.680 through Job, 00:29:40.800 --> 00:29:41.779 we pick up 00:29:41.779 --> 00:29:42.640 how he 00:29:42.640 --> 00:29:43.300 understands 00:29:43.300 --> 00:29:43.740 this. 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:45.700 I've quoted 00:29:45.700 --> 00:29:46.180 them here 00:29:46.180 --> 00:29:46.779 for you. 00:29:47.640 --> 00:29:48.320 Chapter 1, 00:29:48.380 --> 00:29:49.060 verse 21, 00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:49.640 he says, 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:50.300 as he 00:29:50.300 --> 00:29:51.100 reflected on 00:29:51.100 --> 00:29:51.540 the death 00:29:51.540 --> 00:29:51.860 of his 00:29:51.860 --> 00:29:52.560 own family, 00:29:52.660 --> 00:29:53.000 his own 00:29:53.000 --> 00:29:53.460 children, 00:29:53.460 --> 00:29:54.460 he could 00:29:54.460 --> 00:29:54.740 say, 00:29:54.880 --> 00:29:55.279 the Lord 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:57.059 gave and 00:29:57.059 --> 00:29:57.480 the Lord 00:29:57.480 --> 00:29:58.140 has taken 00:29:58.140 --> 00:29:58.660 away. 00:30:00.299 --> 00:30:01.079 Blessed be 00:30:01.079 --> 00:30:01.500 the name 00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:01.799 of the 00:30:01.799 --> 00:30:02.120 Lord. 00:30:05.079 --> 00:30:05.920 Later on, 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:06.299 he will 00:30:06.299 --> 00:30:06.880 say this, 00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:07.319 in his 00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:08.240 hands is 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:08.660 the life 00:30:08.660 --> 00:30:09.279 of every 00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:09.880 creature 00:30:09.880 --> 00:30:11.440 and the 00:30:11.440 --> 00:30:12.039 breath of 00:30:12.039 --> 00:30:12.980 all mankind. 00:30:14.259 --> 00:30:15.299 Our life 00:30:15.299 --> 00:30:16.259 is in the 00:30:16.259 --> 00:30:17.620 very hands 00:30:17.620 --> 00:30:18.880 of God. 00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:24.120 chapter 14, 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:24.940 verse 5, 00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:27.820 a person's 00:30:27.820 --> 00:30:28.400 days are 00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:28.980 determined. 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:31.280 You, 00:30:31.440 --> 00:30:32.100 that is God, 00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:32.880 have decreed 00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:33.420 the number 00:30:33.420 --> 00:30:33.840 of his 00:30:33.840 --> 00:30:34.300 months 00:30:34.300 --> 00:30:35.780 and have 00:30:35.780 --> 00:30:36.620 set limits 00:30:36.620 --> 00:30:37.540 he cannot 00:30:37.540 --> 00:30:38.580 exceed. 00:30:40.260 --> 00:30:41.240 God alone 00:30:41.240 --> 00:30:41.800 determines 00:30:41.800 --> 00:30:42.480 how long 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:42.980 we live 00:30:42.980 --> 00:30:43.920 and the 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:44.460 moment we 00:30:44.460 --> 00:30:44.760 die. 00:30:45.520 --> 00:30:45.800 Nobody 00:30:45.800 --> 00:30:46.260 else. 00:30:46.259 --> 00:30:48.440 God will 00:30:48.440 --> 00:30:49.200 not let 00:30:49.200 --> 00:30:49.720 us live 00:30:49.720 --> 00:30:50.599 one minute 00:30:50.599 --> 00:30:51.339 too long 00:30:51.339 --> 00:30:53.099 or die 00:30:53.099 --> 00:30:53.900 a second 00:30:53.900 --> 00:30:55.299 too early. 00:30:56.420 --> 00:30:57.559 Every day, 00:30:58.559 --> 00:31:00.059 every moment, 00:31:00.200 --> 00:31:00.960 every second 00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:01.879 of our life, 00:31:03.019 --> 00:31:03.700 God is 00:31:03.700 --> 00:31:04.640 filled with 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:05.339 purpose 00:31:05.339 --> 00:31:07.700 until he 00:31:07.700 --> 00:31:08.480 decides we 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:09.039 no longer 00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:09.539 breathe. 00:31:09.539 --> 00:31:12.740 we see 00:31:12.740 --> 00:31:13.200 the same 00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:13.740 in Psalm 00:31:13.740 --> 00:31:14.940 139. 00:31:16.859 --> 00:31:17.539 For you 00:31:17.539 --> 00:31:18.359 created my 00:31:18.359 --> 00:31:19.159 inmost being, 00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:19.819 you knit me 00:31:19.819 --> 00:31:20.420 together in 00:31:20.420 --> 00:31:21.019 my mother's 00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:21.200 womb, 00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:22.000 I praise you 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:22.519 because I 00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:23.200 am fearfully 00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:23.859 and wonderfully 00:31:23.859 --> 00:31:24.359 made. 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:26.460 Your eyes 00:31:26.460 --> 00:31:27.000 saw my 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:27.579 unformed 00:31:27.579 --> 00:31:28.059 body, 00:31:29.180 --> 00:31:29.940 and all 00:31:29.940 --> 00:31:30.720 the days 00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:31.500 ordained 00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:32.119 for me 00:31:32.119 --> 00:31:34.019 were written 00:31:34.019 --> 00:31:34.460 in your 00:31:34.460 --> 00:31:35.119 book before 00:31:35.119 --> 00:31:35.680 one of them 00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:36.240 came to 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:36.440 be. 00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:38.779 every day 00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:40.080 has purpose. 00:31:41.100 --> 00:31:42.080 Every day 00:31:42.080 --> 00:31:42.880 has been 00:31:42.880 --> 00:31:43.640 ordained by 00:31:43.640 --> 00:31:44.299 God from 00:31:44.299 --> 00:31:44.920 eternity 00:31:44.920 --> 00:31:45.600 past. 00:31:46.400 --> 00:31:47.100 Your life 00:31:47.100 --> 00:31:47.640 is known 00:31:47.640 --> 00:31:48.299 by God. 00:31:49.080 --> 00:31:49.620 He knows 00:31:49.620 --> 00:31:49.960 what you 00:31:49.960 --> 00:31:50.480 will face, 00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:50.980 he knows 00:31:50.980 --> 00:31:51.340 what you 00:31:51.340 --> 00:31:51.720 will see, 00:31:52.019 --> 00:31:52.500 he knows 00:31:52.500 --> 00:31:52.880 what you 00:31:52.880 --> 00:31:53.500 will endure, 00:31:53.900 --> 00:31:54.299 and we 00:31:54.299 --> 00:31:55.120 may struggle 00:31:55.120 --> 00:31:56.360 to see the 00:31:56.360 --> 00:31:57.039 significance 00:31:57.039 --> 00:31:57.880 of our 00:31:57.880 --> 00:31:58.440 suffering 00:31:58.440 --> 00:31:58.980 life, 00:31:59.539 --> 00:32:00.180 but God 00:32:00.180 --> 00:32:00.820 has his 00:32:00.820 --> 00:32:01.200 purpose. 00:32:01.200 --> 00:32:04.620 and God 00:32:04.620 --> 00:32:05.140 is working 00:32:05.140 --> 00:32:05.840 things out 00:32:05.840 --> 00:32:06.600 according to 00:32:06.600 --> 00:32:07.220 his plan. 00:32:08.559 --> 00:32:09.700 Every day 00:32:09.700 --> 00:32:10.319 we draw 00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:10.819 breath, 00:32:11.960 --> 00:32:12.819 God is 00:32:12.819 --> 00:32:13.500 using us 00:32:13.500 --> 00:32:14.059 and working 00:32:14.059 --> 00:32:14.700 through us 00:32:14.700 --> 00:32:15.480 to achieve 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:16.880 his plan 00:32:16.880 --> 00:32:17.400 and his 00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:17.819 glory. 00:32:22.660 --> 00:32:23.640 So death 00:32:23.640 --> 00:32:24.340 is determined 00:32:24.340 --> 00:32:25.140 by God 00:32:25.140 --> 00:32:27.880 and wonderfully, 00:32:29.140 --> 00:32:30.019 wonderfully, 00:32:30.019 --> 00:32:32.559 death has 00:32:32.559 --> 00:32:33.200 been conquered 00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:33.879 by God. 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:38.079 Job 00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:38.740 knew that 00:32:38.740 --> 00:32:40.099 life and 00:32:40.099 --> 00:32:40.660 death were 00:32:40.660 --> 00:32:41.460 determined by 00:32:41.460 --> 00:32:41.759 God, 00:32:41.859 --> 00:32:42.359 but he also 00:32:42.359 --> 00:32:42.900 knew that 00:32:42.900 --> 00:32:43.400 death was 00:32:43.400 --> 00:32:43.819 not the 00:32:43.819 --> 00:32:44.160 end. 00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:45.960 Have a look 00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:46.519 with me in 00:32:46.519 --> 00:32:47.379 Job chapter 00:32:47.379 --> 00:32:48.039 19, 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:51.359 verse 25, 00:32:51.539 --> 00:32:52.299 Job chapter 00:32:52.299 --> 00:32:52.920 19. 00:32:52.920 --> 00:32:58.680 not only 00:32:58.680 --> 00:32:59.380 incredible 00:32:59.380 --> 00:33:00.500 because Job 00:33:00.500 --> 00:33:01.060 is saying 00:33:01.060 --> 00:33:01.560 this, 00:33:02.680 --> 00:33:03.100 I don't 00:33:03.100 --> 00:33:03.460 know how 00:33:03.460 --> 00:33:04.860 many hundreds 00:33:04.860 --> 00:33:05.460 of years 00:33:05.460 --> 00:33:06.300 or thousands 00:33:06.300 --> 00:33:06.880 of years 00:33:06.880 --> 00:33:08.720 before the 00:33:08.720 --> 00:33:09.259 coming of 00:33:09.259 --> 00:33:09.660 Christ, 00:33:09.800 --> 00:33:10.420 before the 00:33:10.420 --> 00:33:11.039 resurrection, 00:33:11.840 --> 00:33:14.940 but amazing 00:33:14.940 --> 00:33:15.620 because this 00:33:15.620 --> 00:33:16.480 is personal 00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:17.580 testimony. 00:33:18.840 --> 00:33:19.860 This is one 00:33:19.860 --> 00:33:20.759 who lived in 00:33:20.759 --> 00:33:21.420 the midst of 00:33:21.420 --> 00:33:22.340 great suffering 00:33:22.339 --> 00:33:23.519 and here's 00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:24.359 his testimony. 00:33:26.099 --> 00:33:27.259 Chapter 19, 00:33:27.399 --> 00:33:28.139 verse 25. 00:33:30.839 --> 00:33:31.679 I know 00:33:31.679 --> 00:33:32.179 that my 00:33:32.179 --> 00:33:32.599 Redeemer 00:33:32.599 --> 00:33:34.519 lives and 00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:35.059 that in the 00:33:35.059 --> 00:33:35.579 end he 00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:36.319 will stand 00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:36.759 on the 00:33:36.759 --> 00:33:37.059 earth, 00:33:37.199 --> 00:33:37.599 literally, 00:33:38.439 --> 00:33:39.139 he will 00:33:39.139 --> 00:33:40.259 stand on 00:33:40.259 --> 00:33:41.099 the grave. 00:33:41.399 --> 00:33:41.859 That is, 00:33:41.899 --> 00:33:42.220 he will 00:33:42.220 --> 00:33:43.419 have power 00:33:43.419 --> 00:33:44.619 and authority 00:33:44.619 --> 00:33:46.339 over the 00:33:46.339 --> 00:33:46.899 grave and 00:33:46.899 --> 00:33:47.480 over death 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:47.959 itself. 00:33:47.960 --> 00:33:50.579 and after 00:33:50.579 --> 00:33:51.319 my skin 00:33:51.319 --> 00:33:51.799 has been 00:33:51.799 --> 00:33:52.380 destroyed, 00:33:52.579 --> 00:33:53.059 so when 00:33:53.059 --> 00:33:54.360 this disease, 00:33:54.539 --> 00:33:55.420 when its 00:33:55.420 --> 00:33:56.440 suffering has 00:33:56.440 --> 00:33:57.380 taken its 00:33:57.380 --> 00:33:58.039 full effect 00:33:58.039 --> 00:33:58.400 and he 00:33:58.400 --> 00:33:59.079 reaches into 00:33:59.079 --> 00:33:59.960 later age 00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:00.799 and he 00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:01.360 dies, 00:34:02.819 --> 00:34:04.220 yet in 00:34:04.220 --> 00:34:04.940 my flesh 00:34:04.940 --> 00:34:05.660 I will 00:34:05.660 --> 00:34:06.519 see God. 00:34:07.799 --> 00:34:09.099 I myself 00:34:09.099 --> 00:34:09.539 will see 00:34:09.539 --> 00:34:10.800 him with 00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:11.260 my own 00:34:11.260 --> 00:34:11.679 eyes, 00:34:12.460 --> 00:34:12.900 I and 00:34:12.900 --> 00:34:13.500 not another, 00:34:14.780 --> 00:34:15.280 how my 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:16.139 heart yearns 00:34:16.139 --> 00:34:17.179 within me. 00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:19.920 Job could 00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:20.539 look forward 00:34:20.539 --> 00:34:21.199 in faith 00:34:21.199 --> 00:34:21.639 to the 00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:22.119 promised 00:34:22.119 --> 00:34:23.279 resurrection. 00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:24.759 He knew 00:34:24.759 --> 00:34:25.359 that one 00:34:25.359 --> 00:34:26.099 day God 00:34:26.099 --> 00:34:27.019 would destroy 00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:27.699 death and 00:34:27.699 --> 00:34:28.400 conquer the 00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:28.940 grave for 00:34:28.940 --> 00:34:29.719 us and 00:34:29.719 --> 00:34:30.599 the promise, 00:34:31.279 --> 00:34:32.159 that promise 00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:32.799 of God 00:34:32.799 --> 00:34:33.819 became a 00:34:33.819 --> 00:34:34.679 reality when 00:34:34.679 --> 00:34:35.859 God became 00:34:35.859 --> 00:34:36.739 man, 00:34:37.059 --> 00:34:37.940 born into 00:34:37.940 --> 00:34:38.699 this world 00:34:38.699 --> 00:34:39.719 through his 00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:40.059 mum, 00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:43.679 lived this 00:34:43.679 --> 00:34:44.179 life, 00:34:44.619 --> 00:34:45.259 breathed 00:34:45.260 --> 00:34:45.920 life as 00:34:45.920 --> 00:34:46.720 God gave 00:34:46.720 --> 00:34:47.040 him the 00:34:47.040 --> 00:34:47.880 ability to 00:34:47.880 --> 00:34:50.060 breathe and 00:34:50.060 --> 00:34:50.820 died our 00:34:50.820 --> 00:34:53.780 death and 00:34:53.780 --> 00:34:54.480 was buried 00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:57.040 and rose 00:34:57.040 --> 00:34:57.680 again from 00:34:57.680 --> 00:34:58.240 the grave 00:34:58.240 --> 00:34:59.020 three days 00:34:59.020 --> 00:34:59.480 later. 00:35:03.600 --> 00:35:04.520 You see, 00:35:04.640 --> 00:35:05.080 those who 00:35:05.080 --> 00:35:05.720 ignore 00:35:05.720 --> 00:35:07.700 Christ, 00:35:09.520 --> 00:35:10.480 those who 00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:11.100 turn away 00:35:11.100 --> 00:35:11.640 from what 00:35:11.640 --> 00:35:12.200 God has 00:35:12.200 --> 00:35:12.720 to say, 00:35:12.719 --> 00:35:16.339 not only 00:35:16.339 --> 00:35:17.019 die but 00:35:17.019 --> 00:35:17.379 have an 00:35:17.379 --> 00:35:17.919 eternity 00:35:17.919 --> 00:35:18.239 of 00:35:18.239 --> 00:35:18.719 suffering. 00:35:21.719 --> 00:35:22.419 It's 00:35:22.419 --> 00:35:23.199 suffering away 00:35:23.199 --> 00:35:23.839 from God, 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:24.859 separated from 00:35:24.859 --> 00:35:25.439 God in 00:35:25.439 --> 00:35:26.219 hell itself. 00:35:28.879 --> 00:35:29.739 But for 00:35:29.739 --> 00:35:30.379 those whose 00:35:30.379 --> 00:35:31.099 hope is in 00:35:31.099 --> 00:35:31.480 Christ, 00:35:31.579 --> 00:35:32.119 there is a 00:35:32.119 --> 00:35:32.699 glorious 00:35:32.699 --> 00:35:33.500 resurrection. 00:35:35.019 --> 00:35:35.579 And like 00:35:35.579 --> 00:35:36.000 Job, 00:35:36.099 --> 00:35:36.879 we can say 00:35:36.879 --> 00:35:37.759 with absolute 00:35:37.759 --> 00:35:38.639 confidence and 00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:39.059 assurance, 00:35:39.379 --> 00:35:39.919 look at these 00:35:39.919 --> 00:35:40.519 words again, 00:35:40.599 --> 00:35:41.299 verse 25, 00:35:41.300 --> 00:35:42.800 this, if we 00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:43.380 are trusting 00:35:43.380 --> 00:35:44.019 in Christ, 00:35:44.100 --> 00:35:44.780 is our 00:35:44.780 --> 00:35:45.400 story, 00:35:45.760 --> 00:35:46.260 is our 00:35:46.260 --> 00:35:47.019 personal 00:35:47.019 --> 00:35:47.920 testimony. 00:35:50.420 --> 00:35:51.360 Can you 00:35:51.360 --> 00:35:52.080 say these 00:35:52.080 --> 00:35:52.700 words for 00:35:52.700 --> 00:35:53.200 yourself? 00:35:53.300 --> 00:35:53.900 I know 00:35:53.900 --> 00:35:54.720 that my 00:35:54.720 --> 00:35:55.260 Redeemer 00:35:55.260 --> 00:35:55.760 lives, 00:35:56.880 --> 00:35:57.740 and that in 00:35:57.740 --> 00:35:58.460 the end he 00:35:58.460 --> 00:35:59.220 will stand 00:35:59.220 --> 00:35:59.620 on the 00:35:59.620 --> 00:35:59.960 earth. 00:36:01.880 --> 00:36:02.840 And after 00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:03.660 my skin 00:36:03.660 --> 00:36:04.120 has been 00:36:04.120 --> 00:36:04.680 destroyed, 00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:05.220 when I 00:36:05.220 --> 00:36:05.600 die, 00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:07.019 yet in 00:36:07.019 --> 00:36:07.920 my flesh 00:36:07.920 --> 00:36:09.460 I will 00:36:09.460 --> 00:36:10.180 see 00:36:10.179 --> 00:36:11.039 God. 00:36:12.759 --> 00:36:13.359 I 00:36:13.359 --> 00:36:14.019 myself 00:36:14.019 --> 00:36:14.699 will see 00:36:14.699 --> 00:36:15.019 him 00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:17.379 with my 00:36:17.379 --> 00:36:18.679 own eyes, 00:36:19.179 --> 00:36:19.759 I and 00:36:19.759 --> 00:36:20.399 not another. 00:36:21.859 --> 00:36:22.480 How 00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:23.319 incredible is 00:36:23.319 --> 00:36:23.639 that? 00:36:25.239 --> 00:36:26.139 One day 00:36:26.139 --> 00:36:27.839 we will 00:36:27.839 --> 00:36:28.519 see God. 00:36:30.279 --> 00:36:31.199 We will be 00:36:31.199 --> 00:36:31.679 with him. 00:36:33.419 --> 00:36:34.219 And all 00:36:34.219 --> 00:36:34.679 the pain 00:36:34.679 --> 00:36:36.059 and all the 00:36:36.059 --> 00:36:36.619 suffering will 00:36:36.619 --> 00:36:37.059 be gone. 00:36:37.059 --> 00:36:39.340 and there 00:36:39.340 --> 00:36:39.779 will be no 00:36:39.779 --> 00:36:40.400 more death 00:36:40.400 --> 00:36:40.840 and no 00:36:40.840 --> 00:36:41.579 more tears. 00:36:43.279 --> 00:36:44.159 How my 00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:45.179 heart yearns 00:36:45.179 --> 00:36:45.960 within me. 00:36:48.799 --> 00:36:49.400 Let's 00:36:49.400 --> 00:36:49.679 pray. 00:36:49.679 --> 00:36:50.679 Let's 00:36:50.679 --> 00:36:51.679 pray. 00:36:51.679 --> 00:36:52.679 Let's 00:36:52.679 --> 00:36:53.679 pray. 00:36:53.679 --> 00:36:54.679 Let's 00:36:54.679 --> 00:36:55.679 pray. 00:36:55.679 --> 00:36:57.679 Let's 00:36:57.679 --> 00:36:59.679 pray. 00:36:59.679 --> 00:37:00.679 Let's 00:37:00.679 --> 00:37:01.679 pray. 00:37:01.679 --> 00:37:02.679 Let's 00:37:02.679 --> 00:37:03.679 pray. 00:37:03.679 --> 00:37:04.679 Let's 00:37:04.679 --> 00:37:05.679 pray. 00:37:05.679 --> 00:37:06.299 pray. 00:37:06.299 --> 00:37:06.519 Let's 00:37:06.519 --> 00:37:06.679 pray. 00:37:06.679 --> 00:37:07.679 Let's 00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:08.679 pray. 00:37:08.679 --> 00:37:09.059 Let's 00:37:09.059 --> 00:37:09.679 pray. 00:37:09.679 --> 00:37:10.179 Let's 00:37:10.179 --> 00:37:10.679 pray. 00:37:10.679 --> 00:37:11.679 Let's 00:37:11.679 --> 00:37:12.679 pray. 00:37:12.679 --> 00:37:13.679 Let's 00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:14.179 pray. 00:37:14.179 --> 00:37:14.480 I read 00:37:14.480 --> 00:37:15.019 the words 00:37:15.019 --> 00:37:15.500 that we 00:37:15.500 --> 00:37:15.899 read at 00:37:15.899 --> 00:37:16.199 the very 00:37:16.199 --> 00:37:16.559 beginning 00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:16.879 this 00:37:16.879 --> 00:37:17.319 morning 00:37:17.319 --> 00:37:18.259 as a 00:37:18.259 --> 00:37:18.579 prayer. 00:37:18.759 --> 00:37:19.099 Brothers 00:37:19.099 --> 00:37:19.759 and 00:37:19.759 --> 00:37:20.279 sisters, 00:37:21.480 --> 00:37:22.239 we do 00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:22.779 not want 00:37:22.779 --> 00:37:23.099 you to 00:37:23.099 --> 00:37:23.279 be 00:37:23.279 --> 00:37:23.919 uninformed 00:37:23.919 --> 00:37:24.299 about 00:37:24.299 --> 00:37:24.779 those 00:37:24.779 --> 00:37:25.019 who 00:37:25.019 --> 00:37:25.500 sleep 00:37:25.500 --> 00:37:25.719 in 00:37:25.719 --> 00:37:26.079 death, 00:37:26.899 --> 00:37:27.899 so 00:37:27.899 --> 00:37:28.059 that 00:37:28.059 --> 00:37:28.199 you 00:37:28.199 --> 00:37:28.399 do 00:37:28.399 --> 00:37:28.639 not 00:37:28.639 --> 00:37:29.099 grieve 00:37:29.099 --> 00:37:29.359 like 00:37:29.359 --> 00:37:29.559 the 00:37:29.559 --> 00:37:29.859 rest 00:37:29.859 --> 00:37:30.059 of 00:37:30.059 --> 00:37:30.440 mankind 00:37:30.440 --> 00:37:30.899 who 00:37:30.899 --> 00:37:31.179 have 00:37:31.179 --> 00:37:31.379 no 00:37:31.379 --> 00:37:31.759 hope. 00:37:31.759 --> 00:37:33.559 For 00:37:33.559 --> 00:37:33.799 we 00:37:33.799 --> 00:37:34.219 believe 00:37:34.219 --> 00:37:34.940 that Jesus 00:37:34.940 --> 00:37:35.900 died and 00:37:35.900 --> 00:37:36.200 rose 00:37:36.200 --> 00:37:36.619 again, 00:37:37.480 --> 00:37:38.220 and so 00:37:38.220 --> 00:37:38.400 we 00:37:38.400 --> 00:37:38.820 believe 00:37:38.820 --> 00:37:39.440 that God 00:37:39.440 --> 00:37:40.099 will bring 00:37:40.099 --> 00:37:40.480 with 00:37:40.480 --> 00:37:40.960 Jesus 00:37:40.960 --> 00:37:41.980 all those 00:37:41.980 --> 00:37:42.360 who have 00:37:42.360 --> 00:37:43.179 fallen asleep 00:37:43.179 --> 00:37:43.700 in him, 00:37:44.700 --> 00:37:46.079 and so 00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:46.500 we will 00:37:46.500 --> 00:37:46.960 be with 00:37:46.960 --> 00:37:47.480 the Lord 00:37:47.480 --> 00:37:48.119 forever. 00:37:49.940 --> 00:37:50.559 Therefore, 00:37:51.679 --> 00:37:52.420 encourage 00:37:52.420 --> 00:37:53.099 one another 00:37:53.099 --> 00:37:54.760 with these 00:37:54.760 --> 00:37:55.240 words. 00:37:57.240 --> 00:37:57.840 Amen. 00:37:57.840 --> 00:38:03.780 we're 00:38:03.780 --> 00:38:04.059 going to 00:38:04.059 --> 00:38:04.380 sing 00:38:04.380 --> 00:38:07.440 because 00:38:07.440 --> 00:38:07.700 it's 00:38:07.700 --> 00:38:08.079 good to 00:38:08.079 --> 00:38:08.360 sing. 00:38:09.800 --> 00:38:10.340 It's 00:38:10.340 --> 00:38:10.720 good to 00:38:10.720 --> 00:38:11.380 sing to 00:38:11.380 --> 00:38:12.300 express 00:38:12.300 --> 00:38:13.160 truths 00:38:13.160 --> 00:38:13.600 that we 00:38:13.600 --> 00:38:14.180 believe 00:38:14.180 --> 00:38:15.539 because 00:38:15.539 --> 00:38:15.980 as we 00:38:15.980 --> 00:38:16.340 sing 00:38:16.340 --> 00:38:16.700 it 00:38:16.700 --> 00:38:18.140 drives 00:38:18.140 --> 00:38:18.519 those 00:38:18.519 --> 00:38:18.960 truths 00:38:18.960 --> 00:38:19.380 deeper 00:38:19.380 --> 00:38:19.680 into 00:38:19.680 --> 00:38:19.920 our 00:38:19.920 --> 00:38:20.320 heart. 00:38:20.320 --> 00:38:20.760 It 00:38:20.760 --> 00:38:21.059 helps 00:38:21.059 --> 00:38:21.280 us 00:38:21.280 --> 00:38:22.059 express 00:38:22.059 --> 00:38:23.620 where 00:38:23.620 --> 00:38:23.860 our 00:38:23.860 --> 00:38:24.160 hope 00:38:24.160 --> 00:38:24.519 is. 00:38:24.519 --> 00:38:26.039 And as 00:38:26.039 --> 00:38:26.219 we 00:38:26.219 --> 00:38:26.519 sing, 00:38:26.659 --> 00:38:26.759 we 00:38:26.759 --> 00:38:27.619 want to 00:38:27.619 --> 00:38:27.880 sing 00:38:27.880 --> 00:38:28.340 not only 00:38:28.340 --> 00:38:28.780 thanking 00:38:28.780 --> 00:38:29.159 God, 00:38:29.320 --> 00:38:31.139 but sing 00:38:31.139 --> 00:38:31.579 to the 00:38:31.579 --> 00:38:32.079 person 00:38:32.079 --> 00:38:32.900 next to 00:38:32.900 --> 00:38:33.039 you. 00:38:33.159 --> 00:38:33.599 Sing to 00:38:33.599 --> 00:38:33.780 the 00:38:33.780 --> 00:38:34.119 person 00:38:34.119 --> 00:38:34.599 in this 00:38:34.599 --> 00:38:34.860 room. 00:38:35.920 --> 00:38:36.559 Encourage 00:38:36.559 --> 00:38:37.179 one another 00:38:37.179 --> 00:38:37.739 with these 00:38:37.739 --> 00:38:39.360 words as 00:38:39.360 --> 00:38:40.039 we tell 00:38:40.039 --> 00:38:40.759 the story 00:38:40.759 --> 00:38:41.719 through song 00:38:41.719 --> 00:38:43.099 of the 00:38:43.099 --> 00:38:43.639 resurrection 00:38:43.639 --> 00:38:44.360 of Jesus 00:38:44.360 --> 00:38:46.079 and the 00:38:46.079 --> 00:38:46.820 life that 00:38:46.820 --> 00:38:47.139 is to 00:38:47.139 --> 00:38:47.420 come. 00:38:48.300 --> 00:38:48.960 Let's 00:38:48.960 --> 00:38:49.119 sing 00:38:49.119 --> 00:38:49.519 together. 00:38:49.519 --> 00:38:50.340 This 00:38:50.340 --> 00:38:51.099 finns 00:38:52.360 --> 00:38:54.280 out there. 00:38:54.659 --> 00:38:55.280 Here 00:38:55.280 --> 00:38:55.539 he is 00:38:55.539 --> 00:38:56.259 the 00:38:56.320 --> 00:38:56.440 other 00:38:56.440 --> 00:38:57.199 questions