WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.800 We have been looking at Psalm 119 about the Word of God and how the Word of God affects 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.580 various areas of our lives. 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:25.620 One of the most difficult areas in human existence is the problem of suffering. 00:00:26.620 --> 00:00:28.219 Why is there evil? 00:00:28.420 --> 00:00:29.879 Where did evil come from? 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:38.240 And why does God let bad things happen to good people and things like that? 00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:40.880 And it is a huge topic. 00:00:41.620 --> 00:00:49.900 I used to think that either that there are no answers or that the answers are easy to find. 00:00:50.700 --> 00:00:58.420 Having studied scriptures a lot over the last 37 years, I was surprised to find out that the scriptures give 00:00:58.420 --> 00:01:02.440 us eight different answers to the problem of suffering. 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:05.400 I will not go through all eight of them. 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:07.460 Not today, at least. 00:01:07.620 --> 00:01:08.400 Maybe another day. 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:16.300 But I do want us to look at three issues in relationship to suffering and persecution. 00:01:16.299 --> 00:01:19.439 We are going to be focusing on persecution. 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:23.620 Regrettably, I don't have just one passage to look at. 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:25.959 I am going to look at four different passages. 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:26.959 But I will warn you ahead of time. 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:28.439 But I will warn you ahead of time. 00:01:28.439 --> 00:01:34.780 And I really expect you to jot down those passages and think about them during this week. 00:01:34.780 --> 00:01:36.060 Reflect on them. 00:01:36.060 --> 00:01:42.579 Try to understand what scriptures are saying about this very difficult and ticklish issue. 00:01:42.579 --> 00:01:53.259 So, we are going to look at this problem, the problem of suffering, but specifically within suffering, persecution. 00:01:54.780 --> 00:01:59.980 Let's take a look at the first answer, the most common answer. 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:05.739 It is so obvious that I almost want to apologize for telling you about it. 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:07.480 We all know it. 00:02:08.340 --> 00:02:09.759 So, here is the question. 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:15.899 Why am I paying a speeding ticket? 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:19.120 Well, the answer is obvious. 00:02:19.899 --> 00:02:22.299 I was driving, this is only an illustration. 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:30.180 I was driving 85 miles in a 65-mile zone. 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:36.099 And the policeman decided to pull me to the side, slow me down, and give me a ticket. 00:02:36.099 --> 00:02:40.079 If I didn't drive fast, he wouldn't have given me a ticket. 00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:41.139 I drove fast. 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:44.319 I suffer the consequences of my actions. 00:02:45.060 --> 00:02:46.400 A results in B. 00:02:47.579 --> 00:02:50.340 If you plant bananas, you harvest bananas. 00:02:50.599 --> 00:02:53.120 If you plant oranges, you harvest oranges. 00:02:53.500 --> 00:02:56.099 If you plant speeding, you harvest tickets. 00:02:56.099 --> 00:03:06.019 Why is this friend of mine paying a fine to the IRS? 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:15.120 Well, because he cheated on his income tax forms and didn't report some of the money that he had earned. 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:16.240 He tried to hide it. 00:03:16.620 --> 00:03:21.659 Somehow or another, the IRS people caught him, and he is paying a fine. 00:03:21.659 --> 00:03:25.079 Again, sowing and reaping. 00:03:25.259 --> 00:03:27.340 What we sow, we harvest. 00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:32.759 You know, why was Dahmer thrown in jail for life? 00:03:33.419 --> 00:03:35.879 That's many years ago, if you remember that incident. 00:03:36.680 --> 00:03:38.259 Well, because he killed people. 00:03:39.019 --> 00:03:40.500 He was a serial killer. 00:03:40.500 --> 00:03:47.479 And when you murder people like that, you pay the consequences of your actions. 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:54.400 To use the title of the great novel by Dostoevsky, it is Crime and Punishment. 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:59.180 You commit this crime, you pay this punishment. 00:03:59.180 --> 00:04:05.540 Or to use the biblical terminology, sowing and reaping. 00:04:06.260 --> 00:04:14.640 Or, if you want, the huge area in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 27, 28, blessings and curses. 00:04:15.420 --> 00:04:19.899 If Israel, if God's people are faithful to him, he blesses them. 00:04:20.379 --> 00:04:28.100 If God's people are not faithful to him, he punishes them and he rebukes them and deals with them sternly. 00:04:28.100 --> 00:04:32.379 So, that is the first answer to why do we go through suffering. 00:04:32.700 --> 00:04:38.120 Because we are paying the consequences of our actions. 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:40.140 Crime and punishment. 00:04:41.020 --> 00:04:45.040 Now, I want us to move on to the second category. 00:04:45.400 --> 00:04:49.160 And I want us to stay some time here. 00:04:49.939 --> 00:04:50.939 It is this. 00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:57.300 The answer is, I am going through suffering because I am doing the right thing. 00:04:57.300 --> 00:05:04.480 In the first answer, I am doing the wrong thing and God has punished me. 00:05:05.060 --> 00:05:15.560 In the second category, I am doing the right thing and I am evoking opposition or resistance from the ungodly. 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:19.540 It is not that God is punishing me because I have sinned. 00:05:19.540 --> 00:05:21.300 It is the opposite. 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:29.160 I am faithful to God and therefore God approves of me. 00:05:29.300 --> 00:05:34.480 But there is opposition in the world and I face the opposition of being faithful to God. 00:05:35.020 --> 00:05:36.860 So, one is the result of sinning. 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:39.180 The second one is the result of the opposite. 00:05:39.700 --> 00:05:40.180 Faithfulness. 00:05:40.180 --> 00:05:46.360 Now, I want to explain something to help you understand our culture at the present. 00:05:47.860 --> 00:05:50.220 Let me help you something. 00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:54.840 In the West, in Western thought, we are going through a period of transition. 00:05:55.540 --> 00:05:58.379 This period has been going on for a long time. 00:05:58.379 --> 00:06:04.860 But it especially started to accelerate, historians tell us, around 1989. 00:06:05.219 --> 00:06:07.959 1989 is the fall of the Berlin Wall. 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:20.120 It is also the time when it seems like we are abandoning a system of thought called modernism that we were in for about 200 years. 00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:31.740 Between 1789, the French Revolution, the fall of the Bastille, and 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall, modernism dominated Western thought. 00:06:32.199 --> 00:06:35.199 We are now beyond modernism. 00:06:35.699 --> 00:06:40.939 Most of our children have been born in the era of post-modernism. 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:47.819 Post-modernism tells us several things, many of which I disagree with. 00:06:47.819 --> 00:06:53.060 Post-modernism tells us there are no absolutes. 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:57.319 There is no absolute truth. 00:06:57.719 --> 00:06:59.860 There is relative truth. 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:03.180 Truth for you or truth for me. 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:06.319 But there is no absolute truth. 00:07:07.060 --> 00:07:15.379 And that since all views are equally acceptable, we should learn to tolerate each other. 00:07:15.379 --> 00:07:20.600 So the only thing that we disapprove of is intolerance. 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:25.219 Of course, I believe in tolerance. 00:07:25.579 --> 00:07:29.019 I don't just want to tolerate those who disagree with me. 00:07:29.659 --> 00:07:31.639 Jesus tells me to go beyond tolerance. 00:07:31.980 --> 00:07:37.659 Jesus tells me not necessarily to tolerate their views, but to love them as my neighbor. 00:07:37.660 --> 00:07:47.520 But I reject the view that there are no absolutes and that there is truth for me and truth for you. 00:07:47.960 --> 00:07:49.200 And maybe they overlap. 00:07:49.660 --> 00:07:53.600 But in any case, we live in our own realms of truth. 00:07:54.660 --> 00:07:58.160 Let me just give you a silly example and then some serious examples. 00:07:59.100 --> 00:08:00.340 Here is a silly example. 00:08:00.339 --> 00:08:06.359 Suppose I am driving and I am approaching a stop sign. 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:13.899 And I notice in my peripheral vision that there is a policeman parking there. 00:08:13.899 --> 00:08:17.439 But it is a stop sign. 00:08:18.239 --> 00:08:19.819 What should I do then? 00:08:21.500 --> 00:08:25.739 Should I just go through the stop sign and say, 00:08:26.139 --> 00:08:27.459 Truth is relative. 00:08:28.219 --> 00:08:29.459 It is truth for you. 00:08:29.599 --> 00:08:31.459 But it is not truth for me. 00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:34.259 Am I going to do that? 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:44.500 On a more serious note, there are things that are absolutely wrong. 00:08:45.480 --> 00:08:46.860 Absolutely wrong. 00:08:47.259 --> 00:08:53.019 Not just absolutely wrong for Americans or absolutely wrong for Germans. 00:08:53.700 --> 00:08:56.240 The issue came up at the Nuremberg trial. 00:08:56.860 --> 00:09:01.539 What should we do with the fact that six million Jews were killed? 00:09:01.539 --> 00:09:08.439 What if German law said it's okay to kill Jews? 00:09:09.199 --> 00:09:13.199 If that is legal in Germany, does it make it right? 00:09:13.699 --> 00:09:15.299 And the answer is no. 00:09:15.779 --> 00:09:19.360 That there are crimes against humanity. 00:09:19.959 --> 00:09:22.519 And it doesn't matter what the U.S. law says. 00:09:22.599 --> 00:09:24.419 And it doesn't matter what German law says. 00:09:24.620 --> 00:09:27.139 And it doesn't matter what Japanese law says. 00:09:27.500 --> 00:09:29.579 These are crimes against humanity. 00:09:29.579 --> 00:09:30.579 These are absolutes. 00:09:31.539 --> 00:09:35.579 Certain things are wrong regardless of who holds that view. 00:09:36.079 --> 00:09:37.360 It is always wrong. 00:09:37.659 --> 00:09:38.899 It's wrong for everybody. 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:40.179 It's universally. 00:09:40.899 --> 00:09:43.740 Not relatively, but absolutely universally. 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:47.199 Some of those is killing people. 00:09:48.939 --> 00:09:53.139 And of course, the worst example is Nazi Germany with six million Jews 00:09:53.139 --> 00:09:56.699 who were sent to concentration camps like Auschwitz and Dachau. 00:09:56.699 --> 00:10:02.879 But even before that, worse than Nazi Germany, believe it or not, is Stalin. 00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:04.799 Nobody knows. 00:10:05.179 --> 00:10:07.559 Nobody knows how many were killed. 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:10.279 Some numbers go as high as 30 million. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:12.819 Others go as high as 50 million. 00:10:12.820 --> 00:10:16.580 You may be familiar with Auschwitz and Dachau. 00:10:16.580 --> 00:10:18.420 But there are other massacres. 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:22.500 Babi Yar, if you're familiar with it. 00:10:24.500 --> 00:10:29.640 Shostakovich, the Russian composer, composed a symphony 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:35.740 to mourn the horrible massacres in Russia, 00:10:37.379 --> 00:10:39.100 the Babi Yar massacre. 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:41.799 Sex trafficking is wrong. 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:44.299 It's not just it's wrong in America. 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:45.360 It's wrong. 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:55.120 Kidnapping children and forcing them to fight in an army in tribal wars is wrong. 00:10:57.180 --> 00:11:02.580 Hijacking a plane and blowing up in midair is wrong. 00:11:04.220 --> 00:11:06.039 Slavery is wrong. 00:11:06.700 --> 00:11:11.100 Whether we pass laws against slavery or whether we don't pass laws against slavery, 00:11:11.379 --> 00:11:14.279 there are certain things that are wrong. 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:21.000 I remember a debate at UCLA between a philosopher who was a postmodern philosopher 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:24.180 who was saying, there are no absolutes. 00:11:24.419 --> 00:11:27.659 Truth is true for me and truth for you is for you. 00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:29.360 But there are no absolutes. 00:11:29.860 --> 00:11:33.300 And a Christian educator from the education department. 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:38.000 And the philosophy professor kept saying, there are no absolutes. 00:11:38.100 --> 00:11:39.259 There are no absolutes. 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:40.680 It's just relative. 00:11:40.679 --> 00:11:47.039 And then the Christian professor put him on the spot. 00:11:47.539 --> 00:11:49.319 He really had him squirming. 00:11:49.959 --> 00:11:52.799 He said to him, if there are no absolutes, 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:56.359 if what is right or wrong depends on me, 00:11:57.159 --> 00:11:58.719 if it's right for me, 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:04.979 is it okay if I rape your wife and molest your daughter? 00:12:04.980 --> 00:12:09.500 That was a public debate. 00:12:09.500 --> 00:12:11.879 Is it okay? 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:16.039 If truth is relative and according to my set of values, 00:12:16.460 --> 00:12:19.320 is it okay if I rape your wife and molest your daughter? 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:23.480 If the philosopher said, yes, it's okay, 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:29.120 I'd love to hear the conversation home between him and his wife in the car. 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:33.419 If he said, it's okay to molest women, 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:37.919 you can imagine what the woman student body at UCLA would have done. 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:40.200 They would have him fired the next day. 00:12:41.080 --> 00:12:44.379 Because here's a professor who's saying, it's okay to molest women. 00:12:46.019 --> 00:12:48.019 So there are absolutes. 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:57.659 The point is, suppose I recognize there are absolutes, 00:12:57.980 --> 00:13:00.039 what should I do about it? 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:03.279 Knowing what is right and what's wrong 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:08.659 puts me in a difficult point where I have to make a decision. 00:13:09.139 --> 00:13:10.699 What should I do about this? 00:13:11.799 --> 00:13:17.480 There's a wonderful movie called Schindler's List about Spielberg. 00:13:18.019 --> 00:13:23.279 About concentration camps and the killing of Jews. 00:13:23.659 --> 00:13:26.019 The movie is in black and white. 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:28.220 It's completely black and white. 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:32.720 This is rather odd because we've had colored movies ever since, 00:13:32.899 --> 00:13:34.899 you know, the early 30s. 00:13:35.579 --> 00:13:38.100 But this movie is in black and white. 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:41.699 Spielberg decided to make it black and white. 00:13:41.860 --> 00:13:43.579 Except for one scene, 00:13:44.179 --> 00:13:47.699 there is a girl who is wearing a red coat. 00:13:48.019 --> 00:13:51.360 And so in a movie that's totally black and white, 00:13:51.539 --> 00:13:56.360 you see this little girl wearing a red coat. 00:13:57.279 --> 00:13:59.240 That's the only time he uses color. 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:02.840 And so when critics asked, 00:14:03.500 --> 00:14:05.319 movie critics asked Spielberg, 00:14:05.740 --> 00:14:06.620 why did you allow, 00:14:07.159 --> 00:14:08.960 why did you shoot that scene like that? 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:10.139 He said, 00:14:10.139 --> 00:14:12.120 because there were so many Germans who said, 00:14:12.280 --> 00:14:12.980 we didn't know, 00:14:13.280 --> 00:14:14.100 we didn't see, 00:14:14.280 --> 00:14:15.540 we weren't aware of it. 00:14:15.900 --> 00:14:18.519 We didn't realize that that was going on. 00:14:19.160 --> 00:14:20.160 And Spielberg says, 00:14:20.420 --> 00:14:23.660 how can you say that you were living in that culture 00:14:23.660 --> 00:14:25.720 and you didn't know what was going on? 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:28.879 How could you see my movie and not notice the red girl? 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:31.740 So it was his way of saying, 00:14:32.019 --> 00:14:33.820 if we know that there is something wrong, 00:14:34.179 --> 00:14:38.000 we cannot turn our face in the other direction 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:39.519 and pretend it doesn't exist. 00:14:39.899 --> 00:14:42.120 We must do what is right 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:45.360 within whatever our powers is. 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:49.200 And the third part of it is that 00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:50.059 when we do, 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:53.960 when we try to do what is right, 00:14:54.039 --> 00:14:55.580 we will face opposition. 00:14:55.580 --> 00:14:59.220 Sometimes the majority will not automatically agree 00:14:59.220 --> 00:15:00.100 with the minority 00:15:00.100 --> 00:15:01.700 and say you're right 00:15:01.700 --> 00:15:03.060 and will champion your cause. 00:15:03.740 --> 00:15:07.080 Sometimes the majority opposes the minority. 00:15:09.540 --> 00:15:13.800 And if you want a wonderful but morbid, 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:14.860 at the same time, 00:15:15.259 --> 00:15:15.520 book, 00:15:15.980 --> 00:15:18.280 read Fox's Book of Martyrs. 00:15:19.500 --> 00:15:22.080 A record of one martyr after the other 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:23.660 who stood up for what is right 00:15:23.659 --> 00:15:26.819 and got himself killed. 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:29.980 James was beheaded. 00:15:30.699 --> 00:15:32.019 Peter was thrown in jail. 00:15:32.659 --> 00:15:34.459 Paul was chained and thrown in jail. 00:15:35.179 --> 00:15:37.059 Many times later on, 00:15:37.699 --> 00:15:39.579 Peter was crucified upside down. 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:41.519 Paul was beheaded in Rome. 00:15:42.299 --> 00:15:43.879 If you stand for the truth, 00:15:44.019 --> 00:15:45.639 sometimes you face problems. 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:50.480 Wilberforce is known for fighting slavery 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:53.940 and causing slavery to be abolished in England. 00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:56.060 But he didn't do it in one day. 00:15:56.860 --> 00:15:59.700 He fought against it for 30 years. 00:16:00.899 --> 00:16:02.039 And many think that 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:02.980 when William Pitt, 00:16:03.080 --> 00:16:04.000 his best friend, 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:07.360 ceased to be the prime minister of England, 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:09.600 many thought that Wilberforce 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:11.500 would become the next prime minister of England. 00:16:11.940 --> 00:16:14.800 But he had developed so many enemies in parliament 00:16:14.800 --> 00:16:17.080 for standing against slavery 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:19.980 when many didn't want slavery, 00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:22.500 that they wouldn't accept him as prime minister. 00:16:22.660 --> 00:16:26.020 So he lost the opportunity to be prime minister 00:16:26.020 --> 00:16:28.580 for the sake of championing the slavery cause. 00:16:28.660 --> 00:16:30.280 But he didn't regret it for a minute. 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:31.840 He didn't regret it. 00:16:32.060 --> 00:16:33.520 It was doing the right thing. 00:16:33.519 --> 00:16:34.600 So, 00:16:35.740 --> 00:16:37.759 you have to accept the fact 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:38.740 that 00:16:38.740 --> 00:16:42.980 we will face opposition. 00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:47.279 I told you what my favorite passage in scriptures is. 00:16:47.819 --> 00:16:49.559 Cursed be the day that I was born. 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:51.460 If you don't think I'm weird, 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:54.059 I'll tell you what my favorite promise in the Bible. 00:16:55.179 --> 00:16:56.199 My students ask me, 00:16:56.399 --> 00:16:58.980 are you standing on the promises of God? 00:16:59.039 --> 00:16:59.419 And I say, 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:01.779 of course I'm standing on the promises of God. 00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:03.500 What's your favorite promise? 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:04.500 You don't want to know. 00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:05.099 Yes, 00:17:05.220 --> 00:17:05.579 tell us. 00:17:05.639 --> 00:17:08.160 Maybe it'll be my favorite promise as well. 00:17:08.700 --> 00:17:10.700 You know what's my favorite promise in the scriptures? 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:12.519 In the world, 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:14.019 you will have tribulations. 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:17.000 So, 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:18.700 I'm expecting tribulations. 00:17:21.079 --> 00:17:22.339 Sometimes I receive it, 00:17:22.420 --> 00:17:24.139 sometimes more often I dish it out. 00:17:24.980 --> 00:17:27.799 But in the world, 00:17:28.399 --> 00:17:29.720 you will have tribulations. 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:33.140 Look at this wonderful passage. 00:17:34.180 --> 00:17:37.079 Please turn with me to Romans chapter 8. 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:42.160 Romans chapter 8 has got to be one of my most favorite passages 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:46.299 because it was the passage that impacted my life deeply. 00:17:47.819 --> 00:17:49.720 It's the passage that starts, 00:17:49.900 --> 00:17:51.900 who can separate us from the love of God? 00:17:52.380 --> 00:17:53.519 And concludes with, 00:17:53.600 --> 00:17:55.940 nothing can separate us from the love of God. 00:17:55.940 --> 00:17:58.380 Those of us who like to be loved, 00:17:58.580 --> 00:17:59.640 that's a great passage, 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:01.700 especially to be loved by God. 00:18:02.140 --> 00:18:03.420 Look at verse 35. 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:07.580 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 00:18:09.660 --> 00:18:11.460 Shall trouble, 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:13.580 or hardship, 00:18:14.460 --> 00:18:15.420 or persecution, 00:18:16.460 --> 00:18:17.480 or famine, 00:18:18.279 --> 00:18:19.420 or nakedness, 00:18:19.740 --> 00:18:20.700 or danger, 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:21.519 or sword? 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:40.879 As it is written, 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:41.980 verse 36, 00:18:42.359 --> 00:18:44.680 please pay attention to verse 36. 00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:48.480 For your sake, 00:18:49.019 --> 00:18:52.220 we face death all day long. 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:55.840 We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. 00:18:56.539 --> 00:18:58.100 Why do we face death? 00:18:58.380 --> 00:18:59.560 Why do we face sword? 00:18:59.940 --> 00:19:01.320 Why do we face hunger? 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:03.460 Why do we face all these things that he lists? 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:04.820 Notice the answer. 00:19:05.320 --> 00:19:07.460 For your sake. 00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:12.779 Because of my commitment to Christ, 00:19:13.360 --> 00:19:15.660 I am experiencing these things. 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:18.079 For your sake. 00:19:21.460 --> 00:19:22.840 Jot down this verse. 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:24.680 Take it and reflect on it. 00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:27.059 Romans 8, 35 and 36. 00:19:27.539 --> 00:19:28.400 For your sake, 00:19:28.620 --> 00:19:30.519 we face death all day long. 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:33.740 I want to take this idea 00:19:33.740 --> 00:19:35.680 and take it to a higher level. 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:37.420 And I want to share with you 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:39.799 something that you may or may not have thought about, 00:19:40.100 --> 00:19:42.340 but it is really important to think about 00:19:42.340 --> 00:19:45.220 in the light of suffering and persecution. 00:19:45.820 --> 00:19:48.200 Turn to Philippians 3, 10. 00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:51.279 It's a familiar verse. 00:19:52.360 --> 00:19:54.019 Philippians 3, 10. 00:19:54.019 --> 00:19:54.080 Philippians 3, 10. 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:09.500 Paul expresses his desires 00:20:09.500 --> 00:20:13.160 about his relationship with Christ. 00:20:13.299 --> 00:20:14.380 And then in verse 10 he says, 00:20:15.060 --> 00:20:16.560 I want to know him. 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:18.539 I want to know Christ 00:20:18.539 --> 00:20:21.400 and the power of his resurrection. 00:20:22.259 --> 00:20:24.480 The power of his resurrection would be fun. 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:26.660 I mean, I'd like to experience that. 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:28.700 It would be fun to walk on water. 00:20:28.700 --> 00:20:31.700 I wonder what the people on the beach would think, 00:20:32.220 --> 00:20:32.519 you know, 00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:34.680 walking on water. 00:20:34.779 --> 00:20:36.420 I'd like to go through this wall without, 00:20:37.019 --> 00:20:37.500 you know, 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:40.360 dematerializing and materializing 00:20:40.360 --> 00:20:42.759 or whatever happens when you go through the wall. 00:20:43.019 --> 00:20:43.680 That would be fun. 00:20:44.779 --> 00:20:46.740 I'd like to feed 5,000 with nothing. 00:20:47.400 --> 00:20:48.759 That's part of his resurrection. 00:20:50.660 --> 00:20:52.779 But he doesn't stop there. 00:20:52.940 --> 00:20:54.740 I want you to read the rest of this verse. 00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:57.120 Philippians 3, 10. 00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:00.480 I want to know Christ 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:02.220 and the power of his resurrection. 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:04.180 And now comes the bad news. 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:08.180 The fellowship of sharing in his suffering. 00:21:09.539 --> 00:21:14.759 I want to share in the fellowship of his suffering. 00:21:17.620 --> 00:21:18.220 Suffering. 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:23.019 This may sound too abstract. 00:21:23.019 --> 00:21:26.019 Let me give you three examples from the Old Testament 00:21:26.019 --> 00:21:27.879 that will help you understand that. 00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:31.500 We're going to look at Moses, Abraham, and Hosea. 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:35.000 Three examples about participating 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:38.519 in the fellowship of God's suffering. 00:21:39.420 --> 00:21:41.160 I want to begin with Moses. 00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:44.119 What I'm going to say is so interesting 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:46.559 that I want you to see it yourself. 00:21:47.400 --> 00:21:50.379 Take a look at Hebrews chapter 11, 00:21:50.579 --> 00:21:52.960 which is saying something about Moses. 00:21:53.779 --> 00:22:00.119 Please turn to Hebrews 11, verse 24. 00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:04.740 Hebrews 11, 24. 00:22:05.299 --> 00:22:09.639 By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, 00:22:10.059 --> 00:22:13.299 refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:18.079 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:22.460 rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short while. 00:22:23.659 --> 00:22:27.559 Moses is making the most important decision of his life. 00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:29.099 Who am I? 00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:30.919 Where do I want to belong? 00:22:31.399 --> 00:22:33.539 Am I part of Egyptian culture? 00:22:33.539 --> 00:22:35.819 Or am I part of Jewish culture? 00:22:36.259 --> 00:22:40.240 If I choose to be in Egypt, I can be prince. 00:22:40.639 --> 00:22:43.139 I am the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 00:22:43.140 --> 00:22:44.300 And who knows? 00:22:44.340 --> 00:22:46.500 If my brother dies, maybe I'll become the next Pharaoh. 00:22:46.980 --> 00:22:48.360 So he's got potential. 00:22:48.540 --> 00:22:49.300 He's got power. 00:22:49.460 --> 00:22:50.620 He has position. 00:22:50.780 --> 00:22:51.480 He has wealth. 00:22:51.820 --> 00:22:52.640 He has armies. 00:22:52.740 --> 00:22:53.700 He has everything. 00:22:54.540 --> 00:22:55.740 On the other hand, 00:22:56.060 --> 00:22:57.560 if he chooses to be a Jew, 00:22:57.860 --> 00:22:58.720 he will suffer. 00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:03.039 And facing these two decisions, 00:23:03.600 --> 00:23:05.519 great wealth or great suffering, 00:23:06.140 --> 00:23:07.339 to my great surprise, 00:23:07.460 --> 00:23:09.920 he chooses suffering over wealth. 00:23:10.440 --> 00:23:12.700 Who in his right mind would do that? 00:23:13.860 --> 00:23:15.620 If one of my students said that to me, 00:23:15.660 --> 00:23:16.360 I'd yell at him. 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:19.019 But why? 00:23:19.539 --> 00:23:22.299 Why on earth did he choose that? 00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:26.740 Looking at 11, 24 again. 00:23:26.740 --> 00:23:29.380 By faith, 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:31.259 Moses, when he had grown up, 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:34.279 refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:38.740 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God 00:23:38.740 --> 00:23:42.539 rather than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a short while. 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:44.480 Look at verse 26. 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:45.960 If that's not a fabulous verse, 00:23:46.019 --> 00:23:48.039 I don't know what a fabulous verse looks like. 00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:53.079 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ 00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:55.299 as of greater value 00:23:55.299 --> 00:23:57.279 than the treasures of Egypt. 00:23:58.220 --> 00:23:59.799 Why am I going to choose this? 00:24:00.159 --> 00:24:03.180 For the disgrace of Christ. 00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:05.319 How much he knew about Christ? 00:24:05.500 --> 00:24:07.299 How much he knew about the disgrace of Christ? 00:24:07.859 --> 00:24:09.319 I'll have to ask him in heaven. 00:24:09.539 --> 00:24:10.740 But he knew enough 00:24:10.740 --> 00:24:12.940 to make the most important decision 00:24:12.940 --> 00:24:15.559 based on the disgrace of Christ. 00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:18.139 Think about that. 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:20.240 Keeping that in mind, 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:24.620 I want you to turn to Exodus chapter 32. 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:27.620 A passage that you may or may not know. 00:24:28.259 --> 00:24:30.559 But it is a wonderful passage. 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:32.740 One of the finest passages 00:24:32.740 --> 00:24:34.160 about understanding, 00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:35.680 having fellowship 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:38.839 with suffering. 00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:40.779 The power of his resurrection 00:24:40.779 --> 00:24:42.279 and the fellowship of his suffering. 00:24:43.160 --> 00:24:45.160 Exodus chapter 32. 00:24:45.160 --> 00:24:47.800 This is after the episode 00:24:47.800 --> 00:24:51.960 of the golden calf. 00:24:52.140 --> 00:24:52.980 God had told them 00:24:52.980 --> 00:24:54.140 in the Ten Commandments, 00:24:54.580 --> 00:24:56.400 you shall have no other gods before me. 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:57.279 Don't make an image. 00:24:57.400 --> 00:24:58.080 Don't worship it. 00:24:58.440 --> 00:24:59.960 They ignored all three commandments. 00:25:00.600 --> 00:25:02.220 And they decided to worship 00:25:02.220 --> 00:25:04.500 this image that they made. 00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:06.000 And of course, 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:07.160 it was a terrible thing. 00:25:07.859 --> 00:25:09.640 And Moses decides 00:25:09.640 --> 00:25:14.000 to try to plead on their behalf. 00:25:14.180 --> 00:25:15.339 To try to talk to God 00:25:15.339 --> 00:25:16.019 and ask God 00:25:16.019 --> 00:25:19.700 if God would consider forgiving them. 00:25:20.339 --> 00:25:21.940 And so in chapter 32, 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:24.579 verse 30, 00:25:25.420 --> 00:25:26.539 look at this. 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:29.640 32, 30. 00:25:30.980 --> 00:25:32.480 The next day, 00:25:32.940 --> 00:25:34.279 Exodus 32, 30. 00:25:34.500 --> 00:25:35.200 Please turn to it. 00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:36.660 The next day, 00:25:36.859 --> 00:25:38.180 Moses said to the people, 00:25:38.900 --> 00:25:40.940 you have committed a great sin, 00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:44.140 but now I will go to the Lord. 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:47.059 Perhaps I can make atonement 00:25:47.059 --> 00:25:48.299 for your sin. 00:25:49.099 --> 00:25:50.920 The word there is very important. 00:25:51.259 --> 00:25:53.559 Perhaps I can make atonement 00:25:53.559 --> 00:25:55.180 for your sin. 00:25:55.859 --> 00:25:58.160 So Moses went back to the Lord 00:25:58.160 --> 00:25:58.759 and said, 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:00.700 oh, what a great sin 00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:02.200 these people have committed. 00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:04.259 They have made themselves 00:26:04.259 --> 00:26:05.480 God of gold. 00:26:05.880 --> 00:26:06.799 But now, 00:26:07.400 --> 00:26:08.700 please forgive them. 00:26:09.799 --> 00:26:11.039 Please forgive their sins. 00:26:11.860 --> 00:26:12.819 But if not, 00:26:13.559 --> 00:26:14.539 if you're not willing 00:26:14.539 --> 00:26:15.720 to forgive their sins, 00:26:16.340 --> 00:26:17.840 then blot me out 00:26:17.840 --> 00:26:18.580 of the book 00:26:18.580 --> 00:26:20.420 you have written. 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:22.799 Blot me out 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:23.519 from the book 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:24.340 that you have written. 00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:26.600 Moses did not 00:26:26.600 --> 00:26:27.900 worship the golden calf. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:29.620 Moses was not involved 00:26:29.619 --> 00:26:30.579 in the golden calf. 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:32.279 Moses did not participate 00:26:32.279 --> 00:26:33.939 with the golden calf. 00:26:34.439 --> 00:26:35.459 Moses was against 00:26:35.459 --> 00:26:36.459 the golden calf. 00:26:37.159 --> 00:26:38.839 But he is asking God 00:26:38.839 --> 00:26:39.639 to forgive them. 00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:41.579 And if God says, 00:26:41.719 --> 00:26:41.859 no, 00:26:41.979 --> 00:26:43.419 this sin is too terrible, 00:26:43.559 --> 00:26:44.579 I can't forgive them. 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:45.559 Moses says, 00:26:45.639 --> 00:26:46.119 can I give you 00:26:46.119 --> 00:26:47.019 another option? 00:26:47.739 --> 00:26:48.679 Blot me 00:26:48.679 --> 00:26:49.879 out of the book 00:26:49.879 --> 00:26:50.379 of life. 00:26:50.879 --> 00:26:52.019 Why is he saying that? 00:26:52.019 --> 00:26:53.519 What did he want to do? 00:26:54.139 --> 00:26:55.500 Make atonement. 00:26:56.119 --> 00:26:57.599 So think now with me 00:26:57.599 --> 00:26:58.599 just for a second. 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:01.740 We have an innocent man 00:27:01.740 --> 00:27:03.839 who loves his people 00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:05.779 and they have sinned 00:27:05.779 --> 00:27:07.720 and alienated from God. 00:27:07.900 --> 00:27:09.279 So he wants to make 00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:10.339 atonement for them. 00:27:10.619 --> 00:27:11.559 And in the process 00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:12.940 of making atonement, 00:27:13.160 --> 00:27:14.579 he offers his own life. 00:27:15.460 --> 00:27:16.839 Where else 00:27:16.839 --> 00:27:18.500 will we see that? 00:27:18.500 --> 00:27:21.339 At that moment, 00:27:21.579 --> 00:27:22.839 what is Moses 00:27:22.839 --> 00:27:24.200 participating in? 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:26.660 And I don't know 00:27:26.660 --> 00:27:27.839 how much he knows about it. 00:27:28.279 --> 00:27:29.259 But he did make 00:27:29.259 --> 00:27:30.400 the most important decision 00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:31.339 based on the suffering 00:27:31.339 --> 00:27:31.920 of Christ. 00:27:33.940 --> 00:27:34.519 Moses, 00:27:34.859 --> 00:27:35.819 in many ways, 00:27:35.940 --> 00:27:36.940 is like Jesus. 00:27:37.859 --> 00:27:39.200 As Jesus goes 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:39.920 to the cross 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:41.019 in a very much 00:27:41.019 --> 00:27:41.960 smaller way, 00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:43.460 Moses is willing 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:44.519 to make atonement. 00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:45.960 Moses 00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:47.860 is experiencing 00:27:47.860 --> 00:27:48.519 something 00:27:48.519 --> 00:27:49.860 that Jesus 00:27:49.860 --> 00:27:51.180 will experience 00:27:51.180 --> 00:27:51.840 on a much 00:27:51.840 --> 00:27:52.700 grander scale. 00:27:54.620 --> 00:27:55.680 Let's look 00:27:55.680 --> 00:27:56.519 at Abraham. 00:27:57.440 --> 00:27:58.660 Genesis 22. 00:28:03.420 --> 00:28:04.420 Sometime later, 00:28:04.700 --> 00:28:05.559 Genesis 22. 00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:06.539 This is the sacrifice 00:28:06.539 --> 00:28:07.100 of Isaac. 00:28:08.059 --> 00:28:08.980 Sometime later, 00:28:10.019 --> 00:28:11.460 God tested Abraham. 00:28:12.220 --> 00:28:13.019 He said to him, 00:28:13.319 --> 00:28:13.620 Abraham, 00:28:14.120 --> 00:28:14.920 here I am. 00:28:14.920 --> 00:28:16.259 He replied, 00:28:16.820 --> 00:28:17.940 then God said, 00:28:18.360 --> 00:28:19.460 take your son, 00:28:20.019 --> 00:28:21.160 your only son, 00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:22.259 Isaac, 00:28:22.500 --> 00:28:23.560 whom you love, 00:28:24.100 --> 00:28:25.320 and go to the 00:28:25.320 --> 00:28:26.740 region of Moriah 00:28:26.740 --> 00:28:28.240 and sacrifice him 00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:29.740 there as a burnt 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:30.180 offering. 00:28:31.460 --> 00:28:32.720 Take your son, 00:28:33.300 --> 00:28:34.200 your only son, 00:28:34.800 --> 00:28:35.900 the one that you love, 00:28:36.259 --> 00:28:37.259 and offer him 00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:38.600 as a sacrifice. 00:28:40.100 --> 00:28:41.060 Do you remember 00:28:41.060 --> 00:28:42.400 what the voice 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:43.340 said at Jesus' 00:28:43.560 --> 00:28:43.940 baptism? 00:28:43.940 --> 00:28:44.080 baptism, 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:46.100 this is my 00:28:46.100 --> 00:28:47.080 beloved son 00:28:47.080 --> 00:28:48.019 in whom I am 00:28:48.019 --> 00:28:48.500 pleased. 00:28:49.460 --> 00:28:51.680 And the voice 00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:52.340 at the 00:28:52.340 --> 00:28:52.799 baptism, 00:28:57.080 --> 00:28:57.820 I'm sorry, 00:28:58.059 --> 00:28:59.620 I'm sorry, 00:28:59.880 --> 00:29:00.620 this is my beloved 00:29:00.620 --> 00:29:01.360 son in whom I am 00:29:01.360 --> 00:29:01.559 pleased. 00:29:01.840 --> 00:29:02.420 And then at 00:29:02.420 --> 00:29:03.400 John 3.16, 00:29:04.299 --> 00:29:05.400 God so loved 00:29:05.400 --> 00:29:05.960 the world 00:29:05.960 --> 00:29:07.000 that he gave 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:07.799 his only 00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:08.860 begotten son, 00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:10.460 his only begotten 00:29:10.460 --> 00:29:10.700 son, 00:29:10.799 --> 00:29:11.660 the one he loves. 00:29:11.660 --> 00:29:12.880 where is that 00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:14.100 quoting from? 00:29:14.900 --> 00:29:15.600 It's quoting 00:29:15.600 --> 00:29:16.400 from Genesis 00:29:16.400 --> 00:29:17.820 22. 00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:19.320 Abraham 00:29:19.320 --> 00:29:20.480 loves the 00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:20.820 son, 00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:21.680 but he is 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:22.060 going to 00:29:22.060 --> 00:29:22.740 offer him, 00:29:22.860 --> 00:29:23.660 the only one, 00:29:23.860 --> 00:29:24.560 the one that he 00:29:24.560 --> 00:29:24.800 loves, 00:29:24.940 --> 00:29:25.420 he is going to 00:29:25.420 --> 00:29:26.140 offer him as a 00:29:26.140 --> 00:29:26.560 sacrifice. 00:29:27.600 --> 00:29:28.180 And guess what 00:29:28.180 --> 00:29:28.759 the father is 00:29:28.759 --> 00:29:29.360 going to do on 00:29:29.360 --> 00:29:29.800 the cross? 00:29:30.800 --> 00:29:31.500 Offer his 00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:31.800 son, 00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:33.100 his only son, 00:29:33.500 --> 00:29:34.180 the one that 00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:34.640 he loves, 00:29:35.180 --> 00:29:35.680 and going to 00:29:35.680 --> 00:29:36.400 offer him as a 00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:36.820 sacrifice. 00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:39.599 I don't know 00:29:39.599 --> 00:29:40.039 how much 00:29:40.039 --> 00:29:41.359 Abraham understood 00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:43.059 that his 00:29:43.059 --> 00:29:43.960 actions will 00:29:43.960 --> 00:29:44.899 in many ways 00:29:44.899 --> 00:29:45.960 mirror or 00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:47.039 echo or 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:48.799 anticipate or 00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:49.700 are forerunners, 00:29:49.819 --> 00:29:51.200 a preview of 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:51.779 the cross. 00:29:52.759 --> 00:29:53.319 And then let's 00:29:53.319 --> 00:29:53.899 take a look at 00:29:53.899 --> 00:29:54.339 Hosea. 00:29:55.019 --> 00:29:55.819 God tells him, 00:29:55.899 --> 00:29:56.439 take a woman 00:29:56.439 --> 00:29:57.899 of adultery, 00:29:58.000 --> 00:29:58.480 the Hebrew is 00:29:58.480 --> 00:29:59.079 very difficult, 00:30:00.700 --> 00:30:03.039 it's hard to 00:30:03.039 --> 00:30:03.460 know how to 00:30:03.460 --> 00:30:04.059 translate it. 00:30:04.059 --> 00:30:05.460 It means 00:30:05.460 --> 00:30:06.059 either that 00:30:06.059 --> 00:30:07.220 she was a 00:30:07.220 --> 00:30:08.039 prostitute when 00:30:08.039 --> 00:30:08.799 he married her 00:30:08.799 --> 00:30:09.899 or immediately 00:30:09.899 --> 00:30:11.179 became a 00:30:11.179 --> 00:30:12.119 prostitute after 00:30:12.119 --> 00:30:12.980 he married her. 00:30:13.419 --> 00:30:14.379 But he 00:30:14.379 --> 00:30:14.980 marries this 00:30:14.980 --> 00:30:16.639 woman and 00:30:16.639 --> 00:30:18.799 she betrays 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:19.059 him, 00:30:19.559 --> 00:30:20.099 she cheats 00:30:20.099 --> 00:30:20.679 on him, 00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:21.659 she runs 00:30:21.659 --> 00:30:22.460 after other 00:30:22.460 --> 00:30:22.799 men, 00:30:23.559 --> 00:30:24.460 she chases 00:30:24.460 --> 00:30:25.519 her lovers, 00:30:26.139 --> 00:30:26.679 she is not 00:30:26.679 --> 00:30:27.399 faithful to 00:30:27.399 --> 00:30:27.619 him, 00:30:28.159 --> 00:30:28.899 and he is 00:30:28.899 --> 00:30:29.539 having a 00:30:29.539 --> 00:30:30.839 very horrible 00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:32.179 married life. 00:30:32.180 --> 00:30:34.799 But God 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:35.900 asked Hosea 00:30:35.900 --> 00:30:37.019 that in 00:30:37.019 --> 00:30:37.600 order to 00:30:37.600 --> 00:30:38.120 help him, 00:30:38.299 --> 00:30:38.720 if you look 00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:39.100 the first 00:30:39.100 --> 00:30:39.720 three chapters 00:30:39.720 --> 00:30:40.480 in Hosea, 00:30:41.220 --> 00:30:42.440 because as 00:30:42.440 --> 00:30:43.279 he experiences 00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:44.320 this unfaithful 00:30:44.320 --> 00:30:44.660 wife, 00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:45.480 this adultery, 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:46.320 this betrayal, 00:30:46.640 --> 00:30:47.680 this lack of 00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:48.240 faithfulness, 00:30:48.580 --> 00:30:49.600 he realizes that 00:30:49.600 --> 00:30:50.480 God too is 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:51.019 married to 00:30:51.019 --> 00:30:51.420 Israel, 00:30:52.180 --> 00:30:53.140 and God 00:30:53.140 --> 00:30:53.980 is going 00:30:53.980 --> 00:30:54.480 through the 00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:55.100 same thing. 00:30:55.799 --> 00:30:56.700 Israel doesn't 00:30:56.700 --> 00:30:57.180 love him, 00:30:57.600 --> 00:30:58.180 Israel is 00:30:58.180 --> 00:30:58.820 unfaithful, 00:30:59.259 --> 00:30:59.799 Israel is 00:30:59.799 --> 00:31:00.519 betraying him, 00:31:00.920 --> 00:31:01.460 Israel is 00:31:01.460 --> 00:31:02.140 chasing other 00:31:02.140 --> 00:31:02.539 gods, 00:31:03.180 --> 00:31:03.819 Israel is 00:31:03.819 --> 00:31:05.340 not following 00:31:05.340 --> 00:31:06.940 her husband. 00:31:08.680 --> 00:31:10.039 So Hosea 00:31:10.039 --> 00:31:10.980 is experiencing 00:31:10.980 --> 00:31:12.259 what God 00:31:12.259 --> 00:31:13.240 is experiencing, 00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:15.279 Abraham is 00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:15.860 experiencing 00:31:15.860 --> 00:31:17.759 what the 00:31:17.759 --> 00:31:19.380 father will 00:31:19.380 --> 00:31:19.940 do at the 00:31:19.940 --> 00:31:20.340 cross, 00:31:20.880 --> 00:31:21.860 Moses is 00:31:21.860 --> 00:31:22.400 experiencing 00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:23.340 what Jesus 00:31:23.340 --> 00:31:25.860 will do. 00:31:27.340 --> 00:31:28.380 So when he 00:31:28.380 --> 00:31:29.079 says that I 00:31:29.079 --> 00:31:29.819 may know him 00:31:29.819 --> 00:31:30.779 and the power 00:31:30.779 --> 00:31:31.099 of his 00:31:31.099 --> 00:31:31.619 resurrection 00:31:31.619 --> 00:31:32.460 and the 00:31:32.460 --> 00:31:32.779 fellowship 00:31:32.779 --> 00:31:33.200 of his 00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:33.599 suffering, 00:31:34.000 --> 00:31:34.779 it means 00:31:34.779 --> 00:31:36.180 on rare 00:31:36.180 --> 00:31:36.940 occasions, 00:31:37.079 --> 00:31:37.420 rare, 00:31:38.680 --> 00:31:39.500 on rare 00:31:39.500 --> 00:31:40.099 occasions, 00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:41.259 God will 00:31:41.259 --> 00:31:42.420 open his 00:31:42.420 --> 00:31:43.039 private 00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:44.259 emotional life, 00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:45.160 he will 00:31:45.160 --> 00:31:45.720 open a 00:31:45.720 --> 00:31:46.680 window and 00:31:46.680 --> 00:31:47.299 let us 00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:48.019 look in. 00:31:48.920 --> 00:31:49.740 God will 00:31:49.740 --> 00:31:50.539 allow us 00:31:50.539 --> 00:31:51.339 to see 00:31:51.339 --> 00:31:52.980 what he 00:31:52.980 --> 00:31:53.720 is going 00:31:53.720 --> 00:31:54.079 through. 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:58.500 so God 00:31:58.500 --> 00:31:59.519 wants us 00:31:59.519 --> 00:31:59.819 to be 00:31:59.819 --> 00:32:00.079 his 00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:00.599 friends, 00:32:01.039 --> 00:32:01.980 part of 00:32:01.980 --> 00:32:02.359 friendship 00:32:02.359 --> 00:32:02.859 is not 00:32:02.859 --> 00:32:03.319 just to 00:32:03.319 --> 00:32:03.819 show what 00:32:03.819 --> 00:32:04.379 is good, 00:32:04.740 --> 00:32:05.559 but also 00:32:05.559 --> 00:32:06.619 the other 00:32:06.619 --> 00:32:07.079 side. 00:32:08.639 --> 00:32:09.199 The power 00:32:09.199 --> 00:32:09.579 of the 00:32:09.579 --> 00:32:10.099 resurrection, 00:32:10.839 --> 00:32:11.339 the fellowship 00:32:11.339 --> 00:32:11.819 of his 00:32:11.819 --> 00:32:12.179 suffering. 00:32:12.779 --> 00:32:13.720 So as I 00:32:13.720 --> 00:32:14.460 suffer for 00:32:14.460 --> 00:32:14.980 Christ, 00:32:15.939 --> 00:32:16.939 I don't 00:32:16.939 --> 00:32:17.399 say, oh 00:32:17.399 --> 00:32:18.039 how terrible, 00:32:18.519 --> 00:32:19.000 I say 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:19.659 hallelujah, 00:32:20.259 --> 00:32:21.000 praise God, 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:22.779 the Lord 00:32:22.779 --> 00:32:23.579 thinks I 00:32:23.579 --> 00:32:25.019 should 00:32:25.019 --> 00:32:25.799 experience 00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:27.599 persecution 00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:28.119 for the 00:32:28.119 --> 00:32:28.500 sake of 00:32:28.500 --> 00:32:28.880 Christ. 00:32:30.740 --> 00:32:31.440 When they 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:31.839 came to 00:32:31.839 --> 00:32:32.200 arrest 00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:33.119 Polycarp, 00:32:33.240 --> 00:32:33.559 who was 00:32:33.559 --> 00:32:34.279 about 95, 00:32:34.700 --> 00:32:35.359 Polycarp 00:32:35.359 --> 00:32:36.099 was John's 00:32:36.099 --> 00:32:36.559 disciple, 00:32:37.240 --> 00:32:37.440 he was 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:38.039 about 95 00:32:38.039 --> 00:32:38.619 years old, 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:39.420 and they 00:32:39.420 --> 00:32:40.019 didn't want 00:32:40.019 --> 00:32:40.440 to arrest 00:32:40.440 --> 00:32:40.680 him, 00:32:40.799 --> 00:32:41.000 I mean, 00:32:41.119 --> 00:32:42.720 he was 00:32:42.720 --> 00:32:43.299 known for 00:32:43.299 --> 00:32:43.759 being so 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:44.279 godly and 00:32:44.279 --> 00:32:44.660 wonderful, 00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:45.779 and they 00:32:45.779 --> 00:32:45.960 said, 00:32:46.380 --> 00:32:46.880 please, 00:32:47.119 --> 00:32:47.500 deny, 00:32:47.680 --> 00:32:48.420 deny Jesus, 00:32:48.619 --> 00:32:49.019 even if you 00:32:49.019 --> 00:32:49.400 don't mean 00:32:49.400 --> 00:32:49.599 it, 00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:50.960 just say 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:51.180 it, 00:32:51.480 --> 00:32:51.819 so we 00:32:51.819 --> 00:32:52.160 can let 00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:52.600 you go. 00:32:53.480 --> 00:32:53.660 And 00:32:53.660 --> 00:32:54.259 Polycarp 00:32:54.259 --> 00:32:54.440 says, 00:32:54.519 --> 00:32:54.700 I've 00:32:54.700 --> 00:32:55.000 served 00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:55.799 him for 00:32:55.799 --> 00:32:56.620 all these 00:32:56.620 --> 00:32:57.340 years, 00:32:57.860 --> 00:32:58.259 faithfully, 00:32:58.380 --> 00:32:58.759 and now 00:32:58.759 --> 00:32:59.039 you do 00:32:59.039 --> 00:32:59.519 want me to 00:32:59.519 --> 00:32:59.980 deny him 00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:00.420 in one 00:33:00.420 --> 00:33:00.759 sentence? 00:33:03.140 --> 00:33:03.740 And then 00:33:03.740 --> 00:33:04.019 he said, 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:04.460 it's an 00:33:04.460 --> 00:33:05.519 honor to 00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:06.079 die like 00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:06.420 Jesus. 00:33:06.940 --> 00:33:07.440 It's an 00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:07.819 honor. 00:33:09.079 --> 00:33:09.539 It's an 00:33:09.539 --> 00:33:09.840 honor. 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:12.299 So why 00:33:12.299 --> 00:33:12.660 do we go 00:33:12.660 --> 00:33:12.860 through 00:33:12.860 --> 00:33:13.519 hardships? 00:33:14.420 --> 00:33:14.900 Sometimes 00:33:14.900 --> 00:33:15.660 because we 00:33:15.660 --> 00:33:16.000 bring it 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:16.559 on ourselves. 00:33:17.460 --> 00:33:17.920 We commit 00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:18.240 crimes, 00:33:18.340 --> 00:33:18.660 we suffer 00:33:18.660 --> 00:33:19.319 the consequences. 00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:20.980 Why do 00:33:20.980 --> 00:33:21.220 we go 00:33:21.220 --> 00:33:21.419 through 00:33:21.419 --> 00:33:21.839 hardships? 00:33:22.220 --> 00:33:22.980 Because we 00:33:22.980 --> 00:33:23.559 stand for 00:33:23.559 --> 00:33:23.919 what is 00:33:23.919 --> 00:33:24.839 right and 00:33:24.839 --> 00:33:25.740 are willing 00:33:25.740 --> 00:33:26.279 to face 00:33:26.279 --> 00:33:28.299 opposition from 00:33:28.299 --> 00:33:28.700 those who 00:33:28.700 --> 00:33:29.279 disagree with 00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:31.899 us while 00:33:31.899 --> 00:33:32.599 loving them, 00:33:32.819 --> 00:33:33.220 not while 00:33:33.220 --> 00:33:33.759 hating them, 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:34.720 loving them, 00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:35.839 loving them. 00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:39.159 And thirdly, 00:33:39.339 --> 00:33:40.299 we go through 00:33:40.299 --> 00:33:41.200 suffering because 00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:41.980 God on 00:33:41.980 --> 00:33:43.000 occasion says, 00:33:43.779 --> 00:33:44.299 I want to 00:33:44.299 --> 00:33:45.000 have a deeper 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:45.899 relationship with 00:33:45.899 --> 00:33:46.099 you. 00:33:46.099 --> 00:33:47.119 I want 00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:47.399 you to 00:33:47.399 --> 00:33:48.000 see my 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:48.379 private 00:33:48.379 --> 00:33:48.779 life. 00:33:49.859 --> 00:33:50.599 And that, 00:33:50.839 --> 00:33:51.059 I think, 00:33:51.099 --> 00:33:51.719 is just a 00:33:51.719 --> 00:33:52.059 wonderful 00:33:52.059 --> 00:33:52.439 honor. 00:33:54.539 --> 00:33:55.179 Let me 00:33:55.179 --> 00:33:55.559 pray for 00:33:55.559 --> 00:33:55.740 you. 00:33:56.500 --> 00:33:56.899 Lord 00:33:56.899 --> 00:33:57.159 Father, 00:33:57.279 --> 00:33:57.639 thank you 00:33:57.639 --> 00:33:58.299 for this 00:33:58.299 --> 00:34:00.219 congregation. 00:34:00.819 --> 00:34:01.219 Thank you 00:34:01.219 --> 00:34:01.659 for my 00:34:01.659 --> 00:34:02.240 brothers and 00:34:02.240 --> 00:34:02.599 sisters. 00:34:05.019 --> 00:34:05.679 Thank you 00:34:05.679 --> 00:34:06.639 for how 00:34:06.639 --> 00:34:07.219 you're working 00:34:07.219 --> 00:34:07.839 in all of 00:34:07.839 --> 00:34:08.539 our lives. 00:34:09.900 --> 00:34:10.699 I pray 00:34:10.699 --> 00:34:11.179 that we 00:34:11.179 --> 00:34:11.779 would love 00:34:11.779 --> 00:34:13.299 you and 00:34:13.299 --> 00:34:13.940 love our 00:34:13.940 --> 00:34:14.319 neighbors. 00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:15.640 help us 00:34:15.640 --> 00:34:16.059 to be 00:34:16.059 --> 00:34:17.760 faithful to 00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:18.080 you, 00:34:18.519 --> 00:34:19.220 whether it's 00:34:19.220 --> 00:34:19.820 easy or 00:34:19.820 --> 00:34:20.240 difficult, 00:34:21.200 --> 00:34:22.320 whether we 00:34:22.320 --> 00:34:22.940 are blessed 00:34:22.940 --> 00:34:24.680 or persecuted. 00:34:25.680 --> 00:34:26.460 Help us 00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:26.760 to be 00:34:26.760 --> 00:34:27.300 faithful to 00:34:27.300 --> 00:34:28.260 you and 00:34:28.260 --> 00:34:28.860 to appreciate 00:34:28.860 --> 00:34:29.320 you. 00:34:30.860 --> 00:34:31.700 I ask 00:34:31.700 --> 00:34:32.180 these things 00:34:32.180 --> 00:34:32.720 both for 00:34:32.720 --> 00:34:33.700 myself and 00:34:33.700 --> 00:34:34.559 the congregation. 00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:35.860 In Jesus' 00:34:36.100 --> 00:34:36.320 name, 00:34:36.940 --> 00:34:37.140 amen.