Finding Hope and Strength in Life's Trials

My little boy is running again you know he can run he's he's in the arms of God and he's whole again and it's just you know it's it's one thing for me to sing a song like we did you know blessed be the name of the Lord you know when things are okay but but but for some of you and I'm sure it's true of a lot of you in this room that things aren't okay right now things aren't easy right now and for you to still be able to sing blessed be the name that's the whole idea of that song was job you know wrote those words said those words I should say you know when his whole life was falling apart I'm saying you know what God gives God takes away but that's not going to affect my worship of him I'm going to worship him when things are easy when things are fun when things are comfortable and I'm going to worship Him when life is difficult [00:01:44]

Chuck has uh Chuck is now stepping down from his employment here at Cornerstone as our student ministry's Pastor for two reasons one is to work on these issues in his life um and uh the the Elder board myself we're all going to be working with him on this the other reason is because of his business he now has some obligation some responsibilities there that he wants to focus on and and to make right and so it's a process that he's going through and um I believe this is a good process I believe this is the right thing to do the whole Elder boore is in agreement on this and Chuck is in agreement with this as well [00:04:18]

I have this amazing ability to overlook impure motives and just focus on my pure motives and uh I have that in pretty much everything I do but in this case the best way I could describe it to you is that I was like Eve in the garden and in Genesis chapter 3 what what I mean by this is this uh she knew knew what God had said about the tree in the middle of the garden not to eat from it she's talking to the serpent and and the Serpent's causing her to think about some things saying some things that are contrary to what God has already said and she's thinking about it when she looks at the tree she sees good things she sees it's good to eat and it's uh pleasing to my eyes and you know I got to eat and God wants to give me the desires my heart and she also looks she says it's good to make one wise you know God gave me this brain and so when she looks at this tree all she sees is the pure motives the pure things that maybe she can rationalize or Justify in the sight of God and then she rationalizes to a point where she follows through and she acts on it [00:05:35]

I feel like the more and more I'm getting into my heart and and the way I can describe it to you is is uh a couple years ago my wife and I were in Italy and we were on the coast and there was these train tracks I took pictures of it you know and these train tracks going into this tunnel it was an awesome site but I realized that as I think about that you know you can sit on a train and you can go through the tunnel Just Close Your Eyes hold your breath till you get to the other side but I just feel like the further further away I get the you know these last four weeks I just been in the tunnel and not even on the train I'm just once you get in the tunnel it's it's cold and it's damp and it's dark and there's garbage everywhere and you look on the walls and there's graffiti and U I just I finally feel like I'm getting into the tunnel of my heart and I feel like uh the more and more I time I spend away and just to focus on that it's going to be better for me and uh better for you too better for the church [00:08:03]

I just love that I mean you know it was it was it was just such a beautiful illustration of it's like wow that is what he does you know as as where these New Creations I mean that's the thing I always Marvel at god with is is how can you take my mess or whatever you want to call it you know the stuff that I've done and actually turn into something so beautiful So Glorious and and that's where it's like God I'm I'm amazed I'm constantly amazed at how you've done that in this church and even through the most difficult and the hardest and even ugly situations you make something beautiful of it and and that's that's so true of so many of our Lives as we look now you just go God how did you pull me out of that how'd you take me from there and give me this type of life and this type of Joy I I didn't think it was ever possible but that's what God loves to do [00:18:59]

God's desire is is that he takes us through this process so at the end of our Lives we become mature complete not lacking anything that's his desire see but a lot of times we don't think about that a lot of times we don't want that and we don't think about oh I wonder what type of man I'm going to be at the end of my life I wonder what type of woman I'm going to be at the end of my life a lot of times we don't think about God taking us to this process to make us mature and complete when we think about our relationship with God we think about the here and now and we want to come before God and go God make me happy right now okay take all the pain out of my life right now make me comfortable right now make life easy right now cuz that's what I like and yet God's saying well actually I'm in your life to complete you to mature you so at the end of your life you're mature complete not lacking in anything [00:20:01]

There was a man named Joseph a member of the council a good and upright man I don't know I just something about that hit me as I was looking at this passage this week that he was remembered for being good and the word upright is literally the word righteous and when you see this word used throughout scripture and even the word good these words are not used lightly I mean you hear verses that say no no one's good you know we're we're all unrighteous and yet the character what was was said about this man he was good and righteous he was known for that and and I guess I don't know a lot of people who are known for that think about that you know who do you know that you that they're just known for being good and righteous we live in a world where everyone lifts up accomplishments appearance success and and I guess I what I'm asking you is is that what you want do you want to be known for your accomplishments your appearance or for your character at the end of your life what do you want people to say about you [00:27:54]

Joseph was a part of this Council but it says in those few words he never consented to this he never consented to their decision nor their action and I love that because okay first you got to understand this Council that he was a part of this was the government this was the governing board okay this was the Sanhedrin it was called it was made up of of 71 people and they patterned it after the Old Testament with Moses in the Book of Numbers when he had his Council of 70 men and they LED they were the government of all of Israel they're the government of of the Jewish Nation okay so that continued on and even though now with the Jews being under the Roman Empire the Roman Empire recognized the Sanhedrin as the government you know and gave them some sort of autonomy and so here's the governing board Joseph is a prominent man he's a part of this board this whole board is the same board that is screaming for the crucifixion of Jesus and Joseph stands against it all and says no this isn't right [00:28:39]

He was waiting for the kingdom of God see this guy was looking for the kingdom of God is what what waiting literally means he was looking for it he wasn't he wasn't looking for all these other things that everyone else in the world chases he wasn't thinking about building his own kingdom his own Mansion his own possessions his Focus was on Eternal things he was waiting for the kingdom of God and what the New Testament teaches is that all of us all of us as Christians are supposed to be eagerly awaiting the return of Christ that we're we're not supposed to be eagerly you know building a home for ourselves in fact the Bible says that we are supposed to live as aliens on this Earth in the sense of you know what I don't belong down here I'm just here for a little while I'm going to you know do what God calls me to do but this isn't my home I I've got an eternal home in heaven and I can't wait to get there I can't wait till Christ returns I can't wait till the day of my death I can't wait to just get up there because I'm building an eternal home I'm making sacrifices here on the earth that'll have eternal repercussions rewards you know and I'm looking forward to that day [00:31:11]

A person of character doesn't just love and have these emotions for God but he does everything he can to obey God's word it's not just a love for the person but it's a love for his words because God says you know that's that's a part of who I am the word the Psalms even say that he's exalted his word above his name you know this is this is important and and we have to look and say you know to sum up is this you are you known for your character of being righteous and good are you willing to stand against the majority a person who stands for what right what's right even if the whole world is against you is that that you are you a person who's focused on spiritual things that the life to come or are you caught up in what everyone else is in this world are you known for just being in love with Jesus intimate with him a love relationship and are you known as a person who is serious about God's word and and obeying it [00:36:34]

I just remember sitting at that church service with a guy who just was ready to kill himself and realizing you know what there are probably people like that in every service and the preacher probably didn't even know he had no idea of who was sitting next to me but you know I knew it was going on this guy's life and I don't know what's happened in your life all I know is that it's been an intense intense summer for a lot a lot of people and I don't want to be insensitive to that and if you need prayer today you know don't don't sing the song come up and and there'll be someone to pray with you if if maybe you you hear even Chuck's testimony and go you know what there's some junk in my life I need to clean out because I don't have peace either and you want to do that and you just want to pray with someone someone to help you with it'll be up here or maybe it's going you know this first time I heard the the message of what Jesus did and I'm ready to get baptized then come up and do that but just do whatever God's called you to do because that's how you get peace [00:46:12]