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[00:00:00] Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified
[00:00:06] just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men,
[00:00:11] for not all have faith.
[00:00:13] But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one, and
[00:00:19] we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things
[00:00:23] we command you.
[00:00:25] Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.
[00:00:31] But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw
[00:00:35] from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which
[00:00:39] he received from us.
[00:00:41] For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among
[00:00:46] you, nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil
[00:00:52] that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but
[00:00:56] to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
[00:01:00] For even when we were with you, we commanded you this, If anyone will not work, neither
[00:01:05] shall he eat.
[00:01:06] For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not
[00:01:10] working at all, but are busybodies.
[00:01:12] Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they
[00:01:16] work in quietness and eat their own bread.
[00:01:19] But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.
[00:01:23] And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep
[00:01:27] company with him, that he may be ashamed.
[00:01:30] Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
[00:01:33] Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace always and every way.
[00:01:37] The Lord be with you all.
[00:01:39] The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle, so I
[00:01:43] write, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
[00:01:47] Amen.
[00:01:48] Father, thank you for this time.
[00:01:51] Thank you for the opportunity to come together, to read your word and to petition God, you
[00:02:00] for all of the blessings that we need.
[00:02:04] We need your might.
[00:02:06] We need your transforming power.
[00:02:08] We need your grace.
[00:02:10] We need your love.
[00:02:11] We need your forgiveness, Lord.
[00:02:13] And we are completely dependent upon you for these things and so much more for everything,
[00:02:19] Lord.
[00:02:20] You and you alone, Jesus, are high and lifted up.
[00:02:24] Yours is the name above every name.
[00:02:27] We praise you and we give thanks to you for all that you have done, for all that
[00:02:32] you will do.
[00:02:33] Lord, thank you for your word.
[00:02:35] Thank you for the exceeding great and precious promises that we have secured to us because
[00:02:42] of what you have done and what you have established.
[00:02:45] God, you are good and your mercy endures forever.
[00:02:49] We worship you and know, God, that you are worthy of it.
[00:02:54] Holy Spirit be with us.
[00:02:56] Holy Spirit give us grace, give us eyes to see and ears to hear.
[00:03:01] Speak to us, Lord.
[00:03:02] Help us to understand the things of God and help us to know how we must apply
[00:03:09] them in our own lives.
[00:03:11] Lord, encourage us with this word.
[00:03:13] Move us forward in our faith.
[00:03:15] Help us to grow.
[00:03:16] Help us to be transformed from image to image and from glory to glory according to
[00:03:22] your word and your promises.
[00:03:24] Jesus, we bless you.
[00:03:26] We pray that you would redeem this time, that we would only speak and think things
[00:03:31] that are edifying and things that are edifying of you.
[00:03:35] We love you, Lord, and we bless you.
[00:03:37] In Jesus' name, amen.
[00:03:40] We've spoken previously from this chapter in 2 Thessalonians 3 about not growing weary
[00:03:48] in doing good.
[00:03:50] And it is another opportunity to highlight that exhortation.
[00:03:56] We should not and cannot grow weary in doing good, although that temptation will
[00:04:03] come all the time.
[00:04:06] It is one of the things that happens when we earnestly maintain a pursuit of the Lord
[00:04:12] and seek with all of our hearts to grow and to expand our understanding of God and
[00:04:19] our application of the principles of the word of God in our own lives.
[00:04:24] There will come times of weariness, whether it is in our church, in our families,
[00:04:30] in our jobs, in our spiritual lives in general, in prayer, in anything that we do.
[00:04:37] We have such little strength.
[00:04:41] The strength that we have comes from God and he is powerful, mighty and just and
[00:04:48] righteous and true.
[00:04:50] And he is so faithful and loving to equip us and to strengthen us for when we are
[00:04:55] weak, he makes us strong.
[00:04:58] And so, brothers and sisters, at the outset, just let me encourage you not to grow weary
[00:05:03] in doing good.
[00:05:05] Perhaps you have sown things into your family and you haven't yet reaped or seen
[00:05:12] the harvest that comes as a result of that.
[00:05:15] Be reminded, brethren, that we may sow, another may reap, but in any circumstance,
[00:05:23] it is God who gets the glory for the increase.
[00:05:27] Maybe we have prayed and prayed and prayed for the salvation of our families or for
[00:05:31] others.
[00:05:32] I encourage you today and encourage myself to continue persevering in that effort.
[00:05:37] Keep going, keep praying, keep seeking the face of the Lord.
[00:05:44] If you need a breakthrough, fight the good fight of faith until the breakthrough
[00:05:48] arrives.
[00:05:49] God hears you, God knows you, God loves you.
[00:05:52] Sometimes the answer to our prayer doesn't come in the timing that we want.
[00:05:56] Sometimes the answer to our prayer is no, but regardless of the answer, our obligation
[00:06:03] and our duty to pray for others, for ourselves, for the glorification of the
[00:06:08] name of the Lord Jesus does not fade away.
[00:06:13] That obligation remains and it stands, and God knows when we are weary and need
[00:06:18] rest.
[00:06:19] He knows that we have little strength.
[00:06:22] He knows that he is the one who needs to empower us, to quicken us.
[00:06:27] But let us be attentive, brothers and sisters, to the Holy Spirit.
[00:06:32] Let us be open to receiving what God has for us because of the transformative
[00:06:38] power that the Word of God can have in our lives.
[00:06:42] Keep pressing through.
[00:06:43] The breakthrough is worth it.
[00:06:45] Do not grow weary in doing good.
[00:06:48] I want to focus on the text in verse three.
[00:06:54] But the Lord is faithful who will establish you and guard you from the
[00:06:58] evil one.
[00:07:00] What does it mean, brothers and sisters, that the Lord is faithful?
[00:07:04] Has he shown you his faithfulness recently?
[00:07:08] Have you been looking for his faithfulness?
[00:07:12] He has been faithful to you in many ways.
[00:07:15] He has kept you from things that you're not even aware of.
[00:07:20] He has moved you from one place to another.
[00:07:24] He has transformed your heart.
[00:07:27] He has given you a yearning for him and he has given us, brothers and
[00:07:34] sisters, a means of salvation, a great victory in Jesus who triumphed over sin,
[00:07:42] death, hell and the grave.
[00:07:44] And God is faithful to establish us, to equip us.
[00:07:48] He is a good father and he will not leave us to be opposed and confronted
[00:07:57] and accused and set upon.
[00:08:01] He will guard us.
[00:08:03] He will establish us.
[00:08:05] We have been established in Christ.
[00:08:09] Jesus is the cornerstone.
[00:08:11] We are part of his kingdom.
[00:08:14] We are part of his family.
[00:08:16] We are part of his body.
[00:08:18] We are seated with him in heavenly places.
[00:08:22] It is because of Jesus that we understand and can act on these things
[00:08:29] and know that God's faithfulness, even if he didn't answer a single prayer
[00:08:34] for the rest of your life, God demonstrated his faithfulness in a
[00:08:39] completely sufficient and all pervasive way in the work of Christ.
[00:08:46] But brothers, it doesn't stop there.
[00:08:49] God will answer your prayer.
[00:08:51] He will establish you.
[00:08:53] He will guard you.
[00:08:55] We don't have the means to establish ourselves and to guard ourselves.
[00:09:00] Whatever we build up in our own strength ultimately will be torn down.
[00:09:05] Whatever we establish ourselves will ultimately be burned up.
[00:09:10] But what we do when we allow God to establish us, when we allow God to guard
[00:09:16] us, that is true security.
[00:09:20] That is where we can find the peace and the rest that is so necessary for our souls.
[00:09:27] That is where we can find the quiet confidence that the world seeks after
[00:09:34] and cannot find in other areas of stoic philosophy, of self-help, of
[00:09:41] mindfulness and other such things.
[00:09:44] There is a genuine security that comes from being in the Lord and knowing
[00:09:50] his faithfulness and understanding that he is faithful even through
[00:09:55] the trials that we go through and that the trials that we go through are part
[00:10:00] and parcel of a demonstration of his faithfulness and that he is
[00:10:05] faithful to fulfill his promises.
[00:10:08] He has promised us unbelievably incredible things, an eternity with him.
[00:10:14] We can't even comprehend it.
[00:10:16] A time when sin and death are no more.
[00:10:19] We can't comprehend it.
[00:10:21] These blessings are hopes that reside in the recesses of our souls and come out
[00:10:29] in the groanings and yearnings that we have when we look around the world and
[00:10:33] we see the state of affairs, perhaps even in our own hearts, our own minds,
[00:10:38] our own families, our own spheres of influence.
[00:10:41] But there is something, brothers and sisters, this seed of faith, the
[00:10:45] presence of the Holy Spirit, this guarantee, this first fruits deposit of
[00:10:50] our inheritance that keeps us looking to the Lord, that keeps us focused on
[00:10:56] what he has for us, that keeps us faithful.
[00:11:00] He is faithful.
[00:11:01] So let us place our faith in him.
[00:11:04] He is perfectly trustworthy.
[00:11:06] He is absolutely reliable.
[00:11:09] He is the one who we turn to in every situation and in every circumstance.
[00:11:15] And as we're talking about God's faithfulness, I want to encourage you in prayer,
[00:11:21] brothers and sisters, specifically to my fellow men and husbands and fathers out
[00:11:28] there, there is a tendency that we can have where we will go to prayer, but it
[00:11:35] won't necessarily be our first instinct.
[00:11:37] We have in many ways, and this is in a majority of cases, been programmed
[00:11:43] in such a way as to seek solutions first and foremost.
[00:11:47] And as a consequence of the days and years and decades that we have spent,
[00:11:53] oftentimes our first instinct is going to be to present the solution that
[00:11:59] occurs to us.
[00:12:00] I see a path forward.
[00:12:01] I know how to get from A to B.
[00:12:03] Here's how we do it.
[00:12:04] Here's how we go ahead.
[00:12:05] Let's make a decision.
[00:12:06] Let's go forth.
[00:12:08] And that kind of decisive leadership is a positive characteristic, generally
[00:12:13] speaking.
[00:12:13] It's something that we need to have.
[00:12:15] It's a component of our character.
[00:12:18] It's a component of our being that is incredibly valuable, that is incredibly
[00:12:24] important, particularly in the responsibilities that we have as
[00:12:28] husbands and as fathers to take the lead and to be decisive and to chart a
[00:12:34] course and to make progress.
[00:12:37] But I might propose to you, brothers in particular, that if we only go to prayer
[00:12:46] when we have exhausted our other options or the solutions that we have
[00:12:51] proposed don't necessarily pan out the way that we should or that we think
[00:12:56] that they should, we are missing out on an opportunity to experience and
[00:13:03] understand God's faithfulness in an even greater way.
[00:13:07] This doesn't mean that we shouldn't have the capacity to put plans together.
[00:13:11] It doesn't mean that we shouldn't be decisive, but what it means is that we
[00:13:17] should seek first the input of God and his Holy Spirit.
[00:13:23] And even if the decision is small, there is never anything wrong with
[00:13:30] proceeding in prayer of walking actively with the Lord and seeking his
[00:13:35] guidance because we may have a solution to something that comes up that is
[00:13:42] perfectly workable.
[00:13:43] It's something that's going to be effective and it's worked many times
[00:13:48] over, maybe it will even work in this situation.
[00:13:51] Maybe it's a low risk, a low stakes kind of circumstance.
[00:13:55] But what we see time and time again in scripture is the way that Jesus
[00:14:02] behaves in his ministry, the way that the apostles behave, the way that the
[00:14:08] prophets behave in many different cases.
[00:14:12] God's plan and God's approach subverts expectations.
[00:14:17] The biggest example of this is Jesus going to the cross.
[00:14:21] This was God's plan for a big situation.
[00:14:25] The biggest situation it is the redemption of all mankind.
[00:14:30] And it was done in such a way that was completely unexpected and something that
[00:14:37] was foretold and yet not seen in the way that it could have been.
[00:14:43] But when we notice this and when we understand this, brothers, not that our
[00:14:49] own situations compare in their scope and importance, but what we do want to
[00:14:55] say is that God's solution in the correct path forward, the appropriate way
[00:15:00] forward may not be in accordance with the primary plans that we would put
[00:15:07] together using our own strength and reasoning and instinct.
[00:15:12] Even if we're experienced in things, even if we have a very good
[00:15:17] understanding of the contours of what is going on.
[00:15:21] May I present to you a couple of points?
[00:15:24] Number one, we do not have all the information and context about any situation.
[00:15:30] In many cases, we have enough to make a good decision that we believe is reliable,
[00:15:37] but we should always admit that we don't have the full perspective.
[00:15:43] However, we know that God does.
[00:15:46] And so it may be the case that in certain circumstances, God has a surprising
[00:15:52] way for us to move forward that we would not have seen, that we would not
[00:15:58] have understood, that would not be a product of our own reasoning.
[00:16:03] Number two, when we are praying for these things, as opposed to
[00:16:07] architecting our own solutions, we are relying upon someone who is
[00:16:14] perfectly faithful, perfectly loving and perfectly knowledgeable about
[00:16:19] the circumstance.
[00:16:21] We can trust and rely on the character of God.
[00:16:26] God is absolutely loving, completely worthy of worship.
[00:16:31] There are thousands and tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands
[00:16:36] and billions of things that he has done each and every day.
[00:16:41] If you count, let's say the successful operation of every time that one of our
[00:16:46] cells divides without causing harm or causing damage or containing a harmful
[00:16:52] mutation in it.
[00:16:54] All of these things are out of our control to a meaningful extent, to an
[00:16:59] almost complete extent.
[00:17:01] Yes, we should do the right things and keep care of our bodies, the temples of
[00:17:07] the Holy Spirit that the Lord has given to us.
[00:17:09] We can help these things with better nutrition and everything else like that
[00:17:14] and avoiding exposure to things that we know are harmful.
[00:17:17] But we don't control these operations, but the Lord does.
[00:17:22] He has oversight over all of his creation.
[00:17:26] So just think about that from an order of magnitude perspective.
[00:17:30] So again, number one, we don't have all the information.
[00:17:35] Number two, God does.
[00:17:38] Number three, his character is such that our dependence upon him should be a
[00:17:46] matter of great joy.
[00:17:49] What we see in the word of God, especially in the book of Acts and also
[00:17:55] in these passages and second Thessalonians is the security, the peace and
[00:18:03] the joy that those who are following God with their whole hearts have.
[00:18:10] And we have likely seen in our own misadventures here scenarios where people
[00:18:19] try to project that kind of peace and that kind of circumstance, they try
[00:18:24] to represent themselves as having these things.
[00:18:26] But there is something about an authenticity of genuine peace that passes
[00:18:35] on understanding that cannot be replicated.
[00:18:39] It cannot be counterfeited.
[00:18:41] It cannot be manufactured out of our own strength, no matter how strong the
[00:18:46] cultural conventions are for it.
[00:18:49] But brothers and sisters, we have a God who is worthy to be worshiped and
[00:18:56] served and adored.
[00:18:57] And because that is what we are created for in large part to have a loving
[00:19:04] fellowship with God and to see his name glorified and his kingdom advanced,
[00:19:09] because that is our primary purpose in totality at the highest level.
[00:19:17] Then when we are seeking God in everything, in these small things,
[00:19:22] when we can ask the Holy Spirit to help transform our hearts, to move us
[00:19:29] away from the instinct to just immediately implement solutions and to
[00:19:34] take just a small amount of time to ask God, what would you have me to do here?
[00:19:42] I'm ready.
[00:19:44] I might even have a potential solution.
[00:19:46] Lord put a check in my spirit if I'm supposed to do something different.
[00:19:51] Speak to me, Lord.
[00:19:52] Show me a scripture.
[00:19:54] Bring me something or someone across my path that will move
[00:20:00] me in a different direction.
[00:20:02] And brothers, those kind of beseeching prayers will be answered in one way or
[00:20:09] another, and maybe our plan is perfectly legitimate.
[00:20:14] Maybe there isn't another opportunity here.
[00:20:19] Maybe what we have put together is actually in alignment with God's will.
[00:20:24] And praise God if it is, but we need to give God the space to give us direction.
[00:20:32] And this is one way and I want to, we want to be a little bit nuanced here.
[00:20:38] It's one way where the role of the heavenly father is distinct from the
[00:20:48] role of an earthly father.
[00:20:51] When we are raising our children, we have an end goal in part of them being
[00:20:59] self-sufficient, we want them to be able to operate independently.
[00:21:03] We want them to have the experience and to inculcate the lessons that are
[00:21:07] necessary for them to make good decisions, for them to make the right
[00:21:11] decisions, for them to not stray from the way in which they have been brought up.
[00:21:17] But God is not exactly relating to us like that as our heavenly father.
[00:21:26] There is always going to be a greater degree of dependence that we have on
[00:21:32] God, as opposed to this earthly father relationship.
[00:21:37] And yes, God wants us to grow.
[00:21:40] God wants us to persevere.
[00:21:42] God wants us to develop all of those things, but the end goal for God is not
[00:21:49] our own independence in decision-making.
[00:21:53] The end goal for God is to move us into a position where when and as we
[00:22:03] grow and mature, we achieve a position of greater dependence on him.
[00:22:12] And it's one where our attitude and our temperament and our disposition
[00:22:19] and our character and our hearts are transformed and adjusted in such a
[00:22:25] way that we can say maturity is walking in God's will and following
[00:22:35] the lead of the Holy Spirit.
[00:22:38] And that provides a different type of independence, a different type of freedom.
[00:22:46] It's not the freedom to make our own decisions.
[00:22:50] It's freedom from the constraints that our fleshly and sinful
[00:22:56] circumstance impose upon us.
[00:22:58] It's not a freedom to be independent in the way that the world understands it.
[00:23:06] Although there are aspects of that that are positive, it is a
[00:23:10] different kind of independence.
[00:23:12] It's a freedom to follow God wherever he wants us to go in any capacity.
[00:23:19] And God is faithful in all of these things.
[00:23:23] And this represents a significant distinction between the worldly system
[00:23:30] and the kingdoms of this world and the heavenly system and the kingdom
[00:23:35] of heaven. And again, we look to God as our father in all of the best ways.
[00:23:43] But that doesn't mean that we can necessarily extend that analogy in
[00:23:49] every aspect of the way that we relate to our children, let's say,
[00:23:53] to the way that God relates to us.
[00:23:55] Again, the key distinction here is that we have an end goal of wanting
[00:24:00] our children to be independent.
[00:24:02] And God has an end goal of wanting us to be dependent on him.
[00:24:08] And by doing so, become increasingly independent of the systems of this
[00:24:14] world, the systems of captivity that would keep us bound and restricted.
[00:24:21] God wants us to be increasingly independent of all the constraints
[00:24:26] that prevent us from walking in full relationship with him, because God,
[00:24:32] as the ultimate good, can have no better goal and no better direction
[00:24:39] than for us to be reconciled and to be drawn nearer to him.
[00:24:45] And so we think about all of these lessons and sermons and discipleship
[00:24:53] programs about following God, about spiritual disciplines.
[00:24:57] And all of them are good and valuable.
[00:25:00] But I want to highlight brothers and sisters that our instinct to
[00:25:05] implement plans and to come up with solutions and just to go ahead
[00:25:10] and then to have prayer as a backup or saying, all right, this
[00:25:14] is what I'm going to do.
[00:25:16] Lord bless this endeavor.
[00:25:17] Or, well, that didn't work.
[00:25:19] Lord, I'm in trouble.
[00:25:20] Help me.
[00:25:21] That we move prayer up in priority, that we move seeking the face of God
[00:25:30] and seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit up in priority before, before
[00:25:36] we act.
[00:25:37] And again, this is not even talking specifically or more narrowly about
[00:25:43] situations where our plans are awful and are going to get us into
[00:25:48] potentially extremely dangerous circumstances.
[00:25:52] I'm talking about the day to day situations, conversations with our
[00:25:57] loved ones, engagement with our coworkers, our fellow brothers and
[00:26:01] sisters in church, our perspective on the world, all of these things.
[00:26:07] All of these things are critically important to the Lord.
[00:26:10] And when we make that extra space, when we understand that God may have
[00:26:16] something even better, he may have a better approach and it wouldn't be
[00:26:20] surprising to us or at least shouldn't be surprising to us if God has a
[00:26:24] better approach because he has all the information and he knows the
[00:26:28] end from the beginning.
[00:26:29] Right?
[00:26:30] It's not just that he understands the contours of the situation.
[00:26:33] It's that he knows how the situation will play out in every possible
[00:26:38] eventuality and brothers and sisters, we know that the Lord is faithful.
[00:26:45] If we are seeking his guidance and we are hearing from him and we are
[00:26:49] moving forward in that, then that is the extent of our responsibility.
[00:26:55] We have sought the face of God.
[00:26:58] We have been ready to obey and we have faithfully obeyed.
[00:27:01] And sometimes obedience is extremely difficult and challenging because of
[00:27:06] what it brings about.
[00:27:07] But as we understand more about the faithfulness of God, as we see it
[00:27:11] manifest in our own lives, as we see the will of God being established, as
[00:27:17] we understand more, as we grow more, the easier it will be to say, God is
[00:27:24] faithful, Lord, what would you have me to do here?
[00:27:27] Am I Lord send me understanding that in many cases that can lead to
[00:27:32] challenging circumstances because there are challenging circumstances around us.
[00:27:38] And we are called in many ways to confront these things, to be a light
[00:27:43] amidst the darkness, to be a testimony of God's faithfulness, to do these
[00:27:49] things and to follow the Lord even into great trouble as the New Testament
[00:27:55] shows, as even the example of Jesus himself shows.
[00:28:00] So brothers and sisters, let us understand the situation that we are
[00:28:06] in and let's look to verse five and this initial part of Paul's benediction
[00:28:13] to the church at Thessalonica.
[00:28:15] Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into
[00:28:20] the patience of Christ.
[00:28:23] Wouldn't we all be in a better position if our hearts were more
[00:28:29] regularly directed into the love of God and into the patience of Christ?
[00:28:36] God is long suffering towards us and there is great patience in Christ and
[00:28:43] patience, I think, is bound up with hope as an attitude, with hope as a mindset.
[00:28:52] If we have hope and we understand the love of God and we are aware of his
[00:28:58] faithfulness, then we can be patient.
[00:29:02] Sometimes when we think of a plan or a solution to a problem or something like
[00:29:06] that and we implement it, it may just be that the timing isn't exactly right
[00:29:12] and that we have to wait on the opportune moment to implement something,
[00:29:17] to say yes or no, to have the right words for someone in the right
[00:29:22] circumstance.
[00:29:23] But brothers and sisters, we can pray for all these things.
[00:29:27] In the Bible, it says you have not because you ask not.
[00:29:30] And so let's keep it simple here today.
[00:29:33] All the nuances aside, all of the finer points in the background, are we asking
[00:29:41] for the help of the God of the universe, of the one who knows the right path
[00:29:48] forward, of the one who has promised to show us the right path forward, of
[00:29:54] the one who is perfectly faithful and who has demonstrated that faithfulness
[00:29:59] time and time again through the work of Christ, through the word of God,
[00:30:04] through a witness of the Holy Spirit in our own hearts.
[00:30:08] Are we relying on our father or are we taking things into our own hands?
[00:30:16] I dare say that wherever we are on that spectrum, we can do more relying
[00:30:21] on God and less jumping to the plans that we have made.
[00:30:27] And maybe for some people, this looks like a tendency to go over
[00:30:32] conversations, hypothetical ones or past ones again and again and again
[00:30:37] and again until it wearies you, until it becomes more confusing rather
[00:30:43] than more clarifying.
[00:30:44] Maybe we can put that aside and think about the love of God and receive
[00:30:52] from the Holy Spirit, the patience of Christ, of knowing who God is and
[00:30:58] his faithfulness.
[00:31:00] Maybe for others, it looks like jumping to conclusions and plowing
[00:31:05] ahead on a path and ignoring the indications that get put in our
[00:31:10] trajectory to steer away from it.
[00:31:13] Let us be dependent upon the Lord.
[00:31:16] Maybe we have had in our hearts and in our minds such an emphasis on the
[00:31:22] value of independence and self-sufficiency that we have applied
[00:31:27] that to our spiritual lives in ways that are not perfectly appropriate.
[00:31:33] Maybe it is a good thing to understand that we are bond servants
[00:31:37] of Christ, that we were bought with a price, the most precious price,
[00:31:42] the blood of Christ himself, and that it is our duty to be dependent upon
[00:31:49] Jesus.
[00:31:50] And if that's troubling to us for one reason or another and we say,
[00:31:56] well, you know, that's not necessarily something I want to do.
[00:32:00] If we're still pushing back against this, maybe if it's upsetting to us
[00:32:05] for one particular reason or another, maybe in the presence of some
[00:32:09] theological logic, we will do it for the sake of those around us.
[00:32:14] If you had a choice and you had to pick someone to make the
[00:32:20] decisions for someone you loved, would it be themselves making the
[00:32:27] decisions and implementing everything?
[00:32:29] Would it be you making all the decisions and implementing everything?
[00:32:33] Or would it be a perfect almighty and loving God making the decisions
[00:32:37] and implementing everything?
[00:32:39] It's a leading question, obviously.
[00:32:42] The only reasonable and appropriate answer is the final ultimate option
[00:32:48] that the Lord should be in charge.
[00:32:50] And so when we model that behavior, when the Lord is in charge of our
[00:32:55] paths, it will benefit the people who we love.
[00:32:59] It really will because God is faithful.
[00:33:03] And as we see him working in our lives, as we develop a greater
[00:33:07] dependence and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, we will have more of this
[00:33:13] love of God and this patience of Christ.
[00:33:16] And that will be something that will help those around us that will
[00:33:20] encourage them to follow God as we are to look to him and to receive
[00:33:28] this peace that Paul speaks of.
[00:33:31] Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace always in every way.
[00:33:36] Peace always in every way.
[00:33:41] Not just partial peace in some ways, not just a little bit of peace
[00:33:45] in certain circumstances, but leaving it out over there.
[00:33:49] Peace always in every way, a permanent pervasive peace that is
[00:33:55] characterized by love, by patience.
[00:33:59] And all it takes is just saying, I want to be dependent upon God.
[00:34:05] Let me pray before I act.
[00:34:07] This is something I need to grow in as well tremendously, but it's an
[00:34:14] area where we can all grow closer to God and having that concretely as
[00:34:21] opposed to just in the abstract as a desirable goal is something
[00:34:25] that is really helpful.
[00:34:27] And so brothers and sisters, let us move forward.
[00:34:31] Let us go with God.
[00:34:34] Let us put ourselves out there and be willing to acknowledge any
[00:34:42] constraints or blockages that we have that are preventing us from
[00:34:46] going in this direction, whether it's in our own character, external
[00:34:50] circumstances, tendencies that we have, whatever it may be.
[00:34:54] Let us go in obedience.
[00:34:57] Let us work in quietness and eat our own bread.
[00:35:00] Let us demonstrate the love of God.
[00:35:03] Let us receive peace always in every way from the Lord of peace himself.
[00:35:10] And let us show forth the patience of Christ.
[00:35:13] This kind of testimony is what the generation that we are in is thirsty
[00:35:20] for, and it is something that is available to us because of the
[00:35:24] mercies and the grace of almighty God.
[00:35:28] Jesus, thank you for this time.
[00:35:31] Thank you that you are the Prince of peace.
[00:35:34] Thank you for the patience that you can provide us and that you will
[00:35:39] provide us and that you want to provide us and that you love to
[00:35:42] provide us Lord.
[00:35:45] We asked boldly that you would give us peace always in every way
[00:35:52] that you would be with us, that you would strengthen us to pray and
[00:35:57] that you would change our instincts Lord from immediately implementing
[00:36:01] plans and concocting solutions to consulting you for we know Lord,
[00:36:06] you are perfect in goodness and knowledge and power and love and
[00:36:12] that you love us father.
[00:36:14] Thank you that you are there for us.
[00:36:17] Thank you Jesus for your intercession on our behalf.
[00:36:21] Thank you Holy spirit for helping us to pray when we don't know how.
[00:36:25] Thank you God that you know the end from the beginning.
[00:36:28] Thank you Lord that you are all in all and that there is no name like yours.
[00:36:34] Jesus we bless you.
[00:36:36] I pray for my brothers and sisters that they would grow in their walks with
[00:36:39] you, that they would take another step forward in the faith, that they
[00:36:43] would see the fruits of it quickly and immediately, that they would
[00:36:47] receive the positive reinforcement from making a step towards you and
[00:36:53] drawing near to you, that they would be immediately rewarded with an
[00:36:57] incredible blessing from you Lord as a testimony of your faithfulness.
[00:37:03] Lord it's not a test that you put us under and we are not putting you to
[00:37:08] the test but we pray Lord in the name of Jesus Christ that as your
[00:37:13] people make strides towards you, as your people turn to you and pray for
[00:37:20] your help in whatever situations they're in, that they would hear from
[00:37:25] heaven and that you would guide them and that you would establish in
[00:37:29] their hearts the peace that passes understanding in such a way that they
[00:37:35] are absolutely convinced that it's not something that the world has
[00:37:39] provided them.
[00:37:40] It's not something that their own reason or strength has provided
[00:37:44] them but that it is a direct deposit Lord from you.
[00:37:49] Holy Spirit thank you for ministering to us.
[00:37:53] Thank you for your word.
[00:37:54] Thank you for bringing us together.
[00:37:57] We pray that you would continue to minister to us, that you would
[00:38:01] continue to lift us up, that you would help us, that you would make
[00:38:06] us more dependent on you, that you would bring us into closer fellowship
[00:38:11] with yourself.
[00:38:13] Jesus we love you.
[00:38:15] Thank you.
[00:38:16] Thank you for all that you've done.
[00:38:19] Give us the patience of Christ.
[00:38:21] In Jesus name.
[00:38:23] Amen.