Encouragement From A Field in a War Zone

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:02.640 Yeah, you definitely don't want to lose the grief and, again, the 2 00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:07.440 gravity of what's happening. But if you dwell on the grief and the gravity, 3 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:10.519 Um, yeah, if you if you lose it, your heart could 4 00:00:10.519 --> 00:00:13.880 be callous and can be hardened, but if you dwell on it, you'll 5 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:20.920 start to become bitter and disillusioned. I Am Yours, I'm yours, I'm 6 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:27.760 yours, and me, Lord, I'm yours, I'm yours. I'm welcome 7 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:33.159 to the Gospel centered pro life podcast, a podcast designed to equip, encourage 8 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:37.000 and challenge you in pro life ministry, and always with a focus on the 9 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:51.439 Gospel. Stay tuned. I felt your passh touch your heart. Use Welcome 10 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:57.759 to the Gospel centered pro life podcast. Everyone. I'm yeah, good test 11 00:00:57.799 --> 00:01:03.000 see you, Daniel. I'm Vicky Kasier here Daniel Parks and we have an 12 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:10.040 encouragement today. I think this is this is an encouragement for all of you 13 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:17.959 who may be, like our state, are seeing an unbelievable influx of abortions 14 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:22.319 in their state. So here in Charlotte, we're pretty much in North Carolina. 15 00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:27.879 We are surrounded by states that have some sort of restrictions and people are 16 00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:38.760 flocking from out of state, two Charlotte specifically, and Tuesday of this week 17 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:48.159 there were probably more than ninety abortions in one center. I know we've always 18 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:53.000 seen people coming from South Carolina and from Georgia pretty consistently. Sometimes maybe from 19 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:59.159 Virginia, Alabama, Tennessee, but for the most part South Carolina, North 20 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:02.120 Carolina's rules because we're not far from the South Carolina border. But now, 21 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:06.680 yeah, we're seeing I mean I think today the I was out there just 22 00:02:06.680 --> 00:02:08.919 for a little bit on the sidewalk and our team lead was just counting the 23 00:02:08.919 --> 00:02:15.240 cars that had come from Georgia. I mean we pretty consistently we'll see maybe 24 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:19.479 a car or two per week or something like that from Georgia, and now 25 00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:23.599 it's like multiple people a day coming to at least little tribal abortion center from 26 00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:29.680 Georgia and Alabama and Tennessee and stuff. Yeah, we're thinking probably half of 27 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:34.199 the arrivals right now are coming from Georgia. So they're clearly being sent from 28 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:38.319 from Georgia. So, but ninety is it's the record for me then, 29 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:43.800 the largest number of people coming for an abortion that I have seen in the 30 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:50.439 ten years I've been out there. Um It's pretty devastating. It's devastating to 31 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:55.400 be on that sidewalk and watch these women just stream. And Yeah, I 32 00:02:55.400 --> 00:03:00.520 mean there's a certain heaviness just being there has. Anyway, we're in front 33 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:02.840 of a place where kids are dying right, people are killing their children, 34 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:08.159 and especially at the latrobe abortion center. Like those ninety cars that showed up 35 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:12.400 there, we know that they didn't come in for something other than abortion, 36 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:15.599 because that's all they do there. Right. So it's heavy already being there, 37 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:20.080 but to see the parking lot full, so full that they have to 38 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:23.360 park people in a second parking lot and even park people on the street, 39 00:03:23.240 --> 00:03:28.840 that that brings a level of heaviness that's hard to it's hard to grasp, 40 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:32.120 it's hard to deal with, it's hard to cope with. And, Um, 41 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:36.800 and so certainly, like we, we know that we need to be 42 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:38.680 praying all the more for our folks that are serving out there on the sidewalk 43 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:43.840 and we need to be rallying people to hey, we need more folks out 44 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:46.840 here, because you could always use more volunteers out there. Um. But 45 00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:50.840 yeah, I mean just the heaviness is kind of what what just is brought 46 00:03:50.919 --> 00:03:54.919 fresh to my mind because I remember years back when I would be out here 47 00:03:54.919 --> 00:03:59.159 on a Saturday. Saturday's used to be the busiest day. Used to be 48 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:02.120 like they're sometimes sixty, sometimes seventy, five people there on an average, 49 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:05.639 probably fifty or so on the Saturday. Since the love life started with the 50 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:10.560 prayer walks and we saw a significant decrease in people coming out here on Saturdays. 51 00:04:11.240 --> 00:04:14.479 Um. But I mean I remember back in those days we would have 52 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:17.439 fifty, sixty cars there, so much so they'd be parking them on the 53 00:04:17.480 --> 00:04:21.079 street. I just remember the heaviness that came with that. But to see 54 00:04:21.160 --> 00:04:27.879 ninety like that's just Um, yeah, it's hard to grasp. It's truly 55 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:31.240 mind boggling and horrific. Uh, that's three kindergarten classes, you know, 56 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:34.319 if you want to think about it in those terms, maybe even four right 57 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:40.920 there in one day being slaughtered. So Uh, you know, it's it's 58 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:46.680 led us all to to really think about how can we help our counselors who 59 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:50.079 are facing this, because it is so heavy and it is, I think, 60 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:58.279 very easy to become very discouraged and depressed by Um, by that influx 61 00:04:58.360 --> 00:05:06.000 which is just huge. So Um, we were thinking about what can we 62 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:13.240 say, well, how can we encourage our counselors to stay in the battle 63 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:19.079 and not be destroyed by the weight of this battle? And one of the 64 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:24.879 things we have said many, many times, and I think just preface, 65 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:30.000 is this is not our battle. This battle belongs to the Lord. This 66 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:32.839 is we're called to be there. There's no doubt we're called to be there. 67 00:05:32.920 --> 00:05:35.639 We feel very convicted of that, or we wouldn't have been there all 68 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:43.959 these years. But ultimately it's it's not us that brings the results. Yeah, 69 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:47.439 we're called to be faithful, we're called to show up and proclaim God's 70 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:50.439 word, and God is the one that does the work. And that doesn't 71 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:54.319 make it any less heavy for us. There's kind of this balance that we 72 00:05:54.360 --> 00:05:57.839 need to strike, and I've been talking about this recently just with our staff 73 00:05:57.879 --> 00:06:02.639 here and also just even in my own heart. Um, there's this balance 74 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:09.000 we've got to strike with understanding the reality ninety babies are dying, but then 75 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:12.920 we can't let our minds dwell on that. And this is this is a 76 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:16.800 key right here, guys, and the key Um, it comes out of 77 00:06:17.560 --> 00:06:25.000 Paul, his letter to the Philippians, and Paul specifically says Philippians four, 78 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:29.720 eight through nine and I believe Paul. You even think about the brother Paul, 79 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:32.519 Think about the Apostle Paul, Paul. This guy dealt with a lot 80 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:38.120 of stuff. You talk about heaviness. Not only did he have situations where 81 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:40.800 he was shipwrecked and he was beaten, he was beaten by the Romans, 82 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:44.879 he was rejected by the Jews Um, he also had brothers in the Lord 83 00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:46.439 that rejected him, that turned their back on him. He had to deal 84 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:50.279 with the pressure of the churches turning away from the truth that he had taught 85 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:54.879 them, turning into, you know, back into Judaism and other kind of 86 00:06:54.920 --> 00:06:59.040 heresies and things. And he had he had a weight about him, right, 87 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:00.519 and he had to deal with like the reality of these things. And 88 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:03.000 just like us, we have to deal with the reality babies are dying. 89 00:07:03.639 --> 00:07:10.560 But I believe Paul trained his mind to not dwell on the things that are 90 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:13.399 bad, the bad things that are happening. We have to be very intentional 91 00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:17.040 about this. The news media knows that the human propensity is to gravitate towards 92 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:20.519 the bad. Like we like to dwell on the bad, and so that's 93 00:07:20.519 --> 00:07:26.480 why you always see bad news right that's compelling to get sort of an hour 94 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:30.600 in the monkey so that there's more, more bad news, I call it 95 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:35.040 the bad news, and they make money off of that human propensity to grasp 96 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:39.680 those things that are bad. Dwell on the things that are bad. Um, 97 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:42.920 I know one thing. This is just an example, but and sending 98 00:07:42.920 --> 00:07:46.319 out emails. You know in the past you used to do some email marketing 99 00:07:46.360 --> 00:07:50.040 and stuff. If you have a negative subject line, people are far more 100 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:54.199 likely to open it than if you have a positive subject line. It's just 101 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:58.240 a reality. It's human nature. Yeah, but we have to train our 102 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:01.720 minds to think on the things that are good. And so Paul says in 103 00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:05.319 Philippians four versus eight through nine. He says, finally, brothers and sisters, 104 00:08:05.800 --> 00:08:09.920 whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is 105 00:08:09.959 --> 00:08:15.319 pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, admirable, if there's anything 106 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:20.439 excellent or praiseworthy worthy, think about such things. One version says, think 107 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:26.839 on these things. If there's anything praiseworthy, there's anything, just think on 108 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:30.839 these things. So what I want to encourage you before we get into kind 109 00:08:30.839 --> 00:08:33.639 of the meat of this podcast episode, you guys who are out there and 110 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:35.519 there's a heaviness out there, whether there's an influx of people coming in for 111 00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:39.000 abortions or just a fact that you're there in front of a place where where 112 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:43.440 kids are being murdered. We have to grasp the reality of what's happening and 113 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:46.639 not lose the gravity, because we talk about that right. We need to 114 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:52.200 not lose the gravity that babies are dying, but we cannot meditate and and 115 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:56.320 have our minds dwell on that. We have to dwell on the good things. 116 00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:58.679 What's a good thing? Well, if you're out there on the sidewalk, 117 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:01.039 you're a good that God is doing. God has called you to be 118 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:05.519 out there. People are there, you have a team with you. Praise 119 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:07.559 God. Maybe it's only you and another person. Think on the fact that 120 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:11.919 God took someone who was dead in their trespasses and sins, saved them, 121 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:16.879 put his word in them and his Holy Spirit in them and placed them at 122 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:20.360 a place of death. You're there. That's praiseworthy. Think about that. 123 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:24.360 Think about God working through you and how he's using you. If you've seen 124 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:28.240 babies saved, think about the babies that have been saved instead of just dwelling 125 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:31.799 on the ones who are dying. Think about that, which is Praiseworthy, 126 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:35.080 and praise God for his work. Salvations, people that are coming to the 127 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:39.639 Lord. Think about that, the body of Christ being united and mobilized, 128 00:09:39.720 --> 00:09:43.120 churches that are in your city who are doing nothing about abortion now are doing 129 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:48.279 something about it. Think on the things. Train your mind, bring your 130 00:09:48.320 --> 00:09:52.120 mind in subjection, take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Bring 131 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:56.840 your mind and subjection to those things which are praiseworthy and think on those things, 132 00:09:56.919 --> 00:10:01.799 not losing the gravity of what's going on. That's my encouragement and I 133 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:03.759 agree totally with all of that. And it is there. There will be 134 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:07.559 that tension. I just had a counselor say to me, I think it 135 00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:13.600 was yesterday, I don't want to lose them, the grief, because my 136 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:18.440 heart will become hard and we don't want to be hard hearted. It's our 137 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:22.039 soft hearts that allow us, I think too, to be there for those 138 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:26.559 MOMS. So, but you definitely don't want to lose the grief and again, 139 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:31.279 the gravity of what's happening. But if you dwell on the grief and 140 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:35.039 the gravity, Um, yeah, if you if you lose it, your 141 00:10:35.159 --> 00:10:37.440 heart could be callous and can be hardened, but if you dwell on it 142 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:43.279 you'll start to become bitter and disillusioned. Right, exactly. So, as 143 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:48.000 I was thinking about this, uh, the story in the Bible that came 144 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:50.679 to mind is one of my favorite books in the Bible, the story of 145 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:56.879 Jeremiah, the weeping profit, and there is a very well, there's a 146 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:03.320 few encouraging passages in Jeremiah, but one of the most odd encouragements has to 147 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:09.519 do with a field in a war zone. And so in Jeremiah, just 148 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:13.600 to kind of recap Jeremiah, his his story really is very tragic. He's 149 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:16.600 he's called to this ministry as a youth and he says, but I'm just 150 00:11:16.679 --> 00:11:20.519 a youth. I mean, he tries kind of to like argue God, 151 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:26.399 how can I speak? I'm just a youth and Um, and that's where 152 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:28.159 that passage comes from. And Jeremiah, one five that we use on the 153 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:31.559 sidewalk a lot. Before I formed you, I knew you and before you 154 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:33.960 were born, I set you apart as a prophet to the nation's right. 155 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:37.240 Yeah, yeah, and I'm glad you brought that up because that's that's so 156 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:41.320 critical. Well, Jeremiah was called for this God already knew, just as 157 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:45.080 he already knew all of us that are on the sidewalk. We're going to 158 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:48.559 be on the sidewalk ID already knew that. We have been called, called 159 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:52.519 to that work. and Um so Jeremiah is already kind of a reluctant prophet 160 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:58.559 and then he's told what is going to have to be his life being a 161 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:01.759 prophet for God in this man a street at that particular time and place. 162 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:07.159 He was told he would never marry, he could not attend the normal social 163 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:13.879 customs like Um and celebrations like weddings or funerals. He was told he never 164 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:20.759 have children. Um So he had a very isolated, lonely life. And 165 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:26.679 on top of it, his message is to be to a very wicked, 166 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:33.559 disobedient people who have strayed so far from God, to tell them your wickedness, 167 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:35.960 now is the time of judgment and you're going to be led away to 168 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:43.080 captivity. The battylonians are going to take over and you all need to basically 169 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:48.960 repent and turn back to God. And he he preaches for forty years with 170 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:54.720 no results. With no results. Can you imagine that? No visible fruit 171 00:12:54.840 --> 00:13:03.480 forty years. Um. So, basically looking at it from, you know, 172 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:07.639 a human perspective. He was a total failure right. He there was 173 00:13:07.799 --> 00:13:13.879 just zero it. It seemed as though every effort was wasted on on on 174 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:20.519 his part. But in this story, Um, where it talks about the 175 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:24.600 field, he's preaching to these people, the Babylonians, I think the childeans. 176 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:26.559 I'm a little bit fuzzy on like all the people that are a part 177 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:30.799 of the Babylonians and who took over. Maybe maybe, if I say something 178 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:35.960 wrong, do correct me. But Um, the Chaldeans have already taken over 179 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:41.000 a good portion of the land, including a portion that is the middle of 180 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:45.919 the war zone, a field, and that field is owned by Jeremiah's uncle 181 00:13:46.679 --> 00:13:52.440 and in the middle of Jeremiah. Let's see the the verse is I think 182 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:56.440 it's chapter thirty two. Yeah, Chapter Thirty two, Jeremiah, and it's 183 00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:01.759 the whole chapter and it talks about how, Um, the uncle basically wants 184 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:05.840 to get rid of this field because the field is worthless. You know, 185 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:09.840 it's in the middle of a battle zone that I don't know if the uncle 186 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:13.440 believed Jeremiah that hey, we're going to be going into exile and that field 187 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:16.240 is going to be worthless, not only as worthless said as it is now, 188 00:14:16.279 --> 00:14:18.279 but it's going to be worthless. For how long were they in Babylonian 189 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:24.039 Captivity? Eighty years, something like his, his lifetime. He was never 190 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:26.519 going to be able to, you know, to to do anything with this 191 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:31.600 field. So the cousin, Jeremiah's cousin comes and says, Hey, buy 192 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:35.720 this field, pay, pay good money and buy this field. And Jeremiah, 193 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:43.600 Here's God's Um word voice telling him by the field. He wants him 194 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:48.320 to buy the field. and Um Jeremiah knows the field is worthless. He 195 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:52.720 knows God's prophecy because he's been proclaiming it now for, you know, decades. 196 00:14:52.279 --> 00:14:56.399 And he knows he's spending money for a field that will never be redeemed. 197 00:14:56.879 --> 00:15:00.840 But he does it because God told him to do it. So he 198 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:07.759 was obedient. He buys the field and then God talks about how that field 199 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:13.279 one day will be redeemed, the it will be prosperous, the people will 200 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:18.919 return. There's that beautiful poign in verse where God says they will be my 201 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:24.320 people and I will be their God, and so there will be repentance and 202 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:31.960 there will be returned to the land and the field. He specifically says fields 203 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:37.080 will be bought in this land, of which you say it is a desolation 204 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:41.799 without manner. Beast men will buy fields for money, sign and seal deeds, 205 00:15:41.879 --> 00:15:48.600 calling witnesses and Um, for I will restore their fortunes, declares the 206 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:54.759 Lord. That's how that chapter ends. So he ends with this vision for 207 00:15:54.879 --> 00:16:00.879 Jeremiah, saying it's okay, this really what that field is is a symbol 208 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:06.440 of yes, there is desolation right now. Yes, you don't see the 209 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:11.360 fulfillment of my promises, but trust me, the promises will be fulfilled and 210 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:18.799 that field will be of great value. So as I'm as I'm thinking of 211 00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:23.600 that story and feeling so sorry for Jeremiah, but thinking what a privilege that 212 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:27.039 God did reveal what was going to happen. And, by the way, 213 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:33.360 Jeremiah never did see that day. He never did get in human life. 214 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:38.440 In his life he never saw the field redeemed, he never saw the return 215 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:42.879 from captivity Um, he never saw his people repent and turn back to God. 216 00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:48.080 But he kept preaching faithfully anyway. And I was thinking in so many 217 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:53.480 ways I could see this as an analogy of what we face as sideball counselors. 218 00:16:55.240 --> 00:17:03.399 Our field sometimes looks desolate, our efforts sometimes seem absolutely feudal. Ninety 219 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:08.039 babies were killed Tuesday. There was one baby saved that we and we knew 220 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:12.680 that it was a confirmed save. That's the only one we knew about. 221 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:18.119 So that to me, is looking at it, that desolate field, knowing 222 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:21.680 God doesn't want those babies to die. Why? Why? God? Why 223 00:17:21.759 --> 00:17:26.960 are all these babies dying now? And yet are our folks are standing there 224 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:33.279 in obedience to God's call, knowing his promises, knowing his attributes, knowing 225 00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:37.720 God is good, knowing he promises that all things will work together for the 226 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:41.519 good of those who call, who love the Lord, who have been called 227 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:49.079 according to his purpose. And we may not see that field of abortion redeemed 228 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:55.599 in in our lifetime, we may not see it until Jesus comes again, 229 00:17:56.200 --> 00:18:00.000 but we do have God's promises that in the end all will be made right 230 00:18:00.759 --> 00:18:06.960 and we are standing there for a purpose and we're standing there from a place 231 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:11.519 of victory, because Jesus has already secured the victory. Yeah, yeah, 232 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:15.000 a man. Yeah, I don't I don't know if I shared this with 233 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:18.519 you and maybe I've shared it on the previous episode of the podcast, but 234 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:22.559 I shared with our staff a couple of weeks ago just the devotional before we 235 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:26.920 did our staff meeting, and the title of my devotional was life sucks. 236 00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:32.960 Sometimes life sucks, but we win. And the premise is that there's difficulties, 237 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:34.880 there's things Jesus said. In this world you will have tribulation, you 238 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:38.559 know, because we're in a fallen world. There are falling people. We 239 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:44.640 are falling people in perfect in many ways, many aspects, and uh so, 240 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:48.359 issues are gonna come, we're gonna face issues, we're gonna see things 241 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:52.400 like ninety babies dying. We're gonna feel the pressure and the weight and the 242 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:56.279 grief from things like that. But at the end of the day, Jesus 243 00:18:56.359 --> 00:19:03.319 Christ has defeated the worst enemy of all death and if we're in him, 244 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:06.480 we win. As a matter of fact, the passage that I went to 245 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:10.680 was in acts chapter two, where Peter Again, this is a guy who 246 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:14.160 rejected Jesus when he said, when all else reject you, I won't reject 247 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:18.000 you, but he did anyway outright denied, even cursed when he denied even 248 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:23.200 knowing Jesus three times. So this is a loser like he he was a 249 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:30.079 loser, rejected Jesus and all that. And yet in Jesus resurrection, Jesus 250 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:33.880 Calls Him To be a leader right ultimately fills him with his Holy Spirit. 251 00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:37.720 In Acts Chapter two, when the spirits poured out and this man who was 252 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:44.079 a loser before became a bold proclaimer of the Gospel, even so bold. 253 00:19:44.279 --> 00:19:45.480 Then, in front of a crowd of three thousand people in the day of 254 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:49.279 Pentecost, he pens the crucifixion of Jesus on them. He says this Jesus, 255 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:52.599 that you guys crucified, pointing the finger at them. So he was 256 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:55.960 so bold. He's going to preach to this crowd of three thousand people who 257 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:59.880 some were probably angry and somewhere wondering what's going on in this day of Pentecost. 258 00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:03.119 But then in that in that past, I believe it's in verse twenty 259 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:06.480 four, he talks about Jesus, he talks about the resurrection, she said, 260 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:10.440 whom God raised from the dead Um. And then he says this. 261 00:20:10.519 --> 00:20:15.799 He says because it was impossible that he could be held by death. Peter 262 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:21.119 was confident. Peter was a bold man who previously had been a loser. 263 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:23.359 Now he's a winner. It's kind of Cheesy, but we win. We're 264 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:26.960 in Christ, and Peter knew that because he knew he was in the one 265 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.880 who had defeated death. And he says that it was not possible that he 266 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:32.880 could be held by it, that he could be held by death. And 267 00:20:32.920 --> 00:20:36.359 so what Peter is saying, this is what we need to understand. It 268 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:40.440 wasn't that it was improbable, that it probably wouldn't happen, very unlikely to 269 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:44.759 happen, but Peter's basically saying it didn't even enter into the equation, didn't 270 00:20:44.799 --> 00:20:49.119 even compute, wasn't even worth consideration that Jesus could be held by death. 271 00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:55.759 It's not even it's not possible. It's impossible that Jesus could be held by 272 00:20:55.799 --> 00:21:00.279 death because he is the Lord over everything, he is the victor over free 273 00:21:00.359 --> 00:21:04.680 enemy and those are in him. It's impossible that we can be held by 274 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:08.400 death. And so we win, no matter what's happening around us, and 275 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:12.079 we're grieved by those babies that are dying, for sure, but if we're 276 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:15.160 in Christ, we win. All we have to be to have victory. 277 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:19.480 We've said it time and again. We just have to obey, just just 278 00:21:19.559 --> 00:21:23.480 be obedient, trust in Jesus, show up on the sidewalk because he's called 279 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:26.880 you to. And Jeremiah. Jeremiah that he was a failure in the eyes 280 00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:32.440 of the world, was a victor in the eyes of God because he obeyed 281 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:36.640 what God told him to do. Yeah, so, analyzing and looking at 282 00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:42.240 what Jeremiah did and just this simple little story in with the field, we 283 00:21:42.279 --> 00:21:48.440 came up with some kind of key principle, principles that I think will help 284 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:53.119 all of us to obey faithfully, to follow God faithfully in the midst of 285 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:59.799 such great discouragement, such such difficult times. And the first one is my 286 00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:07.279 favorite. He was obedient in the difficult things. It is so easy to 287 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:11.960 be obedient when God is answering every prayer the way you want it answer, 288 00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:17.799 when things are cushy, comfortable and happy and going the way you hope that 289 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:23.400 life will go. It is a whole lot harder to obey God when you 290 00:22:23.480 --> 00:22:30.240 see no end and the situation is very difficult. And why I love that 291 00:22:30.359 --> 00:22:33.640 is, first of all, it's true. It has been so true in 292 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:38.079 my life that, Um, you know, it's scripture, but it also 293 00:22:38.279 --> 00:22:44.640 it rings true in my life and my experience, but it is also the 294 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:49.799 very thing that allows ninety women to come and aboard their child. Most of 295 00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:53.160 those women would claim to have faith. We know that because we've been there 296 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:56.279 a long time. We've talked to a lot of women out there. We're 297 00:22:56.279 --> 00:23:00.839 in the Bible belt, and yet their faith is not sustaining them to be 298 00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:06.359 obedient to God's clear command that shall not murder in whatever difficulties they face. 299 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:11.720 So to me this is one of the most key points for us. Obedience. 300 00:23:11.880 --> 00:23:18.720 No matter what, no matter what you're facing, you still obey God 301 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:26.319 through those hard times. Yeah, and God honors that. Yes, yeah, 302 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:32.319 yeah, yeah, so, Um. The second thing that I love 303 00:23:32.359 --> 00:23:38.440 about Jeremiah and breaks my heart for him, is that he had to live 304 00:23:38.599 --> 00:23:44.680 what looks like an unbearable life, not only in his obedience to the calling, 305 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:51.079 which was so lacking in fruit from what he could tell, but the 306 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:55.440 things that God required of him. Like I, we don't know why. 307 00:23:55.920 --> 00:24:00.000 I don't know why, Um, but they were very hard things. I 308 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:04.119 have read some commentaries. For example, why was he not allowed to marry? 309 00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:07.839 Well, God knew that for the next eighty years life was going to 310 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:15.640 be pretty unbearable under the Babylonians and Um and that, uh, you know, 311 00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:21.160 he'd be bearing children to a population that was doing all kinds of unspeakable 312 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:26.240 evil. God knew that and maybe in a sense he was sparing Jeremiah from 313 00:24:26.279 --> 00:24:32.960 the pain of watching his wife and children, his family, be Um raised 314 00:24:33.440 --> 00:24:37.519 formed in that kind of an environment. That's one of the commentaries I've read. 315 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:41.720 Yeah, well, if you think about it and just dig a little 316 00:24:41.799 --> 00:24:48.599 deeper with Jeremiah, he did suffer rejection and we've said oftentimes the ministry on 317 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:52.480 the sidewalk is the Ministry of rejection, and so it's tough and so we 318 00:24:52.519 --> 00:24:56.960 identify with that for sure. So he suffered rejection and false accusation and he 319 00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:00.880 had to do some hard stuff, confront the lead and things like that, 320 00:25:00.960 --> 00:25:04.519 which are which are hard things to do. But he also had the glory 321 00:25:04.599 --> 00:25:10.960 of fellowshipping with God. I mean this guy seemed to have some kind of 322 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:15.960 direct communication. I don't know there was a voice from heaven or something Um, 323 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:21.680 but this guy had direct communion with God and that's really an important point 324 00:25:21.720 --> 00:25:23.799 here. I don't know if you have it listed in this list of things 325 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:30.480 key principles to endure faithfully, but communion with God is key. Um, 326 00:25:30.599 --> 00:25:33.880 well, you have that. That's the third point. He knew God, 327 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:37.759 right, this man knew the Lord. He had an intimate relationship with the 328 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:44.240 Lord, and that, guys, will sustain you when nothing else will. 329 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:47.359 That's why we say, and I want to put this warning out there because 330 00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:51.559 I know, especially you guys that are new to sidewalk ministry, the temptation 331 00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:55.559 is to let the ministry on the sidewalk replace your relationship with the Lord. 332 00:25:55.599 --> 00:25:59.559 And so instead of seeking him in prayer and being in the word for that 333 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:02.960 day that you volunteer or for your whatever, maybe you volunteer a couple of 334 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:07.480 days or you serve in the leadership capacity, and so you let your service 335 00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:11.160 to the Lord Replace Your intimacy with the Lord, and that is a trap. 336 00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:15.759 Do not fall into that trap. You need intimacy with the Lord. 337 00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:19.240 You need one on one time with Jesus in his word and in prayer and 338 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:23.759 in worship. That time on the sidewalk is different. That's time where you're 339 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:27.880 serving him. That's time that you serve him out of the overflow of what 340 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:32.960 you got while you were in his presence alone. Right, you get filled 341 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:37.160 to overflowing and the overflow is what happens in public when you go out to 342 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:41.640 the sidewalk. So don't fall into the trap of replacing intimacy with God with 343 00:26:41.759 --> 00:26:49.039 ministry, and I don't think we easily develop the depth of intimacy God in 344 00:26:49.079 --> 00:26:53.119 a place of comfort. And again, I'm speaking from my own experience. 345 00:26:53.160 --> 00:26:59.359 I would say the times when I have felt the closest to the Lord is 346 00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:03.079 when I've been in the most painful, impossible situations, breast cancer being one 347 00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:07.039 of those times. Terrified. I was terrified, I you know, I 348 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:10.119 thought I was gonna die. No one wants to hear those words. The 349 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:14.759 prospect of what I was going to endure was overwhelming, beyond my ability to 350 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:22.279 bear. And yet God was so present in in my life at that time 351 00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:26.440 and I think that that is maybe I'm glad you did mention this and bring 352 00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:30.000 it out, because I don't think I brought it out that well in the 353 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:33.880 in the article that we wrote. But Um uh, that it is in 354 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:42.000 sometimes when we absolutely um are at the end of our ability to cope, 355 00:27:42.039 --> 00:27:52.319 to bear in such difficult circumstances, that God is necessary and that we understand 356 00:27:52.720 --> 00:28:00.400 the necessity for God as truly the only hope. So I think that that 357 00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:06.000 goes right into the third one. Jeremiah knew God. He studied God's word, 358 00:28:06.039 --> 00:28:08.119 he prayed, he listened to God's voice, and we need to do 359 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:12.279 the to do the same. Yeah, yeah, and next you have here 360 00:28:12.279 --> 00:28:17.440 in number four. Here he didn't try to make God who he wanted God 361 00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:21.319 to be. He understood who God was, and that's we don't bring God 362 00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:26.160 down to kind of match our expectations. God is God and our service to 363 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:30.400 him is because he's Lord, not his service to us because, you know, 364 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.039 we're cute and we're special or whatever. He let God be who God 365 00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:37.720 was in his heart, in his mind, and that's why he was able 366 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:41.559 to be an obedience and there's a sense in which if you're going to be 367 00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:45.039 an effective believer, you're gonna be consistent, you're gonna be faithful, you've 368 00:28:45.079 --> 00:28:48.559 got to fear the Lord, and that's what Jeremiah did. He feared God. 369 00:28:48.599 --> 00:28:52.559 It wasn't wasn't that he was afraid of God. He was intimate with 370 00:28:52.599 --> 00:28:55.480 the Lord, but he had a reverence and a fear for God and who 371 00:28:55.519 --> 00:29:00.279 God is and knowing the true attributes of God. Not what he wanted God's 372 00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:07.119 attributes to be in those struggles. The next one. You've said a lot 373 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:14.160 to our sidebag counselors, and I think it's again a key point, that 374 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:19.119 that it's our obedience, that we're responsible for our faithfulness, doing what God 375 00:29:19.160 --> 00:29:22.319 has called us to do, but we're not called for the results. That 376 00:29:22.519 --> 00:29:26.759 that's that's God's, God's job, not ours. The burden is his. 377 00:29:26.960 --> 00:29:30.960 I heard someone else say recently it's God's burden to bear. It might have 378 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:36.640 been you, Daniel. It's God's burden to bear, not ours, um 379 00:29:36.680 --> 00:29:41.720 which leads to the final point, uh, that when we have that perspective, 380 00:29:42.200 --> 00:29:47.119 when we recognize it's all God, we're just there in obedience and we're 381 00:29:47.160 --> 00:29:51.400 doing our part, but everything else is up to God, well then of 382 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:56.000 course all the glory also goes to him, not to us. So that 383 00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:59.039 allows a team to be able to go home at the end of the day 384 00:29:59.079 --> 00:30:02.720 when their shift is over, whether there are still babies in there being slaughtered 385 00:30:02.839 --> 00:30:06.359 or not. You know, you've been out there. We had someone collapsed 386 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:11.200 from heat exhaustion recently and we're learning let God be God, let God be. 387 00:30:11.480 --> 00:30:17.759 He is in control. You do your part and then rest assured that. 388 00:30:17.960 --> 00:30:22.079 Um, that is all he's asking of us. Man. Well, 389 00:30:22.079 --> 00:30:26.480 guys, we hope that this podcast episode was a blessing to you and encouragement 390 00:30:26.519 --> 00:30:30.200 to you and, uh, we always encourage you guys to reach out to 391 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:33.960 us. If there's any way that we can speak into the situations that you 392 00:30:33.960 --> 00:30:36.200 guys are facing, we'd love to be able to do that. You can 393 00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:38.319 reach me, Daniel at Love Life Dot Org. You can reach her, 394 00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:42.200 Vicky at Love Life Dot Org. Also, we'll mention we're doing a monthly 395 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:45.279 what we're calling a Q and e. rather than a q and a. 396 00:30:45.400 --> 00:30:49.319 it's questions and encouragement side of what questions and encouragement meeting. We do it 397 00:30:49.400 --> 00:30:56.319 the first Saturday of every month, five PM eastern time, and that actually 398 00:30:56.279 --> 00:31:00.960 an invite to that goes out to everyone who's been through all three of our 399 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:03.559 training modules. We have three training modules, Sidewalk One oh one through one 400 00:31:03.559 --> 00:31:08.000 oh three, and so if you're in a love life city and you've completed 401 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:11.160 all those, you should have gotten an invite to that. If not, 402 00:31:11.759 --> 00:31:14.599 we'd like for you to complete all of those modules, even if you're not 403 00:31:14.640 --> 00:31:17.079 in a love life city. If your church is a house of refuge, 404 00:31:17.160 --> 00:31:19.480 Church love life. You can complete those modules and be a part of that 405 00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:22.880 meeting. It's just a meeting where we, Vicky and I, meet with 406 00:31:22.920 --> 00:31:29.839 everyone who's doing sidewalks and encourage you guys and, uh, answer any questions 407 00:31:29.880 --> 00:31:33.440 that you have as best we can. Talk about the stuff together, encourage 408 00:31:33.440 --> 00:31:36.240 each other and not just us encouraging you, but you guys encouraging us, 409 00:31:36.319 --> 00:31:41.160 encouraging other folks who doing sidewalk ministry in cities across the nation under love life. 410 00:31:41.519 --> 00:31:44.119 And so I just wanna, Um, just make you guys aware of 411 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:45.400 that and if you need more information about that, you can reach out to 412 00:31:45.400 --> 00:31:48.000 me, reach out to your city director if you're in a love life city. 413 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:51.559 If not, again you can reach out to me. But Um, 414 00:31:51.640 --> 00:31:56.200 yeah, we appreciate you guys listening and until next time, God bless you. 415 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:08.759 Give me out live for love, give me our life for gratitude. 416 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:21.640 I know it will cost me my life. Nothing's too precious. Since I 417 00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:30.400 met you, M M