Christ said to his disciples, let not your heart be troubled. The Lord had spoken to these
faithful disciples of his death, of his soon departure from them,
and it was most shocking. They didn't know what you know.
They weren't aware of the sacrifice, the resurrection. He told them,
yes, but they couldn't understand. They couldn't conceive of what
he was talking about. All they knew is that they had
hoped that he would restore the kingdom to Israel. That's what
they believed. In fact, they had often argued
among themselves about who was going to be the greatest. in
the kingdom. And James and John's mother had
come to the master and requested that one of her sons sit on his
right hand and one on his left hand when he restored the kingdom
to Israel. They expected the splendor of
Solomon and the power of David to be restored to Israel. That's
what they were looking for. They often asked, will you at
this time restore the kingdom to Israel? But our Lord shocked them. He
told them that He would be mistreated, that He would be denied and rejected,
that He would be hated, that He would be crucified, that He
would die, that He would leave them. And He told them more than
that. He told them that one of their
number would actually betray Him and sell out to the world. There were only 12 men there. I suppose there are 220 or 240
people here tonight, and it's like me saying to you, 20 of
you are going to deny the Lord, sell out. That's pretty shocking. That's about the percentage.
Christ was looking at that little group of 12, and he said, one
of you, one out of 12, will betray me and sell out. That shocked
them, disturbed them, troubled them. And he went further. He
said, another outstanding, imminent one among you will deny that
he even knows me. There's 20 more will deny that
you even know Christ. In fact, he said, all of you
will be offended because of me. All of you will be offended because
of me." And he went on, he said, religious leaders will be your
enemies. The rulers of the synagogue,
the rabbis, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, all of the ranking,
all of the ranking religious leaders will despise you, and
they will disown you, and they'll break fellowship with you, and
they'll cast out your names as evil. And they'll accuse you
of apostasy and heresy. They'll accuse you of blasphemy. And more than that, they'll cast
you out of the synagogue. Organized religion will not have
you worship with them. They'll not give you a spot on
their program. And more than that, you're going
to suffer in the body. You're going to be poor. And some of you are going to
be killed. And those who kill you will do it in the name of
religion, in the name of God, and they will think that they're
doing God a service. This is what he's telling these
men. He says, in this world ye shall have tribulation. This
was not what they had planned. This was not what they had expected. This was not what they had counted
upon. And their hearts were troubled. And that's when he spoke these
words. Let not your heart be troubled. Now there's one thing
that's certain in the flesh, and my message tonight is directed
mainly to believers. There's one thing that is certain
in the flesh for believers, and that is trouble. Trouble. Our Savior himself was
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He
said, if they hated the master of the house, will they not hate
you? If they have not heard my words, why do you think they'll
hear your words? He said in John 12, 27, now is
my soul troubled. Jesus wept. Job wrote, man is born under
trouble as the sparks fly upward. Sparks don't fly downward, they
fly upward. Sparks jab a fire and the sparks
fly upward. He said that's just as certain
man is born under trouble. Job 14.1, he says man that is
born of woman is a few days and full of trouble. David lamented in Psalm 31 9
have mercy on me. Oh God. I'm in trouble My life
is spent with grief In Psalm 107 let the redeemed
of the Lord say so Whom he had gathered from the east and the
west and the north and the south But three times it is said of
those people they crowned to the Lord in their trouble In 1 Corinthians 7, 28, Paul
wrote, nevertheless ye shall have trouble in the flesh. You shall have trouble. In Philippians 1, 29, he said,
it is given unto you not only to believe on Christ, but to
suffer for his sake. In 2 Timothy 3, 12, Paul said,
yea, and all them who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer,
shall suffer, shall suffer, not might, could, perhaps, shall
suffer tribulation. There's no exemption. I rejoice when I see a person
manifest an interest in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I rejoice
when I see that person close with Christ in faith, lay hold
upon Christ by faith, embrace the master, and begin to look
into his word, and by faith receive his word, and build upon that
foundation of Christ Jesus and the apostles. Nothing makes me
happier. To see that individual confess
Christ publicly, him to be both Lord and Master. And I see that
person pick up his Bible and go forth back to his home, and
back to his factory, and back to his place of business, and
back to his circles of friends, his circle of friends. And his
heart is light. There are no lines of concern
on his face. And there are no inward turmoils
of doubts and fears, and there are no wounds or bruises, and
all of you can look back at that day when you first came to know
the Lord. And I know when I watch him go,
if he is a true soldier of Christ, if he is a child of the King,
not many days will pass till he'll be back. He'll be back
wounded, he'll be back to regroup, He'll be back to reconsider.
He'll be back even to recover. Because Satan will not leave
him alone. And the enemies of the gospel will not leave him
alone. And the house is no sooner built, yea the house that is
built on the rock is no sooner built than the scripture says,
and the rain descended. And the floods came and the wind
blew and beat on that house. And beat on that house. It did
not fall. But it certainly endured a trial. And I say unto you, there's one
thing that is certain in the flesh for all who know Christ.
They're going to suffer. They're going to suffer reproach.
They're going to suffer persecution. They're going to suffer mockings.
They're going to suffer Desertion yeah, our Lord said a man's enemies
shall be those of his own household But he said I didn't come to
bring peace. I came to bring a sword I've
come to set at variance a man and his son a daughter-in-law
and her mother-in-law Enemies Those who hate God will hate
you if you know God And those who hate Christ will hate you,
and those who hate the gospel of His grace will hate those
who are advocates of the gospel of His grace. They can do no
other. In the world ye shall have trouble. In the flesh ye
shall have trouble. What kind of trouble? Well, there
are troubles all about us. I'm troubled now over the wars
and rumors of wars. I know what my mother and father
went through back in the early forties when they had two sons
of army age. I know now the anxiety they must
have felt to watch their sons march off to war. Our young men
may fight again. I do not know. We have economic
problems, we have inflation, we have financial woes, and most
of you here tonight have those troubles in the flesh, anxiety,
You're anxious about all of these winds that are blowing and these
wars and rumors of wars and talk of recessions and depressions
and financial woes and inflations and all of these things, constant
trouble in the flesh. The trouble in your homes. You
have trouble in your homes. Our children, somebody said,
when they're young, they're on our hands. When they get older,
they're on our hearts. There's hardly a home in this
congregation that has not had a heartache over a child or a
grandchild. There are divorces and misunderstandings,
and they're all a matter of conflicts. If you haven't had them yet,
you will have them. Trouble in the flesh. There are troubles
in the churches. Churches are divided, jealousy,
strife, discord. What's happening? Men are imperfect.
Sooner or later, we discover that. Men are imperfect, and
as long as men are imperfect, there'll be trouble. discord,
and divisions. There's trouble in the flesh,
sickness, aches and pains, and old age, and loss of sharpness,
of sight, and hearing, and memory, and all of these things. Our
flesh fails us. There are troubles in the soul,
and sometimes these are worst of all. The hymn writer said,
where is that blessedness that I knew when first I found the
Lord? Where is that soul-refreshing view of Jesus and his word? What peaceful hours I then enjoyed,
how sweet their memory still, but now I find an aching void
the world can never fill. So this text tonight, let not
your heart be troubled. There isn't a person here who
cannot enter in to this text, because in the flesh ye shall
have trouble, trouble, trouble. And it will not cease. There's
no discharge in this war. There are no exemptions. There's
no one who will not have trouble if you're in Christ. But we have
a royal command from our commander-in-chief, our Lord. He says, let not your
heart be troubled. Do not, he said, give way to
despair. Do not give way to depression,
because a troubled heart is dishonoring to the Lord God. You're going
to have troubles, but do not give way to these troubles. Do
not give way to despair and doubt and fear and depression, because
a troubled heart is dishonoring to the Lord God. Put a question
mark on his love. He said, if you, being evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children, if your child
asked bread, would you give him a stone? If he asked meat, would
you give him a serpent? Well, if you, being evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall
your Heavenly Father give good things to them that ask Him?
Nothing good, He said, will I withhold from them that fear Me. David
said, I am old, I have been young, I've never seen the seed of God
begging bread. We've always worried about begging
bread, but we never have done it. Puts a question mark on God's
love for me to have a troubled heart. Be anxious for nothing,
but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your request
be made known to God. Be anxious, overly anxious for
nothing. I say unto you, let not your
heart be troubled. Not that you won't have trouble.
He told these men they were going to have trouble. Trouble in the
flesh. Trouble in the spirit. Trouble with religion. Trouble
in the home. Trouble in the factory. Trouble
in the social world. Trouble! But don't let your heart
be trouble. Because a troubled heart puts
a question mark on God's providence. When these messengers came and
kept telling Job about all the losses that he had sustained,
when they completed all of their messages to him, it says that
Job rent his clothes and put ashes on his head and bowed down
and worshipped God, and in all this, he didn't charge God with
foolishness. In all this, he didn't say, what
have I done to deserve this? Oh, God, why'd you bring this
upon me? Or I doubt your providence or your love. No, sir. He praised
and worshipped God. He said, naked I came out of
my mother's womb. I didn't come into the world
with 500 yoke of oxen and 1,000 sheep and 400 she-asses and 10
children. I came out naked, and that's
the way I'll leave this world. God gave, and God taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
In all this, he didn't charge God with foolishness. All things
work together for good to them who love God. It's time I quit
believing that in doctrine and started believing it in my heart. All things work together for
good to them who love God, who are they called according to
his purpose. A troubled heart puts a question mark on God's
love. It puts a question mark on God's providence, and it puts
a question mark on God's promises. He said, I will never leave you.
Lord, I'm with you always, even to the end of the earth. I will
never leave you. I will never forsake you. He
said in verse 27 of John 14, My peace I give unto you. Let
not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have my
peace. A troubled heart. is dishonoring
to God. That's the reason Christ commands
us, let not your heart be troubled. He's not saying, please understand,
you won't have trouble. He promises us that we will.
But don't let it, don't let it affect your heart. Don't let
it affect your relationship with Him. It's dishonoring to God
for me to be overly anxious, for me to be in despair and depression
of spirit and allow my heart to be burdened down. Why art
thou cast down, O my soul? That's what David said. Why are
you cast down? Don't let your soul become troubled
and your heart become cast down. Here's another reason, because
a troubled heart robs us of the joys and blessings that we have.
Now think about this. It is certain that I don't have
all that I want, but it's certain I have a whole lot more than
I deserve. Isn't that right? I don't have all I want, I don't
have all I could wish for, but there's one thing sure, I have
a whole lot more than I need, and I have a whole lot more than
I deserve. My circumstances are perhaps not what I would want
them to be, but I know this, they're not what they could be. We get bowed down with grief.
and cares and fears and troubles. And we must think about this.
No, my circumstances are not what I'd want them to be, but
they're not what they could be. There's an old proverb which
says things could be worse. That's true, a whole lot worse. And I don't have everything I
want, but I have a whole lot more than I deserve. My name
may be a reproach to men, but as long as it's on the heavenly
register, that's all that matters. It really doesn't matter what
men think of us. Men are not our judges. God is
our judge. It really doesn't matter if we
do not have their approval, as long as we have God's approval. A troubled heart robs us of the
joys and blessings that we do have. If we could quit talking
about the things that are depressing and talk about the things that
are precious. If we could quit focusing our
attention on the bad and start rejoicing in the good. Quit talking
about what we want and talk about what God's given us. Quit talking
about what we don't have and start talking about what we do
have. It's this constant thinking upon the poor and the evil in
our lives that's causing us to lose the joy of the good. Count your blessings, name them
one by one. It'll surprise you what God's
done. When upon life's billows your tempt is tossed, when you
are discouraged, thinking all is lost, count your many blessings,
angels will attend. It'll surprise you what the Lord's
done. A troubled heart dishonors God. A troubled heart robs you of
the joys you have. You can't see the joys and the
blessings if you're constantly complaining and murmuring about
the disadvantages and the troubles and the trials. I do know, yes,
it's true, I don't have all I'd like to have, but I have a whole
lot more than I deserve. And maybe my circumstances are
not what I'd like for them to be, but they're a whole lot better
than they could be. And then a troubled heart, thirdly,
where it won't help you out of your trials. It'll only make that which is
bad worse. being depressed of spirit, being
troubled of heart, it's not going to help you. It's only going
to make a bad situation worse. Your despair and your troubled
heart and your depression adds to your conflict and to your
trouble. In fact, the scripture says this,
a merry heart doeth good like a medicine. A bitter spirit dries
bones that are already dried and it dries them more. Fear
and doubt and unbelief make ordinary troubles much greater. When the
spies left Kadesh Barnea and went down into Canaan, they came
back and told Moses, they said, there's giants down there. And
I'll tell you, their fear made those giants ten feet taller.
Why, they said, we're like grasshoppers in front of those fellas. And
the more they feared and the more they doubted, the bigger
those men grew. And that's the way we are with
our little difficulties and troubles. It was grace that taught my heart
to fear and grace my fears relieved. It was grace that brought me
safe thus far and grace will take me home. Our fears and our doubts and
our unbelief and our troubled hearts and our anxious spirit
make these troubles and trials to get bigger and bigger and
bigger. That's right. Thirdly, well, what's the cure
for heart trouble, depression of spirit? It's faith. Christ said, let not your heart
be trouble. You believe in God, believe in
me. Believe in me. That's the cure
for heart trouble, faith. Let me read you some scripture
on that. Turn to Psalm 42, verse 5. Psalm 42, verse 5. I love this. Psalm 42 verse 5,
David said, Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God. That's the cure for a cast down
soul and a disquieted spirit. Hope thou in God. I will yet
praise him for the help of his countenance. That's faith. That's
the cure for a troubled heart. Hope thou in God. Turn to Proverbs
29. In Proverbs chapter 29, verse
25, listen to this. Proverbs 29, 25. The fear of
man bringeth a snare. And that, the fear of man, that's
the fear of losing your job, or losing your security, or losing
your flesh, or your health, or troubles from in-laws, and families,
and enemies, and all of these things. That's the fear of man.
Anything that's not spiritual is of the flesh. And we fear
man. Christ said, don't fear what
man can do to you. Fear not them that kill the body,
and after that have no more that they can do. Fear him. Fear God.
But the fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth his
trust in the Lord shall be safe." That's the cure. The cure for
the fear of man, or the fear of the flesh, or the fear of
the future, or the fear of anything, is to trust in Him. So the cure
for heart trouble is to trust, faith, hope in the Lord, trust
in the Lord. All right, try 1 John 5. Let's
look at this. It's 1 John chapter 5 verse 4. Now here it is. Watch this now. Whosoever is
born of God overcometh the world. The world is the flesh. The world
system. That's the thoughts of this world. Some call it the rat race of
the world. This is the victory that overcometh
the world. What is it? Faith. Our faith. This is the victory that overcometh
the world, even our faith. You know, when Peter and the
disciples were out there in that little boat, and the Lord Jesus
appeared to them, and one of them said, It's the Lord! It's
the Lord! And Peter stood up in the boat,
and he said, Lord, if it's you, bid me come to you on the water.
And the master said, Come on. Peter stepped out of that boat,
And he began to walk like the master was upon the water. And the scripture says, the waves
were high and the wind was strong, and Peter began to fear and he
began to sink. And he cried, Lord, Savior, I
perish! And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
O ye of little faith, wherein did you doubt? What do you say? The waves were high. I know,
but the Lord was there. But the wind was strong. I know,
but the Lord was there. He's greater than the waves. Well, He stood one day in that
boat, and the waves were tossing that little boat around, and
He says, Peace be still! And those waves in that sea became
as calm as a mirror. But you say the wind was so strong,
but the Lord was there. He's greater than the wind. This
is what I'm saying. I don't care what the affliction
is. God is greater than our afflictions. Whatever the wind may be that's
blowing, from with it, wind or without, He's greater than the
wind. He's greater than the waves. He's greater than the tempest.
He's greater than the clouds. He's greater than the storm.
All of these things are in His hand. And I'll tell you this,
if you're His child, He's the first cause of all things. And these things are permitted
of the Lord. They're permitted. Notice our
text. He says, here's the royal command,
let not your heart be troubled. Let not your heart be depressed
and overanxious and filled with care and bowed down. You believe
in God. Now this is a statement. This
is taken for granted. You do believe in God. The Lord
God appeared to Abraham and he said, Abraham, I am the Lord,
the Almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect. I will make a covenant with thee
and will multiply thee exceedingly. There's no want that I can't
supply. There's no sickness that I can't heal. There's no danger
that I can't prevent. There's no misery that I can't
remove. There's no enemy that I can't
defeat. There are no walls that I can't bring down. I'm the Lord,
the Almighty God, and I've made a covenant with you. As David
said, surely, surely, surely goodness and mercy, not measured
in material things and physical comforts. Is that the way we
measure God's goodness? God help us if it is. Is that
the way we measure mercy by materialism? Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life. And I'll dwell in the house
of the Lord forever." You believe in God. That's what Christ is
saying. Don't let your heart be troubled. Oh, I know, I've
told you, you're going to have trouble and tribulation and suffering
in the flesh, trouble in the flesh. But don't let your heart
be bowed down. Don't let your heart be over-anxious.
Don't let your heart be in depression and cast down in fear with despair.
You believe in God. Now believe in me. Now believe
in me. Christ is God. But more than
that, and listen to me, I mean to be as solemn and as scriptural
and as glorifying to God as I can be. Christ is God, but more than
that, Christ is God in our nature. Christ is God in our nature,
so near at hand, and so ready to lift us, and so ready to help
us, and so much more accessible than God considered only in his
deity. Christ said to his poor, broken-hearted,
troubled, fearful disciples, now don't let your heart be troubled.
You're weak, and afflicted, and you feel so helpless, and you're
so few, and the enemies out there are so strong, and so mighty,
and so many, but you believe in God. Don't you believe in
God? You do. You believe in God. But believe
in me. I am God, and I love you, and
you're my own. And in my Father's house are
many mansions, and I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go
and prepare a place for you, I'll come again and receive you
unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also." I'm God
in the flesh, in human nature, so near at hand. The Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us. We have not a high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but we have
a high priest who was tested and tried as we are in all points
and yet without sin. Unto you a son is given, a child
is born. The government shall be upon
his shoulders. He shall be called the mighty God, the everlasting
Father, Emmanuel, God with us. All of the divine persons in
the Blessed Trinity set themselves to lay hold, for us to lay hold
of them by faith. All of the blessed persons in
the Divine Trinity set themselves for us to lay hold upon them
by faith. Let me show you some scriptures.
Ephesians 2. In Ephesians 2.18, now listen to this. In the Father we have electing
love from before the foundation of the world. He sent his affections
on you. He singled you out and separated
you and sanctified you and made you his own. In the Son we have
full redemption. He has come to bring us all that
we need and all that God requires. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God which is in Christ. And the Holy Spirit Through Him
we have an effectual application of God's mercy. It says in Ephesians 2, verse
18, listen to it. Ephesians 2, verse 18. And I know there are a lot of
folks that have a lot to say about the Trinity, doubting and
questioning, but listen to this. In Ephesians 2, verse 18, for
through Him, through Him, that's Christ, We both, Jew and Gentile,
have access by one Spirit unto the Father. You know that scripture,
Romans 8, 28, all things work together for good to them that
love God. Many of the best Bible commentaries say that, Cecil,
that all things is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As well as all
things, as we think of the word things. All things work together
for your good. the Father in choosing, the Son
in redeeming, and the Spirit in calling. All right, turn with
me to 1 Peter 1, 2. Listen to this. You believe in
God? Christ said, Believe in Me. Believe
that if you believe in God, well, God is inaccessible in His deity
as Elohim, but in Christ you can come, because He's one with
you. He's bone of your bone, flesh
of your flesh. Christ is your brother. That's
right. He's numbered with the transgressors.
He is the way. Philip said, we don't know where
you're going. How can we know the way? And Christ said, I'm
the way. I'm the way, the truth, and the
life. That was Thomas. He said, show us the way. Christ said,
I'm the way, the truth, and the life. Now look at 1 Peter 1,
2. It says here in 1 Peter 1, verse 2, elect according to the foreknowledge
or foreordination of God the Father, through sanctification
of the Holy Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of
Jesus Christ. Elected by the Father, anointed
by the Spirit, redeemed by the Son. Look at verse 20 and 21.
Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world what
was manifested in these last times, who by him do believe
in God. that raised him up from the dead
and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God.
Verse 22, seeing you've purified your souls and obeying the truth
through the Spirit, that God the Father, reconciled by God
the Son, and revealed by God the Spirit. Believe. The blessed Trinity Revealed
in the person of Christ. Christ said you believe in God.
You believe there's a God. You know there's a God. And you
believe in God. Now believe in me. I am a revelation
of God. I've come to reveal God to you.
I've come to bring you in contact with God. I've come to open for
you a way to God. I've come to reconcile you to
God. I've come to justify you before God. I've come to sanctify
you before God. I've come to take you to God. The causes of trouble, heart
trouble, anxiety, soul trouble, fears and doubts, depression,
despair, they are removed by faith. If thou canst believe,
this man came to Christ and he said, my son is troubled. and he cast himself into the
fire, and he's uncontrollable. I have no way to control him.
Will you help? If you can, help him." Christ
said, can you believe? All things are possible to them
that believe. That's the key, faith. It's not just a positive
mental attitude. It's not just to become involved. It's not to become Active, that
may help. It won't remove the cause of
trouble, though. It'll remove the symptoms. It's
like a fellow said, if you have a headache, drop a concrete block
on your toe and you'll forget your headache. Well, it didn't
cure your headache, but it took your mind off of it. And this
is what the psychiatrists do. They don't cure the problem.
They don't get to the source, the cause of the problem. They
give you something else to think about. They give you activities.
The problem is still right where you left it, and when you run
out of activities, it's waiting on you to come home. But faith
in Christ will remove the cause of trouble. It'll remove the
cause. Now listen to me. For in Christ,
the cause of our troubles are stopped at the source. What's
the cause of my trouble? Is it the wrath of man, I fear?
No, it's the wrath of God. Isn't that right? My guilt is
against God, so I'm troubled and anxious and fearful. Maybe God will punish me for
my sins. But if you can believe in Christ,
the scripture says there's no condemnation to them who are
in Christ. See, that removes the cause of trouble. What's
the cause of trouble? Fear of God, fear of God's wrath,
fear of punishment, fear of judgment, fear of hell. Christ removes
the fear. Love casteth out fear. If you
can believe, he said that, why can't you believe him? We believe
men. We believe what our friends tell
us. Why don't we believe Christ?
Why don't we believe Christ? That's the way to get at the
source, the cause of the problem is fear. Fear of guilt, fear
of retaliation on the part of God, fear of vengeance, fear
of judgment. Don't fear it. There's no judgment
to them who are in Christ. Christ has been judged already.
Christ has been punished for our sins already. Christ paid
for our sins. They don't even exist. Believe! Believe that. My sins are gone. Blessed is the man to whom God
will not charge sin. So faith destroys fear at its
source. God was in Christ reconciling
the world to Himself. And that's the reason the Lord
gave you so many examples over here in the Old Testament of
the failure of some of His greatest servants. so you could see the
mercy of God in Christ Jesus. That's the reason he gave us
these examples. He didn't give us these examples just for our reading. He gave
it to us for our comfort. He let us see Abraham fail, and
Isaac fail, and David fail, and Elijah sitting under the juniper
tree asking God to kill him, and all of these different ones.
He let you see into the light Job with his self-righteousness,
and all these things to let you see the mercy of God, that in
Christ there's forgiveness. Also, you say you've got a sickly
body. Do you know that a sickly body
Often contains a mighty healthy soul turn to 2nd Corinthians
4. Let me show you something here
2nd Corinthians 4 Verse 16 Paul talking here. He says in 2nd Corinthians 4
verse 16 for which cause we faint not but though our outward man
perish Our inward man is renewed day by day. I Got a sickly body
But Paul said, I got a well soul, a healthy soul. You don't judge
a book by its cover. You don't judge a man by outward
appearance. He may have a frail, unsightly
appearance, but, oh, the beauty of heart. That's the reason Paul
warns us not to make our adornment, that which is outward, That which
is inward is more important, because that old house you live
in is going to get uglier every day. Its shingles are going to
keep coming off, and the shutters, and all of these things. But boy, when there's a warm
glow inside, it'll show through the windows, won't it? And folks
won't pay attention to the fact you need a paint job. They'll
be looking more at your attitude, and spirit, and the warmth within.
That's the key. And then this, these present
sufferings are nothing compared to the glory we're going to have.
Turn to Romans 8, and think about this. Amid all these troubles
and trials, they aren't anything compared to what God's going
to give us. He said in Romans 8, verse 18, I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. And then through trial, we learn
God's mercies and God's ways. David said, it's good for me
that I've been afflicted. It's good for me because I learned
thy statutes. I learned something about my
Lord while I was afflicted. And every trial, turn to Psalm
2510, now quit. Every trial contains a blessing. Psalm 25 verse 10, every trial
contains a blessing. He says, all the paths of the
Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and
his testimony. The path may be through a deep
valley, it may be through a dark valley, it may be a rough path,
but all the paths of God are mercy and truth to them that
keep his covenant. God moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps on the
sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable minds of
never failing skill, God treasures up his bright designs and he
works his sovereign will. Now ye fearful saints, fresh
courage take. The clouds you so much dread
are big with mercy, and they shall break with blessings on
your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble
sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence,
he hides a smiling face. And his purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower. Believe. What's the cure for
a troubled heart? It's faith. Let not your heart
be troubled. You believe in God, no doubt
about that. Believe in me. Believe in me,
Christ said. Our Father in heaven increase
our faith. We pray for faith to believe. We know we have no reason to
be discouraged, to be in doubt. We have no reason for our hearts
to be cast down and disquieted in us. We have no reason to fear
what man can do, nor what the future holds. because our future's
in thy hands, our times are in thy hands. We are thine own,
we're thy people, the sheep of thy pasture. We're the redeemed
of Christ Jesus. We believe. Increase our faith. The victory that overcometh the
world is our faith. We pray for faith and we