Enduring In 2022

Welcome to God, committed to encouraging you to put God first, while viewing life. The window of the Bible. Now, in honor of the one and only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob left join Wayne see Thomas for today's message greetings in the name of our great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My name is Brian Thomas, and I want to use all of you a very very happy new year is 2021 is behind us and I were looking at 2022 and I am still in the Christmas season mode.

I am still celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And I don't just do so. In December, but I celebrate him throughout the year because our great Lord came to this earth, he became one of us so that he could die for our sins so that we can have the opportunity for eternal life and I'm just forever grateful to our great Lord and so throughout the year. He is worthy of the glory, honor and the praise but as we come to the new year. This is a time in which so many people look at it as a fresh start and it would be nice if we could just press the reset button to really get a clean slate to start things all over again. It is really not how life works because, well, the reality of the matter is the problems that we had, indeed, on December 31. More times than not are still present on January 1, but from a psychological standpoint, a lot of people will look at the new year is sort of a mile marker is a time to say they're going to become more disciplined.

You want to lose weight you want to read your Bible more.

You want to have a closer relationship with the Lord and do things better with your family and so now I'm not one that puts a lot of weight into the new year in terms of it being a holiday. To be honest with you I don't think that is wrong to celebrated. I have no problem with that at all. You could make the case that will in God's calendar. What we see as the new year means nothing but but putting that aside, people look at the new year again is a time for fresh start for for new beginning in so many ways and I think for me, a mental psychological standpoint. That is a good thing.

So again I have no problem with celebrating the new year and I think back to 2020 was such a challenging year that is recoded 19 really came on the scene as far as worldwide goes in so many things were happening with unrest in our nation, and I heard people once we got to about September and October were saying things like, if we can just get to the end of this year and get to the next year and I was thinking to myself, will you know. Again, I don't mean to be a pessimist but chances are those same problems are going to be there when the mixture comes in. So as we went from 2022 2021. Not only were those same problems there, but you could make the case if things got even worse. And so will look at 2022 and a lot of people are hopeful of things becoming better and again I'm not being a pessimist because we are to pray to our Lord to to seek things to get better for the healing around Landon and even things in our personal lives. But what I want to talk to you today about is what if things don't get better. What if things continue to just go down heal from our personal lives and in even on the world scene. How how are we to to handle what is taking place so I want to talk to you about him during today I want to draw your attention to the book of Matthew chapter 5 verse four in the Beatitudes. He says Blessed are the who mourn for they shall be comforted. Let us pray. Heavenly father, we thank you Lord for this day we honor you today Lord made this time before you will glory for your honor, we pray Lord that all things are spoken that to be nothing but sound doctrine, and may you be honored and glorified in all things in your name Jesus we pray. Amen. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. This time of year when we come to Thanksgiving to Christmas to the new year is really a tough time for so many people because a lot of people are mourning the death of a loved one.

A lot of people are mourning the loss of a relationship, there's the severing of a relationship, even if is not by death. Just from the standpoint of having some kind of a foldout but a lot of people are mourning the death of a loved one, and I have personal friends of mine friends and family who had loved ones who passed away within five days before Christmas just just this past Christmas that we just observe and I have so many family and friends who have lost loved ones over the years. Right around this time and so when you come to the Christmas season. It becomes a time of depression because they have the memories of that love one celebrating with them and in their gone and so they they cherish those memories so that it becomes a tough time for a lot of people.

And they just want to get through the Thanksgiving Christmas and new year. And just get to the next year so that they can get those things off their mind is forest that that love one that is no longer there but you know I want to put some perspective on things when we're morning we were suffering. It could very well be that God is preparing you for something that is to come. There is an account of a young boy, this is a true story and for the sake of privacy. I'm not going to use his real name. I'm just going to call him Johnny.

There is an account of of this young boy by the name of Johnny who came to know the Lord at a very young age he began reading his Bible at five years old on a nightly basis and shortly after within the probably a year or two of him really coming to the Lord reading his Bible preying on a regular daily basis. Johnny suffered one of the most devastating time periods of his life. He was sexually molested by a male family member in adult male family member and it was talk to him about this. Years later, and as he reflected back on it. He thought back to that time. And he remembered the, the, not just the physical suffering, but the psychological and emotional suffering that he was going through. He remembered how during that time periods.

He had so many questions so many things that he couldn't understand and like so many cases in which this takes place. The man who was doing the molestation of this this young this young child he he threatened him not to tell anyone. And so that's what he did so. Johnny was too ashamed to tell anyone he was too afraid and so he can. He kept it to himself. But during this time. He would seek the Lord and he would go to bed at night and he would pray he would get down on his knees and pray and he said that he would not in the prayer, though, beside the bed on his knees and said he would get in bed and continue to pray. He said because that brought him comfort talking to Jesus Christ as he was going through that brought him comforted brought him peace and he said he can remember night after night crying himself to sleep and not even remembering ending the prayer Jesus comforted him through that and he he would go off to sleep in tears and crying while speaking out to our great Lord and so he was crying only because of the fact of what he was facing with the abuse but this was during the time.

When aides came on the scene and so in his mind he thought that well. If a man is with another man in a sexual way that automatically minutes you would contract AIDS and die. So here this young boy years.

Around the age of seven, eight years old and he's going through this and he's going to bed every night crying himself to sleep because he's thinking that he's going to die. He's thinking that he is as contracted AIDS and is just a matter of time before he's dead and so he was very withdrawn. He would go to school and he really kept to himself because of the things that he was going through and he face people making a spectacle of him.

Even school teachers love to point out how he was so withdrawn how he was so quiet he didn't act like the other children and often times they would laugh about it and that just cause him to go even deeper into the state of depression and so again he would just continue to live his life into to seek the Lord and to pray it's a cry is over time.

As he grew he realized that he did not have AIDS as he as he learned more as he began to mature, he realized that healthwise that that maybe he was okay, but this had a very devastating effect on him psychologically. The way he viewed himself because his self-esteem was so low because he always looked at himself as being less than he thought of himself as not a real man because of having been violated this way by another man. Have you been sodomized by another man. He viewed himself as less than associate grew and he began to to date. This had an effect on his relationships with women because he was so insecure he even though the girls would complement him and say that he was cute or he was handsome within himself. He could only think of him less than I'm not a real man and so hit his romantic relationship struggle, but to make a long story short, as he continued to grow.

The Lord began to call on him when I say call him. I mean to preach the gospel and he began to speak the Lord's word and one of the things that he was speak about a lot is turning away from sin.

He will speak about God's distaste for sin, he was speak about his own disgust from sin because of what he had been through because it was sin that calls him so much suffering in his life he was seeing that calls him to have such little self-esteem and he would even speak a lot about sexual sins because that is what caused him so much trauma in his life and there were people that couldn't understand, but when asked in an interview as to what made him so passionate about speaking the truth of God's word will reflect back on to what he went through as a child. The coals that calls him to be adamant about speaking against things that are against God's words, things that would cause people to suffer. In particular, again, sexual sin, and so when he looked at it. He said God did not coals that man in my life to sexually molest me.

What God did was he turned the evil for good, because he said I might still be in ministry.

Even today, but he said my passion for speaking the truth would not be a strong had not been for what I went through so what Satan meant for evil God used it for good. And so there were people who asked him the question of the civil where was God, why did God allow you to go through that. Why didn't God stop that he would tell them he said will look there some things I don't have all the answers for reset God's ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts, his wisdom transcends what we as human beings can can proceed and so he said I don't question God I don't I don't make this say to myself God, why did you do that to me but I look at it and say God brought me through that and so now God is using it for the good. And so this young man would would tell people that listen, you may be suffering through life but your suffering may very well be what God is using to prepare you for something that is to come again.

Not that God is going to calls evil to come upon you. But when the devil brings evil God can turn it for the good. And so it is so important that when we are facing suffering in our lives that we understand how to endure and how to allow God to use it for his greater purpose and for his greater wheel. So as we go into this next year.

That is something that we need to keep in mind to keep the right perspective want to take a short break, but on the other side going to come back to talk more about enduring through something the way you attune into the diverse program you're listening to Brian on God for more crying, please visit God.org around the library. There you will find articles and messages available as MP3 downloads on various topics such as salvation.

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Also, sign up for our monthly newsletter and visit our web store visits God so Johnny is continuing to share the gospel of the great news of Jesus Christ and in preaching the word to repentance and to turn away from sin. He's looking forward to that great reward that is coming in heaven. If you look at Matthew chapter 5 verses 10 through 12 we find their Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You maybe one out there who is being persecuted you are suffering because of rejection. There are those even love ones were close to you that are rejecting you because of your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I want to encourage you today to embrace the suffering because we were created to live eternally and as the verses that I just read share with us is as great ease. Your reward in heaven.

There are people who were coming to the end of their lives and their things that they have been seeking that have not came to pass, and they're having questions now they're questioning God they're saying will. God, I saw you want.

Why didn't these things change in my life.

But we have to remember that again we were created to live forever and we will live forever. You will live either in the presence of our Almighty Lord where we have eternal life or you will live in the presence of eternal damnation separated from God. And so if you're one of those who your life is coming to a close and it looks like things haven't gotten better. Remember this is not the end of the story counted a privilege to suffer for the sake of being a follower of Jesus Christ because we found the apostles and they they were celebrating the rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ in the book of acts chapter 5 verses 40 through 41 and when they had called for the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go.

So they departed from the presence of the Council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

How many of us rejoice, to suffer. This is a message that you don't hear in churches today. You'll hear this message in churches about being a a willing subject for suffering for the sake of Jesus Christ, when we always hear his overcoming and we always hear about the blessings that are going to come in that all this and that all the great things that God is going to do for you the list of those who have to remember we are created to serve and to worship our Lord. So many people today have maids themselves God and made God to be someone who simply is like a genie in a bottle to give them whatever they want.

Whatever the asked for to make them happy. We were created to serve him. We were created to worship him that he will bless us in the process. What I want to get you to understand is that there are going to be times of suffering there, even churches in China that actually pray that persecution would come to them how many churches do we have here in our nation that you hear prayer on Sunday. The people gather around the altar and say Lord sin persecution. But that is what is happening even in China today and we see the apostles. They rejoice over the fact that they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus Christ. When you look at the apostles in the Scriptures after they came to know and follow Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

Their lives were full of trouble. Their lives were full of strife in terms of persecution. Their lives were not about health and wealth unit's health and wealth prosperity that we hear preached throughout the land.

Today, especially here in our nation.

That was not the case with the early apostles. Those men suffer tremendously.

You don't see anything about them. Attaining all of this material wealth. What you heard about was when you read the Scriptures. They went about teaching and preaching to repentance for the time is at hand and they were beaten for they were persecuted for they were killed forward as a result that is not will be preached in our churches today.

We preached the flipside we preach only about the good things that God is going to do for us and is causing so many people to struggle in the faith you heard a woman again a true story. I was listening to another radio show and a lady there was speaking about her husband who was in his early 30s. I think he said he was either 31 of 33 years old. He was running a marathon is a police officer and he collapsed during the during the marathon.

He eventually died and as she was speaking. Given this, this testimony she was saying how people often will pray for God to heal someone when they are gravely you'll lore or something happens and it looks like they're going to to pass away and step into eternity said people will pray to God and she said when when times come in with God does bring healing in there that life is is saved, that their physical earthly life is saved, she said people will say that God was faithful, and so the flipside of that, though she said what about when people are not healed. What about when you pray for healing and you die or that Loveland and they die, so does that mean God is not faithful in those circumstances, certainly not. We are made to live eternally and let me tell you something for anyone who has left this earth and going to heaven. They are experiencing things that I guarantee you they would not be willing if they had the choice to trade and leave heaven and come to this fallen Earth because they are in the presence of our Lord and that is the goal for all of us to be in the presence of Jesus Christ for all of eternity. So it is really resonated with me, which he said if God is faithful when someone is healed well. Does that mean he is not faithful when someone dies, the something should really think about what we say God is always faithful and so when the person dies.

The Bible says that is it is appointed to man to die once, so we have to leave this earth, either through natural death or by way of the rapture. And so when we do, though we go into the presence of Jesus Christ and that should be the goal for us all. But when people see someone that is not healed and Emma people make comments to say will will. God is faithful when he does healed. But then if he doesn't heal. That means not faithful this this can shake a person's faith. That is why is so dangerous.

That is why win-win new pollutant believers come into the kingdom weight when converts are made, we should make sure they are prepared for the suffering that is to come because Satan is going to bring the tax and often times they're going to suffer even more.

After becoming a Christian then beforehand the calls Bible tells us that that is was going to take place. So this health and wealth gospel that we see today is a false doctrine.

Galatians 512 says, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

We oftentimes will skip over that long suffering we don't want to look at suffering that is the characteristic of our Lord in the Bible says when you look at the fruit of the spirit is as long suffering and we should embrace it. We're going through things. I am greatly blessed and I give God honor I give him praise.

I think him for that. I know that things could change very quickly. I know the suffering could come at any day and so we are to always be willing to be long-suffering so I just want to share with you that if you looking at this new year and there are things that you have been wanting to turn around if you don't see that turnaround come immediately if you don't see that immediate joy. Remember that eternity is still to come.

Embrace the suffering and rejoice in the Lord. That is what the Bible says he will bring to a peace that surpasses all understanding.

That is why you can be in the midst of morning for a Loveland that is going on but still find peace and joy because that is Jesus Christ who is with you. Remember the apostle Paul. He pleaded with the Lord three times to remove the thorn in the flesh, and what did God say God said my grace is sufficient will know what that thorn in the flesh was a lot of people have speculated over the years as to what Paul was suffering from but whatever it was, he prayed to God and since he pleaded with God please remove this and God said no.

So what about you if God says no I'm not sand stop praying just like the apostle Paul.

He prayed three times so pray, seek the Lord into he answers, but is his answer is no I am not going to take this away from you can use the appraiser can use their rejoice in him.

Can you still give him honor and and give him the glory that he so rightfully deserves, because he said his grace is sufficient. Just like that account. I told you of of Johnny he could be prepare you for something that is great to come. He could be setting you up for being a witness. He's wanted to see how faithful you want to be is building you up to run the race he's building your endurance.

And so again, just like in the account of Johnny God did not cause that man to molest him. And if you're being mistreated right now in life. Don't say that is God doing it to you but it could be that God is allowing it to happen so that again. What the devil meant for evil God is going to use it for the good.

So I just want to encourage someone because when we look around right now folks at this time of of Covidien and we see death so my heart goes out to so many people who have lost loved ones, especially around Christmas season that the past three or four years of have been nothing like I've ever seen before. As far as hearing about people that I know personally who were who have loved ones they losing mother, father, son, daughter, siblings, and is a very trying time for them but I want to encourage you that as you continue to mourn, to endure it, endure the suffering and and look at it to say okay God is this something that you can be using to build me up to prepare me for something for your kingdom for your gospel to to share the gospel of you all a great Lord to the world and I just want to encourage you that as you go into this new year. There still may be times of trouble. There may be still times of tribulation, but God is still on the throne, and God is not unsettled by any of this.

He's not fretting. He's not worried.

We look at what is taking place in the world, the spirit of lawlessness the spirit of division that has descended upon the earth that is causing so much strife in the Bible says the spirit of antichrist. Even in the days the Bible to say that it is already at work, we see that spirit increasing as we continue to get to the time of our Lord supposed again.

I'm not here to be a pessimist not here to bring you down.

I'm here to build you up and to get you to understand long term eternity and we look back on this life a trillion years from now we are in the presence of our Lord.

It will seem as if it was the blink of an eye, the suffering that we've experienced because God is preparing us for great things that are gets you to come so I hope that can encourages you folks don't quit. Don't give up. As you continue to walk this race as you continue to run this race continue to endure. Look to our great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to carry you through what we are all out of time. I want to thank you for tuning then please come back and join us next week as we continue to encourage you to put God first, while viewing life through the window of the Bible until they remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, less God's great nation of Israel to the only wise God be glory through Jesus Christ. River you can think of the Bible blame God for Ryan and I first was a right protected under our copyright is available@ourwebsite.org until next time great nation of Israel first