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hi everyone I’m Cliff I’ve been coming here to Calvary for about 4 and A2 years with my wife and our children and uh this has been the first opportunity to come before you and share things from the word of God and obviously we’ve been going through Jerry Bridge’s trust in God and today we’re going to go through trusting God for who you are and I’m really excited to go through that with you but let’s open up with a word of prayer and we’ll go from there uh dear Lord thank you so much for uh bringing us together as a body for the joy that we can share with one another and for the ability to walk in life with one another in your word uh as iron sharpens iron Lord uh would you bless this time would it be profitable for your people and would it be glorifying to your name Lord uh pray that you would uh make these words fly through our ears and uh penetrate into our hearts Lord the only way that you can through your spirit we pray this all in Jesus’s name amen all right so trust in God for who you are God has created us all with our abilities and disabilities and ultimately all those things work for his glory how incredible is that all these things that we get caught up on in our day-to-day lives we must accept ourselves and trust God fully in his wisdom for creating us the way we are for creating us who we are and for guiding us into the future I figured I’d start off with uh heidleberg catechism uh I grew up in the Christian reform church and this was a huge part for me growing up uh Lord’s day three question and answer six just going through the the answer here no on the contrary God created man good and in His image that is in true righteousness and Holiness so that he must rightly know God his cre hardly love him and live with him in Eternal blessedness to praise and glorify him we do a smaller version of this with our kids with the new city catechism and it’s why were you created to glorify God that’s that’s why we’re here and that’s what we’re going to dig in deeper to today uh the main verse for this entire chapter was Psalm 19 3 13-9 there and uh just Mo this out the way so I can read it to you for you formed my inward Parts you knitted me together in my mother’s womb I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made wonderful are your Works my soul knows it very well my frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret intricately woven in the depths of the earth your eyes saw my my unformed substance in your book were written every one of them the days that were formed for me when as yet there were none of them God has known all of us far before the beginning of time how powerful is that he knows every part of your being he’s planned every moment everything works together for his glory because he is Sovereign and good oh this is incredible Comfort to me and I hope it is to you as well I think what we should take away from that is an immense sense of gratitude that every step is already planned in ordained now we have a duty and a diligence to walk forward in that in a way that honors God that follows his precepts that holds us tight to his Commandments you know we are not um without responsibility but we can rest in that Blessed assurance that this is something that he has already created for us we don’t need to long or want for things in a way that is uh sinful or Covetous or uh just being the unknown right we can rest in him all right so Main three items we’re going to go through today again who we are what we are and God’s guidance who we are we are created with purpose jeremiah: 15 before I formed you in the womb I knew you and before you were born I consecrated you I appointed you a prophet to the Nations Ephesians 2 we are God’s Masterpiece for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them another one that I love in there is uh Psalm 1973 your hands have made me and fashioned me give me understanding that I may learn your Commandments we all have are picadillos right nothing’s perfect Bridges talks about his uh difficulty with having monocular vision so he doesn’t have depth perception um I too have an eye issue and it’s it was really incredible I I never knew what was wrong but as a kid growing up like why can’t I see why can’t I see and I think it was maybe a couple months before Aaron and I uh got married that a doctor find finally diagnosed me with this conative disease in my eye can’t fix it like okay well there’s an experimental procedure it’s not FDA approved yet but you could go try it like wow a doctor finally found this thing there’s a way to fix it had this experimental procedure and by the time we got married I could see 2020 by the grace of God right the miracle of modern science you know like a blind man I can now see I think about Pastor Dave teaching Us in John lately and incredible I remember walking out of that procedure them giving me my new contacts and uh I looked up at the trees and the sun was coming through the leaves and I could see all the little ventricles in the leaves with the sun shining through was incredible but the fact that God had already planned that so that finally by the time I got married I could see my wife uh in full vision like how beautiful is that it’s not just those little things right God plans everything about us and he has it all unfold in a way that is best for us even though we might not understand it at the time praise be to God it’s not just our appearance but our personalities that he creates he creates our likes and our dislikes our our abilities and inabilities our preferences our families where we live I’ve had the great pleasure like many of you growing up here in the States but uh I’m not from here originally I grew up in uh the Netherlands when I was a little kid and by an unhappy circumstance of my parents getting divorced I end up in America I get to grow up here it’s pretty darn good right we live in a land where God is praised openly and worshiped openly and we can be free to do so it’s not like that a lot of Western Europe it’s a postchristian culture and here we can go we get to grow up and raise our children in places where people still love God and call out his name that’s all he’s doing that’s a beautiful thing curious if any of you have uh any stories that you’d like to share with the group as well in a moment here Gonda here Mar got the mic for you I remember leaving the Caribbean at the age of 15 I went to England I went to school in England and I really really loved England and I said that’s where I would always live in England I would live there I will die there in my middle 30s my husband say oh we going back to the islands I said going back to the islands that was not my dream to go back to the islands no I didn’t want that cuz then after things went really bad in the islands and here I am in America I never thought that my change my life would change from England to America America cuz I really love England I want to be wanted to be there but that was not God’s plan for my life so now I see way down before I was born God had it planned for me to be in America so that’s my story Amen to that and thanks for being here you’ve been such an encouragement to so many of us I think you’ve lived like seven lives uh anyone else um so if you look at the the radius on a map of where I lived in my life um it’s very small born in Elizabeth grew up in rawe had houses in Westfield and Cranford and now we’re out here a little bit so the radius expanded but uh through it all uh and and through a secular upbringing there have been so many lives packed in this life and uh not all of it is Jo joyful but I can say uh that God brought me through it he he was with me all the way uh and eventually I recognized his truth in my heart and so that’s being born again but leading up to that in the radius and with my family and with friends and other experiences yes uh he knew me and that’s uh that’s the best I can say is that he knew me and he eventually made me know that I am his amen yeah what a blessing it is to know that we are his right no matter what the trials to your point like we’re chosen people right 1 Peter 2:9 but you are a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and Into His Marvelous Light we got a pretty good taste of that over the last few weeks with uh keep harping on Dave because his uh sermons have been right on point with a lot of this so thanks um but he pulls us into the sheep fold right he is the door he is the Good Shepherd he’s the one that cares for us and once you’re his you’re never going to let go or rather he’s never going to let go I’m a again grew up calvinist so uh perseverance of the Saints once you’re in you’re in yeah there there ain’t no resist in God so what’s the power of that intimate knowledge that Psalm 190 uh uh rather uh verse it speaks so deeply to everything that he has within us he was involved in our formation he knows every detail of Our Lives he knows what abilities and disabilities we’re going to have if you’re not going to have that proper gate in your step and not be able to walk right or if you’re going to have 2010 vision and become a fighter pilot right he he’s got all that planned out but not just that it’s our thoughts it’s our fears it’s our desires he knows all of that better than we do there’s no hiding from God he knows us intimately he knows us better than our spouses do better than than our siblings do better than our friends do he’s the ultimate friend right he’s in our minds and not just that he created them the way they are for purpose we’re not just a random collection of thoughts and experiences we are planned that’s incredible like I can’t we’ve got three little ones right I cannot imagine a life without Seb Naomi or Josephine but wow four years ago 5 years ago if you told me we’re going to have three kids and what life would be like after that uh short period of time I could never imagine but now can’t I can’t go back gosh he planted all how crazy is that he knew we’re just two dumb 30-year-olds trying to figure life out and now we got kids it was still trying to figure life out um but in all of that he’s got it planned he’s holding it all together and he knows us and he guides us we’ll get to The Guiding part in a bit our unique traits and qualities align perfectly with God’s plan and purpose for our lives again we are purposefully designed um would someone read 1 Corinthians 4:7 it’s going to be a fun race to see who gets there first go ahead Cheryl uh Mark’s got a a mic for you Cheryl 1 Corinthians 4:7 yes for who sees anything different in you what do you have that you did not receive if then you received it why do you boast as if you did not receive it thank you everything we have comes from God everything capability intelligence speed strength humor ignorance selfishness all of it all right yall the good and the bad and uh we all tend to at least if I’m speaking for myself uh gfy yourself a little bit too much in the good stuff and I think we could all remember to be a bit more humble about it because we’re merely using the gifts and talents that we were gifted we did nothing to earn them just the luck of the draw no it’s it’s the way God designed us and we should use those gifts and abilities to the best of our ability for his glory really love this quote um that was in the chapter by George McDonald and I think this goes back to the humility piece I’d rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of for to have been thought about born in God’s thought and then made by God is the dearest grandest and most precious thing into all thinking we are so insignificant the only thing that matters is God and the fact that the almighty all powerful all- knowing being of the universe who transcends place and time would spend the energy if we could even think of it in those terms to think of us each individual to think out every moment moment of our lives every fiber of our being and then to execute that thought how are we even worth it I don’t even know but it’s all for his glory too highly do we think of ourselves and not enough of God oh we think so much of the individual especially here in the West and if we can continually be in his word with in community with one another and praying I think that’s an incredible usage of right the gifts of Grace but it’s an incredible way to drive humility back into the heart of this because we are not the stars of the show we are not the protagonists in this story we are the side pieces we are the hands and feet we are the tools of the the Potter but it does make you think about that inner character again I know I’m blessed you know God has given me a fairly Keen mind but that means for someone like me I need to know and learn to lean deeper into God’s strength in instead of trying to always do it on my own um and I I’ve seen so many of my friends in similar situations but then my best friend uh growing up his little brother I think’s like two days younger than my brother uh so two years younger than me and completely incapable born without the ability to walk without the ability to talk without the ability to eat without a feeding tube and watching a family take care of a child like that you learn so deeply that the strength cannot come from you alone from your own will I mean plenty of times I saw his mom break down crying single mom with three kids in the middle one being so handicapped told that he was never going to walk again or never be able to walk rather and then I think by the time he was like 11 he was walking like incredible right and granted he need someone’s help to do so but he could move his own legs but you go back and think like what is the glory and all that why does God design someone like that and over a period of years I could see it right it’s the resilience that that builds up in someone the uh continual building of the muscle of the Reliance on God and not in ourselves not in the social construct around us not in the government not in even our families because at some point in time all of those things pass away but God never does yeah that he’s still kicking Adam is still kicking around these days which is incredible he was never supposed to live past like five and he’s what how old’s my brother now 36 so and again all for the blessing of those around him so that just like the blind man in in John was a nine or 10 there um the rest of the world could be Sanctified and honored and be brought up to uh love and honor God glorify God what we are we’re recognizing go uh we’re recognizing God’s design right God created man from the dust of the earth Genesis 2:7 right then the Lord God formed man to the dust of the ground and breathed in his nostrils and the breath of life and Man became a living Soul he made us man I I know we keep going back to that but it’s so fundamental we are to trust in God’s plan for who we are we’re we’re Made In His Image the IMO day no other creature is like us the Angels Envy us for we are made in the image of God and because of that our identity can come from him alone as people and as Christians even more so as Christians because we have his spirit inside of us it’s an incredible blessing again none of us deserve it none of us have earned it but we’re all called to be children of God so stinking cool uh the verse at the bottom there might be hard for you guys to see it’s 2 Corinthians 5:17 therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation the old has passed away behold the new has come we’re a new baby we get to die to our old selves and put on that new robe and it’s tough I falter every day okay lose lose some patience get annoyed at something we all do it i’ definitely say I’m the chief among them but he’s made us new and we get to rest in that trusting in God’s design so there’s a unique design and there’s a unique purpose God creates each person with distinct qualities and when we compare ourselves to one another it diminishes his craftsmanship and sadly it robs our joy he’s designed us to be different not every piece can play the same part not everyone can be a wheel not everyone can be a steering wheel not everyone can be an engine right some of us need to be axles and rods and some of those need to be door panels I like cars um but we are all made in the image of God Genesis 1 127 right God created man in his own image and the image of God he created him male and female he created him yes male and female I know we live in a world that says otherwise but he created us and he’s accepted us right Romans 15:7 you are accepted therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God again the underlying theme Here consistently is this is all for God’s glory not our own and he controls all of it even our days right job 145 since his days are determined and the number of his months is with you and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass everyone wants to know when are we going to die how are we going to die what’s life going to be about oh I’m 38 I’m like halfway there am I 40% of the way there oh gosh there’s only half of it left how do I what have I done with my life or I think of Glenda like you’ve got a you’ve lived a long and wonderful life so many wonderful stories you’re going to be able to tell them all gosh we need to get you like a subscription to something so you can but none of us knows could be today could be tomorrow could be 100 years from now especially with the way modern medicine is going but how do we make the most of the time that we do have how do we stay focused on things that are of Eternal worth and eternal glory instead of getting caught up in the day-to-day the mundane the uh the trivial every time I think about that little next thing I want to get done or got to get the kids to bed or I got to get this report done I got to get this proposal out the door or hockey starts in half an hour uh sorry right every time we we sort of focus on something else that doesn’t necessarily matter we’re robbing ourselves of joy and we get frustrated at least I do and uh I think that’s a great lesson for all of us to take away from this is to slow down and think about what is the Eternal impact what am I doing dayto day to help Drive the kingdom forward and to continue to grow in Christ’s likeness because ultimately after all this goes away that’s the only thing that matters these clothes fade away this body will fade away my house is going to fade away doesn’t matter how much I build it so we’ve all been uniquely designed and we all have a unique purpose John 15:16 you did not choose me but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide so that whatever you ask I think I forgot the rest of the verse on there sorry um whatever shall ask of father name it to you thanks Mike that’s beautiful again we didn’t choose him he chose us why Beyond me but we know from his word that it’s for his glory and we know that he’s prepared good works for us to do in his name and again we live in a country where we can go out and do that so let’s not be afraid let’s go do it I’m preaching to myself here just as much as I am to all of you so Corinthians 7:21 our uh our work is in his hands so doesn’t matter what you do for work doesn’t matter if you’re a stay-at home mom doesn’t matter if you’re a a garbage man if you’re a general a CEO if you’re Donald Trump or Elon Musk or if you’re the guy down the street that’s uh delivering the mail everything we need to do we need to do for his glory to the best of our ability be the best spouse you can be be the best sibling child parent coworker all of it for his glory he’s placed Us in these places Bridges talks about wanting to be out in the mission field and yearning and pining for it and then realizing wait a minute I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be I wonder how many times that’s happened to any of us I’ve been I’m I’m in sales right I’ve been fired and let go from jobs more times than I can count part of part of the game and uh I remember so distinctly it was right after we came to Calvary and we had a femon old at the time and we had just bought a new house in Hillsboro and my company did a restructuring like what am I going to do and he opens up another door and it’s been one of the best parts of my career but we trusted in him and we had a plan from the very beginning of Aaron leave your job stay home with the kids uh and that would that took a lot of trust took a lot of trust she was definitely making more money than I was at the time and uh we wanted to make sure that we raised our children in a way that would be in fear of the Lord because those Eternal things matter and that was definitely a stretch of trust and a lot of hoping and praying but uh in that particular case God came through and he delivered as he often does in this case not in a way I thought it was going to happen I’ll start working for some really smart 20-year-old kid definitely not where I thought my career was going but it worked out but through all of it trying to maintain biblical principes right how do you do life in a way that honors God that upholds Integrity um and hard work there’s nothing wrong with hard work we’re we’re made to toil the ground for our for our food for our for our sustenance right part of the punishment of sin but hard work is good even before the fall Adam and Eve worked in the garden and God has ordained all of our work whether it’s in the church or your dayto day it all comes from him Psalm 31:15 my times are in your hand rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors again purpose he owns our time I think of David uh running away from Saul time and time and time again it’s funny I was actually in the shower this morning thinking about David and David Gets anointed doesn’t become king for what like two decades like that’s an incredible amount of trust and patience while someone’s trying to kill you and to have the wherewithal to not go and kill Saul those multiple times that he could have in the cave and elsewhere um God is the one who controls time and Destiny he’s the one that sets up rulers all of that’s in his hands we need to learn to be patient with it he does not count time the way that we do and gosh we are impatient we want everything now cuz it’s still not even 10:00 yet and I can order something on Amazon will be at my house by 5:00 p.m. we’re impatient people and we’ve built a culture around it everything in our culture is fairly antithetical to the Christian Life we need to teach ourselves patience and Reliance on God because we are children of God it says in John 1:12 but to all who did receive him who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God so for his and our identity is in him and he is designed us and he’s given us our purpose we should trust in him the name of the book is so simple it’s such a simple concept but why is it so hard we belong to him 1 Corinthians 3:23 and you are Christ and Christ is God’s yeah it’s pretty awesome we have to continually preach that to ourselves day after day it’s so important to be praying and reading every day to not forget these little truths build a shield around your hearts and your minds to block out the world and to focus and rely on God all right so we’re going to be trusting in God’s guidance that’s a little bit of a scary thing how do you do that we’ve talked about it a little practically in Mark since this is your favorite Psalm you want to read uh verse 105 your your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path thanks brother many people here could have done that yeah you got a special touch um Galatians 2:20 I think plays along this line too I’ve been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me he guides us but he doesn’t in the most intimate of ways his Spirit dwells within us he died for us that’s how he bought us we are his think about that we are his he plants his spirit inside of each and every one of us you know that nagging voice in the back of your head that sort of starts preaching go uh verses to you you know the ones that are etched on your heart and written on your mind when you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing or when you’re having a thought you shouldn’t have or about 5 minutes after you said that thing you shouldn’t have said to your spouse or 30 seconds after you said that thing you should have said to your spouse that’s God guiding you it’s him using his word that’s why it’s so important to be in it day in and day out because it lives in you it’s the Living Word of God Christ is the word the logo right in the beginning was the word he dwells in us and prods us and reminds us and encourages us and sometimes that happens through songs enjoyed what Mike shared a couple weeks ago I love music I think you guys know that you see me singing there enough um but there’s so many ways that God can break into you and crack you open but you have to surrender to him and let him guide you and we read about that a bit in Psalm 23 in the book right the shepherd is leading we are sheep and sheep are stupid like really stupid they get scared of everything they don’t eat unless it’s like perfect conditions they don’t sleep or drink unless it’s great right otherwise they’re skittish they’re all over the place but our Shepherd knows where to take us the calmest of waters the quiet cool pasture with the green Lush grass that’s good for eating that’s nourishing he knows where to place us but sometimes to get from place to place you got to walk through places that are Rocky and Dusty and scary I’m just a dumb little sheep there’s all kinds of things flying overhead but you follow your master voice the only way to keep hearing that voice again stay in the disciplines of Grace I’m going to keep like just hammering on that one you got to stay in the disciplines of Grace because if Christ is not actively leading you someone else or something else will there’s no neutral ground in this life you’re either with God or you’re not either he’s guiding you or it’s the prince of the powers of the air or one of his people or beings or however you want to think of it we’re either moving closer to what it looks like to be in Christ’s likeness or moving away from it so that’s why we have to be so diligent follow the signposts listen to his word walk with one another there’s no neutral ground either you’re going to be sheep or you’re going to be goats it would terrify me at the end of my life to hear that dep depart from me I never knew you after saying Lord Lord right we know it comes so make sure it’s not you be diligent be in prayer and then we need to plan well I think this is it’s a really good reminder proverbs 4 5-9 get wisdom get understanding forget it not neither decline from the words of my mouth forsake her not and Sh shall and she shall preserve thee love her and she shall keep thee wisdom is the principal thing therefore get wisdom and with all thy getting get understanding I like Old English sometimes man it sounds so cool but it it’s very straightforward right like we need to understand and we are dumb sheep we don’t have the capability on our own there’s one place we can go for that and that’s God that’s his word so we know it’s infallible we know it’s true it’s lasted centuries Millennia some cases Proverbs 16:16 how much better to get wisdom than gold to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver true wisdom comes from the Lord there’s a a wonderful uh book that we all went through was it two years ago we did uh the Proverbs uh with with the men in Iron Men and I think we spent maybe 3/4 of the time talking about wisdom there’s so much to be gained in the fear of the Lord and and in his wisdom but it must start there we have to recognize again that we are made in His image that we are his that he’s designed us that he’s given us purpose and then we have to trust in him to guide us we need to desire wisdom need to ask for wisdom james5 if any of you lacks wisdom let them ask God who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given to him we need to study and learn from God’s word Psalm 19:7 the law of the Lord is perfect Reviving The Soul the testimony of of the Lord is sure making wise the simple what are what are some other ways that God’s guided you we’re on while we’re on Proverbs I think of um a verse that I think drives Us in Iron Man is Proverbs 2:20 which says you shall walk in the way of good men and keep to the path of the righteous we not only need the content of the word we need to see people living it out as example for us um that’s just so powerful you know we need to know hey how what does this look like M yeah yeah the law of the Lord is perfect Reviving The Soul the testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple yeah it doesn’t need to be complicated feel we we have a tendency to do that as a people try to figure everything out yeah go a come out right um be still and know that I am God we think about that scripture um mostly when we’re suffering and and stress um but we were talking about hard work and doing everything to the glory of God and um God gave me a job then I didn’t expect to have to change jobs um but he wanted that and he did it and blessed me in it um much better pay and we have Bible studies there um so but I’ve been struggling not wanting to be there and um partly because sometimes it’s really slow and I want to if I have to be somewhere I just want to be doing something um but in going through that uh with the Lord this week was great week I was nice and busy except for Friday and there was a point and there was Bible study that day and God used it he he lifted my spirits and um it was a blessing and I know he has me there for that purpose but there was a point in the day when there was nothing to do so I just sat there and I thought oh I’m giving God glory in just sitting here right now and so sometimes I think that we have to do that too yeah that’s beautiful yeah go ahead going back to what you’re talking about the Sheep at the Sheep needs a Shepherd the story is told of a young young school boy um he took care of his that his past his dad’s flock of sheep and one day at school the teacher asked him if you have a 100 sheep and one go astray how many how much do you have everybody in the class put up their hand and say oh we 99.99 so the young boy said the teacher asked him what do you say he say teacher I know sheep you know mathematics but I know sheep if you have one go stray 100 go so that’s the point is that he is telling them don’t matter how much how much you think you know the Sheep the Sheep would be there he is telling the Headmaster no you know mathematics but I took care of my dad sheep if one go down the hill a whole hundred go down the hill so that’s where I come back to know that we really need a shepherd and Christ is our Shepherd and we we should not take our salvation for granted because as you was talking about the angel the angel desired to look into our salvation but they couldn’t understand it but we have the opportunity to understand God’s word amen that’s little like a little 111 the whole WF right h never knew that about the Sheep thanks Glenda anyone else and ways that God has guided us maybe when we have to make a difficult decision yeah go for it Danny so when God first saved me uh I was a young police officer and uh one of the first assignments I had as a Christian I was uh a assigned to the cell block so there’s 50 cells and my job was to uh feed the prisoners and uh walk around with a portable phone so they can make phone calls and I must have shared the gospel 100 times with different prisoners and they couldn’t go anywhere so they had to listen to me and uh it’s funny you think they would be guilty but most of them weren’t guilty either they were uh not not put there on the because of something they did wrong but it was a great job and all of a sudden out of nowhere I they pulled me out of there and put me in an administrative position and I just couldn’t understand I said Lord why are you doing this I’m having such a great time here this is incredible but down the road we God revealed it by his grace that now I’m doing more administrative stuff but still preaching the gospel but really was shocked why he pulled me out of there the time getting to run the reverse Paul is sort of nice isn’t it but yeah I can understand that could be difficult you’re enjoying the moment and then all of a sudden like oh God why now but to your point it’s it’s it’s it’s shown to be the place that God has designed for you to be right amen even when it’s not what we would choose for ourselves he is glorified he knows far better than any of us ever could we live in Christ his Spirit indwells us searing his word onto our hearts and Minds so that it is never far from us and thus comes on as a comfort and guide in times of distress I feel like uh as a church we’ve seen more hard times in the last like 2 years 18 months I think than we had in the last three or four before then I think remember hearing khif say uh last year when someone passed it was the first time someone had ever passed in the church that since he had been here and there’s been plenty of bouts of cancer plenty of accidents right there’s many difficult things that have happened in this body over the last year and a half two years but God is using all of that to grow us to help us to be reminded of our Reliance on him so that we do not fight through in our own strength or by our own will but through his Supernatural strength so that we can look more like him and that we can uphold one another we are again the hands and feet right when someone’s hurting God uses us to help God uses us to teach and to coach to mentor and to guide to love and to care for that’s what a body is it’s why we have a local body we are created to exist in community with one another that’s a beautiful thing it’s a picture of the Triune God he exists in perfect Community with himself right the Father the Son the Holy Spirit they are one I don’t get it but it’s true I can’t explain it but because we are made in the image of God we have that desire to be Community with one another to walk with each other and we have a duty to do so because it’s what brings glory to God and it’s a beautiful thing when we do that’s why a 38-year-old kid from Amsterdam who lives in New Jersey you can love and be friends with a I don’t even know how old you are Glenda I’m not even going to guess but you know a woman woman from the islands so it’s a beautiful thing how do we walk forward in that we serve with love we have to use our unique abilities to meet the needs of our church and our community I can sing so I get to go up there every once in a while which is an amazing blessing for me and hopefully uh the music that the music team puts out every week is uh glorifying and edifying to you to help you learn and to continue to repeat the truths of God to yourself but there’s so many other ways right the evangelism Team all the different Ministries we have at the church and then the things that you can be doing in your community whether that’s with other families um helping out with food pantries I mean there’s there’s a ton of things out there that we can be doing to be the hands and feet of God Walk with other Christians side by side and Iron Man are awesome I think they’re very useful Ministries here at the church and they’re very beneficial to everybody but don’t for sake don’t just do that right there has to be that one-on-one connection to really be known and to know each other so that we can meet each other in our need in those moments of distress the moments of Joy all of it do life with each other and then we need to evangelize we have to share the amazing ways in which God has created us has put us together and share that with the world it’s not uh it’s not always easy any thoughts on how we can encourage one another to trust God well this is part of it here you know we we we come together on Sunday but you’re right Cliff we uh do need to spend time with each other during the week and other ways the the church I think does a good job of promoting that through the the uh corporate prayer and through promoting uh meals with one another uh but yeah there and then we all should recognize those who have been given the gift of exhortation and and encouragement and uh let them uh work to within the church too uh just on little conversations that we have in the fellowship or outside of the church but um but yeah today is a day of worship and and we’re going to do that together and we’re going to lift each other up as we praise our God Amen so there’s a lot lot there go ahead cat I think by encouraging one another and sharing how you see how you see the spirit of God at work in them um whether that’s when they confess their sin uh to you acknowledging just how the spirit of of God is at work there um or when you see them using the gifts that God is giving them yeah hey Mark get Arthur over here you’re giving me my exercise brother hey how else you can hit those 10,000 steps um I I think I think one of the I may be biased towards this but I think one of the best ways we can encourage each other I know it’s kind of been said being here when being here may be very difficult especially when you’re going through trials of Health I’ll tell you um that to answer the other question about what led me here was I have a particular diet for God’s word and Dwayne made it so I keep telling him he he made it so easy for me to want to come here but when we’re talking about health and you have Brethren that are coming up to you and asking you how you’re doing and it’s not like one of those how you’re doing and you’re just EXP oh I’m doing okay but they’re willing to listen and truly hear how you’re doing and afterwards they say wow you’re a real encouragement to me I think everyone I’ve shared my issue with my health has said to me um I’m an encouragement to them and I I really appreciate that no one likes being sick I’m telling you it’s it’s it’s not a trial that I would wish on anyone but um I keep saying this I think we in America we we have it too easy way too easy you know do we really understand what faith is it’s when we’re challenged to um to live our faith when things are difficult that’s when we really know it’s genuine so so I just want to thank everyone for um their words of encouragement I tell them they’re too kind when they say it to me but it really makes a difference so yeah thank you thanks for sharing that I think we’ve had uh from my family’s perspective uh several guests come through the church over the last few years and one consistent comment that we’ve always gotten is how warm and inviting uh this place is so thank you for that it’s it’s incredible to see what God is doing here this is not normal I’ve been to many churches um and there’s seemingly no divisiveness here um feels like everyone is pulling in the same direction we’re all for each other and that is an incredible blessing so let’s close up with a word of prayer and then uh you guys can head out to the back and go sneak a bagel if that’s your uh you’re you’re choosing Lord thank you so much for this time time together as a family as a body thank you for your word and for its ability to shape and form us thank you for for knowing us for Designing us for creating us to be who we are and what we are for that unique design in our lives God and for The Unique purpose in which you’ve placed each and every one of us in this world in this time and in this place in this body help us to look to your word for your guidance on how to live our lives in a way that brings glory and honor to you help us to die to ourselves daily to lift one another up to Bear one another’s burdens to be the hands and feet that you’ve called us to be Lord that you’ve designed us to be and help us to do all of that with increasing joy and humility knowing that we are just a part of your design that you are the one who this story is about Lord that all of this is for your glory and pray that we’d all be able to walk together in that and that we can all look forward to the day when we kneel before your throne and give you the praise and honor to your name as we spend eternity with you uh bless the preaching later today would you watch over all of us as we go out into the world in this coming week and help us to exercise these things to stay in your disciplines of Grace Lord to stay in your word to stay in prayer and to stay in community with one another that we may go forth and Make Disciples of Nations Lord all of it For Your Glory we pray this in Jesus name amen