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Empowering multimedia ministry for bold Christian living: Weekend Messages, Deep End Podcast, Deep Dive Bible Study. Tim Hatch, Lead Pastor, Waters Church, 26 years of pastoral ministry, book author.
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0:00 You are listening to Waters Church podcast. Waters Church is a multisite, multigeneration community of faith on the East Coast of America. Now for a message from our pastor.0:13 I want to share some encouragement with you this morning. We're living in a very, very difficult time. It seems as if Satan is releasing all, the forces of0:25 darkness that he possibly can. Never never before has there been so much wickedness and evil upon the face of the earth. And we know why, because Satan0:37 knows that his time is short, and so he's doing everything in his power to hold on to those that he's got and to try and grip the lives of more0:48 people. And that's why it's so important for you and I, to be faithful in the preaching of the gospel. Now, many many people today are gripped with fear.1:00 It's a terrible thing to see how people are broken, how afraid they are. Many countries of the world, people live be be behind locked doors and locked fences and security1:12 because, many of the countries of the world have been run by gangsters. And so, there's a tremendous amount of fear. But we as the people of God must understand that God has not given1:24 us a spirit of fear but of power, of love, and of a sound mind. The Bible says that perfect love casteth out all fear and fear is1:36 the opposite of faith. We are people of faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not1:47 seen. And the Bible says the just shall live by faith. The just shall walk by faith. Amen? And so we need to hear the word of God. We1:59 need to fill our hearts and our lives with the word of God because it's the word of God that will sustain us and encourage us and strengthen us during times like these. And2:11 so I've got 7 points I want to just share with you very quickly and, hope that they will encourage you in a time in which we're living. Everything2:23 that happens in my life is ordained by God for my good. Amen. Everything that happens in my life is2:35 ordained by God for my good. Look what he says in Romans 8 28. He says, and we know that God causes everything2:47 to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. The writer says, we know.2:59 We're not hoping so. We're not feeling it. We're not thinking it. We're not just guessing it. We know that everything that happens to us works together for our3:11 good. That is a great word of encouragement because when you look, there are many examples in scripture. I just want to mention Joseph in the old testament, the old covenant. Joseph's brothers were3:22 very, very jealous of him because he was the father's favorite son because the father, Joseph was born in in his father's old age and so they were very jealous and3:34 they decided 1 day that they were gonna kill him. And eventually they changed their mind, they threw him in a pit and and then he was sold into slavery, went into Egypt as as had been bought by a3:46 group of people there and they lied to their father about him. But but the amazing thing is that in Joseph's life, even in Egypt, he he he rises to3:58 the top. He becomes a very important person and then the woman the leader tries to seduce him and he's cast into prison and in prison he meets other people. He interprets their4:10 dreams and they promise him they'll help him get out of prison. They they forget about him. So Joseph went through tremendous turmoil in his life. When you look at all the things that happened to him, you think4:22 that he would question God and say, why are you doing this to me? Why are you allowing these terrible things to happen in my life? But he doesn't do that because what happens4:34 later on, the brothers have to go to Egypt because there's starvation in the land and they have to go and get some food there. And eventually, they recognize that the second most powerful man in the4:46 land is their brother Joseph. And so they say to Joseph, they ask for forgiveness and, they ask him, if they can be his slaves. And so, Joseph now is a4:57 is a tremendous power and authority in the land of Egypt and this is what he says to them. He says, but Joseph told them, God turned into good what you5:09 meant for evil. He brought me into a high pit the high position that I have today so that I can save the lives of many people.5:22 God brought me into this place through tremendous storm turmoil, through tremendous tribulation, but there was a purpose for it. It was that many people5:34 will be saved even his brothers were saved because of Joseph. And so God allows things to happen for our good and for the good of other5:46 people. Secondly, all circumstances and experiences of life are controlled and ruled by God who is working for our5:58 growth, not only our good, but also our growth. God wants you to grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a wonderful thing to be6:09 born again, but the next step is to grow in God's grace. Because God has a plan. He has predestined us to be conformed into the image of Jesus. He6:21 wants all the attributes of Jesus to be in us. And so God wants every born again believer to grow, and he allows certain things to happen in life that will help us to6:33 develop, that will help us grow, and will help us become the people that he wants us to do. Many times things happen and we complain and we groan and we cry and6:45 we get miserable because of these things, but we need to look at life in a different way. God allows things to happen and all the circumstances and all6:57 experiences that we go through, God allows it so that we can grow and allows it for our good. Number 3, everything that happens in my life,7:09 God himself will be with me when I have to face it. You know, it's 1 thing to know that, but it's another thing to believe it. To believe that no matter what7:20 comes my way, God is with me. To believe that in the midst of the mess, of the disaster, of the hurt, of the sorrow, of the pain, of the many issues of life,7:32 he is there to uphold me, to strengthen me. Hebrews 35 says, stay away from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have. For God has7:44 said, I will never fail you. We can testify today. After many, many years of serving the Lord, he has never failed us yet. And here he7:56 promises it to every 1 of us. He says, I will never forsake you. The Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to8:07 me? Tremendous encouragement. In the book of Acts 18, we find the Apostle Paul about the Lord's work. He experienced tremendous opposition. He was a man8:19 specially chosen by God for the great ministry and to lead many many people into the kingdom of God. But he experienced tremendous opposition in his life. He was beaten. He was8:31 thrown into prison. He was rejected. He was slaughtered. He went through all those things and but he never complains. And yet God speaks to him in a vision. And this is what God says to him and I8:43 believe what God said to Paul here in the book of acts is applicable to you and I today. In fact, I believe this is God's prophetic word for our church8:54 today. He says, don't be afraid. Speak out. Don't be silent for I am with you. No 1 will harm you because many people9:06 here in the city belong to me. That's what God said to him. Speak out. Don't be afraid. There's more for you than against you. In Matthew 28 209:18 says, and be sure of this that I am with you always even to the end of the age. What a tremendous promise God has given to every9:30 single believer and especially applicable in the great commission. He says, when you go and you preach the gospel, I will be with you always. That's applicable to that, but it's also for all aspects9:42 of life. Because in the storm, when it's dark and the thunder and there's lightning, he's in the boat with you. When you are in the lion's den, he shuts the lion's mouth. When you're in the9:54 fiery furnace, he's the fourth man. He has promised us he will never ever forsake us and his presence will always be with us. He is on the mountain10:06 when things are going well and you're rejoicing and everything is coming together and there's peace in your heart and everything has seems so good. He is the same God who's with you in the10:17 valley. The God of the mountain is also the God of the valley. And so God has promised us his presence. Amen. I I think of the great Psalm10:29 that David wrote, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. And he speaks about when I walk through the valley of the shadows of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.10:40 And he says, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I wanna say to every born again believer this morning, when you're walking through difficult times, just look behind you. Goodness and10:52 mercy is following you all the way. Amen. Number 4, God's grace and power is enough for me to fulfill11:04 his will, his purpose, and his mission. What God calls us to, he also equips us for. God will never call you to do something and not11:16 equip you to do it. Whatever God has called you to do, he will give you the ability. He will give you all that you need to be successful in fulfilling his purpose and11:28 his plan. Philippians 2 30 says, for God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey. I I like the way that it it's put that God even puts11:39 the desire in our hearts to obey him. And he says, and the power to do what pleases him. He gives us power to do11:51 what pleases him. And Paul says, he knows what it is to have plenty. He says, he also knows what it is to have absolutely nothing. But through it all, he remains12:03 cheerful. He's never downcast. He's never depressed or oppressed. He's never in that condition and he never blames God for anything that's going on in his life. In fact,12:15 1 time he said to the Lord, there's a there's a the I have a fall in my flesh. There's a evil spirit that is buffeting me. 3 times, he prays to the Lord, will you remove this thing from me? But12:27 this is what the Lord said to him, my grace is sufficient in all you need and my power works through weakness. Pope, God is with us. Hallelujah.12:39 Number 5, what happens in national and international politics, economics or nature? God has allowed it. It is amazing how12:51 we get frustrated, how we get confused, how we get angry when we see all the things that are taking place even in our country today. But you must understand that God13:03 is a sovereign God. In fact, Philippians says, furthermore, because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God for he chose us from the beginning13:15 and all things happen just as he has decided long ago. Everything happens just13:26 as he has decided long ago. We don't understand politics. We don't understand the forces of nature. We don't understand all the destruction and the13:38 devastation and the suffering and the loss of life, but he is the sovereign creator. And because he has created everything, he has the sole right13:50 to control everything. He's a God creator. He is the controller and he's my God and he is your God. And the prophet says,14:02 he does whatsoever he pleases. And so no matter what happens in the world, you and I cannot be discouraged. We cannot be defeated. No matter how bad it14:14 looks, God is on the throne and he is still in control. Number 6, nothing will happen in14:26 heaven on earth that will frustrate or stop the saving purpose of the gospel. Nothing. Nothing in heaven or on earth will stop the gospel of14:38 Jesus Christ. Ephesians says, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. There's a tremendous battle going14:50 on in the world. And when he speaks about spiritual warfare, we're not fighting spirits that are somewhere in the air. The battle is about truth. Right from the beginning, the the spiritual warfare15:01 is about truth. Who has the truth? God or Satan? And so there's a tremendous battle going on concerning the truth. And and the the powers of darkness and15:13 the forces of darkness have arrayed themselves against the gospel. As time goes on before the coming of the Lord, it's going to be more difficult for us to gather. It's going to be more difficult for us15:25 to preach a clear gospel message. And so it is important that while we have the opportunity that we get on fire for God and wherever we go, we are witnesses of his grace, his mercy15:37 and his love. Now, nothing is going to frustrate the gospel because Jesus long time ago said, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not15:49 prevail against it. What does he mean by that? When I when I got saved and I used to hear this verse of scripture, I thought there were big gates around the church and and and the gate and hell16:00 was trying to get in, but they couldn't get in because we have a fence around us, but that's not true. The fence is around hell, but that fence will not stand against the people of God.16:12 It will not stand against the preaching of the gospel. The gates of hell shall not prevail. In other words, people who are other side of the gate will be rescued. They will be saved. They will be delivered. Their blind16:24 eyes will be opened. The deaf will begin to walk. God's gospel will never ever lose his power. Hallelujah. Jesus said, I'm building my church. Says, and God has put16:36 all things under the authority of Christ and gave him this authority for the benefit of the church. He's highly exalted. He's been given all16:48 authority in heaven and earth, and God gave Jesus that authority because it will benefit the church. Look what he said, the last enemy to be conquered is17:00 death. There's going to be a resurrection 1 day. When we stand at the graveside, our hearts are broken, when we see people have passed away and they're being buried. But we as the17:12 children of God do not sorrow as those who do not have hope because we know that those that went to sleep in Jesus, God will bring back with him. 1 day, he's coming back17:23 with great power and great authority and he's going to establish his earthly kingdom. So the best is yet to come for every child of God. Now there is attack against the17:35 gospel. People do everything in their power to bring this grace to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But look what the Bible says in Psalm 2. It says, God sits in the17:47 heavens and he laughs. He sits in the heavens and he laughs. Nothing will ever stop the church. The church17:59 is the most powerful force in the world today. There is nothing like the church of Jesus Christ. And it's so wonderful that you can know and I can know that we are18:10 living members of the church of Jesus Christ. We are living members in the body of Christ. Amen. Number 7, everything that happens18:22 will ultimately bring us closer to the return of the Lord Jesus. Everything that happens. Don't be discouraged. He says, when you see these things happen, what is he18:34 talking about? Jesus says there's going to be wars and rumors of wars. There's going to be a a tremendous weather changes. Terrible things are gonna happen. He says there will be false18:45 prophets and false teachers and false Christ, and he says, all these things are gonna happen like Sodom and Gomorrah, like, the days of Noah. All these things are going to happen. But when you see18:57 it, don't get discouraged. Don't get defeated. He says, look up and rejoice because your redemption is drawing nigh. Look up and rejoice he says. In Romans 13 1119:09 says, he says this, live right. You know how late it is. Time is running out. Wake up. That's a warning she says to the church. Wake up19:21 for the coming of our salvation is nearer now than when we first believe. The night is almost gone and the day of salvation will soon be here. So don't live in19:32 darkness. Get rid of your evil deeds. Live right. Stop getting drunk. Stop committing adultery and immoral living or fighting in jealousy. The Lord is coming.19:45 Get ready. The shout is about to be heard. The trumpet is about to be sound for the son of God is coming back with great power and a great authority to raise his church to eternal19:57 life. Hallelujah. The churches come. Ultimately, God's plan will succeed. His plan is from the beginning has been redemption.20:09 The redemption means the recovery of everything that has been lost because of sin. The redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the price that the redeemer has paid is his20:21 precious blood. And so it says in Romans 4 is by 1 man, disobedience were many were made sinners. So by the obedience of 1 man, Jesus, many will20:33 be made righteous. In the book of Revelation, John says, and I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her20:45 husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall wipe20:57 away their tears. And there shall be no more death, there shall be no more sorrow, no crying, no more pain for the former things have passed away. And he that sat upon the21:09 throne said, behold, I make all things new. There's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. That's what the scripture tells us it's going to take place in21:20 the new in the near future. God is gonna make everything new, but right now, this moment, today, he wants to make your life new. If you respond to him21:32 today and say, Lord, I've confessed my sin. I ask you to forgive me. I ask you to be my Lord and my savior. A miracle takes place in your life21:44 and today he makes your life new. The Bible says if a man or a woman is in Christ, they are new creatures. All the old things21:56 pass away and everything becomes new.22:03 Thank you for listening to this message from Waters Church. For more information or to visit 1 of our local assemblies, please visit waters church dot org. God bless, and have a great day.
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