(upbeat music) Good morning, everybody. Good morning. Welcome to First Baptist Atlanta. We are so glad you are here to worship with us. And we also wanna welcome all of our livestream viewers. So glad you're joining us today for worship. My name is David Cook, and I serve as the Pastor of Connections here at First Baptist Atlanta. And the Bible says that this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. I wanna introduce you to my wonderful family. This is my lovely wife, Amy. And we have been married for 20 years, this July. It's hard to believe. We're so thankful for that. (congregation clapping) This is my oldest son, JD, my middle son, Nathan, and my precious daughter, Bella. And each of them have a special word of encouragement for you this morning. (congregation clapping) Hello, everybody. My name is JD, I'm 16 years old. And on this weekend, 10 years ago, I was baptized here at this church. And my favorite thing about this church is how nice and welcoming everybody is. (congregation claps) Hello, church family. I'm Nathan. It's a great day to serve the Lord. I'm 14, and I go to the youth ministry here. My favorite thing about this church is actually how incredibly diverse it is. Shows like Christianity is not in just one specific place, it's spread all throughout. And that's just a great thing to see. (congregation claps) Hello, everyone. My name is Bella, I'm 12 years old. And it's such a blessing to be here today. My favorite Bible verse is Mark 5:36, which says, "Don't be afraid and just believe." And my favorite thing about this church is how passionate and loving everyone is for the Lord. And it shows that even in a time like this, with the pandemic, there's light in the dark. (congregation claps) Good morning, church family. As you can tell, I'm a very busy full-time mom. I also teach music in an Elementary School near our home. And I just feel so blessed that we are part of this church family. As my children mentioned, they have grown up here, and this church holds a very special place in our heart. And as you can see, they have learned and are still continuing to learn in this church how to fight the right way. And I just wanna welcome you here today. I pray that if you on livestream, that you are blessed to be joining us here today. I pray for all of you that you can know that God is sovereign, and that He always has a way. And that when you leave here, or when you click off our livestream today, that you will know that you have been with Jesus. And again, thank you. We just welcome you here to FBA. (congregation claps) Everyone, our church theme this year is Always Pray. And so, lets begin the service the very best way we can, that is through talking to our Heavenly Father through prayer. Would you join me in prayer? Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this beautiful day. We praise you for being the sovereign and awesome God that You are. We thank you, Lord, that You heal the broken hearted and You save the lost. And we're so thankful Lord that Your church is proclaiming Your Word, that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. And Father, we pray that You'll meet everybody's needs here. Lord, call their name, and Lord bring to life anything that is in need of Your grace salvation and Your redemption. Lord, we love You. Thank you for being so good to us. We praise Your holy name today. It's in Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Amen. (congregation claps) Amen. Thank you, Pastor Cook and family. Good morning, First Baptist. It's good to see you. Let's stand together. I'm gonna lead us on this first verse. And we will all sing together. Today is the day the Lord has made. Lets rejoice. ♪ I'm casting my cares aside ♪ ♪ I'm leaving my past behind ♪ ♪ I'm setting my heart and mind on You ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm reaching my hand to Yours ♪ ♪ Believing there's so much more ♪ ♪ Knowing that all You have in store for me is good ♪ ♪ It's good ♪ ♪ Today is the day You have made ♪ ♪ I will rejoice and be glad in it ♪ ♪ Today is the day You have made ♪ ♪ I will rejoice and be glad in it ♪ ♪ And I won't worry about tomorrow ♪ ♪ I'm trusting in what You say ♪ ♪ Today is the day ♪ ♪ Today is the day ♪ ♪ I'm putting my fears aside ♪ ♪ I'm leaving my doubts behind ♪ ♪ I'm giving my hopes and dreams to You ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ I'm reaching my hands to Yours ♪ ♪ Believing there's so much more ♪ ♪ Knowing that all You have in store for me is good ♪ ♪ It's good ♪ ♪ Today is the day You have made ♪ ♪ I will rejoice and be glad in it ♪ ♪ Today is the day You have made ♪ ♪ I will rejoice and be glad in it ♪ ♪ And I won't worry about tomorrow ♪ ♪ I'm trusting in what You say ♪ ♪ Today is the day You have made ♪ ♪ I will rejoice and be glad in it ♪ ♪ Today is the day You have made ♪ ♪ I will rejoice and be glad in it ♪ ♪ And I won't worry about tomorrow ♪ ♪ I'm giving You my fears and sorrows ♪ ♪ Where You lead me I will follow ♪ ♪ I'm trusting in what You say ♪ ♪ Today is the day ♪ ♪ Today is the day ♪ ♪ Today is the day ♪ ♪ Today is the day ♪ I'll give Him praise this morning. Today is the day. And we're gonna sing this chorus that reminds us we've come this far by faith, and by faith, He will lead us on. Lets sing together. ♪ We've come this far by faith ♪ ♪ Leaning on the Lord ♪ ♪ Trusting in His holy word ♪ ♪ He's never failed us yet ♪ ♪ Oh, oh- oh ♪ ♪ Can't turn around ♪ ♪ We've come this far by faith ♪ ♪ We've come this far by faith ♪ ♪ Leaning on the Lord ♪ ♪ Trusting in His holy word ♪ ♪ He's never failed me yet ♪ ♪ Oh, oh- oh ♪ ♪ Can't turn around ♪ ♪ We've come this far by faith ♪ ♪ We've come this far by faith ♪ ♪ Leaning on the Lord ♪ ♪ Trusting in His holy word ♪ ♪ He's never failed us yet ♪ ♪ Oh, oh- oh ♪ ♪ Can't turn around ♪ ♪ We've come this far by faith ♪ ♪ Oh, oh- oh ♪ ♪ Can't turn around ♪ ♪ We've come this far by faith ♪ ♪ By faith ♪ ♪ By faith ♪ (congregation applauding) Oh, amen. It's so good to see you this morning. And you know, when a crowd this size, I recognize that I have no idea what you may have come in this room carrying this morning. And maybe you're standing here singing these songs, and you feel like maybe you've exhausted the love of God, or you've exhausted the mercies of God. We wanna teach you a brand new modern hymn this morning, taken straight out of Lamentations 3:22-23. And in that passage of Scripture, the Word reminds us that the compassion of the Lord, it never fails. And that His mercies are new every morning. And so, if you're here today and you think when you went to bed last night, that you had exhausted the mercy of God. When the sun rose this morning, they were brand new. And I don't know about you, but that's a good reminder for me this morning that His mercies are new. We're gonna sing this chorus and a verse. We wanna teach it to you and then invite you to sing with me. It simply goes like this. ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Stronger than darkness, new every morn ♪ ♪ Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Stronger than darkness, new every morn ♪ ♪ Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more ♪ ♪ What love could remember no wrongs we have done ♪ ♪ Omniscient, all-knowing, He counts not their sum ♪ ♪ Thrown into a sea without bottom or shore ♪ ♪ Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ Sing with us. ♪ His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Stronger than darkness, new every morn ♪ ♪ Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more ♪ ♪ What patience would wait as we constantly roam ♪ ♪ What Father, so tender, is calling us home ♪ ♪ He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor ♪ ♪ Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Stronger than darkness, new every morn ♪ ♪ Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more ♪ ♪ What riches of kindness He lavished on us ♪ ♪ His blood was the payment, His life was the cost ♪ ♪ We stood 'neath a debt we could never afford ♪ ♪ Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Stronger than darkness, new every morn ♪ ♪ Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ ♪ His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Stronger than darkness, new every morn ♪ ♪ Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more ♪ ♪ Stronger than darkness, new every morn ♪ ♪ Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more ♪ Amen. Hallelujah. You may be seated. Well, I had never sung that song until this morning, but that is a beautiful praise song. Our sins, they are many, His mercy is more. Thank you for being here for our 10:30 service. And this is the best service of all three. (congregation laughs) This is the best. Now, what you may not know is I say that at each service. All right? (congregation laughs) Because I tell the first service that that's the law of the first fruits; you give God your very best upfront, right? And I tell the last service, all 250 of those who are coming, and by the way, that's doubled, we've doubled in growth at the third hour. I tell them, we save the best for last. We've just gotten warmed up. But y'all are right in the middle. I mean, y'all are the meat on the sandwich. Amen. I mean, this is what it's all about. (congregation claps) But thank you for being here. If you are visiting with us today, we're thrilled to have you here. And if you are a member of our church, this is your first time to be back since we have re gathered, the saints from exile, we're glad that you are back with us today for your first time. And we just hope that everyone has a great experience. And we have been welcoming our livestream audience. And three fourths of our church is still worshiping remotely. And I just think it's important for us to let them know we love them. So let them know we love them. Would you do that? (congregation applauding) And we have a growing FBA family online of folks who are not members of our church, but they've become a part of our family. So we're very honored and humbled to be in your home, or wherever it is you're watching this morning. Well, I wanna mention something from our Women's Ministry. We've got a conference scheduled for Saturday. It's very abbreviated. It's a one hour conference. And Alli Worthington is the guest speaker. And she'll be here on Saturday. It'll be from 11:00 to noon. And if you're interested, ladies, it's for ladies 18 and older. And this is a time when ladies are juggling so many responsibilities. And many of our moms have had to learn how to manage homeschooling and online education, as well as all of the responsibilities of their job. And so, this is a time to speak into women and encourage women. And Alli, the mother of five boys, she ought to know a mother in need of encouragement. But you may be single and never have had children, you will still be encouraged as well. So they asked me to mention that; that is this Saturday from 11:00 to noon. We need you to register if you'd like to attend. Well, this would be the time we normally pass the offering plates. But we have collection boxes at the exits, most of you know that, if you brought an offering. But for the majority of our people are giving online. We just wanna say thank you for your faithfulness in giving. Well, I'm gonna pray and get on out of the way 'cause we've got an awesome praise song coming up. And then we'll study God's Word together. Father, thank you for allowing us to gather and worship You. And when we see a lot of things in our country changing, help us to realize what we're doing right now is the most important freedom that we have; to go to a house of worship, and to praise our God with fellow believers; people of like-mind and heart and belief. And to lift up the name of Jesus and to open the Bible, it hasn't been outlawed yet, and we pray that we will relish the freedom we have to worship our God and to have the freedom of assembly. And Lord, I thank you for those who are in the room and those who are watching on livestream. I pray that the Holy Spirit will have something to say to every person, wherever they are in life's journey. Down in a deep dark valley, or way up on a mountain top rejoicing because of some great news they've gotten. Thank you God for meeting us wherever we are. And for being not only our God and the One before whom we bow as our Sovereign, but You are intimate and close and our dearest and best friend. We love You today. We give You our lives all over again, new and fresh today. And we invite Your presence just to come into this room. May there be a sweet, sweet spirit in this place. In Jesus name. Amen. ♪ Some are known by great authority ♪ ♪ For kingdoms as far as eyes can see ♪ ♪ In royal robes, they rule from thrones ♪ ♪ Waging war they overthrow the weak ♪ ♪ And call it victory ♪ ♪ My King is known by mercy ♪ ♪ My King is known by grace ♪ ♪ For the hope in His name ♪ ♪ And the power that saves ♪ ♪ My King is known by the cross ♪ ♪ My King is known by an empty grave ♪ ♪ Oh in all that He does ♪ ♪ My King is known by love ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ I can almost see Him even now ♪ ♪ Rejected, with thorns upon His brow ♪ ♪ What kind of King would leave His throne ♪ ♪ And make my sin and shame His own ♪ ♪ Yet He gave his life for me ♪ ♪ He gave His life for me ♪ ♪ My King is known by mercy ♪ ♪ My King is known by grace ♪ ♪ For the hope in His name ♪ ♪ And the power that saves ♪ ♪ My King is known by the cross ♪ ♪ My King is known by an empty grave ♪ ♪ Oh in all that He does ♪ ♪ My King is known by love ♪ ♪ A love that welcomes everyone ♪ ♪ As His daughters and His sons ♪ ♪ And no one is turned away ♪ ♪ My King is known by a love ♪ ♪ That welcomes everyone ♪ ♪ As His daughters and His sons ♪ ♪ And no one is ever turned away ♪ ♪ My King is known by mercy ♪ ♪ My King is known by grace ♪ ♪ For the hope in His name ♪ ♪ And the power that saves ♪ ♪ My King is known by mercy ♪ ♪ My King is known by grace ♪ ♪ For the hope in His name ♪ ♪ And the power that saves ♪ ♪ My King is known by the cross ♪ ♪ My King is known by an empty grave ♪ ♪ Oh in all that He does ♪ ♪ My King is known by love ♪ ♪ My King is known by His love ♪ ♪ My King is known by ♪ ♪ My King is known by His love ♪ (congregation clapping) (upbeat music) The greatest achievers in history are the men and women whose determination was stronger than the obstacles and challenges that they faced. Determination, it's the trait that wears down its opposition. It's the trait that outlasts its critics. And it's the trait that slowly and methodically chisels away at the prison walls which confine it. You don't have to be a Christian to have determination, but if you are a Christian, there is no reason as to why you shouldn't have determination. 'Cause we have a power living on the inside of us that is stronger than any foe from earth or from hell below. We can be determined in what God has assigned for us to do. We can be determined when it comes to any trial that we're enduring. And I'm speaking to you today about Christian Determination. And I want you to open to 2 Corinthians 4, as we think about this trade of determination we have talked about dupes, and we can all be dupes if we don't have discernment. And we've talked about distinction. But I want us to talk about Christian determination. And in 2 Corinthians 4, written by the Apostle Paul. We think this was probably the third letter he wrote to them, but it's the second one in the Canon of Scripture that God intended to be in our New Testament. And when he is writing here, the Apostle Paul is feeling the strain of all the pressures of his ministry. He has suffered a great toll for the constant travel, and the stress on his mind and body from all of the churches that he had started, and the conflict in many of those churches. And the many accusations against him from false teachers who imagined the goal of it; accusing him of being a false teacher. And what he's reminding us here is that, even though when you look at your life, and you think about how worse you're feeling, if you are a Christian, things are not worse, no matter what circumstances tell you. As long as God is on His throne and you're His child, things are actually getting better. And that's what I want us to talk about when it comes to the determination God wants to build into us. And so, we look in verse 16 of 2 Corinthians 4, and he says, "Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man," that's our earthly body, "Is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not are eternal." And I want us to talk about this because this passage is about different subjects. But determination is what I see leaping off the page. And I thought it would be good if we would just define determination for a moment. Determination is a firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end. A firm or a fixed intention to achieve a desired end. Like you probably didn't need me to define it for you, but I just like looking at what it means. Because it requires us to be firm, it requires us to be fixed if we're going to be determined people. And many of us are facing challenges in our personal lives, maybe with your family, maybe where you work, and certainly in our country, we are living through trials we didn't sign up for. You look at things that happened to you, perhaps it's with your health, and you're thinking, how does this happen? I didn't ask God for this, and I didn't feel that I deserved it, but somehow He's allowed it to come into my life. And all of these things can either have an individual or a combined effect of depressing us, of defeating us and causing us to live with discouragement to the point that we wonder, why should we keep on going? And that's where determination kicks in, because God has placed within you, by His Holy Spirit, the will to keep going. Even when you have lost your will to keep going, God will renew your will to keep going because He knows what His plan is for your life. He knows why He didn't just take you to heaven right after you got saved. He's got something for you to do. He's got someone for you to impact. God has you here, and it's not for the faint of heart, God wants to build into us the resolve to keep going. And that's what determination is all about. When I look at my life, as seemingly insignificant as I feel most days, I can tell you this, I'm guided by some core determinations. The most important thing to me is faith. Because the Bible says, without it, you cannot please God. Isn't that right? And the Bible says that it is by grace through faith that we have been saved. And so I believe faith is the most important virtue in the Christian life. It's what moves God. It's what blesses God. It's what pleases God. So I can tell you this; I am determined. It's a gut determination to trust God, no matter what. I don't always trust Him like a should, but my determination is to keep coming back to it; I will believe God. Not only that, but I've got a determination. I don't wanna hobble through life, I don't wanna limp through life, I don't wanna wallow through life, I want to fight my way forward by faith and determination. And the way I put it is, I want to thrive, not just survive. And I can do that by faith and by God's grace. Listen to this. One of my heroes, if you go to my office, you'll see I've got books about him. And I'm just... Anyway, Winston Churchill. He's one of my heroes. And I know in this politically correct bucket of fertilize we're going through today, (congregation laughs) that he has been demonized, he has been villainized, but I personally believe he happened to have saved civilization through his intervention in the lead up to World War II. (congregation claps) But some of his greatest advice was spoken at a boys school from which he graduated. They invited him back to speak at a commencement ceremony. And he said, here's my advice, never, never, never, never give up. And one of my favorite quotes of his, and I thought I wasn't gonna share this. This isn't in my notes, but I might as well, I feel led to share it. Yes, yes. (congregation laughs) And that is, when you're going through hell, keep going. Yes. And that speaks to what we're talking about, that determination that says, hell may be coming against me, Satan may be giving me everything he's got, but greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. I will keep going. So my determination is, no matter how discouraged I get, by God's grace, I don't ever, ever, ever want to entertain throwing in the towel. I don't ever wanna give up. Well, I could go on and share with you other determinations that I seek to live by. But what's important is for us to look into this passage of Scripture. And I wanna give you some points that I hope you'll consider writing down, because I think they're drawn directly from God's Word. And the first one is simply this: Our determination is based on a promised outcome. It's based on a promised outcome. As we read in verse 17, a moment ago, he said our light affliction is but for a moment, but it is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Now, I just have to say, when I read in the New King James Version, and it's translated, our light affliction. When I look at what Paul was going through, it was hardly a light affliction. And sometimes I think about all the stuff I've cried and whined about that I've gone through in my life and in ministry and tough times, and then I read the Apostle Paul and I'm like, I should never open my mouth again complaining about anything I go through. Because what he went through was no light affliction, but that's what he calls it. Why? Because of the perspective that he had. He said, yes, I've been through a lot. But he says, compared to where I'm headed, this is just light. In verse 17 in the New Living Translation, it reads this way "Our present troubles are small and they won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs our trials and will last for ever." So, did you notice what he said? Our trials are producing for us a glory. Now, what does that mean that our trials are producing for us a glory? This is referring to the glory of our reward when we get to heaven, when God speaks His blessing upon us, that great, well done that we all long to hear. And what will earn for us the well done? The cross earned our entrance into heaven. But what earns the well done of God's glory spoken over us as faithful servants, is how many times we trusted Him by faith when we wanted to quit. That as we remain determined through the obstacles, he says, it is generating for us the reward of glory to be shared in our heavenly home. And none of us knows what all that is going to be, or what will our glory be like there? But the Bible says, He is going to share with us His glory welcoming us into heaven. I don't know, but all I know is, I want to walk by faith, so I don't forfeit anything that He would like to give me when I'm there. Now, when he says here, our light affliction, and in the New Living, our present troubles, for me to say, compared to Paul, I haven't suffered at all. But comparing it to Paul doesn't make it feel any better. (congregation laughs) And you know that someone's probably worse off than you, but that doesn't make your pain any lighter. Just because comparatively speaking, you may not have as heavy a burden to bear. And I'm encouraged to know that even though we can compare ourselves and find some solace in the fact that maybe we're not hurting as much as someone else, maybe we've not been through as much as someone else, that God still values the pain of what we're feeling in our situation. And when I think about how get through difficulties, by being determined, it's not by going into what we might call Christian denial. This doesn't hurt, this doesn't hurt, this doesn't. Yes, it does. And it's not mind over matter where you just talk yourself psychologically out of the pain that you're feeling. It's not some type of psychological exercise at all. It is fine for us to acknowledge to God, what I'm feeling is real, what I'm going through is hurting. God wants us to be that transparent with us. He already knows that it's difficult for us. But what Paul says here is, our trials may be painful and we can admit that, even when we compare it to being of a lesser degree than what someone else has gone through. Our trials may be painful, but listen, our trials are temporary. They're temporary. And you say, well, mine's not temporary, I've been living with this for 30 years. Don't bring your marriage into the issue. (congregation laughs) Well, you know what it is, it may be. It may be a struggle in a relationship with your family, may be some type of health challenge you've been asking God to heal you of, or something else that you say, this doesn't seem temporary to me. And here's what I want you to know. Even if the trial or the difficulty of the obstacle you have seems to be sticking with you, it seems to be something from which you cannot be set free, there is good news for the child of God; one day, you will be delivered from it. One day, you will be set free. One day, you will leave it behind, never to fight it, never to climb that mountain again. Our trials are painful, but they are temporary. And that's what he tells us in verse 17. So, our trials, as we remain focused and refuse to quit, they are generating for us the rewards that we will reap in heaven. He calls it the wait of glory. And I can't wait to see. I hope I haven't forfeited too many of those blessings. Number two, our determination is not just based on this promise of God's glory in heaven, but it's based on a chosen perspective, a chosen perspective. And by chosen, it means you've got to choose this perspective. I want you to look back with me in verse 18 where he says, we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For him to write that is the result of a deliberate decision. We have chosen, we have decided, we have purposed. I have determined in my heart, I am not going to look just at what I can see with my earthly eyes. And I think that, even though he just references what you can see, I think you need to enlarge this to all of the senses that we use to form our impressions. Because certainly, circumstances exploit every one of our senses. And so, what I think he would say is, I think he'd give us the freedom to say, I'm not just going to go by what I can see, I'm not just gonna go by what I can hear, I'm not just going to go by what I can feel. I'm not... You see what I'm saying? I'm not going to just go off of the things that dictate to my emotions what is going on. I'm going to look beyond my current feelings and experiences to what he describes as being not seen. So there's the perspective. It's the choice every Christian makes, to go by what we can see or to go by what we cannot see. And it comes down to that day by day by day. Another way to put it as this; am I going to completely surrender myself to circumstances, or am I going to fix my trust in providence? And by providence, that's a very sacred word. Providence refers to these sovereign super intending of God over our affairs. That's a very personal word to me. When I think about God's providential care, it means that even though He is not always speaking, and even though He is hardly ever visible, His fingerprints are all over the circumstances of our lives. But I have the decision, I've got to decide, am I going to see my circumstances as the result of chance, randomness, all of the things that happened to me that caused me to question and doubt? Are these all just forces of fate and luck? Oh no. You cannot forfeit your faith to this idea of random circumstantial factors. I want to camp out on the side of providence. Instead of circumstantially governed, I wanna be providentially governed. I want to acknowledge, God, I don't know how you let this happen, but nothing would be happening to me if You had not allowed it to happen to me. I'm trusting in Your providence over my life. You see, your circumstances are what you can see and feel. That's what he's saying. I have chosen not to focus on these things, I have chosen to focus on what is unseen, which is God's providential hand. Another way to describe it is, the temporary, which is what he says, the things which we can see are temporary, versus the eternal. Yes? Yes. Another way to put it is, there are two perspectives; to live your life according to feelings, or to live your life by faith. Because very seldom will those two ever be on the same track. They're usually going in different directions. My feelings, my feelings are one big, hot mess. Oh, come on. (congregation laughs) I need a support group this morning. (congregation clapping) Because I really believe, we're living in a culture where all of the influences, they're being architecturally and strategically designed to mess with our emotions, to work us into frenzy, to feed into us anxiety. And I find myself becoming the puppet of those forces that are shaping the flow of information into my life. Oh, come on. And I have to say, whoa, wait a minute, I cannot allow my feelings to be manipulated by all of these factors at work. I've got to decide my faith is going to guide my feelings, not my feelings guide my faith. Amen. (congregation claps) That's what he's talking about here. So, it is a choice that we all must make. And in the New Living Translation, this sentence in verse 18 reads this way; for the things we now see will soon be gone. But the things that we cannot see will last how long? Forever. Now, when you say, will soon be gone, you know, for somebody who is under 50, let's just pick 50. For somebody who's under 50, they think they got years of life left to live, but something happens when you turn 50. For some of you, it might've been 45, I don't know. For some of you, it might've been 47. Who knows where that thread? But we all get to that point where we realize, this is going fast. (congregation laughs) Yeah? Yeah. And everybody, you know, before I got to 50, all the people with the gift of encouragement came up to me and said, you just wait till you turn 50. It's downhill from there, son, it's downhill from 50. (congregation laughs) Well, I don't know if it's downhill, but I'll tell you this; it seems like it's just going by so fast, so fast, so fast. And I remember when we were going through COVID and we were distanced and we weren't having services, every day seemed, it lasted forever. Every Sunday, I would drive home from an empty room, and I would want to go nurse on a Prozac. (congregation laughs) I really would. Now, I've never touched a drop a liquor, but during COVID, I considered it. I'm gonna tell you, I considered, (congregation laughs) I just could, but I never did. I'm a teetotaler, I'm a T, I'm an old fashioned Baptist boy. But listen, my point is this, when I look back on that, it's like... (snaps) When I was going through it, it seemed forever. And now it seems like it was a year that didn't exist. It seems like, here we are, we're back together again. And that is how life goes from here on out. And what he's saying is, how many of the things that we focus on will soon be gone? Because they will soon be gone. Think about the stuff that has rattled you the most; that air condition unit. (congregation laughs) Right? I told this story, I didn't think I was gonna tell it. I'm very careful about the livestream, you know. (congregation laughs) But when I was a sophomore in college, I started losing my hair. It was tragic. (congregation laughs) And I really didn't notice it, except that the shower kept stopping up. And I thought, what in the world, this shower. And I was living with these precious people. And so they went and got liquid plumber and they would pour the stuff down there and then it would stop up again. And come to find out, it was my hair. My hair was just falling. I used to have the thickest, waviness, Lebanese, jet black head of hair you ever saw. And I started thinking, dear Lord in heaven, I'm called to preach. I need a head of hair to look good in front of a congregation. (congregation laughs) And that hair just kept falling out and fallen out and fall it out. And my mother would say, honey, it's okay, bald man are the sexiest. And I was like, (congregation laughs) okay. We got a few amens from some baldheaded guys out. (congregation laughs) But years later when I was pastoring a church in Florida, it was bugging me so much. I found one of these hair replacement things online. So, I was reading on there and it said, take pictures from this angle, this angle, this angle. So I had my assistant come in, and this is the truth, I got on my knees and she got the phone and she took the pictures all the way around my head. And you'd have to have a donor area. You got to have the donor area on the sides and the back. 'Cause they harvest, I'm talking about agriculture here. They harvest the hair. And so they took all of these pictures and we loaded them into the file, and we sent them to Dr. so-and-so down there in South Florida. You know, he can do it if anybody can do it, he does celebrities. And I thought, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. (congregation laughs) So I go back two days later, they said, dear Mr. George, we regret to inform you, you have an inadequate donor area. (congregation laughs) We cannot offer you any assistance. So, anyway. Now, what I don't need you to do, do not send me any tonic, elixir, or anything to put on my hair. I don't need any help right now. Okay? But this is what I wanna tell you I've concluded. What I wanna tell you is, when I cross into the streets of gold and the pearly gates, it will not matter if I look like a chia pet, or if I was as bald as a cue ball. It won't matter because this body will soon be gone. (congregation applauding) This body will soon be gone. (congregation clapping) So, for me, it may be my absence of follicular density. For you, it may be your nose or your body shape, or something else that you struggle with, something you were born with, that you've lived with all of your life. And it can be our money, it can be our home, it can be the kind of car, it can be our investments, it can be something else in our family life, and we think, I'm fixating on all of these things. And what God wants to ask is, how much of this stuff is going to matter 500 years from now? Because here's the thing, we're leaving it all behind. The only thing that matters is that which is spiritual, that which is eternal. Someone put it this way; the only two things in this life that are eternal are the Word of God and the souls of people. Amen. The Word of God and the souls of people. Everything else is passing away. How much else? Everything. Everything else. Here's something else. It's not just this chosen perspective which way you're gonna live, but our determination is based on spiritual strength. It's an inner strength that comes from the Holy Spirit. Verse 16. It says that, we read it a moment ago. It says, we are not going to lose heart. He said, even though our outward man, our physical body is perishing. Now one translation says, is wasting away. To me, perishing is not the best word. That sounds better than wasting away. Because I just don't like to think of myself as wasting away. But that's what some translations say. And the fact is, we can dress it up and we can pick the Living Bible, the New Living, the King James, the King John. We can go to any version we want, the fact is we are dying. These physical bodies are dying. Yeah? They're fading. Our strength is diminishing. The older we get, our limitations are growing. But none of the things that we can say about a body that ages, a body that is deteriorating, a body that is diminishing in its stamina and fortitude. None of those things can be said about the soul of a child of God. He says in verse 16, our outward person, the part we see, our physical bodies may be diminishing, but our inner person, which is the real you, your soul, is being renewed day by day. So physically, the older we get, we don't have a whole lot to look forward to when it comes to our bodies and what happens. But spiritually, the very opposite can happen. That the longer you are saved, the stronger you can grow spiritually no matter what is happening to your body. It's true. Yes. I'm telling you, I love older people in the church. When they talk to me, they talk to me different than younger people do. They let me know they've walked a mile. (congregation laughs) They let me know they've been down the road, and I love it. And we cherish them. Why would I say that? Because he says in verse 16, though our outward man is perishing, yet our inner man is being renewed day after day. And this is so beautiful and awesome and glorious. When you know and you see someone aging right in front of you, and growing more feeble and changing, literally, from moment to moment between the times when you see them, and yet there's a sparkle in their eye, a joyful proclamation of praise in what they have to say. And you realize, they may be growing weaker physically, but she still growing stronger spiritually. She's still walking with God, getting into the Word, and she still becoming more and more of what God wants her to be and what God wants him to be. This is what he's saying here. You don't have to let your soul go the way of your body. God offers a counter option. Your soul can get stronger even though your body grows weaker. Oh, that's good news for anybody here today. And what I wanted to share with you are some descriptions that Paul gives about all the pressures that he faced, and how determination caused him to keep going. In verse eight in the New Living, it puts it this way. Paul wrote, "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed." Did you see that? Can you say pressed? Yes. May I ask before I finished reading that, how many of you have ever felt pressed on every side? Like the walls were coming in at you from every direction. He says, Paul said 2000 years ago, I have felt that way. We have been pressed on every side by troubles, but we refuse to be what? Crushed. We are perplexed, but we refuse to give into what? Despair. You know what despair is? It's hopelessness. Why keep living? He says, we will not go there. Verse nine, we are hunted down. Another translation says, persecuted. But he says, never abandoned by God. And he says, we get what? Knocked down. You ever been knocked down? Yes. I have. But we refuse to be destroyed. I love these verses. And so, out of these verses, I want to just share with you five basic statements about determination right from these verses. And here they are. Number one, I want you to purpose to be a Christian who lives your life by determination. And this is what I want your confession to be. I will keep going when I'm on empty. And some of you listening today, you're on empty. And God brought you here to make this resolve; no matter how empty I feel, the little yellow light came on five miles ago, I'm gonna keep my foot on the pedal because somehow God in His goodness is going to put fuel in my tank. But I refuse to quit just because I'm on empty. I'm not throwing in the towel. Here's something else. I will cling to hope when I'm discouraged. I will cling to hope when I'm discouraged. And we all know there are some times when life is dark. And I just I've talked to Christians who get to the point and they say, I don't have any hope left. And how can a Christian say that? Your God is on His throne. He never takes His eyes off of you. His plans are to prosper you, not to harm you. He plans to give you a hope and a future. You always have a hope as long as you are a child of the living God. So I'm going to cling to hope even when I'm discouraged. Please don't miss this. I will remember who is for me, no matter who's against me. Hey, have you ever had anybody against you? You ever had somebody mean as a devil against you? Yes. Oh, we got some testimonies out here today. (congregation laughs) But let me ask you a question; who does the Bible say is for you? God. God is for you. And if God be for me, who can be against me? And so he says, I may be hunted down, I may have enemies in opposition, but I have never been abandoned by God. So when you're thinking of who's against you, remember who is for you. Please don't miss this next one. I will get back up each time I'm knocked down. I was standing here preaching at the first service, and there's a lady right over here, and I was just thinking, 'cause I've known her the whole time I've been here. I was thinking about how many times I have watched her literally be flattened by life circumstances. She lost her precious mother after having lost her beloved father, who was a preacher. And then she's in law enforcement, and she literally got run over by an inmate who jumped into the squad car and ran her over and almost killed her over in a neighboring county. And I just thought about one blow after another. And we prayed for her as she went through surgery with screws and bolts and rods, getting rebuilt and coming back through rehab and therapy, and then saying, I'm going back onto the force, getting back into my uniform, and I'm doing it for the Lord. One of the most amazing privileges of being a pastor is seeing people take the hit and keep getting back up by the grace of God. And it inspires me as a pastor to see people keep getting back up. I read a Japanese proverb that says, get knocked down seven times, get up the eighth. Now, that doesn't sound very profound, but the point is the key to determination is getting up one more time than you've fallen. So you may walk out today and get flattened. I'm asking you to make the determination, but I'll get back up. Why? Because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. You can get back up. You may physically have a problem and need a first alert, but now I've fallen and I can't get up. But I'm here to tell you as a child of God, your soul can never fall beyond God's ability to get it back up. And not only that, here's the fifth one. I will stay focused during the chaos. I will stay because during the chaos. I will focus on what is true when I'm surrounded by what is not. I will focus on what really matters in life because so much really does not. And I will focus on where I'm going because I wasn't born here to stay here. God has a different home for me beyond this world. So think about the guy who wrote this. Who wrote this? Paul wrote it. Would you say that he had ample reason to give up? Plenty of reasons as to why he could have thrown in the towel and said, God, I didn't sign up for this. They didn't teach me about this at preacher school. And after all I've done for you, you're gonna let me end up my life sitting in Roman prison, being put on trial like a common criminal in this Roman empire where I'm a full fledged citizen and have been my whole life? And they're gonna treat me like a criminal? And he got to the end of his life, and he wrote to his young son, Timothy. You remember that? He said, I'm already being poured out, I'm probably never gonna see the light of day again. And you remember these words that he said in 2 Timothy 4. He said, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have what? I've kept the faith. I've kept the faith. So when you look at each of those statements, how was he able to fight the good fight? I'm gonna tell you, 'cause he was determined. How was he able to finish his race? By being determined. And what was it that helped him to keep the faith? Which means to hold on to his beliefs even when everything around him said, deny it, reject it, it's not true. What was it that gave him the strength to hold on to his faith and what he believed? He was determined. You remember that passage where he says, for I know whom I have believed. And I am persuaded that He is able to keep what I've, not that I am able, but that He is able to keep what I've committed unto Him. These are the determinations that make the difference in the life of a child of God. And my prayer is that we will leave here today with greater determination. Let's pray together. Our Father, we just want to praise You that by Your Word and Your Spirit, You offer us this strength of resolve and will, tenacity, it's a spiritual determination. And we know that unsaved people have determination, but what you offer us is stronger than that. It is the very life giving power of the living God inside of us. And I pray that someone today has been encouraged by today's message, strengthened by today's message. And Lord, we commit to shift our perspective from what is seen, to what is unseen, from what we feel, to what we know is true by faith, from earth to heaven. And that our determination will be guided by what really matters, instead of all the things which will soon come to an end. In Jesus name. Amen and amen. Praise the Lord. Thank you so much. (congregation clapping) Whether you're in the room or watching today, we have a number that we'd like to put on the screen. You'll see it there. You can text the name, Jesus. We take this very seriously. We don't just throw it up there to check off a box to say we did it. We have staff, team members who are, every week, they're longing to connect with someone, to help you take your next step. So here in this room, this is our virtual decision room. You can text Jesus to that number, and it starts the conversation. And we'll dialogue with you about your next step spiritually. You may wanna know more about Jesus because you don't know a lot about Him. You may wanna know more about the Bible. You may wanna know more and follow up on today's message. You may wanna talk about becoming more involved here at First Baptist. That's the number to text, and we'll get right back and respond to you as quickly as possible. Well, thank you for being here today. I hope that you will leave here encouraged to be determined. God bless you. (congregation clapping) (upbeat music)
