North Peoria Church of Christ Wednesday Night Bible Study 081220 - Dr Warren G. Blakney Sr.

good evening and welcome to the north period church of christ bible class good to have you with us on this evening going to be waiting a moment while others join in who usually listen to our bible class hour certainly good to have those who study regularly with us every wednesday night we're hopeful that if you are a newcomer to the listening audience that something will be said or done that will be helpful to you as we make this pilgrimage from earth to glory waiting on those to sign in who usually be with us every wednesday night for a study of the word of god what a joy it is just to be in the lord's house tonight wherever the lord's house is is where you are on tonight so good to certainly have you with us tonight good to have you with us tonight live then below in this old sinful world hard lay a comfort can afford strive thing alone [Music] to face temptation so tell me where could i go but to the lord where could i go oh where could i go seeking a refuge for my soul well i'm need dang a friend to save me in the end tell me where could i go but to the lord tell me where could i go oh where could i go well i'm see gain a refuge for my soul well i need dang a friend oh to save me ending tell me where could i go but to the lord uh let's pray and let's talk to god for a moment or so as we get ready to go into our class hour on tonight shall we pray lord thank you for a marvelous day thank you that you've been better to us than we deserve and even than we've been to ourselves thank you for all that you are doing and you have done for us we ask you now just to be god all by yourself continue to hold us in the very hall of your hand and give us protection peace and joy from just knowing who you are bless the listening audience and those who shall tune in shortly may something be said or something done that will cause us to be better for tomorrow than we were today continue to bless us through the preaching and teaching of your word in the listening of your word and we shall be careful in this life to give you glory and take none for ourselves we love you in jesus name amen i want you to do something now i want you to tag someone want you to share this with somebody press the share button that someone might be able to hear the words of the gospel on tonight it is a joy to be able to study god's word together so again uh share this with somebody hit the share button uh tag somebody and say that the north period bible class hour is on won't be long on tonight good to see my good friend brother doolin who encouraged me to sing a song before i start preaching he is the maestro i call him and so many others who are on tonight good to have you study with us from the word of god uh be turning now to the seventh chapter of the book of luke and i want to look at a text tonight i believe that's going to be helpful to us as we deal with life itself and i i label this text or tag this text when you are disappointed with the outcome when you're disappointed with the outcome um so much of life is an uneven journey it is not always going to be the same uh it is going to be high points and low points they're going to be tests that we take that sometimes the results may not be what we want to have it be i've had some tests in life and when those tests came back in a disappointing kind of way i had to readjust my attitude and redirect my attention because the test results were not what i wanted them to be i prayed some prayers for some situations in my life and i wanted a different outcome but god saw it fit to work it out in a different way than i had anticipated if the truth be told many of us as we did with this christian walk we're often disappointed sometimes life just does not turn out the way you want it to be i don't care how hard you pray i don't care how righteous you live i don't care how well you treat your neighbor or your family there are some times in life when things just don't turn out the way you want them to and the real test of your christianity is not when things awail the real test of your christianity is when things are not in this text uh we're dealing with john the baptist i remember before we even get to that read that text on yesterday we said goodbye to a seven-year-old kid who succumbed to cancer and as i did eulogistic remarks on yesterday for this child i thought about how hard we had prayed for him how we'd ask god to spare him ask god to allow him to grow up and to be a productive young man in the service of his lord we had all gotten together at church and asked god for different results and for time to time it appeared that god just might answer the question the way we wanted the question to be answered it may have just have done what we wanted him to do but a few days ago god said no it's time for him to come home and it didn't turn out the way we had wanted it to turn out uh there's a family now there's grieving because of a seven-year-old that's gone to glory to be with the lord all our desires were different than what god did and that's the time that your faith is tested that's the time when you start asking god questions about who he is and about who we are and there are questions sometimes that we have no answer for except to say he's god and he's god all by himself the same is true to some degree in the text on tonight in luke chapter 7 beginning at verse number 18 the bible reads and the disciples of john showed him all of these things and john calling unto him to saying his to his disciples and sent them to jesus saying art thou he that should come or look we for another verse 20 when the men were come unto him that is unto jesus they said john the baptist have sent us unto thee saying art thou he that should come are look we fought another and verse 21 and that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues and of evil spirits and unto many that were blind he gave sight verse 22 then jesus answering said unto them go your way and tell john what things you have seen and heard and how that the blind see the lame walk the liberals are cleansed and the death here and the dead are raised to the poor the gospel is preached and blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me john is now in jail john has been looking for the savior to come john has been looking for years for the master to come and to overthrow perhaps the roman empire he wanted jesus to show his hand he wanted to know that he was really the one that was sent from god and when jesus did not act the way he wanted him to when the law did not respond by overthrowing the roman government when the law did not respond by killing the vicious leaders of that day then he asked the question uh are you really him are you really that jesus we're looking for or should we be looking for somebody because the jesus i thought was coming would have done all the things that i've just said he would have destroyed the evil roman empire he would have killed all of those who are destroying good people and you're doing nothing are you sure you're the one my faith is getting weak i'm getting uh tried right now and it appears that i'm getting weaker as the days go by because i've been looking for that jesus and i don't seem to see him in you uh it did not turn out the way that i thought it would so john called two guys and said look go ask him what's going on go ask him should we be looking for somebody else or is he the real jesus go ask him why he has not done these things because my faith is weak and when they arrived and they got to where the lord was they said john sent us his faith is weak he's in jail he thought by now that things would have happened are you really him you see it didn't turn out the way john wants it to turn out he said let me tell you something go tell john that the death here go tell john that the lame walk go tell john that the gospel has been preached to the poor without any cost go tell him that things are happening right now it may not have been the way he thought it would happen but yes i'm moving and yes i am he so i want you to know three or four things about god if you're having some tests now and you're waiting on the test results to come and you're kind of concerned about the results or if you've gotten the results and it says that you do have diabetes you do have heart trouble you do have some difficulties in your life that you've got to live with you do have some disappointing days ahead of you i don't want you to get discouraged i want you to hold on and and hold out because the lord is moving though you may not have the results that you wanted you got the results that god wanted you to have i want you to do three things number one realize that god knows more about your situation than you do god knows how to work it out i heard him say in romans chapter 8 and verse number 28 through 29 and now we know how many things paul and now we know that all things all things god works for the good of those who love him and who've been called according to his purpose for those god for knew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his son that he might be the firstborn among many in other words god knows your situation he's already worked it out you don't see the results but it's working for your good lord how is it working for my good well often times i said on a program some time ago you may not know that god is doing you may not even feel like he's working it for your good because it doesn't feel good it doesn't feel right it feels like it's difficult for you but things are working even when they're not good to you my grandmother was a believer in something called castor oil and she would give you castor oil in a new york minute if you coughed if it seemed like your nose were running get ready for some castor oil because every winter every time you look like you were sick get ready for that bottle of castor oil it was the nastiest stuff that i think i've ever tasted in my life somebody in the audience know about some castor oil old enough to understand what it is and mama would say to me as she would force it down and she said it may not be good to you but it's good for you and i've discovered in life that often things that are not necessarily good to you are really good for you sometimes you didn't want to hear that result but it's just what god is working out in your life because you may need that result to learn to depend on him and stop depending on someone else or yourself you may need that result because god is working it out even if right now you're suffering through it don't get discouraged with god don't think god doesn't understand your pain don't think god is not there in the midst of your confusion and your difficulty because john was discouraged did not change the truth that god was already working it out jesus was already doing what he needed to do yes are you him or should we look for another no i am the savior of the world and i already got it under my under my feet now so because god knows more about your situation than you do trust it number two understand that god is more interested in your character than he is your comfort we're interested in comfort god is interested in character one of the things i understand about character it doesn't come without a test you want to build character give me a test that's hard to pass want to build character give me a situation where i have to cry every now and then you want to build character give me a stone that i've got to move that's hard for me to move by myself you want to build character give me a bad child that lives in my house that i got to deal with every day you want to build character give me some marriage difficulty that i've got to work my way through because it isn't easy every day you want to build character let me lose my job in the midst of this pandemic and then we'll see what kind of person you really are because if you are that person god is looking for you won't turn away from god you'll turn toward god and say lord i need you now more than i've ever needed you before and i trust you in the midst of my confusion see god isn't interested in your comfort we lack comfort we want everything to be comfortable in life we want life to be a bed of roses for us but as a child of god i want you to know he does not build a fence around you to keep trouble out he just indwells you with the holy spirit so when trouble get in that the holy spirit have pushed trouble out i'm glad today that i'm indwelt by something stronger on the inside than what's on the outside i've got something stronger within i've got the spirit of god that lives in me that allows me to deal with my most difficult days yes tears may fall yes i may have some times when i have doubtful as to how god is working it out for me yes i have my moments of disappointing yes it doesn't turn out the way i want it to but i know romans 8 says god is already working it out in my favor god is doing it even right now beloved trust god that he's working your situation out because these boys are concerned about your character than he is about your comfort then number three give god your burden if the world from you withhold all of his silver and his gold and you have to get along with mega fair just remember in his word how he feeds the little birds take your burdens to the lord and leave them there and so i think what you ought to do today to those who are listening who may have some stuff going on in your life take it to the lord when you take it to the lord don't pick it up and walk away with it when you give a child to god let him keep that child he can do more with that child than you ever could i told them yesterday as i climaxed on the funeral service the final parts of the service i told them when you leave this place when you leave and a casket is here of a seven-year-old child and tears are flowing from your eye realize that you're not leaving this child out here by himself you're leaving him in the hands of god who can do more for him than you ever could do while he was yet alive you are leaving him in the hands of the lord so i would say to you put your problem in the hands of the lord put your hands in the hand of the one who walked the galilean sea put your problem in the hands of the galilean carpenter who knows more about you and about your difficulty than you know about yourself for god cares for you he cares about what you're going through god cares about your difficulty i heard him say in first peter 5 and verse number 7 cast all of your problems on him because he cares for you put all of your trouble in the lord's lap put all of your difficulties in the lord's hand because he cares about what happens to you and then number four uh not only give him your burdens but stop looking at what god is not doing so you can see what god is doing john was so fixated on him not overthrowing the roman government on him not destroying all the political powers that were destructive to christianity god he was so fixated on what god wasn't doing and what christ wasn't doing that he couldn't see what the lord was doing how many times have we looked around at what god hasn't done how many times have we cried about what god has not done for us how many times have we been disappointed because he didn't give us that mate or that of that car that house or that job how many times have we cried out and been disappointed because he didn't do what we thought he should do when all the time right under your nose he was working it out you see i said the other week and i said again today when god closes one avenue he opens up another i want you to understand stop looking at what he's not doing and look at what he is doing for when he told them when they got these let me tell you all something what you do is tell john stop fixating over what i'm not doing tell him that the lame or walking tell him that the dead is now walking tell him that deaf ears are unstopped tell him that the hungry is being fed tell him that all of these things are happening because i'm doing it i am the bread of life i am the resurrection i am the one true and tried stone i am the rose of sharon i am him that was dead and yet live i am christ i am the almighty i am the counselor i am him tell him i'm alive and i'm well and that the word is being preached stop looking at what's not happening as a matter of fact stop looking at what you don't have and think about what you do have you may not have what others have but you've got so much more than the world has see most of the world go to bed hungry we got food in the cabinet so many he'll have clothes for their backs we go to the closet and choose what we want to wear some kids don't even have shoes on their feet you have shoes to match your purse and shoes to match your suit you need to thank god for what he's doing right now for he is a right now kind of god isn't he moving isn't he blessing isn't he in the blessing business somebody who's been blessed right now and you stop looking at what you don't have and look at what you do have yes i've lost some things but i still have some things left yes i have had my moments when i've cried but god has dried my eyes every time i shed a tear yes i've had some sick days but i'm up and well now and i'm walking and i'm able to move about yes i've had some days when folk talked about me but i'm still surviving and i'm still well you ought to tell god thank you right now thank you god i thank you that i know i doubt sometimes but you remove the doubt every time you bless me over and over again so i want you to understand that god is real god is real he's an awesome god and he's moving in this country moving in our lives even in the midst of this pandemic you may not see him moving but the end is nearer than you thought the end is closer than you think it is god is closer to letting man find a cure for this disease god is closer to letting man find a cure for this virus oh i know you're sheltered in i know you're tired of having to wear a mask i know you're asking yourself lord how long will it be before we can get back lord how long will it be that i'm still having a shelter and stay lord how long am i going to miss my family how long are we going to be separated from one another but i want to tell you not long because the lord is working it out even as we speak right now trust god and watch him walk work it out for you that's the kind of god that i serve that's the kind of god that he is i will say to you tonight when the results is not what you expect trust god and try god and let him work it out for you we believe god is a mighty god let's pray lord thank you for being a prayer answering god thank you for working it out for so many who are listening to us and have worked it out for so many listening to us tonight thank you right now that we may not be able to always see you at work but we know you're working thank you for being a mighty god thank you for being patient with us when we struggle thank you father for being a patient god we love you we adore you we thank you for your blessing every blessing that comes down from above we thank you for in the strong and sweet and tender name of jesus we give thanks on tonight and say amen and amen when you don't get the results that you expected god is still moving and god is still working it out i want to take a moment for some announcements don't forget north peoria that we are again are going to be doing the same thing this week that we always do on this coming saturday you can come by the building between 12 and 4 and there'll be someone there to give you the communion and to take your leybine store on sunday mornings from nine until ten you can come by as well and do the same thing will be somebody there to assist you and making certain that you have the communion uh tune in again on sundays at 10 am for morning worship i do know that there are some of our breathing who've gone back uh into worship some have gone back and some have had to come back out again because of kovic uh and because of people attracting kobik and their congregations we are still being patient and waiting on god uh so again we're gonna trust god but we're gonna certainly do what is healthy uh and wise for us in terms of the north period church continue to pray for us continue to lift this church up as we continue to do god's will i close by saying always that though the building is closed the church is still open because we're still feeding i'm like what jesus said to the disciples of john would i ask the question are you him or should we look for another he said look the hungry are being fed i say you north peoria the hungry are still being fed we're still out in the community feeding those who are hungry we're still clothing those who are naked we're still making sure children have their needs met we're still serving in a mighty kind of way and we're serving because you have been so careful as to make sure that you give and that you contribute to the well-being of the north period church to all those of you who listen and you've made contributions to this ministry we thank you for making a contribution to the north period church and to our ministry there may god continue to bless you we're praying for the thompson family we're praying for all those of you who've lost loved ones hold up your head lift up your head unto the hills from whence cometh your help realize that all of your help come from the lord who made the heavens and the earth i want you to share this share it share it tag somebody share this message there's somebody in your family there's somebody in your community there's somebody across town who need this message because they're disappointed with their outcome tag somebody share this message is my last words to you and if you can go to youtube and sign up for our page we want you to do that we're trying to get a youtube station just for the north period church so the last thoughts are to share this message and go sign up at the youtube station god bless you god keep you until sunday morning we'll see you then at the north period church god bless you

Channel: North Peoria Church of Christ

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Length: 26min 4sec (1564 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 12 2020