WEBVTT 00:06.410 --> 00:10.638 [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the Sermon Podcast from Church at the Well and Telsin, Maryland. 00:10.998 --> 00:17.309 [SPEAKER_00]: To learn more about Church at the well, visit our website, thewellbultmore.com. 00:17.951 --> 00:23.220 [SPEAKER_00]: And now, here's today's Sermon from our pastor, Dame Carroway. 00:28.516 --> 00:32.144 [SPEAKER_01]: Folks, today I do not have a fancy message for you. 00:32.665 --> 00:38.176 [SPEAKER_01]: I'll probably get you got to hear a couple of minutes early, but a couple of disclosure to sclaim or so. 00:38.236 --> 00:45.732 [SPEAKER_01]: We are in the interim period, we are leaving the book of Acts, and of course, heading to a new book, next week when Pastor gets here. 00:45.712 --> 00:56.615 [SPEAKER_01]: So pastor kind of gave me carte blanche to speak on, uh, whatever I wanted today to that point if I bomb today If you leave here without any spiritual gain, it is not my fault. 00:57.016 --> 00:58.419 [SPEAKER_01]: Blame pastor, okay? 00:58.520 --> 01:05.695 [SPEAKER_01]: No, no, but um Yeah, so just to be kept with you, we are leaving the book of acts 01:05.675 --> 01:09.702 [SPEAKER_01]: The way the pastor did the book of Acts, it was amazing. 01:10.303 --> 01:13.789 [SPEAKER_01]: Some of the key takeaways from it that I got from it, just to recap with you. 01:14.570 --> 01:16.734 [SPEAKER_01]: The gospel flips our faith into action. 01:18.176 --> 01:22.042 [SPEAKER_01]: The gospel flips me into my purpose. 01:22.824 --> 01:30.737 [SPEAKER_01]: And then probably my favorite lesson that passed to share it with us was the gospel flips the chaos in my life. 01:30.717 --> 01:32.479 [SPEAKER_01]: into confidence. 01:33.400 --> 01:33.961 [SPEAKER_01]: I love that. 01:34.702 --> 01:37.545 [SPEAKER_01]: These days, life seems to have a lot more chaos than it used to. 01:37.585 --> 01:39.127 [SPEAKER_01]: Anyone can relate to that? 01:39.147 --> 01:40.008 [SPEAKER_01]: A little bit. 01:40.109 --> 01:44.174 [SPEAKER_01]: Got a little chaos going on. 01:44.194 --> 01:52.624 [SPEAKER_01]: One of my wife is so tired of me always saying this, and I know people in our small groups and communities circles have heard me rant about this before. 01:53.545 --> 01:55.948 [SPEAKER_01]: One of the things that kind of, um, um, 01:57.262 --> 01:58.583 [SPEAKER_01]: I don't want to say burns me up. 01:58.704 --> 02:11.357 [SPEAKER_01]: One of the things that bothers me sometimes about our church culture is, I think we're just not honest sometimes about where we are and what we're feeling and so forth. 02:12.718 --> 02:15.261 [SPEAKER_01]: We're not honest about when we're struggling with things. 02:15.301 --> 02:17.343 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, hey, hey, Joey, how are you doing today? 02:17.383 --> 02:18.645 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm doing great. 02:18.805 --> 02:22.729 [SPEAKER_01]: Better than I deserve, God is good, which God is. 02:23.485 --> 02:28.514 [SPEAKER_01]: Better than I deserve, a client of mine about two months ago said a great one. 02:28.914 --> 02:32.040 [SPEAKER_01]: Brian, I am better than I was yesterday. 02:32.100 --> 02:36.587 [SPEAKER_01]: Better than I was yesterday, not as good as I hoped to be tomorrow. 02:36.608 --> 02:38.591 [SPEAKER_01]: I thought that was, and she's a great lady of faith. 02:38.611 --> 02:42.758 [SPEAKER_01]: I thought that was one of the church, she has responses that anyone has ever said to me before. 02:44.221 --> 02:48.548 [SPEAKER_01]: But folks, what about when we're not okay, right? 02:51.430 --> 02:53.493 [SPEAKER_01]: Is it okay to not be okay? 02:55.355 --> 02:55.575 [SPEAKER_01]: Is it? 02:58.499 --> 03:07.890 [SPEAKER_01]: I think as Christians, we or God charges us to be strong, to be faithful, to be an example to the rest of the world. 03:09.692 --> 03:12.215 [SPEAKER_01]: But there's some times that we're just now, okay, right? 03:13.657 --> 03:16.020 [SPEAKER_01]: We're just not. 03:16.523 --> 03:19.407 [SPEAKER_01]: We tend to put this outer layer on, right? 03:19.547 --> 03:21.749 [SPEAKER_01]: Our armor, men, we know all about this, right? 03:21.769 --> 03:24.553 [SPEAKER_01]: We leave our house, we could be going through it inside. 03:25.574 --> 03:30.320 [SPEAKER_01]: But we leave that house, we put our bulletproof vest on and go out until the world's smile and keep it going, right? 03:33.544 --> 03:35.246 [SPEAKER_01]: But we're not okay, right? 03:35.266 --> 03:36.247 [SPEAKER_01]: So what do we do there? 03:37.269 --> 03:40.793 [SPEAKER_01]: Um, I, I think, 03:41.245 --> 03:46.711 [SPEAKER_01]: In Acts, of course, we're charged with going out, make disciples, spread the gospel throughout the world. 03:47.532 --> 04:01.326 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm very critical of us Christians when we are trying to attract people that are far from God, because I love pointing out the hypocrisies and the parts of our faith that I think that people that are far from God see all too clear. 04:01.887 --> 04:05.110 [SPEAKER_01]: And this is one of those things, right, when we smile. 04:05.090 --> 04:29.511 [SPEAKER_01]: and we in which is great we and I'm not I'm not knocking that we we are supposed to to show God's joy we're not supposed to walk around moping with our with our heads that we're supposed to have faith but people that are far from God I think they can kind of call our bluff on that sometimes right well hey Brian oh you're you're trying to preach to me about this this God stuff but I saw you yesterday man and you look like you can't remember my car 04:30.453 --> 04:40.497 [SPEAKER_01]: Right, that's just not authentic so I think that is one of the things that people outside our faith can really really point out to us often 04:42.299 --> 04:47.169 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, here we are, we are smack dab in holiday season. 04:47.189 --> 04:49.274 [SPEAKER_01]: So we are, we just had Thanksgiving, right? 04:49.294 --> 04:54.184 [SPEAKER_01]: Well we're supposed to be grateful and thankful, which we are every single one of us in this from today. 04:54.244 --> 05:00.898 [SPEAKER_01]: No matter what is going on in our life, we all have things that we should be grateful for, right? 05:00.878 --> 05:05.027 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, even those tough days, we can all point out one, two, three things. 05:05.067 --> 05:06.470 [SPEAKER_01]: God, I am so thankful for this. 05:06.510 --> 05:08.855 [SPEAKER_01]: Listen, this part of my life is not where I want it to be. 05:09.938 --> 05:12.203 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm struggling with that, but thank you for this. 05:12.303 --> 05:15.951 [SPEAKER_01]: Jody has been wonderful the past two weeks. 05:15.931 --> 05:18.615 [SPEAKER_01]: And honey, it has, it has some of it has sank in. 05:20.117 --> 05:27.308 [SPEAKER_01]: She has been wonderful for the last two weeks with every day, waking up and sharing what she's grateful about. 05:29.191 --> 05:31.094 [SPEAKER_01]: But we're smacked up here in holiday season. 05:31.134 --> 05:32.076 [SPEAKER_01]: This is the time of the year. 05:32.096 --> 05:33.378 [SPEAKER_01]: I think that for many people. 05:33.398 --> 05:38.125 [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm going to use this as an example, because this is a common example that I think many of us struggle with. 05:39.117 --> 05:40.501 [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks give it was supposed to be grateful. 05:41.002 --> 05:46.498 [SPEAKER_01]: We are heading into the Christmas season where we're supposed to give and be joyful and be married. 05:46.899 --> 05:48.584 [SPEAKER_01]: The reality is the holiday season. 05:48.604 --> 05:50.228 [SPEAKER_01]: I know a number of you guys for many of us. 05:51.492 --> 05:54.460 [SPEAKER_01]: It's a season of a lot of anxiety for many of us, right? 05:56.043 --> 05:57.145 [SPEAKER_01]: We are here. 05:57.706 --> 05:58.587 [SPEAKER_01]: We're pretty soon. 05:58.667 --> 06:03.234 [SPEAKER_01]: Christmas coming up next, we're going to probably be around some some family members. 06:03.274 --> 06:05.017 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe we don't have the best relationship with. 06:05.358 --> 06:05.558 [SPEAKER_01]: Right? 06:06.419 --> 06:13.751 [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to probably feel some anxiety of being in the room with this or that person that maybe hurt us years ago. 06:13.811 --> 06:16.536 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe there's some wounds that have not yet healed yet. 06:16.776 --> 06:17.477 [SPEAKER_01]: Right? 06:17.457 --> 06:19.701 [SPEAKER_01]: So we get a whole month to anticipate that. 06:19.761 --> 06:24.408 [SPEAKER_01]: I just think about being with this or that person and I know they're going to say this. 06:24.448 --> 06:27.093 [SPEAKER_01]: They haven't apologized for this hurt yet, you know? 06:27.113 --> 06:31.019 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, there's not going to be okay, right? 06:31.861 --> 06:32.462 [SPEAKER_01]: We're just not. 06:33.503 --> 06:34.004 [SPEAKER_01]: What do we do? 06:34.765 --> 06:38.892 [SPEAKER_01]: Is it okay to not be okay? 06:41.403 --> 06:52.380 [SPEAKER_01]: I find myself personally praying a lot during this time of the year to help me to keep my temper with certain family members. 06:53.882 --> 06:58.048 [SPEAKER_01]: Not to be overly honest the way that I want to be with certain people. 06:59.010 --> 06:59.610 [SPEAKER_01]: Is that okay? 07:00.291 --> 07:02.635 [SPEAKER_01]: No. 07:06.614 --> 07:09.959 [SPEAKER_01]: that's one of the things that personally I'm always asking God about God. 07:10.099 --> 07:11.922 [SPEAKER_01]: I know I'm supposed to feel this way. 07:12.283 --> 07:13.645 [SPEAKER_01]: How do you feel about this though? 07:13.765 --> 07:16.188 [SPEAKER_01]: How do you feel with me not being okay? 07:17.270 --> 07:19.694 [SPEAKER_01]: Anybody here have those thoughts? 07:20.735 --> 07:21.256 [SPEAKER_01]: Should I go with that? 07:22.177 --> 07:22.378 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah? 07:25.002 --> 07:26.143 [SPEAKER_01]: It's a tough question, right? 07:26.564 --> 07:28.647 [SPEAKER_01]: Because we're supposed to always be okay, right? 07:30.490 --> 07:31.812 [SPEAKER_01]: Many of us have kids here. 07:33.091 --> 07:33.351 [SPEAKER_01]: Right? 07:34.113 --> 07:42.448 [SPEAKER_01]: We all know what it's like to be a parent, and to look at our kids and smile and raise them and teach them how to be happy and grateful. 07:43.651 --> 07:48.800 [SPEAKER_01]: For some days we're standing our kid guess what, we're not okay, we got to put that on the rumble. 07:48.840 --> 07:51.505 [SPEAKER_01]: We're not okay. 07:52.953 --> 07:54.195 [SPEAKER_01]: my son can see through it. 07:54.436 --> 08:02.091 [SPEAKER_01]: It's one of the hardest things of the father for me and my son when I'm having a bad day and my son can just see right through it. 08:02.712 --> 08:05.658 [SPEAKER_01]: They can just look right through me and see, you know, that is not okay today. 08:05.798 --> 08:07.021 [SPEAKER_01]: That's a tough thing. 08:07.041 --> 08:09.486 [SPEAKER_01]: And then of course, I think about, well, what is God thinking about this? 08:09.546 --> 08:12.271 [SPEAKER_01]: How does God feel about me not being okay? 08:12.933 --> 08:15.197 [SPEAKER_01]: And in folks, what do I say? 08:15.177 --> 08:17.180 [SPEAKER_01]: is God okay with me not being okay. 08:17.200 --> 08:18.301 [SPEAKER_01]: God is our father. 08:18.501 --> 08:24.950 [SPEAKER_01]: Any time that we are emotionally depleted, physically depleted, God is never okay with that because we're his children. 08:24.970 --> 08:27.834 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not saying that God is great about this. 08:30.057 --> 08:34.903 [SPEAKER_01]: The question I'm asking is, what does God think about this? 08:36.105 --> 08:37.607 [SPEAKER_01]: Do I get grace here? 08:38.397 --> 08:40.060 [SPEAKER_01]: That's the question I'm posing to you today. 08:40.561 --> 08:42.824 [SPEAKER_01]: God is never okay with that's not me, okay. 08:42.884 --> 08:52.220 [SPEAKER_01]: We're his children just like if Sidney is not okay about something, I'm not okay about it because he's my son I love him and God loves us more than we could ever imagine. 08:52.260 --> 08:54.263 [SPEAKER_01]: So that's the question I propose to you today. 08:54.343 --> 08:56.086 [SPEAKER_01]: Is it okay to be not okay? 08:57.007 --> 09:01.114 [SPEAKER_01]: And we're not okay. 09:01.583 --> 09:08.574 [SPEAKER_01]: We know that one of the two of the things that we're taught in Scripture, how we can bat not be in okay, what's the biggest one, praying, right? 09:09.515 --> 09:12.800 [SPEAKER_01]: That's our armor, our armor is praying and of course fasting. 09:13.241 --> 09:16.185 [SPEAKER_01]: Those are the two things that we can do to connect with God. 09:16.886 --> 09:20.732 [SPEAKER_01]: A way to be gracious is to quickly get an connection with God. 09:20.932 --> 09:23.536 [SPEAKER_01]: But what about folks, what about when praying even seems heavy? 09:23.797 --> 09:26.401 [SPEAKER_01]: You ever have those days, those seasons? 09:28.123 --> 09:29.245 [SPEAKER_01]: When you can't even pray? 09:31.638 --> 09:32.901 [SPEAKER_01]: You're that mentally drained. 09:34.103 --> 09:35.306 [SPEAKER_01]: I just can't get the words God. 09:35.867 --> 09:38.051 [SPEAKER_01]: I cannot get the words to pray today. 09:38.111 --> 09:40.817 [SPEAKER_01]: This is so heavy. 09:40.837 --> 09:43.643 [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if it's say to you, you know? 09:45.106 --> 09:45.567 [SPEAKER_01]: What then? 09:46.088 --> 09:47.571 [SPEAKER_01]: How does God feel about that? 09:50.943 --> 10:15.297 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, let's look at this guys, let's look at what I want to share with you today, actually, and the good news about this today is guys, this is perfectly normal for us as Christians, this is normal, this is one of the things that we don't talk enough about in our faith, there are some, there are plenty of days where we just are going to have a hard time, we're not going to be answers, there's some seasons like that, this is a part of our walk, is to be not okay. 10:15.277 --> 10:16.458 [SPEAKER_01]: That's the good news today. 10:16.478 --> 10:17.880 [SPEAKER_01]: You are 100% normal. 10:17.960 --> 10:19.882 [SPEAKER_01]: We are a 100% normal. 10:20.543 --> 10:26.029 [SPEAKER_01]: And the new testament, one of my favorite apostles actually Paul. 10:26.490 --> 10:28.472 [SPEAKER_01]: And this is great because we just finished up with Acts. 10:28.492 --> 10:38.584 [SPEAKER_01]: We'll receive the central figure of the church leave from Peter to Paul picking up that torch. 10:38.564 --> 10:41.349 [SPEAKER_01]: Pastor described Paul as a very intense character. 10:41.369 --> 10:44.555 [SPEAKER_01]: I had never seen Paul describe that way, but it makes sense. 10:44.775 --> 10:45.677 [SPEAKER_01]: Very intense. 10:45.737 --> 10:51.508 [SPEAKER_01]: Very, very, very, very, very, very, very hard guy. 10:51.628 --> 10:52.810 [SPEAKER_01]: Guys, guys. 10:54.882 --> 11:03.374 [SPEAKER_01]: We look at some of the things that Paul went through, being beaten up, chased from town to town, shipwrecked all Malta, being bit by a snake. 11:04.676 --> 11:06.499 [SPEAKER_01]: Someone that has gone through all of that guess what? 11:06.559 --> 11:08.262 [SPEAKER_01]: They kind of get my silver prove. 11:08.282 --> 11:09.584 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to listen to what they say. 11:09.644 --> 11:12.388 [SPEAKER_01]: So let's look at what Paul says about this actually. 11:13.329 --> 11:16.654 [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to go to Romans chapter 826. 11:19.520 --> 11:24.731 [SPEAKER_01]: Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness for we do not know how to pray as we ought. 11:25.793 --> 11:29.721 [SPEAKER_01]: But that very Spirit intercedes with signs too deep for words. 11:30.483 --> 11:37.798 [SPEAKER_01]: And God who searches the heart knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes 11:37.778 --> 11:40.422 [SPEAKER_01]: for the saints according to their will of God. 11:41.363 --> 11:42.524 [SPEAKER_01]: That word, intercede. 11:42.605 --> 11:45.068 [SPEAKER_01]: We don't focus enough on what that means. 11:45.088 --> 11:45.709 [SPEAKER_01]: And this is one of those. 11:45.729 --> 11:49.374 [SPEAKER_01]: This is one of my favorite verses in the New Testament. 11:50.195 --> 11:59.067 [SPEAKER_01]: So interceding the Bible, what that literally means is to have an advocate, to have someone to stand in that gap and speak on our behalf. 12:00.028 --> 12:02.672 [SPEAKER_01]: Think about that for a moment. 12:04.357 --> 12:07.222 [SPEAKER_01]: One of the greatest things that God did to fit did for us is what? 12:07.242 --> 12:13.672 [SPEAKER_01]: To give His Son to die for our sins, to play the blood ransom for our sin. 12:14.533 --> 12:21.004 [SPEAKER_01]: But think about this, not only that Jesus died for us, but He left us with an advocate. 12:21.224 --> 12:26.112 [SPEAKER_01]: We constantly have someone sitting in the middle 12:27.205 --> 12:30.050 [SPEAKER_01]: between us and God, the Holy Spirit. 12:30.611 --> 12:33.216 [SPEAKER_01]: And so in those times when we cannot pray, those guess what? 12:33.957 --> 12:35.620 [SPEAKER_01]: The Holy Spirit is praying for us. 12:37.223 --> 12:50.327 [SPEAKER_01]: When we don't know the words, when we are struggling to feel about this horrible situation, this horrible obstacle in life, or this draining season, when we mentally cannot even get the words as to how to pray, 12:51.370 --> 12:53.754 [SPEAKER_01]: The Holy Spirit is there praying for us. 12:53.874 --> 12:54.635 [SPEAKER_01]: Think about that. 12:54.655 --> 12:56.819 [SPEAKER_01]: Think about a God that did that for us. 12:57.380 --> 13:03.049 [SPEAKER_01]: Not just to die for us, but to say, hey, Brian, you're gonna have some days. 13:03.590 --> 13:06.775 [SPEAKER_01]: You're gonna have some seasons where I know. 13:06.835 --> 13:11.383 [SPEAKER_01]: You're gonna want to talk to me, but you're not gonna have the words. 13:13.346 --> 13:15.910 [SPEAKER_01]: You're not gonna know the next thing to do. 13:16.953 --> 13:22.062 [SPEAKER_01]: You're supposed to come to me and trust that I'm going to give you direction. 13:22.783 --> 13:27.511 [SPEAKER_01]: But you're going to have those days, man, where you are just not going to be able to do that. 13:29.194 --> 13:31.638 [SPEAKER_01]: So we have the Holy Spirit folks there to pray on us. 13:31.658 --> 13:32.299 [SPEAKER_01]: Just think about that. 13:32.359 --> 13:39.391 [SPEAKER_01]: So on those days, when you're having a hard time praying, where you are mentally exhausted, where you are beaten up, no. 13:40.753 --> 13:42.977 [SPEAKER_01]: The Holy Spirit is praying for you. 13:43.447 --> 13:49.355 [SPEAKER_01]: You have someone there, when you're sitting there with a loss for the words, the Holy Spirit is praying for you. 13:49.455 --> 13:57.226 [SPEAKER_01]: Talking to God and saying everything that you wish you could say doesn't that make you feel a little bit good? 13:57.947 --> 14:06.680 [SPEAKER_01]: That is so reassuring to me as someone who fumbles their words every minute of every hour that makes me feel so good about that. 14:06.880 --> 14:08.442 [SPEAKER_01]: It does. 14:09.653 --> 14:38.749 [SPEAKER_01]: that's uh... that on those days when i'm not okay and not even days but let's be honest we have seasons like that right uh... i wish i wish it was just a day or two here there seems like especially the last the last couple of years just seems like life has gotten really different from any of us right as a church and one of the uh... one of my favorite things about uh... our church is 14:39.927 --> 14:48.397 [SPEAKER_01]: I think the word of some of you, just with your honesty and how vulnerable you are and our community circles to share what's going on in your life and your struggles. 14:49.259 --> 14:56.487 [SPEAKER_01]: So I said it to know that we are a church that has seen some, we've seen some stuff folks in the last two years, right? 14:57.809 --> 15:03.716 [SPEAKER_01]: Some of you have vocalized it, some of us have kind of sat in silence about it, but we're going through some stuff. 15:04.657 --> 15:07.521 [SPEAKER_01]: Life has just taken on a different season for us. 15:07.687 --> 15:14.376 [SPEAKER_01]: So when this difference sees and in today is not about doom and gloom, I'm not trying to depress you guys and have you leave here feeling bad. 15:15.117 --> 15:21.005 [SPEAKER_01]: What I want to do today is I want you to leave here knowing that, that, that, that, that God gets it. 15:22.447 --> 15:24.490 [SPEAKER_01]: God understands what you're going through right now. 15:25.651 --> 15:32.921 [SPEAKER_01]: And your moments where you can't find the words, the Holy Spirit is actually saying everything for you, that you, that you want to say. 15:34.363 --> 15:37.187 [SPEAKER_01]: Husbands, wouldn't that be such a great thing 15:37.420 --> 15:45.014 [SPEAKER_01]: Wouldn't that be great to have someone to say all the things that we have a hard time saying to our wives, Jodie? 15:45.394 --> 15:46.035 [SPEAKER_01]: You deserve that. 15:47.538 --> 15:50.163 [SPEAKER_01]: That would be great. 15:50.183 --> 15:55.192 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's look at the Old Testament actually on this. 15:56.875 --> 15:58.317 [SPEAKER_01]: So give you some more examples of this. 15:59.459 --> 16:02.044 [SPEAKER_01]: My favorite character in the Old Testament is David. 16:02.851 --> 16:11.342 [SPEAKER_01]: Being a kid that grew up in the 80s and the macho movie films, Rambo, Arnold Schwarzenegger. 16:11.896 --> 16:33.485 [SPEAKER_01]: I've always viewed David as a very manly man, but a guy that says all the things that has the words that I wish that I could have, the way that David speaks in the Psalms to God, I wish that I was that eloquent, I wish that I could pour out my soul to God, the way that David does. 16:35.248 --> 16:35.769 [SPEAKER_01]: Check this out. 16:35.789 --> 16:36.169 [SPEAKER_01]: Look at this. 16:36.209 --> 16:38.292 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's go to Psalm 139 here. 16:40.533 --> 16:41.535 [SPEAKER_01]: And we all know David's story. 16:41.575 --> 16:45.621 [SPEAKER_01]: David is a David is someone that was, he lived. 16:46.081 --> 16:51.209 [SPEAKER_01]: He sent, he made mistakes, experience, heart broke, he experienced it all. 16:51.550 --> 16:56.818 [SPEAKER_01]: He had those bad days that we had, listen to some of the songs, he pours himself out before God. 16:57.158 --> 16:59.301 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's check out Psalm 139, 1 through 4. 16:59.341 --> 17:03.047 [SPEAKER_01]: Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me. 17:03.770 --> 17:08.697 [SPEAKER_01]: You know me when I sit down and when I rise up, you discern my thoughts from far away. 17:08.757 --> 17:17.270 [SPEAKER_01]: You search out my path, you search out my path, and my lying down, and or acquaint it with all my ways. 17:17.570 --> 17:22.437 [SPEAKER_01]: Even before a word is on my tongue, oh Lord, you know it completely. 17:22.838 --> 17:30.371 [SPEAKER_01]: What David is saying here is God, you get me, you understand the heaviness of what I'm experiencing right now. 17:30.812 --> 17:32.455 [SPEAKER_01]: You know this season of my life. 17:33.918 --> 17:36.182 [SPEAKER_01]: You get that it is heavy for me. 17:36.783 --> 17:40.189 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's scroll down a little bit to the end of 139 here. 17:40.405 --> 17:42.629 [SPEAKER_01]: This is a 139, 23 to 24. 17:43.571 --> 17:45.795 [SPEAKER_01]: Search me, oh Lord, and know my heart. 17:45.956 --> 17:47.379 [SPEAKER_01]: Test me and know my thoughts. 17:47.960 --> 17:55.314 [SPEAKER_01]: See if there is any wicked way in me and lead me into the way everlasting. 17:56.657 --> 17:57.999 [SPEAKER_01]: This is David San Hey God. 17:59.041 --> 18:02.548 [SPEAKER_01]: I have no idea why I'm feeling like this today. 18:02.832 --> 18:04.875 [SPEAKER_01]: I have no idea why I'm in this funk. 18:05.135 --> 18:10.002 [SPEAKER_01]: Some days folks, we have no clue as to why we're feeling like we're feeling it for honest, right? 18:10.643 --> 18:14.327 [SPEAKER_01]: Why am I going, I feel heavy today. 18:14.388 --> 18:16.110 [SPEAKER_01]: You know what the truth is? 18:16.290 --> 18:18.473 [SPEAKER_01]: I have no idea why I'm even feeling like this today. 18:18.914 --> 18:19.414 [SPEAKER_01]: What is it? 18:19.995 --> 18:21.517 [SPEAKER_01]: Why am I feeling like this? 18:21.838 --> 18:23.039 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm blessed. 18:23.059 --> 18:24.101 [SPEAKER_01]: I have my health, maybe. 18:24.681 --> 18:25.903 [SPEAKER_01]: I have a family. 18:26.963 --> 18:29.669 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe finances are good, but God, why am I feeling this way? 18:30.049 --> 18:30.831 [SPEAKER_01]: You guys ever had those days? 18:31.292 --> 18:33.356 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, you just don't understand why you're feeling like you're feeling? 18:34.498 --> 18:36.042 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, this is David having that same day. 18:36.863 --> 18:38.907 [SPEAKER_01]: Pouring himself out to God saying God, you get it. 18:39.689 --> 18:43.116 [SPEAKER_01]: Even though I don't know why I'm feeling this way, you understand me today. 18:45.458 --> 18:49.643 [SPEAKER_01]: So, I know that also folks that we're having those funky days, we're going through that season of life. 18:49.723 --> 18:51.725 [SPEAKER_01]: God gets it, God gets our confusion. 18:51.785 --> 18:56.270 [SPEAKER_01]: We don't always have to have on our, our bullet-proof vest of faith. 18:57.732 --> 19:04.339 [SPEAKER_01]: We're always supposed to be faithful, but we don't have to fake it folks. 19:04.619 --> 19:09.745 [SPEAKER_01]: We don't have to, we don't have to be ashamed that we're having that bad day. 19:11.547 --> 19:18.856 [SPEAKER_01]: Anyone here ever had those same for moments where you're struggling and you feel like God, I'm supposed to be strong today. 19:19.857 --> 19:23.602 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm supposed to be able to withstand this, but I'm just not okay. 19:24.523 --> 19:25.404 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not doing good with this. 19:26.245 --> 19:26.986 [SPEAKER_01]: You guys have those. 19:27.086 --> 19:27.987 [SPEAKER_01]: Don't raise your hand or anything. 19:28.007 --> 19:28.428 [SPEAKER_01]: Just blink. 19:29.870 --> 19:29.970 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. 19:29.990 --> 19:30.611 [SPEAKER_01]: You have those days. 19:31.612 --> 19:34.095 [SPEAKER_01]: So this is David going through one of those days this days here. 19:36.100 --> 19:41.748 [SPEAKER_01]: And so here's where the paradox guys of my message today comes in. 19:41.868 --> 19:43.451 [SPEAKER_01]: So we're going to have these bad days. 19:43.471 --> 19:46.135 [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to have these days where we're going to struggle to pray. 19:47.717 --> 19:49.159 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's normal and it's okay. 19:49.780 --> 19:52.764 [SPEAKER_01]: Here's where the flip comes in. 19:52.824 --> 19:56.630 [SPEAKER_01]: So we're having these days when we're going to these seasons that what is the answer? 19:57.331 --> 19:57.952 [SPEAKER_01]: What do we do? 19:59.554 --> 20:00.235 [SPEAKER_01]: When we can't pray. 20:00.916 --> 20:04.842 [SPEAKER_01]: What do we do? 20:06.290 --> 20:07.531 [SPEAKER_01]: Right, we have to pray. 20:14.139 --> 20:21.206 [SPEAKER_01]: One of the areas in our life, I think, where our faith changes, and where our relationship with God changes, is prayer. 20:21.507 --> 20:24.090 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not going to give you guys a long speech today on prayer. 20:24.150 --> 20:26.152 [SPEAKER_01]: We know the power of it, and what it can do. 20:26.172 --> 20:29.455 [SPEAKER_01]: And if you don't know, listen today to this next part. 20:29.555 --> 20:31.858 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to help you guys with that. 20:33.830 --> 20:48.311 [SPEAKER_01]: Pastor, Philip Anthony Mitchell, a really good online pastor, one of the things that he advocates that really has helped me in the last 12 months with a consistent prayer life is to find a prayer closet in your house. 20:48.691 --> 20:52.697 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe it's a room, maybe it's a part of your house, that is less traffic. 20:55.341 --> 21:02.571 [SPEAKER_01]: You know, how that time with God, that relationship, helps us in our faith. 21:03.783 --> 21:08.150 [SPEAKER_01]: But what do we, those seasons where we can't do that like we want to? 21:08.170 --> 21:08.711 [SPEAKER_01]: What do we do? 21:09.352 --> 21:14.019 [SPEAKER_01]: I am, I was on a great role about two, three-month great roles. 21:14.079 --> 21:26.137 [SPEAKER_01]: Waking up four or five o'clock every single day, going down before Jody can Sydney get up, going to my prayer closet and praying with God, spending that time, and it felt great. 21:26.938 --> 21:31.225 [SPEAKER_01]: It always feels good to me to wake up first in the morning and pray to God before the, 21:31.205 --> 21:35.470 [SPEAKER_01]: all the stresses of the day they just pile on me and I think about, okay, how am I going to get this done? 21:35.530 --> 21:36.972 [SPEAKER_01]: How am I going to attack this obstacle? 21:37.633 --> 21:48.526 [SPEAKER_01]: When I'm able to get up first thing and pray that God and spend half an hour or 45 minutes praying, my day, honestly, it takes on a whole new, whole new day. 21:50.128 --> 21:53.112 [SPEAKER_01]: But what about when I, when about when I don't do that, right? 21:54.442 --> 22:01.791 [SPEAKER_01]: We're about when I fall off when I take two weeks, I sleep in, I sleep till 6 or 630. 22:03.233 --> 22:03.774 [SPEAKER_01]: What about Ben? 22:03.814 --> 22:04.715 [SPEAKER_01]: Is that normal? 22:05.276 --> 22:06.297 [SPEAKER_01]: Is that okay? 22:06.998 --> 22:09.261 [SPEAKER_01]: No, God's never okay with us not praying. 22:10.122 --> 22:10.903 [SPEAKER_01]: But is that normal? 22:11.423 --> 22:11.824 [SPEAKER_01]: Short is. 22:11.864 --> 22:12.665 [SPEAKER_01]: We all go through that. 22:13.125 --> 22:19.133 [SPEAKER_01]: And one of the things I think that it's Christians, that I think that when it comes to prayer, 22:19.855 --> 22:25.583 [SPEAKER_01]: I think we as Christians, we resemble our country, as American Christians, I just say. 22:26.464 --> 22:30.009 [SPEAKER_01]: We tend to take on the cultural lot, right? 22:30.069 --> 22:31.491 [SPEAKER_01]: We resemble our politics. 22:31.831 --> 22:35.656 [SPEAKER_01]: We're either too far this way or too far that way. 22:35.676 --> 22:38.700 [SPEAKER_01]: I think we do the same thing with our prayer life sometimes with Christians. 22:39.001 --> 22:42.145 [SPEAKER_01]: I have a great book on prayer at home that I bought. 22:42.946 --> 22:44.127 [SPEAKER_01]: And it's a great book. 22:45.049 --> 22:46.791 [SPEAKER_01]: I think it's way too complex though. 22:47.851 --> 22:51.915 [SPEAKER_01]: I think it's way too complex, I think it makes it way more complex than it has to be. 22:53.136 --> 23:07.331 [SPEAKER_01]: So one of the things that I think we over-complicated is to think that when we're praying, that we have to pray this long, complicated, sophisticated prayer, that we have to be Robert Frost and our prayers when we're talking to God. 23:07.351 --> 23:08.432 [SPEAKER_01]: And folks, guess what, we don't. 23:09.093 --> 23:09.654 [SPEAKER_01]: We do not. 23:09.794 --> 23:16.761 [SPEAKER_01]: And those moments in those seasons where we are finding it, where life is tough, and we're 23:16.876 --> 23:19.619 [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes the simply shortest prayer will work. 23:19.899 --> 23:25.665 [SPEAKER_01]: I heard one of the best scenes actually recently, and it was, what is it? 23:28.007 --> 23:30.970 [SPEAKER_01]: You don't have to, you don't have to pray long. 23:32.852 --> 23:35.074 [SPEAKER_01]: You just have to not go along without praying. 23:36.436 --> 23:37.577 [SPEAKER_01]: I love that. 23:39.459 --> 23:45.465 [SPEAKER_01]: When we're having those tough times when we are, when we're not able to pray or not able to find the words for God, 23:46.863 --> 23:48.928 [SPEAKER_01]: You guys ever just sit in silence with God? 23:51.514 --> 23:52.336 [SPEAKER_01]: You ever just sit there? 23:53.960 --> 23:54.101 [SPEAKER_01]: Right? 23:54.842 --> 23:56.767 [SPEAKER_01]: We don't have to sit there and have all the words. 23:56.787 --> 23:59.514 [SPEAKER_01]: We can just sit there and space with God. 23:59.875 --> 24:05.007 [SPEAKER_01]: That is one of the things that I think in our busy culture that we don't do enough with God. 24:05.527 --> 24:07.249 [SPEAKER_01]: We don't just sit still, right? 24:07.309 --> 24:11.973 [SPEAKER_01]: Sitting still is something that is so impossible for us, but because we've got a thousand things to do. 24:12.013 --> 24:12.994 [SPEAKER_01]: We've got to get this done. 24:13.014 --> 24:13.995 [SPEAKER_01]: We've got to get that done. 24:14.455 --> 24:15.597 [SPEAKER_01]: We've got to plan for this. 24:15.617 --> 24:16.858 [SPEAKER_01]: We've got to plan for that. 24:17.899 --> 24:20.461 [SPEAKER_01]: How often do we just sit and silence with God? 24:23.884 --> 24:27.748 [SPEAKER_01]: This is also something that is very tough for us, because when you sit and silence, what do we have to do? 24:28.048 --> 24:28.589 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's be honest. 24:28.609 --> 24:31.872 [SPEAKER_01]: What's the scariest thing about sitting and silence by ourselves? 24:33.505 --> 24:35.547 [SPEAKER_01]: We've got to deal with ourselves, right? 24:36.668 --> 24:37.770 [SPEAKER_01]: We've got to deal with our thoughts. 24:39.151 --> 24:40.352 [SPEAKER_01]: But that's one of the things that we can do. 24:40.392 --> 24:41.994 [SPEAKER_01]: Sit and science with God. 24:45.558 --> 24:46.819 [SPEAKER_01]: Be quiet, let God speak. 24:48.101 --> 24:48.441 [SPEAKER_01]: Try it. 24:48.461 --> 24:51.625 [SPEAKER_01]: 15 minutes, 20 minutes. 24:53.126 --> 24:58.332 [SPEAKER_01]: One of the, I try this recently. 24:58.852 --> 25:28.521 [SPEAKER_01]: And here's one of the things that I would suggest to you, personally, if you're an outdoor person, one of the things that helps me so much when life is heavy, and I can't find those words, but a lot this year, getting outside in nature, there is a trail that I walk on the gunpowder, and it is just something about walking this trail that I feel connected 25:29.345 --> 25:36.867 [SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes I'll pray a little bit, it's about a 2 to 4 mile walk depending on which one I want to do. 25:36.887 --> 25:44.569 [SPEAKER_01]: I will try my best to pray a little bit when I'm struggling to pray, I'll just be silent though. 25:45.848 --> 25:53.189 [SPEAKER_01]: I'll just be silent, I'm focused, my mind is blank, and I'm just listening for God to speak to me. 25:54.352 --> 26:00.870 [SPEAKER_01]: About two for weeks ago, at the end of this trail, if I do the two mile walk, at the end of this trail, 26:01.492 --> 26:26.082 [SPEAKER_01]: You cross a little brook, which is so majestic, I envision it as something that God created in the garden of Eve, and actually, at the end of it, there's a little, it's not a little pond, but there's a little brook there of water, and there is this rock there that if you walk up on it, you can just sit there and listen to the water kind of pouring to the pool and the leaves and everything else. 26:26.062 --> 26:32.603 [SPEAKER_01]: And I sat there and it was one of those days where God, I am having a heart, I'm having a heart time getting those words together. 26:32.904 --> 26:36.696 [SPEAKER_01]: I sat there in silence for about a half an hour. 26:38.752 --> 26:43.259 [SPEAKER_01]: I felt God speaking a way that I hadn't heard hear hear him speaking a long time of you quite honest with you. 26:43.559 --> 26:47.465 [SPEAKER_01]: It was amazing and it was the first time in a while that I had just sat in silence with God. 26:48.606 --> 26:49.888 [SPEAKER_01]: It was amazing there. 26:50.149 --> 26:50.589 [SPEAKER_01]: Amazing. 26:53.153 --> 26:58.060 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, I want to, I want to, a little rule of caution here for us and our busy lives. 26:58.341 --> 26:59.703 [SPEAKER_01]: So there is a difference too. 26:59.723 --> 27:00.925 [SPEAKER_01]: I want to point this out. 27:00.945 --> 27:06.733 [SPEAKER_01]: There's a difference when us 27:07.507 --> 27:09.531 [SPEAKER_01]: and we're kind of having a hard time praying. 27:09.611 --> 27:13.739 [SPEAKER_01]: There's a difference in that than us being in a rush. 27:14.481 --> 27:14.681 [SPEAKER_01]: Right? 27:15.383 --> 27:22.397 [SPEAKER_01]: When we're rushing and we're just doing a thousand different things and we're not taking the time to be with God, that's a different story. 27:22.417 --> 27:23.439 [SPEAKER_01]: That's not what I'm saying here. 27:23.479 --> 27:27.507 [SPEAKER_01]: I'll have those days where I'll... 27:27.638 --> 27:36.353 [SPEAKER_01]: I'll rush out the door, hadn't spoken to God, hadn't prayed yet, I'll get to the office, outside my office, and then I'll sit in the car and I'll give God a little 30 second prayer. 27:36.514 --> 27:37.095 [SPEAKER_01]: Right? 27:37.115 --> 27:43.687 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, I'm sure God honors that, but that's different than of course, me being weighed down and not being able to pray. 27:43.707 --> 27:48.715 [SPEAKER_01]: So I want to just caution us, Dale, let's make sure that we can kind of distinguish between those two things there. 27:49.677 --> 27:51.300 [SPEAKER_01]: So, um, 27:53.170 --> 28:06.943 [SPEAKER_01]: One of the things that we can do also, and our small groups, one of the things that I find so admirable, is the openness of many of you to ask someone to pray for you. 28:07.430 --> 28:13.058 [SPEAKER_01]: That's that has never been an easy thing personally for me to do was to ask someone to pray for me I've always struggled with that. 28:13.618 --> 28:26.075 [SPEAKER_01]: I love how brave some of you are But that's one of the things that we can do too when we're having a hard time praying We can ask someone to pray for us ask someone to intercede on our behalf the power of intercessory prayer That's a powerful thing for us. 28:26.796 --> 28:37.150 [SPEAKER_01]: So we can do that Let's look at let's look at Galatians 28:38.378 --> 28:42.162 [SPEAKER_01]: bear one of those burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. 28:43.443 --> 28:47.907 [SPEAKER_01]: If we need help, pray for someone else, say, listen, I'm dealing with my own stuff right now. 28:48.868 --> 28:54.213 [SPEAKER_01]: Lord, I am, I want to pray for this person, but I'm having a hard time getting the words, listen. 28:55.034 --> 28:57.016 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's go to Colossians 11913. 28:57.557 --> 29:03.903 [SPEAKER_01]: The great thing folks about the Bible, it's not just the book for us to read, but it's the answer to everything for us, right? 29:04.063 --> 29:08.267 [SPEAKER_01]: The Bible is full of prayers that we can just repeat. 29:08.247 --> 29:10.610 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's go here to Colossians 1 9 13. 29:12.111 --> 29:25.807 [SPEAKER_01]: For this reason, since the day that we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God with God's will and with them and understanding. 29:26.027 --> 29:38.001 [SPEAKER_01]: So that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to Him as you bear fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God. 29:38.251 --> 29:55.059 [SPEAKER_01]: with all strength that comes from his glorious power and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience while juffly giving thanks to the father who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 29:55.159 --> 30:01.730 [SPEAKER_01]: So this is a great, this is a great prayer of folks that if we're having a hard time struggling, we just recite this, right? 30:01.750 --> 30:04.815 [SPEAKER_01]: We don't have to complicate praying, right? 30:06.230 --> 30:08.500 [SPEAKER_01]: When we're not okay, the answer is here. 30:08.580 --> 30:10.327 [SPEAKER_01]: We find a prayer in the Bible and repeat that. 30:10.387 --> 30:11.613 [SPEAKER_01]: God's gonna honor that for us. 30:15.730 --> 30:16.493 [SPEAKER_01]: Sorry, oops. 30:20.877 --> 30:28.847 [SPEAKER_01]: The, uh, personally, when I'm having a bad day, as I mentioned before, I, I, I, I, I really, I love, I love King David. 30:29.128 --> 30:36.958 [SPEAKER_01]: Um, the Psalms are a great comfort to me where I can just go to the Psalms and I can, I can repeat those to, to, to pour out to God. 30:37.539 --> 30:40.242 [SPEAKER_01]: Everything that I'm struggling with saying to him and it's all there. 30:40.302 --> 30:41.264 [SPEAKER_01]: David has already said it. 30:41.324 --> 30:42.706 [SPEAKER_01]: So, um, men. 30:43.166 --> 30:45.349 [SPEAKER_01]: I encourage men and women both, but men. 30:46.814 --> 30:51.482 [SPEAKER_01]: If you're like me and you struggle with the word sometimes, go to the Psalms, repeat those. 30:52.264 --> 30:53.025 [SPEAKER_01]: Right, go to the Psalms. 30:53.566 --> 31:00.739 [SPEAKER_01]: Ladies, one of the things that God blessed many of you with is this is why I love watching the faith of women. 31:01.641 --> 31:05.768 [SPEAKER_01]: I think you all pray so much better. 31:06.727 --> 31:15.245 [SPEAKER_01]: I think you're able to, I think it just comes more natural to be able to be honest with God and to express everything to God. 31:15.265 --> 31:23.824 [SPEAKER_01]: A lot of us men, we struggle with that, we struggle with kind of getting all the words out, we struggle with. 31:24.007 --> 31:28.434 [SPEAKER_01]: It's not always a very masculine thing to pour ourselves out to God, to be that vulnerable. 31:29.415 --> 31:32.480 [SPEAKER_01]: David does that very well, I think, for us guys. 31:32.860 --> 31:36.686 [SPEAKER_01]: So if you're struggling with that, like I do, go to the Psalms. 31:36.766 --> 31:39.310 [SPEAKER_01]: David's kind of given us the words there. 31:39.570 --> 31:39.751 [SPEAKER_01]: Yep. 31:43.015 --> 31:47.382 [SPEAKER_01]: And then, not then, sorry. 31:50.838 --> 32:04.257 [SPEAKER_01]: Another thing, folks, that I think that in our faith that we also need to try to do, when we're not okay, don't guilt yourself in that, right? 32:07.223 --> 32:27.932 [SPEAKER_01]: find yourself, find out, every single person in this room, what we have to do, we need to find someone, I'll call the Spiritual Accountability Partner, and this is not someone that we really dump on all the time, but we need to find someone that actually is honest like you are and can give us some guidance with not being okay. 32:27.912 --> 32:36.439 [SPEAKER_01]: I think too often in our faith as Christians, we are dealing with a mental health crisis in America right now. 32:36.460 --> 32:42.545 [SPEAKER_01]: I think in the world, and I am not sitting here, guys, I am not a mental health specialist, so I'm not going to pretend to give you any advice on that. 32:43.225 --> 32:48.950 [SPEAKER_01]: But I think also in our faith, we are experiencing the same thing in our faith and we're just not honest about it, right? 32:49.291 --> 32:51.713 [SPEAKER_01]: I think that we think that we have the soldier through this. 32:53.414 --> 32:56.417 [SPEAKER_01]: And this is why a lot of people 32:56.397 --> 33:01.906 [SPEAKER_01]: or turning from the faith because we're not honest about the struggles that we as Christians experience. 33:02.847 --> 33:05.412 [SPEAKER_01]: We put on this false facade that's just not real. 33:06.513 --> 33:14.526 [SPEAKER_01]: Find someone, find someone that you're close to, find a brother or a sister in Christ that we can be honest with about that. 33:15.428 --> 33:17.771 [SPEAKER_01]: That might be someone here in church that you can talk to. 33:17.791 --> 33:20.536 [SPEAKER_01]: That might be someone on the job that you can talk to. 33:20.917 --> 33:23.721 [SPEAKER_01]: But find someone folks that we can lock arms with. 33:24.747 --> 33:26.289 [SPEAKER_01]: And say, hey, listen, I'm not OK. 33:28.031 --> 33:30.874 [SPEAKER_01]: I know my faith tells me that I'm supposed to have all the answers to this. 33:31.195 --> 33:33.718 [SPEAKER_01]: But I just don't help me with this. 33:35.420 --> 33:35.981 [SPEAKER_01]: Help me with this. 33:36.221 --> 33:38.183 [SPEAKER_01]: Yep. 33:38.203 --> 33:44.932 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's, and couple of, so scroll up to two more slides. 33:45.993 --> 33:46.413 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, right here. 33:46.914 --> 33:48.456 [SPEAKER_01]: So let's now want to share this with you guys today. 33:48.476 --> 33:53.522 [SPEAKER_01]: A couple of prayers on those days 33:54.717 --> 34:05.852 [SPEAKER_01]: Here's the answer to the test, when we're in those heavy seasons, one of the things that we don't like to also admit sometimes less than some of the reasons why we're feeling heavy. 34:05.872 --> 34:07.995 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not trying to guilt us, we all send, right? 34:08.015 --> 34:09.096 [SPEAKER_01]: We all have sent in our lives. 34:10.418 --> 34:21.973 [SPEAKER_01]: If it is sin that is kind of, if we've done a sin or if we're going through some sin, if we're, and when I say sin, folks remember it can be small or big in our minds. 34:22.527 --> 34:26.872 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe we're feeling a way about someone and we know we should not be feeling that way. 34:26.912 --> 34:31.478 [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe we are not willing to forgive someone when we know we should forgive. 34:32.259 --> 34:34.161 [SPEAKER_01]: This one here, Psalm 51. 34:34.862 --> 34:36.424 [SPEAKER_01]: This is David. 34:37.446 --> 34:41.831 [SPEAKER_01]: This is a pair of appendices by David, great one there. 34:42.272 --> 34:44.214 [SPEAKER_01]: Psalm 21, if we're looking for guidance. 34:46.036 --> 34:52.264 [SPEAKER_01]: Many of us, the last year or two, we're just praying, asking God, God guide me, lead me in this season of my life. 34:53.830 --> 34:58.077 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm experiencing this, I'm experiencing that, I don't know what to do, guide me, Lord. 34:59.339 --> 35:00.260 [SPEAKER_01]: You need help with saying that? 35:02.403 --> 35:08.112 [SPEAKER_01]: Psalm 21, understanding many of us are going through things in our life right now. 35:08.132 --> 35:12.259 [SPEAKER_01]: We have no human ideas to why we're experiencing this. 35:14.642 --> 35:17.627 [SPEAKER_01]: Lord, I've done all these things, you've asked me to do this. 35:18.805 --> 35:20.428 [SPEAKER_01]: I've got this set out of my life. 35:21.209 --> 35:22.210 [SPEAKER_01]: I've cleaned this up. 35:23.212 --> 35:24.193 [SPEAKER_01]: I've done this, I've done that. 35:24.374 --> 35:25.535 [SPEAKER_01]: Why is this happening? 35:25.676 --> 35:26.877 [SPEAKER_01]: Why am I feeling this way? 35:30.503 --> 35:31.204 [SPEAKER_01]: Exodus 33, 12. 35:32.486 --> 35:34.429 [SPEAKER_01]: Prayer for Mercy, Luke 18, 13. 35:34.469 --> 35:40.138 [SPEAKER_01]: And then I love this one, Acts 4, 29, prayer for boldness. 35:42.346 --> 35:44.752 [SPEAKER_01]: Our faith folks, it calls us to be bold. 35:45.113 --> 35:47.899 [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm not here seeing here today that we're not supposed to be, but we are. 35:48.681 --> 35:55.197 [SPEAKER_01]: We are as people of faith when we go out here, and we leave this room today. 35:55.478 --> 35:56.701 [SPEAKER_01]: We step onto that world. 35:57.102 --> 36:00.490 [SPEAKER_01]: We are supposed to be bold. 36:00.470 --> 36:14.045 [SPEAKER_01]: We think as Christians, the funniest thing about our faith and I think for people that see us go to church every Sunday, we think that today is the day of our faith. 36:14.065 --> 36:14.586 [SPEAKER_01]: It's not. 36:15.587 --> 36:20.372 [SPEAKER_01]: Every single one of us today, guess what, when we come to church, this is the easy part. 36:21.553 --> 36:25.377 [SPEAKER_01]: This is the easiest day of the week for us, right? 36:25.918 --> 36:27.760 [SPEAKER_01]: We're here with other believers. 36:27.875 --> 36:30.738 [SPEAKER_01]: We get strengthened, we sing songs of praise and worship. 36:31.980 --> 36:32.821 [SPEAKER_01]: This is in the tough day. 36:32.841 --> 36:33.962 [SPEAKER_01]: This is the easy day. 36:35.584 --> 36:37.807 [SPEAKER_01]: When we leave that door, though, right? 36:38.507 --> 36:39.829 [SPEAKER_01]: And we're hit backwards life. 36:39.969 --> 36:41.911 [SPEAKER_01]: We're hit back with that season that we're going through. 36:44.354 --> 36:45.516 [SPEAKER_01]: What then, right? 36:46.857 --> 36:49.200 [SPEAKER_01]: So this is kind of how we deal with that folks. 36:51.202 --> 36:56.008 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's go to a, well, let's, let's in kind of closing here for you. 36:57.743 --> 37:01.846 [SPEAKER_01]: So we share today that the Holy Spirit is interceding for us. 37:01.886 --> 37:03.388 [SPEAKER_01]: But guess who else is interceding for us? 37:04.729 --> 37:11.194 [SPEAKER_01]: Jesus, not only did we have the Holy Spirit to pray on every half, Jesus is also praying for us, folks. 37:12.455 --> 37:13.316 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's what Jesus does. 37:13.857 --> 37:21.283 [SPEAKER_01]: One of the things that I think that we don't also do a good enough job at when we're talking to new believers or people from God, our faith is simple. 37:22.804 --> 37:27.548 [SPEAKER_01]: Jesus died for our sins. 37:28.709 --> 37:30.152 [SPEAKER_01]: There was a cause for our sin. 37:30.253 --> 37:34.141 [SPEAKER_01]: Jesus paid that cost, but he didn't just pay for that cost. 37:34.322 --> 37:36.266 [SPEAKER_01]: Jesus is also advocating for us. 37:36.306 --> 37:37.168 [SPEAKER_01]: That's what Jesus does. 37:37.289 --> 37:43.663 [SPEAKER_01]: Jesus stands also between us and the Father to pray for us, to advocate on our behalf as well. 37:43.913 --> 37:47.401 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's go to Hebrew 725 here. 37:47.421 --> 37:48.544 [SPEAKER_01]: You don't believe that here it is. 37:49.366 --> 37:58.969 [SPEAKER_01]: Consequently, he is able for all time to save those who approached God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them. 37:59.995 --> 38:26.138 [SPEAKER_01]: those in those heavy moments that makes me feel so good not only do I have the holy spirit who is advocating and speaking for me not only do I have the holy spirit that is there to find the words that I just cannot find Jesus is there as well right we have Jesus speaking to the father on our behalf saying those things that we wish we could say how does that make you feel make you feel a little bit lighter 38:26.962 --> 38:31.067 [SPEAKER_01]: So know that folks, like I said, I didn't have a fancy message for you today. 38:31.168 --> 38:42.202 [SPEAKER_01]: I just wanted to share with you if you're like me and if you're if you're going through a season of life, if if if you're struggling through the holidays, you are normal. 38:43.203 --> 38:46.948 [SPEAKER_01]: This is a part of your faith and God understands it. 38:47.829 --> 38:53.577 [SPEAKER_01]: Once again, God's not okay that we're not okay, but God understands it's you're not okay, right? 38:54.637 --> 39:12.915 [SPEAKER_01]: and we do as well as fellow believers we get it to right we go we go to the same thing so one of the things that I think that we don't speak enough about in our faith is that sometimes we are not okay but that's okay that is a normal part of our faith no folks buy your heads and let's pray with me here 39:13.958 --> 39:19.448 [SPEAKER_00]: You just listen to a message from Dan Carroway, the pastor of Church at the Well and Telsing, Maryland. 39:19.748 --> 39:28.043 [SPEAKER_00]: To learn more about our church and to support what we're doing in the Greater Baltimore area, visit our website, TheWelthBaltimore.com. 39:28.524 --> 39:31.931 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for tuning in to the Sermon podcast from Church at The Well. 39:32.471 --> 39:33.874 [SPEAKER_00]: May God bless you.