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Series Code: AFNB
Program Code: AFNB002201S
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00:02 male announcer: This presentation is brought to you
00:03 by the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry. 00:14 Doug Batchelor: God has a thousand answers to your problem 00:17 when you can't think of one. 00:19 You don't need to be discouraged. 00:21 The only time you need to be a little discouraged is if you 00:24 think you can live in sin and be happy. 00:26 You've got to believe that Jesus is bigger than the devil and 00:29 bigger than your sins, and He can give you victory. 00:35 Doug Batchelor: I was hoping some of you were discouraged 00:37 'cause that's what I'm talking' about today. 00:39 If you're all doing fine, it's sort of waste. 00:42 But message today is dealing with the subject 00:46 of discouragement. 00:47 More specifically, the cause or causes and cure 00:51 for discouragement. 00:53 The devil is a wily foe and he knows that he can neutralize our 01:00 joy and our effectiveness as Christians by discouraging us. 01:06 One of the most important things in a battle is morale. 01:10 You know, there are whole departments in military that are 01:15 dedicated to encouraging the morale of their soldiers, and in 01:20 a war their job is to discourage the morale of the enemy. 01:25 And the devil knows that he's got the battle pretty much won 01:29 if he can discourage us, if he can get us downhearted. 01:34 And so we have to be on our guard against that. 01:37 Now, there are a number of ways that he attacks, and God has 01:41 given solutions for those attacks. 01:43 There's cures for those problems in His Word. 01:46 First thing I'd like you to know, it's normal for a believer 01:50 to experience discouragement. 01:54 Discouraging things happen. 01:56 And you look in the Bible, you've got people like Paul, 01:59 David, Elijah, Jonah, Joshua, the apostles that all grappled 02:05 with and struggled with discouragement, become downcast 02:09 or disheartened. 02:11 Now, while we're talking about discouragement, the first thing 02:14 I think I should mention is don't discourage anybody. 02:20 Unfortunately, sometimes we discourage each other. 02:24 Have you read there in Numbers chapter 13, the children of 02:27 Israel on the borders of the promised land, and ten of the 02:31 spies come back and say, "Oh, we're never going to make it. 02:34 The giants are too big, and the walls are too high, and there's 02:38 so many enemies, and they will never make it." 02:41 They discouraged the whole nation. 02:42 So not only did they not make it, those ten spies, the people 02:46 who listened to 'em didn't make it. 02:49 You got to be very careful. 02:50 You know, Jesus said if we say something to discourage even one 02:53 of these little ones, it'll be better for us that we had not 02:56 been born or that a millstone might be hung about our neck and 02:59 we're cast into the sea. 03:01 That's pretty serious. 03:02 He addresses it two different ways in different Gospels, but 03:04 Jesus is pretty clear. 03:06 Be very careful not to do or say anything to discourage, 03:10 especially young ones. 03:12 It can mean children. 03:13 It could mean new believers. 03:15 And there's already devils doing enough that, we don't need to be 03:19 joining him in his work of discouraging. 03:22 We want to be encouragers, amen? 03:26 Now, there's basically five areas I'm going to talk 03:29 about today. 03:30 It's not that this is a comprehensive, exhaustive list 03:32 of all the ways a person might grapple with discouragement, but 03:35 it's broken down in really five categories. 03:38 One would be sometimes we become discouraged because we feel like 03:42 we failed. 03:43 Some of us have people around us that tell us we're failures and 03:46 it can make you discouraged. 03:48 And Joshua was a brave soul, but he even got discouraged. 03:54 You know, after they won the victory against Jericho in 03:56 chapter 6 of Joshua, you go to chapter 7, they had a little 04:00 town they needed to fight called Ai. 04:02 It's not only a little town, it's only got two letters, Ai. 04:05 That's not artificial intelligence, it's a town. 04:09 And so they went to battle against Ai, and it was such a 04:12 little town and they had so been so successful against Jericho, 04:16 they said, "We don't even need to mobilize a whole army. 04:18 Just take part of the army. 04:19 We can trounce Ai, little town." 04:22 The Bible tells us, "So about three thousand men went up from 04:25 there, but the Israelites fled before the men of Ai. 04:29 And the men of Ai struck down thirty-six men, and they chased 04:33 them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and they struck 04:36 them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the 04:40 people melted and became like water." 04:43 Translation: they got discouraged. 04:45 Here, we're being led into the promised land. 04:47 If we can't beat Ai, we're in big trouble. 04:51 Maybe those ten spies were right. 04:53 We've taken on too much. 04:56 "And Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his 05:00 face before the Ark of the Lord 'til evening, he and the elders 05:03 in Israel; and they put dust on their heads." 05:07 They were discouraged. 05:09 You know, it is--it's a fact that once you get to the point 05:14 where you are discouraged, you are weakened even against a 05:19 lighter load. 05:22 Years ago when they would pull logs around, they didn't have 05:25 logging trucks, they used to pull the logs with horses. 05:29 And they would put the logs on these large, wheeled wagons and 05:33 they logged by driving the horses. 05:35 And this team of horses was all hooked up and the logger got a 05:38 little ambitious, and he put a pretty big load of logs on the 05:43 back for these horses to pull. 05:44 And he cracked the whip, and the horses tried to pull, and you 05:49 know, once you get a load like that moving, then it's a little 05:51 easier, but breaking it where you just get moving. 05:55 He cracked the whip and they strained. 05:57 And he cracked the whip a third time and they put every fiber of 06:00 their muscle into pulling that load and then they just stopped. 06:03 They couldn't budge it. 06:06 So he thought, "Well, I guess I overloaded them." 06:08 So he got up there with a pry bar, and he rolled off a couple 06:10 of logs, and he cracked the whip. 06:13 They couldn't move it. 06:14 He rolled off some more logs. 06:16 He cracked the whip. 06:17 They couldn't move it. 06:19 He took half the load off. 06:21 They couldn't move it. 06:23 He finally realized they weren't even trying. 06:26 They had got to the point where they were discouraged. 06:28 They didn't know it was a lighter load and they just 06:30 stopped trying. 06:33 And sometimes it not only happens to animals, it happens 06:36 to people, where if you feel like, "I've tried, I've tried, 06:39 and I've failed," you can get to the point where you just say, "I 06:41 don't try anymore." 06:43 Some people have gone for years in their life resigned to 06:49 failure because they tried before and they failed. 06:53 They don't want to face defeat again and they give up. 06:56 Some people fail in relationships or they get hurt 06:59 and they don't ever want to try to love someone again because it 07:01 hurts too much. 07:02 They think it it hurts too much to love so they can't bear the 07:05 pain, and they don't risk so they live their lives cloistered 07:10 in this protective shell. 07:13 They became discouraged with failure. 07:16 So what's the cure? 07:19 Well, look at the story of Joshua. 07:21 Joshua chapter 7, verse 10 gives the answer. 07:24 "The Lord said to Joshua, 'Get up! 07:27 Why are you on your face?'" 07:30 God is so practical. 07:31 Now, you know what the problem was. 07:33 Why did they lose this battle? 07:34 There was sin in the camp with Achan. 07:37 That's why they lost against Ai. 07:39 God said, "Look, if you want to win your battles, you've got to 07:41 deal with the issue. 07:43 You have sin in the camp." 07:45 Why do we sometimes get defeated? 07:47 Sin. 07:49 So do you want me to tell you to be encouraged while you 07:52 have sin? 07:54 A lot of pastors are telling people that. 07:56 Now, don't be discouraged if you've fallen 'cause you can 07:59 overcome, but if you're wanting to hear a message that says, "Be 08:03 encouraged in your sin," that's an evil message. 08:07 That's a message prepares you to be lost. 08:10 Let me tell you what God said to Joshua, "Therefore the children 08:13 of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but they turned 08:16 their back before their enemies, because they have become doomed 08:19 to destruction. 08:20 Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the 08:23 accursed thing among you." 08:25 He says, You've got something among you and you're failing 08:27 because there's sin in the camp. 08:29 "If you want my power, if you want my peace, if you want my 08:31 purpose, deal with it. 08:33 Address it. 08:35 Repent. 08:36 Pray over it. 08:37 Cry over it. 08:39 Whatever you need to do, but you need to address it and you can 08:41 have the victory." 08:42 And they did address it and then they beat Ai in the next battle. 08:46 Now, the disciples know what it was like to fail. 08:48 Luke chapter 5, verse 4, "When Jesus stopped preaching, He said 08:53 to Simon, 'Take your boat, launch out in the deep, let down 08:57 your net for a catch.' 08:59 But Simon said, 'Master, we've toiled all night and 09:01 caught nothing.' 09:03 And Jesus kept lookin' at him. 09:05 And Peter said, 'Nevertheless at your Word we'll let down the 09:08 net again.'" 09:09 And what happened? 09:11 The net was full to bursting. 09:13 Sometimes we fail, we're afraid to try, and Jesus said, "No, you 09:16 try it with me in the boat. 09:17 Watch what happens," and you have tremendous success. 09:20 Even though they had a whole night of failure, we've got to 09:24 turn back and do it God's way and then you can meet 09:27 with success. 09:29 Well, there's more I could say about that, but let's move on to 09:30 the next cause. 09:32 Cause of discouragement sometimes is fatigue. 09:35 It's the physical side of things. 09:36 Now, most of what we're talking' about today when I talk about 09:39 discouragement is from here up. 09:43 Now I'm talking about discouragement from here down. 09:46 Talking about from the neck up is usually something 09:49 psychological that discourages you, but sometimes your 09:52 discouragement is from the neck down, meaning this is 09:54 purely physical. 09:56 And we'll look at a case study in that. 09:58 Exodus chapter 1, verse 13, "So the Egyptians made the children 10:02 of Israel serve with rigor. 10:05 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage--in mortar, 10:08 in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. 10:11 And all their service in which they made them serve was 10:13 with rigor." 10:15 It was work and the devil was working them to death. 10:17 They were exhausted. 10:19 God later tells Moses, "I've heard the cry." 10:21 They were continually crying unto the Lord because they were 10:23 so discouraged. 10:24 They were so beaten up. 10:26 They are so worn out by the enemy, but a lot of it was 10:29 simply physical. 10:30 Nehemiah 4:10, he's tryin' to build the walls and then Judah, 10:35 the leaders came to Nehemiah. 10:36 They said, "The strength of the laborers is failing, there is so 10:40 much rubbish we're not able to build the wall." 10:44 They become fatigued. 10:46 They were overworked. 10:47 They were spread out. 10:49 In 1 Kings 19:4, after a long day on Mount Carmel, the feeding 10:54 the prophets of Baal and praying until the--fasting and praying 11:00 until the the rain came. 11:02 Elijah had a very big day, a victorious day, but it kinda 11:06 played a toll on him. 11:07 It took a toll on him physically. 11:10 And then he gets a message from Jezebel, 11:13 "God-- the gods will do 11:15 so to me and more also if you're not as dead as those prophets 11:18 by sundown." 11:20 And instead of turning to the Lord, Elijah was so tired, and 11:22 he was all hungry, and he was so weak, he just panicked. 11:24 He got up and he ran, ran out in the wilderness. 11:27 And listen to this, "He himself went a day's journey into the 11:31 wilderness, and he came and he sat down under a broom tree." 11:34 He's out in the middle of the desert and he gets under 11:36 this shrub. 11:37 "And he prayed he might die." 11:40 Wait a second, this is a guy who just prayed and fire came down. 11:42 Now he wants to pray that he dies. 11:45 How could the greatest prophet want to finally get so 11:47 discouraged he wants to die? 11:51 If he only knew God was going to take him to heaven in a fiery 11:53 chariot, he wouldn't have been so discouraged. 11:56 Did you catch that? 11:59 God had big plans for Elijah. 12:00 He's praying. 12:01 He thinks the life is at the end. 12:03 I'm going to die. 12:04 And he's going to go to heaven like no other man. 12:06 Does God want to take us up? 12:08 So what is the answer? 12:10 You look in the book of Nehemiah chapter 4, verse 9. I talked 12:14 about Nehemiah's problem. 12:16 It says, "Nevertheless we made our prayer to God." 12:19 So one thing is pray. 12:21 When you're tired, what did Jesus do in the wilderness? 12:23 He prayed. 12:25 "We made our prayer to God, and because of them we set a watch 12:29 against them day and night." 12:30 Because of the threats of the enemy, they did 12:31 something practical. 12:33 They they put a guard against where the enemy was getting in. 12:35 When the devil comes in to bring discouragement, try and find 12:39 what are the avenues he's using to get at you 12:41 with discouragement? 12:42 Guard those gates where he's sneaking in. 12:47 Doug: Here at Amazing Facts International, 12:49 we strive to reach the world with the amazing truths of the 12:52 Bible and proclaim the love of Jesus. 12:55 We print thousands of easy-to-read materials, 12:59 such as books, tracts, and fully illustrated magazines that are 13:03 all designed to change lives by clearing up the many 13:06 misunderstandings people have regarding the Word of God. 13:09 Our warehouse is filled with resources ready to mail out, 13:13 and we're eager to send them to you. 13:15 Make the most of your Bible study today by 13:18 requesting our free offer. 13:19 It'll surely enhance your knowledge of the Bible while 13:23 imparting a blessing to you and those in your life. 13:25 Simply follow the instructions on the screen, 13:28 and we'll send it to you free of charge. 13:31 And once you read it, be sure to share it with a friend. 13:34 ♪♪♪ 13:41 Doug Batchelor: But if you're tired, physically worn out, you 13:45 got to take time to sharpen yourself. 13:48 Ecclesiastes 10:10, Solomon said, "If the ax is dull and one 13:53 does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but 13:56 wisdom brings success." 13:57 Plan carefully. 13:59 Sharpen the ax. 14:00 You've heard the expression, "You cannot keep your bow strung 14:03 all the time or it will lose its zing." 14:05 That's my paraphrase on that. 14:08 You can also look at where Jesus said, Mark 6:31, He told the 14:12 disciples, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place 14:16 and rest a while." 14:17 Get out in the woods or the wilderness and let's get 14:19 some rest. 14:21 "For there were many coming and going, and they did not even 14:23 have time to eat." 14:24 Jesus was so exhausted after a day of ministry, He slept 14:27 through a storm. 14:29 So you've got to just carve out time. 14:31 Sometimes if you're a workaholic like I am, you think it's not 14:34 spiritual if you rest. 14:36 And so you've got to just say, you know, it is a spiritual 14:41 thing to do to sometimes do nothing. 14:44 All right, now to frustration. 14:46 Failed expectations, dashed hopes is a cause of 14:50 much discouragement. 14:52 People have high ideals, have plans for their life. 14:54 Some people live in regret. 14:56 They're constantly discouraged because of regrets from 14:58 the past. 14:59 They can't shake it off and so they're frustrated. 15:03 Maybe it's unfinished tasks that pile up or you feel overwhelmed. 15:08 It can produce discouragement. 15:11 The book of Jonah, you know, Jonah went through a lot. 15:14 God told Jonah to go on this journey. 15:16 He didn't really want to do it. 15:17 He said, "I don't want to go preach and tell the Ninevites 15:19 they're going to die in 40 days." 15:21 And finally, because Jonah didn't do what God said, he went 15:25 through a storm, got swallowed by a whale, got burped back 15:28 out again. 15:29 He finally does what God says. 15:30 For 40 days, he marches up and down the streets, tells Nineveh, 15:34 "You're going to be destroyed," and then God says, "You know, I 15:37 think I'm going to change my mind." 15:39 And Jonah's going, "I went through all of that 15:41 for nothing?" 15:43 And he's all discouraged, "They're going to all think I'm 15:44 a liar. 15:46 I've walked up and down the streets making this prophecy and 15:47 you're not going to make my prophecy come true?" 15:49 Jonah got so discouraged. 15:51 "It happened, when the sun arose, that Jonah prepared-- 15:54 that God prepared a vehement east wind, a hot wind came; the 15:58 sun beat on Jonah's head, so he grew faint. 16:00 And he wished that death for himself, he said, 'It's better 16:04 for me to die than to live.'" 16:06 You know, even Paul at one point said, "We despaired of life." 16:11 And so even some of these great people got discouraged. 16:15 So what's the cure when you face frustration? 16:19 Once again, it's the promise of God. 16:21 Notice what happened. 16:23 2 Peter 1:4, "By which God has given to us exceeding great and 16:28 precious promises, that through these we may be partakers of the 16:32 divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the 16:35 world through lust." 16:37 And so if you have met with great disappointment, keep in 16:44 mind that when you're a Christian, you're not only 16:46 born once. 16:49 You're born again. 16:50 And I might suggest to you that if you're a Christian, you're 16:52 born again many times. 16:54 Now, follow me. 16:56 See if this makes sense. 16:57 Paul says, "I die daily." 17:01 If you die daily but you're not born again every day, then 17:04 you're more dead than alive. 17:06 Is that right? 17:08 So it's true you need to die to self every day, but I think you 17:11 sort of need to go through a new birth every day. 17:14 And that means you may be frustrated from the past 17:17 mistakes and you might have regrets over your bad decisions, 17:20 but you have to forgive yourself because God says he'll forgive 17:23 you, and then you move on. 17:26 Or you can be living in the past all the time. 17:27 Some of you have been and it just keeps you down. 17:30 If you're a new person, you don't have to live all the time 17:32 in the regrets of the person who's dead and buried, right? 17:36 You're born again. 17:38 You move on. 17:40 All right, the other thing that sometimes causes discouragement: 17:44 family, friends, relationships, might be a spouse. 17:50 You see a lot of examples of this in the Bible. 17:52 Matter of fact, in the Scriptures you find that so much 17:56 of the discouragement that came on God's people was what we 17:59 would call friendly fire. 18:03 Michael makes fun of David when he's dancing before the Lord. 18:06 It's coming from within the house. 18:08 Joseph's brothers sell him because of jealousy. 18:12 Saul hunts David for years to kill him, his own king. 18:17 The disciples are arguing among themselves which of them is 18:19 the greatest. 18:21 Right within the family sometimes it can be the source 18:25 of great discouragement. 18:27 David was discouraged because his sons often were 18:29 not faithful. 18:31 Even Samuel the prophet had sons that were taking bribes. 18:35 Jesus was betrayed by one of his own. 18:38 You might've had a friendship or a friend betrayed you, and those 18:41 sometimes hurt the most keenly and they can plunge you 18:45 into discouragement. 18:46 Maybe you just don't have any friends and that's why 18:48 you're discouraged. 18:51 Bible tells us there's a solution for that too. 18:53 Let's talk about the cures. 18:55 2 Corinthians 4:1, "Therefore, since we have this ministry, as 18:59 we have received mercy, we do not lose heart." 19:03 Remember to have faith in God's purpose. 19:05 We talked about having faith in God's promises. 19:07 Have faith in God's purpose. 19:10 Sometimes you go through the deepest valleys and you don't 19:13 realize that God is taking you to a mountaintop. 19:15 You've just got to get through the valley. 19:18 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, "We are hard-pressed on every side, yet 19:23 not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; we are 19:28 persecuted, but not forsaken; we are struck down, but not 19:32 destroyed--always carrying about in the body the dying of 19:35 the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus might be manifest in 19:39 our body." 19:41 And the Bible says, "He would not be discouraged," Jesus. 19:44 2 Corinthians 4:16--all this is from 2 Corinthians 4. Notice he 19:48 says, "Do not lose heart in spite of all that we're 19:50 going through." 19:52 Go to 2 Corinthians 4:16, "Therefore we do not 19:55 lose heart." 19:56 He says it again, "Even though our outward man is perishing, 20:00 yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." 20:02 Amen? 20:03 "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working 20:07 for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while 20:11 we do not look at the things that are seen, but the things 20:13 that are not seen." 20:15 How did David get out of his dilemma. 20:16 He's said, "Wait a second, God told me He's got big plans for 20:19 me to be king. 20:20 I'm not going to be despairing right now. 20:23 I don't know how God's going to work this out, but I'm going to 20:25 get up off my face." 20:28 "For the things that are seen are temporary." 20:30 So often we're discouraged by temporary circumstances. 20:34 You need to look beyond the circumstances and remember they 20:37 are temporary. 20:38 You can get through almost anything if you know 20:40 it's temporary. 20:44 "But the things that are not seen are eternal." 20:49 Heard about a man walking around one afternoon, beautiful day. 20:52 And he walked by a park and there was a bunch of kids 20:54 playing baseball. 20:57 And he got a little closer and learned it was some Little 20:59 League game. 21:01 And he got up by the dug out and he saw one boy was grinning from 21:04 ear to ear. 21:06 He said, "How's it going?" 21:09 And the boy said, "It's 18 to nothing, we're losing." 21:13 He said, "Wow, you're pretty far behind but you don't 21:16 look discouraged." 21:17 He said, "No, we haven't been to bat yet." 21:22 He thought, "Yeah, it looks bad now, but we're going to get up 21:24 to bat." 21:27 So we've got to keep a positive outlook, look beyond 21:32 the problem. 21:34 Number five cause I have for discouragement is fear. 21:38 And you'd be surprised, fear is behind more discouragement than 21:41 you might think. 21:43 We're afraid of criticism. 21:45 We're worried about what people think of us. 21:46 We're worried about living up to expectations. 21:49 We don't know how we're ever going to meet 21:50 people's expectations. 21:52 We're afraid we're going to lose our jobs. 21:54 We're afraid we're going to lose our relationships. 21:55 We're Afraid of everything else. 21:57 So fear can cover a lot of discouragement. 22:00 Even in the book of Job, he confesses, Job 3:25, "For the 22:04 thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has 22:09 happened to me." 22:11 In John 20:19, after the crucifixion and even after the 22:16 resurrection, the disciples didn't believe that Jesus rose. 22:18 It says, "The same day at evening, being the first day of 22:21 the week, the doors shut, the disciples were assembled, 22:24 for fear." 22:26 While they're all assembled for fear, suddenly they notice Jesus 22:30 in the room. 22:31 And he said, "Peace be to you." 22:33 How often they're in the boat, they're terrified of the storm, 22:35 and Jesus gets up, he says, "Peace." 22:37 How many times they were afraid and Jesus said, "Be at peace." 22:42 You know, I like Psalm 23, "Yea, though I walk through the valley 22:47 of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are 22:51 with me." 22:52 You know, this is something that is really--this is why it's a 22:55 classic psalm. 22:58 "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death." 23:02 You are going to have shadows in life. 23:06 You are going to go through valleys. 23:08 Some of those valleys are going to be pretty terrifying and you 23:11 may be rubbing elbows with death, your own or the loss of 23:16 someone you love. 23:18 That can discourage you, but the word that is the operative word 23:23 here--a couple of them. 23:24 One is you don't park in the valley. 23:27 You don't settle in the valley. 23:29 You don't make your home in the valley. 23:31 You go through the valley. 23:33 Don't stay in the valley. 23:34 Some people are always discouraged because they've 23:35 pitched their tent in the valley. 23:37 You're supposed to be moving through it. 23:40 Why? 23:41 Because He is with you, amen? 23:46 He said, "For you are with me." 23:48 Deuteronomy 31:8, "And the Lord said, 'He is the one who goes 23:53 before you. 23:54 He will be with you, He will not leave you or forsake you; do not 23:58 fear or be dismayed.'" 24:01 Psalm 27:1, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom 24:04 shall I fear? 24:06 The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I 24:08 be afraid?" 24:09 If you've got God on your side, exactly who is it that you're 24:11 afraid of? 24:13 Isn't God bigger than everyone? 24:15 So if the devil is constantly trying to discourage us, greater 24:18 is He that is in you than he that is in the world. 24:21 Hebrews 13, verse 5, "For He has said, 'I will never leave you or 24:25 forsake you.'" 24:27 2 Chronicles 32:6-7, "When Hezekiah saw they were 24:32 surrounded by the enemy, he sent military captains over 24:36 the people." 24:37 People were afraid of the Assyrians, which was a 24:39 great army. 24:40 He sent military captains over the people. 24:42 He gathered them together. 24:44 Assyrians had been beating on the gates, saying, "No way can 24:47 you beat our army." 24:48 And it's true, they were way, way bigger. 24:50 "Surrender to us, worship our gods." 24:52 Hezekiah said, "Not going to do it." 24:55 So he did everything he could do. 24:57 He gave them encouragement. 24:59 He said, "Be strong and be courageous; do not be afraid or 25:02 dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the 25:05 multitude," massive army, "that is with him; for there are more 25:09 with us than with him." 25:11 He spread his problem before the Lord. 25:15 He prayed. 25:16 He went to the temple. 25:18 He said, "God, we're under attack." 25:19 God said, "Don't worry. 25:20 You will not have to fire an arrow. 25:22 You won't have to fight in this battle. 25:23 Stand still." 25:25 And the Bible says during the night, the angel of the Lord 25:27 went through the Assyrian camp and smote 185,000 soldiers. 25:32 Trust that the Lord says, "I'm with you. 25:34 You don't have to be afraid." 25:36 God has a thousand answers to your problem when you can't 25:39 think of one. 25:41 You don't need to be discouraged. 25:43 The only time you need to be a little discouraged is if you 25:46 think you can live in sin and be happy. 25:48 Well, that would be discouraging. 25:50 You've got to believe that Jesus is bigger than the devil and 25:53 bigger than your sins, and He can give you victory. 26:00 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 26:02 free resource. 26:03 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 26:06 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 26:08 mobile device. 26:10 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 26:13 the keyword on your screen to 40544, or visit the web address 26:18 shown on your screen and be sure to select the "digital download" 26:21 option on the request page. 26:23 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 26:26 "Amazing Facts," wherever and whenever you want. 26:29 And most important, to share it with others. 26:33 female announcer: Have you ever skipped a meal? 26:35 Not a bad idea if you need to watch your waistline, 26:38 but there's a heavenly food you should 26:39 never skip, God's Word. 26:41 Yet, how can you dive in daily when you're so busy? 26:44 Amazing Facts has you covered, and it's as easy as signing up 26:47 for our daily devotional and verse of the day, 26:50 both sent directly to your inbox, 26:51 ready to bless, inspire, and inform you. 26:54 To start receiving the Amazing Facts Daily Devotional and Verse 26:58 of the Day, visit amazingfacts.org and click on 27:01 Bible Study in the main menu. 27:03 You'll be glad you did. 27:05 Doug: Friend, God came to earth 2,000 years ago in the 27:09 form of a man. 27:10 His name was Jesus. 27:12 He came for three reasons: To show us what God is like, 27:15 to show us how to live, and finally, to die for our sins 27:19 that we might be forgiven. 27:21 But this only works if you choose to accept him as your 27:25 personal Savior, confess you're sorry for your sins, 27:28 and invite him to be the Lord of your life. 27:30 His arms are open wide. 27:33 Why don't you ask him now? 27:35 female announcer: Did you know Amazing Facts has a free 27:37 Bible school that you can do from the 27:39 comfort of your own home? 27:40 It includes 27 beautifully illustrated study lessons to aid 27:44 in your study of God's Word. 27:46 Sign up today for this free Bible study course by calling 27:49 1-844-215-7000. 27:52 That's 1-844-215-7000. 28:03 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's free offer. 28:05 It's sure to be a blessing. 28:07 And thank you for your continued 28:08 support as we take the gospel of 28:10 Jesus Christ to the world. 28:12 We hope you'll join us next week as we delve 28:14 deep into the Word of God to explore more 28:17 Amazing Facts. 28:19 ♪♪♪ 28:24 male announcer: This presentation was brought to you 28:26 by the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry. |
Revised 2024-10-09