Sunday, November 21st 2021 • Beau Bradberry
"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." — Psalm 90:12
–
Podcast: https://pod.link/willowridgechurch
Website: https://willowridgechurch.org
Instagram: https://instagram.com/willowridgechurch
Facebook: https://facebook.com/willowridgechurch
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@willowridgechurch
Sermon audio from Sunday services at Willow Ridge Church.
Hi, and welcome to the Willow Ridge Church weekly podcast.
This is where you can find audio for our current and past sermons.
We hope that you enjoy this week's installment, and be sure to check back next week to hear
the latest message. Thanks for listening.
Well, good morning. I'm glad you guys are with us today. If you've got your Bibles, go ahead
and open up to Psalm 90 is where we are going to be. As you turn there, I want to remind everybody
to come back this afternoon at 4 o'clock. We're going to be gathered in here together for
a night about missions and prayer. And so it's going to be a wonderful time for us to gather
together. We have one of the missionaries from one of our partnering agencies is going to be
here with us to talk to us a little bit about what God is doing in the particular area where
he and his wife have served for the last 16 years. And so we're going to celebrate all that
God is doing here from them. Look at some other things that God's doing all over the world.
And then we're going to have some time of prayer that we're going to be able to go back and pray
for all of our missionary partners. But because of where this man and his wife serve, as they share
that with you guys this evening, there might be some questions. And so after all of this is done,
we're going to head over into building two tonight in room 200 and gather in there in a little
smaller setting for a Q&A time with them. And so I want to ask you to be there, to be a part of this
and hear all that God is doing. I'm sure you are going to be extremely blessed to hear all that God
is working and that God is doing. I also hope as we go through, I think, I believe we're in our last
two weeks of going through the Psalm series. I hope it's been a refreshing series for you. I want to
share my thank you for Burger and the band and all those that each week are working really hard to
take these Psalms and learn them and put them to music and to perform them and to lead us in worship
and all those. It's been a wonderful blessing. I do want to put a little bit of pressure on him.
I'll just say this. I've been waiting for this Psalm 90 song since we got started, right? One of my
favorite songs of worship is found in this. And I heard them playing it this morning and it is,
it is powerful. And so I'm looking, looking forward to that. My wife pointed out a bit of irony to me
a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't realize this. She said, we were done with church service and we
were getting ready to do what all Southern Baptists do after worship. We were headed to a Mexican
restaurant. And she said, she said, how many more weeks are we in this series? And I gave her the wrong
number. I don't remember what I told her, but it wasn't right. And so she said, oh, okay. And I said, why?
And she said, it just feels like whatever Psalm you're preaching out of, we walk through that
week. And I hadn't really realized that. And she's right. And this Psalm that we're going to look at
this morning, Psalm 90, I'm just going to tell you, like, I feel like I've been up to my eyeballs
in it this week. And in that, when we say that sometimes, that means it's been difficult and it's
been difficult, but we're reminded of God's goodness in that. God's goodness in the difficulty.
And so as we go through this morning, that's what we're here to celebrate. That's what we're here
for all he is and all that he has done. And so as we look at this, so Psalm 90, a little bit of
information about it, even though it is Psalm 90 and not Psalm one, it is the oldest Psalm that
theologians believe that was written. And they believe it was the oldest Psalm because Psalm 90
was written by Moses. If your Bible was like mine before verse one, you'll see a prayer of Moses,
the man of God. And when we think of Moses, most of us don't think of Moses as the poet,
Moses as the writer. But Moses was a great writer. He recorded Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
and Deuteronomy as part of his leadership as working under the inspiration of God. And most
people, as well as myself, believe that he wrote Job, which is a poetic themed book as you read
through that. So Moses is a gifted author in what he is doing as he records God's word for his people
and for us today. But this is the only Psalm that he recorded. And so it's significant. It's Moses.
It stands out here. And so I'm excited. And I want to say this, preparing through this this week,
I want to be honest with you, and maybe one day we'll do this, but we could land in an entire series
for two months in Psalm 90 over all the things that Moses is going to work through in the pictures
that he's going to paint for us to wrap our mind around this. So as you're reading through,
I hope what the Holy Spirit is leading in your heart to say, well, why didn't he talk about that?
Why didn't he talk about that? Why didn't he talk about that? Because we'd be here till tonight. All right.
But it is a wonderful, wonderful Psalm. And I'm excited as we as we walk through this together. Now,
there's going to be some kind of thematic drama that unfolds throughout Psalm 90. And what's going
to kind of come into conflict and come into crashes is oftentimes what you and I maybe feel in our heart,
but we don't know how to verbalize it. And what we're going to feel in this is, and in the life of
a Christian, we should feel this, that you and I oftentimes live in a world where opposites collide
in our faith. The practicality of the world that we live in and even the decisions and the choices
that we make sometime coming to collide with the reality of who God is and what we believe to be true
and what we know to be true. And some of those are like the eternal nature of God always was,
always is, and always will be. And the finite nature and the finite being of you and I here on
this earth, right? We all have a birthday. And we all have a day when we will pass.
God's not going to be destroyed, but yet the frailty of you and I and who we are.
Maybe even more importantly, and the one that we struggle with the most,
the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man.
Right? Even though we know what God has for us, we know what God has called us to,
we know the standard, we know what Christ died for, and what the Holy Spirit is beginning to do in us,
we still have that conflict that's within us that Paul writes about where he says like,
I know what I need to do, but yet there's this peace that's in me that drives me to want to do
something else that's not glorifying to the Lord. And so as you read through Psalm 90, you're going to
see this conflicting peace that comes through of the eternal, holy, perfect nature of who God is,
but yet this broken reality that you and I still live in as we navigate and go through this. So let's go
ahead and dive on in. Let's start reading Psalm 90 verses 1 and 2. Moses writes, and he says,
Well, we're not entirely sure when Moses wrote this, but we do think that it was looking back at a later
year of his life and looking back, kind of like what we read about David a few weeks ago in the 23rd Psalm.
And so we're kind of seeing this piece of a man who sought the Lord and was obedient to the Lord,
but had his own struggles and his issues in looking back into life. And so again, there's that picture
painted of the elderly, wisdom-filled follower of God looking at those that, and to impart some wisdom
on what life looks at when it's lived with the Lord in a life that glorifies God. So this is what we
begin to see here. And what I want us to look at or draw from this in Psalm 90 verses 1 and 2 is that
in this life for you and I of what it means to walk with the Lord is this, travelers that abide.
Travelers that abide. I love to go on trips. I love to go on vacations. I love to go on road trips.
My wife, she's not necessarily a road trip kind of person. Like 45 minutes, she's ready to get out of
the car. Maybe you're like that. Like, I like to get in and go, and we'll figure it out as we go.
But I love to go on trips. Now, I got to think about this week, though. I've been on some really
great trips, but I've been on some really bad trips too, right? Where everything seems to fall
apart. So I ask myself, what's the worst road trip that I've ever been on? I want you to think,
what's the worst road trip you've ever been on? I want to take you back to mind, my worst road trip
I've ever been on was in 1992. My aunt and uncle lived in Miami, Florida, and we were going to go
spend spring break down in Miami, Florida. And you're like, I don't know what's wrong with that at this
point in time, right? Well, my grandparents were going. It was my grandparents, my aunt, my sister,
myself, and their pet poodle, Ginger. And we all loaded up in North Augusta, South Carolina into my
granddad's Cutlass and made the drive from North Augusta to Miami, Florida. Now, I think if you
jumped on Google Maps right now, that trip is going to take you somewhere around 10, 11, 12 hours. We got
in the car at North Augusta before the sun came up. And 15 hours later, we got to Miami, Florida, as my
granddad refused to go over 50 miles an hour on the interstate with no radio, all right? That wasn't the
worst. Do you remember that dog? Ginger was in the back seat. Ginger doesn't like to ride in cars.
Ginger gets nervous riding in cars. And for 15 hours, that dog whined and whimpered and paced
across that back seat. There was no taking a nap. There was no anything that was going to happen.
And by the time we got out of that car, it was the begging for my parents to fly me back
from Miami to North Augusta, right? Worst trip that I've ever been on, right? But I've been
on a lot of good ones as well. And you and I, as we live this life, what scripture points us to
is that we're on a journey. We're on a journey from birth to death. And then in Christ, we're on a
journey from death to eternity. And the reality is that it's not an easy journey.
It's got its ups and its downs and it's in-betweens. Moses is a guy who knows about journeys, amen, right?
For 80 years of his life, he lived in a somewhat settled life. Can't jump back into all of the
details. I'm going to spend 40 years leading a nation of people from slavery to wandered in the
desert for 40 years. And I can imagine it was tough. I can imagine it was difficult. I can imagine it was
frustrating. I can imagine as you read through his writing, you see the stories, you begin to
understand that it was filled with depression and regrets and anxiety. But Moses, as he looks back
on this in verse one, does not begin with a complaint, but he says, Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations. Now when Moses uses this word dwelling, it should bring us to a word or a thought
that we've been using and we've been reading in the Psalms over the last few weeks, this word
refuge, right? We've talked about that, that God is our tower, that he is our refuge, that he is a place
that we can go in. And there seems to be some parallel nature in these two. And there are, but there's some
differences as well. That in the refuge is a place to go and the difficulties. You didn't live in the
tower, you would refuge in the tower. It's where you would go in hardships and it's where you would go
in struggles. But the dwelling place is where you would go to find life and to live. That in the dwelling
place is where home would be. John writes in 1 John chapter 2 verse 4, he says, whoever says I know him
but does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word
in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him. Whoever abides in him
ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. This nature of dwelling, of finding life, of who we are,
it is found in dwelling in the Lord. Now, John knows what he's talking about with this. He's seen this
taught. He's heard this concept of abiding was important to Christ and it carries on in that
meaning for John. And as he communicates for this, it's this concept of knowing Jesus is what it means
to abide, but also remaining in Jesus is what it means as well. And John would have heard this in John
chapter 15. Jesus says, I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that
does not bear fruit, he takes away and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes that it may bear
more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I've spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you as
the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you
abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that
bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown
away like a branch and withers and the branches are gathered thrown in the fire and burned. But if you
abide in me and my words abide in you, whatever you wish and it will be done for you. By this my father
is glorified that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the father has loved me,
so I've loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love just as I
have kept my father's commandments and abide in this in his love. These things I've spoken to you
that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full. Again, another passage of scripture we could
we could spend weeks on. But the connection points are clear in here. But in this life, on this journey,
drawing life from Jesus is essential. That the branches, where do they get life from? They
get life from the vine. And a branch only bears fruit. It only finds purpose. It only bears what it
needs to do when it's attached to the vine. So I want to ask you a question as you're going through this
life as you're going through this life as you're going on this journey. As you hear the words of Moses that says,
for generations, our dwelling is in you. And you hear Jesus abide in me as I abide in you.
The question I want to ask is, what are you trying to draw life from?
What are you trying to cling to and attach yourself in the hopes that from this can be where you find life and find hope
and find meaning and find purpose and find satisfaction?
Where are you trying to draw life from? Because here's what I find.
That you and I oftentimes try to attach ourselves to things that look like they'll give life.
But like us, they'll fade. Like us, they'll end. Like us, their time has been set. And in that life cannot
be drawn from them. You know, I like to look at it this way.
Things of this world can scratch itches. You know, you get that itch on your shoulder, that itch on your
back. And you just need someone just to come in and get that for you. And you can't quite reach it.
And so they do that for you. But then the next day, what happens? It comes back again.
And it comes back again. And it comes back again. And you and I are constantly trying to
attach ourselves and find life from something that just scratches an itch.
But the next day we'll be right back where we were. And that can never offer the lasting satisfaction of
Christ. Do you remember the largest complaint that the Israelites had to Moses and to God?
That if God was just going to lead them into the desert to die, that we should have just stayed in
Egypt. Even though God was providing, even though God was taking care, even though God was doing all
that he said he would do in that world, they're only focused on the momentary afflictions that
they're seeing and that they're experiencing. And in that, they're missing the whole peace that God is
working and moving in his faithfulness. Because the truth is, God didn't lead them into the desert to die.
And our tendency in your life and mine is to look around and to see the things of this world that
create itches all over us, the things of this world that create the uncomfortable moments of
suffering in this, and think, but I've done all of this. If I'm doing this, then God, what is the point?
I should have stayed where I was. But just as God didn't lead them into the desert to die,
God didn't bring you and lead you to where you are to die either. He brought them into the desert
so that they could learn to abide. And he's taken you and I through this journey of life so that we
could learn to abide in him, to trust him, to put our faith in him, and that in that we would know him
and remain in him. Church, he provided for Israel and he provides for you too. And as he provides
in the midst of the storm, as he provides in the midst of the journey, what he gives us in his grace and his
kindness is not the reward in full that we can see here, but is the glimpses of it. And he's faithful.
For Israel, it was the promised land. And for you and I, it's the eternity with Christ. And that's what it
looks like to abide in him. Let's keep reading in verse 3 of Psalm 90. Moses continues on. He says,
You return man to dust and say, return, O children of man. For a thousand years in your sight are but as
yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood. You're
like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning. In the morning it flourishes and is renewed,
and in the evening it fades and withers. For we are brought to an end by your anger. By your wrath we are
dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sin in the light of your presence. For all our
days pass away under your wrath. We bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are 70, or
even by reason of strength 80. Yet their span is but toil and trouble. They are soon gone and we fly away.
Who considers the power of your anger and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number
our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Next one that I want us to look at is this. It's being
stewards of time. Being stewards of time. As we look at this passage of scripture, a complicated passage in
these nine or ten verses, there's just some things I want us to be able to pull from. Reminders for
most of us, if not all of us, but set in a context of who God is and what God has for you. And the first
one is this, life is brief, make the best of it. Life is brief, make the best of it. Now this isn't a careless,
reckless abandonment of responsibility, but this is making sure that we're investing and that we're doing in what
matters in our life. Look at verse four. Moses writes, he says, for a thousand years in your sight are but as
yesterday when it is past or as a watch in the night. So Moses gives two descriptions here to remind the people and to
remind us that in the scope of humanity, our lives are brief. Your life's brief. My life is brief. The first one that he
says, he says, he says, you know, like in the scope of eternity, that a thousand years are like a day.
A day. But it's not enough. It's like he, he doubles down on it and he says, well, well, it's like this, that, that
life, he says, like a thousand years is like a watch in the night, which was four hours.
That's what it's like. That you and I, our life is here, but just for a moment. And what's brought
into that is the harsh reality of death. Genesis 3, 19. In the description of this life, by the sweat
of your face, you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, right? For out of it, you were taken
for you are dust and to dust you shall return. Not really like the really feel good ones that you
want to throw on your bumper sticker in your car, right? But Moses says that this is the reality for
us, that this is coming, that our life is brief. It's but a moment. He says that when death comes,
when this happens, it's like sweeping it away like a flood. It's like the grass that comes up in the
morning, but then the cool coldness of, of night, it destroys it. And you'll have to come back the
next day. That that is what it is. Believe this, when you leave your job, there will be someone there
the next day. When you leave your house, there will be someone there the next day. But in the course of
this, that our life is just moving from moment to moment, whether you live 10 years or a hundred years,
it's like, but a second in the scope of eternity. So here's the challenging for this. End this with
your life being brief. What are you doing with it? Are you making every moment count?
Not this Moses, but this Moses over here, right? Make sure we're, we were talking this morning. If I
told you that me and this Moses were talking this morning, we'd have some theological issues,
right? So me and this Moses were, we're talking this morning and he was sharing with me about a
friend of his that passed away this weekend. And we were talking about it and we were saying,
we're talking about looking back on those who were there. And we, we sometimes think within this
life there's always tomorrow, right? But tomorrow is not promised. So what are we doing with today?
What are we doing with today? And what are we doing with today with things that matter?
What are we doing today with things that mold and shape history and eternity? That put the ripples
in the water that write the words onto the page for God's glory and for his kingdom. This life is brief.
Are we doing what we can do to make the most of this for the glory of God? But also while life is brief,
life is difficult. And maybe you're going through a season right now that feels like eternity. Amen?
Life is difficult. Use it to grow. In verses 7 through 11, Moses reflects back on a time in Israel's
journey when the nation refused to obey God and entered the promised land. A foolish decision that
led to four decades of wandering in the desert. And you could look at that and say, what a waste of time.
What a waste of useless difficulties that you had to walk through. But God said this,
watch what I'm going to do that in this time, in this season of difficulty, that you're going to walk
through and the consequences of what you've done and the consequences of what others done and the
brokenness of this world. You're not ready. We're going to take you through this process. So those of
you who were 20, when this happened, you'll be 60 when you walk into the promised land and watch what's
going to happen in this. Then I'm going to use all of this time to take you and to use you and to grow you
and to build you. Because for God, there's not a wasted moment.
And we're living in that reality. Yesterday, we loaded up and we headed back to Jackson, South Carolina to get
some family pictures taken. And the guy that was taking our pictures there with my wife's whole family used to
serve on staff with him at another church. And as we were walking back, he's now into photography. He's really excited.
The Associated Press just picked him up to do that. So now he literally gets paid to go to Carolina and
Clemson athletic events and take pictures. Man, he's living his dream now, right? But as we're headed back to the car,
we began to talk about our past together. We talked about the life that we lived when we worked together
and ministered together. We talked about the good and the bad, the easy and the difficult. And then we had a journey
back to Lexington. And I was thinking about those of all of that, the stuff we talked about, the stuff we shared,
and the stuff that we didn't. And at the end of it, with Psalm 90 on my heart, reminded me of the goodness of
God that he took all of those things. The good, the bad, the easy, the difficult to grow me. I'm going to borrow a
cheesy illustration from our culture, but I think it rings true in our walk with the Lord. When difficulties of life
come, when we face struggles, they're going to change us. We can either let them grow us and grow us bitter,
or we can let them grow us and grow us better. To allow God to work and to move in them so that we're
more like Christ. I love that last verse, verse 12 there, that when you and I, when we are reminded
that our life is temporary, that it's brief, that we live this life to matter for the sake of the
kingdom, Moses says, so teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom. We may get a
heart of wisdom. That God, when I'm reminded by that my time here is minimal, that my time here is but
just for a moment, but I live it for your name and for your glory and for your goodness and the
struggles and the good and the bad, that every day, every moment is another opportunity to glorify your
name. Because it's not that tomorrow isn't promised. It's that this next moment is.
So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom. Let's wrap up. Start in verse 13.
Moses writes, I can hear the cry of my heart right now. Return, O Lord. How long have pity on your
servants? Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us and establish the work of your hands upon us. Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Lastly, we're going to close in this. As we move from moment to moment, day by day, as the seasons of life change,
return, O Lord, how long have pity on your servants? Another cliche expression, right? Is the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Growing up, that was something my mom had to remind me of daily.
Well, did you know so-and-so had this? Did you know so-and-so had this? And then I was that kid, right? Well, I wish I was their kid, right? And my mom, who always knew more than I knew, would throw it back to me.
You know, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. And in this life, and in this life, there's no greater truth of that. But I want to say this. When it comes to eternity, the grass is greener.
The grass is better. The grass is perfect. That in this, in the brokenness of this, so the cry of our heart and the brokenness of the world is, return, O Lord, as we go through this life.
Paul writes in Romans 8, 18,
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
That as we walk through the struggles, as we walk through the pain, as we walk through the sufferings of this world, they pale in comparison to what awaits.
This past week, it feels like it's becoming all too of a consistent pattern of my week.
We had a funeral here.
And as we were concluding the service, I said, I want you guys to think of something.
And I would like for you this morning to think of this as well.
I want you to think of the things of this world that bring you pain and hurt and suffering.
And tears and anxiety and anger and hatred.
I want you to think of them.
All that's broken.
All that's busted.
All that is corrupted by sin.
All the sufferings of this present time.
And then in those things that conflict us from time to time because we can't fully wrap our minds around them.
Wrestle with in eternity, they're gone.
They're gone.
There's no more abuse.
There's no more hurt.
There's no more death.
There's no more sickness.
There's no more loss.
It's all gone.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time, Paul says, are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Paul will write in 2 Corinthians chapter 4.
It's a reset for their mind.
So we do not lose heart.
Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
I love verse 17.
For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.
As we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.
For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
What you're going through right now.
Your loss, your hurt, your pain, your suffering, your sickness, your doubt, your brokenness.
What you're going through right now.
Scripture tells us.
In the scope of eternity is light.
I know it doesn't feel like it.
I know it hurts.
I know you're going through and you're like, man, I don't know how tomorrow I'm going to make it through.
But God's word says it's light.
And it's not wasted.
It's doing something, God's word says.
It's preparing something.
So that sickness, that struggle, that pain, that death, it's working.
And we can't see it.
We can't understand it.
But it's working.
And it's doing something.
And God's in it.
And it's working for us.
An eternal weight of glory that God's word said is beyond all comparison.
So is it better than this?
Yes, it's better than that.
It's better than that thing that's scratching the itch.
It's the eternal weight that is there.
I'll maybe try to end a little wider.
I love this week.
I love this week.
It's Thanksgiving.
That's right.
The week of the year that I'll get to wear stretchy pants.
And I'm going to eat, and I'm going to eat, and I'm going to eat, and I'm going to eat.
And I'll be honest with you, I just love the fact that on Thanksgiving Day, dressing, macaroni, and cheese, and deviled eggs are vegetables, right?
Praise the Lord.
And fried turkey is good white meat for our bodies, all right?
Rejected with butter and hot sauce.
That's just how we roll at the Bradbury house, all right?
And here's what I'll do.
I'll stop eating Wednesday at, like, five, right?
And I'll just let my body condition itself for what's about to happen the next day, all right?
I'll wake up.
My wife will cook breakfast.
It'll be good.
I ain't eating none of it.
It's coffee and water until two o'clock, and then it's on, right?
It is on.
And I'll have to repent for it later, right?
But it is there.
And what I like about it is this.
I try to get as hungry as I can get so that I can understand what it means to be satisfied and full with that meal.
Do you understand that in this life, if we didn't face suffering, we wouldn't understand hope?
That in this life, if we didn't go through light momentary affliction, the eternal weight of glory would not register in us what God wants us to.
And so as you're going through it, as what's creating within you is struggle, is pain, through your tears, through your brokenness, through the hurt, through the loss, through the affliction, cling to the goodness of the glory of God.
And may verse 14 register in your soul, satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days because of him.
Let's pray.
Lord, we come to you this morning with joy in our hearts, not for what surrounds us, but because of what is in us and who we are in.
Lord, I pray that we would cling to and abide in you to recognize that this life is but a journey that we're on.
And what brings us hope, what brings us hope, what brings us hope, what brings us life, what brings us meaning, is not found in all the things that we want to attach ourselves to.
Lord, teach us to count our days, to know that this life is both brief and this life is temporary.
Lord, may from this life, what it create in us is to work for the goodness of your glory in your name.
To make the most of every day that you've blessed us with.
And that in the difficulty, Lord, that we would grow.
That the struggle would produce in us a determination, a love for you.
Lord, but may this world,
can we see this place differently?
Lexington is not our home.
South Carolina is not our home.
The United States is not our home.
This world is not our home.
You are.
You are.
And Lord, for everyone this morning
who's going through affliction.
Lord, it does not feel light.
It feels heavy.
It feels cumbersome.
It feels like we can't take another step.
It feels like it's consuming us.
And Lord, remind us that as we live in this world
filled with opposites,
that as heavy as that feels,
as insurmountable as it feels,
as hurtful as it feels.
Lord, what you are doing,
what you are working,
what you are preparing,
is an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison
that makes cancer
and criticism
and death
and destruction
and slander
look microscopic
in the light of eternity.
Lord, satisfy us.
May we be satisfied with you.
And it's in your name we pray.
Amen.
Amen.
We've got prayer encouragers
on either side of our auditorium.
Hear my heart.
I know your affliction
doesn't feel light.
And if you need somebody
to pray with this morning
and they'd love to pray with you,
I'll be right here as well.
I would love to pray with you
as well.
Also, if you're here this morning,
and something is just kind of
stirring in with you,
Moses said whether this is
your first time
or 50th time
or anywhere in between.
Something's stirring.
You don't know what it is.
Something's drawing you
to this Savior
we've been talking about.
We love to talk with you.
We love to pray with you.
We love to share more
about who Jesus is
and why our hope
is found in Him
and in Him alone.
Thanks again for listening
to the Willow Ridge Church
weekly podcast.
We hope that you enjoyed
listening to this week's message.
If you'd like to learn more
about who we are
or explore additional resources,
visit us online
at www.willowridgechurch.com
or by searching
for Willow Ridge Church
on Facebook and Instagram.