Suffering Disgrace

SERMON: 2011-09-25--ac1171--suffering-disgrace SOURCE DURATION: 00:50:41.000 PROPOSED CUTS: 1 CONFIDENCE: 0.95 APPROVED: false REASON: The sermon begins with segment [0] and continues through the theological exposition, concluding with a final benediction in segment [545]. Although there is sustained music/devotional singing between segments [517] and [544], this entire sequence functions as the conclusion of the overall message. Acoustic segmentation found sustained music at the end edge and moved the boundary to the adjacent transcript segment. ACOUSTIC EVIDENCE: available ACOUSTIC MUSIC INTERVALS: 00:46:02.460-00:50:34.140 ACOUSTIC SPEECH OVERLAP: yes ACOUSTIC BOUNDARIES APPLIED: end Inline CUT markers identify each proposed audio boundary after the relevant word. --- ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT WITH PROPOSED CUTS MARKED --- Now, I don't know this morning how many of us here have ever suffered disgrace or public humiliation, whether for the name of Jesus or for some other reason, but I think I can say pretty confidently to you this morning that the dominant emotion when we experience that kind of thing is not rejoicing. Would you not agree with me? Not rejoicing. More likely things like shame, embarrassment, pain or grief or anger, disappointment, confusion, maybe even thoughts of suicide, "Lord, just get me out of this situation." All of those are very normal and very human reactions. And so I have for years found it intriguing that here in Acts chapter 5 verse 41, none of those emotions are attributed to the apostles after they had just been flogged to within an inch of their lives. Remember, they would be flogged with the forty lashes minus one. And all those of you who caught my mistake last week, I'm delighted that you listened carefully. I said thirty minus one is thirty-nine, and you are brilliant mathematicians and you have not hesitated to remind me. I'm glad you feel good about that. But it's forty minus one and that is thirty-nine. So here they get this flogging, apparently it's okay to beat the tar out of the apostles as long as you don't kill them. And then we listen again in verse 41 to how the apostles react. Listen to it. "They left us in Hedron rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name." Notice again why they rejoiced. They had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the name, that is the name of Jesus. They weren't just people who were being punished because of their own stupidity or their own sin. That is often what happens to each one of us. No, they suffered disgrace for the name of Jesus. In the time that we have this morning, I want to try to outline with you three reasons why the apostles here and elsewhere through the New Testament are always said to rejoice in the face of persecution. Because it's a thing that we need to get our head around unless we understand their thinking and their reasoning, this will always remain for us a mystery and it will always be at odds with our experience when life is difficultly. So reason number one, they rejoiced in the face of persecution because it clearly marked them as followers of Jesus. It clearly marked them, it identified them as followers of Jesus. Because you see Jesus, of course, had prepared them for this while He was still with them. Listen to these words from John chapter 15, significant words in his context. He says, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belong to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you, no servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also." Notice again, "If you belong to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world." You see at the end of the day and you've heard me say this many, many times, there really are only two kinds of people in the world, those who are in covenant relationship with God and those who are in covenant relationship with Satan. Those who are in covenant relationship with God through faith in Jesus seek to love the Lord their God and to love their neighbor. Those who are in covenant relationship with Satan are separated from God, they're selfish and their lives will eventually collide upon themselves. And what's really important to understand about this is that when you have become a Christian, while initially your life may not look very much different from this, because you notice the overlap here, the reality is, and listen to this, the reality is that whatever seed has been planted in your heart is the fruit that's going to grow in you. You'll recall the parable of the wheat and the tares. The evil one has come along and sowed seed and the plants are growing and there is the wheat and there are the weeds and the harvesters want to come along and they want to separate them. You know, because you cannot tell the difference, but let them grow to maturity and as they come to maturity, they will bear fruit according to their nature. And so it's critically important to understand, if we can have those back up for a moment, if you are in Christ, your life is going to start producing the fruit of the kingdom. If you are not in Christ, your life will continue to demonstrate this fruit. Nobody, listen to me, nobody remains neutral. In fact, God will gear all the events of life to force you into one direction or another, to become more like Jesus or to become more like your Father who is the devil. And the reason for that is that come the final harvest at the end of history, there are the sheep and the goats, there are the wheat and the tares, there's nobody left in the middle. You're either in the kingdom of God and hear those words, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over little, I will put you over much." Or you'll hear those horrific words, "Depart from me, you workers of Iniquity, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." So these disciples rejoice because when the same people who crucified Jesus are now beating the tar out of them, they are demonstrating thereby that they are the disciples of Jesus. He said, "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me." The simple reality is that birds of a feather flock together, and the same thing is also true today. Now the chances are none of us in this community have probably ever been flogged physically for our faith. We may have been embarrassed or humiliated, or we might have lost friends over it, but the reality is that that's not always a bad thing. Because while we always have to be careful that it isn't our own sin that drives things, the reality is that if I'm in Christ, sooner or later, the world is going to turn against me in whatever form that takes. Paul puts it this way, writing to 2 Timothy 3, verse 12 and 13, "Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." And the only reason it doesn't happen to us more in our culture is on the one hand because our culture has been based historically on Christian values, and so we're not such strange birds relative to our own culture, but also because Christian community in the Western world is so much like the world, and the world has no reason to hate us because we live so many times by the same values as the world does. And it doesn't mean that we ought to go out looking for trouble, but I can promise you that if you're faithful to Jesus, and if you love Him and honor Him above all, then there will be times and there will be those who don't know what to do with you, and they will turn against you, and you will be inclined to feel sorry for yourself instead of rejoicing because God is demonstrating the reality of your faith. Listen to how Peter puts it in 1 Peter chapter 4. He says, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering." This is the early church at odds with their Roman culture, as though something strange were happening to you. And here's that word again, "But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Jesus, you are blessed, for the spirit of glory and of God rests on you." What he is saying by that is that if the world turns against you because of Jesus, it's because they recognize Jesus in you. And I can tell you, Jesus is no more popular today to the world than He was back then. Now, the trick, of course, and I've touched on this, is to make sure that we're suffering for Jesus' sake and not because of our own sin. And that's why Peter goes on in that passage then to say in a later verse, verse 15, "If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal or even as a middler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name." So why do the Apostles rejoice? They rejoice because their persecution marked them as fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. I don't know if you find that comforting, but I do, because it's not unusual. It is what Scripture said would happen if we are followers of Christ. And I'll say it again, as long as it's not because of our own sin or our own shortcomings, and typically it's a mixture and we have to work our way through that. So that's the first reason then the Apostles rejoice in this particular passage. But there's a second reason, and that is this. They rejoice because they are sharing in the ministry of Jesus. And the Apostle Paul, right into the Colossians in chapter 1 verse 24, has a fascinating insight into that situation when he says, "Now I rejoice," there's that word again, "I rejoice," you sort of start getting the picture after a little while here, "I rejoice in what was suffered for you. And I feel up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church." Leave that verse up for just a moment, and let's talk about it because it seems like a strange thing Paul is saying, isn't it? He not only rejoices in what was suffered, but he says, "I complete in my body the sufferings of Christ for His church." Now that sounds odd, Paul, because I thought Jesus did all the dying and did all the suffering. So what is it about you dying and you suffering? Well what he means, of course, is that as he participates, as do the other Apostles and the church as a whole, as he participates in the ministry of Jesus in bringing the gospel to places where it has never been before, he experiences hardship. And later on we'll read his whole list of things that he's gone through in the course of his life. And he says, "I complete in my body the sufferings of Christ I share with Jesus in Jesus's sufferings to redeem people out of sin and to bring them into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ." Here's how he puts it in Philippians 1, 29 and 30, "It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, since you were going through the same struggle you saw I had and now hear that I still have." You see, it isn't only the Apostles who ran into all the raw power of hell when they fulfilled the commission that Jesus had entrusted to them. The same thing applies to the rest of the church, and it applies to you and to me. Anytime we stand up for Jesus, anytime we speak into a situation on His behalf, we invite upon ourselves the disdain, the forces of hell that will do whatever they can to bring us down. I heard just yesterday the story of a young woman in her early thirties had been going with a guy for two and a half years, and finally with great tears and pain has had to break off the relationship because he is not of the Christian faith, she is, and he has made no bones about the fact that she is not to mention the name of Jesus to him, and should they get married and have children, she is not to teach the children about Jesus. And so she said, "I can be part of this relationship." Her heart is broken, and it's part of the price that she pays for following Jesus. Some of you here, you've had that same kind of experience if you've been in an unequally young marriage. Some of you are blessed with husbands or wives who, though they may not share your faith, allow you to freely practice it and to live it out, and that is a gift of grace that God gives you. Not everybody is that fortunate. Some of you will find yourself in situations where at work you're trying to do what is right and the pressure is on to compromise, and you're not part of the inner clique because you won't bend to that spirit, and you know the pain of being excluded. And people can be part of churches that go in a particular direction where, you know, there's a challenge to the ministries that are entrusted to those churches and then you live with that pain of being misunderstood or being challenged in what you believe and what you're committed to. And of course, all over the world there are Christians who are at odds with their government because their government doesn't allow them to freely practice their faith. You've heard me talk about the Xiaodong Church in China that was denied permission to occupy the building that they had themselves purchased because they couldn't get an occupation permit though they had paid for it and now had been forced to meet in the great outdoors, and tons of their people have been arrested and put in jail for no other reason than that they want to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a price to pay if you follow Jesus and if you share in His ministry. And I belabor the point because as I mentioned earlier in our prayer, in the Christian life there is a tendency we come to Jesus because Jesus provides comfort and relief. We don't come to Jesus because He's going to give us a lot of trouble, do we? No, fix my home, fix my marriage, fix my life. Let me feel better about myself, let my sins be forgiven, let me have a new start in life. And all of those are wonderful gospel promises and you know how we teach and preach those around here. But don't ever think that that's where it stops because God wants us to grow up from being consumers to producers, as Valerie is fond to call it, and from investigators to investors. It's like a child in your family. A child has a wonderful life because the parents do all the providing and the children are takers and that's a wonderful and gifted thing. But if that's all your children ever were, your children would have a developmental problem. And those of us in this community who have developmentally handicapped children know the pain of a lifelong responsibility as parents of being givers. And some of us who are married to people who have those broken places know the horror of always having to be on the giving end and never getting it back. But all things being equal, normally speaking, our children should grow up and as they grow up they should become participants in life and they should take responsibility upon their own shoulders. And Jesus calls you and me to grow up in Christ and to get beyond the place where it all has to come from somebody else, but where we as adults stand firm and we give our own participation in the sufferings of Jesus. Make no mistake about this, that if you're in Christ today and if you have experienced the benefits of being in Christ today, there is somebody who paid the price for you. There was your mother and your father who wiped your snotty nose and changed your dirty pants. There were your brothers and your sisters who sat upon you and who tried to straighten you out when you got too big for your breeches. There were your teachers that you went to school with. There were people who led you to the Lord. There were people who prayed for you. There were people who stood in the breach and there were people who put up, frankly speaking, with your crud for no other reason than they believed in you and they wanted to see the best for you. Isn't that true? A little enthusiasm would be good. Somebody paid the price for you, and part of growing up is that you learn to pay the price for other people. Here's how Paul puts it in Philippians chapter 2, 17 and 18, "Even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith." Here's Paul writing to a church that he led to the Lord and that are bearing fruit and account of him. He said, "I am glad and rejoice with all of you." He says that word again, "So you too should be glad and rejoice with me." Paul is sitting in jail. He's coming close to the end of his life. He is there because he's been faithful to the call of the gospel and he says, "I want you to rejoice with me because even if my life is being poured out, it's being poured out so that you can be what God is calling you to be." And how many of us as parents don't know the price that we've had to pay for our kids to be where they are today? And the apostles are rejoicing in their persecution because they have been counted worthy. Let's understand this. They have been counted worthy to share in the sufferings of Jesus. There's no shame in that. They're counted worthy. Jesus is saying, "I trust you enough to entrust my ministry to you, and yes, they will do to you what they have done to me, but rejoice in it because it demonstrates that you're doing my work." Do you get what I'm saying here? So first of all, they rejoice because it marks them as Christians. Secondly, they rejoice because it marks them as participating in the ministry of Jesus. They don't live in lala land. They know the reality of the price of taking up the cross and following Jesus, but there's still a third reason, and that is this. They look, they look for an eternal reward. Two verses in the New Testament or two passages in the New Testament that are of particular significance in this discussion, the first is this, Matthew 5, 11, 12. You'll recognize this as being the last of the beatitudes of Jesus. First are you, that is, it's often translated as happy, but happy doesn't really catch it. It's like the full favor of God is on your life when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. And there you have it again. Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you, just very, very quickly, three things in that verse that are significant again, rejoice and be glad, counterintuitive, be glad when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me, rejoice and be glad, and then he gives two reasons why you should rejoice and why you should be glad. The first is because in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Now isn't that interesting? The prophets, of course, by now are held in esteem. People couldn't stand them in the days when they were there. The Pharisees built their tombs and celebrated them, but Jesus said, "Had you lived in their days, you would have crucified them," because prophets are always speaking counterculturally. They're always telling you what's wrong with you and what it is that God wants to fix in you so that you can share His glory. So it goes back to that first reason where you rejoice because you're now in the company of the prophets, which means you're on the right side of God. You get what I'm saying? Pretty clear? But there's a second reason, and that's the one that we want to dwell on for a few moments. It is your reward in heaven. Because you see, if all we had was life in the here and now, I don't know how many people would want to follow Jesus, because you will recall the apostle Paul says that if in this life alone we had hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. Why follow Jesus when it means being misunderstood? Why follow Jesus when it means getting the devil on your case? Why follow Jesus when life is hard? But see, here's a verse from the book of Hebrews that I find tremendously comforting, Hebrews chapter 6, verse 10, "God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them." You see, God is keeping score. God is keeping score of every tear you shed on His behalf. He's keeping score of every time you're trashed, for whatever reasons, on His behalf. He puts all our tears in a bottle, and Jesus says, "Rejoice when this happens to you. Because great is your reward in heaven, all eternity. You're going to be rewarded for faithfulness to Jesus." You see why we need the eyes of our hearts enlightened? Because the natural eye cannot see this. But unless you see it by the eyes of the Spirit, you can never rejoice in the difficulties and in the pains of this life. It's preparing you for a great reward eternally. Does that make sense? Now to elaborate on that further, listen to this verse from the Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 17, "This slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure." And I want to dwell on that verse with you a few moments, because it is incredibly profound. Notice there are four elements to this passage that we easily overlook. First of all, he talks about slight momentary affliction. Affliction is suffering and pain. Momentary means that it's only for a short season, and slight or light means that it doesn't weigh very much. Now, if you know the Apostle Paul's history, then you will know that when he talks about his suffering as slight and momentary, he's got a whole different measuring stick than you and I have got. Because let me read you a summary from later on in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 11, where he really spells this out. Actually let me back up. I'll come back to that in just a moment and outline the other elements that we have here first. I need to go back to the slide that says, "An eternal weight of glory." If we can get that up, please. This slight momentary affliction, he says, is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory. We'll move that forward to there. And I want you to notice the contrast, because slight momentary affliction, every word stands in contrast to eternal weight of glory. Affliction as opposed to glory, momentary as opposed to eternal, and slight as opposed to weight. You get it? Pretty clever. I thought. Third thing he tells us then is that the slight momentary affliction is preparing for us this eternal weight of glory. And then he says it is beyond all measure. Now let me talk about each of those just really briefly. First of all then, slight momentary affliction. Paul describes his life this way, "Five times I received from the Jews the forty-nine lashes minus one." That's how many lashes? Thirty-nine. Thirty-nine. Just checking to see if you still know your math. "Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned," meant different things in those days, obviously. "Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country." And you thought you had it rough. "In danger at sea, in danger from false brothers, I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep. I have known hunger and thirst and have gone often without food. I have been cold and naked besides everything else, I face the daily pressures of my concern for all of the churches," Paul says, "are slight and momentary afflictions." So just in case you think your life is hard, measure it over against what Paul experienced as an apostle of Jesus. You'll remember that he was called to his ministry, God said to him through, who was it, Ananias, how much he would suffer on behalf of Jesus. Not a pleasant thought, but it's biblical reality. But it's slight and it's momentary because it's only for this life. So then he goes on to talk, as I said earlier, about the weight of glory, the eternal weight of glory. Now bear with me on this because this is critical. All through Scripture, God promises to his children that we will share the glory of God. And this glory is eternal and it is weighty. And that's very difficult to get our heads around. And C.S. Lewis, in the early years of World War II, preached a sermon at Oxford University that he entitled "The Weight of Glory." It was subsequently published in a book with his other sermons by the same title, "The Weight of Glory." He says there are five things in Scripture that God promises to his children through union with Christ. He says we are going to be with Christ, we're going to be like Christ, we're going to share Christ's glory, we're going to be fed, feasted, and celebrated, and we're going to occupy an official position of leadership in the new creation. And then in his talk, which people say is one of the best ones he's ever given, he expands on what glory means, because glory means fame, doesn't it? It means sharing in the attributes of God. And C.S. Lewis says that for a long time he struggled with that because he thought it was kind of selfish to be in competition in the new creation about, "Oh, I've got more than you've got." But he defines then the glory of God with two terms, and it takes a little thinking to get your head around, but I think he's really right. The first he says means that we are seen by God as we are, and we have His favor. That is to say, God looks upon us with favor as a parent looks upon his child with favor and says, "You know, you've just done a really good job." Sharing God's glory means that I can stand before God, be totally transparent to Him, He can see every part of me, and there is nothing that I have to be ashamed of, because there is nothing left in me through faith in Jesus that cannot stand in the presence of God. I don't know if you can get your head around that, because most of the time we think we're pretty good, but from God's perspective that's an awesome thing, that He can present us to Himself without any wrinkle, blemish, or spot. We'll stand before Him perfectly in Christ. Not only that, but we will share His brilliance. That is to say, we will share the fullness of His life, and that's a little hard to get your head around too, because, you know, who cares about shining like a light bulb for all eternity, right? It doesn't really turn you on very much, but he says to think of it this way. He says think of every part of your being, radiating with the fullness of God's presence, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. And the only way that I can even begin to get my head around that is to think back to those moments in our lives when we feel truly alive. Those moments when you really experience pleasure. Those moments when you really felt, you know, life is good. I'm loved, and I love, and I know, it's just the way it ought to be. Those moments never last very long, do they? But every so often we get that glimpse, which is a glimpse of heaven. Well sharing the glory of God means you're going to know that kind of reality, that kind of presence of God eternally. It stands in contrast to the short-term humiliation that we experience here. It is eternal, and it is weighty. That is to say, it is the weight of office that God imposes upon us for all eternity, because we get to rule creation with Him, and along with that comes awesome responsibility. Think of the horrible misfit it would be for you or for me to be stuck into a position or into a place that we weren't qualified for. And some people think the weight of glory is a reference to the weight of the mantle of glory, the weight of the crown, the importance that God attaches to our position. So there's the slight momentary affliction, preparing, or then there's the eternal weight of glory, and then Paul links it with that key word in between, "is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory." And that's what it is that he wants us to get our heads around. This glory that God has stored up for His children, this privilege of being in the presence of Christ, being transformed to be like Him, to sharing His glory, to celebrating the provisions of God for all eternity, and then sitting with Him in crowns, ruling over the whole new creation, isn't something that you're just going to step into unprepared. We need to be prepared, and the momentary afflictions that we experience in the here and now enlarge our capacity, enlarge our capacity so that we can be faithful to God for all eternity. If you've been faithful over little, says Jesus, the Lord will place you over little. But if you have been faithful over much, He will place you over much. See, all God's children make it to glory, but not all God's children share an equal reward. And Paul says if you want to share the greater reward, then God is going to prepare you through slight and momentary afflictions to get you ready for that day when God's grace will be poured out upon you so that you can be strong enough to contain everything that God has for you. Does that make sense? You wouldn't put your kid in charge of your business if he or she had not been prepared and properly trained, hopefully come up through the ranks, to be entrusted with that huge responsibility. And Paul says, "Your perception of slight momentary affliction changes the moment you understand," and John Roper referred to it earlier, "that God works together all things for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose." Because you see, the verse ends with a fascinating word, or three words, "beyond all measure." And it's one of those words that Paul makes up, because you see, Paul has seen the glory of God. He was caught up into the heavenly vision. And he came back and he said, "I can't begin to describe it. I'm not even allowed to put it into words." And so when he talks about the eternal weight of glory, that he has been shown through the Spirit, words fail him. And so what we have translated, and this is the new Revised Standard Version translation of it, when he translates it, "beyond all comparison," the Greek word is "from hyperbole to hyperbole," and the word hyperbole originally in Greek means to throw it as far as you can. And what Paul is saying, "I'm trying to describe to you the glory that God has for His children." And he says, "It's further than anything that you can imagine." But then he says, "That's not enough." He says, "It is exceedingly further than you can imagine. It is exceedingly, exceedingly, it is hyperbole upon hyperbole, words fail me to describe the glory of God that God has prepared for those who love Him." So how do we face the difficulties of life? How do we avoid the self-pity, the recrimination, the blame game that all of us tend to fall into when we're in situations where we're not loved, we're not understood, we're not properly represented, and we sit there and we have our own little pity parties and we share it with all the world. How do we get to the biblical place? And you've seen how many times it happens now in the New Testament, the command to rejoice in the middle of all of that. How do you get there? Well, you need a revelation from the Holy Spirit about what it is that God has prepared for those who love Him. And Paul puts it this way, as you know, in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, I believe it is, when he says, "That eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor the heart of man imagined." What's the next word? What God has prepared for those who love Him, and He has revealed it to us how? Through the Holy Spirit. So whenever you find yourself in a situation where rejoicing is hard to come by, don't beat yourself up. Don't say, "Well, I, you know, should have a stiff upper lip. I should be a better Christian. I need to handle this." No, no. Say, "Lord, open the eyes of my heart. Show me how this proves that I'm one of Your chosen people. I'm not part of the world. That's why the world hates me. Show me that this is the price I pay for sharing with You and being faithful to You in my everyday life. And then, Lord, show me, oh, show me, oh, show me that one day I will hear those words, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over little, and I will put You over much.'" That's what enabled the martyrs to go to death in the name of Jesus because they knew there was a greater glory that awaits them. You may say amen if you like. Please stand with me for prayer. Father, I confess this morning that as much as I preach to the folks that are gathered here, I preach to myself because I know that rejoicing in times of difficulty does not come naturally to my heart, and I'm sure it doesn't to any of our hearts. We're so grateful to Jesus who was faithful even unto death, obedient for the joy that was set before Him. And I thank You that You give us, through the course of history, men and women who have received the grace to rejoice because they understood Your greater purposes. Lord, open our eyes. Help us to see. Help us to know what a privilege it is to be identified with You, what a privilege it is to serve with You, and what a privilege it is to know that one day there will not be a tear that we have shed in obedience to You, but You will not reward abundantly. And so help us to live not for the here and now, first and foremost, but help us to live, [PROPOSED CUT 1 START at 00:46:02.460; remove through 00:50:41.000] Lord, for that eternal weight of [CUT] glory that You have promised to all those who are faithful to You. We pray it together in Jesus' name, amen. I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by Your side. I can only imagine what my eyes will see when Your face is before me. I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by Your side. I can only imagine what my eyes will see when Your face is before me. I can only imagine. Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for in Jesus, or in all of You, be still? Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine. I can only imagine. I can only imagine when that day comes and I find myself standing in the sun. I can only imagine when all I will do is forever, forever worship You. I can only imagine. Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for in Jesus, or in all of You, be still? Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine. Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for in Jesus, or in all of You, be still? Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine. I can only imagine when all I will do is forever, forever worship You. I can only imagine. The Lord bless you and keep you. [CUT] [PROPOSED CUT 1 END at 00:50:41.000; resume after this marked segment]