As we're all experiencing today and last week, and we will experience in the weeks to come, the devil is attacking. He's attacking very strongly. And so we need to be much in prayer that they will overcome what he wants to. As you may have known or have heard, I was laid up. In fact, I almost felt like I wasn't going to be here this morning because I have to travel quite a distance to get here. But the Lord gave me a good drive to come in. And unfortunately, the Lord did not give our brother a good drive last week when he spoke here. This is why I say the devil is attacking. Brother Rogers, when he left here, there was an accident that he was involved in. We praise the Lord that neither he nor his wife were injured at all. The car was injured a little bit. But they are here this morning and he is going to minister this morning to us. So brother, come and break the word of life for us. Shortly after we left last Sunday evening, we were on the 110 freeway just outside of downtown LA when all of a sudden this accident took place. We know that the Lord always has purpose. The Lord never allows into our life anything that is not for our good. And so he was with us and we thank him for that. I remember once when I was a student in college studying for the ministry that we had a ministry with a trumpet trio that I traveled with and we were on our way to Guatemala. And we were just a little bit north of Mexico City when a cow came running out on the highway in front of the bus that we were driving. We were taking a bus down for a Christian schooling in Guatemala City that was purchased in the United States and we were driving down for them. And this cow came running right in front of us and wham! We hit that cow and the cow went running off and the bus stumbled off to the side of the road and so we had to leave it there in Mexico City and the people of Guatemala had to come back and get it when it was fixed. We were more fortunate than that because our car was still drivable. Doesn't look too good, but it drives well. And so there's no mechanical damage apparently done to it and no damage to us. But we had to miss the GRBC meetings in Cambria as a result of that. And we felt bad about that. Some of you were not here last week, or some that were here missed out on the fact that we have a second book in a series of four books on the subject of signs of the time. And actually this book is a part of the first book, as are the next two, but there were so many pages in the book that we felt that we needed to divide it up into smaller bites, so to speak, so we decided that we would put it into four books, and when one was published and we got our investment back, that we would go on with the second one and do the same with the third and then the fourth, and then you would have the entire thing. And this is, those of you, which are most of you, have our first book. The format of that book is that we will name a sign of the time, like for example, Israel is back in the land. And then we'll give scripture where that is found. And then we'll explain what the verse says and then we'll go into various books, magazines, newspapers, internet writings and so forth that kind of verify that in fact the thing that God prophesied thousands of years ago is happening today. And so if you didn't pick one of these up that cost $17 each, and if you didn't pick one up last Sunday, or if you'd like another one, or if you read the one that we had and want to give it back, whatever your case may be, you know, just let us know and we'll be glad. My wife will be in the back by the table back there to share that with you as we leave this morning. So pray with us that as we continue to work on these books that we'll be able to get them all printed because it's a very, very expensive proposition to self-publish a book, and so that's why we're doing them one at a time, that when you get the investment back we'll go on to the second one and so forth, and so that's what we're after. Now this morning I'd like to open your Bibles, if you will, to Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13. Let's fall for prayer. Father in our God, we thank you that we have your word and that we can have confidence in it, we can trust in it because it's truth. Every word written in here is inspired by God and we know that as we read it that you want us to do more than read it and memorize it and so forth, but you want us to apply it to our lives. And we pray today that you would help us to see some of the ways in which we can live for you in a way that would please you and bring glory to your name, as we would try to abide by the things that your word teaches. For we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. I hope that you understand that the Word of God and the preaching of the Word of God is not given just simply so that you might become more knowledgeable of various scriptural things. Certainly that's a part of it. We want to understand what God teaches. We want to be able to know, and we do this as a result of the Holy Spirit teaching us. I'll tell you what, I would rather have a guy that had never been to seminary or college, didn't even graduate from high school, just got out of grade school, and that guy that is filled with the Holy Spirit, and trusting God in his life and born again, I would rather listen to him, for instance, than some guy that got a DDT or a PhD or whatever kind of a D, whatever, from Harvard University, that doesn't know Christ as Savior and is not being led by the Spirit of God. Because this book is not understood in any way, shape, or form, except as the Spirit of God teaches it to the people of God who are born again. And we need to understand that. When I first went into the ministry, back shortly after the Civil War, we had the experience of trying to figure something out. You stand at the back door, people come by and they greet you, and they usually make some kind of a comment, sometimes good, sometimes bad about your sermon, but at any rate, they're back there sharing with you. And people will come by and say, you know, I was really blessed by your message today, and this is what I got out of it. And I'm sitting there saying, would you repeat that? They repeat it. I say, just a minute, I want to make a note of that. Because that would make a good message somewhere. I get on a card and write down what they said. There is no way that I said what they said I said. You know, they got something out of it completely different than what I said. The first time I experienced that, I thought, my word, am I cracking up here? Did I say things I didn't know that I said? And then I'd go back and listen to the tape of it, and sure enough, I did not say that. But that took care of another one of my bewildering wonderments when I first went into the ministry. And that is here, sitting out here in the church that I was passing, there's maybe 150 or so people in that first full-time church that I pastored, and I'm saying, well, now I have one message. How can I, in this one message, say those kind of things that will assist people in all of the needs that they have, understanding of the word that they need, and so forth and so on? How is that possible? Then, as people would say the things they would say at the back door, I began to realize, you know what? I am not the teacher, as I stand and preach. The Holy Spirit is the teacher. And He will share with and interpret for people differently depending on their individual needs. Therefore, it's not up to me. It's up to me to know what the Lord would have me speak on, and then to speak on that, and then just let it go, and let the Holy Spirit of God use it in whatever way He sees fit in the heart of each individual who happens to be there at that particular point in time. And that's a very important lesson to learn, and I think that a lot of people in ministry have never learned that lesson, though they may have been in the ministry for very, very many years. And we need to see that the Word of God is, first of all, There is truth to be learned. This book, from cover to cover, is truth. There's not one word in it that's false. There's no contradictions in it. There's no discrepancies. There are no problems with it. If I have a problem with it, it's my problem, not the problem of this book. This book is God's Word. Period. Exclamation mark. And that being so, we need to understand that everything in it is truth. And if it is all truth, we need to learn what that truth is, not just so that we might know truth. Certainly, we need to know truth. So, a lot of people know truth, but it doesn't do them a bit of good. When I was in college, you know, you start getting a little bit of knowledge and you get kind of fat-headed, and you think you know a lot more than other people. And one day I was exhorting my mother about this, that, and the other thing, when I was a student in college, and she said, son, you have more knowledge than me, but I have more wisdom than you. You say, amen to that, you didn't even know me back in those days. But at any rate, you know, I didn't really quite understand what she was saying, because back then to mean wisdom and knowledge, and that's kind of all the same thing, but it's not. Knowledge. is knowing the facts. Wisdom is applying the facts. A lot of people hear the word of God, they even understand the truth of the word of God, but they do not allow that word of truth to sink into their hearts in such a way that it causes them to do what they do based upon the truth that they have learned. You know, in your own heart, without any preacher telling you, that there are certain things that you are presently doing, for example, you know they are wrong. The way you think, the way you talk, the way you act, what you do, and so forth. There are things that are wrong that people do, that are Christians. And they know the truth of what God's Word says about those things. And they're not doing those things, they're not obeying the truth. So a very important part of our study of the Word of God is not just to learn the truth that is being taught in the passage. The other half, the other side of the coin, is to apply the truth that we have learned to my own personal life, so that it motivates me, it encourages me, it convicts me, it changes me, it makes a new person out of me. There needs to be a constant growing experience in the things of the Lord and in our obedience to the Lord. Now what I have to share with you this morning was meant to be an encouragement to you, because I know that it's very difficult when a church loses a pastor, particularly one that you love, as I know you love Jim, to lose him. And at least in your case here, you don't have to guess why he left. His health just would not allow him to live in this part of America. And so a lot of churches, they have the added burden of not really being sure why their pastor left to go elsewhere. And so they're very discouraged. And I want you to know that you in this church can do anything that God wants you to do. It doesn't matter what it is. If God wants you to do it, along with His will to do it, He will give you the ability to do it. And if we believe that, nothing is impossible in accomplishing the work that God has given us to do. We have such a case that is an example of this in Numbers chapter 13. And I want you to ask yourself, what is your focus? Is your focus on your problems, or is it on God? Those are the two possibilities. Those are the two ways that you can live. The choice is yours. Focus on God and what his word teaches, and apply that to your circumstances, and you will have victory over discouragement. Focus on your problems, leaving God out of the quotient, and you will be defeated. It's really that simple. Take the 12 spies that Moses sent out to look over the promised land. You know, they had left Egypt, they had the Red Sea experience, God had done many miracles, He delivered them with a mighty hand, and now they are on their way to Canaan. And they come right up to the borders, and they say, all right, we're going to take one man from each of the 12 tribes, qualified men, men who are godly, men who are leaders, And together we're going to send them out into the land and then bring a report back to us of what it is that they found. So after examining the land for 40 days, they came back into the Israeli camp, and that's where we pick up the story, right when they get back there in verse 23. Look at it, will you? Numbers 13, 23. And they came into the brook of Eshko and cut down from a branch with one cluster of grapes. And they buried between two upon a staff, and they brought of the pomegranates and of the figs. The place was called the Brook Estal because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from the fence, and they returned from searching out the land after forty days." I'm not sure if you are aware of it or not, but in God's word, numbers have significance. The number forty The number of days that they looked over the land is the number of testing and you will find out through God's word that very often like the Lord was out in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights being tested of Satan and you will find all throughout God's word that the number forty is used in that day. So they were out there and God was testing them to see how they would respond to what he had said and there could only be one conclusion. after looking over the land, and that is, God was right. The land was a land that was flowing with milk and honey. It was, and that designates wealth, success, prosperity. Now they come back and they're supposed to report as Moses had given them instruction. And actually, there were three reports. Now see, these folks were Baptists. That's why there were all these different reports. There's a majority, and there's a minority. I was called a pastor at church in Florida once, and it was the weirdest experience I ever had. First of all, they wanted me to come and candidate, and I told them I wasn't interested. But then they said, well, wouldn't you come down and hold a week of Bible conference for us? And I said, I'd be glad to. So I went down, and I got down there, and the deacons got the meeting going with me, and they kept on talking to me about the value of coming down and being their pastor and I said no I'm not interested and so we got through the week and then I got home a week or two later they called me on the phone and they said well now you know we after you left we got to talking about you and in a meeting and somebody said well let's have him be a candidate and somebody else said well we don't need him to be a candidate he's already been here for a whole week and that's more than most of the time when you have a candidate Let's just call him to be the pastor. And so they had a vote that was 100%. It was then I began to suspect that something was really going on here because they were Baptist and 100% just is not, you know, that is not the way that normally it goes. But that's the way that it was. So here we have a true situation like that. We have a minority report and we have a majority report. First of all, there was the third report, which was a unified report. That's what they all agreed on. The land was exactly as God said it would be. A land flowing with milk and honey. A place to be greatly desired. Now here we have this in verse 26. And they went and came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of children of Israel and to the wilderness of Paran and Kadesh and brought back word unto them and unto all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him and said, We have come to the land wither thou sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it. So they confirmed God's word. I tell you what, my friend, in everything and anything you do, the first step to success is to confirm that that is in keeping with what the word of God says. If you feel that God wants you to do something, you better be sure that that does not violate some principle or direct statement in the Word of God. Now, it's not that God's Word needs confirming, but that's what happened here. But the fact that they saw what God had described to them in exactly the same way, it gave them additional courage, it should have at least. But notice in verse 28. Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled and very great, and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south, and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and by the coast of Jericho." Now here we have a little word that often occurs in a report, and that is the word, but. which is what the word nevertheless means. So you see in verse 28, nevertheless. In other words, the land is a land flowing with milk and honey. It says God said it was nevertheless. Hey, there's giants in the land. They have chariots of iron. They're very strong. Their cities are walled up to heaven. And they started looking at all of this stuff. And while they agreed with God that, hey, this is a land falling with milk and honey, they did not agree with God that they could go into the land and possess it. Now this is where I started my message with you today. There is knowledge and there is wisdom. They had the knowledge right on. What God said was true. But these 10 spies that were giving this report, the majority report was, we can't do it. There's no way we can go in there and do this. Even though God said we can do it. You know, we're kind of an exception to the rule here. We can't do it. You know, when you start feeling like you can't do something that God said you can do, you'd better get down on your knees and find out why you have that particular thing going on in your mind. So, you know, nevertheless, the word, the word, but, you know, it is a land foaming with milk and honey, but, you've all been there. Well, you know, he's really a nice person, but, that's where you get to the clench. That's where the real facts are. It's what is on the other side of the word nevertheless or but, where the problem usually is. So here is what the ten fears. Strong people, strong fortitude, and even giants. In other words, these ten look at all of this strictly from human viewpoint. Now get it, there are twelve men, all have equal qualifications, all go out on the journey, yet when they get to looking at life, ten of them are looking at it from human viewpoint, and that instills fear and discouragement. Two of them look at the situation, Joshua and Caleb, from the divine viewpoint, and everything they say will encourage faith. But you see, it all depends on focus. It all depends on whether you're going to believe God all the way, or if only part of the way. So they looked at the situation, Joshua and Caleb did, from divine viewpoint. So the two men, Caleb and Joshua, who give the minority port, will be the only two men among all of the adults that will ever make it into the Promised Land. Even Moses himself didn't make it. For 39 more years, they lived out in the desert until everyone that was 20 years of age and older died. Then they entered the land. Now, apparently, after the mention of giants in fortified cities, there was mass terror in the minds of the people. You know, there's a verse in the book of Proverbs that is key to understanding what's going on here. That verse says, As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. You can have great talent, great resources, great everything, but if in your heart you say it's impossible, guess what? For you, it is impossible. But God's Word says all things are possible with God. Doesn't matter what they are. If God said it, you'd better believe it, apply it, live it, and do it. Otherwise you'll be missing out on the best that God might happen to have for you. And then notice that the majority add further words in verse 31. But the men that went up with them said, We be not able to go against the people, for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land, which they had searched under the children of Israel, saying, The land through which we have gone to search it is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof, and all the people we saw in it were of great stature. Is the majority always right? No. Why? Because God is always right. And anybody who doesn't disagree with God, even though it's the majority of 999,999 of a million, they're wrong. Because God and God alone is right. And God said they could do it. They could go into that land. They could possess that land. Don't you think that God knew there were walled up buildings? Walls? Don't you think that God knew there were chariots and giants and all the rest of it there? There's nothing that God doesn't know. That's one of the things that makes God, God. He's all-knowing. And so He told them, knowing what they would be up against when they went there, He said, go on in. Do it. You can do it. And I'm afraid that these men, the majority, had the wrong attitude, the wrong idea. Now the result of the acceptance of this human viewpoint majority is going to bring discipline to the people. Discipline takes the form of discouragement in the life of a believer who refuses to trust God through tough times. Encouragement is the lot of those who trust God through tough times. If you believe that God is sovereign, that is, He's in control of everything. If you believe that God loves you, that He can give you grace to go through whatever you're going to go through, And if you believe in God's will to do something, you'd better do it, even though it seems impossible. Now notice, if you will, verse 28 again. Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled up in very grace. And moreover, we saw the children of Anak there. Let's get down to the last verse, verse 33. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which came out of the giants. And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers. So we were in their sight. I call this grasshopper theology. And a lot of people are guilty of it. You know what? You and God make a majority. Did you know that? I read a story once, a very short story, it was just a paragraph long. It was a story of an ant and an elephant that were walking along together on a road. And they came to an old rickety wooden bridge. And they started crossing the bridge, and that bridge just shook like it was going to fall down. Got on the other side of the bridge, and the ant said to the elephant, Boy, we sure did shake that bridge, didn't we? You and God are stronger together than anything. You, without God, are weak. You can't do anything. by yourself. And sometimes God allows into our life discouraging circumstances and disappointments and so forth, because it's only through that that we learn to trust in God the more. I used to lift weights. You can tell that's just by looking at me, can't you? Look at that muscle. Man, I want to tell you, look at that. I'd lift weights, and I'd start out with about 5 or 10 pounds, you know? And I'd start going up, down, up, down. And then before you know it, I'd go... Like that. I said, I need more weight. So I add another 10 pounds, and I'd go... And then... I said, I need more weight. Put another 10 pounds on it. And before you know it, I'm lifting over 100 pounds, then 150 pounds, and I go... It's just like I'm lifting a toothpick. You see, you build up little by little. The only way that you can become stronger in your physical muscles is by challenging them to that which is just a little bit too heavy, but not really, really, really too heavy, but you can do it, but it's a stress. The same way in our spiritual life. God sends us challenges, even discouragements, disappointments, losses, Because through these things, He can and He will make out of us a people that otherwise never could have existed without the challenges, because that's what makes us strong. And we trust God through it. Experience, anyway. And so God allows, He sent these people into this land, so well knowing that there were giants and all of these things that might discourage the average guy, But he said, I'll give you the land if you just go in and take it. But as soon as they saw the giant, their verdict was grasshoppers. And they became occupied with themselves. Now listen to the other two spies in chapter 14. And all the congregation lifted up their voice and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, and the whole congregation said unto them, Would the God that we had died in the land of Egypt, or would the God that we had died in this wilderness. What a difference in the slants of their vision of these other people. Notice in verse 6, and Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes, and they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we pass through to search it is an exceeding good land, and if the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us, a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bred for us. Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Fear them not." How could there be such a dramatic difference in the vision of these two groups of men? You see, didn't Joshua and Caleb see the walls, the chariots of iron, the giants, the strong people, and all the rest of it? Sure they did. Well, how come they have a different attitude? Because if they looked up those walls that were on the way up to heaven, they didn't stop their vision there. They kept on looking and they saw in heaven, God that's bigger than the walls, that's bigger than the giants. God is bigger than anything. God is stronger than anything. And we've seen it during the course of the history of Israel since 1948. Especially in 1948. They didn't even have an organized army. And they were being attacked by tens of thousands of people with all kinds of tanks and planes and modern weapons. They won the war. Well, how do you win a war in that kind of a situation? It's impossible, is it? No. After the war was over with, some of the Egyptians, I had that issue of Lace Magazine that told about the war and the results of the war, and it's a pictorial experience, and it's sensational. It showed a boost. These Egyptian people became so frightened, they took off their boots and they ran back to Egypt across the Suez Canal. Because without their boots, I guess they could run faster. They left their tanks with the keys in the tanks and just got out of the tanks and they ran. Somebody said, well, why did you do that? Well, they said, because we looked up in the sky and there were thousands of soldiers in white robes. And then somebody then goes to the Jewish commanders who were there and they said, what are they talking about? We didn't see anything like that. I remember when Elisha, was in Dothan, and surrounded by the people who wanted to murder him, surrounded with a great army, and his servant looked out, and he got up in the morning, and he saw these people, and he said, he said, Lo, look at this! We're doomed! And Elijah said, Lord, open his eyes. And what did this man see when he opened his eyes? He saw the chariots of God. Do you think that those enemies of Elisha won the victory that day? Oh, no, no, no. Impossible that a man, the prophet of God and his servant, could overcome the vast host of the army? Of course it's possible, if God is there. Another part of the story is that as the Israelis were coming across the army with their army in another one of the wars, all of a sudden there arose this incredible wind that just came out of nowhere. There was no storm. And it created a sandstorm that was unbelievable. And when the sandstorm was all over with, they were just in front of their tanks and their soldiers with a minefield. that the Egyptians had laid out for them. And that sandstorm uncovered all of those mines. They were able to disable all of those mines and not a thing happened to any of their soldiers as a result. I don't know how God does what he does. None of my business. I don't even understand it. But if God says, Herb Rogers, you'd better do this. Hey, I'll tell you what. I may believe the truth of the land of promise, but I had better believe that God has given me the victory in that land of promise there along the way. And so, you see, a vision of God can offset and shut out our vision of our own helplessness. Have you ever felt helpless? If you are a true child of God, filled with the Spirit of God, you never have to feel a sense of helplessness anywhere for any reason. This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Thereby does He encourage us and give us the victory as we have a vision of Him. That's why the Apostle wrote in the book of Hebrews, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. We need to believe that He is with us. We need to practice in our attitudes and our experience that the Lord Jesus Christ is with us and He creates situations. He creates circumstances so that whatever they may be, if He has sent them, they are for our good. For all things work together for good to them who love God and to them who are called according to His purpose. Are you discouraged today? Do you need encouragement? And keep your eyes on God. And you will have an explosion of confidence. And you will automatically be encouraged. Because that is the way that God works. The faith comes first. And when you believe what God says, and you apply what He said to your circumstances, you have victory. And you're no longer discouraged. Forty years later, the same Jewish nation decided to trust God, and under the leadership of Joshua, they marched into the land, and they overcame the giants, they threw down the great walls of Jericho, and all the rest of it. And as you read the stories of the experiences that they had in the doing of it, it's exciting. I get chills up and down my spine when I read that stuff. How could they do it? Why couldn't the people 40 years before them do it? The people 40 years before them could have done it if they just would have trusted God, believed what God said about going into the land and taking it. There would have been no trouble, they could have done it just like the guys did 40 years later on. Hey, we serve a wonderful, omnipotent, sovereign, all-powerful God that's in control of everything, anywhere and everywhere, and He has promised that certain things will be possible for us if we will only believe in Him and trust in Him. And this was the problem with these particular spies that went out. They didn't trust. They didn't believe. And so they discouraged all the people. And as a result of the discouragement of the people, then the people became frightened. And that's why leadership is so important in a church. That you need people in your church who will lead the people in your church and encourage them in the things of the Lord. And when they do that, I'll tell you what, it's going to be absolutely encouraging for the people in that particular church. You know, in our society, we have instance everything, don't we? Instant meals. You don't want to cook, you just go out and buy one of these boxes that has a prepared meal in it, you throw it in the microwave oven, a few minutes later you come up and it's all cooked for you. We have instant credit, instant everything. And therefore, when we have to wait on things that God has promised us to happen, we give up. Because we've been trained in instant everything. Instant pudding, instant jello, blah, blah, blah, you know? God says, wait on the Lord, and it will come to pass. You've got to learn to do that. There's a verse over in the Gospels that says, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Are you familiar with that? Beacon you shall find. But the Greek language there says, keep on knocking. Keep on. looking, and it will happen. In other words, there's a perseverance here that is important, that we need to follow. We should not give up because it doesn't happen instantly the way we would like it to happen. Because God doesn't work that way. Look, he promised Abraham that he was going to be the father of a child that would give birth to many nations and peoples and so forth. Do you think that Sarah got to expecting the next day? It took years. But it happened because God said it was going to happen. And anything that God says is so, is so. And we've got to recognize that. But that is the way God works. There's nothing instant with God. As a matter of fact, have you ever heard the saying, cheer up, things could be worse? How many of you ever heard that? Heard that, okay. You know, I was really down one day, and somebody came and told me that. They said, cheer up, things could be worse. So you know what? I cheered up, and they were right, things got worse. We don't like to wait for anything in this American culture. And while we're trusting God, it doesn't mean that everything's going to be fine, hunk and dory. God doesn't work in that way. God deliberately allows, as I said before, those discouraging circumstances that make the situation look hopeless, so that we will the more trust in Him and allow Him to do whatever it is that He wants to do. That's all I am, is a conduit through which God might work if I allow Him to do it. And so just because as you're trying to do what you know God wants you to do, there's something discouraging that comes along, it doesn't mean But God is not in it. I read of a girl whose mother was sick in bed for several days, and the daughter decided to make her some tea to help her feel better. And the six-year-old brought the mother's tea into the room, and the mother drank and thanked her, and then she asked how she made it. She replied, well, just like you do. First of all, I took the tea leaves and boiled them, and then I strained them. And the mother asked, well, what did you use the strainer with? And to this the daughter replied, well, I couldn't find the strainer, so I used the fly swatter. You see, it's true. When you pray, things can get worse. But only if God allows it, because that's a part of what the story is. Look, you study on your own one of these days the story of Joseph. And look at all of the things that came out of that man's life that could discourage him. But in the end, he was the ruler in Egypt. That's where God is sending him to go. Don't be discouraged because you try and nothing seems to happen. And you try and matters only get worse. Sometimes when we get what we want, we are disappointed to find out that that's not really what we wanted after all. Let God be God. Serve God one-heartedly. Determine that you will allow him to do whatever it is that he wants to do. But you will trust him and you will take that word of truth that you study from day to day and time to time. And you will not just learn the truth, but you will live the truth. You will obey the truth. You will believe the truth. And you will apply that to your daily life in such a way so that God will be glorified, you get over discouragement, you have victory, and the Lord will be glorified. Try it out. It's a formula that works. Bow with me in prayer. Father God, we want to thank you that you have given to us the encouragement of your word, the hope that only you can give through your word and through the Holy Spirit of God. And we just pray today that for each one that is here that is passing through some kind of a personal experience in life that is disappointing, that somehow, someway they might learn to find those scriptures that apply to their circumstances and then to follow through on them and obey them and live their life in the victory that you had intended for us to live in. And we'll thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.