I want to address the title. I'll give you the title. I'll give you a text in a minute. But I just want to touch on this topic with the Lord's help. I believe this is where the Lord's been leading for chapel today. And the title of the message is simply this. Wow, that hurts. We're going to go explore that in just a minute. Let's open to a word of prayer. Pastor Ogle, would you open us in a word of prayer, please, sir? we're so grateful that we can come to the Word and find encouragement, conviction, a variety of things, and we need it today. So I pray that you would be with Brother Hanke as he presents your truth. May it work Amen. Some of you may not know the experience of having a substitute teacher in your classroom. You know, so if you're homeschooled, I'm not sure, you know, if mom's sick, you just get the day off, right? But some of you have had that opportunity. If you're a good student, you try to help the substitute teacher and you, you know, fill them in on things they need to know and that kind of thing. If you're a fourth grade boy, you try to see what you can get away with because the substitute's not aware of everything. So I was about third or fourth grade in our Christian school. My regular teacher, she had a surgery and she was out for a week or two. We had a substitute teacher. So I remember, you know, we at recess time, which yes, that was a scheduled thing, you know, in the school day. But at recess time, we like to play football. And so the substitute teacher did not know that we were not supposed to be playing tackle. So, you know, it was supposed to be touched. So we had a, this is in the cold weather time, and there was a blacktop parking lot, and then there was a strip of grass beside it where we would play. And really the only difference was the color. The grass was just about as hard as the pavement. But we were having a good time at recess. And I don't remember the circumstances. I just remember that I had the ball and I was running and I got tackled. Probably the reason I don't remember the circumstances is what happened next is I hit my head really hard, boom, on the ground. And my immediate thought was, wow, that hurts. You know, where am I? What's going on? I did not tell my mom. I did not get checked for a concussion. I got up and played the next play. And as far as I'm concerned, we won. I have no idea. I'm just telling you that we won that game at recess. So, we got away with that for three or four days, you know, before one of the other teachers told the substitute that we weren't supposed to be playing tackle football at recess and we had to go back to touch. But, you know, there are some times that something hurts and it just sticks out in your mind. That's one of those times. There are other times when things have happened and you go, wow, that hurts. When I was a teenager, I wasn't all that skilled with using a hammer. So I would hit the wrong nail. I would hit the one on the end of my thumb instead of the one in the board. Wow, that hurts. Do you know there's times in life where something comes along and you say, wow, that hurts. What I want us to see this morning is that there are some things that are avoidable, there are some things that aren't, but there are things in life that hurt. And you must respond properly to hurt and disappointment if you're gonna finish your course and stay in the will of God. Turn with me, if you would, to Job chapter one. We'll not spend all of our time there, but we're gonna start there. Job is probably the best example to start with. But I want you to see number one with me. I want you to see the reality of hurt and disappointment in life. You are familiar with the story. We're gonna read a little bit. Verses nine and 10, Satan accuses God of protecting Job too much. You've built a hedge around him and nothing happens. So verse 11, God says, excuse me, verse 12, the Lord said unto Satan, behold, all that he hath is in thy power, only upon himself, put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. There came another and said, the Chaldeans made out three bands and fell on the camels and have slain them, carried them away and slain thy servants with the edge of the sword. And I only was, am escaped to tell thee. Verse 18, while he was yet speaking, there came also another. Now isn't this enough already? Boom, boom, boom. Verse 18, while he was yet speaking, there came also another and said, thy sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house. And behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness and smote the four corners of the house and it fell on the young men and they're dead. And I only am escaped alone to tell thee. I don't mean to present life as all bad. Most of you that have been here any length of time know that I enjoy having a good time. But there is a reality that there are things in life that are difficult. There are things in life that hurt. You see here in Job chapter one, you see hurt in trial. What had Job done at this point to deserve judgment or punishment? The answer is nothing. that we are allowed a window into the conversation in heaven that Satan was challenging God and saying that he could turn Job against him. God's the one that brought up Job's name for consideration, right? But here, this is in the context of trial. But in the context of trial, I want you to notice, or I want you to think about this with me. Job, in what we've just read, in the period of one day, went through great emotional pain. Don't you think this was difficult? All of his children died in a major storm in one day. He went through great financial loss in this time in the culture. Wealth was measured in cattle. And so his camels and his oxen and his sheep and all of that, that was a measure of wealth. He went through emotional pain. He went through financial loss. He very much is experiencing family pain and loss with the death of his children. We go a little bit further into chapter two. The end of chapter one, verse 20, Job arose, ran his mantle, shaved his head, fell down on the ground and worshiped and said, naked came I out of my mother's womb, naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave. and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Then you have a further conversation. Satan says, yeah, yeah, whatever. He'll do anything to save his own skin. And God said, all right, you can touch his body, but you can't take his life. So then in chapter two, on top of these things that we've already mentioned, Job experiences extreme physical pain. I mean, it's one thing to be going through external pressure, but to be going through an external trial while you're also suffering physical pain increases the degree of difficulty. You see physical pain, you see another level of emotional hurt. Verse nine, his wife said unto him, dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. Of all the people he needed to help him and encourage him at this time, it was his wife, right? And yet his wife says, why are you holding on to this foolishness? Just curse God and die. I think in the conversation of Job, you have the back and forth. Job's friends come to try to comfort him, and you have the back and forth conversations. One of the most accurate statements Job makes along the way there is, miserable comforters are you all. But they tried to comfort him, but in Job chapter 3 and verse 23, we see some of his spiritual pain. He says, why is light given to a man whose way is hid and whom God hath hedged in? Why was I even born? Why is God allowing this? I don't understand it. So you see emotional pain, you see physical pain, you see financial loss, you see disappointment in those that were close to him. And all of this was because God decided that he was going to allow this for Job's benefit and for ours. I mean, Job would say, wow, that hurt. So sometimes there's hurt in the context of trial. Daniel in the Old Testament would be another good example of that, right? He was carried away from his home and taken to Babylon, not because of his wrongdoing, but because God allowed the situation. Sometimes we see hurt in trial. I think we also see in the Bible, we see hurt in family. I'll give you two examples. We could give more, but I'll give you two examples. One good example of that is 2 Samuel chapter 13, and a young man by the name of Absalom. Absalom got very hurt over a situation that happened in his family. Now, what happened was wrong. There's no justification for it. But his half-brother raped his sister. And then his dad, who was also the king, did nothing about it. You think Absalom was hurt? Absolutely, he was hurt. You read all the way to the end of chapter 13. Two years later, he executes a plan that he'd been hatching for months and months and months and months to exact revenge because something wrong had happened to him. It was hurt in his family. I believe it was mentioned earlier in chapel this year, but Ahithophel would be another one who was an example of hurt in the family. Ahithophel, what was his relationship to Bathsheba? That was his granddaughter. And David had his grandson-in-law killed and then committed adultery with his granddaughter and Ahithophel was hurt. Now what happened was not right, but their responses were not right either. But sometimes you have hurt in family situations. Sometimes you have it because God allows trial. Sometimes there's hurt or disappointment in a ministry context. I'm gonna give you several quick examples here. I'm gonna give you several Bible illustrations. In Exodus chapter 17, we find a story with Moses. By the time we get to Exodus 17, Moses has already been to the burning bush. He's already done the signs in front of Pharaoh. He's already called down all the 10 plagues. The firstborns died. He's already led Israel out. The Red Sea has parted, all of that. And then in Exodus 17, four, Moses cried to the Lord saying, what shall I do unto this people? They'd be almost ready to stone me. After all of that, they turned on him and they were ready to stone him over something that was going on. Drop down to 1 Samuel chapter 8. In 1 Samuel chapter 8, the people of Israel come to the prophet Samuel and say, you're old. Thanks, I need you to tell me that, right? You're old and we don't want your sons. Make us a king so that we can be like all the other nations. How do you think Samuel felt about that? Do you think he was really excited to hear that they no longer had a use for his ministry or his kind of ministry? No, I think that was a hurt. David in 1st Samuel chapter 20, Dr. Ashley covered these things in great detail in chapel earlier this week. But in 1st Samuel chapter 20 verse 1, David ran away because Saul's trying to kill him and he went to Jonathan and he said, what have I done? What is mine iniquity? What is my sin before thy father that he seeketh my life? And then over and over again, David's father-in-law is trying to kill him. Was it because of any wrong that David had done? No, God had anointed, had sent Samuel to anoint David, and Saul is against that. In 1 Kings chapter 18, you have the prophets of Baal versus Elijah on Mount Carmel in a great victory. God answers with fire from heaven. And then 1 Kings 19 verses one and two, Ahab goes home and tells Jezebel. And what was Jezebel's response? She sent a messenger to Elijah, and I'm gonna paraphrase this, okay? But basically said, I'm gonna kill you, boy. Right? And how did Elijah respond? He was afraid he ran for his life. But had Elijah done anything wrong at that point, he was right where he was supposed to be doing exactly what God wanted him to do. And there was hurt and disappointment in doing the will of God. We will fast forward a little bit in the Old Testament, Jeremiah 32. Babylon is now a set siege to Jerusalem, Jeremiah 32 verse two, the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison. Why? Verse three, Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up saying, wherefore dost thou prophesy? And say, thus saith the Lord, behold, I'll give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon. Was Jeremiah doing his own thing? Or was he doing exactly what God wanted him to do in preaching that message? He was preaching the message God had given him and he got thrown in jail for it. If we fast forward to the New Testament, Peter and John got thrown into jail in Acts chapter four for preaching Jesus. Paul got thrown into jail a lot. We could go on, but there were others who had the same thing. Paul in 2 Corinthians 11 lists a whole lot of things. Stripes above measure, prisons more frequent, deaths all five times, 40 stripes save one, thrice beaten with rods, once stone, thrice shipwreck, a night and a day in the deep. Sign up to go on a mission strip with the apostle Paul. It's not just a ministry, it's an adventure. All of those things happen not because Paul was being judged for something but because he was right where God wanted him doing exactly what God wanted him to do. Sometimes hurt or disappointment comes in the midst of serving God or in the midst of ministry. Acts chapter 16, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into jail for simply preaching the gospel. Paul suffered other disappointment too. Second Timothy chapter four verse 10, We're told, blank, hath forsaken me. You know that one, right? Demas hath forsaken me. You think that was a real encouragement to Paul? Somebody that he had discipled and mentored and trained and who in an earlier epistle had been called a fellow laborer, somebody he considered a friend and a coworker has now changed direction. Changed ministries, he's going a totally different direction. Sometimes that happens. And then the ultimate example would be the Lord Jesus Christ who knew no sin. What kind of disappointments from a human standpoint, obviously he's God and he knows everything, but what kind of disappointments did Jesus experience? How about a hurt from somebody really close to him? He was being tried and he's illegally being tried at night instead of in the daytime. And one of his closest disciples is over there by the fire. And then he begins to say, no, I don't know him. I wasn't with him. And he begins to curse and swear and deny that he knew him. Who am I talking about? I'm talking about Peter. Jesus was close enough to look at him and make eye contact at that point. If he's at all points tempted like as we are, don't you think that was hurtful to his human nature? The Pharisees opposed Jesus at every turn for doing what was right. Isaiah 53 said he was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows. He was ultimately crucified for no wrongdoing of his own. So what am I saying? There are good things, but there are also times when doing the will of God, being right where you're supposed to be, doing what you should be doing can bring hurt and disappointment. Number one, the reality. Number two, responses to hurt and disappointment. And here's what I hope you will get as the crux of the message. It may be for today, but it may well be that this message is for a year from now or five years from now. But when something hurtful comes, whether it's a trial or a hurtful experience in ministry, Brother Facinda was here a week or two ago and talked about how he went on vacation and got voted out while he was gone, right? Pastor Camp on Tuesday referenced how very often folks will not give respect to a younger pastor and give difficulty and resistance instead of following the leadership. How you respond in those situations will determine the course of your life and the course of your ministry. Hurt is going to happen. The crux of the matter is, do you respond correctly? I want us to see two categories here. Number one, first of all, I want us to see natural but wrong responses. When Absalom was hurt, his sister was raped. What was his response? I'm going to get revenge. And he wasn't all that quiet about it because when the news first got to David it was, all your sons are dead. And the same advisor who had advised Amnon how to take advantage of Tamar tells David, no, no, no, he didn't kill all of them. He only killed Amnon. And this has been determined since the day that he forced his sister. Absalom, his natural response was revenge. Oh yeah, that's wrong. You ever been hurt? You ever decided to take matters into your own hands? That's a natural response, isn't it? Hithophel also sought for revenge, which is why he sided with Absalom in the rebellion. We mentioned 1 Kings 19 when Jezebel sends a message to Elijah and says, I'm going to kill you. How did Elijah respond? He ran away and had a pity party. Now that one we can probably identify with as well. He ran away. If you look at the map from where he started at Mount Carmel to where he ended up at Mount Horeb, 100 miles. Not on a motorized vehicle. He went a very long way, exerted a whole lot of effort to be by himself to throw himself a pity party. What happened? God found him in the cave. What are you doing here? And he begins to give his resume and tell how he's the only one who's doing anything for God. That's a wrong response, it's a natural response, but it's a wrong response. An unsaved man at the time, but Naaman in 2 Kings chapter five, when he showed up to be healed of his leprosy, Elisha sent out the servant and said, go tell him to dip in the Jordan. You know what Naaman's response was? The same thing that a lot of people today are tempted to respond. Wait a minute, that's it? That's boring. I expected a big show. He said, I thought he would come out and strike his hand over the place and he expected a big procession. In other words, if I could say it this way, he got an old fashioned service instead of fog machines and laser lights. But he didn't get what he was expecting and so he rejected God's instruction. Gehazi the servant, later on in 2 Kings 5, verses 20 and 21, Gehazi was disappointed because Naaman had brought big money to pay for a miracle. That was the way the false prophets work. Little miracle, little cost, big miracle, big money. He had brought a whole lot of money expecting to buy it. Elisha was trying to demonstrate that the God of heaven was different. And Gehazi's like, why aren't we taking the money? or if I could say it this way, I don't like being poor in the ministry. And I don't mean you're bad at it. Okay, so he said, I'm gonna go take some, I'm gonna take something from him. And he went and took garments and money from Naaman. That's a wrong response. It's a natural temptation, but it's a wrong response. I mean, Demas had a wrong response to difficulties in the ministry, did it not? Demas forsook Paul having loved this present world. So there's a lot of opportunity to respond incorrectly, but so you have natural but wrong responses. Now, let's look at some Bible examples of a right response. We're in Job, the end of Job chapter one, what does it say? Job fell down in worship, verse 21, naked came I out of my mother's womb, naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed, be the name of the Lord. Job recognized that God was in charge. Job did not worship here based off of his feelings. You understand that? He was emotionally drained. He was financially drained. He was in a turmoil. He worshiped here by choice. I'm going to choose to remember that God's on the throne and God's in charge even though I don't understand what's going on. Job worshiped God by choice. In 1 Samuel chapter 8, Samuel obeyed the word of the Lord. God says, they've not really rejected you, Samuel, they've rejected me. Go ahead and make him a king. So Samuel made him a king, but you know what? Samuel didn't say, all right, fine, done with you, that's it. Samuel continued to be God's messenger to Saul and even to pray for Saul the rest of Samuel's life. How did he respond to disappointment? He obeyed God's Word and served faithfully in spite of rejection. Jeremiah the prophet is thrown into jail for preaching God's Word. What did he do? He continued to preach God's Word. He continued to give the message even though it wasn't the most popular one and certainly was not getting the highest ratings on television. How did Paul respond? 2 Timothy 4.10 says, Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world. But in the verses prior to that, what does Paul say? I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Paul determined that he was going to keep the faith regardless of what anybody else did. He maintained a resolve of heart to serve God because that's what was right and because that's what was God's word demanded regardless of what anybody else did. That's a right response. That's what we hope you are learning in Bible college is to say no matter what anybody else does, I'm going to serve God because it's right. Philippians 3, Paul said, I pressed toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God. Now, Peter is another one that experienced disappointment. Why do you think he denied Jesus? Because this wasn't how he expected things to go. He was disappointed. We thought this was it, and it wasn't. But when Jesus met with him and restored fellowship with him, we'll say it that way, how did Peter respond? He went back out and served the Lord. Sometimes there's a tendency to say, well, I've messed up, so I guess that's it, I'm done. Peter could have very easily say, it's hard to do anything worse than what I've done. I cursed and denied the Lord, and I denied him to his face, so I'm done. I may as well go get another job now. God forgave him. Jesus restored him, and then what did Peter do? He went back to serving the Lord. Peter served the Lord faithfully, became a spokesman, and eventually gave his life as a martyr for the Savior he had one time denied. do not use failure as an excuse to quit and not do anything in the future. Because if your expectation is perfection, it's not gonna happen. There's only one person who's ever walked the face of the earth who could live a perfection, that's the Lord Jesus Christ. All of us have failed, have sinned, and will do so in the future. Not intentionally, but we will. Peter's response was to seek forgiveness and restoration and then serve God again. And that's what you and I must do. And then our ultimate example is the Lord Jesus Christ. What did Jesus do? Did he give up and quit? No. In the garden, he said, Father, not my will, but thine be done. He said, I have meat that you know not of. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. Jesus maintained a focus on the task that God had given him regardless of what others around him did. I understand this. We see the reality of hurt. We see responses to hurt. But number three, I want you to see with me rewards to remember in times of hurt and disappointment. Rewards to remember in times of hurt or disappointment. The difference in the positive and negative responses that we've looked at, whether it's revenge, or whether it's pity party, or whether it's looking for a different style of ministry, because this didn't go how I thought it was going to go. That is all a focus on people and self. The right responses, you know, to worship the Lord by choice and to faithfully serve in spite of rejection and to faithfully preach God's word regardless of who wants to hear it and to finish the course, those are the result of a focus on God, God's word and God's will. Really, the response is a result of focus. So I want you to focus with me on the rewards that are offered. I want to try to illustrate this in what I hope you will understand to be an absurd example, okay? If your focus is on, well, I'm doing this because this is the way my pastor does it, this is the way my parents do it, this is the way we do it at Ambassador, et cetera, you will be more easily moved. Okay, if you are coming to the place in your life where you say, this is what the Bible says, this is what God's word says, so this is what I have to do. This is my direction, this is my commitment, regardless of what anybody else does. Now you're shifting from, if I could say it this way, adolescence to spiritual adulthood. That's the shift, this is what God's word says. But if you're simply doing it because the leadership does things, a certain way, you will be swayed. So let's just suppose that we'll use our most tenured professor as an illustration. Let's just suppose that you come back in a couple of years and you find out that brother Spencer has gone to open collared shirt, skinny jeans, fuzzed up haircut, you know, lights and you know, whatever Bible version fits the message he wants to give that week. Not only that, the worship leader of this assembly is none other than Dwayne Reen, okay? Can you picture that with the guitar and the microphone on a stand? Little, you know, appropriate jewelry, jeans, no socks, loafers, you get the picture? That's why I said, I hope you'd recognize this as an absurd example. But let's just suppose that happened. Are you gonna say, well, I guess that's it. I guess we're not doing anything this way anymore. This is the way to do it now. Are you basing your direction on what somebody else does? Or are you taking the scripture that they're trying to teach you, studying it for yourself and making your own decisions? This is what God's word says. This is how we ought to go forward. Those that simply responded based on what others do were more likely to get off track. How do I, how do I respond correctly? What reward should I remember? How should I respond? Jesus is our ultimate example. But if when hurt comes, we need to remember the rewards that God's promised. Here's what we need to do. First of all, we must release the right to any revenge. We must release the right to revenge. Or if I should say this another way, forgive those that hurt you. The word in the New Testament for forgive means to release, to release from an obligation. You understand, you can release someone in your heart from an obligation whether they ever ask you for that or not. You can purpose in your heart, I am not going to hang on to this. I'm going to let it go. That's what Jesus said in Luke 23, 24. He said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. In Romans chapter 12, verse 19, we read this. It's a quote from the Old Testament. It says, Vengeance is mine. I will repay. Saith who? The Lord. You got to release your right to revenge. Maybe they did hurt you. Maybe it was wrong. Maybe it never should have happened. But if you're seeking for revenge, it's going to draw you away from God's will for your life. Number two, you got to recognize that the character of God does not change when man changes. God's character has not changed, and God's word has not changed, even though others may change their direction. That's why I said a focus on men, whether I'm just blindly following leadership, or whether I'm just responding to how people, a focus on men will get you off track. A focus on God, God's word, God's will, that's what keeps me where I need to be when hurt and disappointment comes. Number three, reach for the prize that God offers. Philippians chapter 3 says, Paul says, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. If your prize is recognition, if your prize is fame or wealth, if your prize is being considered successful by whoever's approval you seek, whether that's your social media followers, whether that's a Christian periodical, whether that's your friends, if that's your measure of success, then when things don't go like you thought they would, you'll be tempted to find a new direction. That's what Gehazi did. He didn't like the style of ministry, didn't like how things were going. So he said, I'm gonna go a different way. There's another example in 2 Chronicles chapter 28, 2 Chronicles 28 verse 23. This is speaking of King Ahaz, who was not as familiar, but I'll just tell you this. He was the grandson of Uzziah. Okay, had a godly grandfather, had a godly dad, and then he decided to change course. But it says this in 2 Chronicles 28, verse 23, he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him. And he said, because the gods of the king of Syria helped them, therefore I'll sacrifice to them so they can help me. In other words, I don't see the success that I think I ought to see. So now I'm going to chase something else that looks successful. If you're measuring success by man's view instead of by God's measuring stick, you'll be tempted to change your methodology, to change your message, to change your Bible, to change whatever else to achieve what you have deemed to be success. That wasn't Paul's focus. He said, I pressed toward the mark for the prize of what? The high calling of God. If you are learning to say, I do this because this is what the scripture says here, and this is what the scripture says here, this is what the scripture says here, then it's as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. This is what we're doing, and we're gonna try to find a like-minded church or start one to perpetuate the truth of scripture. If it's simply, well, this is what we've always done, or this is what seems to be working, then you will be tempted to get off course. I have a list in my notes here, I wouldn't dare to read names, but I have a list in my notes here of over a dozen names, friends, former students, colleagues, whatever, who have dealt with hurt and disappointment. Some of them did what was right. I mean, I'm thinking of a family who lost a child to an accident. They didn't give up on God. They continue to serve God and work through their hurt like Job did. But there are others who got into ministry and then things didn't go exactly the way they thought it would. You know what they said? Well, if this is what independent baptism is, I don't want anything to do with it. And they've gone a different direction. There are some that said, well, I've done this long enough. And now I'm going to go do something else. There are some that said, well, if I make a paycheck with enough zeros on it, I can do more in supporting missions than if I go myself. There are some that, I mean, I would agree they have been mistreated and things that happened to them were not right. But the response was to change the direction because of the people, not because of, well, this is what God's Word says. It's a response to being hurt. My plea to you this morning is that you choose to focus on the reward of Scripture, the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. I fought a good fight. I finished my course. I have kept what? The faith. that you choose to focus on who God is, where you remember that God's character doesn't change when man does, and that you determine, I'm going to follow God's will and what I understand from God's word, I'm gonna follow that no matter what anybody else does. I mean, I use these examples because I believe you'd understand that to be hyperbole. I don't think Brother Spencer is looking to go the direction I described. You know Brother Ream isn't looking to go the direction I described with music. But you need to make up your mind, even if they do, I'm sticking in this plow furrow because this is what God's Word says regardless of who decided to change their direction or change their course. Wow, that hurts. There are things in life that hurt. Sometimes it's because other people are sinners too and they hurt us. Sometimes it's because we brought it on ourselves. Sometimes it's simply because God allowed a trial. But you gotta make up your mind now before those things hit, no matter what men may do to me, I'm gonna try to follow the example of Jesus. In closing, would you turn to our theme verse for this school year? What's our theme verse? Hebrews 12, verse two. Hebrews 12 and verse 2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, and what's the next word? Endured. It doesn't say enjoyed. He put up with things for a bigger purpose. For who endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down on the right hand of the throne of God. Our example is the Lord Jesus. The Bible says He endured contradiction of sinners against Himself. He put up with things that were wrong. He was mistreated, but He had a goal in mind. Psalm says, I delight to do thy will. Oh my God, that's quoted again in the book of Hebrews. But Jesus' focus was on the task that His Father has given Him. You must purpose now that my focus will be on the task that God has given me. Whether when it's fun, that's great. When it's hard, stay at it. When it hurts, that's the time to stay at it too. When it hurts, you focus on God, not on other people, and trust him to take care of the circumstances that are outside of your control. I don't know that you're going through that right now. But I believe this message is just as much preparatory as it is for the present, but there's application for both. Will you purpose in your heart, I am going to serve God, regardless of whoever or whatever comes along with the Lord's help, this is what I'm gonna do. And how are we gonna do that? Looking unto Jesus. Would you bow your heads with me?