Well, I've got to say this is probably one of the most friendly churches that we go to. We appreciate you all for bringing I'll be the first one down there, so. Anyway, it's been about a year since we've been here, so I know I didn't age any. Anyway, we're thankful for, you know, God has allowed us to have another year of ministry and thankful for your back, maybe not even that long, from Benin, West Africa. That was our latest trip. Before that we were in the country of Lebanon. And before that, I don't know where we were. It was too far back. I can't remember that far back. But thankful for what the Lord is doing in the country of Benin. We're going to show some pictures of that for you this morning. We came home around the end of the month of August and about a week or so after we got home, the president of the country, all private unregistered clinics had to close their doors. And prior to that, they made another rule saying that no clinic, no private clinic could be registered in the country using a health care worker that worked for the government. And so our clinic had been registered with the country using a healthcare worker that worked for the government. So that made us now unregistered. And then the second rule was all unregistered clinics had to close. And so as I stand here today, the clinic in Benin is closed. We're trusting that it'll be temporary. We are actually in the process, we have another Christian doctor who is going to register the clinic for us and that application is being finalized to be submitted to the government and we're hoping that within a few weeks anyway, we're willing, the clinic will be open again. It's unfortunate that the only people it hurts are the people that need it the most. A really sad situation. in West Africa. And so when we were there, we were there for about two weeks. Let's say it probably rained almost every day that we were there, part of the day. There were a couple of days maybe that it didn't rain, but it was raining and they were telling us when we were there that it was probably one of the more rainy seasons that people could remember. continue to rain and it rained so much that a lot of people have lost their homes and bridges have been destroyed and so it's a very difficult situation right now in northern part of Benin for the average person. Many of these people live in houses that are made out of mud bricks. And so many people's houses have been destroyed, completely destroyed as a result. And so the clinic staff now is, instead of being open for business to treat medical problems, the clinic staff is helping with relief efforts for these people. And I'll show you some pictures of that as well. So a lot is going on in Benin right now. but we're thankful that God has established the clinic. While we were there, we were there for the one year anniversary of the clinic being open. It's been about six years or so in process and open last August, and so when we were there this time, it was the one year anniversary. And there have been between seven and 8,000 people treated in the clinic in that one year. And some of those people have been repeat customers, we'll say. So they feel about 12,000 people have passed through the doors of the clinic in this one year. And praise the Lord, they all heard the gospel. And people have been saved. So God is doing a great work there. I'm going to stop talking and show you some pictures. Well, I won't stop talking, but I'll show you some pictures anyway. I'll probably stand over here off to the side a little bit so you can see. This is the actual clinic building, the main building of the clinic. And so it's been, like I said, open for about a year now. And so we were there in August. So I'm going to tell you a few stories this morning. And the first story is the story of water and mud. So this is the main road to get into the clinic from the next village. So you can see the road is full of water and mud. And while we were there, we tried to do a clinic in an outlying village. And we got partway there and you see the water across the road there. We were actually able to get through this section. You see this dry road up ahead. But once we passed that dry road, we came to this section, which was completely covered. And for as far as you can see, to that village that we were supposed to go. And you can see, these are the houses that I talked about. These are mud brick houses. All of these houses are gone now in this particular area here. And this is the bridge, main bridge that we had to cross to get to where we were. never seen the water this high to this bridge. Well today, that bridge is no longer there. It's completely destroyed. And so the missionaries are currently actually kind of cut off from getting to the main city where they get a lot of their household supplies. which has been washed out there. So major, major flooding there in Benin. So you see the water and the mud. This poor guy here, when I say poor guy, I mean, he was riding his motorcycle at breakneck speed for some reason. I said to my wife, nothing good is going to happen. And just shortly after I took that picture, he was on the ground with his motorcycle. And then there was the mud. This is Dr. Boutris, Dr. Steve Boutris, who is our medical doctor there in Benin. And we were going again to another village to do some house visits and got stuck in the mud. And I mean stuck in the mud. And you see the men trying to get that truck out. You see this says episode one. So it actually took four hours to get out of that mud there. And the only way we could get out is we had to call another missionary to come and pull him out with a chain. And we pulled him out and then that truck got stuck, the missionary truck in the mud. We got that out and then Dr. Steve was trying to turn his truck around and guess what? It got stuck in the mud. So it was quite an ordeal. Episode 2, much the same. Going to another village, we got stuck again in the mud. And it's interesting because the road doesn't look that wet. And all of a sudden, you're driving and all of a sudden you just drop into the mud. Very close, very close. This was supposed to be our lunch that day we were going to that place that we had to turn around because the water washed out the road. This is spaghetti sauce. Spaghetti sauce. on the back of a truck with the lid not tied down. There was nothing left in that blue container. So anyway, those are things that happened along the way. So the story of mud and water is continuing there, and there seems to be kind of no end in sight. It's still rainy season all the way through September into October, so we don't know exactly what's gonna happen. The story of Mercy, here you see we did a house call with Dr. Steve here to this patient who had actually been stabbed in the back by a relative, I think, in some disagreement, into his kidney and caused an infection in his kidney. Anyway, he actually is doing a lot better now. But we went to visit him at his home and Dr. Steve got to pray with him and also share his testimony, Dr. Steve's testimony of salvation with the parents, the Muslim parents of this patient. So, God gives many opportunities for the gospel to be shared. We were staying with Dr. Steve Butcherson, his wife Kat and Katrina. They live sort of next door to the clinic. And then one night, Dr. Steve got a call from one of the staff saying that a man had come to the clinic with a machete wound in his head. And so I went with them to see what was going on. I'm pretty nosy sometimes, but anyway. I didn't show you the wound in his head on purpose, but you see this man, he had probably about maybe a five, six inch gash in the top of his head from a machete. Fortunately, it did not crack through his skull. And he also had several wounds on his hand from probably trying to defend himself from the attack. So here you see one of the staffs stitching up his head, and then Dr. Steeve stitching up his hand here. So it's kind of a violent society over there. They settle things by fighting, oftentimes. But actually, that man is doing quite well now. What you see, there's no lack of medical issues to take care of. This man has a large sore on his ankle area there and they're actually doing an IV to give him some medicine to actually put him to sleep so that they can actually take care of that wound on his leg. This man, I forget the story that was involved with this man, but he actually lost the tip of a couple of his fingers there in some kind of an accident, so they're tending to him. This man, unfortunately, is dying. He has heart failure. And he comes in periodically to have his abdomen drained of fluid that goes up there. And this young man over here is currently in medical school. The Christian man, his father's a pastor in the country of Niger, which is just above. So we're praying for him that he would continue along that path. So he was observing, he was doing kind of an internship there when we were there. This was another emergency. I think this was on a Sunday afternoon that this young boy, the night before, was on a motorcycle, fallen off, fell off the motorcycle. And so the next day, they brought this young boy to the clinic. The other man that was driving that broke his leg has decided not to go to the clinic, but to see a traditional healer, like a witch doctor, for his broken leg. And so that man will probably never walk again, because he won't get the care that he needs. And so, you see, this is the x-ray over here on the right side. Actually, you can't see the other one, but both bones were broken. And then, this boy was put in a cast. So, he will walk again one day, probably in several weeks' time. That will heal. And he'll walk again. So, thankful for mercy. that we can show to people through the clinic. And this is the problem with the clinic now being closed. Those types of things, people have no recourse. There are government clinics there, but people traditionally don't go to the government clinics because the care is so bad. They would rather go to a traditional healer, not realizing that the care is even worse. facilities. But the story of Hope here, this is a pastor, not the pastor, the pastor's sister, she works now in the clinic as an evangelist. And so she comes as people are sitting, waiting, sometimes they have to sit for quite a while waiting, sharing the gospel with the people that are waiting. The people have already heard the gospel as they come to register, but when they come inside, We have staff evangelists that work there in the clinic full-time and share the gospel with people. So you see Esther here sharing the gospel with patients that are waiting. So when we were there, they didn't have a woman that could do that. In this culture, the women share with the women, the men share with the men. So it's good that she has decided to serve the Lord in this way. So that's been good. As I mentioned, prior to anybody actually entering into the clinic building, they hear the gospel here in what we call the evangelism center. register to be seen by the doctor, they register at this window here. But even before they can register, we have two other evangelists that share the gospel with them. We have two because one shares in French and then the other shares in the local language, which is Dendic, so people can hear it in whatever language they speak. So that goes on every day. Also, inside the building, while they're waiting, there's a monitor here, and on the monitor is evangelistic films in the local language that are being played over and over again. And even some of the clinic staff have recorded their testimony of salvation to be played as people are waiting. And you see them on the tracks that they were doing as well. So we try not to let anyone escape. My wife had the opportunity while we were there to share her testimony and encouragement to in the village of Boifo, where the clinic is located. And two of these ladies, the lady in the yellow covering there and this lady here, have both professed salvation previously. And it's an interesting story. Both of these ladies are from quite a distance away from the clinic. And they have very large wounds on their legs. And so these wounds have to be treated over a long period of time. They actually come to the clinic every other day to get their dressing changed. And so because they live so far away, they are staying in the village of Boifo while they're being treated. And as they've been staying there, people from the church I've been sharing the gospel with them, and they have been saved, these two ladies, Muslim women have been saved. So, here they are, here. I don't, I can't remember their name. Yeah, so that's what they are. I couldn't hear my wife. So anyway, these two ladies have been saved, so we're praying that the Lord will send you to work in their situation. And so that was the story of mercy. Now we have the story of training. This is a young man here. His name is Latifu. And Latifu has been trained as a lab technician, somebody who reads slides in a microscope. He's a very smart young man. And a few years ago, when we were going, Latifu started helping us first with translation and then He had a real interest in what I was doing, and so he was assisting me after a while. And I let him take out a couple of teeth here and there, loose ones and stuff. But now, we are actually training him to be a dentist. And in the end, if he is trained by a dentist and works under the supervision of a medical clinic like this, he can actually be a dentist, they would call him like a technician, a dental technician, but he can actually treat people. And so while we were there this time, most of what I did was train him, I assisted him. And I took out very few teeth, and he did most of the work. So you see him here, he's actually cleaning the teeth of one of the missionaries there. And then one of the staff people, cleaning their teeth as well. And you see him there. Again, this is that Mordecai who's learning all aspects of what goes on there in the clinic, helping out. And then we would, when Motifu would take out some teeth, I would save those teeth, and I would embed them in plaster, and then he would actually get some training in how to drill on those teeth. So he's starting to learn now how to do fillings. Not that we do a lot of fillings there, unfortunately, but it does come up from time to time. So he is learning how to do that as well. So he's a very, very smart young man. And I have to be careful because So I've got to be careful I'm doing it the right way. Sometimes you get into these habits of shortcuts and stuff. I've seen him do a couple of those, and I said, oh, wait a minute. Anyway, he's been just a real blessing to work with. And then just people, furry people. This is my wife with Dr. Steve's wife, Kat. This was on one of the house visits that we did. got stabbed in his kidney. You can see how high the horn is. Unfortunately, the rain is also destroying the corn and other crops that they grow there. So, people are in a bad way. And then, the Butresses took us out to dinner one day in the next village city. Actually, they can't get to the city now because the bridge to treat a lot of the missionaries and their kids while we were there. So the clinic wasn't as busy with dental patients as it normally was for some reason. And partly, they think it was because of the rain. People don't come out as much in the rain. And also, while we were there, the second week we were there, there was a Muslim holiday. And the holiday was remembering Abraham's sacrifice of Ishmael. As the Muslims teach that it was Ishmael that Abraham was going to sacrifice. So actually, it was a three-day holiday, a big deal. They killed a lamb, similar to Israel's celebration of Passover. And so the clinic was a little bit slower. So we got an opportunity to treat several of the missionary, well, all of the missionary families that were there. So that was a blessing for them to do that. And then my wife and I would go for a walk, usually, and just the kids, it was so cute there. And you see this girl, I mean, this is so typical, this girl. brother or sister that they're carrying around to see kids raising kids. It's kind of sad, actually, but it's cute and lovely. And then they're never too young to be helping out. And so this boy is collecting whatever that is, probably for their cow or goats or something. as well. And then, I mean, you just see scenes like this everywhere. I don't think you would drive down 495 like that. Anyway. And then this is the staff of the clinic. And with Dr. Steve and his wife Kat, who's a nurse as well. And you see, this is the P4 I showed you before. And so, this man is one of the evangelists, as well as this man. I mean, it's just a great group to work with, and God is really blessed. They're all Christians, they all attend the church, which is essentially next door to the clinic, and God is really blessed, the clinic, with good staff, and God is bringing others. Well, right now it's full of water and mud, but we are looking to the Lord for direction. Let's see, we saw these candles and I just, it looks like that one in the middle there is kind of looking. So, but two major areas for prayer. One is quick approval of the clinic license application, which It's supposed to be submitted, I don't know if it's actually been submitted yet, but in the next day or so it hasn't been. And then wisdom regarding relief efforts due to the flooding and loss of homes. Since I put this presentation together, I got these pictures actually yesterday. from Katrina and this is some of the staff putting together clothing, supplies to give out to some of the people that have been affected, that lost their homes. So this is the group, they have identified the staff and local pastor identified a particular village to kind of target to help. And so they actually brought each family a bag of rice, a big bag of rice, and then they put together a bag of clothing to give to these people. But before they did that, they shared the gospel with them. So people hearing the gospel and seeing the bags of rice that they would get and then clothing that they would get. As a result of this particular effort, which I think took place Friday or Saturday of this past week. Three of the people who have expressed interest in the Gospel and provided their contact information with a request for us to maintain contact. So, even though God is not using the operation of the clinic for medical reasons, He's still using the staff here to reach out with the Gospel. So, we want to pray for wisdom regarding how much to get involved with that and what the particular needs of the people are there. My wife and I appreciate your prayers for us and we're thankful for just the partnership we have with you. You're a real blessing to us all, so thanks. If anyone would have a quick question while I'm just kind of reorganizing myself. Well, obviously, we'll be here to answer any questions that might come up. Jack, is there resistance, since you're mostly There is not resistance as such because there is such a need and the people really recognize that they need this clinic and many of them have been helped tremendously by the clinic so there is no There's overt resistance, or covert resistance to it, you know, behind the scenes and things like that. Actually, the distribution of the rice and the kolbe, the story was that they had identified this particular village and these people to help. And they contacted the chief of that particular village to tell him, we want to help your people. And could you tell the people, the head of each family, to meet us there? And we'll distribute the stuff to them. Well, the chief wanted to be the one to distribute the stuff. He didn't want the staff to be doing that. And so when they went to do it, there was nobody there except the chief. And he wanted them to leave the stuff with him. He had never told the people. that clinic staff was going to bring stuff. So they left. They said, no, that's not the way we're going to do this. And so they actually were able to do it the way they wanted to by getting the people together. And then there has also been a mosque built very close to the clinic. It wasn't there before. Now there's a moss right, you know, you can see it from the robe at the clinic. So, you know, they are, we'll say tolerating it because they need it. And I think they're a little bit intimidated because people are, you know, people really like it and people are getting saved. So, you know, but again, the need of medical care is, overriding their hatred of Christianity. And then they're seeing, not only are they being well treated, but they're seeing the compassion of Christ demonstrated to them. And then they hear the message of what Christ has done for them. And it's hard not to be affected by that. The Islamic people who do make a commitment to the Lord, I imagine that's difficult for them. It's very difficult. It's very difficult for them to continue because they're so tied to their families, their support. These families share everything because nobody has a lot. So if you become a Christian, it's very difficult. And so oftentimes in Islamic countries like this, there might be more people that have trusted Jesus as their savior, but they don't tell anybody for fear. We see that in in Lebanon where we were prior to this trip, where several people have been saved in the ministry that we're working with there. They don't want to go forward in baptism or they don't want to tell their family members that they're living with. We treat refugees from Syria, so again, it's the same kind of thing. They're all living, like, together in a small group, and to advertise the fact that you're not a Christian, you would be thrown out of that group, at the least. Some countries, yeah, that was in Saudi Arabia, it was a place like that. When you said that the Muslim religion sacrifices Ishmael instead of Isaac, what do they use, how do they eliminate Isaac from the situation? Well, you know, I don't... know particularly how they get around that they just they just tell you that you know the bible their their phrase is that the bible has been corrupted and they feel that because you know they use things like The fact that we have many different versions of the Bible, like the King James Version, we have these other versions of the Bible, they just say that the Bible has been corrupted. And so they'll use that as a reason to defend the Quran, which teaches that it was Ishmael, not Isaac. Ishmael was the son of promise, not Isaac. So that's why I think a lot of times, Just trying to witness to them is more difficult because there's always an answer. I remember being raised Roman Catholic, there's always an answer. But if you are seeing a demonstration of love, that is hard to ignore. We were told by a lady, a Muslim, refugees, Syrian refugees. We were told by her in Lebanon, when we were in Lebanon, she has been saved. She has been saved in Lebanon. And she told us that she believed God allowed the war in Syria so that these refugees would come to Lebanon and hear the gospel. And who are they hearing it from? Who is helping them in Lebanon? It's the Christians that are helping them. It's not the Muslims in Lebanon that are helping them. It's the Christians that are helping them. And so for the first time, they see what Christianity is really like, rather than what they've been told in Syria. So God is using that in a great way. Anyway, all right. I think if it's OK, I'll just stay right here, because I'm on my own. Nobody's going to want to see that video. Anyway, I want us to look at Psalm 46 this morning, if we can, in a few minutes. I'm starting to smell the pizza even though it's not here yet. I'm anticipating it's coming, so we'll just look here at God's Word. I hate to say the word briefly, look in God's word, because we know that God's word is very important for us to spend a lot of time in. But in the last, actually a couple of days, God has impressed this psalm in my mind. And so I want to share some thoughts from Psalm 46. and then we'll pray and we'll look at some thoughts. We're also gonna be not totally in Psalm 46, but here in Psalm 46, verse one, it says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth is removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved. God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth. He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder. He burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted how we can be encouraged through it, how we can be convicted by it, and how we can learn from it. And so we pray this morning that you would work with us in a way that is appropriate for each one of us. We pray that you would use your word to be an encouragement to us today. Thank you for your faithfulness, thank you for your sovereignty over all of the events, both in the world and even in our own lives day to day. Thank you that you love us and you care about us, that you've told us you will never leave us nor forsake us. So we look to you today, this morning, to encourage us through your word. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Recently, you know, there's been a lot going on in the world, you know, for us, just thinking about the things that have been happening in Benin regarding the flooding and so on. But, you know, what we've been hearing in the news about the hurricane down south and the devastation in some of the places there. We have some good friends in New Bern, North Carolina, which seems to be one of the real places that was hardest hit by the hurricane and you know people have been, people's lives have been lost. We also have friends in the island of Guam in the Pacific and they were just affected by a typhoon this past week as well, not the devastation that was predicted thankfully. And then right near where we live, the next towns from Thursday night. We were caught in the traffic from that with all of this going on there. Scary things. One of the people that we know couldn't get to his house from work. He couldn't go home. He didn't know even what the condition of his house was, if it was still there or not. So there's a lot of things going on around us. It sounds like Matthew coming to life. Yeah, I mean we could imagine all kinds of things as we see all of these things. We know that God could come at any time, Jesus could come at any time, so we see all of these things happen, we start to wonder. As Christians, we look at it from a biblical perspective, but Unfortunately, a lot of people who don't know the Lord as their Savior, they get angry. They get angry. Why is God allowing this to happen? Why does God allow people to die in these kinds of things? Well, we know we're all going to die. There's going to be a way we're going to die at some point in time. And no one is going to escape that unless the Lord comes while we're still alive and brings us home. But in Psalm 46, verse 1, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not be fearful, we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of sea, though the waters thereof roar in trouble, though the mountains shake with swelling thereof. So no matter what is going on around us in these events, fortunately, I don't think any one of us here were affected firsthand from any of these things that we just talked about. But it could have been us. It could have been us. And we worry about those things. But I think the psalm is telling us, don't worry about those things. a very present help in trouble. And so this idea of refuge, God is our refuge, is like a fortress, a stronghold, a place of trust. And it's interesting, as you listen to the news, prior to the hurricane down south, people were taking refuge. They were telling people to go to a place where you know you'll be safe. Go to a place where you know you'll be safe. And that's how it describes God here. God is our refuge. God is our refuge. He is a place, a person that we know will bring safety. So God is our refuge. Proverbs chapter 18, verse 10 says, the name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and is safe. God as a refuge is describing God, it emphasizes God's protection over our lives. God is sovereign in the events of our lives. During last winter, we live in a little suburb of Lowell, Massachusetts. And one day, we were driving, my wife and I were driving, I think, to the mission office. And we were going down this side street that goes out onto a main road that runs along the Merrimack River. And to get, as we go down this side street, then we have to go down this hill to get to that main road. Well, as often happens, I wasn't paying attention. to what I was doing. It was a snowy morning, and as I was approaching that hill to go down, I didn't think fast enough that I needed to be driving slower. And so I started going down that hill too fast, and I put the brakes on, and nothing happened. We went down that hill and out into that main street without stopping. And I could just see us being killed in my mind. But there was no one coming. There was no one coming. And we just went out, turned, and went up the street like nothing happened. I mean, it was amazing. I would say nine times out of 10, when I go down that hill, I have to stop. because of the oncoming traffic. And that day I did it. There's a Lord. God is my protection. If God wanted me to die that day, he could have taken me, but that's not my point in time, and I'm thankful for that. So anyway, God is our refuge. He's our place of protection that we need to go when things are going on around us that are causing, we'll say, anxiety. He's also our strength. He's our refuge and our strength. This emphasizes God's power to protect, to bear us up under our burdens. God is a source of strength to those who are weak. No one has to tell me that I'm weak. If God before Romans chapter 8 tells us that God before us, who can be against us? God is on our side, we don't have to worry. He is our source of strength in times of difficulty. And then it says he is a very present help. This emphasizes in the Greek, I'm not a Greek scholar, but in the Greek of this just emphasizes that He is sufficient and He is sufficient for whatever problem we have. God is sufficient to help us through that problem. A help that has been found, a help found or experienced in the past, that we have found God to be sufficient for whatever our problem is. I'm sure there are many of us here today that have had problems in the past that God has helped us with. We pray and God has helped us with those problems. We thank God for helping us with those problems. And that is what this idea is, a very sufficient, he's a very present help, or sufficient for any problem that we have. And all we need to do is remember those times when he's helped us in the past. That's what the psalmist is talking about here. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in what? In trouble, in trouble. He's a very present help in trouble. Is there anyone here who has not had trouble or trials or difficulty in their lives? God is a very present help in trouble. He is the same God today that helped us in the last problem we had. And so He knows what is going on in our life. Because of the truth of that first verse, that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help and trouble was Thomas went on to say in verses 2 and 3, removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, we will not fear." Well, I wish I could say that, that I don't fear, ever, when I'm in trouble. I think we all need to have our faith increased. There are times when trouble seems to overwhelm us. Overwhelm us. The fear overcomes, we'll say, our faith. Because we look at the trouble and we say, there's no way this is going to end up being good. Rather than saying, a very present problem, a trouble. And so I was thinking about that, and God brought to my mind Daniel chapter 3. Daniel chapter 3. You know the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So let's turn there briefly to Daniel chapter 3. I never really thought of this before in a particular way. But you know, in the book of Daniel, the first part of the book of Daniel, Daniel and these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were taken captive from Israel to Babylon. And they were put in the court of the king of Babylon. And they were ordered to eat the food that the king's men ate. And Daniel and these three other men, the Bible tells us that Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's meat. These were things that as believers in the living God, they were not supposed to eat. This was a command to them by God to not eat these particular things that the Babylonians wanted them to eat. And so these men said, we are going to obey God. not the Babylonians. And so they decided not to eat the king's meat. And God blessed that. And they actually were stronger because of that than those that ate the Babylonian food. And so God blessed that effort. And then in Daniel chapter 3, another decree came from the king. He built this statue, and all of the people were supposed to bow down and worship this statue of the king. And it got back to the other men that were in the king's court that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not doing that. They were not bowing down to the statue. They refused to do that because they, again, would rather obey God's law than what man had decreed. And so, in verse 14 of chapter three, it says, Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, to these three men, is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now, if ye be ready, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbutt, psaltery, and dulcimer, in all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the image which I have made. Well, but if you worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" Well, that's trouble. That's trouble. These young men had a choice to make, either disobey God and fall down and worship this statue, or be thrown into this fiery furnace and be killed. So that was their choice. It says in verse 16, this is their response to the king. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we be not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. And he will deliver us out of thy hand, O King." So, these young men had such confidence in God. I mean, it is amazing the confidence that they had in God. They knew They exemplified, they said, Psalm 46, verse 1, God is a help in trouble. And so, they said, He is able and He will deliver us out of thy hand, O King. Well, in my mind, I'm thinking, I'm thinking that they are thinking, that the king is not going to throw them into that furnace. That somehow God is going to stop that from happening. That trouble is not going to come to them. But what happens? Let's read from verse 17. If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Sadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heaped. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning, fiery furnace. These men were bound in their coats, their hoses, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace." Wow. I look at my situation in relationship to God, and I say to God, keep me from trouble. Keep me from trouble. What does God say? God says, I might not keep you from trouble. Amen. And I thought of that, you know, in response to the questions that people have, saying, why does God allow this to happen? Why does God allow hurricanes? Why does God allow earthquakes? Why does God, whatever. And, you know, sometimes trouble is good for us. That's right, that's what I mean. Trouble is good for us. So these young men, I don't know what they were thinking. I don't know if they were thinking, God is not going to allow this to happen. He's not going to allow this king to throw us in this furnace. I wonder what they were thinking as they were going into the furnace. I wonder what they were thinking. Were they thinking, oh no, we were wrong about God? Or were they thinking, OK, so what's the next step, God? But sometimes I think. I think, as Christians, we might think, God, this is a mistake. You shouldn't be allowing me to have to go through this problem that I'm in. But no, God has his reasons for allowing things to happen in our lives. And so these men were thrown into this furnace. And it looked like the king won, we'll say, the battle here. But these young men were resolved to not do something that they knew was opposed to what God was teaching them, to worship this idol. They said, we would rather obey God, not in those terms, we would rather obey God than you, King Nebuchadnezzar. Much like Peter and the apostles when they were told not to not to share the gospel with the people in the book of Acts, they said, we must obey God rather than men. And so these men were thrown into this fiery furnace. Well, what happens then, verse 21, then these three were bound in their coats, their hosing, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent and the furnace exceeding hot, a flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and rose up in haste and spake and said unto his counselors, did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king, they answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no herd, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. So God was there in the furnace with them. We can apply this, I think, to any trouble that we are in. Where is God? In the midst of the trouble. Not causing the trouble, but helping us through the trouble. A very present help in trouble. That is our God. So, in the face of challenges like this that come up in our life, I mean, some of you here may be facing challenges that I couldn't even imagine facing myself. But in the midst of challenges like this, or troubles as Psalm 46 talks about, that come into our lives, what does God tell us to do as recorded back in Psalm 46? Psalm 46 verse 10 says there, My wife would probably quote this verse. I think this is her favorite verse. Be still and know that I am God. Amen. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted to the earth. And as I looked at this verse, I learned, actually, for the first time, that I always thought this verse, that God was talking specifically to us as Christians. Be still and know that I am here. It also applies here that God was talking to the heathen, the ones who were afflicting God's people, and telling them to let go of these troubles that you're bringing upon Christians. Because it says here in verse 10, I believe in some respects God is talking to both the heathen and the Christian. He says here, I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. And so, as Christians we can say, the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge, but as the heathen, They can say, oh no, God is more powerful than we are. And God is saying enough already. So I like the fact that we can read this and we can say, okay, just be still and know that God is in charge. God is in charge. And for me, it's encouraging for me to see this anew. that no matter what the trouble that is going on in our lives, we don't have to remind God about it. And we don't have to doubt whether God can help us in it. God is in the midst of it. God is going to help us. He's going to deliver us. He may not deliver us the way we want. These men probably did not want to be thrown into that place. He may not deliver us the way we want to be delivered. But as they said, God can deliver us in what He will deliver us. In one way or another, God is going to deliver us. Amen. We can't pick the way, right? Only God can pick the way. I hope that's encouragement to you this morning. It was an encouragement to me the last few days of reading that and looking at it more deeply. So, we thank the Lord for what he does in each one of our lives. We're excited to see how God is working in this church. We appreciate you all so very much. One of the things One of the things that they will be giving out is toothbrushes. We have several hundred toothbrushes that we left there in Benin this last time. They will be the next wave of relief, they'll be giving out toothbrushes, which this church is very faithful to provide for us, so we appreciate that. Father, thank you for your goodness to us. Thank you that you are our refuge and strength. Your very present help in trouble. We thank you that we can be still. We know that you are God. And God, we do know that you know what's going on in our lives, and sometimes you allow things to happen that we can't understand. And we would prefer they did not happen. But we know that you are still plan to deliver us out of that trouble. Thank you for the time that we can have together here with this wonderful group of people. Thank you for the fellowship we can have, for the food that will be provided for us downstairs. And just thank you for this wonderful day in God's house. In Jesus' name, amen.