Tragedy to Triumph

Wow, that was beautiful. Thank you so much for that special music. That was hard to get up after that. It gets kind of choked up inside with the beautiful words. And when I grow up, I want to have a voice just like Tom. Ah, it just echoes out there, a nice big, big voice. And Debbie's so clear and clean, it's just beautiful. That was really, really fantastic. Thank you. And of course, Jessica on the piano. And couldn't have done it without Lindsay flipping the pages, right? So, really appreciate that. That was really, really special. So, thank you very, very much. Well, for most of you, I think you know who I am. If not, I'm Steve Myers. I pastor some congregations way down south from here. We're up from the southlands of southeastern Minnesota, I guess you could say.

So, I greet you from all of our congregations. We have four congregations that we've helped with over the years down south. And they've become known as the Calm congregations because they're Cedar Rapids, Austin, Lacrosse, and Mankato. So, that's our little acronym for our congregations down there. And overall, they are. They are. And so, it's really been inspiring to see God's people down there.

And they send their greetings and certainly greet all of you. And if they could, they'd be up here as well. So, it's good to be here. A couple of things I might just remind you of. One of the things that came to mind as Mr. Klein was going through the announcements. We're going to be going over on Presidents Day, which is like two months away. It's some... I'm not sure where it is. February 20th or something, they're planning a big team get-together over in Michigan, Lansing, Michigan area. And so, I don't know if you've heard about that yet.

I don't have actually an announcement on it. But they are planning that over in the Lansing area. It's supposed to be a big weekend there. They're going to be having a dance and all those good things. Some special seminars on the Sabbath. So, I'll have to try to make sure to get the information up for everybody. And I've already heard of a couple of people that are willing to drive. And that's always an important thing, who can get a great big van and drive people over. So, it sounds like we can make some of those arrangements, if any of you teams would like to head over.

It sounds like it'll be a lot of fun. So, we're looking forward to that. So, that's Presidents' Day weekend. So, you might just make a note of that. And we'll have to try to keep you posted on some of the details as we get a little bit closer. Now, as far as things locally go, maybe before I get into the sermon, I'm not really sure how things are going to work out. Except that they will. We've offered to help as much as we can up in the area here.

So, whatever needs to be done, we're going to do our very best to make sure that there are people that are serving and helping and doing what we can to make sure that we meet each other's needs and serve each other and that we can be together. So, we will certainly do our very best to make that happen. So, it's not all real clear how that will happen yet. So, we'll try to be flexible and try to be patient as things sort out. And who knows? It's not all done yet. It's not a done deal.

There's going to be a lot of dust that has to settle yet. And I think we've got to still reach out to our brothers and sisters in Christ. It's not done. It's not over yet. And I pray for a miracle. In some ways, we're up against the Red Sea here in a way. And you never know. God may open that water and find a way that we can be together. And some will certainly change their minds on where they're at. So, we don't know how it will all work out.

But with God in control, it'll be okay. It's going to be fine and it's going to work out. And like the words of the Psalm, we're going to try to dedicate our lives to serve God and do the best we can. And submit to God's Spirit so that we can be bridge builders. And we can work together and we can find ways to be together rather than to be apart.

And so we'll see how that plays out. And we'll leave it in God's hands and pray for the very best. I mean, there's no doubt. At times, it seems like we just hit the lowest of lows. And what is going to happen? And it just seems to be just such a downer. I mean, you get very, very depressed and feel isolated, feel lonely. It's like, what happened? You know, we face all these challenges and it seems to be just the lowest of lows. I was thinking about this the other day, how oftentimes that is the story throughout the Bible.

That sometimes God's people hit rock bottom and seem like there's nowhere to turn. And yet, on the other hand, there are other situations throughout the Bible where things are just an amazing high. And so you have this contrast of the lowest of lows. And when you look out throughout the Bible, there are these highest of highs. Or if you think about it in terms of a tragedy and a triumph.

And right now, I think most of us would agree, we are in a tragic situation. This is tragic the way that things have worked out. And none of us want it to be this way. And why in the world would God allow this to happen? Well, I think one of the challenges we have to realize as we face the situation right now is, you know, we've got to go to the truth.

And I think we all know the truth is not on a website. It's not on some blog. It's not on somebody's personal opinion. The real truth is we've got to rely on God's Word. The real truth. That's the only truth there really is.

Otherwise, it's my personal opinion. It's my philosophy. It's my interpretation of events or situations or people's behavior. And when we start relying on those things, we can get ourselves in trouble, can't we? So I thought it might be helpful to take a minute and look at some of these situations in the Bible where God's people were faced with the lowest of lows, and yet on the other hand, some of the amazing triumphs of God's people.

One of the first ones that came to mind is back in 1 Kings 8, 54. If you want to turn over there, you'll recognize this right away, because this is the situation where Solomon, he was the king right after his father David, was dedicating the temple of God. And what an amazing triumph this was! Here's something David worked his whole life for, to get all the materials together, to build this awesome temple dedicated to God.

And then his son Solomon was able to make it happen, and he got to the point where they were going to dedicate that temple to God. And that's over there in 1 Kings 8. And verse 54 is the amazing part. We like to start there and pick up the story of the dedication of the temple in King Solomon.

So notice here, in verse 54, it says, Solomon just got done praying and asking God's blessing. And it says, when Solomon finished praying, he says, all this prayer, it said, He says, may the Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers, may he not leave us nor forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to himself to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.

And so he goes on, and he makes it very clear that God has blessed them so fantastically, that they have the temple where God would put his very presence before him. I mean, what higher of highs could there possibly be that God would make his home in the Holy of Holies right there in that fantastic temple? Can you imagine if you just place yourself there? And what a fantastic blessing! I mean, what they had looked forward to for so long, have a permanent dwelling for the presence of God to be with them.

Couldn't get much higher than that. Of course, over time, difficulties came. Israel obeyed when they had a good king, and when they had a bad king, they didn't obey and went back and forth, till ultimately, you get to 2 Kings 25. If you were to turn over there, 2 Kings 25, verse 8. Talk about the lowest of lows. Imagine the scenario in Israel when these events took place. 2 Kings 25, verse 8.

An amazing circumstance here. Israel had worked against God. They hadn't followed God. They were not keeping God's commandments. And so ultimately, God allowed them to go their way. And they wouldn't follow Him. So ultimately, the penalties caught up with them. And in verse 8, it says, In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, it says, the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, it says, Nebuchadnezzaradon, the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.

I mean, imagine these devastating events. He burned the house of the Lord and the king's house, all the houses of Jerusalem. Can you imagine what that must have been like? I mean, to see God's house burned before your very eyes. It says, He burned them with fire. Verse 10, And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around.

So, in a sense, their protection was gone. And it says, then Nebuchadnezzaradon, the captain of the guard, carried away captive the rest of the people who remained in the city and the defectors who had deserted to the king of Babylon with the rest of the multitude. So, we see the temple's gone. It's destroyed. Absolutely devastated. Imagine what God's people must have had on their minds. What hope do we possibly have? The house of God no longer is. God's people being carried off. The priest killed. I mean, it must have been absolutely devastating. And I think maybe in a new way we can kind of relate to some of these things because we've had some devastating events, some tragic events that have happened within the last year, within the last couple of months.

And I think as we consider these things, that's not just one story in Scripture. These type of scenarios seem to happen over and over again. And you can't help but step back and wonder why. Why would God allow that to happen? If some of these people were God-fearing people, they love God, they want to serve God, they want to do what's right.

And yet, right there, before their eyes, the presence of God was just removed. No temple. No place for God's presence to dwell. And so it's hard to imagine what they must have felt like. Watched friends and family carted off into Babylon. It must have been just a heart-rending situation. Now, if we fast-forward a little bit, another situation that came to my mind was at the crucifixion. A similar kind of tragic, really unbelievable scenario took place, especially for some of the disciples that didn't quite understand the whole story.

Go over to Luke 22, verse 54. Look at the tragedy that surrounded Peter. Luke 22, 54. Here we are right before the crucifixion of Christ. And we all know this story, but let's just rehearse it once again and bring some of those details back to mind once again with what Peter had to face once Christ was taken. Once Christ was arrested, Peter was faced with an unbelievable trial. In fact, verse 54 in Luke 22, it says, "...having arrested him," him being Christ, "...they led him and brought him into the high priest's house, but feet Peter followed at a distance." It says, "...now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.

And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at Peter and said, Hey, this man, he was also with him. But Peter denied him, saying, Woman, I don't know him." In other words, I don't know Jesus. Well, a little while later, another psalm said, You are also one of them. But Peter said, Man, I am not. Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, Surely this fellow was with him, for he's a Galilean.

Peter's reaction? He said, Man, I do not know what you're saying. In fact, some of the other gospels say he actually cursed. He actually cursed at them and said, I don't know what you're talking about. And immediately, he was still speaking the rooster crow, just as Christ had prophesied.

Imagine this. This is phenomenal. Verse 61, And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Peter was close enough to see Christ. And right when that rooster crowed, and he had denied him three times, he looked Christ dead in the eye. Just imagine what that must have been like. And he remembered immediately what Christ had prophesied. Verse 62, Peter went out and wept bitterly. What a tragic, tragic situation when Peter was cut to the core with his human nature. I mean, it's hard to imagine.

Imagine betraying Christ in that way. I mean, that must have been an unbelievable pain that Peter felt. And so talk about tragedy, the suffering that he must have went through. And then he watched the Savior of all of us go through. It's hard to imagine what that must have been like. And it reminded me of a situation that kind of mirrored some of this, but a little bit earlier. Remember, we read about the destruction of the temple and its dedication and all these kinds of things. That wasn't the end of the story.

It wasn't the end of the story for Peter. And we'll talk about that in a minute. But you know, when you go back to that story of the temple, let's think about that for a minute. The temple was destroyed. Solomon's temple was gone. People carted off into, well, first to Syria, then into Babylon. Was that the end of the story?

Was it all destruction? Was it all discouragement? Was it all devastating events that could never be recovered from? We know the story. That's not where it ended. It didn't end there. In fact, there's an interesting part of the story that's back in the book of Haggai. If you want to turn there... I know we probably turn to Haggai every day. It's such a popular book. Sometimes it's kind of hard to find where exactly that book is. But it's one of the minor prophets.

So if you get there just before you get to the New Testament, if you get to the book of Matthew and keep heading back, you've got to get beyond Zechariah. You'll find Haggai. Or if you get to that other Z, Zephaniah, you're too far. Or if you get to Hosea, go back for the back of your book, and you'll find Haggai. And in the very first chapter here, this is the story of how the destruction of the temple was not the end. That wasn't the end of the story. Tragedy was not ultimately in God's plan. That's not what God had in mind.

He didn't have devastation to be the constant. He wasn't going to be satisfied with it. God had something better in mind. So we get to the book of Haggai, and we can begin to see what God really does have in mind.

Look at verse 1. We'll start right at the beginning here of Haggai. It says, All right. All that means is here's what God's going to say. God's telling His servants. Thus speaks the Lord of hosts. Verse 2, saying, So what was the people's perspective? Kind of woe is me. We've been through this terrible, devastating event. And how can we come out of this? There's no way out. It's not time to rebuild the temple.

It's not going to happen. They're focused on themselves. They're focused on material things around. How can we do anything? Here we are in Babylon. The temple's in Jerusalem. We can't do anything about that. We can't fix that. And so because they had that devastated point of view, they couldn't act. There wasn't anything they could see themselves doing. The temple was in ruin, and it affected the people and their perspective.

In a sense, you could say they were atrophied. They were God's people, but they were so overwhelmed by events. How could we see our way out? What can we do? And so it's pretty amazing that then when you get to verse 2, it says, the word of the Lord came by Hagia, the prophet, saying, Is it time for yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses and this temple to lie in ruins? You know, is God's church supposed to be a mess? You know, if we are the temple of God, His church today, the answer? Well, look at yourselves first.

He says, Consider your ways, verse 5. You've sown much and bring in little. You eat, but you don't have enough. You drink, and you're not filled. You clothe yourselves, but no one's warm. He earns wages, but the wages are put into a bag with holes. You see, what's our focus? What's our guide? Who are we looking to for the ultimate success? So God says in verse 7, Consider your ways.

And what does He tell them? Verse 8, Get to work! He says, Go to the mountains, bring wood, build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it, and be glorified, says the Lord. So He's telling them, Don't have that beaten-down, overwhelmed perspective. God's work needs to be done! There's still a work to do. So He tells them, Listen, let's get to work! Things have to be accomplished. Don't have only that tragic outlook, that devastated outlook that leads us to want to give up and say, What's the use? God says, No, that's not what I want. Don't have just the material focus. Remember, God's in charge.

And there are things that are yet to accomplish. In fact, it's kind of interesting. I read an interesting story the other day, and it was going back in time to the Russian cosmonauts. And I know many of you will probably remember the Russian space program when they launched these cosmonauts up in orbit.

And for a while there, there was this big contest to see who could keep these astronauts up there the longest. And so for weeks and months, the US and the Soviets would battle to see who could be up there the longest.

Well, they ended up, the Russians were far ahead of the Americans as far as what they were able to accomplish. And I was reading this article that talked about the set of cosmonauts that had been up there a year in space, circling around the Earth over and over and over and over again. Well, the story went on to talk about what happened when these cosmonauts returned. It was an amazing story. They got back, and health-wise, they were fine. You know, heart-strong, no problem that way.

They broke the record as far as how long people could stay in space. But you know what they found? Once they got down to Earth, they couldn't walk for a week because all of their muscles had atrophied. They weren't even able to stand up. After a month, they were still in heavy therapy for their muscles, and they would work their muscles over and over again.

And of course, that also weakened their heart. So they had to strengthen their hearts. You know, if you're at zero gravity, month after month after month, those muscles don't have to work as hard. And so those muscles began to waste away. And why is that? No resistance. They didn't have to work against gravity. They didn't have to work against friction. And so it was kind of interesting. Then in the new space programs, where they would launch cosmonauts into space, you know what the Soviets did?

They came up with this idea, we're going to battle all this terrible atrophy, and these guys won't be able to walk. They won't be able to do anything for a month or two when they get back. We've got to have some kind of exercise program so that when they're in space, their muscles won't go to waste. And so they came up with this interesting idea.

You know what it was? They called it a penguin suit. Probably never heard of a penguin suit. But I suppose the best way I can describe it, the way I read about it, was it was like a running suit. So if you can imagine a jogging suit that you put on that has elastic, like big rubber bands at all the key points. So when you move your arm, it's working against that big rubber band. You know, probably like a big bungee or something like that.

So you move your leg, and it's going to be hard to just move it. And so instead of just lazing around, floating around in space, hey, isn't this great? There was resistance that they had to work against. And so they had a regimen where they did this every single day. And that was work! That was work. But when they got back, hey, no problem. Get up, they could walk, their hearts were strong, and everything was fine. And as I read about that, I thought, well, wouldn't it be great if everything was just fine all the time?

We never had any problems, there weren't any difficulties. Wouldn't things just be great? Oh, what a beautiful morning, no problems, what a beautiful day. Everything's going my way, right? Well, you think about that, with the cosmonauts, that's what they had every day for a year, just kind of floating around, no problems. But the reality is, if we're going to be strong, it's going to take some work. It's going to take some effort. And we're going to have to resist just that feeling like, well, what's the use? Let's give up, kind of like the people that were in Babylon, like, well, what can we do?

When, in fact, if things were just easy, especially spiritually speaking, how strong would we be? We don't have to stand up for what we believe. If we never have a problem, you know, with an employer about the Sabbath, when we run into a situation, what are we going to do?

We're just going to cave and give in because we've never had to deal with that before? It's possible. And so that story just reminded me, there's going to be tough times. We're in a tough time right now. Are we going to use that to exert spiritual strength? Or are we too weak? Are we like these people of God that were in Babylon and not realize that we've got an opportunity to grow? We've got an opportunity in front of us that we can grow in grace and knowledge. We can serve God. We can do things that are pleasing to Him.

That's a great opportunity. It's hard to imagine it in that case, but that's what God's Word tells us. He tells us that we can be strong when we see our strength in Him. Heck, there's an amazing New Testament verse that kind of ties in with this. It's over in Romans 5, the very beginning of that chapter. Romans 5.1. I'm sure Paul didn't have Russian cosmonauts in mind when he wrote this particular passage, but it is amazing how it ties in with that concept of having some tough times, but growing spiritually in those.

That we can grow because of the challenges that we're faced. We're going to exert ourselves and grow stronger because God's got something in mind that is going to be good. In Romans 5.1, he says, He promises that we can rejoice in hope. There is hope. God has an awesome plan. So he says, verse 3, Not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, in trials, in struggles, in difficulties.

Why? Knowing that that tribulation produces perseverance. Ooh, I'm working against that strong bungee. And somehow, the challenges spiritually are going to strengthen my muscles of perseverance. The spiritual muscle of perseverance is going to be stronger. And that's going to develop spiritual character.

I'm going to be more like Christ. I'm going to have Christ's character if I exercise those spiritual muscles. And that is going to give me a deep, abiding hope that God's never going to leave us. He is never going to forsake us. So he says, verse 5, That hope doesn't disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we still were without strength... Well, you felt like that lately?

I have. What strength do I have? I have nothing. What strength of my own. But in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us that in while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. There's our strength. There's our hope. We have Christ living in us. And so it's not my strength. It's not my perseverance. It's that we put our hope in Him.

It's through Him. It's submitting to His Holy Spirit so that can be in me and flow through me. And so I can love my brothers and sisters. I can turn the other cheek. I can apply Matthew 5 where Christ said, you know, if they slap you on one cheek, you turn the other cheek. Well, He said, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. We are blessed.

Now, it doesn't seem like we're blessed. But He says, if we take it patiently, 1 Peter 1, 22 tells us exactly that. You know, when we do good and suffer, it says, if we take it patiently, this is commendable before God. In fact, if you look up that word, kind of get sidetracked for a second, you look up that word for commendable, literally is the word love.

This is love to God. We're showing our love to God when we take difficulties and persecutions patiently. And He says, that's what Christ did. We're called to that. We're called to that. So when we are in tribulation, when we are in trouble, when we have been beaten and we don't deserve it, and if we take it patiently, He says, there is hope.

God will guide us. He will demonstrate His love to us. Because we have the ultimate example in Jesus Christ, the one who was beaten, the one who was scourged, the one who was crucified for us, and He didn't deserve any of that. He didn't deserve it, and He did it for us. He set the ultimate example in how to take things patiently.

And how could He do that? I often thought, how could He do that? And it's because He knew who was in charge. He knew God the Father was in charge. And so He could just do an awesome thing and say, Father, forgive them. They don't know what they are doing. Why? Because ultimately, God is in charge, and He will work this out. He will work it out.

He says He will promise to do it, and He will do it to good. Somehow good will come of all of it. And so we can hold God to that promise. We can say, God, I don't see how this is good at all. This is terrible. This is a tragedy. But you say right here, Romans 8, it says, All things work together for good to those who love God. And so we can say, God, I don't see any good in this. And you promise it's going to work for good? Please make that evident.

Of course, me being who I am, it's like, OK, do that right now, because I'm not very patient. I'd like to see it happen immediately. And then I read those other passages where God's servants dealt with situations for months and years ahead of time until God finally resolved those things.

And so that's a challenging perspective to have, isn't it? That is a challenge. And yet, over and over again, we see when there were tragedies for God's people, that ultimately God brought them to triumph. He really did. If you look over at 2 Corinthians 1, there's a great example here. 2 Corinthians 1, we could pick it up in verse 3, right near the beginning of the letter that Paul wrote to God's church in Corinth.

Here Paul is great because he always starts out first things first. What's most important? What's most important in our perspective of how life is right now? Paul starts out, God's in charge. God's in charge. Don't ever forget that. And so he mentions that in verse 3, Blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. Where can we gain comfort and encouragement? God the Father and Jesus Christ. It says verse 4, who comforts us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Boy, a lot of comfort there. And what is that saying? Comfort here and comfort there. Okay, what's he saying here? He's saying ultimately, God is our encourager. He guides us. He encourages us. And it's not just, so I feel better. Is it? That's only half the equation here. It's not that I just need comfort and encouragement. But God's comfort, if I'm really encouraged, really comforted by God and His mercy and His grace and His love, He says I should be able to turn that around and reach out to others.

That I can then be a tool in God's hands to help encourage others, to comfort them, to encourage them. So God's saying, yes, not only is that comfort for you, but my spirit will help you to turn that around and comfort each other. And boy, is that a wonderful thing. What an awesome blessing that is, that God can encourage us and can comfort us.

Because, you know, I think it's sometimes like that in our marriages. Sometimes I get down and my wife can lift me up and she can encourage me. And when she gets down, I can then comfort and encourage her. And if we both get down, look out. We're in trouble. Never felt like that. And it's like that in the family, in God's family, our spiritual family. You know, sometimes we're up and we can be encouraging others.

Other times, you know, it's tough. And we need, you know, God's people. We need our brothers and sisters. And Christ encourage us and lift us up and be there for us. And you know, you may be that awesome tool that God could use. A force for good.

And so God wants us to be that tool, to be that force for good with his family. And so he encourages us and he comforts us. And so look at verse 5. He says, For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, boy, Christ suffered. Nobody suffered more than he did. And yet we should take that, it says, and our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now, if we're afflicted, it's for your consolation and salvation. Oh, wait a second. That doesn't make any sense, does it? You mean, I have troubles, I'm afflicted, I'm beaten down.

And that's supposed to help me in salvation? That's supposed to help encourage me? That's supposed to console me? Boy, my human perspective, I see, doesn't feel very consoling right now. I don't feel very encouraged right now.

But if we step back and we can see the big picture, that's what Paul's getting at here. He's telling us, God's telling us, he says that, look at the middle of verse 6, he says, That's effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, is it not for your consolation and salvation? And our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation. In other words, the ultimate consolation. It's being in God's family, being in the kingdom of God forever. And so if I could step back and see the big picture, you know, we're not talking about total devastation here. We're not talking about the total destruction of the temple. We're talking about a setback. We're talking about a trial. We're talking about difficulties that God says is just a temporary bump in the road on the path of the kingdom of God. Because that's the ultimate consolation. So he says, be steadfast. Be steadfast. Be unmovable. And so there's going to be trials and difficulties all the time. Imagine what Paul must have felt like. Imagine preaching the gospel and then having them take stones and stone them to death. Imagine that. Imagine some of these difficulties that he had over and over, being shipwrecked and beaten. The story is just unbelievable. And yet Paul kept getting up and somehow took heart in that. Somehow took courage in that and was consoled and saw the big picture of that. And he thinks, amazing. Just an amazing story. And so with that, I think maybe we could see a bigger picture in all this. The other day I was reading a story about farmers in Alabama. Don't ask me how I got into that. But I ran across an interesting story. And I thought, wow, that is really amazing how it kind of ties in to what we're about right now. And many years ago, the farmers in Alabama used to plant cotton. Cotton was their thing. Cotton, cotton, cotton. Every year, year in, year out, they would plant cotton. And so as much ground as they could plow up, they'd plant cotton. And that was their thing. That was their crop. So year after year, that's what sustained them. That's where their income was from. And of course, along came the dreaded bull weevil. And probably you've heard about that. Maybe you've studied that probably in school, in the history books. The bull weevil came along and saw that in Alabama, just devastated everything. The whole, the one year, they lost everything. Lost the entire crop.

Now, the challenge, if you know what it is, if you're a farmer or know farmers, oftentimes you've got to mortgage the farm. You have a bad year. You've got to mortgage the farm and try to make up for it the next year. And so they did. Southern Alabama farmers, that's exactly what they did. They mortgaged the farm. They mortgaged the equipment, everything they could. And what did they do?

They planted cotton again. So they planted cotton the next year, hoping, you know, for that harvest that would somehow get them back above board again. And the bull weevil came back, wiped them out, just totally destroyed the crop all over again. And then literally just wiped out the farms. And it was, it was just absolutely devastated. There were hardly any that survived.

Now, one of the interesting things about the story is those two years, those two years that the bull weevil came, it just wiped them out. So then the very few that were left that third year kind of came to the point that, well, if we plant cotton again, it's probably not going to work. So what are we going to do? Well, those few that were left, you know what they did? They planted peanuts.

They planted peanuts. They never had done it before. They got this crazy idea, well, let's try something different because cotton isn't going to work. So they planted peanuts. And guess what happened? It was phenomenal. The peanuts took off. It was a great crop. There was a huge demand for peanuts. And that very first year after planting those peanuts, the harvest was so good, the demand was so great, that even after that first year, after two years had practically wiped everybody out, the ones that were left were able to actually make enough profits that third year to pay off their debts and buy peanuts for the next year. And so they planted peanuts. And the story, I mean, look it up. You can Google it. See, read the story about the bull weevil and the peanuts. It's an amazing story. It's absolutely amazing. Now here's, I think, the part of the story that gives us some perspective in all this. You know what those new peanut farmers did after those couple of years? They took some of their wealth and they decided to erect a monument in the town square. And do you know what they erected? The monument of the bull weevil. That rotten, lousy little insect that caused all their problems. They erected a monument to the bull weevil. Wow! I thought about that as it... Wow! Can you imagine that? The thing that caused you all your trouble? You're going to erect a monument to that? Well, if it hadn't been for the bull weevil, they never would have discovered peanuts. And they never would have really been even able to come out of debt and be that much more profitable. So, I think the lesson is they learned that even out of disaster, even out of a tragedy, there can be triumph. We can triumph out of tragedy. And those farmers, they didn't quit, they didn't give up, they planted. It was time to build. It was time to go forward. It wasn't time to give up. It was time to find a new way to do what they needed to do. And that was a phenomenal lesson that they learned. It wasn't time to give up. Yes, we might have to do things differently. But it can be even better. It can be even better. Especially, you think about it spiritually.

We look to God, we do it His way, we trust Him, we honor Him, we ask Him, petition Him, follow Him even that much more closely. It's time to move forward, isn't it? It's time to move forward.

In fact, if you remember where we left Peter, we left him weeping bitterly. That wasn't the end of the story of Peter, was it? Not at all. Maybe we could pick up part of his story on the other side, Acts 2, verse 40.

That devastation and tragedy that Peter went through didn't stay there. It didn't stay there. Acts 2, verse 40. Here we see the other side of the coin. Because Peter put his life into God's hands.

And by doing that, God wasn't about to leave him devastated. There was just no way. So when you see, after God poured out His Holy Spirit, you see, God powerfully used Peter. I think this is probably one of those triumphant moments. Actually, on the day of Pentecost, we find that here with the life of Peter. Look at Acts 2, verse 40.

Here it says, He, talking about Peter, testified And so it says, Isn't that an amazing thing? It brought God's people together. In fact, it says, All who believed were together. They had all things in common. They sold their possessions. They divided them among themselves. And they continued daily, verse 46, With one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house. They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, Praising God, having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

And so they were happy just to say, Well, Christ is dead. I guess it's over. What can we do? They were empowered by it. You could say, when Christ was crucified, a bowl weevil hit the church. And yet, God wasn't willing to leave them there.

God wanted to use them to really build the church. And so, just like with Peter, it was time to build. It was time to move ahead. It was time to put your faith in God and let Him lead to triumph. And so, God did just that with the New Testament church. And so what an amazing story when you really begin to see the big picture. That boy, it might be bleak. It might be bleak right now. But we're right in the middle of things. The dust hasn't settled yet. God is going to do some awesome things. He promises to do that.

And you know, we have a right to hold God to His promises. Because God doesn't lie. And so we can say, God, here's what your Word says. Here's what you promised. And so, help me to be a part of the solution. Help me to be one that you can use as a tool. Because, no doubt, some of us are going to be asked to do more.

And maybe some of us who haven't had an opportunity to do things and serve can now step forward and be that tool in God's hands to do even more. To serve Him and to serve His people. And so what a great opportunity that is. He's going to stretch us a little bit, isn't he? And by stretching us, it's going to be a great time to exercise those spiritual muscles and then grow and be more like Christ. So that's a very good thing. That's a powerful thing that God wants to do.

And I think as long as we see it in that perspective, there is hope. And there is encouragement because it's not by me. It's not by any of us as our, you know, relying on our own human strength. That's not going to happen. But if we see where the real power is, if we see where the real victory is, then we know that's through God the Father.

That's through Jesus Christ. In fact, that just reminded me of a passage that's back in the resurrection chapter. If you want to turn over there, I'll have to find it, but it just came to mind. 1 Corinthians 15. If you look at 1 Corinthians 15, that talks about the resurrection. It looks to the future. It looks to our hope. It gets us excited about the kingdom of God. Let me see if I can find it here. Yeah, look at that. It's right near the end. Verse 50. 1 Corinthians 15, 50.

If you remember, some of God's people at that time, you go back to the New Testament church, they thought that Christ was going to return immediately and establish the kingdom. And so when people were dying, it was really discouraging. Why hasn't Christ come back? You know, what's going to happen to these people? They're dead, and we thought Christ was going to come. And so we find here Paul is encouraging them to say, no, they're not lost. They're going to wait the resurrection, and it's going to be all right. And so he makes this point at the end of 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 50.

He says, And so we're familiar with these things. Often times we'll hear these words at a funeral. Well, then he goes on, and we get to the important part here in the whole story. He says, When this corruptible puts on incorruption, as mortal puts on immortality, then shall be brought to pass a saying that's written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Death, where is your sting? Oh, Hades, the grave. Where is your victory? Well, the sting of death is sin. The strength of sin is the law. But, verse 57, That's our focus. The victory, whether it's death, whether it's life. I mean, life is giving us challenges right now. We're facing difficult situations. But how do we overcome? Where is our success? How do we find a victory in this whole mess?

What's our perspective? It's putting first things first. It's knowing where our strength is. And so he says the victory is through our Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 4, verse 58, So whatever we do, if we're doing it first and foremost to honor God, to do His will. Wow, God's not going to overlook that. That is going to be an awesome thing. That's where our victory is. That's where our encouragement can come through. And so we can help each other, and we can serve God, and be immovable, be steadfast. Not in my own opinion, not in what I think is right, but the truth of what God's Word is. That way, there is a path to triumph. God shows us that way. And it's His way. He's the one that leads us in that way. And so when we get down, when we get discouraged, you feel like giving up, remember where that victory is. Remember we sing that song all the time at services, right? We sing that God is my refuge and my strength, very present aid. Those words, that's one of the psalms. The psalms are so amazing. Because oftentimes, over and over again, the psalms of David just zero in right at the heart. And they get right down to what we feel and how we think as everyday human beings. And David zeros in on those things, and he talks about it. You know, it doesn't matter if the water is rough. Those seas are roaring. Boy, they're roaring around us at times. Even though the mountains are shaking. Or what that hymn says. Even though the mountains are shaking, the seas are swelling.

Where's our hope lie? God's our refuge. God's our strength. That's where surety is at. We look to Him. He's ultimately going to make those things stop shaking. Even though the nations, I mean, it looks to the future. When the Great Tribulation comes and the nations are raging and everything's in turmoil. Where's our help? Where's our aid? Well, God's going to be the one that comes to our rescue.

He says He's not going to leave us. He's not going to forsake us. He'll always be there for us. That's interesting. At the end of that psalm, I think it's Psalm 46, where He says, Be still and know that I am God. Be still. We don't have to be worried and give up and wonder what's going to happen.

Because ultimately, God's going to take care of those things. He is the one where we can have victory.

So it's not the time to shrink back, is it? It's not that time. It's time to stand up.

It's time to stand up and really fight that fight of faith. Not fight other people, but fight the fight of faith. A real battle is with those spiritual forces, isn't it? Ephesians 6 talks about that. Our spiritual enemies that are fighting against us. That's where the real fight is. 2 Timothy kind of zeroes in on that a little bit. Look at 2 Timothy 4.1.

Right at the beginning of chapter 4 of 2 Timothy, here's Paul's writing to that young minister. He's writing to Timothy. And boy, the words are really remarkable because they mean so much to us as well.

Because he kind of lines out where we all should be. All of our perspectives should be like what Paul's encouraging Timothy to have this kind of perception.

This is what our perception should be. 2 Timothy 4.1, he says, I charge you. Or in other words, I'm commanding you.

You want to know what you should do? Paul says, here's what you should do. He says, Before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing. He says, verse 2, Preach the Word.

Well, you might say, I'm not a minister. How can I preach the Word?

Well, we live it. We do it. We're a shining example of what God's Word is.

It's like that old saying that's out there that you probably heard. I hear a sermon preached every day in your actions.

What sermon are we preaching every day as we live our life? Are we preaching the Word? Is our life a representation of God's Word?

So he says, that's how we should be. He says, Be ready in season and out of season. So no matter what season it is, we want to convince, rebuke, exhort with all patience, all long-suffering and teaching.

For the time will come when they don't endure sound doctrine, but according to their desires, they have itching ears. They'll heap up for themselves teachers. And they turn their ears away from the truth to fables. But you! I can't do anything about that. Right? I don't have the authority to do anything. I can't. What's my responsibility? I better take care of number one.

I've got to make sure and get this giant log out of my own eye before I worry about the toothpick in somebody else's. Because I can't do anything about that. But you know what? I do have responsibility and control over me.

And I better make sure that I'm doing what's right. And so he says, verse 5, Timothy, you know, Steve, we can put our own name in here.

You be watchful in all things. Endure afflictions. Do the work.

Now, I'm not an evangelist. You aren't either. But it doesn't change the fact I have to do God's work in my life. Whatever he's called me to do, I have to be a godly example of a husband.

I have to be a godly example of a father. And whatever my position is, I have to be a godly example. Do God's work in my life, whatever it is. And so we all have that responsibility. He says, fulfill your ministry or your service. Literally, that word is service. Well, we're all called to serve God.

And so Paul says, I'm ready to be poured out as a drink offering. My time of departure is at hand. Paul was just about done. His life was near the end. He says, I've fought the good fight. I've finished the race. I've kept the faith. And that's what we're to do. We're to keep fighting that fight of faith, not fighting each other, but fighting ourselves to grow in the character of Jesus Christ. Strive for that finish line. Keep the faith. And he says, there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day. And not to me only, but to all those who have loved his appearing. But that's our goal. That's our goal, to make that happen. To realize the awesome blessings, the tremendous triumph that God has in store for us. Being a part of his family in the kingdom. Can we live like that now?

God's called us to do that. God's called us to be that shining example and do the work that he's called us to do. Because we've got to forget about the circumstances, in a sense, and do what God's called us to do. Because sometimes it looks terrible! There is no way this is going to work out. I don't know if any of you are twins fans? Anybody a twins fan here? Baseball fan? Oh, yeah, we've got some twins fans. I've got a baseball story that's an interesting one. Way back before I was even born, the Milwaukee Braves visited the Cincinnati Reds. And there were two rookies that played in that opening day Major League game. Started their very careers on that day.

The Reds ended up winning 9-8. And there was a guy named Jim Greengrass on the Reds. What better name could you have to be a baseball player? Jim Greengrass. Wow, this guy's got to be great! Anybody ever heard of Jim Greengrass? Nope.

Nobody's ever, unless you're really into trivia, maybe you've heard of him. But that guy was an amazing opening day. Four doubles. Four doubles in his very first big league game. I mean, that's tremendous! That's unbelievable! There was this other guy on the Milwaukee Braves that went 0-5. Got up to bat 5 times. Never got anywhere. 0-5.

So who's going to have the best career? Jim Greengrass or this loser who went 0-5? Well, obviously Jim Greengrass, right? No. You haven't heard of him, right? But the 0-5 guy? Hank Aaron.

Anybody not heard of Hank Aaron? Homer and King? The whole thing? Well, not a very good start for Henry Aaron. But that wasn't the end of the story, was it? That was right in the middle of probably one of the worst games he ever had. So you can't look to situations around you to be the final end of the story, because that's not the end of the story, is it? That's not it at all.

But it does, I think, cause us to step back and say, okay, what do we do from here? Where do we go? What's next?

And I think we can take a lesson from not only these stories, but what God's Word more importantly says. You know, when we're faced with tragedy, when we are at a loss, when we're down, when we're depressed, when we're sick, whatever it may be, well, we're faced with death.

You know, God says, now I've got your attention, doesn't He? Has God got our attention right now? Boy, has He got my attention!

You know, when these kind of life-changing events happen, I think when we look to the Bible, God's saying, be ready to follow Me! Be ready to do what's right.

And boy, we can look through lesson after lesson. Look through the life of Abraham. Look at Lot. Look at Moses. Look at the Exodus. Look at the prophets, the crucifixion, the apostles, the New Testament Church.

Time after time after time, when these life-altering events took place in the church, God says, be ready to follow Me! Be ready!

And so, that's what we need to do. When suffering occurs, somehow, it's an amazing thing that God uses those opportunities to even preach the gospel more effectively.

It's like the bowl of evil. It opened opportunities for something bigger and better, different doors, different things.

I think that's the kind of perspective we need to have, is that I don't know what God's got in mind, but it's going to be good. It's going to be good. He promises that.

And we want to follow Him. We want to do His will. We want to be ready to wherever He leads. We're going to be a Hank Aaron.

We might be 0 and 5 right now, but you know what? God's got something awesome ahead, and it's going to be a tremendous opportunity for great spiritual things.

Paul, I think, nailed it over in Philippians 3. Look at Philippians 3.8.

Philippians 3.8. When these life-changing monumental events happen, and it seems like we're down and out, it seems so tragic, it seems so difficult that how in the world can we ever recover?

It seems like the temple has been destroyed. We are at the lowest of lows. Yet God says, that's not where you're going to stay.

I've got something bigger and better in mind. I promise to lead to triumph.

Philippians 3.8. It says, Wow! Paul said, well, it wasn't just this or that. But he says everything. It's all loss for Christ. He says, I count them as rubbish, is what the new King James says, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ.

The righteousness, which is from God, by faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.

So that's our focus. I want to be more like Christ. I want to put on His mind. Philippians 2 says that just a couple chapters before this. He says, Put on the mind of Christ. Have His attitude. Have His perspective. That should be our character.

And then, of course, he says, verse 12, Not that I've already attained, but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

You see, I'm grabbing and I'm straining and I'm hanging on to those promises that God's given me, because I'm not the only one holding on.

Yeah, I'm holding on to those promises, but you know what? Christ has laid hold on me. He's grabbing me. It's not just like I'm holding on to a rope hoping to survive.

I'm gaining this picture here that, yes, I'm hanging on, but you know what? He's got a grip on the back of my collar and He's not letting go.

He's not going to let go of me. And that's what He says. I hold on to that which Christ has also laid hold of me.

God's not going to let go of us. He's hanging on. Sometimes it seems like, ooh, my grip is getting kind of weak. I don't know if I can do it.

He's not letting go of us. He's going to hang on to us. And so He says, verse 14, Press on. Press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

So it's not the time to give up. Boy, there's a setback, no doubt, but it's time to move on in strength. Not our strength, but God's strength. It's time to press forward. Some good things are ahead.

We're ready to follow God. Let's have that perspective.

In fact, maybe we can close with just one more passage. Another unlikely place. But if you still have a hold on Haggai, you want to turn back there. Maybe we can finish the story where we left off at Haggai 1, where it says, hey, we can't do this. We can't build a temple. That's never going to happen. You know, how in the world can we do anything?

Well, it's interesting. We move from tragedy to triumph. Haggai 2, verse 1. In fact, I'll read this from the new century. It might be just a little bit different than the new King James or the King James. So it might be a little bit different than your version. But here's Haggai 2, verse 1. It says, the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Lord spoke to His word through Haggai, saying, verse 2, speak to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel and all these great guys, verse 3. Here's what he's supposed to say. Do any of you remember how great the temple was before it was destroyed?

Well, we probably all could say, yeah, I know how good it was. He says, what does it look like now? Doesn't it seem like nothing to you?

He does. Like, what in the world are we going to do now? I'm sure that's probably what many were thinking.

Verse 4, but the Lord says, Zerubbabel. Now, probably not one of us has the name Zerubbabel today, but put your own name in there. Put your own name in there. Steve, be brave. It says also Joshua, son of Jehoshadak, the high priest, be brave.

All you people who live in the land, be brave. Says the Lord, be courageous, in other words. He says, work, because I'm with you. Says the Lord, all powerful, the Lord Almighty.

He says, I made a promise to you when you came out of Egypt. And boy, I think every one of us came out of the Egypt of this world, didn't we? We came out of that mess out there, and we're different. We're God's people. We came out of the spiritual mess that's Egypt out there in the world today. We came out of Egypt. He says, I made a promise to you when you came out, and my spirit is still with you. God's with us. He hasn't moved. He is here with us. And he says, so don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Verse 6, this is what the Lord Almighty, all powerful, says. In a short time, I'll once again shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. You see, because there's some big things coming down the line. We know Christ has to return. There's some unbelievable prophecies that lie ahead. The nations are going to be shook. Verse 7, he says, I'm going to fill this temple with glory.

He says, God Almighty, the temple of His church, His people. Verse 8, God gives us the big perspective, the silver's mind, the gold's mind. He says, God Almighty, the new temple will be greater than the one before. And that's not just talking about that next temple that was built. Ultimately, that's prophesying to this future. The church of God will be greater than ever.

He says, God Almighty, and in this place, I will give peace. Ultimately, in the ultimate kingdom of God, there will be peace. So there's a lot to look forward to. There's a lot to look forward to. Where do we go from here? Well, some life-changing things have happened. So God says, be ready to follow me. So let's put our faith and our trust in God.

Let's follow Him. Let's move forward to do the part that God wants us to play to be an example of His way. Because I think among all of this, even though there is tragedy, even in tragedy, we can step back and realize that God promises to bring triumph.

So let's follow God.