Romans 5:2-5 (#17.2025.04.06)

Scott Keffer [: 00:01:11

Hi. If you're looking for greater hope, assurance, and confidence through the shifting sands of life, then join me on today's episode as we dig deep into the bible to discover rock solid truth for life and living from the God of the bible. I'm your host, Scott Keffer. Hi, and welcome to today's episode. As always, for a deeper experience, you can go to the show notes and download the blank insight sheet. Fill in the blanks along with the group. Depending on how you're listening to this, there'll be a link to the episode website at beholding bibletruth dot com, and a sheet with the answers is included as well. Enjoy today's episode.

Scott Keffer [: 00:01:59

Well, let's stand and read our verse today if you're good from Romans four. Okay. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our local Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand. We we exalt in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, we also exalt in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, Perseverance is proven in character, proven in character, hope. And hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts, with the Holy Spirit who has given to us. Wow. The word of the Lord.

Scott Keffer [: 00:02:52

Thanks be to god. Finally. Yeah. I'll take credit. I aligned this. I designed this to work that way. People say that about the you know, they they go from here, then they listen to, you know, pastor Sarin. They'll say, did you guys coordinate that message? Yes.

Scott Keffer [: 00:03:17

The holy spirit coordinated that message. Right? Someone. And it's a reminder of the sovereign grace of god the lord knows. So I thought when I thought about these this passage and what we're thinking about here, I thought about eternal, future, and present. Eternal, future, and present. So the very first thing, re eternal realities. Eternal realities, which is hard to comprehend because you and I are time based. We're born at a point in time.

Scott Keffer [: 00:03:53

So we can think of this point forward, but we can't think of eternally. Right? I always ask folks. What does that symbol mean? ETERNITY. I mean, infinity. ETERN infinity. ETERN right? ETERNALLY. Infinity. How can you have finite people think about a concept of infinity? It doesn't make sense.

Scott Keffer [: 00:04:23

Because there is no infinity to finite people. We had a beginning. So where did that come from? From, right, in infinite eternal realities. These are infinite eternal realities. And so the the it's very clear here that we have eternal peace with God. In Christ, we have eternal peace with God. And I said that's very different than peace of God. Right? The peace of God is great for my soul for a comfort, but eternal peace with God.

Scott Keffer [: 00:04:59

And there is no way to have the the eternal peace of God unless you're at peace with God. Right? Your relationship, we go from being enemies of Christ to being the sons. Right? The sons. And with eternal peace, we have eternal access to God. We have eternal peace with God, and we have eternal access to God. What? There are no hours in the holy of holies. Right? There's no sign, no admittance. Right? So they gave us clear sense.

Scott Keffer [: 00:05:38

Only the most high, right, the high priest was the only one that would go into the holy holies at prescribed times in prescribed ways. The rest of us wouldn't have access to the very presence, the holy of holies, the very presence of God. But the great high priest, the lord Jesus, has gone in. He's inaugurated a new and living way by his blood. He has rent the veil, and we get access. We get access as priest of the most high god because we are in the high priest of the most high god. So we have eternal access, which means, right, how often have you called up the service and nobody's there? Or you call up and they don't speak English? Or you call up and they don't get back to you. Right? All of that.

Scott Keffer [: 00:06:29

Right? But you don't have to go to a certain place with somebody to go before you because the one who's gone before you is seated at the right hand. He is our advocate That is right. The righteous. So we have eternal access. I love this because Morris said introduction because that's really what it is. It's it has this idea that in order to get into the club, somebody has to have gone in before you. Somebody has to make the introduction. Right? It's like joining right? Next week is the masters.

Scott Keffer [: 00:07:05

There's no way you could become part of that the Augusta National Golf Club without an introduction. Right? You go on a wait list. Right? Someone needs to bring your name before the committee. We have the one who brought our name seated at the right hand. This idea of introduction. So Morris said introduction to the presence chamber of a monarch. That's the picture. The rendering access is inadequate as it leaves out of sight the fact that we do not come in our own strength, but we need an introducer.

Scott Keffer [: 00:07:39

Who is your introducer? The lord Jesus Christ. He is our introducer. And the third thing we get as a result of this is we have eternal grace. The eternal grace of God. I love this one. Zephaniah, Yahweh, your God, is in your midst, the victorious warrior. He will exalt over you with what? He will exalt over you with joy. He will be quiet in his love.

Scott Keffer [: 00:08:21

He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. Right? Some versions translate that as singing, but it's literally shouts of joy. Right? Imagine god singing over you In the, in the the, magician's nephew, everybody read that CS Lewis's. It's pretty lion, witch, and wardrobe. It's his picture of creation, if you will. And the lion sings creation into being, sings. It's just a cool thought that god sings creation. He just starts to sing and creation comes about.

Scott Keffer [: 00:09:02

By the word of the lord, the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth, all their host. And he's singing over you with joy. How would that be? How would that be? Only if something supernatural happened in Christ. Right? We have eternal grace. So we have these eternal realities. Right? These these forever realities that just are beyond time. Then we have this future hope. Future hope is a time issue, isn't it? It's about timing.

Scott Keffer [: 00:09:37

Because future hope right? As scripture says, you don't hope for what you have. So there's a future in time. So internal realities are foundational. We stand in them. That's why it says we stand in the grace. We stand in the grace. But we have these these future hope. What's the future hope? Yeah.

Scott Keffer [: 00:09:58

Think about it with that hope. It it Ellicott said, this idea, it's a joyful and triumphant confidence in the future, which he says is not only felt, but it's expressed. It's expressed. So what's he say? What is it? Well, the tabernacle of god so he says behold. And behold means pay attention. Hey. Look. The see see behold.

Scott Keffer [: 00:10:31

Right? The tabernacle of God is among men, which has this idea that it is so. And then he he'll go on to say, these are these words are faithful and true. This is happening for sure. He will dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and god himself will be among them. That the holy one the holy one who is so pureized and to behold iniquity. Scripture says he is the blessed and only sovereign. He's the king of kings. He's the lord of lords who alone possesses immortality, and he dwells in unapproachable light.

Scott Keffer [: 00:11:21

10,000 times 10,000 degrees of heat and light and power. How would he be in our midst and we would be consumed? How would I come near to him and I wouldn't be? But he's gonna be in our midst. He's gonna be in our midst. And by the way, what will that be like? Well, he will wipe away every fear So Anne isn't crying at all. He'll wipe away every tear from our eyes, and there'll no longer be any death, and there'll no longer be any mourning, crying, or pain. That's why Paul says, hey. That's what I want, but I'm here for the time for you. That's what essentially what he says in scripture.

Scott Keffer [: 00:12:19

I want that. Who doesn't? In his presence is fullness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures forever. Oh, lord. Don't take me to that. But he said Paul says, I'm here for the time being for you. But, hey. But we don't want that. The story ends better than we can comprehend.

Scott Keffer [: 00:12:42

The story has an ending beyond what we can even imagine, what we can even fathom. CS Lewis said it was like a woman in in in a dungeon with her son, and she would take, like, a piece of chalk, and she'd draw what the world was like. And one day, in the future, they were able to get out, and he said, what's that? That's the world. He said, well, I thought it was flat. I thought it was black and white. He said, no. No. So the world beyond is beyond our comprehension.

Scott Keffer [: 00:13:21

That's what awaits. That's the future hope. And he says, we exalt in that future hope. We exalt. Literally, the word means boast. We boast in that future hope. A try a joyful and triumphant confidence. So we have these eternal realities.

Scott Keffer [: 00:13:45

Right? These are the eternal realities. They just are. These are eternal. So there is no beginning and no end to that. Right? And then we have this future. Right? Future hope. We have the future, then we find ourselves here, right, in our present realities. Right? In our present realities.

Scott Keffer [: 00:14:22

And so he says, well, we don't only exalt in that future hope. He's he said, we exalt in our tribulations. The years, we've learned many different skills. Has anybody ever sat you down and said, let me explain to you how you exalt in a tribulation? That doesn't seem to go together, does it? Who would exalt in a tribulation? So I said, what does it mean to exalt? What do you think it means? What's it mean to exalt? We exalt in our tribulation. The Greek word liberty is we boast. We make our boast. We put our confidence in. So what do you think it means to exalt in our tribulation? That's above all.

Scott Keffer [: 00:15:22

We place it Above all else. Above all else. Right? But there's something in it. Rejoice. We rejoice. Part of that would be rejoice Mhmm. In our tribulation. Alright.

Scott Keffer [: 00:15:34

Like, feeling sorry. Sure. For this fun tribulation. So I don't know what it means to exalt exactly, but what do you think is the opposite? Right? What is the opposite of exalting? If I don't exalt, grumble, moan Wine. Wine. Probably get that. Right? So I grumble about my tribulation. Hopeless.

Scott Keffer [: 00:16:12

And are hopeless. Despair. Despair, Maybe even anger. Maybe anger too. I don't need a seminar on how to not exalt. Do you notice that? I can do that pretty much in my own strength. But he says, we exalt in our and and he didn't say our tribulation as in singular. He said tribulations as in, oh, dang.

Scott Keffer [: 00:16:47

More than one more than one. So what are your in the midst of it. We exalt in the midst of it. Yeah. In the midst of it. So that's good. Right? So what are your and what's interesting is this word literally means persecution. So okay.

Scott Keffer [: 00:17:02

Maybe I'm not persecuted, but also means afflicted, distressed, tribulation. So it's more than just, oh, I'm persecuted because I'm a Christian. It is the distresses, and the the the the root Greek word means pressure. It's the things of life that bring pressure. And there are lots of things in life, distresses that bring pressure. Right? So what are yours? What's that? What are your what are yours? What are your present what are your present pressures? So I thought, so how do we exalt in our tribulations? Well, it says, it is indeed a reminder of what we stand in. We stand in the grace of god. And then, of course, the Lord said to Paul, my grace is sufficient for you.

Scott Keffer [: 00:18:04

Really, for power is perfected in weakness. I want to be strong. No. Most gladly, therefore, I'll rather boast. So he's boasting in his weakness. That seems counter intuitive, doesn't it? We wanna boast in our own strength, our ability to overcome love overcome our stories. Right? We wanna be the rocky of our own story. Right? Get knocked down.

Scott Keffer [: 00:18:29

I keep getting up. I keep getting up. I keep getting up. He said, I'm gonna boast about my inability because the power of Christ will dwell in me when I stop and understand that I can't, and I'm not sufficient for all things. He said, what is it? Weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions, difficulties. When I'm weak, I'm strong. So the grace of God certainly is part of how we exalt in tribulation. The other part is the truth of God.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:07

Truth of God.

Speaker C [: 00:19:09

The truth

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:10

that is true in the midst of it because it doesn't feel like it or look like it or seem like it doesn't. How can I exalt in the midst of tribulation? Can I exalt in that? Right? He but Paul says because we know. Because we know. And that word for know means not only know, it means an expanded. We know, we remember, and we appreciate. We know as in I I have a firm conviction. I have to remember that in the midst of it and appreciate. I know I remember and I appreciate.

Scott Keffer [: 00:19:44

It's an expanded sense of I know it to be true, but I have to remind myself of it, don't I? Particularly when you're in the midst of being distressed. So the grace of god and the truth of god. And he says, here's the reality. Tribulation produces Tribulation has a work. Right? Has a has a outcome. What is it? Perseverance or as John Monroe used to say, proven character. Right? If you're Scottish, it's proven character and hope. So I love this.

Scott Keffer [: 00:20:21

Spurgeon said tribulation worketh. He said, naturally, it's not so. Tribulation worketh in patience. And the patience misses the fruit of experience and sours our hopelessness. Ask many who have buried a child, lost their wealth, suffered pain of body, and they will tell you that the natural result of affliction is to produce irritation. It's natural, isn't it? This is annoying. This is frustrating. This is aggravating.

Scott Keffer [: 00:20:51

But he said this will become irritation against providence, the providence of God, rebellion against God, questioning unbelief, petulance, and all sorts of evils. How many have been there? We've all been there. We've all been there. We grumble and question. But he said, what a wonderful alteration takes place when the heart is renewed by the Holy Spirit. Lord, I need your help. I need your help. I believe held by unbelief.

Scott Keffer [: 00:21:19

Right? The more the pressure, the harder it is. More the pressure, the harder it is. But the fact is sometimes daily distresses are as as as challenging as bigger ones. Because bigger ones oftentimes were at least on alert that this is going on. Right? On alert. They just said, I would I would rather have god just sprinkle perseverance and character and hope on me when I sleep. Okay. So please.

Scott Keffer [: 00:21:48

How many of you growing up with the record on that it was supposed to play at night and you'd you'd learn? Do you everybody remember that or the tape when you just let it run while you're sleeping, and I'll wake up smarter? It didn't work. That's what I want. I want God to sprinkle probing character. Just sprinkle those things on me. Right? Oh, dang. Not God's plan. Alright. Flip over.

Scott Keffer [: 00:22:15

But we have to understand, there's the grace of God and the truth of God. God said, I have results for this. It's not willy nilly. It's not random. Right? First of all, perseverance, which literally means endurance. Endurance. Steadfast. Patient waiting.

Scott Keffer [: 00:22:37

So in Romans 15, he says, whatever was written in four hundred days, old Testament, was written for our instruction so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope. Let us lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin would so easily entangles us and let us rung with endurance. That's the word. The race that is set before us. Oh, it's a race. Kinda like a marathon. No. It's more like, you know, one one of one of our top clients is a, is an Ironman.

Scott Keffer [: 00:23:15

Ironman. Ironman swims two and a half miles and then bikes a hundred and bazillion and then, you know, runs a marathon all in the same day on purpose. And he's done done many of them. We chat about that. The mindset is half of the deal. He said it's more than half of the deal. Yes. Gotta get your body in place, but it's the mindset is to not right.

Scott Keffer [: 00:23:42

How do I not quit? Because he said, I wanna stop and have a burger, you know, get it somewhere in there multiple times multiple times. So he says perseverance is part of the result. That's part of God's result. The The second part is proven character.

Speaker C [: 00:23:58

Proof

Scott Keffer [: 00:24:00

to your character. Proven character. First Peter, it says, in this, we greatly rejoice. Oh, I hate when they say that. Don't you? What? Come on. Because that's not what I wanna naturally do. Rejoice? Rejoice? It sounds like more joy. It's not just have joy, but rejoice, like, over and over again.

Scott Keffer [: 00:24:24

Come on. Even though for a little while, if necessary, you've been distressed distressed by various trials. But there's a SODA. What's that? That the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire may be found, the result of praise and glory and honor the revelation Jesus Christ. This is God doing this for your good. This is God doing this for your good. The yoga program that we use is, DDP. He was a former wrestler, Diamond Dallas Page, who blew out his back and bound through yoga.

Scott Keffer [: 00:25:14

He was able to wrestle again and learned all that. And, he said, when you get when you grow up, if you wanna stay fit, you have to learn to parent yourself. Yeah. Just think about that for a minute. Yeah. With your kids, you tell them, do this for your good. Don't do this. Then you grow up and you think, nobody's telling me what to do.

Scott Keffer [: 00:25:40

And then you think, I'm doing the things that I want, which are often not good for me. But I'm doing the things that I want, and I know I should, but I don't. So, parent, our our god is not just our god. He's our father. He is operating for our good. So proven character. And last, he he ends back where he began with hope. Starts with hope and ends with hope.

Scott Keffer [: 00:26:13

Back where we started. Oh, look. I said it's a joyful and triumphant confidence in the future. I only felt but expressed. And one of the things that Barry will say, you know, when and there there was a guy in our, program, another top client, and he was hundred pounds overweight. It's two hundred and eighty pounds overweight. And we worked, you know, we worked on the business side for a long time, and he got in his head. Barry's running a marathon.

Scott Keffer [: 00:26:40

I'm or doing an Ironman. I'm doing it too. First one, he fell out. Second one, he couldn't make it through. Third one, he finally did. He since right? He's now done two two Ironmans, lost a hundred pounds. And what he said is it changed the way I think about myself, the fact that I'm able to get through it. Right? It just totally changed, and he's a different person.

Scott Keffer [: 00:27:03

He's literally a different person. Is it necessary to overcome physical challenges? Not really, but there's something that happens. And And that's why God said, this is a proven part that you have confidence that I am able to do what you cannot do in the midst of this. That's the that's the idea. The experience expositor says of what God does for the justified amid the tribulations of this life, it animates a new vigor, the hope with which the life of faith begins. If there's a there's a confidence that comes, I may look back and say, I there's no way we got through that without god. Yeah. And then I get another one, and I go, oh, well, we you better take that one away.

Scott Keffer [: 00:27:45

Alright. You better take that one. And then he says, remember when, remember when, remember when. Yeah. But I know that was back then, and I'm on this side of it, and I don't wanna know one of those. But he said I was there then. I'm here now, and I'll be there again. Right? And he's writing these stories that stack upon themselves.

Scott Keffer [: 00:28:04

They stack so that your faith is confident. Scott. So we look back and remember, when we look forward, right, with with that same remembrance. Yes?

Speaker C [: 00:28:16

I was Navy Seal friend who, was in the seals for twenty four years, I think. And he came to Christ because of Navy SEAL training, and he knew he didn't get through SEAL training by himself. And it's a beautiful story of the person of of a human being being able to persevere through all that training.

Scott Keffer [: 00:28:42

Yeah. Because we have to come to grips with something that we can't do by ourselves. Right? We have to come to grips and then again and again and again. And as the miles build up in your life, there'll be more of those because we're we're weaker, less able to do that. God, even to your old age, it says in in in Psalms, I will be faithful even to your old age. Right? So that idea of hope. So God's hope, God's love, and God's provision. And it says God's hope does not disappoint.

Scott Keffer [: 00:29:17

What a great statement. God's hope God does not disappoint. I know, but you disappointed me. That's how you feel. Right? Well, that's only because you had an an ending to a story that was not his. That's so because we've created the outcome that I want. Unfortunately, our god can't be pushed into a corner or he doesn't design his story based upon how I wanted to go. His wisdom, his understanding is inscrutable beyond scrutiny.

Scott Keffer [: 00:29:53

Because I have a story that I think I wanna live. The way it should go, the way the timing should be. Right? But god's he says, god's hope does not disappoint. And, literally, it does not bring you to shame is what the Greek word means. It does not bring you to shame. It does not disgrace you. God will not disappoint you. And he says particularly because the love of God has been poured out.

Scott Keffer [: 00:30:29

One summer when we were in Long Beach Island in New Jersey, we vacationed there. It started to rain. We were at the pizza place. It started to rain, and then it I mean, and it rained and it rained and it rained and it rained and it rained and it

Speaker C [: 00:30:45

rained and it

Scott Keffer [: 00:30:45

rained and it rained. And pretty soon, we looked out of the window, and the the water was literally up to the top of the wheel well, right, in our car. And we find we it was the van. We finally got out there, and it just rained for two days. Hurricane I think there was a hurricane blew off the the roof of somebody at the end of the island. It seemed like the rain would never end. How many have been into a a rainstorm like that? Well, it says the love of God pours down upon you like that. It rains and it rains and it rains and it never ends.

Scott Keffer [: 00:31:22

And McLaren says the love of God, eternal self originated, the source of all Christian experiences because of the work of Christ, which originates them all, is the root fact of the universe. I love that. It's the root fact. The love of God is the root fact of the universe, and the guarantee that our highest anticipations and desires are not unsubstantiated visions, but they are morning dreams. Morning dreams. What does that mean? Through the night. There's a night, but the morning always comes. Morning dreams, which are proverbial for for bad things, and they are sure to be fulfilled.

Scott Keffer [: 00:32:01

God is love. Therefore, the man who trusts him shall not be put into shame. Ain't that a good thought? Right? Not be put to shame. The warning. And he's gonna pour that out experientially into our hearts, through the holy spirit. This is not without some experience. How How many of you experienced that in the midst of a tribulation, just the deep calm and a deep peace where it doesn't seem to make sense? Doesn't seem it seems to be counter to the anxiety that light produces, Like, that he sheds his his love. He pours out his love into our

Speaker C [: 00:32:43

heart, through our heart.

Scott Keffer [: 00:32:47

And when I think about that, I think about the new covenant. That's the new covenant. I will give you a new heart. Take out your heart of stone. I will give you a new heart and a new spirit, and I'll put my spirit within you. How does that happen? You can't do your own heart surgery. You can't do a physical heart surgery like this. God says, I will take your heart of stone out, give you a heart of flesh, put a new spirit within you and my spirit, and therefore, we will communicate.

Scott Keffer [: 00:33:20

The spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of god. Right? Where is that the spirit of god is speaking to our spirit that we're children of god. You are a letter of Christ. Oh, seems kind of sledge. My letter sometimes. But he says you're a letter of Christ, character wise, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not on tablet of stone, but on tablets of human hearts. He's riding by his spirit in you. Right? He's pouring out his love into your heart.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:01

So what do we do with this? What do we do with this? Embracing, tribulation. Right? So I think when I look at this, press on. I think it means press on because endurance literally is under, right, and in. We press on under and in. What I want is out. That's what I want, but endurance means under and in. Right? But what I want is out. And that's what I'm always praying for.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:29

We're out of the pressure. Give me out of the pressure. Right? But he's saying, now we're gonna press on in it, and you do that with divine purpose. If I understand the sovereignty of god, god has a divine purpose in the midst of this. And it's not just for you, by the way. It's for it's for you and through you. It's for you and through you. Not just for Anne, but it's through Anne.

Scott Keffer [: 00:34:52

For our encouragement. As we look at Anne, we're encouraged by her faith. We're saying if Anne can go through this. Right? God's sufficient for her, it'd be sufficient for me. Because you'll have your and moments, but we need to press on in the midst of it. So how do you e, doc, tez, which is know, remember, and appreciate? Right? That's what it means to go. How do you know, remember, and appreciate? What's the process you have when you're in the midst of tribulation to remind yourself what you're convinced of? Paul says, well, I'm convinced that neither death nor light nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creative thing will separate us from the love of god. So he's convinced to that, but how do you remember and appreciate it? So you think about that.

Scott Keffer [: 00:35:43

What is my process when I start to grumble, when I start to not exalt? What is my nonexault process? I need to know, I need to remember, and I need to appreciate. KRA, I need to know, I need to remember, and I need to appreciate. So one thing, he says, one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward. There's a reaching forward. So in other words, rather than running out of press into rather than running out of press into, the stowage used to say the obstacle is the way. The obstacle is the way. See, we want out, don't we? He wants under. So we press into it press into it with this idea that that I'm I'm called here.

Scott Keffer [: 00:36:36

What am I called for? There's an outward call on your life. This is not a random tribulation. Everybody get that? Your purpose hasn't changed in the midst of the tribulation. He's saying you press on. You press into with the idea that there's purpose in this. God's provident and assures it of it. So I thought I'd I'd I'd try this. I put this into to our business.

Scott Keffer [: 00:37:03

We learn to to use chat g p t in lots of different ways. So I put this into chat g p t. How would you, if you're the devil, stop a long time Christian from meeting their potential and fulfilling their life's purpose? So I asked chat g p t. He's and here's the answer. Because here's the truth. And as the devil, I hate it. A Christian fully alive in their purpose is a dangerous weapon to the kingdom of darkness. So I wouldn't have tried to destroy them.

Scott Keffer [: 00:37:32

I tried to distract, diminish, and discourage them until they fade quietly into a life that they were never meant to settle for. Wow. That's awesome. Oh, that's awesome. Only are are, like, shocked by that. That's the answer. Then I said, so what is that how would you do that? And Chad GPT said, I whisper doubt as humility. In other words, god can't use me.

Scott Keffer [: 00:38:03

Oh, no. I'm not. Oh, no. I I'm I'm too weak. I've blown it too many times. I just need to be humble and no. Just stay out of, you know, the the you know, that that somehow. Number two, he said use busyness to mask barrenness.

Scott Keffer [: 00:38:22

Just keep doing stuff. Keep doing stuff. The next was saturate them in comparison. Look at look at them over there. Holy smokes. Look at Paul. I mean, look what he did. I can't be much to me.

Scott Keffer [: 00:38:38

Right? Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness on your plot. It's plot envy. It's gift envy. Right? It's fruit envy. Start to envy. Right? Compare yourself. Next, they said, we redefine success in earthly terms. Get confused about what does success really mean.

Scott Keffer [: 00:39:02

We feed the inner critic. I mean, you have a loud inner critic. You know, sometimes the devil right? I would people say, I I the playing the devil's advocate. The inner voice is the devil's advocate. Right? Devil's advocate. Because the devil is the accuser of the brother, and the inner critic accuses you. Devil devil don't need your help. Like, stop helping the devil.

Scott Keffer [: 00:39:30

Like, let them be comfortable. Relax. Lean the barbelonger back. You know? Cruise down the river, and then distract them, of course, from hitting the sea. So, of course, the more miles you get on the machine, the more that we long for. Well, I deserve comfort. I mean, I've been doing this a long time. Come on.

Scott Keffer [: 00:39:58

Come on. So I put comfort anesthetizes calling. Comfort. Anesthetizes calling. Oh, wait. So press on. Press on. In the midst of tribulation.

Scott Keffer [: 00:40:17

Press on. Press on. Alright. We're done an insight or an application from today? Insight or an application from today. That's good. And what's interesting over a little bit over. When she returned to her house, where she grew up Yeah. She was being interviewed by a reporter who said, wow.

Scott Keffer [: 00:40:50

The Lord has really blessed you. And she said you're confused. I'm not any more blessed here than I was in the concentration camp. You know, that that's hard for us to kind of fathom, but that's, you know, that's kind of the mindset. In the middle of the race, you don't pray to to stop it. No. You know, you press on. You look you you keep to the prize.

Scott Keffer [: 00:41:13

Keep to the prize. Yes. Anderson has been in that the spiritual warfare for a long time many many many years. And CS Lewis put, his book, Power with the Devil. Screw Dave Leonard. Screw Dave Leonard. That's a great I mean, it's a great essentially being the enemy, and here's what I do. May he bless you.

Scott Keffer [: 00:41:30

May he keep you. May he cause his face to shine upon you. May he lift up his countenance and bring you his shalom deep in your soul so that you would endure with great, great joy. May he bless you and keep you. Amen.

Scott Keffer [: 00:41:47

Thanks for listening. I hope you have greater hope, assurance, and confidence in your life and a deeper trust in the God of the Bible and his son, Jesus Christ. Until next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. And may the Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you his peace, his shalom in your soul and in your life. Until next time, may God bless you and keep you.