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[Silence] How good it is to give thanks to the Lord. To sing in your honor, most high God. To proclaim your constant love every morning and your gratefulness every night.

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Your mighty acts, Lord, make me glad because of what you have done. I sing for joy. I pray for your acts, Lord. I believe in your thoughts. May we bow our heads in prayer. Oh, our Heavenly Father, our gracious God, we thank thee for allowing us and giving us the opportunity to our Heavenly Father

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to assemble this morning in the house of the Lord. Heavenly Father, we thank thee for all the blessings you have stored upon us this past week, our Heavenly Father. For the rains that have come from the heaven, from the sun that have shined upon us, our Heavenly Father. Our Father, let us be concerned and considerate of those who are less fortunate than us, our Heavenly Father.

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Let us go out into the world, our Heavenly Father, and be that type of shepherd and that type of God in light that you would have us to be. Our Heavenly Fathers, we're assembled here this morning in the house of the Lord. Let their hands lie on our leader, our Heavenly Father, as he brings the message to us this morning. Our Father, let our minds be open and our hearts be open, our Heavenly Father, to receive that message.

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And then when we go away from this place, our Heavenly Father, let what we've learned this morning and what we've heard this morning, our Heavenly Father, let us go out into the world and teach others, our Heavenly Father, that they too can be Christians. These many blessings we ask in the name of your darling Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Let's turn everyone in the handbooks to page 8. This is a time for singing. Let us all sing praise unto the Lord at this time. [MUSIC PLAYING]

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Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation. All might, all praise, the Lord's King is thy health and salvation. ♪ All ye who hear ♪ ♪ God who lifteth up from the dead ♪

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♪ Bring him with glad adoration ♪ ♪ Praise to the Lord who holds his feet ♪ ♪ No one must be raided ♪ ♪ Shall the Queen of His Queen's gates ♪

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♪ O'er Him lift the faces ♪ ♪ And on the sea of our desire and happiness ♪ ♪ And in Him our tears are laid less ♪ ♪ Amen ♪

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Amen. Our scripture this morning is taken from 1 Samuel 9, 1 through 4, and 10, 1 through 7. Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abil, the son of Zahor,

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the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son whose name was Saul, a charge young man and a goodly. And there was not among the children of Israel a goodly a person than he. From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

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And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul, his son, "Take now one of the servants with thee and arise. Go, seek the asses." 10, 1 through 7.

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Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it upon his head and kissed him and said, "It is not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance. When thou art departed from me, then thou shalt find two men of Rachel's sepulchre in the border of the Benjamin and Zilla, and they will say unto thee, 'The assets which

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thou wantest to seek or found, and lo, thy father has left the care of the ashes, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? Then shalt I go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee there three men going up to God, to Bethel, one carrying three kids,

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and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine. And they will salute thee and give thee two loaves of bread, which thou shalt receive of their hands. After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines, and it shall come to pass then, when thou art come thither to the city,

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that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery and a tablet and a pipe and a harp before them, and they shall prophesy. The Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee,

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and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. And let it be then, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee, for God is with thee.

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This is our time of prayer together. we invite you to assemble to the altar that together as a family we may unite our hearts in the blessed fellowship of prayer.

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[MUSIC PLAYING] [Music] May we bow our heads and close our eyes as we commune with the Heavenly Father. O gracious God, Father of us all, in whom we live, move, and have our being, we give

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you thanks for ushering us into a new day. You have pushed back the curtain of darkness and caused us to see the dawn. We thank you. You washed your world last night and cleansed it.

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We pray for your spirit to wash our lives anew, cleanse us of evil thoughts, purge us of any jealousy or malice or anything, O Lord, that might serve as a barrier in having us to worship you in spirit and in truth this day. We thank you for your healing mercy, for the manifestation of your power in healing for

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those who've been in hospitals, some in homes, and some of us present here right now. We pray that you would continue to bless those who remain in the hospitals and in the homes who may be suffering from the infirmities of this life. We would thank you for our family, for those loved ones that are a source of comfort and companionship. And we give you

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thanks for friendship and for the gift of memory. And as we stand together as your people here at Ebenezer, we would thank you for having saved our lives, for having brought us out of darkness into the marvelous light, and for the challenge and for the commission that you have entrusted to us to be witnesses

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unto you. Oh bless us as even in our feeble way and as finite creatures of the dust we seek to glorify your name. We would ask your blessings upon our nation and upon the nations of this world. Help us to be flaming witnesses letting others know of your goodness and of your love and of your saving power. Oh bless and use us

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in this hour so that when we leave this place we may be better persons for having worshipped here this day. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen. [MUSIC PLAYING] (clears throat)

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(clears throat) (ominous music) (coughing) (somber music)

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(gentle music) [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING]

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[silence] (bell tolling) [ Music ] I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus,

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since I've found in him a friend so strong and true. I could tell you how he changed my life completely. He did something that no other friend could do. No one ever cared for me like Jesus.

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There's no other prince of honey as he. No one else could take the sins and darkness from me. Oh, how much he gave for me. All my life was full of sin when Jesus followed me.

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All my heart was full of misery and woe. Jesus placed his strong and loving arms upon me. ♪ I'm here to be the way I ought to go ♪ ♪ No one ever cared for me ♪

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♪ Like Jesus ♪ ♪ There's no other friend so kind ♪ as he. No one else could take the sins and darkness from me.

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Oh, how much he cared for me. [MUSIC] More and more I understand his words of love. But I'll never know just why he came to save me.

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Till someday I see his blessed face above. No one ever cared for me like Jesus. There's no other prince so kind as he. No one else could take the sin and darkness from me.

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No one else cared for me. No one ever cared for me like Jesus. There's no other friend so kind as he. No one else could take the sin and darkness from me.

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Oh, how much he cared. Oh, how much he cared. O how much He cared for me. Amen, amen.

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We worship the Lord now in our giving. Let every one of us give according to how the Lord has prospered you. "He that giveth sparingly shall reap sparingly; he that giveth bountifully shall reap bountifully." Let us pray.

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Bless us, O Lord, in this time of sharing, that we may give, first of all, ourselves, as did the Macedonians of old. and then submit to you our substance that it may be used to enrich our lives and for the furtherance of the kingdom.

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We ask in Jesus' name, amen. Brother Reed, if you'll start now with the announcements. [Music] Have I given anything today?

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Have I out the nettle on the way? From the dawn till the day's done? ♪ Have I owed it anyone? ♪ ♪ Shall I weep for what I've done today? ♪

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♪ Oh, today ♪ ♪ Oh, today ♪ ♪ Oh, today ♪ ♪ Have I made ♪

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♪ Some great acclaim ♪ ♪ On my way ♪ ♪ Just know I've done my best ♪ ♪ As I go ♪

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♪ To take my rest ♪ ♪ Let my name ♪ ♪ Be with the blood ♪ ♪ Today ♪

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♪ Have I made ♪ ♪ Some person glad ♪ ♪ Today ♪ ♪ Did I try ♪

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♪ To cheer the sad ♪ ♪ On their way ♪ ♪ Did I counsel with that ♪ ♪ Try to make some poor heart glad ♪

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♪ And shall we ♪ ♪ If what I've had ♪ ♪ Today ♪ ♪ Oh, today ♪

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♪ Oh, today ♪ ♪ Oh, today ♪ ♪ Till I fail ♪ ♪ There's a greater claim ♪

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♪ On my way ♪ ♪ Just to look under my veil ♪ ♪ As I go ♪ ♪ Don't take my word ♪

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♪ What a fine day ♪ ♪ Be with the blessed ♪ ♪ Today ♪ ♪ Oh ♪

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♪ Today ♪ - Amen. this word as it is given in the Living Bible paraphrased, 1 Samuel, the ninth chapter, the first five verses. Kish was a rich influential man from the tribe of

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Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel, grandson of Zerah, great-grandson of of Bekorah and the great, great grandson of Apiah. His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel and he was head and shoulders taller

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than anyone else in the land. One day, Kish's donkeys strayed away, so he sent Saul and a servant to look for them. They traveled all through the hill country of Ephraim

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and the land of Shalissa and Shalem and the entire land of Benjamin, but couldn't find them anywhere. Finally after searching in the land of Zuth, Saul said to the servant, "Let's go home.

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By now my father will be more worried about us than about the donkeys." Thus ended the reading of the scripture. The subject of the message, search for a usable future. Search for a usable future.

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We ponder and wonder about the future. What will happen tomorrow? We consult our crystal ball and anxiously ask, what does the future hold?

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We pray saying, thy kingdom come, because we are concerned about the future. Our future is shaped however, by our relationship to the king

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and our acceptance and performance of our responsibilities as citizens of his kingdom. Therefore, our pilgrimage in this life from the cradle to the grave

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is a search for a usable future. Israel is engaged in a meaningful and determined search for a usable future. She comes out of Egypt in search of a place somewhere to be. And each of us engages in a search for a place to house our being, a place where we are free

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to be ourselves. I need a place where I can be me, and so do you. When Israel finds the place, she needs the structure and strategy in which being may develop.

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And in the search, Israel embarks upon a journey. She has the experience of going from slavery in Egypt to the period of the 12 tribes, and then from that to the time of the judges. Now she seeks to be united into a kingdom under a single leader.

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The people are searching, are seeking for a king. They want a national leader with authority, efficiency, and power.

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They are searching for a usable future. The Prophet tells them that they do not need a king, that the selection of a king will undermine their basic faith in God, but they are free to choose so they continue the search for a usable future. In the search Saul is discovered the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin one

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who appears to be well qualified for the office. He's from a wealthy family. He's young, he's tall and handsome, he stands head and shoulders above every other man in Israel. And Saul seems to have the necessary credentials. He has energy, he's young, he has good looks, comes from a wealthy family, so he has noble heritage,

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rich family background. He has the things that people usually associate with royalty. He belongs to a tribe that is noted for its bravery. His father has the reputation of being a mighty man of valor. And one needs courage to effectively engage in the search for a usable future. We need not only courage, but we need

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courage and fortitude. Someone has said that courage is grace under pressure. It It is that which enables us as individuals to face the future unafraid. Now as the curtain is lifted on Saul, he appears for the first time in the Bible while this search is being made for a leader.

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And while Israel is engaged in a search, we find that as the curtain is lifted on Saul, he too is engaged in a search for a usable future. He's looking for his father's lost assets. He's looking for the donkeys that his father has lost.

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They're part of the father's possession. They have been secured with the intention of providing service for the future, but they are lost. It goes without saying that if they are lost, they are of no use, and hence it is necessary

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to engage in a search to find them. The ashes belong to the father, but they are not in his service because they are lost. which the father purchases he plans to use. You see we belong to the heavenly father we've been bought with the price we're not our own we belong to the

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father. The people of God the Church of today is engaged in a search for the Father's possession. It is a search for a usable future that which will be of use in the future in the Father's service. You see Saul is sent by his Father to search for his Father's possession. We too are sent by the Father.

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Jesus says as the Father has sent me so send I you. During this search they passed through the land of Shalem but they did not find the donkeys there. They passed through the land of Benjamin but they did not find them. They came to the land of Zuth. And Saul said to his servant, "Come let us go back lest our father become anxious about us."

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In other words, let us go back lest the father worry about us and we become lost ourselves in the search for the lost. And in our search for a usable future we must be careful lest we ourselves ourselves become lost from the Father while we are seeking the Father's lost possession. Paul is aware of this when he says, "lest having preached the gospel to

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others I myself become a castaway." Now Saul is looking for his father's donkeys. Donkey is a symbol of a burden, it's a beast of burden, one who carries the load, one who is patient and faithful in performing the tasks. And we who belong to the Father are to do the Father's work. We're to carry the Father's burden

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And the burden we carry should be the burden of the Lord, the burden for the lost, the burden for those who are alienated, who are separated from the eternal reality, the burden lives that have been beaten and bruised by the brutal circumstances of human existence. We are to be burden bearers. We are to be willing to carry the load, not

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only to carry the load that is ours, but to share the load. For in the search for usable future there are responsibilities to be shared, burdens to be carried, fields to be plowed, grain to be harvested, and in the search for a usable future there are loads to lift. There is hard work to do. There are struggles in which to

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engage. Saul is aware of a danger that they must be careful lest in searching for this usable future that they become lost themselves. But the servant says "Behold there is a man of God in this city. Let us consult him about our journey. You know sometimes in our search we leave God out of our plans. We set out

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on journeys without seeking divine direction and so we do not know where we are. We often do not know whose we are. We do not know where we are going and how to get there. There's a saying that if you don't know where you're going you better ask somebody. Well Saul and his servant asked the Prophet, they seek

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counsel from the Prophet Samuel, they seek counsel from God, they decide to ask the Lord. Oh so many people today are engaged, all of us in fact are engaged in a search for a usable future, a future that we can really use in a meaningful way, a future that will enrich our lives, a future that will enable us to conform

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to God's divine design for our lives. Some time ago, I was searching for a key that is used for to light the logs in the fireplace, gas lighter and the key that had become damaged

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and I called all over town and this one said, yes, I have it and I would drive over there and I purchased one, I brought it back and it was too short to get where it needed to go.

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And I called again and I got another one and I found out it did not work. And so often we find ourselves exerting a great deal of energy and paying a great price

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for a future that really does not mean much to us. But here they are, a nation engaged in a search for a usable future. And here is Saul and his father's servant together

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engaged in a search for a usable future and they come to seek divine direction. They decide to ask the Lord. So in order to have a usable future,

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we need the counsel of the divine. We need a sure guide. Probably Saul and his servant were going around in circles. And so often that's the case.

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If you ever been lost in a city and you keep going around and you pass this street and you keep on going, you say, well, I passed that street before.

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And you keep going, you're lost. Sometimes you get on what you call a loop and the loop just goes around the city. It doesn't go anywhere outside the city

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for the most part, it just circles the city, and many times we find ourselves just circling the city. And there is a need to seek divine counsel. We need to find what God has to say to us.

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We need not to keep reversing ourselves and going over the same roads, taking the same paths that lead nowhere. We often find ourselves on dead-end streets and loops and circles, but we need to find that path that takes us where we need to go, and God has provided a map for the journey.

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There is a divine design for our life. There are instructions for the road. The man of God is the interpreter who is stationed along life's way. And so they come to Samuel seeking direction.

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Well when Saul and his servant meet the prophet Samuel, to their amazement, Samuel in that encounter not only has Saul to come and eat with him, but he provides sleep for him, an opportunity for him to stay with him, he provides a bed for him. And then in the course of the visit, God speaks to Samuel. Samuel is the seer. He

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too is, you see, seeking a usable future and he is one who is constantly in seeking a usable future, who's constantly seeking to know the will of God, that he might reveal that will to others. And so God speaks to Samuel in his search and says, "You know the man I was telling you about who is to be the

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next king of Israel? Well this is the one, Saul is the one. You anoint him as the king of Israel. So Israel searches for a usable future and her search involves finding a leader for the nation. Saul's search for a usable future involves finding his father's lost possession. Samuel's search for a usable

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future involves knowing and revealing God's will. And so each of us here seated in this sanctuary, or those who may be listening, receive what they are seeking when what they are seeking is in the plan of God. And the new leader is selected. The lost donkeys are found. It is all according to divine direction.

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God's will is sought and it is made known. It is obeyed. Some things we seek are perishable. But when God is paramount in our search, we are related to that which is permanent. You see, what is most important as we seek a usable future is to somehow be rightly related to life's abiding values. For there are things that

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pass away, and in the midst of all of the transitoriness of life, we are to cling and to search for that which abides. Paul puts it this way, "Now abideth faith, hope, love, but the greatest of these is love." So if we would have a usable future, we must accept our responsibility, the responsibility which is ours under God,

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to be participants with him in searching for that which is his lost possession. If we would engage in a meaningful search for a usable future, we must carry our burdens. We must seek the lost, we must be patient in the search, and to be patient is not to give up. They just kept on searching, they did not give up and that

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searching involved not only making a great deal of effort and going here and there, that search involved waiting, patiently waiting, not giving up. It is to keep on keeping on. It is to seek divine direction. If we would have a usable future we must make God's will our own and you will always find with God a

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future that is useful to you because when we have God we have everything we need when we have God we have the strength that we need when we have God we have that eternal hope that is realized and concretized in our lives. When we have God, we have the abiding assurance that all will be well with us.

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When we have God, we have the eternal guarantee. When we have God, oh God, our Our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home. See, that's our future.

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We may not know what the future holds, but if we know God, we have laid hold to the future. So we have that one, the only one, who is the same yesterday. [AUDIO OUT] [ Silence ]