Ep 43: Understanding Suffering and Peace Through the Bible (Part 2)

Have you ever caught yourself sinking deep into your woes, only to realize that the solution lies in shifting your perspective? Well, you’re not alone. Join us for part 2 of a message full of deep insight, heartwarming anecdotes and light-hearted remembrance!

On a lighter note, we also relive the animated interaction Pastor Dave Goyke from Calvary Chapel Waupaca, Wisconsin, had with Teddy/ Fred at an East Coast Pastors' conference. What initially felt like an overwhelming wave of fast-paced chatter, gradually unfolded into a deeper understanding and appreciation of Fred's ministry and a strong brotherhood spanning many years. That chance meeting led to Fred’s teaching from the book of Genesis for the congregation at Waupaca, Wisconsin. So, tune and prepare yourself for an episode that promises to broaden your outlook and inspire a heavenly perspective.

Message by
Fred David Kenney, Jr.,
Pastor/ President & Artistic Director of Plays On Word Theater

Message given at
Calvary Chapel Waupaca: https://calvarychapelwaupaca.org/

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Lord, you know, I want you to listen. To place on Word radio.

Speaker 2: 0:04

We need to understand we are souljourners here in this life. This life is not the end, all be all. If I was to tell you you're freshman year in high school high school is all there is, you'd be like what's this? Ridiculous. But many of us live our lives as if this life is all there is High school in comparison to your lifetime God willing, you live a long time high school is like really small. Well, this lifetime in comparison to eternity. Why stress out over it? There are things we need to be aware of, but we need to keep our perspective. Amen.

Speaker 3: 0:59

Hello and welcome to Place on Word radio, where we discuss, analyze, work and play on the Word of God. Thank you for joining us on this excursion. Today let's join Pastor Teddy, also known as Fred David Kenney Jr, the founder of Place on Word Theater, as he does a deep dive into the Word of God.

Speaker 2: 2:01

This guy. He used to take the subway in New York. Can I tell this story a lot. I got it from actually got it from the guy who did the radio program, the Gettysburg guy. Yeah, he told this story about this guy who used to take the subway every day for work and he hated it and it was crowded, but he enjoyed taking the subway on Sunday because no one was on the subway and it was great. He could sit there, read his paper and relax. So this one Sunday he's sitting there, he's reading his paper and just like God, this is great, you know.

Speaker 2: 2:25

And all of a sudden this guy comes on with two kids and the kids are running around making all kinds of noise, creating a ruckus, and the guy's sitting there reading the paper and he starts getting really upset. Man, like I can't believe this man, this guy. He's letting his kids run crazy. Finally he couldn't take it anymore. He said can you say something? Can you do something about your kids? And the dad says I would. Their mother just died. We just came from the hospital. I don't even know what to say to them.

Speaker 2: 2:52

Instantly this guy's perspective got shifted. Now he's not angry, he's shown he wants to show compassion to this dad and the kids. The situation didn't change. His perspective changed. We need to have a perspective, a heavenly perspective, because sometimes we're so, so zoomed in on our problems and I'm saying this from experience. I'm a pro at this. Okay, being zoomed in on, I don't have it all dialed in, being zoomed in on my problems and then the Lord has to pull me back and say wait a second, you know I'm sovereign over this. The idea is the destination. We need to keep focused on the destination when we're going and who we're going to.

Speaker 2: 3:36

In Genesis 50, verse 25, that's beyond where we were the text we're looking at talks about Joseph making his brother's promise that they wouldn't leave him buried in Egypt. They would take his bones. He understood Joseph, and his only recorded visit was when he went to bury his dad and he came back to Egypt. And then, when he died, he made his brothers promise to take him to the land of Canaan. They didn't do that until 400 years later, but they did take his bones up. He understood he was a sojourner. We need to understand we are sojourners here in this life. Right, this life is not the end, all be all.

Speaker 2: 4:09

If I was to tell you, those of you that haven't been in high school yet, just disregard this for a second. But those of us that have been in high school, if I was to tell you you're a freshman year in high school, high school is all there is, you'd be like what are you talking about, man? It's ridiculous, but many of us live our lives as if you know this life is all there. Is High school right? In comparison to your lifetime God willing, you live a long time high school is like really small. Well, this lifetime in comparison to eternity. Why stress out over it? There are things we need to be aware of, but we need to keep our perspective. Amen.

Speaker 2: 4:44

So his brothers, verse 18,. His brothers fell down and they were worried because of sin, and sin produces fear. I don't care who acts like they're not afraid or whatever. At some point when, at some point, there will be fear produced because of sin. And the brothers fell down and that's a sign of true repentance, true changing. They fell down and worshiped him basically and said we're your servants.

Speaker 2: 5:11

And Joseph said don't be afraid of mine, the place of God. Now, this is where the example kind of falls apart, like the shadows, types and shadows. You can't hold them and expect them to walk on all fours. You know you can't force a type and a shadow. This is where it falls apart, because Jesus but Joseph says am I in the place of God? The answer is no, jesus is God, I mean. So that's where it falls apart. You know, jesus is not just in the place of God, but he is God If you go back and read Philippians, chapter two and so verse 20, but as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, in order to bring about this day, to save many people. And you remember, you remember the ways example I gave you. You know there was a greater purpose for us to be detoured and the difficulty that we faced, that little difficulty that we faced.

Speaker 2: 6:02

God is sovereign overall, he's good, he's absolutely good. Some suffering is not understandable, some suffering that we see. There is no explanation for it. But I can tell you this that the God that we serve, our heavenly Father, is good, perfect love, beyond what we can comprehend. He does not make mistakes. So in him allowing certain things, when he says it's okay and puts it okay on, not that he causes all these things, but him allowing it there is a perfect reason for it. And when we get to glory, the destination, we are going to say Bravo, bravo, bravo, wow, bravo. We will have a heavenly perspective and we will understand much greater than we do at the present time. So, joseph, he ends up. He ends saying now there for verse 21,. We'll close it Now. Therefore, do not be afraid, I will provide for you and your little ones. And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them, and this is another example of Christ and the kindness of God towards us.

Speaker 2: 7:10

The main point I wanted to get across and I hope it did was that in this world, we're going to have tribulation, we're going to have trouble, we're going to have difficulty. We're not exempt Because we're in the family of God, although we are royal. Don't don't forget that either. Don't forget that we are, we are called sons of the living God, and if Christ Jesus himself I don't think that I mentioned a cross of Christ I that was a, let me just. I said there's two things and I never gave you the second thing. The first thing was the nature, character and nature of God. He's perfect, he doesn't make mistakes. But the second thing that's most important, the second thing that's most important is the cross of Christ. Okay, god is perfect, loving, doesn't make mistakes. That's number one. Number two is the cross of Christ. Those two things can get you through any difficulty.

Speaker 2: 8:02

Because if God Almighty had to suffer and he went to the cross and bled and died, he couldn't get out of it the first go through this first run. He couldn't even get out of it. In fact, he went to it because of the joy that was set before him. He willingly went to the cross. But if he was not exempt from suffering, then who are we to think that we are exempt from suffering? We need to be like you know what? Okay, let me find God in this Lord. Where are you in this? And don't stop until you hear from him, because he will bring you through that. And when we look back, it'll be like looking back at high school for those of you are young, don't, you're not there yet. But some of us old heads, you know, we look back at us a long time ago. I don't remember what went on there. That's gonna be the same thing. We're gonna look back and that's who cares. This is way more important. Amen. I just wanted to encourage you guys with that.

Speaker 2: 8:55

Let me close in prayer. Heavenly father, lord God, we praise you, we thank you, lord, we worship you. I thank you for your word that we have that can guide our lives, lord, god. I pray for every single person here, lord, that you would draw us closer to you and help us, lord, in our time of need, that you would make our minds seek you first, that we would look to you first and that we would offer praise in the midst of any difficulty we might be facing. Lord God, and I pray for anybody here that might not know you, lord. Maybe they just know about you and they know who they are. If anyone is in here, lord, that is not sure that they're in the family of God, I just pray for for them, that you would help them to Reach out to you, lord, and to be saved, to be, to make it official that they are indeed in the family of God, that they would just come to you through prayer, ask for forgiveness, asked to be filled with your spirit, lord God, and that you would indeed Fill them and help them and us that are in the family of God.

Speaker 2: 9:57

Lord, god, we need you more than ever right now and we do pray that your spirit would guide us. Help us, lord. We are weak. We need your strength. Help us to do all things in the strength and the power of your spirit that you would be glorified. Lord, bless this church, this body of believers. May your spirit rest on everyone here. May you be pleased in the work that you do through this place and bring multitudes to Christ through this place. In Jesus name, we pray and God's people said amen. You know we move on us to how we choose our own souls and Relationship and who do not love for your love and bondage, for your love and bondage for the lost. They are at the heart of what it is and we marry love for those who hear love, love, love, love, love. Jesus, help those of you know love and bondage for the lost. You you.

Speaker 1: 11:48

So we were just so blessed that Fred and his wife Katie were able to came out here last, you know, this weekend and joined us. And play last night was just wonderful if you were here. It was such a blessing. If you weren't here, have no fear, we're trying to talk them in to come back to Wisconsin again. We'll see if we can do that. But before we, fred's gonna bring us a message this morning. Fred is a pastor and so, don't worry, he didn't sleep at a holiday and last night but he is a pastor. So but Fred's gonna bring our message this morning. He's also worship leader at his church and I just want to share how we got hooked up. You know, wow, how did these guys from New Jersey get here and you guys don't have a New Jersey accent either, by the way so how did they get here? How do we ever get this arrangement? And and so here's the story I used to go to a pastors conference on the West Coast in California and when Pastor Chuck Smith passed away, that get concert or that, that conference kind of dissolved, it kind of went away, and I didn't have a conference that I went to for a while and I was kind of hungry for fellowship with the pastors and teaching and being fed.

Speaker 1: 12:54

So I started going to the East Coast pastors conference in Philadelphia, and I think the first year I was 2018, and that year we were at Sandy Cove conference centers on Chesapeake Bay really beautiful place and I went alone and that was by design. I like to go and just I want to go away with the Lord and I need that time to be refreshed in in fellowship with the pastors and just hear from the Lord and be fed, and so it was a very selfish time for me going to pastors conferences, so I went and, as I was there one one of the first days, I go through the lunch line. I'm going in the lunchroom and there's these round tables and there's a bunch of guys at the tables. Fred was one of them and and he goes hey, you know, watch, go home and join us. You know he saw I was alone, so I sat down with them and so I'm meeting this group of guys that are there and some of my believe are from your church perhaps, and I don't know who all these guys were. Man, it was just this group of guys.

Speaker 1: 13:47

And here I'm there, you know, and, and so I look at his name, taken says Fred, and something okay, the guy's name is Fred, but everybody's calling him Teddy. And I'm thinking, no, it's this Fred. You know what's this Teddy? And then somebody at the table or somebody walks by or something says, hey, kenny, you know. And and then you know, throughout this conversation, somebody used the word, the name David, and I'm thinking, okay, what is this dude's name? Is it Fred, is it Ted? Is it David? Is it Kenny? What? What is this guy's name?

Speaker 1: 14:21

And so he, he became in my mind this guy that's got like four first meetings and I still don't know what's lasting, and so I'm just sitting there trying to process this and and you know, and all this conversation is going on, I'm listening to these guys and in East Coast, guys a little more lively than us, miss what midwesters, so midwesterners. So you know, I'm just kind of overwhelmed by this conversation. It's going on and all this stuff, and and then we're talking and all of a sudden, in the middle of a conversation, fred goes into like one of his characters from one of his plays, and there was no really rhyme or reason for it. We're just talking, all of a sudden he's in character and there's this and I'm thinking who is this guy? And I'm kind of thinking in my mind, maybe I should eat over there. And then I'm thinking, do I avoid this group for the rest of the conference because these guys are weird? And and this was my lunch experience, my first time at the East Coast pastors conference, and I thought, man, I always thought people were crazy in California, but out here on the East Coast and man, so that's where I met Fred and the guys. But I say this, all but man, was this a loving and a group that just took me in here? I was kind of like the orphan out there and they took me in and throughout that whole conference these guys are always reaching out to me and, you know, trying to make me feel comfortable and like I have friends, you know, and his poor guy's got no friends, he comes out here alone, and so they, they adopted me and took me in.

Speaker 1: 15:53

And the thing is, at these conferences now last year there was what like 1800 or 2000 guys at this conference last year and with that number of people, every year the Lord brings me and Fred together and somehow we we connect and we spend time together. This year we had some great fellowship. Pastor Bostia comes with me now to the East Coast Conference and so Fred and I and Bostia had some fellowship and we ate at least one meal together. It's just the Lord just kept bringing us together and and I learned more about the ministry and I got to realize that he's not so bad as I thought originally and and I did some research and I found out that, you know, even though he does have four first names, one of them is a last name, one of them is a middle name and the other two are just whichever you want to use. So so I really began to enjoy and look forward to when I see Fred out at the conferences and I just praise God that he brings us together. And so, you know, I learned more about the ministry over the years plays on word and what they're doing and how God is using that ministry and I just really felt that you know, from getting to know Fred, we're just very like-minded, very kindred spirits.

Speaker 1: 17:05

The ministry is something I think fits us as a church here in Wapak, wisconsin, very well. I love the fact that it's evangelistic. It shares the gospel. He will not I don't know if he'll do anything while sharing the gospel. I have the gospel involved, I have God in it, and so that's something that we can get behind all day, and so that's where this relationship came from.

Speaker 1: 17:26

So it started with oh my gosh, what did I get into? Two I think I have a brother who has become a friend, who I really have learned to love and appreciate what he and his wife do, and it just was time that they come here to Wisconsin. And then it was for a while a little leery about, you know all, most of their travels are east coast and then they go overseas but come in here, you know, and for us, you know, that's a lot, that's a big commitment. I was kind of hesitant to even ask for that, but when I did, they just graciously were there when you want us, you know. It was kind of that kind of thing. So here they are. So that's how we met, that's why they're here, and I know that we're gonna get a great teaching from the book of Genesis, from God's word, today. So if you would once again welcome Fred Kenny.