I heard the voice
of the Lord saying,
00:00:10.57\00:00:13.24
"Whom shall I send
and who will go for us."
00:00:13.27\00:00:16.95
Then I said,
"Here am I. Send me."
00:00:16.98\00:00:20.32
Three Angels
Broadcasting network
00:00:34.06\00:00:36.36
and the South
England Conference,
00:00:36.40\00:00:38.30
present London 2016.
00:00:38.33\00:00:41.60
Once again, we
welcome you all tonight
00:00:46.74\00:00:50.11
for your faithfulness in
coming out to the meetings
00:00:50.15\00:00:53.48
and just allowing God
to speak to our hearts
00:00:53.52\00:00:56.48
and to reveal a
message that we need to hear.
00:00:56.52\00:01:00.92
We continue
through out this weekend
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as we hear more Bible
based, Christ centered messages,
00:01:03.63\00:01:09.06
and I know that as
we go for this weekend,
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we're going to truly be inspired
00:01:12.67\00:01:14.84
from the Word of God.
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We've been having listeners
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and those who have been
watching around the world
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and I'd like to
just mention someone
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who's written in and
to send his greetings,
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his name is Peter
and Iris Fanstone,
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they've been
watching every night,
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they're from the Cotswolds
in the West Country of England
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and they have said
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that we've watched
all the programs up to now
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and we have been
blessed with the messages.
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It is good to hear
the gospel being preached
00:01:45.60\00:01:48.84
and people
coming to Jesus Christ.
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So if you're listening
00:01:51.27\00:01:52.61
and you're listening from
various parts of the world
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and we invite you
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to send a few words
of welcome and greetings,
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so I shall be
happy to read them out
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and to mention
where you're from.
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Tonight's topic is
"Can you hear me now?"
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Can you hear me?
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Can you hear me now?
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And so let us
allow the spirit of God
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to truly open our
hearts and our minds
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to be receptive to
that message this evening
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but before our speaker,
Pastor John Lomacang comes,
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we are happy to have with us
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for the first time in
tonight Reggie and Ladye Love.
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We welcome you this
evening and may you bless us
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as we prepare
for the Word of God.
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Suspended above
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The world that He made
00:03:04.81\00:03:07.72
And below
00:03:07.75\00:03:09.68
His home in the sky
00:03:09.72\00:03:16.32
God in flesh came down to men
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And man raised Him up to die
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And there on a tree
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The destiny
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Of every fallen man
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Was held by nails
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Driven through
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His sinless feet and hands
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Somewhere between
00:04:01.24\00:04:04.74
Heaven and Earth
00:04:04.77\00:04:07.91
Stood a symbol of grace
00:04:07.94\00:04:11.15
Not based on our world
00:04:11.18\00:04:15.48
It was there He endured
00:04:15.52\00:04:19.05
What we deserved
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For a cross held
the hope of the world
00:04:24.29\00:04:29.83
Somewhere between
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Heaven and Earth
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Somewhere
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Between time and space
00:04:39.91\00:04:45.78
Somewhere between
judgment and grace
00:04:45.81\00:04:51.95
He became the sin
00:04:51.99\00:04:55.89
He'd never known
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And as the skies turned black
00:05:00.53\00:05:04.57
His Father turned His back
00:05:04.60\00:05:08.00
And for that moment
00:05:08.04\00:05:10.54
He was left alone Alone
00:05:10.57\00:05:14.84
He was left alone
00:05:14.88\00:05:20.32
Somewhere between
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Heaven and Earth
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Stood a symbol of grace
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Not based on our world
00:05:30.43\00:05:34.66
It was there He endured
00:05:34.70\00:05:38.53
What we deserved
00:05:38.57\00:05:43.14
For a cross held
the hope of the world
00:05:43.17\00:05:49.14
Somewhere between
00:05:49.18\00:05:51.78
Heaven and Earth
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Stood a symbol of grace
00:06:00.99\00:06:04.16
Not based on our world
00:06:04.19\00:06:08.53
It was there He endured
00:06:08.56\00:06:12.07
What we deserved
00:06:12.10\00:06:16.77
For a cross held
the hope of the world
00:06:16.81\00:06:23.55
For a cross held the hope
00:06:23.58\00:06:27.02
Of the world
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Yes, the cross held the hope
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Of the world
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Somewhere
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Between
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Heaven
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And Earth
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Suspended above
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The world that He made
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And below is home
00:07:03.45\00:07:07.52
In the sky
00:07:07.56\00:07:15.53
Amen.
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Can you say that again? Amen.
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Wow, so glad to have
Reggie and Ladye Love with us.
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They are very much a
part of our 3ABN family.
00:07:36.12\00:07:39.25
We enjoy praising God
together, traveling together,
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singing to the
glory of God together
00:07:42.79\00:07:45.09
and anytime they sing that song,
00:07:45.13\00:07:48.40
I'm suspended somewhere
between heaven and earth.
00:07:48.43\00:07:52.53
It's a fitting song
because between heaven and earth
00:07:52.57\00:07:57.24
is a constant connection
with humanity between prayer.
00:07:57.27\00:08:02.14
Somewhere
between heaven and earth,
00:08:02.18\00:08:05.61
and I thought of a
very interesting topic
00:08:05.65\00:08:08.08
entitled, "Can you hear me now?"
00:08:08.12\00:08:09.65
which, in fact, if
you've spent anytime
00:08:09.68\00:08:12.45
in the United States at
all, it used to be a slogan
00:08:12.49\00:08:15.66
used by one of the
telephone companies.
00:08:15.69\00:08:18.73
Whenever they had
difficulty getting through,
00:08:18.76\00:08:21.40
they would shake
up the phone and say,
00:08:21.43\00:08:23.50
"Can you hear me, now?"
00:08:23.53\00:08:25.97
But tonight we're gonna consider
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the importance of prayer
in the life of the Christian.
00:08:27.37\00:08:30.97
How that unbroking
thread between heaven and earth
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is very imperatively
necessary for our growth
00:08:33.68\00:08:37.05
and for our
success as Christians.
00:08:37.08\00:08:39.28
So tonight, bow
your heads with me
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as we go to the Lord in prayer.
00:08:41.12\00:08:43.99
Loving Father in
heaven, this is your opportunity
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to connect
between heaven and earth.
00:08:46.92\00:08:50.36
We pray that we
open our ears and hearts
00:08:50.39\00:08:53.46
to hear what the
Spirit says to the Church,
00:08:53.50\00:08:56.50
in Jesus name.
00:08:56.53\00:08:58.30
Amen.
00:08:58.33\00:08:59.67
September 11th was a
turning point in the world.
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My wife and I happened
to be in London on that day.
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She was born in Derby,
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we were here
visiting her family members
00:09:13.45\00:09:15.85
that are dispersed
through out either the city
00:09:15.88\00:09:17.79
or Palmers Green
or here in London
00:09:17.82\00:09:20.16
or in Derbyshire and I decided,
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I said, "Honey, when do
you wanna go back home?"
00:09:22.66\00:09:24.59
She said, "Let's go
back home on September 11th."
00:09:24.63\00:09:28.56
That was 2001,
we entered the plane
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with one kind of a
world we exited to the plane
00:09:31.97\00:09:35.24
with a completely
different world all together.
00:09:35.27\00:09:38.77
This title is
synonymous or very instrumental
00:09:38.81\00:09:41.74
in what happened that day
00:09:41.78\00:09:43.11
because my wife was a
Sprint phone customer.
00:09:43.14\00:09:47.55
She had a Sprint
phone, I had a Verizon phone
00:09:47.58\00:09:52.05
and our experience in
California at the time was,
00:09:52.09\00:09:55.72
I would have much more
service coverage than she did
00:09:55.76\00:09:59.49
and so when we were rerouted
to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada,
00:09:59.53\00:10:03.30
I was so
anxious, I could not wait
00:10:03.33\00:10:05.70
when I heard the
terrible news in New York city
00:10:05.73\00:10:07.64
about the World Trade
Centre in Washington DC,
00:10:07.67\00:10:10.94
my mind was instantly
transported to the fact
00:10:10.97\00:10:13.58
that my sister worked
for the fire department
00:10:13.61\00:10:16.61
and in such an emergency,
00:10:16.64\00:10:17.98
she would be at
the World Trade Centre.
00:10:18.01\00:10:19.35
Well, I said to my
wife, "I cannot wait to land
00:10:19.38\00:10:22.92
so that I can call my sister."
00:10:22.95\00:10:25.19
And I jokingly
reminded her about the fact
00:10:25.22\00:10:28.36
that, well, her phone
never gets any signal anyhow,
00:10:28.39\00:10:31.39
so she could use my
phone when we get to Canada.
00:10:31.43\00:10:35.30
Well, the plane landed,
00:10:35.33\00:10:36.67
we are one of the
first ones to land in Canada
00:10:36.70\00:10:38.27
on United Airlines 955.
00:10:38.30\00:10:40.94
Far from the
terminal, I turned on my phone,
00:10:40.97\00:10:45.07
she turned on her phone,
I could not get a signal,
00:10:45.11\00:10:49.34
my wife turned on her phone
and she got a tremendous signal
00:10:49.38\00:10:53.65
and she turned to me and
said, "Can you hear me now?"
00:10:53.68\00:10:57.45
And I learned, in a very
cool, cool way that as one says,
00:10:57.49\00:11:01.49
"Those who
laughed last, laugh best."
00:11:01.52\00:11:05.16
But something
tragic happened in New York
00:11:05.19\00:11:07.10
because I couldn't get
through, communication was down,
00:11:07.13\00:11:10.30
the towers of the
World Trade Centre
00:11:10.33\00:11:11.67
that furnished phone signal
for much of Manhattan was down,
00:11:11.70\00:11:16.27
I could not get through at
all and I thought to myself,
00:11:16.30\00:11:18.94
"What would happen
00:11:18.97\00:11:21.34
if communication
between earth and heaven
00:11:21.38\00:11:24.01
were severed for 24 hours?
00:11:24.05\00:11:25.88
What would happen on this planet
00:11:29.92\00:11:32.29
if heaven went dark
for 24 to 48 hours?"
00:11:32.32\00:11:36.52
We could not get
a prayer through.
00:11:36.56\00:11:38.76
I would suggest to you
that it'll be far worse
00:11:42.20\00:11:45.00
than September 11th but
I'm so glad to know tonight
00:11:45.03\00:11:49.50
that we can call heaven anytime,
00:11:49.54\00:11:51.64
any day, come on,
somebody say, amen.
00:11:51.67\00:11:53.11
Amen.
00:11:53.14\00:11:54.48
We don't get a phone call,
I mean, we don't get a bill,
00:11:54.51\00:11:57.18
we don't get a busy signal,
00:11:57.21\00:11:59.05
the Lord does
not put us on hold,
00:11:59.08\00:12:01.08
there is an unbroken
line between heaven and earth,
00:12:01.12\00:12:04.55
24 hours a day.
00:12:04.59\00:12:05.95
Can the church say amen. Amen.
00:12:05.99\00:12:07.86
That's why Matthew
7:7-8 are so instrumental,
00:12:07.89\00:12:10.23
the Bible says,
let's read this together.
00:12:10.26\00:12:13.53
Are you ready? Here we go.
00:12:13.56\00:12:15.00
"Ask, and it
will be given to you,
00:12:15.03\00:12:17.63
seek, and you will find,
00:12:17.67\00:12:19.83
knock, and it will
be opened to you..."
00:12:19.87\00:12:23.20
For how many?
00:12:23.24\00:12:24.61
"Everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks..."
00:12:24.64\00:12:28.28
What else?
00:12:28.31\00:12:29.64
"Finds, and to
him who knocks it..."
00:12:29.68\00:12:31.55
What?
00:12:31.58\00:12:32.91
"It will," not
might. "It will be opened."
00:12:32.95\00:12:35.58
Hallelujah to that.
00:12:35.62\00:12:38.05
God promises to
answer the prayers
00:12:38.09\00:12:41.72
of everyone whose
heart is turned towards Him
00:12:41.76\00:12:44.29
in sincerity.
00:12:44.33\00:12:46.13
So what can be more
powerful than transforming,
00:12:46.16\00:12:48.86
than talking to God and
knowing that He hears us?
00:12:48.90\00:12:53.23
What can be more life changing
00:12:53.27\00:12:55.84
than knowing that our
prayers are the joy of the Lord
00:12:55.87\00:12:59.21
and that the prayers
of our hearts are received
00:12:59.24\00:13:02.31
and responded to from heaven?
00:13:02.34\00:13:06.28
The answer is nothing.
00:13:06.31\00:13:09.02
More than joy and
power in our hearts,
00:13:09.05\00:13:11.85
throughout our
lives as husband and wife,
00:13:11.89\00:13:15.26
there have been
so many instances,
00:13:15.29\00:13:17.49
where we have knelt
on our knees and prayed
00:13:17.53\00:13:20.23
and had we not
known that God was there,
00:13:20.26\00:13:23.63
we know that our prayer life
00:13:23.67\00:13:25.00
would be an exercise of futility
00:13:25.03\00:13:26.94
but it was also
always so good to know
00:13:26.97\00:13:28.70
that whenever we
gotten on our knees
00:13:28.74\00:13:30.07
and prayed to
our Heavenly Father,
00:13:30.11\00:13:32.01
He was there waiting,
He was there with open arms
00:13:32.04\00:13:34.94
and open ears listening
to the voice of His children.
00:13:34.98\00:13:40.05
But tonight I'm gonna begin
with a very unusual statement.
00:13:40.08\00:13:42.52
I want you to listen
very carefully, you see,
00:13:42.55\00:13:44.82
in spite of all the ways
00:13:44.85\00:13:46.19
that our prayers
have been answered,
00:13:46.22\00:13:48.66
I don't believe in prayer.
00:13:48.69\00:13:50.29
I don't believe
that prayer works.
00:13:54.63\00:13:58.43
I don't believe in prayer
00:13:58.47\00:13:59.87
and I don't
believe that prayer works.
00:13:59.90\00:14:01.47
I believe in God and I
believe that God works,
00:14:05.37\00:14:09.74
you can breathe.
00:14:09.78\00:14:13.62
It is not belief in
prayer that makes a difference,
00:14:13.65\00:14:18.52
it is belief in God
that makes a difference.
00:14:18.55\00:14:22.42
I mean, why call someone
00:14:22.46\00:14:24.89
whom you don't believe is there?
00:14:24.93\00:14:27.63
Why pick up your cell phone,
why pick up your home phone,
00:14:27.66\00:14:32.37
why send a message
either by text or by email
00:14:32.40\00:14:36.14
to someone you really are
not convinced is really there?
00:14:36.17\00:14:39.77
That's why the only
thing worse than praying,
00:14:39.81\00:14:42.14
is praying to a God
00:14:42.18\00:14:43.51
that you really don't
actually believe exist.
00:14:43.55\00:14:46.45
I remember the story
of Elijah on Mount Carmel.
00:14:46.48\00:14:49.42
He gave those who
worshipped, a false god,
00:14:49.45\00:14:51.75
he gave them all day
long to pray to their god,
00:14:51.79\00:14:56.36
their idols, 400
prophets at Baal,
00:14:56.39\00:15:00.70
450 apostatized
prophets of Israel.
00:15:00.73\00:15:04.57
All day long, they
beseeched their god,
00:15:04.60\00:15:08.44
they whipped themselves,
they danced, they shouted,
00:15:08.47\00:15:11.81
they yelled and
then Elijah said,
00:15:11.84\00:15:14.08
"Pray a little loud and
maybe, he is resting somewhere.
00:15:14.11\00:15:18.71
Maybe he's on a long journey
and maybe he's not back yet.
00:15:18.75\00:15:23.18
Just continue praying."
00:15:23.22\00:15:24.75
And they prayed, and they prayed
00:15:24.79\00:15:26.12
and they prayed.
00:15:26.15\00:15:27.49
They prayed to
brass, they prayed to wood,
00:15:27.52\00:15:31.26
they prayed to stone.
00:15:31.29\00:15:32.69
Whenever you pray to
anything and anybody but God,
00:15:32.73\00:15:35.96
you're praying to
brass, and wood and stone.
00:15:36.00\00:15:39.33
Amen, somebody.
00:15:39.37\00:15:41.54
I don't wanna belittle
anyone but I wanna just say,
00:15:41.57\00:15:43.57
as I profess this statement,
00:15:43.61\00:15:45.71
that 99 percent of
my family is Catholic
00:15:45.74\00:15:48.91
and whenever I go
home to the Virgin Islands,
00:15:48.94\00:15:53.45
I try to find some ways
00:15:53.48\00:15:54.98
to communicate the beauty
of praying to a living God,
00:15:55.02\00:15:58.42
not to a dead Mary.
00:15:58.45\00:16:00.99
And I say that
with utmost respect
00:16:01.02\00:16:02.49
because I believe that
God does accept the sincerity
00:16:02.52\00:16:06.49
of those who don't know better
but when you talk to Jesus,
00:16:06.53\00:16:11.10
because the Bible says,
00:16:11.13\00:16:12.47
"There is only one
man between God and man
00:16:12.50\00:16:15.64
and that is the
man, Christ Jesus.
00:16:15.67\00:16:17.77
No man comes to the Father..."
00:16:17.81\00:16:19.37
Except how?
00:16:19.41\00:16:20.74
"Through me."
00:16:20.78\00:16:22.11
That's why belief
in an existing God
00:16:22.14\00:16:23.95
makes a difference.
00:16:23.98\00:16:25.91
We had a chance yesterday,
00:16:25.95\00:16:27.82
my wife and I
walked 8.2 miles yesterday
00:16:27.85\00:16:32.22
which means I would
rather be sitting down,
00:16:32.25\00:16:34.12
preaching
tonight than standing up.
00:16:34.16\00:16:37.03
When we got back to
the hotel last night,
00:16:37.06\00:16:38.66
she said, "Honey, I don't
know but my legs are tired."
00:16:38.69\00:16:42.70
I didn't
understand what she meant
00:16:42.73\00:16:44.07
until we went out again
today and took a short walk
00:16:44.10\00:16:46.57
and I said,
"Honey, you're right.
00:16:46.60\00:16:47.94
My legs are tired."
00:16:47.97\00:16:49.50
But in our journey,
00:16:49.54\00:16:50.91
we stopped at one
of the local churches
00:16:50.94\00:16:52.97
and we heard people
reciting their prayers.
00:16:53.01\00:16:55.34
We saw someone stand in
front of a statue of Peter
00:16:55.38\00:16:58.01
and hold on to his foot
and prayed to Peter and I said,
00:16:58.05\00:17:00.78
"That's bronze, that's
brass, he doesn't hear you."
00:17:00.82\00:17:05.49
Then I heard the
holy Mary, mother of God,
00:17:05.52\00:17:06.99
pray for sinners now and
at the hour of their death
00:17:07.02\00:17:09.79
and I said, "Lord
Jesus, please find a way
00:17:09.82\00:17:12.13
to get to the hearts
of these sincere people,
00:17:12.16\00:17:13.83
they know no other way."
00:17:13.86\00:17:16.03
You see the Lord finds us
where we are but praise God,
00:17:16.06\00:17:18.67
He never leaves
us where He finds us.
00:17:18.70\00:17:21.57
Believing in a
living God is imperative
00:17:21.60\00:17:25.67
to getting our prayers through.
00:17:25.71\00:17:27.58
Hebrews 11:6,
notice what the Bible says,
00:17:27.61\00:17:31.11
it says, "But without faith..."
00:17:31.15\00:17:32.55
Without what?
00:17:32.58\00:17:34.05
"Without faith it is
impossible to please Him..."
00:17:34.08\00:17:38.59
Why?
00:17:38.62\00:17:39.95
"For he who comes to
God must believe that..."
00:17:39.99\00:17:43.26
What?
00:17:43.29\00:17:44.63
"He is,
00:17:44.66\00:17:45.99
and that He is a
rewarder of those who..."
00:17:46.03\00:17:48.23
What?
00:17:48.26\00:17:49.60
"Diligently seek Him."
00:17:49.63\00:17:51.37
Don't seek God
as though He is busy
00:17:51.40\00:17:54.44
or doesn't have time for you.
00:17:54.47\00:17:57.61
That's why when
people say to me,
00:17:57.64\00:17:58.97
"Well, I can't really help
you, all I can do is pray."
00:17:59.01\00:18:02.34
If all you can do is talk
to my almighty heavenly Father,
00:18:02.38\00:18:05.31
amen to that,
'cause I know nobody else
00:18:05.35\00:18:09.08
that I would rather you talk
to about my situation than God.
00:18:09.12\00:18:13.86
You may talk to people
00:18:13.89\00:18:15.22
that don't have
the finances to help me
00:18:15.26\00:18:17.43
or don't have
the time to help me
00:18:17.46\00:18:20.10
but the Bible says,
00:18:20.13\00:18:21.46
"He is our ever
present help in," what?
00:18:21.50\00:18:24.27
"In time of need."
00:18:24.30\00:18:25.63
God is never too
busy for His children.
00:18:25.67\00:18:31.57
But why pray if you
doubt that God exists?
00:18:31.61\00:18:34.44
If you doubt that God exists,
00:18:34.48\00:18:36.24
you need to enquire
where there is no doubt.
00:18:36.28\00:18:40.62
Listen to the words of David
in Psalms, in Psalms 19:1-3.
00:18:40.65\00:18:45.15
Psalms 19:1-3, the Bible says,
00:18:45.19\00:18:49.16
this is where there is no doubt.
00:18:49.19\00:18:51.29
The Bible says, "The
heavens declare the," what?
00:18:51.33\00:18:54.10
"The glory of God,
00:18:54.13\00:18:55.46
and the firmament
shows His handiwork.
00:18:55.50\00:18:58.93
Day unto day utters speech..."
00:18:58.97\00:19:02.97
If you doubt, let
the heavens talk to you.
00:19:03.00\00:19:06.51
"And night unto
night reveals knowledge..."
00:19:06.54\00:19:08.51
And I love verse three.
00:19:08.54\00:19:09.91
"There is," what?
00:19:09.94\00:19:11.28
"No speech nor language
00:19:11.31\00:19:13.92
where their voice is not heard."
00:19:13.95\00:19:16.48
My wife and I, when we
lived in Northern California
00:19:16.52\00:19:18.59
in the mountains,
far away from the cities,
00:19:18.62\00:19:22.62
I never forgot, one evening
00:19:22.66\00:19:23.99
as we were traveling
from one town back to our town
00:19:24.03\00:19:26.93
and we climbed
through the mountains.
00:19:26.96\00:19:29.30
These mountains had no
guard rails, 6,000 feet,
00:19:29.33\00:19:33.23
if you made the wrong turn,
00:19:33.27\00:19:35.27
hope you had everything
right between you and Jesus
00:19:35.30\00:19:38.67
but we cautiously pulled
off the side of the road,
00:19:38.71\00:19:41.61
got out of our
vehicle, parked it
00:19:41.64\00:19:44.71
and we climbed on
the hood of our SUV
00:19:44.75\00:19:47.22
and leaned back
on the windshield
00:19:47.25\00:19:48.98
and just laid there
in the dark of night
00:19:49.02\00:19:51.59
and waited for a
few minutes to pass by
00:19:51.62\00:19:54.56
and all of a sudden, sister.
00:19:54.59\00:19:57.23
The heavens
started talking to us.
00:19:57.26\00:20:00.73
We saw God's handiwork,
00:20:00.76\00:20:02.36
our eyes began to adjust
to the darkness of the night
00:20:02.40\00:20:05.50
and the beauty of the heavens,
this verse began to jump out,
00:20:05.53\00:20:09.10
"There is no speech nor language
00:20:09.14\00:20:11.64
where their voice is not heard."
00:20:11.67\00:20:14.01
The same stars
seen by Adam and Eve,
00:20:14.04\00:20:16.85
the same stars seen by
Elijah and Noah and Abraham,
00:20:16.88\00:20:20.52
the same stars
that guided the wise men
00:20:20.55\00:20:23.15
to the place
where Jesus was born,
00:20:23.18\00:20:25.02
the same stars
that ignited the night
00:20:25.05\00:20:27.32
when the shepherds waited
00:20:27.36\00:20:28.69
for the good news of
the birth of our Savior.
00:20:28.72\00:20:30.19
Somebody ought
to say, amen. Amen.
00:20:30.23\00:20:32.09
These same stars
set in place by God,
00:20:32.13\00:20:35.83
charged the course of humanity
00:20:35.86\00:20:37.70
and let's us know when we doubt,
00:20:37.73\00:20:40.70
to take that moment and
look up to the heavens and say,
00:20:40.74\00:20:43.30
"Convince me that God exists."
00:20:43.34\00:20:44.94
You cannot tell me
that somebody coincidentally
00:20:44.97\00:20:48.24
or accidentally or any
kind of evolutionary explosion
00:20:48.28\00:20:51.85
could do
something so wonderfully.
00:20:51.88\00:20:55.28
That's why the
oldest book in the Bible
00:20:55.32\00:20:56.65
reveals a conversation
between God and Job,
00:20:56.69\00:20:59.45
this detailed
account answers the questions
00:20:59.49\00:21:02.39
to those that doubt.
00:21:02.42\00:21:03.96
Job 38:4 and 5,
listen to the conversation,
00:21:03.99\00:21:08.96
very profound scripture,
00:21:09.00\00:21:10.33
it's laying the
foundation for something I read
00:21:10.37\00:21:12.83
that is going to
really open your mind tonight,
00:21:12.87\00:21:15.37
to help you understand
00:21:15.40\00:21:16.74
the beauty of the
power of the prayer.
00:21:16.77\00:21:18.84
After Job complained
about his circumstances,
00:21:18.87\00:21:21.41
never blaming God
00:21:21.44\00:21:23.04
but looking at the
adversity of a circumstances,
00:21:23.08\00:21:25.31
God step
forward and said to Job,
00:21:25.35\00:21:27.55
"It's my turn."
00:21:27.58\00:21:29.28
And God said to
him in verse 4 and 5,
00:21:29.32\00:21:33.52
"Where were you
00:21:33.56\00:21:34.89
when I laid the
foundations of the earth?
00:21:34.92\00:21:36.83
Tell me, if you
have understanding..."
00:21:36.86\00:21:40.43
Can you imagine
God backing you up?
00:21:40.46\00:21:42.86
God said, "Job,
well, it's my turn now."
00:21:42.90\00:21:44.63
"Tell me where you were
00:21:44.67\00:21:46.94
when I laid the
foundations of the earth.
00:21:46.97\00:21:48.70
Tell me, if you
know so much, tell me,
00:21:48.74\00:21:52.37
who determined its measurements?
00:21:52.41\00:21:54.58
Surely you know!"
00:21:54.61\00:21:56.31
I mean, you're
Job, big and bad Job,
00:21:56.34\00:21:59.01
the man with a lot
of possessions, Job.
00:21:59.05\00:22:01.28
"Tell me, you know
so much, where were you,
00:22:01.32\00:22:04.55
who stretched
the lines upon it?"
00:22:04.59\00:22:08.06
And these
questions laid the foundation
00:22:08.09\00:22:11.59
and became the
focus of a research
00:22:11.63\00:22:14.30
that blew my mind away,
I share this with you now.
00:22:14.33\00:22:17.60
In this research, these
questions were answered.
00:22:17.63\00:22:22.47
An article
entitled, "Reasons to believe
00:22:22.50\00:22:24.64
in the existence
of God and His word?"
00:22:24.67\00:22:28.34
A lady outlined
a number of reasons
00:22:28.38\00:22:30.48
why she believes in
the existence of God
00:22:30.51\00:22:33.48
and the veracity
00:22:33.52\00:22:36.35
and the
authenticity of His word.
00:22:36.38\00:22:38.15
Listen to the
first reason, she said,
00:22:38.19\00:22:40.29
"The complexity of our
planets and its points..."
00:22:40.32\00:22:44.33
She said, "The
complexity of our planet
00:22:44.36\00:22:47.00
is connected to a
deliberate designer
00:22:47.03\00:22:50.63
who not only
created our universe
00:22:50.67\00:22:52.87
but also sustains it."
00:22:52.90\00:22:54.24
What do you say?
00:22:54.27\00:22:55.74
When you look at
the heavens at night,
00:22:55.77\00:22:57.67
my wife and I
reguage often where we are,
00:22:57.71\00:23:00.01
we look up at the
things that we understand,
00:23:00.04\00:23:01.74
we look at the
Milky Way, the Big Dipper,
00:23:01.78\00:23:04.21
Orion and depending
on the time of the air,
00:23:04.25\00:23:07.62
whenever we are in Australia,
and we feel home sick,
00:23:07.65\00:23:11.15
we say, "Honey,
there's the Big Dipper,
00:23:11.19\00:23:13.49
right out front of our house
00:23:13.52\00:23:14.86
when we get back
to Thompsonville,
00:23:14.89\00:23:16.22
that's the same Big Dipper."
00:23:16.26\00:23:18.79
And when we're here in London,
00:23:18.83\00:23:20.16
if we see the Milky Way, we say,
00:23:20.20\00:23:21.53
"That's the same Milky Way
we see in Thompsonville..."
00:23:21.56\00:23:25.23
And it hasn't moved. It
hasn't moved a fraction.
00:23:25.27\00:23:30.37
It's still used to
guide and become a compass
00:23:30.41\00:23:34.48
and a reliable one at that.
00:23:34.51\00:23:36.81
She also pointed out
the earth in its size.
00:23:36.85\00:23:39.28
She said the earth
is perfect in its size.
00:23:39.31\00:23:43.05
This research
scientist says and I quote,
00:23:43.08\00:23:46.82
"The earth's size in
corresponding gravity
00:23:46.86\00:23:49.92
holds a thin layer of mostly
nitrogen and oxygen gases,
00:23:49.96\00:23:54.66
only extending about 50 miles
above the earth's surface."
00:23:54.70\00:23:58.97
And she says,
"If earth was smaller
00:23:59.00\00:24:01.20
like the planet Mercury,
00:24:01.24\00:24:02.80
an atmosphere
would be impossible.
00:24:02.84\00:24:05.07
If earth was
larger like Jupiter,
00:24:05.11\00:24:07.18
its atmosphere would
contain free hydrogen."
00:24:07.21\00:24:10.18
And then she concluded,
00:24:10.21\00:24:11.55
"Earth is the only known planet
equipped with an atmosphere
00:24:11.58\00:24:16.22
of the right mixture
of gases to sustain plant,
00:24:16.25\00:24:20.56
animal and human life."
00:24:20.59\00:24:22.42
And she end by saying,
"Where did it come from?"
00:24:22.46\00:24:26.90
But let me
continue, fascinating article,
00:24:26.93\00:24:30.20
the other reason
she gave was, water.
00:24:30.23\00:24:32.37
She says, "Water is a necessity,
00:24:32.40\00:24:34.10
water is colorless,
odorless and without taste
00:24:34.14\00:24:37.77
and yet no living thing
can survive without it."
00:24:37.81\00:24:40.94
Do you know that to be a fact?
00:24:40.98\00:24:42.54
You ever get thirsty,
soda can't quench your thirst,
00:24:42.58\00:24:46.25
ginger beer can't
quench your thirst,
00:24:46.28\00:24:48.72
Mauby can't quench your thirst,
00:24:48.75\00:24:50.59
no matter what West
Indian drink you have,
00:24:50.62\00:24:52.45
nothing can quench our
thirst like water, amen,
00:24:52.49\00:24:55.92
because that's God's design.
00:24:55.96\00:24:58.43
She continues, she says,
00:24:58.46\00:24:59.83
"Plants,
animals and human beings
00:24:59.86\00:25:03.50
consist mostly of water,
00:25:03.53\00:25:05.23
about two thirds of
the human body is water."
00:25:05.27\00:25:09.60
But then she
breaks it down, she says,
00:25:09.64\00:25:11.77
"Water is a
temperature regulator,
00:25:11.81\00:25:14.48
water allows us to
live in an environment
00:25:14.51\00:25:16.91
of fluctuating
temperature changes
00:25:16.95\00:25:19.08
while keeping our bodies
at a steady 98.6 degrees."
00:25:19.11\00:25:23.82
That's what water does,
that's why we need water.
00:25:23.85\00:25:26.49
She also says, "Water
is a universal solvent,
00:25:26.52\00:25:30.99
this property of water means
that these various chemicals,
00:25:31.03\00:25:34.56
minerals and nutrients can
be carried throughout our bodies
00:25:34.60\00:25:39.43
into the smallest blood vessels
00:25:39.47\00:25:41.47
by something as
simple as water."
00:25:41.50\00:25:44.97
We need water,
00:25:45.01\00:25:46.34
for the nutrients to
penetrate our blood vessels.
00:25:46.37\00:25:49.11
Without water, our
blood will become sticky
00:25:49.14\00:25:52.71
and hard to move,
almost somehow, coagulated.
00:25:52.75\00:25:58.15
We need water everyday,
for our bodies to function
00:25:58.19\00:26:01.62
and she says, amazingly enough,
"This colorless, odorless,
00:26:01.66\00:26:06.43
combination of chemicals
00:26:06.46\00:26:08.36
has the perfect
chemistry compound
00:26:08.40\00:26:12.50
to furnish our
vessels with the oxygen
00:26:12.53\00:26:15.44
and the
nutrients that it needs."
00:26:15.47\00:26:17.34
She also says, "Water has
a unique surface tension."
00:26:17.37\00:26:20.81
This was an amazing thing.
00:26:20.84\00:26:22.18
She says, "Water and
plants, can therefore,
00:26:22.21\00:26:25.18
flow upward against gravity."
00:26:25.21\00:26:27.35
Nothing else, flows upward
against gravity but water.
00:26:27.38\00:26:33.66
Furnishing
nourishment to the tallest trees
00:26:33.69\00:26:36.76
on the earth and then she
says, "Water is transformative,
00:26:36.79\00:26:41.16
97 percent of the
earth's surface is water
00:26:41.20\00:26:44.87
but on our earth
there is a system design
00:26:44.90\00:26:47.94
which removes
salt from the water
00:26:47.97\00:26:49.87
and then distributes that
water throughout the globe,
00:26:49.90\00:26:53.07
it is called evaporation."
00:26:53.11\00:26:55.04
She says, "Somehow,
somebody put in place a system
00:26:55.08\00:26:59.11
that causes salt
water to evaporate
00:26:59.15\00:27:02.48
and cause fresh
water from the salt water
00:27:02.52\00:27:05.45
to fall up on the earth,
the planet and the streams."
00:27:05.49\00:27:08.86
She says, "Who could
possibly put something
00:27:08.89\00:27:11.19
of such complexity in place?"
00:27:11.23\00:27:14.33
But then she
says, "The human brain,
00:27:14.36\00:27:16.90
the human brain
simultaneously processes
00:27:16.93\00:27:19.33
an amazing
amount of information."
00:27:19.37\00:27:20.94
And then she says, "The
human brain processes more
00:27:20.97\00:27:23.81
than a million
messages a second."
00:27:23.84\00:27:25.94
Somebody ought
to say amen to that,
00:27:25.97\00:27:27.54
a million messages
but even more than that,
00:27:27.58\00:27:29.31
she says, "The brain weighs
the importance of that data
00:27:29.34\00:27:33.68
and filters out those things
00:27:33.72\00:27:35.52
that the brain considers
relatively unimportant."
00:27:35.55\00:27:39.92
So you might see something
as you walk through Harrods
00:27:39.95\00:27:43.32
or you're on the bus
or you're on the isle
00:27:43.36\00:27:46.19
or you're walking through London
00:27:46.23\00:27:47.56
or you're on your way to
work and you just glance it
00:27:47.60\00:27:49.53
and five years down the
road, you remember what you saw
00:27:49.56\00:27:53.00
because the brain,
with the help of the eye,
00:27:53.03\00:27:55.44
captured that and held it.
00:27:55.47\00:27:57.61
Matter of fact, I need to say,
00:27:57.64\00:27:58.97
there are things I
have seen when I was child
00:27:59.01\00:28:01.61
that I still remember today,
00:28:01.64\00:28:04.25
because the brain put it
where I could not forget it
00:28:04.28\00:28:07.45
but there are also
some things that I saw,
00:28:07.48\00:28:08.98
I wish I have never seen.
00:28:09.02\00:28:12.55
Because the brain stores it
00:28:12.59\00:28:15.66
until something
activates that thought.
00:28:15.69\00:28:18.53
Then she went on
little deeper, she says,
00:28:18.56\00:28:20.10
"The human eye distinguishes
among seven million colors.
00:28:20.13\00:28:25.73
The eye has automatic focusing
00:28:25.77\00:28:28.14
and handles an
astounding 1.5 million messages
00:28:28.17\00:28:31.77
simultaneously per second."
00:28:31.81\00:28:37.38
And the reason why
she's listing these things
00:28:37.41\00:28:39.65
is because she ended
into a research project
00:28:39.68\00:28:42.02
trying to figure out
how is that possible,
00:28:42.05\00:28:45.35
then she
pointed to our universe,
00:28:45.39\00:28:47.96
quoting astrophysicist
Robert Jastrow who says,
00:28:47.99\00:28:52.13
"The seed of everything that
has happened in the universe
00:28:52.16\00:28:54.43
was planted in
that first instant.
00:28:54.46\00:28:57.57
Every star, every planet
00:28:57.60\00:28:59.97
and every living
creature in the universe
00:29:00.00\00:29:02.60
came into being as
the result of events
00:29:02.64\00:29:05.97
that were set in motion
00:29:06.01\00:29:07.41
in the moment of
this cosmic explosion..."
00:29:07.44\00:29:10.41
And then he says,
00:29:10.45\00:29:12.21
"The universe flashed into being
00:29:12.25\00:29:14.18
and we cannot find out
what caused that to happen."
00:29:14.22\00:29:18.35
I can tell you what?
He's speaking it was done.
00:29:18.39\00:29:20.82
Somebody say, amen.
He commanded and it what?
00:29:20.86\00:29:23.69
It stood fast.
00:29:23.73\00:29:26.16
She also says, the
Nobel Peace Prize winner,
00:29:26.19\00:29:28.96
by Richard Feynman, he says,
speaking about the universe,
00:29:29.00\00:29:32.33
she says, the universe,
00:29:32.37\00:29:33.70
he says, the
universe is mathematical
00:29:33.74\00:29:36.17
and as this
physicist triesto figure out
00:29:36.20\00:29:38.64
where the
mathematics came from, he says,
00:29:38.67\00:29:41.34
there is a fact that
everything in our universe,
00:29:41.38\00:29:44.25
everything in our solar system
works on a mathematical basis,
00:29:44.28\00:29:48.38
and he says,
how is that possible
00:29:48.42\00:29:50.35
unless somebody put these
mathematical formulas in place
00:29:50.39\00:29:54.52
and continues to keep
them mathematically true?
00:29:54.56\00:29:57.39
But what's even more
amazing than the findings
00:30:01.36\00:30:03.47
is the forward about the author,
00:30:03.50\00:30:06.00
listen very carefully.
00:30:06.03\00:30:08.64
Marilyn Adamson wrote
this article and she says,
00:30:08.67\00:30:12.67
based on what
I've shared with you,
00:30:12.71\00:30:14.04
just a portion of
her article, she says,
00:30:14.08\00:30:17.85
"I was an atheist at one
time and like many atheists,
00:30:17.88\00:30:24.55
the issue of people believing
in God bothered me greatly".
00:30:24.59\00:30:29.19
She says, "What
is it about atheists
00:30:29.22\00:30:31.66
that we should spend so
much time, attention and energy,
00:30:31.69\00:30:35.16
refuting something
00:30:35.20\00:30:36.53
that we don't
really believe exists."
00:30:36.56\00:30:40.47
But even more than that,
00:30:40.50\00:30:41.84
the thing that set
her emotion was this,
00:30:41.87\00:30:44.57
she said, "I found it difficult
00:30:44.61\00:30:46.34
to refute the
continuously answered prayers
00:30:46.37\00:30:51.21
of a good friend of mine."
00:30:51.25\00:30:53.62
It was the answered prayers
in the life of her friend
00:30:53.65\00:30:58.25
that caused her
to begin to research
00:30:58.29\00:31:00.69
how can these
prayers get answered,
00:31:00.72\00:31:04.26
if there was not
somebody existing
00:31:04.29\00:31:06.73
that would answer those prayers,
00:31:06.76\00:31:08.30
so it catapulted her
into a one year research
00:31:08.33\00:31:11.40
and at the end of that one year,
00:31:11.43\00:31:13.77
she says these words.
00:31:13.80\00:31:16.04
She says, "I've
responded to the God
00:31:16.07\00:31:19.01
who offered that
came into my life
00:31:19.04\00:31:20.81
and I have found faith in Him
00:31:20.84\00:31:22.51
to be the
constant sustaining grace
00:31:22.54\00:31:25.01
and the one that
continues to reward me."
00:31:25.05\00:31:27.28
This former atheist,
through prayer, found God,
00:31:27.32\00:31:30.79
can you say amen?
00:31:30.82\00:31:32.42
Marilyn did what God
invites every one of us to do.
00:31:32.45\00:31:35.46
Jeremiah 29:13,
this is what she did,
00:31:35.49\00:31:38.83
the Bible says, "And
you will together..."
00:31:38.86\00:31:40.60
And you will what?
00:31:40.63\00:31:41.96
"Seek me," and you will what?
00:31:42.00\00:31:43.33
"Find me," when you do what?
00:31:43.37\00:31:45.50
"Search for me," with how much?
00:31:45.53\00:31:47.54
"All your heart."
00:31:47.57\00:31:50.51
When you pray,
00:31:50.54\00:31:51.87
you got to pray
like somebody's there.
00:31:51.91\00:31:56.64
I see young people
sometimes in church,
00:31:56.68\00:31:58.21
they can't even
put their phone down,
00:31:58.25\00:31:59.58
you know why?
00:31:59.61\00:32:00.95
Because
somebody's on the other end.
00:32:00.98\00:32:03.12
In our bulletin,
in our church, we say,
00:32:03.15\00:32:04.55
"Please turn off
your cell phones."
00:32:04.59\00:32:06.76
And some people listen
to it, some people don't,
00:32:06.79\00:32:10.09
but you might know, friends,
00:32:10.13\00:32:11.46
that to just
continually texting,
00:32:11.49\00:32:13.90
they say, children today
00:32:13.93\00:32:15.56
are getting
Carpal tunnel syndrome
00:32:15.60\00:32:16.93
at an earlier age
00:32:16.97\00:32:18.30
because they are
continually communicating.
00:32:18.33\00:32:19.83
Can you imagine
what would happen,
00:32:19.87\00:32:21.77
can you imagine
what would happen
00:32:21.80\00:32:23.51
if all of a sudden tomorrow,
00:32:23.54\00:32:25.14
all cell service was
discontinued in London
00:32:25.17\00:32:27.98
for the next 10 years?
00:32:28.01\00:32:31.15
There would be a
pandemic of a crisis
00:32:31.18\00:32:34.05
among the young people.
00:32:34.08\00:32:35.68
They wouldn't know
what to do with their time.
00:32:35.72\00:32:38.02
Can you imagine if the
internet was disconnected
00:32:38.05\00:32:39.95
from now on, in London?
00:32:39.99\00:32:42.82
If there was some
kind of an electronic pulse
00:32:42.86\00:32:45.16
that knocked out all possibility
00:32:45.19\00:32:47.36
of communicating
for the next 10 years,
00:32:47.40\00:32:49.46
what would young people do?
00:32:49.50\00:32:50.87
You know what they'll
do? They'll discover God.
00:32:50.90\00:32:56.07
My niece, who
left the Virgin Islands
00:32:56.10\00:33:01.01
and went on a journey somewhere,
00:33:01.04\00:33:02.71
when she left, she left
her phone in the Virgin Islands
00:33:02.74\00:33:05.71
and I couldn't help and I
tried to get in touch with her
00:33:05.75\00:33:07.75
and my brother said, "Well,
she doesn't have her phone,
00:33:07.78\00:33:09.75
it's here."
00:33:09.78\00:33:11.12
She lived in that phone.
00:33:11.15\00:33:14.19
Could you pass me that
phone right there, real quickly?
00:33:14.22\00:33:16.19
Just throw it, I
promise not to drop it.
00:33:16.22\00:33:17.93
A phone that's falling apart,
00:33:23.50\00:33:25.10
hopefully, belongs
to a person who isn't.
00:33:25.13\00:33:28.30
Somebody once
said, "If you wanna know
00:33:28.34\00:33:31.07
how important the phone is..."
00:33:31.11\00:33:32.57
They said, "All you've got to do
00:33:32.61\00:33:33.94
is turn your phone off
00:33:33.98\00:33:35.94
to discover who's
really important."
00:33:35.98\00:33:37.71
If you look in the
phone when it's off,
00:33:42.08\00:33:43.92
you'll find out who
really is important to you.
00:33:43.95\00:33:46.55
When your phone is on,
00:33:46.59\00:33:48.06
it takes you out of the picture,
00:33:48.09\00:33:49.49
don't drop it.
00:33:49.52\00:33:52.76
She put on Facebook, she said,
00:33:52.79\00:33:55.26
"I never thought that I
could live without my phone
00:33:55.30\00:33:57.73
but I can honestly
say, a 22-years-old,
00:33:57.77\00:34:01.04
I don't need my phone."
00:34:01.07\00:34:04.14
Come on, amen, young people.
00:34:04.17\00:34:06.01
I don't need my phone,
young people say, "I'm bored,
00:34:06.04\00:34:11.11
don't have anything to do."
00:34:11.15\00:34:12.48
I had two young people
sitting on my couch in my office
00:34:12.51\00:34:14.38
said, "Church."
00:34:14.42\00:34:15.88
Sitting right next to each other
00:34:15.92\00:34:18.99
and I overheard one of
them say, "Did you get that?"
00:34:19.02\00:34:22.19
And I looked up, I
thought they were talking to me
00:34:22.22\00:34:24.89
but they were
talking to each other
00:34:24.93\00:34:26.80
and then she said,
"No, I didn't get that."
00:34:26.83\00:34:29.53
She said, "You didn't get that?"
00:34:29.56\00:34:31.20
And I said, "Get what?"
00:34:31.23\00:34:32.57
I had to break
into that, get what?
00:34:32.60\00:34:33.94
She said, "I
just sent her a text."
00:34:33.97\00:34:35.30
I said, "Turn
around and talk to her.
00:34:35.34\00:34:38.91
Put the phone down."
00:34:38.94\00:34:42.11
Now a days, when you
send your child to their room
00:34:42.14\00:34:44.31
and say, "You are
grounded for one week."
00:34:44.35\00:34:47.15
They are happy.
00:34:47.18\00:34:50.52
"I got my phone,
I got my internet,
00:34:50.55\00:34:53.52
got my laptop,
00:34:53.56\00:34:54.89
ground me for two
weeks, I'll be glad."
00:34:54.92\00:34:56.93
Because they don't
wanna talk to you anyhow.
00:34:56.96\00:34:59.53
They wanna talk
to their friends,
00:34:59.56\00:35:00.90
am I telling the truth?
00:35:00.93\00:35:02.26
That's why I like the song,
00:35:02.30\00:35:03.63
"What a friend
we have in Jesus."
00:35:03.67\00:35:05.33
We got to find joy
in talking to our God,
00:35:05.37\00:35:08.10
seeking God as this text said,
00:35:08.14\00:35:10.44
"Seeking God is one of
the most urgent instructions
00:35:10.47\00:35:13.81
in the Bible that has been
interrupted by modern society."
00:35:13.84\00:35:18.65
We were in Chicago
Square, we also went down to...
00:35:18.68\00:35:24.32
Right in that area where you see
00:35:24.35\00:35:25.69
all the big bright
signs, what are they called as?
00:35:25.72\00:35:29.19
Pickadaily circus.
00:35:29.22\00:35:30.93
When you're down there,
00:35:30.96\00:35:32.59
your mind is
challenged to think about God,
00:35:32.63\00:35:36.56
when you're in Times
Square in New York city,
00:35:36.60\00:35:38.43
there's so much
media coming at you
00:35:38.47\00:35:40.14
from so many
different directions,
00:35:40.17\00:35:41.74
to think about God is a
great tremendous exercise
00:35:41.77\00:35:45.54
because our minds
are being bombarded.
00:35:45.57\00:35:48.11
That's why the Lord
says, "When you pray,
00:35:48.14\00:35:50.21
go into your
closet, shut the world down,
00:35:50.25\00:35:54.28
talk to me and the God
that you talk to in secret
00:35:54.32\00:35:58.02
will reward you openly."
00:35:58.05\00:36:00.36
Amen.
00:36:00.39\00:36:03.56
Isaiah 55:6 is the prayer
that this generation needs,
00:36:03.59\00:36:09.16
together, "Seek the
Lord while He," what?
00:36:09.20\00:36:11.87
"May be found, call
upon Him while He is," what?
00:36:11.90\00:36:14.30
"Near."
00:36:14.34\00:36:15.67
But then this also
comes with an instruction
00:36:15.70\00:36:17.94
that is also a caveat.
00:36:17.97\00:36:21.11
to God blessing us when we pray.
00:36:21.14\00:36:23.04
Verse 57 or
verse 7 of Isaiah 55,
00:36:23.08\00:36:26.68
"Let the wicked," do what?
00:36:26.72\00:36:28.65
"Forsake his way, And the
unrighteous man his," what?
00:36:28.68\00:36:31.65
"Thoughts, Let him," do what?
00:36:31.69\00:36:33.86
"Return to the Lord, And
He will have mercy on him;
00:36:33.89\00:36:37.89
And to our God,
For He will," what?
00:36:37.93\00:36:40.70
"Abundantly pardon."
00:36:40.73\00:36:43.87
You know, some people
think that prayer's powerful,
00:36:43.90\00:36:45.73
prayer's not
powerful, God is powerful.
00:36:45.77\00:36:48.34
Amen.
00:36:48.37\00:36:49.97
I've seen people
in Northern California
00:36:50.01\00:36:51.51
pray to trees,
they pray to rocks.
00:36:51.54\00:36:55.48
My wife and I were
recently, we were in Colorado.
00:36:55.51\00:36:59.01
Now where was it?
00:36:59.05\00:37:00.38
In Arizona,
somewhere in Arizona,
00:37:00.42\00:37:01.85
we were going to
the Grand Canyon.
00:37:01.88\00:37:03.59
We stopped in a
small quaint town,
00:37:03.62\00:37:05.59
all about 5,000 feet on
our way above sea level,
00:37:05.62\00:37:09.62
beautiful little
town and I quickly noticed
00:37:09.66\00:37:11.93
because I studied the occult,
00:37:11.96\00:37:13.29
I said, "Honey, this town
is replete with witch craft.
00:37:13.33\00:37:17.77
I can see it everywhere."
00:37:17.80\00:37:20.67
So we went into a
store with a prayer crystals,
00:37:20.70\00:37:25.51
the prayer
rocks, the purple rocks,
00:37:25.54\00:37:28.58
the red rocks,
all these prayer icons
00:37:28.61\00:37:31.71
and they had
numerous books on prayer.
00:37:31.75\00:37:35.08
They even had a book called,
"The second coming of Jesus,"
00:37:35.12\00:37:39.05
and I thought,
"Ho, praise the Lord.
00:37:39.09\00:37:40.89
There's some
Christian material..."
00:37:40.92\00:37:42.39
until I looked a little closer,
00:37:42.42\00:37:44.46
the second coming of Jesus
is a conscious internal reality
00:37:44.49\00:37:48.50
to those who pray
to some unusual God.
00:37:48.53\00:37:51.37
The user name to the
second coming of Jesus
00:37:51.40\00:37:53.50
but everything in
the store was designed
00:37:53.54\00:37:55.44
to lead you into a
direction of prayer
00:37:55.47\00:37:57.77
that will bring
you to the same place
00:37:57.81\00:38:00.54
that all those false
prophets on Mount Carmel got to,
00:38:00.58\00:38:03.48
praying to idols
with eyes that cannot see,
00:38:03.51\00:38:06.68
ears that cannot hear,
hands that cannot touch,
00:38:06.72\00:38:09.65
they cannot lift your burdens,
00:38:09.68\00:38:11.02
only God can
reach down and touch
00:38:11.05\00:38:14.16
and inhabit the
lives of His children,
00:38:14.19\00:38:16.56
when we pray to a living God.
00:38:16.59\00:38:19.69
I John 3:22,
00:38:19.73\00:38:21.96
the Lord has
conditions to answer prayers,
00:38:22.00\00:38:24.87
He says, "And whatsoever we
ask, we receive from Him..."
00:38:24.90\00:38:28.17
But that's not
where the text stands,
00:38:28.20\00:38:30.01
"Because we," what?
00:38:30.04\00:38:31.57
"Keep His
commandments and," what else?
00:38:31.61\00:38:33.98
"Do those
things that are," what?
00:38:34.01\00:38:36.78
"Pleasing in His sight."
00:38:36.81\00:38:38.78
Can you imagine
your child, your unruly,
00:38:38.81\00:38:41.62
disobedient child
00:38:41.65\00:38:43.69
coming to you with
an attitude and say,
00:38:43.72\00:38:45.49
"Give me the car
keys, I need to go out."
00:38:45.52\00:38:49.69
And you just fought him
over, would you do that?
00:38:49.72\00:38:52.83
Now, if you're a
West Indian and you won't.
00:38:52.86\00:38:55.30
I won't tell
you what you will do
00:38:55.33\00:38:57.67
'cause I don't
wanna promote child abuse
00:38:57.70\00:39:00.30
but I was raised in a
home where I'd tell you,
00:39:00.34\00:39:05.37
put it this way, I
learned how to sit and stand
00:39:05.41\00:39:09.68
and I learnt what else
my bottom was used for,
00:39:09.71\00:39:14.15
but unruly children will
come and say to their parents,
00:39:14.18\00:39:16.95
"Give me this, give me
that, I want the car keys,
00:39:16.99\00:39:19.05
give me some money."
00:39:19.09\00:39:20.42
If a parent wouldn't do that,
00:39:24.16\00:39:26.46
why would God grant the request
00:39:26.49\00:39:29.16
of a child who does not do
00:39:29.20\00:39:31.77
that which is
pleasing in His sight.
00:39:31.80\00:39:35.54
"Whatever you ask," He says,
00:39:35.57\00:39:36.91
"You'll get it but you
have to keep my commandments
00:39:36.94\00:39:39.27
and do those things that
are pleasing in my sight."
00:39:39.31\00:39:44.85
And is there any place
that God doesn't see us,
00:39:44.88\00:39:47.45
there's no place that
we can be hidden from God.
00:39:47.48\00:39:49.55
Some people pray as though
they're praying to a paper God,
00:39:49.58\00:39:52.39
but look at Jeremiah 32:27,
00:39:52.42\00:39:54.96
the reason why
we need to believe
00:39:54.99\00:39:56.62
when we pray to
God and talk to Him,
00:39:56.66\00:39:58.63
this text is replete
00:39:58.66\00:40:00.46
with the beauty of
the kind of God we serve,
00:40:00.50\00:40:02.16
he says, "Behold, I am the Lord,
00:40:02.20\00:40:05.00
the God of," how much?
00:40:05.03\00:40:06.40
"All flesh." And
let's read this together.
00:40:06.43\00:40:09.00
"Is there
anything too hard for me?"
00:40:09.04\00:40:12.14
And the answer is
what? Absolutely not.
00:40:12.17\00:40:15.11
My wife and I began
to pray 30 years ago,
00:40:15.14\00:40:18.28
we were living
in Orlando, Florida.
00:40:18.31\00:40:20.42
We just got back from
traveling to 19 countries
00:40:20.45\00:40:23.22
with a Heritage Singers
00:40:23.25\00:40:25.15
and I sat at my
desk in my office there,
00:40:25.19\00:40:27.49
my wife and I worked at
many companies together,
00:40:27.52\00:40:29.42
we worked in New York
together before we got married,
00:40:29.46\00:40:31.49
at the same company.
00:40:31.53\00:40:32.89
We worked at two
different companies after that,
00:40:32.93\00:40:34.53
we traveled every
day on the same bus,
00:40:34.56\00:40:36.40
every moment of everyday
00:40:36.43\00:40:38.00
we were just
inches from each other.
00:40:38.03\00:40:40.80
How many husbands
could handle that?
00:40:40.84\00:40:43.30
Don't answer.
00:40:43.34\00:40:45.81
But here we were
sitting at the same company,
00:40:45.84\00:40:47.74
she was the receptionist
00:40:47.78\00:40:49.11
and I was one of the accountants
00:40:49.14\00:40:50.48
in the building and
she walked past my office
00:40:50.51\00:40:52.21
and I had a very
discontent look on my face
00:40:52.25\00:40:55.78
and she said,
"John, what's wrong?"
00:40:55.82\00:40:57.15
I said, "Honey,
I just got through,
00:40:57.19\00:40:59.25
traveling ready to 19
countries in two years
00:40:59.29\00:41:03.36
and all of a sudden I'm
having to sit in the same place,
00:41:03.39\00:41:06.76
two days in a row."
00:41:06.80\00:41:08.66
And I said,
"Honey." She said, "What?"
00:41:08.70\00:41:10.37
I said, "There's got to
be more to life than this,
00:41:10.40\00:41:13.60
I wanna be in the ministry."
00:41:13.64\00:41:16.14
So we committed that to God,
00:41:16.17\00:41:19.04
"Commit your ways unto the Lord
00:41:19.07\00:41:20.84
and He will give you
the desires of your heart,
00:41:20.88\00:41:23.04
if it is in
harmony with His will."
00:41:23.08\00:41:25.31
So we began to pray, we
prayed, we prayed, we prayed,
00:41:25.35\00:41:28.02
we prayed and then the prayer,
the answers began to come,
00:41:28.05\00:41:31.52
I received phone
calls, somebody said,
00:41:31.55\00:41:33.39
"We'd like you to
go and be a pastor,
00:41:33.42\00:41:35.46
start your
ministry in Nebraska."
00:41:35.49\00:41:37.89
And I prayed, I
said, "I'm from New York,
00:41:37.93\00:41:39.79
I don't know
anything about Nebraska."
00:41:39.83\00:41:42.50
They tell me it's a cow
town, I am not going to fit.
00:41:42.53\00:41:46.17
So I turned it
down, after praying,
00:41:46.20\00:41:48.54
then I got a call to
go to Virgin Islands.
00:41:48.57\00:41:50.37
Who wouldn't wanna
pastor in the Virgin Islands.
00:41:50.41\00:41:54.38
Beautiful clear water
but I prayed and God said,
00:41:54.41\00:41:56.31
"That's not it."
00:41:56.34\00:41:58.48
But I made a mistake, I said,
00:41:58.51\00:41:59.85
"Lord, we will go
anywhere except California,
00:41:59.88\00:42:06.32
'cause we just came
back from California.
00:42:06.35\00:42:08.96
Too far from family."
00:42:08.99\00:42:10.79
What we did not know was
sometimes God gotta take you
00:42:10.83\00:42:12.99
from people that know you,
00:42:13.03\00:42:14.46
so that you can get to know Him.
00:42:14.50\00:42:16.83
We continue praying and
we saw friends in the mall
00:42:16.87\00:42:18.80
and one of them said,
"No matter what we do,
00:42:18.83\00:42:20.84
we just cannot get
in touch with you."
00:42:20.87\00:42:22.34
And I wanna say that was
before cell phones existed,
00:42:22.37\00:42:25.04
back in 19...yes, '86.
00:42:25.07\00:42:31.31
I don't know if
they had cell phones
00:42:31.35\00:42:32.68
but we didn't have one.
00:42:32.71\00:42:35.55
So we bought an
answering machine,
00:42:35.58\00:42:37.22
remember that,
00:42:37.25\00:42:39.09
that used to stay in
one place at one time
00:42:39.12\00:42:42.82
and so we bought
the answering machine,
00:42:42.86\00:42:44.36
put that answering machine in,
00:42:44.39\00:42:45.89
went to work on
Monday and when we got back,
00:42:45.93\00:42:48.80
the very first
message on that phone was
00:42:48.83\00:42:50.87
from the Northern
California Conference president,
00:42:50.90\00:42:53.84
a man we never
met, did not know,
00:42:53.87\00:42:57.47
had no clue about
Northern California,
00:42:57.51\00:42:59.97
3,120 miles away
from Central Florida.
00:43:00.01\00:43:05.05
The message was, "There's
an opening in evangelism,
00:43:05.08\00:43:08.32
are you interested?
00:43:08.35\00:43:09.78
Give us a call if you are."
00:43:09.82\00:43:11.35
Nobody could have made
that connection but God.
00:43:11.39\00:43:15.79
But what preceded that
00:43:15.82\00:43:19.39
is the most important thing.
00:43:19.43\00:43:22.03
For one week
straight, we prayed,
00:43:22.06\00:43:24.43
we prayed like the Muslims pray
with their face to the ground,
00:43:24.47\00:43:28.80
we knelt on our bed,
00:43:28.84\00:43:30.34
we only had one
bed in our apartment
00:43:30.37\00:43:32.91
and one recliner,
00:43:32.94\00:43:34.94
we had no furniture in
our apartment, anywhere.
00:43:34.98\00:43:37.85
God would not
let us get furniture.
00:43:37.88\00:43:40.55
They turned us down for
a loan to get furniture,
00:43:40.58\00:43:43.45
they said, "You've traveled
too many places to be stable,
00:43:43.49\00:43:46.02
you don't have the
kind of credit standing
00:43:46.05\00:43:47.72
to get furniture."
00:43:47.76\00:43:49.09
But God knows
what we don't know,
00:43:49.12\00:43:50.59
come on, somebody.
00:43:50.63\00:43:52.13
He knew that we
didn't need furniture,
00:43:52.16\00:43:55.76
so we prayed for
one week straight
00:43:55.80\00:43:57.57
and we said,
our prayers changed.
00:43:57.60\00:43:59.67
We said, "God, we will go
anywhere including California."
00:43:59.70\00:44:04.71
And that's where the
phone call came from,
00:44:04.74\00:44:06.44
that's where we
began our ministry.
00:44:06.47\00:44:08.51
Until we give God
complete control of our lives,
00:44:08.54\00:44:11.68
we will discover that there
is nothing too hard for God.
00:44:11.71\00:44:15.08
Pastor Doug Batchelor and
I began a ministry in 1987.
00:44:15.12\00:44:18.75
1987, we began our
pastoral ministry together
00:44:18.79\00:44:21.19
in evangelism and that's
now going on X amount of years.
00:44:21.22\00:44:24.29
29 years later, God
has opened the doors
00:44:24.33\00:44:27.60
for us to continue
giving Him the glory,
00:44:27.63\00:44:29.80
that's why Matthew
21-22 says it this way,
00:44:29.83\00:44:33.60
"And whatever
things you ask in prayer,"
00:44:33.64\00:44:35.67
what is the next condition?
00:44:35.70\00:44:37.57
"Believing, you will receive."
00:44:37.61\00:44:40.38
But let me even
go a step further,
00:44:40.41\00:44:42.51
we don't believe in
what we're asking for,
00:44:42.54\00:44:45.08
we believe in whom we're asking.
00:44:45.11\00:44:48.25
It's all about Jesus.
00:44:48.28\00:44:50.75
It's not about asking for money
00:44:50.79\00:44:52.39
because you know
what the Bible says,
00:44:52.42\00:44:53.76
"My God shall supply..."
00:44:53.79\00:44:55.12
How much of your
need? "All of your need."
00:44:55.16\00:44:56.62
But sometimes God, you
might ask God for something
00:44:56.66\00:44:58.89
He knows you don't
need it, like I did.
00:44:58.93\00:45:02.16
I asked my father
00:45:02.20\00:45:03.53
when the Honda
Accord first came out,
00:45:03.57\00:45:05.53
back in 1976, I was
fresh out of high school.
00:45:05.57\00:45:08.94
I just told you my age.
00:45:08.97\00:45:11.91
Fresh out of high school,
00:45:11.94\00:45:13.27
I was so enamored by
this new Honda Accord,
00:45:13.31\00:45:15.08
I said to my dad, "I
need a Honda Accord."
00:45:15.11\00:45:18.18
He was from Barbados.
00:45:18.21\00:45:21.15
Me, get a Honda Accord
from a man from Barbados, what?
00:45:21.18\00:45:27.46
He was so tight, when
he sent me to the store,
00:45:27.49\00:45:29.96
he gave me a dollar and
he would lick his finger
00:45:29.99\00:45:34.23
to make sure two of
them weren't stuck together
00:45:34.26\00:45:36.67
and I had the nerve to
ask him to buy me a car,
00:45:36.70\00:45:39.63
a brand new Honda Accord.
00:45:39.67\00:45:41.00
You know what he said to me,
00:45:41.04\00:45:42.37
you don't need a
Honda, he said, "Furthermore,
00:45:42.40\00:45:43.74
I don't like
Japanese cars anyway."
00:45:43.77\00:45:46.98
So I changed my tune,
00:45:47.01\00:45:48.34
"I want a Deuce-and-a-Quarte,
Electric 225.
00:45:48.38\00:45:54.05
I need a Buick."
00:45:54.08\00:45:56.02
He said, "For what?"
00:45:56.05\00:45:57.69
I said to drive you
wherever you wanna go.
00:45:57.72\00:46:01.06
It still didn't work.
00:46:01.09\00:46:04.13
And he said to me,
"You live in New York,
00:46:04.16\00:46:05.73
you don't need a
car in New York."
00:46:05.76\00:46:08.60
But less than a year later,
00:46:12.37\00:46:14.54
he called me
downstairs to his room
00:46:14.57\00:46:17.01
and he said with that
West Indian accent, "Junior?"
00:46:17.04\00:46:20.84
I said, "Papa."
00:46:20.88\00:46:22.88
He said, "Here's a $1,000,
00:46:22.91\00:46:25.78
take it and put it
on whatever you want."
00:46:25.81\00:46:27.65
Amen, somebody.
00:46:27.68\00:46:29.32
$1,000, I didn't disappoint him.
00:46:29.35\00:46:32.32
I got a Japanese car
00:46:32.35\00:46:36.89
and that car worked well for us,
00:46:36.93\00:46:39.49
that car had
cancer when I bought it,
00:46:39.53\00:46:41.36
the fenders were rotten,
00:46:41.40\00:46:43.06
the tail pipe fell off
00:46:43.10\00:46:44.47
the first time I
took him for a drive
00:46:44.50\00:46:46.77
but I'm gonna tell you,
00:46:46.80\00:46:48.37
that car took my wife and
I from New York to Florida,
00:46:48.40\00:46:52.17
from Florida all
the way to California
00:46:52.21\00:46:54.64
through the desert in
the heat of the summer
00:46:54.68\00:46:56.31
with no air conditioning,
00:46:56.34\00:46:58.15
brought us back,
00:46:58.18\00:46:59.51
that car served us until
the day that it did not die.
00:46:59.55\00:47:03.39
God can take a broken down life,
00:47:09.12\00:47:11.46
come on, somebody,
and keep it together
00:47:11.49\00:47:14.80
when He knows that you
trust in His sufficiency
00:47:14.83\00:47:18.57
and His ability to provide.
00:47:18.60\00:47:21.27
There's so many answers
to prayer, I could just tell,
00:47:21.30\00:47:23.14
I could just stop right here
00:47:23.17\00:47:24.51
and just use the
rest of the sermon
00:47:24.54\00:47:25.87
in answered prayer.
00:47:25.91\00:47:27.24
We were in Northern California,
I got to add this one in.
00:47:27.28\00:47:29.98
Here we are,
00:47:30.01\00:47:31.35
answered the call to
go to Northern California.
00:47:31.38\00:47:34.72
"Lord, I'm gonna testify and nod
00:47:34.75\00:47:36.08
about your goodness."
00:47:36.12\00:47:38.05
We answered the call to
go to Northern California
00:47:38.09\00:47:40.22
and they said, "You got
to get here how you can."
00:47:40.26\00:47:42.59
Well, I wanna tell
you, what that meant was,
00:47:42.62\00:47:45.53
I told you we could not afford,
00:47:45.56\00:47:47.63
they would not give us a
loan, sister, to get furniture.
00:47:47.66\00:47:50.70
The people in the
furniture store said,
00:47:50.73\00:47:52.20
"You don't have enough
stability to get furniture.
00:47:52.23\00:47:55.37
You've been
moving around too much."
00:47:55.40\00:47:57.21
How're we gonna
get to California?
00:47:57.24\00:47:59.27
We didn't have furniture either
and what we discovered is that
00:47:59.31\00:48:02.44
when we got the call
to Northern California,
00:48:02.48\00:48:05.05
the only thing
that we could take
00:48:05.08\00:48:06.85
was the bed we own,
00:48:06.88\00:48:08.48
we couldn't even
take that $25 recliner
00:48:08.52\00:48:12.45
that we bought
at a used yard sale.
00:48:12.49\00:48:15.12
That's why God did not
want us to get furniture
00:48:15.16\00:48:19.16
but God in His mighty
providence towards us,
00:48:19.19\00:48:22.26
when we could not afford,
00:48:22.30\00:48:23.77
when we couldn't get a
loan for bed room furniture,
00:48:23.80\00:48:27.44
the Lord
allowed us to get a loan
00:48:27.47\00:48:28.87
for a brand new Toyota 4Runner.
00:48:28.90\00:48:30.97
Amen.
00:48:31.01\00:48:32.84
Now you might think
it's all about the car,
00:48:32.87\00:48:34.51
it ain't about the car
00:48:34.54\00:48:36.68
because after being in
California for 11 months,
00:48:36.71\00:48:38.91
Pastor Doug Batchelor
came to me and said, "John,
00:48:38.95\00:48:40.95
what're you gonna do
for the rest of the time?"
00:48:40.98\00:48:42.32
I said, "Well, you know,
00:48:42.35\00:48:43.69
my wife and I have been praying,
00:48:43.72\00:48:45.05
this evangelism is
keeping me on the road too much,
00:48:45.09\00:48:47.52
I'm praying that God
could get us a church
00:48:47.56\00:48:50.13
so that we could pastor
together and work together.
00:48:50.16\00:48:52.93
I don't wanna be
apart from my wife so much."
00:48:52.96\00:48:54.76
He said to me, "John,
00:48:54.80\00:48:56.93
if you think that
you're gonna be in the ministry
00:48:56.97\00:48:59.83
for less than a
year without a degree
00:48:59.87\00:49:03.61
and get a church in 11 months,
00:49:03.64\00:49:08.04
you got another thing coming."
00:49:08.08\00:49:10.45
I looked at my good friend,
Doug Batchelor and I said,
00:49:10.48\00:49:12.78
"God found you in a cave."
00:49:12.81\00:49:14.92
He and I always tell
stories about each other,
00:49:19.69\00:49:22.09
I hear him tell stories about us
00:49:22.12\00:49:23.46
and we tell stories
about him, two weeks later,
00:49:23.49\00:49:26.19
the conference
secretary called me and said,
00:49:26.23\00:49:27.96
"We're gonna
give you a church up
00:49:28.00\00:49:29.33
in the mountains of California."
00:49:29.36\00:49:31.93
Little tiny Church,
00:49:31.97\00:49:33.37
that's the church I told
you about, that was so empty,
00:49:33.40\00:49:35.20
I could shoot in this
church, not hit anybody.
00:49:35.24\00:49:37.54
We had two ages,
very old, very young.
00:49:37.57\00:49:41.44
Those who needed
their diet, well,
00:49:41.48\00:49:43.41
I wanna be kind,
let me leave that alone.
00:49:43.45\00:49:46.88
We had a very old
and a very young church.
00:49:46.92\00:49:48.92
When we got there, it was empty,
00:49:48.95\00:49:50.29
when we left, it was packed.
00:49:50.32\00:49:51.72
Amen.
00:49:51.75\00:49:53.09
But to show you
how God was working
00:49:53.12\00:49:54.69
and answering prayers,
our car, that Toyota I bought,
00:49:54.72\00:49:57.83
couldn't really go any
further, so somebody said,
00:49:57.86\00:50:02.53
"Go ahead and get
yourself a new car."
00:50:02.56\00:50:03.90
That company we worked for said,
00:50:03.93\00:50:05.27
"We'll go ahead and give you
the money to get the car loan."
00:50:05.30\00:50:08.27
And I said, "Okay."
00:50:08.30\00:50:11.11
The company owner said,
"We'll give you the loan,
00:50:11.14\00:50:14.34
whatever money you
need to get that car,
00:50:14.38\00:50:15.91
we'll give you
the down payment."
00:50:15.94\00:50:17.28
My wife and I
took that by faith,
00:50:17.31\00:50:19.05
when we got ourselves a
brand new Toyota 4Runner,
00:50:19.08\00:50:22.82
put on a $2,500 deposit,
00:50:22.85\00:50:24.42
we didn't have a penny
00:50:24.45\00:50:25.95
but the company said it
will give us a down payment,
00:50:25.99\00:50:27.72
we went ahead and did that,
00:50:27.76\00:50:29.12
went to work the very next
day with our brand new car,
00:50:29.16\00:50:31.43
excited about
everything and pulled up
00:50:31.46\00:50:33.50
to the company and
the company's daughter,
00:50:33.53\00:50:35.43
the company owner
came out, her daughter,
00:50:35.46\00:50:37.47
his daughter said to us,
00:50:37.50\00:50:39.83
"You know, I talked
to my dad last night,
00:50:39.87\00:50:41.40
we are sorry.
00:50:41.44\00:50:42.77
We can't give you
the money right now."
00:50:42.80\00:50:45.41
The car is sitting
right there, So what do we do?
00:50:45.44\00:50:49.84
My wife said, "What do we
do?" I said, "Honey, we pray."
00:50:49.88\00:50:52.15
We do what? Pray.
00:50:52.18\00:50:54.28
'Cause we prayed two things.
00:50:54.32\00:50:56.18
Lord, if you want us
to have this vehicle,
00:50:56.22\00:50:58.62
let the loan go through.
00:50:58.65\00:51:02.29
"So, honey, let's pray.
00:51:02.32\00:51:03.73
If we get the call from Toyota
that the loan went through,
00:51:03.76\00:51:07.06
God wants us to
have this vehicle."
00:51:07.10\00:51:09.83
About an hour and a half
later, the call came through,
00:51:09.86\00:51:12.17
they said, "The
loan is approved.
00:51:12.20\00:51:13.74
We're gonna deposit the check."
00:51:13.77\00:51:15.37
And my wife and I
looked at each other and said,
00:51:15.40\00:51:17.01
"If they wanna open a
dealership on the moon,
00:51:17.04\00:51:19.37
this'll be a good time."
00:51:19.41\00:51:21.24
Because that's about as high
as that check is gonna bounce.
00:51:21.28\00:51:26.61
But she said, "What do we do?"
I said, "Honey, let's pray."
00:51:26.65\00:51:29.72
Let's do what?
00:51:29.75\00:51:31.09
Let's pray, we prayed again
00:51:31.12\00:51:33.49
and I did something
I've never done before,
00:51:33.52\00:51:35.16
I made two phone calls
00:51:35.19\00:51:36.52
and in a matter of
ten minutes or less,
00:51:36.56\00:51:38.59
the Lord provided
$2,500 for that down payment
00:51:38.63\00:51:41.43
but let me tell you
why that's significant,
00:51:41.46\00:51:42.86
don't get enamored by
the car or by the money,
00:51:42.90\00:51:44.63
there is a reason
behind that's much greater.
00:51:44.67\00:51:47.34
That church that they gave us
00:51:47.37\00:51:48.70
in the Northern
California mountains,
00:51:48.74\00:51:50.34
when we went to
interview with that committee,
00:51:50.37\00:51:52.34
when we sat before them,
00:51:52.37\00:51:54.08
now 14 months later, long
after we got this vehicle,
00:51:54.11\00:51:57.48
the very first
question they asked us was,
00:51:57.51\00:52:01.85
"Do you have a four
wheel drive vehicle?"
00:52:01.88\00:52:05.75
I don't know if you got that?
00:52:05.79\00:52:07.72
This 4Runner that
we got in flat Florida,
00:52:07.76\00:52:11.43
where you don't need a
four wheel drive vehicle,
00:52:11.46\00:52:13.60
the first question this
church up in the mountains
00:52:13.63\00:52:15.90
of Northern California ask us,
00:52:15.93\00:52:17.63
"Do you have a four
wheel drive vehicle?
00:52:17.67\00:52:20.67
Without one, you'll never
be able to visit the members."
00:52:20.70\00:52:24.41
Prayer makes a
difference. What do you say?
00:52:24.44\00:52:26.47
Amen.
00:52:26.51\00:52:27.84
So when we talk
to God, James 1:6-7,
00:52:27.88\00:52:31.88
you got to be
consistent in your prayers,
00:52:31.91\00:52:34.55
don't change your mind,
00:52:34.58\00:52:35.92
if you can't make up
your mind about your need,
00:52:35.95\00:52:38.19
God cannot provide that need.
00:52:38.22\00:52:40.16
The Bible says in James 1:6-7,
"But let him ask in faith,
00:52:40.19\00:52:43.93
with no doubting,
00:52:43.96\00:52:45.29
for he who doubts
00:52:45.33\00:52:46.66
is like a wave of the sea
driven and tossed by the wind.
00:52:46.70\00:52:49.76
For let not that man
suppose that he will receive..."
00:52:49.80\00:52:53.03
What? "Anything from the Lord."
00:52:53.07\00:52:57.31
We prayed and God
answered that prayer,
00:52:57.34\00:52:59.31
we prayed and
God opened the door,
00:52:59.34\00:53:01.24
we prayed and God turned back
00:53:01.28\00:53:03.65
every obstacle to
bless his children
00:53:03.68\00:53:06.11
and I'm gonna tell you tonight,
00:53:06.15\00:53:07.52
my wife and I
have made it through,
00:53:07.55\00:53:09.12
going on 30 years
of pastoral ministry
00:53:09.15\00:53:10.99
through storms,
through earthquakes,
00:53:11.02\00:53:14.72
through attacks on
our home and our marriage,
00:53:14.76\00:53:18.56
through outside forces
that would have crushed us,
00:53:18.59\00:53:21.23
had we not found the need
to get on our knees and pray.
00:53:21.26\00:53:27.44
I can give so many more
scriptures about prayer.
00:53:27.47\00:53:30.27
But what I wanna do tonight
is something quite different.
00:53:30.31\00:53:33.21
I wanna give you
an opportunity tonight
00:53:33.24\00:53:36.04
to experience what it
means to pray to the living God.
00:53:36.08\00:53:39.71
The God who sits
high but looks low,
00:53:39.75\00:53:42.72
the God who knows
absolutely no failure.
00:53:42.75\00:53:45.95
I'm gonna ask Tim
to come to the piano,
00:53:45.99\00:53:48.29
when I was the young man,
00:53:48.32\00:53:50.09
I believe one of the reasons
why I am where I am today
00:53:50.13\00:53:54.13
is because I was raised
by a lady from Trinidad.
00:53:54.16\00:53:56.90
I was abandoned by my
parents at three-months-old.
00:53:56.93\00:53:59.97
Left at baby
sitter's, they never came back,
00:54:00.00\00:54:02.27
my dad wasn't around,
00:54:02.30\00:54:03.97
didn't know who he was
until about 14 years later.
00:54:04.01\00:54:07.54
I met my mother
for the first time
00:54:07.58\00:54:08.91
when I was almost 26
but here I was in the home,
00:54:08.94\00:54:12.01
I got abandoned in the
home of an Adventist Christian,
00:54:12.05\00:54:15.08
come on, somebody.
00:54:15.12\00:54:16.45
God knew where I needed to
be to get where I am today.
00:54:16.48\00:54:19.72
When Friday evening
came in, we sat at the piano,
00:54:19.75\00:54:22.86
there I was
barely able to even see,
00:54:22.89\00:54:25.43
couldn't reach the ground
00:54:25.46\00:54:27.10
but she would
sit us at the piano
00:54:27.13\00:54:28.96
as the sun was setting.
00:54:29.00\00:54:31.10
And she would play,
'Sweet hour of prayer',
00:54:37.67\00:54:41.68
and when she played
'Sweet hour of prayer,
00:54:41.71\00:54:44.71
' there was a connection
made between me and God
00:54:44.75\00:54:47.62
that is not broken ever since.
00:54:47.65\00:54:51.25
When I was at the
end of a gun point,
00:54:51.29\00:54:52.79
not just once but twice,
00:54:52.82\00:54:56.39
I know that my momma's
prayers when she passed away
00:54:56.42\00:54:58.76
when I was 13
carried me through,
00:54:58.79\00:55:02.36
when I almost got run
over on a Friday night
00:55:02.40\00:55:04.20
from drinking
too much, partying,
00:55:04.23\00:55:05.87
when I know I shouldn't,
00:55:05.90\00:55:07.77
I knew that was momma's prayers
00:55:07.80\00:55:10.24
that kept me through
that difficult moment.
00:55:10.27\00:55:14.34
When I couldn't find answers
to the difficulties of life,
00:55:14.38\00:55:17.15
I turned and my wife said to me,
00:55:17.18\00:55:18.68
not too many years ago,
00:55:18.71\00:55:20.05
when I was
working on my second CD
00:55:20.08\00:55:22.12
and I wrote a song called
'Momma's prayer,' she said,
00:55:22.15\00:55:24.49
"Don't use anybody else's song.
00:55:24.52\00:55:26.19
What can you
think about your mother,
00:55:26.22\00:55:28.69
that stands out in your mind?"
00:55:28.72\00:55:30.49
And I said, "My mother, prayed.
00:55:30.53\00:55:33.43
She was a praying woman."
00:55:33.46\00:55:36.73
And I wrote a song
called 'Momma's prayer'
00:55:36.77\00:55:38.10
but I wanna... I
wanna have a just...
00:55:38.13\00:55:40.64
I'm gonna sing a little
bit of this song tonight
00:55:40.67\00:55:43.14
because I wanna open the
doors of the church tonight,
00:55:43.17\00:55:46.04
did this call
has a multifaceted?
00:55:46.07\00:55:49.48
If you feel the need tonight,
00:55:49.51\00:55:52.28
to turn your life over
to the God who never fails,
00:55:52.31\00:55:55.72
to the God who never knows,
00:55:55.75\00:55:59.69
who never knows what
it means to not have.
00:55:59.72\00:56:03.32
To the God of all abundance,
tonight as we sing this song,
00:56:03.36\00:56:06.73
'Sweet hour of prayer,
00:56:06.76\00:56:08.10
' you maybe a person tonight
that says I wanna come to God,
00:56:08.13\00:56:11.07
I wanna open my
heart to this God tonight,
00:56:11.10\00:56:13.13
I wanna pray,
00:56:13.17\00:56:14.70
I want Him to know
the issues of my heart,
00:56:14.74\00:56:16.81
I wanna come before Him
and pray and bring those issues
00:56:16.84\00:56:21.34
before the God that I
need to connect with, tonight,
00:56:21.38\00:56:23.28
as I sing this song
'Sweet hour of prayer'
00:56:23.31\00:56:25.78
and you have a need tonight
00:56:25.81\00:56:27.88
and you wanna know that
that need will be supplied,
00:56:27.92\00:56:30.19
that God will hear you and
God will answer that prayer
00:56:30.22\00:56:33.02
tonight wherever you might be,
00:56:33.05\00:56:34.49
I just wanna
invite you to come up,
00:56:34.52\00:56:35.86
I wanna pray a
special prayer tonight.
00:56:35.89\00:56:37.63
If there's a need in
your life that you have,
00:56:37.66\00:56:39.89
if there's a burden
that you wanna lay it down
00:56:39.93\00:56:41.80
at the foot of the cross,
00:56:41.83\00:56:43.43
if there's a God
that you wanna connect to
00:56:43.47\00:56:45.23
that can bring you
out of your darkness,
00:56:45.27\00:56:47.67
out of your despair
00:56:47.70\00:56:49.20
and you're
saying, "Heavenly Father,
00:56:49.24\00:56:50.61
I want to know that my
prayers are not only heard
00:56:50.64\00:56:53.71
but that my heart is
right with you tonight."
00:56:53.74\00:56:56.34
I'm opening the doors
of the church tonight,
00:56:56.38\00:56:58.11
if you wanna come
down and pray with me,
00:56:58.15\00:56:59.91
I'm gonna pray,
00:56:59.95\00:57:01.28
I'm gonna talk to that
God who has never failed me,
00:57:01.32\00:57:04.05
if you wanna join me
in that prayer tonight
00:57:04.09\00:57:05.62
as I sing this song,
00:57:05.65\00:57:06.99
just simply come from
wherever you're sitting,
00:57:07.02\00:57:08.96
we're gonna sing the
song, 'Sweet hour of prayer,
00:57:08.99\00:57:10.56
' and you wanna join
with me to sing it together.
00:57:10.59\00:57:13.23
Sweet hour of prayer
00:57:13.26\00:57:18.77
Sweet hour of prayer
00:57:18.80\00:57:23.77
That calls me
from a world of fear
00:57:23.81\00:57:31.71