Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: GMTB
Program Code: GMTB000047
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00:19 Good evening and welcome to
00:21 Give Me The Bible. 00:22 This is a series that is being 00:24 produced by Kenneth Cox Ministries. 00:26 And our speaker tonight will be 00:28 Evangelist Kenneth Cox. 00:29 And we want to welcome you 00:31 no matter where you're tuning in 00:33 from around the world. 00:34 And we want to welcome our live audience as well. 00:37 It is so good to be able to sit at the feet 00:41 of someone who has really studied in-depth. 00:43 And that's what Kenneth Cox has done. 00:45 And he has traveled... During his public ministry 00:48 he has covered the world. 00:50 And we're very fortunate to have him here at 3ABN. 00:54 And he is going to be continuing 00:57 his second part of a 5- part series. 00:59 The series title is The Elijah Message. 01:03 Last night we heard about The Coming of Elijah. 01:06 And you remember what he said? 01:08 The Lord said at the close of the Old Testament 01:11 that before the coming of the great and dreadful day 01:14 of the Lord He was going to send the prophet Elijah. 01:17 And Jesus - when He was talking about John the Baptist - said 01:21 that if you had ears to hear you could understand 01:24 that John the Baptist was the Elijah that was to come. 01:27 But when we think about the Elijah message, 01:32 we learned last night that this is all about 01:34 what? Turning the hearts of the fathers to whom? 01:38 To their children. 01:40 And the hearts of the children to their fathers. 01:43 This is such a timely message. 01:45 We need to hear this because families are crumbling. 01:48 Any why are they? Because the devil knows 01:52 that the family is the smallest unit of the church 01:55 and if he can break up the family, 01:56 he can break up the church. 01:58 But we're going to go on tonight. 02:00 We're going to hear about Abraham's Altar. 02:03 There was a practice that Abraham held for all of his life 02:07 and it really did contribute to the salvation of his family. 02:11 So we're very pleased... 02:12 Before Kenneth... Pastor Kenneth Cox comes out, 02:15 we're going to have... You know, we're thinking about 02:18 family harmony right now. 02:20 Well, we've got a precious family here tonight, 02:23 and they do have sister harmony. 02:25 We're going to introduce to you the Micheff sisters. 02:28 There's Brenda, Cinda, and Linda. 02:31 And they're going to be singing Redeemed. 02:47 Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it! 02:52 Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 02:57 Redeemed through His infinite mercy; 03:02 His child and forever I am. 03:07 Redeemed, 03:10 Redeemed! 03:13 Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 03:18 Redeemed, 03:22 Redeemed! 03:26 His child and forever I am. 03:31 Redeemed and so happy in Jesus, 03:36 no language my rapture can tell. 03:41 I know that the light of His presence 03:46 with me doth continually dwell. 03:52 Redeemed, 03:54 Redeemed! 03:57 Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 04:02 Redeemed, 04:06 Redeemed! 04:10 His child and forever I am. 04:15 I think of my blessed Redeemer, 04:20 I think of Him all the day long. 04:25 I sing for I cannot be silent, 04:30 His love is the theme of my song. 04:36 Redeemed, 04:38 Redeemed! 04:41 Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 04:46 Redeemed, 04:50 Redeemed! 04:54 His child and forever I am. 04:59 Redeemed, Redeemed! 05:04 Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 05:10 Redeemed, 05:12 Redeemed! 05:15 Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 05:20 Redeemed, 05:23 Redeemed! 05:28 His child and forever I am. 05:33 His child and forever... 05:36 His child and forever and ever 05:42 I am. 05:47 Amen! Amen! 05:50 Redeemed! What wonderful news 05:53 to know that we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. 05:57 Thank you to the Micheff sisters. 05:59 We appreciate them being here tonight. 06:01 How are you this evening? 06:03 Had a good day? 06:05 Great! All of those of you 06:08 who are watching by television 06:09 or listening over the radio, 06:12 we're glad to welcome you tonight. 06:14 Hope that this subject will be a special blessing 06:18 to your family in a definite way. 06:20 As you know, we're talking about The Elijah Message. 06:25 And we found out last night that the Elijah message 06:28 deals with the home: 06:30 turning the hearts of the fathers to the children 06:32 and the children to their fathers. 06:34 And that's what the Elijah message is about. 06:37 And that's what we're talking about during this series. 06:40 Our next presentation is entitled 06:48 There are certain things that the scripture gives us - 06:53 lays it down very clear - 06:55 that if you and I will follow those 06:58 that God will bless our home. 07:01 Promises that - absolutely - that He will do it. 07:04 And we'll find tonight or tomorrow... excuse me, 07:07 on our next presentation that the promises of God 07:11 are conditional. 07:14 Conditional. 07:16 And He lays down conditions 07:18 that if you and I fulfill those conditions 07:21 then the blessing is sure. 07:23 So we hope that this subject on Bless This House 07:26 will be of help to you in a special way. 07:30 And then tonight our subject is Abraham's Altar. 07:39 There's certain things that you need to look for 07:42 in tonight's presentation 07:44 that Abraham did that affected 07:48 his family and his descendants for generations. 07:53 Made a great, great difference 07:56 and it had to do with the family. 07:58 And so watch for that as we talk about Abraham's Altar. 08:03 And it gives us some insights into what you and I 08:08 need to be doing and what God expects of us. 08:11 And so we hope that tonight's presentation 08:14 will be a blessing to you in a special way. 08:18 We're glad that you're here; glad that you're watching. 08:20 We hope that as you continue to study God's Word 08:25 it will continue to lead and guide you 08:29 as you go through the scripture day by day. 08:32 We're very happy to have the Micheff sisters with us. 08:36 And they're singing a song tonight entitled 08:39 Whatever It Takes. 08:57 Closer to You, Lord... 09:02 closer I pray. 09:06 Help me draw closer 09:10 to Your will today. 09:15 It doesn't matter 09:19 what others may do. 09:23 I want to draw closer 09:28 to You. 09:32 There's a voice calling me 09:36 from an old, rugged tree. 09:41 And it whispers: 09:44 "Draw closer to Me. " 09:49 Leave this world far behind, 09:54 there are new heights to climb. 09:59 And a new life 10:01 in Me you will find. 10:07 For whatever it takes 10:12 to draw closer to You, Lord, 10:17 that's what I'll be willing 10:22 to do. 10:26 For whatever it takes 10:30 to be more like You, 10:36 that's what I'll be willing 10:40 to do. 10:44 Take the dearest thing from me 10:48 if that's how it must be 10:52 to draw me 10:55 closer to Thee. 11:01 Let the disappointments come... 11:06 lonely days without the sun... 11:11 if through sorrow, 11:13 like You I'll become. 11:19 For whatever it takes 11:23 to draw closer to You, Lord, 11:29 that's what I'll be willing 11:33 to do. 11:37 For whatever it takes 11:42 to be more like You, 11:47 that's what I'll be willing 11:51 to do. 11:55 Take my houses and my lands, 12:00 change my dreams and all my plans... 12:04 for I'm placing my life 12:09 in Your hands. 12:13 And if You call me some day 12:17 to a land far away, 12:22 Lord, I'll go... 12:25 and Your will obey. 12:31 For whatever it takes 12:35 to draw closer to You, Lord, 12:41 that's what I'll be willing 12:45 to do. 12:49 For whatever it takes 12:54 to be more like You, 12:59 that's what I'll be willing 13:03 to do. 13:07 I'll give sunshine for rain; 13:12 comfort for pain; 13:17 that's what I'll be willing 13:21 to do. 13:25 For whatever it takes 13:30 for my will to break, 13:34 that's what I'll be willing 13:39 to do. 13:44 It doesn't matter 13:48 what others may do. 13:53 I want to draw closer 13:57 to You. 14:02 Closer 14:07 to You. 14:30 Gracious Lord, 14:32 we come to You this evening 14:36 asking that You'll be present. 14:39 That You'll send Your Holy Spirit. 14:42 That it may quicken our minds. 14:47 Give us receptive hearts. 14:49 Pray that we each may understand 14:56 our responsibilities 14:59 and that we might be willing to follow You 15:04 in all that we do. 15:08 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 15:19 I don't know of anything 15:24 in the Christian life 15:26 that the devil fights more 15:29 than what we're going to talk 15:31 about tonight. 15:34 In fact, he will do everything that he can 15:39 think of to keep you from doing it. 15:45 He will give you every excuse in the world 15:50 not to do it. 15:52 He'll convince you that you're too busy. 15:58 That you don't have enough time. 16:00 He'll do everything he can 16:03 to keep you from doing 16:05 what we're talking about tonight. 16:07 So I hope that you will see and understand 16:12 and purpose in your heart that you are going to do 16:16 what God wants you to do. 16:20 Abraham of old... Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees. 16:26 He and his father, his brother, quite a few others. 16:30 And they made their way up to a place called Haran. 16:34 Haran was right there by the river. 16:37 Very beautiful country... lots of grass and everything. 16:41 And they settled there, and that's where 16:44 they stayed for a number of years. 16:46 But God had called Abraham to leave there 16:52 and to go to the land of Canaan. 16:55 When God asked Abraham to go to the land of Canaan, folks, 17:01 He was asking Abraham to go into a very, very hostile 17:07 environment. 17:09 Because the people that lived in Canaan were pagans. 17:14 They were pagans. 17:16 They practiced all kinds of immorality. 17:21 They sacrificed animals to pagan gods. 17:25 They even sacrificed their children. 17:29 They were terrible. 17:31 So why would God take Abraham 17:35 and put him into such a hostile environment? 17:40 Why would He do that? 17:43 Because God made this statement: 17:49 God said: "When it comes to Abraham, 17:51 I have known him... " 18:11 So God said: "I trust Abraham. 18:14 He's My friend. He will do what I ask him to do. 18:17 And he will raise his children 18:21 as I have instructed him to raise them. " 18:26 Now when it talks about Abraham's household 18:31 what kind of a household did he have? 18:33 Well Abraham's household numbered a lot. 18:40 Abraham left Haran, came down, and came into the land 18:46 of Canaan. And when he came into the land of Canaan 18:49 the very first place he came to was Shechem. 18:54 You remember that? Shechem. 18:56 And in Shechem he built an altar there. It says: 19:10 Now it says He met him there and he built an altar. 19:14 And it says: "I know Abraham that he will direct 19:17 his household after Me. " 19:19 Well Abraham's household numbered over 1,000. 19:23 Did you realize that? 19:27 His household numbered over 1,000 people. 19:32 And when they built an altar, 19:35 they didn't build an altar just to offer sacrifice on. 19:40 That wasn't the total purpose of the altar. 19:43 True... they brought an animal and offered it there, 19:45 but the altar was where they came and worshiped. 19:49 They came to there every morning 19:52 and every evening and worshiped God at this altar. 19:58 The altar was the center of their activity. 20:01 Everything went on around it, 20:03 and so when they came to a place where they stayed 20:07 they built an altar. And that's where they worshiped. 20:11 But Abraham, as it said here, had a lot of people 20:15 in his household. Do you remember the time 20:16 when these kings came down and they raided 20:19 Sodom and Gomorrah and they took Abraham's nephew captive? 20:25 Remember that? 20:26 Listen to this: 20:51 So he had 318 men there, servants, 20:55 that were born in his household. 20:57 So his household was not just a few. 21:02 And when he took them, he trained them 21:05 and taught them about the Lord and they followed the Lord. 21:07 So everywhere that Abraham went 21:10 all across the land of Canaan 21:13 you could follow his travels 21:15 because there would be an altar there. 21:18 They built an altar, and you could see exactly where 21:21 Abraham went. And when these pagan people came along 21:24 they could see the altar and they knew that's where 21:27 Abraham had been. 21:29 And not only did Abraham do that 21:32 but he taught his sons to worship God. 21:37 To bring their families before the Lord. 21:39 And so we read here: 21:50 So we find that Isaac following the same custom as Abraham. 21:55 Wherever they stopped and spent time they built an altar there. 22:00 But Isaac took it a step farther. 22:02 He had his servants dig a well. 22:05 And so there at the altar where they worshiped 22:09 there was also a well that provided water 22:12 and life... was there. And, you know, you could 22:16 follow every place that Isaac went because one thing 22:19 there was a well there... it was green around it. 22:22 And so they could see exactly where Isaac had been. 22:25 And he worshiped and followed the Lord, and it continues 22:28 to say about him. It says: 22:34 These were places where they built altars to the Lord. 22:38 Well do you remember his son? 22:42 Jacob? 22:44 Well you remember Jacob went down to his Uncle Laban's house. 22:48 Spent... Where was Uncle Laban? 22:52 See how your Bible is. 22:54 Well he was over in Haran I told you about... OK? 22:57 So he goes over, spends some time with his Uncle Laban 23:02 and married Laban's two daughters. You remember that? 23:05 And then the Lord said to him, said: 23:08 "Jacob, it's time for you to come back. " 23:11 And Jacob is coming back, and the very first place 23:16 he comes into the land of Canaan 23:20 was at Shechem. 23:23 Very same place that Abraham had come in. 23:26 He came there to Shechem, and that... What did he do there? 23:31 He built an... rebuilt the altar and he dug a well. 23:37 And 1700 years later 23:41 the Son of Jacob was there drinking the water 23:47 from the well that Jacob dug. 23:51 But that well was where the altar was, 23:56 and this is where they came and they worshiped God. 24:00 That's what took place there. 24:01 Now watch... watch the circumstances 24:07 or the consequences 24:08 of having and not having morning and evening worship. 24:13 Because Abraham... they were there at the altar 24:16 every morning, every evening. 24:18 That's where his household met and they worshiped. 24:21 Same thing with Isaac; same thing with Jacob... 24:23 right on down. 24:24 But there was an individual in Abraham's household 24:29 that did not follow the custom. 24:44 There God has blessed Abraham, 24:48 He had blessed Lot... 24:50 until they had more cattle than they could be together with 24:54 because there wasn't enough pasture to take care of both 24:57 of them so they had to separate. 24:59 And Lot went down into the plains of Jordan 25:03 and down by Sodom and Gomorrah because they were well watered. 25:08 They were beautiful, and so he took his family 25:11 and they moved to Sodom and Gomorrah. 25:13 There is no record here, friend, 25:16 no record here at all 25:19 of Lot - who the Bible says was a righteous man, 25:23 don't misunderstand me - but there's no record 25:26 of him having morning and evening worship. 25:29 There's no record of Lot building an altar. 25:46 All right. Years passed. 25:52 And the Lord is talking to Abraham here, 25:55 that's what He's doing... 26:16 He said: "I'm going to go down, find out. " 26:19 See? Now, if you read the story 26:23 here is Christ and two angels. 26:26 And they've been there and they've been visiting 26:29 with Abraham. And He's telling Abraham 26:31 what He's going to do. He said: "I'm going to go down 26:33 and take a look at Sodom and Gomorrah 26:34 and see if it's as bad as they say it is. " 26:47 Interesting. 26:49 Two angels go on toward Sodom; 26:52 Abraham stands before the Lord. 26:55 And he says to Him: 27:05 Asked Him and said: "You're going down there, and this city 27:09 is wicked but would You destroy the righteous with the wicked? 27:13 What if there's 50 righteous people there? 27:17 Would You destroy it? 27:18 And the Lord said: "No. " 27:23 And Abraham said: "Well, what if there's 40? 27:28 Would You destroy it? " 27:29 And the Lord said: "No. " 27:33 Keeps reducing. He said: "What if there's 20? " 27:37 Said: "No, wouldn't destroy it. " 27:40 "Well, what if there's 10? " 27:44 Said: "No, wouldn't destroy it. " 27:48 Said: "What if there's just 5? " 27:51 Said: "No, won't destroy it. " 27:55 Those angels... they're down in Sodom and Gomorrah now 28:00 and they have found Lot. 28:02 Now folks, Lot is a good man. You must understand that. 28:06 But he hasn't done what he should have done 28:10 for his household, for his children. 28:13 And those angels have told him: 28:15 "God's going to destroy the city. Get out! 28:18 Get out now! " 28:42 You see, they didn't understand anything about this. 28:46 There was no altar; there was nothing there 28:49 that taught them day by day. 28:51 And when he told them: "He's going to burn this place up, " 28:55 to them he was joking. 29:14 They fled; only Lot and his two daughters made it. 29:18 Even Lot's wife didn't make it. 29:23 Her heart was still right back there in that city. 29:29 These daughters that Lot has... 29:32 they're not followers of God. 29:35 They... they don't understand 29:38 because Lot has not taken the time to have morning 29:42 and evening worship with them and to teach them. 29:45 And so they don't understand, 29:46 and so they get there in the cave and they say: 29:48 "What's going to happen to us? 29:50 Here we are in this cave, and we don't have any descendants. 29:54 What's going to happen to us? " 29:56 And so they decided among themselves that they would get 30:00 their father drunk 30:01 and they would go in and sleep with him 30:07 and become pregnant that they might have a descendant. 30:10 And so each one of those daughters 30:14 got pregnant by their father. 30:18 And they had two sons. 30:21 One's name was Moab 30:25 and the other's name was Ben-ammi. 30:29 Those two sons 30:32 became the fathers 30:36 of two nations: the Moabites, the Ammonites. 30:43 And those two fought against Israel for years. 30:50 Dear friends, all I'm trying to show you tonight 30:53 is the results when we don't follow what God says. 30:58 And we don't have enough time 31:00 and we don't think it's important enough 31:02 to spend time taking our children before the Lord 31:06 morning and evening that they might know the Lord. 31:12 Nothing... nothing is as important as doing this. 31:26 This is what God wants us to do. 31:29 All your children shall be taught of the Lord. 31:33 And if we will take the time to teach them the Lord 31:37 it says: "great will be the peace of your children. " 31:42 Because they've got something to build on. 31:45 They've got a foundation; 31:46 they've got something to place their belief in 31:49 and their... where they stand. 31:51 Giving them the kind of foundation that they need. 31:56 I'm going to share with you tonight three statements 32:01 out of books. These are statements that to me 32:05 have great, great meaning on this subject. 32:09 It says: 32:17 Did you ever think about that? 32:18 That when you're praying you're building a hedge 32:21 around your children? 32:23 You don't want the devil to get in there... 32:26 build a hedge around them. 32:40 This is important. 32:52 In every family there should be a fixed time 32:57 for morning and evening worship. 33:00 If you don't do that, 33:03 you won't get it done. 33:05 Sorry. If you don't do that, 33:10 you will not get it done. 33:12 You need to have a fixed time 33:16 for morning and evening worship. 33:19 And even then, I'll guarantee you 33:22 the devil will do everything he can to keep you from doing it. 33:28 Because there's too much here at stake 33:30 and therefore he fights it for all he can 33:34 to make sure that that doesn't happen. 33:36 But in every home there should be morning and evening worship. 33:42 Now when they came to the altar - 33:45 many times when they came - 33:47 they brought a sacrifice. 33:49 There could be a sacrifice brought for sins. 33:52 Or there could be a sacrifice brought as a thank offering. 33:56 Or there could be just a sacrifice 33:58 as a free will offering. 34:00 But they brought a sacrifice and offered it 34:04 there on the altar. But it wasn't the only time... 34:07 they came every morning and every evening 34:11 and worshiped together. 34:12 But today... what sacrifice do we bring? 34:19 We don't bring a lamb any more 34:21 because Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God. 34:25 So we don't need to bring a lamb. 34:27 So it says they brought a sacrifice. 34:30 Are we to bring a sacrifice? 34:32 Well I want you to listen, because these are the sacrifices 34:38 that you and I are supposed to bring 34:41 every morning and every evening. 35:00 In other words, you and I are to present our bodies 35:04 as a living sacrifice to God. 35:10 What does that mean? 35:11 That means each morning when I get up 35:15 I need to dedicate my life to the Lord 35:20 and give my life anew to Him every day. 35:25 Let me tell you something. 35:26 There is no such thing as a person getting up every day 35:31 and giving his life to the Lord 35:34 and doing that every day 35:36 and that person missing heaven. 35:38 Impossible. 35:41 That person who gets up and will give his life to the Lord 35:44 every day... that is what gets us ready 35:49 for the coming of Jesus Christ. 35:52 You remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? 35:57 Let me explain what it means by offering our bodies 36:01 as a living sacrifice. 36:03 Nebuchadnezzar had built this huge image out on the plains 36:08 of Dura and he told them that they were to worship it. 36:11 And you remember he set up a band and everything 36:16 and told them when the music was to play they were to bow down 36:19 and worship the image. 36:20 Well they all bowed down except Shadrach, 36:24 Meshach and Abednego. 36:25 They didn't. 36:27 And Nebuchadnezzar called them in. 36:39 Nebuchadnezzar called them in and said: 36:41 "What's this I hear? " 36:42 Have you ever thought about this? 36:44 Huh? You go back and you read Daniel 36:47 and I mean, these men had been promoted. 36:51 They had been promoted by Nebuchadnezzar until they 36:54 were at the very top of the echelon. 36:56 I mean they were... they were the leaders of the country. 37:00 And he had treated them wonderful 37:04 and here they're refusing to bow down to his god. 37:07 And he had told them: "You bow down to my god 37:12 or I'm going to throw you in the furnace. " 37:16 And they said: "We have no need to answer you 37:20 in this matter. " 37:25 If you're going to throw us in the fiery furnace, 37:35 Boy that was not something you said to Nebuchadnezzar. 37:39 I mean, that just isn't what you said to him. 37:43 But they said: "You know, God is perfectly capable 37:48 but IF NOT, offer your body a living sacrifice. " 38:03 They said: "Even if He doesn't deliver us 38:07 we're not going to worship your god. " 38:09 And I mean he said: "Fire it up 38:13 seven times hotter. " 38:18 It was so hot that it killed the guards that threw them in. 38:26 And when Nebuchadnezzar looked in there, he said: 38:28 "Didn't we throw three? 38:31 Didn't we throw three men in there? 38:33 I see four. 38:35 I see one like the Son of God. " 38:39 You see you and I are to present our bodies 38:44 as a living sacrifice to God. 38:50 Psalm 4 verse 4: 38:52 a great, great text, folks. 38:56 You know what that's saying? 38:58 Before you get up in the morning while you're still in bed 39:03 take a little time and talk to the Lord. 39:05 Meditate to the Lord. 39:07 And then it says: "And be still. " 39:10 Most of us don't listen to that. 39:13 You know, we may meditate a little bit and then we jump up. 39:15 Quit it. Lay there a little bit. 39:17 You might hear the Lord speak to you. 39:26 What sacrifice? 39:29 Righteousness. That means living a daily... 39:33 living a righteous life day by day. 39:36 And put your trust in the Lord. 39:39 So you and I should live for the Lord every day. 39:54 We are to offer a sacrifice of praise. 39:57 When did you stop the last time and just praise the Lord? 40:01 When did you do that the last time? 40:06 No, I'm not talking about thanking Him... 40:08 I'm talking about praising Him. 40:10 That is a sacrifice that you and I are to bring to Him: 40:15 a sacrifice of praise. 40:17 That's something He tells us to do. 40:34 So it tells us that we are to live. 40:37 We are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. 40:39 We are to offer the sacrifice of righteousness. 40:42 That we are to offer the sacrifice of praise. 40:45 That we are to offer the sacrifice of doing good 40:48 and of sharing. These are all sacrifices that you and I 40:51 are to bring to God day by day. 40:55 That's what we are to do in our worship of the Lord. 41:11 When's the last time you shouted? 41:14 You know, I really worry about this, 41:17 because I read... When I pick up my Bible, I read 41:20 that there are going to be people standing on the sea of 41:23 glass and they're going to say: "Praise the Lord. Hallelujah! " 41:26 and this type of thing, and most of you folks 41:30 don't even know those words. 41:33 That we need to learn to shout the praises of God. 41:38 That's part of our... what we are to do. 41:41 This is part of praising God together. 41:52 God wants us to offer to Him the sacrifice of praise. 41:58 Well, let's talk a little bit about family worship. 42:04 Because I'm sorry... there are parents that have family worship 42:10 that the kids can't hardly wait to get out of there. 42:14 And I want to talk about what it's to be. 42:19 You know, what we're supposed to do as far as family worship 42:23 is concerned. How God wants us to conduct it. 42:26 So to begin with, family worship should be happy. 42:32 Put it down: it should be happy. 42:34 If you got up on the wrong side of the bed, 42:37 get back in bed and get out on the other side. 42:40 You know... but you should not come down to family worship 42:45 in a sour mood. 42:48 You and I need to be happy. 42:51 The children have... they should find us 42:54 happy in our relationship to God. 42:57 And so make sure that family worship is a joyful place. 43:02 Happy. 43:04 Secondly, it should be interesting. 43:07 And that means you need to take just a little bit of time 43:12 to make it interesting. 43:14 Don't let it be an afterthought. 43:17 Take some time to think about it and make it interesting 43:21 for the children. Need to do that. 43:24 Thirdly, it needs to be sacred. 43:27 And I have to be very careful here because this is 43:30 kind of a hobby horse with me. 43:32 It's to be sacred; don't make it common. 43:37 I'm sorry, but we live in an age today 43:40 that they don't understand the difference between 43:43 common and sacred. 43:44 That... worship needs to be a sacred time, 43:48 and they should understand that and it should have that presence 43:52 to it and not just make it common. 43:55 That's not what it's to be. 43:57 Four: it's to be short. 44:01 It's not the time where you're, you know, give an exegesis 44:06 on something. It's to be short, not long. 44:09 But it should have all those elements in it. 44:12 It should be happy, it should be interesting, 44:14 it should be sacred... but it should be short. 44:16 And finally, it should be spirited. 44:20 It should move; don't drag it along. 44:24 You know, these are things that family worship is to be, 44:28 folks. And you and I need to just take the time 44:31 to make sure that our family worship is that. 44:38 I'll guarantee you that if your family worship 44:43 has those elements in it 44:46 every morning and every evening 44:49 the children will gladly come to it. 44:51 Gladly come to it. 44:53 OK? All right, that's family worship. 44:57 Let's look at one other aspect. 45:03 You know, they used incense. 45:06 They had censers and they waved censers 45:08 and the smoke went up out of the censer and all. 45:10 What does that have to do with us today? 45:15 See? 45:16 What... what is the incense that they used back then? 45:20 What... how is it represented today? 45:23 Well this is what it tells us: 45:40 That incense today is your prayers. 45:45 And that when you and I pray that is mixed with incense 45:50 and it comes up before the Lord. 45:52 It even says this, folks: 46:05 So it says that the angels take your prayers 46:09 in their hands and present them before God as incense. 46:13 Never, never, never does your prayers 46:17 not come up before God. People say: "Well my 46:21 prayers don't get to the ceiling. " 46:22 No they don't! They go clear to heaven. 46:24 They are taken there in the hands of the angels 46:28 and presented before God. 46:30 That's what the incense represents and is to be. 46:35 Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses 46:41 on the door of the church of Wittenberg. 46:43 But Martin Luther said this: 46:52 Dear friend, when you are so busy and you feel 46:55 like you just don't have time... pray a little more. 47:00 You'll find that you get a whole lot more done. 47:03 A whole lot more accomplished if you just pray more. 47:08 Very important. 47:12 This is another statement. 47:14 I told you I was going to give you three... 47:28 It says that your prayers come up before God 47:32 like sweet incense and God pours out His blessings 47:37 upon you as morning dew. 47:39 That's what He does for each one of us... 47:43 blesses in a very special way. 47:47 Jim and Pam Rhodes that help us and sing 47:53 many times in our meetings... 47:55 Jim and Pam both were teachers 47:58 and taught for a number of years. 47:59 Pam tells the story of a little boy by the name of Bobby 48:04 that came on the first day of school and walked into the room 48:08 and he was every teacher's nightmare. 48:12 Bobby could not sit down. 48:16 He could not shut up. 48:18 He was just uncontrollable. 48:22 Getting into trouble with the kids all the time. 48:25 And Pam is very much in her classroom a disciplinarian. 48:29 And so she said to herself: 48:32 "Just give us a few days, and we'll get Bobby in shape. " 48:37 Well the days went along and it didn't get Bobby in shape... 48:42 it got Pam out of shape. 48:45 You know, she... she didn't know what to do 48:49 with the boy. And so she went and got her 48:51 child psychology books and all the things that she 48:55 had had in school and went back and started reading them 48:59 and seeing if she could figure out what in the world 49:01 she could do to help this boy. 49:04 But nothing - I mean, nothing she did - would help him. 49:09 She went to the other teachers in the school 49:12 and talked to them and asked them for advice. 49:14 Nobody could seem to find any kind of an answer 49:18 to help him. And finally - distraught 49:23 at home - she was praying. 49:25 And she was praying to the Lord about Bobby. 49:28 And the Lord said to her: "Pam, you haven't tried Me. " 49:33 And she said: "Forgive me, Lord. " 49:37 And the next morning when she was there... 49:41 and Bobby came every morning early to school... 49:44 and she was sitting at her desk and Bobby came in 49:48 and walked up to her desk. 49:50 And she said to him... She said: "Bobby, 49:52 would you like to pray with me? " 49:55 And he said: "Yes, teacher, I'd like to pray with you. " 49:58 And they went over to just a place that was quiet 50:02 and they knelt there and prayed. 50:05 And she said: "Bobby, if you'll come every morning 50:08 we'll pray together. " 50:11 And he said: "OK, teacher. " 50:13 And every morning when he came he would come and 50:16 they would pray together. And mornings when she was busy 50:19 he would pull on her skirt and say: "Teacher, we need 50:22 to pray. " And they'd go over and pray. 50:24 And she said it wasn't... it wasn't a month or two, 50:29 it was just a matter of days 50:31 and all of a sudden Bobby sat in his seat longer. 50:35 And he didn't talk out loud like he used to. 50:39 And he didn't have trouble with the students 50:42 like he had before. 50:46 Began to change. 50:49 And she said one day his mother came to the school. 50:52 The mother came in her room and said: 50:55 "Are you praying with my boy? " 50:57 And Pam said: "Yes, I am. " 51:01 She said: "He came home the other day 51:04 and said to me: 'Mother, will you pray with me 51:08 like Mrs. Rhodes does? ' 51:10 Jesus is my best friend. " 51:13 She said: "So we started praying. " 51:16 We prayed together, and he said to us... said: 51:20 "Could we go to church? " 51:22 And she said: "Now our whole family goes to church. " 51:26 Said: "It's changed our whole lives. " 51:29 Oh dear friend, if we'd just take our children 51:32 and take them to the Lord 51:34 it would change our lives and make us totally different. 51:37 We just need to spend time with them. 51:41 Great, great statement. I want you to listen to it. 51:47 Listen to this... 52:08 How important that is! 52:12 And so I would say to you 52:14 Mothers, fathers... gather your family around you. 52:20 Ask God to bless each one. 52:23 Plead for the sweet Holy Spirit 52:27 to guide you till day's work is done. 52:31 And then when the long day is ended, 52:34 gather around once more... 52:39 to thank God for keeping His promise 52:41 and praise Him, for He is the Lord. 52:46 Let us pray. 52:48 Father in Heaven, 52:52 as we have looked... what the scripture shows us 52:58 of the importance of spending time 53:03 with our families in worship. 53:06 And, oh Lord, we realize and we know 53:09 how the devil fights this. 53:12 How he does everything to keep us from having it. 53:17 We ask, Lord, that we may learn 53:20 to commit our lives to You. 53:23 That You can handle the circumstances. 53:27 That you can bring good out of any situation. 53:31 We pray that we might turn it over to You, Lord. 53:35 That You might have Your way in our lives. 53:39 Forgive us... forgive us where we have failed. 53:43 Where we've not done what we should have... 53:48 and help us to depend upon You. 53:52 To realize that You're able to guide and direct. 53:58 Any may we have the privilege - not because we're worthy - 54:02 but may we have the privilege of having our families with us 54:07 in Your kingdom because of what Jesus Christ has done 54:13 for each one of us. 54:15 For this we ask in His name, Amen. 54:22 Our next presentation is 54:25 entitled Bless This House. 54:28 And the Lord just simply says 54:31 that there are certain things 54:35 that if you and I will do them 54:37 that He will bless our home. 54:42 And folks, as you read through the book 54:44 He promised it over and over and over 54:48 to the children of Israel. 54:50 And when they did it, He blessed them wonderfully. 54:56 And He'll do the same for you and for me 54:59 if we will just fulfill what God asks us to do. 55:03 So come for our next presentation... 55:07 those of you that are joining us by television... 55:09 as we take a look at Bless This House. 55:13 Good night. God bless you. 55:16 Although they're small and seemingly insignificant, 55:19 soybean pods fill the farm fields of the United States. 55:23 What a treasure they are for the farmer at harvest time. 55:28 Nearly all soybeans in this country 55:30 are processed for their oil which is then refined for 55:34 cooking or sold for biodiesel production 55:37 as well as for many other industrial uses. 55:40 Because of the high demand for soybeans, 55:43 a farmer must be able to harvest large quantities 55:46 in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. 55:50 One of the best ways to do this 55:52 is to use a combine harvester. 55:55 These massive machines give the farmer 55:57 the ability to quickly harvest and haul 56:00 the beans at an incredible rate. 56:03 Have you ever considered what one farmer can do today 56:06 with the help of modern tools? 56:08 The farmer of the past could hardly imagine it. 56:11 Within hours, one man and a machine can harvest 56:15 and deliver untold bushels of soybeans to the market. 56:19 His goal is to obtain the largest yield possible 56:23 at harvest time. 56:24 Like the farmer today, we must do the same. 56:28 In Luke 10 and verse 2 56:30 Jesus said: "The harvest truly is great 56:33 but the laborers are few. " 56:35 And in John 4:35 He looked over the wheat fields 56:39 and said to His disciples: 56:40 "Lift up your eyes and look at the fields 56:43 for they are already white for harvest. " 56:46 In both passages, Jesus referred to men and women 56:50 of this world as He proclaimed that the harvest is here 56:53 and the work must be done. 56:56 When I was a boy, 56:58 the corn harvest was all done by hand. 57:01 We literally had a horse-drawn wagon, 57:03 and we would walk along beside it and pull the corn 57:06 off the stalk and throw it onto the wagon. 57:09 But folks, the time is short, 57:12 so the Lord has provided the most marvelous technology 57:15 to enable us to harvest more souls through television, 57:20 radio, and other media. 57:22 Today we can take the message 57:23 to the multitudes around the world at the speed of light. 57:27 Such ability was far beyond the imagination 57:31 of the evangelists of the past. 57:35 The harvest is here, but we can't do it without you. 57:40 Won't you help us? 57:41 Please consider what you can do 57:42 for those who still don't know about Jesus. 57:45 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:47 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 58:01 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word 58:04 through television and radio. 58:05 Your gifts help bring the blessed hope of salvation 58:08 to millions around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17