Hello, and welcome to Heart Lift. 00:00:26.76\00:00:28.19 I'm Jill Morikone, and I'm so glad that 00:00:28.22\00:00:30.69 you've joined us today. 00:00:30.73\00:00:32.16 We're on a journey, in the middle of a journey toward 00:00:32.19\00:00:35.30 healing, toward hope, toward the transformation that the Lord 00:00:35.33\00:00:40.04 Jesus Christ, wants to work in your life and in mine, 00:00:40.07\00:00:43.41 as women of God, as daughters of the King. 00:00:43.44\00:00:47.84 If you've just joined us, we're in the middle of several 00:00:47.88\00:00:51.05 programs dealing with the concept of forgiveness. 00:00:51.08\00:00:54.38 Two programs ago we talked about the parable, the story, 00:00:54.42\00:00:58.39 that Jesus told in Luke 8 about the sower who went 00:00:58.42\00:01:03.06 forth to sow his seed. 00:01:03.09\00:01:05.03 It fell on the wayside. 00:01:05.06\00:01:07.60 We talked about the hindrances in our own hearts for God 00:01:07.63\00:01:12.27 when He wants to plant His word deep, 00:01:12.30\00:01:14.34 and sometimes we put up roadblocks. 00:01:14.37\00:01:16.60 Sometimes we have hindrances that we put up to keep God from 00:01:16.64\00:01:21.54 planting His word in our hearts. 00:01:21.58\00:01:23.45 One of those hindrances is when we're resistant to the work 00:01:23.48\00:01:27.35 of the Holy Spirit. 00:01:27.38\00:01:28.75 We're like the road; we've become hard. 00:01:28.78\00:01:31.62 And God said, Surrender to Me. 00:01:31.65\00:01:33.82 I can plow up that hard soil, and I can make it soft. 00:01:33.86\00:01:37.86 Next, some of the seed was trampled upon. 00:01:37.89\00:01:42.23 We talked about how each one of us experience trampling on. 00:01:42.26\00:01:47.50 Sometimes Satan confuses the character of God. 00:01:47.54\00:01:50.77 Sometimes its an abuse, or some sort of pain, some wrong that 00:01:50.81\00:01:55.04 someone else has done you. 00:01:55.08\00:01:56.48 We discussed last program on the deliverance that the Lord 00:01:56.51\00:02:00.22 Jesus Christ wants to do in each one of our hearts and lives. 00:02:00.25\00:02:04.55 He says, Simply pray. 00:02:04.59\00:02:06.45 Ask for My forgiveness. 00:02:06.49\00:02:08.62 Pray for the person who hurt you. 00:02:08.66\00:02:11.09 Surrender the desire for revenge. 00:02:11.13\00:02:13.96 And choose to process those steps until God 00:02:14.00\00:02:17.17 releases our heart. 00:02:17.20\00:02:18.53 Today we're going to discuss forgiving other people. 00:02:18.57\00:02:21.80 How do we ask for forgiveness when we're the ones 00:02:21.84\00:02:24.51 who have done wrong? 00:02:24.54\00:02:25.87 And, finally, we'll end with the stolen seed. 00:02:25.91\00:02:30.11 The sower casts forth his seed on the road. 00:02:30.15\00:02:33.31 Some was trampled, and some the birds ate. It was stolen. 00:02:33.35\00:02:37.09 We're going to end with that stolen seed. 00:02:37.12\00:02:39.15 First is our Scripture, Hebrews 12:14, 15. 00:02:39.19\00:02:44.49 The word of God says, Pursue peace with all people, 00:02:44.53\00:02:48.40 and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 00:02:48.43\00:02:52.73 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; 00:02:52.77\00:02:57.51 lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, 00:02:57.54\00:03:01.88 and by this many become defiled. 00:03:01.91\00:03:05.75 Lets pray. Father we come before You. 00:03:05.78\00:03:09.38 Thank You for the forgiveness that You want to pour into our 00:03:09.42\00:03:13.46 hearts for our brothers and sisters. 00:03:13.49\00:03:16.46 We praise Your name for that. 00:03:16.49\00:03:18.33 Right now we open up our hearts for Your divine inspection. 00:03:18.36\00:03:21.66 We ask that You would show us, show us if there's any 00:03:21.70\00:03:25.57 bitterness, or any aught against us and a brother and sister. 00:03:25.60\00:03:29.04 I just pray that You could hide me, and that You could speak 00:03:29.07\00:03:33.84 to our hearts, that You could be seen. 00:03:33.88\00:03:36.88 And we thank You in the precious and holy name of Jesus, Amen. 00:03:36.91\00:03:41.95 Greg and I like to garden. 00:03:41.98\00:03:45.39 I think I could honestly say that Greg is a much better 00:03:45.42\00:03:49.22 gardener than I am, and that he enjoys it even more than I do. 00:03:49.26\00:03:53.03 He loves nothing better than the wind in his hair, 00:03:53.06\00:03:55.76 and his hands in the dirt, the sun on his face. 00:03:55.80\00:03:59.17 Now I like to go outside, and I love working in my flower beds. 00:03:59.20\00:04:02.37 But Greg loves any type of gardening: working with the 00:04:02.40\00:04:05.87 tractor, plowing up the soil, working in the garden. 00:04:05.91\00:04:09.98 He likes weeding, he likes hoeing, he likes fertilizing, 00:04:10.01\00:04:15.08 he loves our raspberries, and our blueberries, and our apple 00:04:15.12\00:04:20.39 trees, which sadly died. 00:04:20.42\00:04:21.92 But any type of gardening, he really likes. 00:04:21.96\00:04:24.53 One of my special loves is herbs. I love herbs. 00:04:24.56\00:04:28.56 I like fresh herbs. 00:04:28.60\00:04:30.33 To me they're much more economical. 00:04:30.37\00:04:32.73 It's a lot cheaper if you're cooking to use fresh herbs, 00:04:32.77\00:04:36.81 if you grow them from the garden. 00:04:36.84\00:04:39.74 If you buy them in the store, they're quite expensive. 00:04:39.77\00:04:42.28 So I really like to use fresh herbs. 00:04:42.31\00:04:45.48 They taste better, and they're cheaper if 00:04:45.51\00:04:48.48 you grow them yourself. 00:04:48.52\00:04:50.22 On the South side of our garage, we planted an herb garden. 00:04:50.25\00:04:54.86 Now I had your traditional herbs. 00:04:54.89\00:04:57.09 There's some Basil, there's some Parsley, there's some Oregano, 00:04:57.13\00:05:01.23 some Cilantro, some Thyme. 00:05:01.26\00:05:03.03 One year someone gave us some mint, and they said, Oh Jill, 00:05:03.06\00:05:08.07 you're going to love this. 00:05:08.10\00:05:09.44 Now if you garden you know exactly where 00:05:09.47\00:05:11.91 this story is going. 00:05:11.94\00:05:13.27 What happened: the first year the mint filled in very nicely, 00:05:13.31\00:05:17.11 and I was very pleased with the results. 00:05:17.15\00:05:20.48 The second year, you know what happened? 00:05:20.52\00:05:21.95 It began to overtake and overrun my garden. 00:05:21.98\00:05:27.19 My Basil was boxed in. 00:05:27.22\00:05:29.02 The Cilantro was crowded. 00:05:29.06\00:05:31.23 And the Oregano was overrun. 00:05:31.26\00:05:34.10 It even went out into the grass. 00:05:34.13\00:05:36.06 And when Greg would mow the grass, you know what happened? 00:05:36.10\00:05:39.03 You could smell the mint, and it smelled really good, 00:05:39.07\00:05:42.67 but that was not the point. 00:05:42.70\00:05:44.04 I didn't want mint everywhere. 00:05:44.07\00:05:46.17 So we yanked, and we pulled, and we tried to pull it up, 00:05:46.21\00:05:49.81 and nothing worked. 00:05:49.84\00:05:51.91 Finally what we did is we used good old fashioned weed killer, 00:05:51.95\00:05:55.85 and we sprayed the entire herb garden, 00:05:55.88\00:05:58.65 and we let it rest for a year. 00:05:58.69\00:06:01.26 When I planted my herb garden again on the South side of my 00:06:01.29\00:06:06.80 garage, you can be sure I did not plant mint, 00:06:06.83\00:06:11.70 or if I did, I would have put it in a container box. 00:06:11.73\00:06:14.84 But I was so burned on it, I didn't even plant mint. 00:06:14.87\00:06:18.04 I think the root of bitterness is something like that mint. 00:06:18.07\00:06:21.41 It invades us, and in the beginning we think 00:06:22.31\00:06:24.65 it's not such a bad thing. 00:06:24.68\00:06:26.38 But then pretty soon it spreads, it grows, it multiplies until 00:06:26.41\00:06:33.62 it effects us, our homes, our marriages, our kids, our church, 00:06:33.66\00:06:39.39 our ministry, our place of work. 00:06:39.43\00:06:42.00 Bitterness spreads, but the beautiful thing is 00:06:42.03\00:06:45.50 that God's love wins. 00:06:45.53\00:06:47.97 In John 13, John 13, let me jump over here. 00:06:48.00\00:06:54.71 This is Jesus speaking, and I like to think of John 13, 14, 00:06:54.74\00:06:59.01 15, 16, 17 as Jesus' last will and testament, as it were. 00:06:59.05\00:07:04.29 He's just completed the foot washing with the disciples. 00:07:04.32\00:07:07.56 They're getting ready, He's getting ready 00:07:07.59\00:07:09.79 to go to the cross, and He's on His way to the 00:07:09.82\00:07:12.56 Garden of Gethsemane. 00:07:12.59\00:07:13.93 But yet He takes time with those twelve men that He loved, 00:07:13.96\00:07:18.70 that He was training for service, and He shared with them 00:07:18.73\00:07:22.17 some last minute pointers, you could say, as it were. 00:07:22.20\00:07:26.01 John 13:34, 35. He says, A new commandment I give to you, 00:07:26.04\00:07:33.52 That you love one another; as I have loved you, 00:07:33.55\00:07:37.55 that you also love one another. 00:07:37.59\00:07:40.02 By this all will know that you are My disciples, 00:07:40.06\00:07:44.29 if you have love one for another. 00:07:44.33\00:07:47.06 And as I read that verse, it seems like I hear God speak 00:07:47.10\00:07:50.07 to my mind and He says, Jill, do you have love 00:07:50.10\00:07:53.34 for your brothers and sisters? 00:07:53.37\00:07:54.70 It's easy to be kind to those who are kind to us in return. 00:07:54.74\00:08:00.14 It's painless to reach out to those without prickles. 00:08:00.18\00:08:03.85 It's easy to love those who love us back. 00:08:03.88\00:08:08.08 The real test comes when the loving costs us something; 00:08:08.12\00:08:13.66 when it's uncomfortable, when it hurts. 00:08:13.69\00:08:17.29 I received a letter from a woman once who decided to address 00:08:17.33\00:08:21.73 some of the issues that she saw in my life. 00:08:21.76\00:08:24.70 Now I'm just being honest with you. 00:08:24.73\00:08:26.63 I think there was some valid points, and there were some 00:08:26.67\00:08:30.04 issues that I really had that I should look at. 00:08:30.07\00:08:32.71 And, I'm being honest with you, I think some 00:08:32.74\00:08:34.91 of it wasn't so valid. 00:08:34.94\00:08:36.44 But maybe that's just my own opinion. 00:08:36.48\00:08:38.21 So some was good, and maybe some I shouldn't 00:08:38.25\00:08:42.45 have taken to heart. 00:08:42.48\00:08:43.82 But at the beginning I couldn't even focus on any of that. 00:08:43.85\00:08:47.29 All I felt was the sting of what she had written. 00:08:47.32\00:08:50.96 And as I prayed over it, I didn't know how to deal with it. 00:08:50.99\00:08:54.93 And I tried praying for her, and I started working 00:08:54.96\00:08:57.77 through this in my life. 00:08:57.80\00:08:59.13 And that morning I was in Romans, Romans 15, 00:08:59.17\00:09:04.84 for my own personal devotions. 00:09:04.87\00:09:06.88 And I was reading Romans 15, and I came to verse 5. 00:09:06.91\00:09:11.55 It says, Now may the God of patience and comfort 00:09:11.58\00:09:14.98 grant you to be like-minded toward one another 00:09:15.02\00:09:19.15 according to Christ Jesus: that you may with one mind 00:09:19.19\00:09:23.32 and one mouth glorify God. 00:09:23.36\00:09:26.26 And as I read it I said, God, I know I'm not like-minded 00:09:26.29\00:09:31.50 toward this sister who just wrote me this letter, 00:09:31.53\00:09:33.60 but I want to be. And I kept reading. 00:09:33.64\00:09:36.84 Verse 7. Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also 00:09:36.87\00:09:42.64 received us, to the glory of God. 00:09:42.68\00:09:45.88 And it's like I felt God tap me on the shoulder. 00:09:45.91\00:09:50.85 And He said, Jill, I've received you. 00:09:50.89\00:09:56.39 I've accepted you as My daughter. 00:09:56.42\00:09:58.79 Don't you think you could accept and receive this other woman? 00:09:58.83\00:10:03.26 this woman who wrote you this letter? 00:10:03.30\00:10:06.07 And I said, Okay, God, I'm sorry. 00:10:06.10\00:10:07.87 I want to receive her as my sister. 00:10:07.90\00:10:10.21 Please teach me how. 00:10:10.24\00:10:12.41 And He led me on those steps of forgiveness, on those steps 00:10:12.44\00:10:17.15 of releasing and becoming free from that bitterness 00:10:17.18\00:10:21.58 that I was bound with. 00:10:21.62\00:10:23.18 But what if you say you've dealt with that. 00:10:23.22\00:10:27.12 And you've dealt with maybe the people who have hurt you, 00:10:27.16\00:10:29.29 but what if you have hurt someone else? 00:10:29.32\00:10:32.19 What if there's pain, and there's angst in your life, 00:10:32.23\00:10:35.36 and you have injured someone? 00:10:35.40\00:10:37.87 You've lied about someone. 00:10:37.90\00:10:39.23 You've stole from someone else. 00:10:39.27\00:10:41.54 You've gossipped about them. 00:10:41.57\00:10:43.91 Maybe you're the one who pulled the trigger on someone else. 00:10:43.94\00:10:47.74 I don't know what's going on in your heart right now. 00:10:47.78\00:10:50.65 If we've hurt, if we've offended other people, 00:10:50.68\00:10:54.48 God has a solution for that as well. 00:10:54.52\00:10:57.65 I think there's five steps specifically when we're asking 00:10:57.69\00:11:00.86 for forgiveness for other people. 00:11:00.89\00:11:03.53 1. Pray for God to show you who you have wronged. 00:11:03.56\00:11:08.76 I think this is very important. 00:11:08.80\00:11:10.70 Many times we don't see our hearts. 00:11:10.73\00:11:13.07 We don't see our lies. 00:11:13.10\00:11:14.84 We don't see the way that we have hurt, or that we have 00:11:14.87\00:11:18.77 injured other people. 00:11:18.81\00:11:20.14 So just go to God. 00:11:20.18\00:11:21.58 I love Psalm 139. Search me, O God, and know my heart: 00:11:21.61\00:11:25.91 try me, and know my thoughts: and show me the wickedness 00:11:25.95\00:11:30.09 that exists in my life. 00:11:30.12\00:11:31.45 So just go to God and say, God, what is in my life? 00:11:31.49\00:11:35.06 Who have I hurt, even unintentionally? 00:11:35.09\00:11:39.79 I remember once a woman came up to me and she said, 00:11:39.83\00:11:42.56 Jill you have hurt me excruciatingly. 00:11:42.60\00:11:46.20 And you know the truth? I had no idea. 00:11:46.23\00:11:49.34 I had never intended anything in my heart. 00:11:49.37\00:11:52.81 I was glad she told me. 00:11:52.84\00:11:55.01 But if they don't tell you, what are we supposed to do? 00:11:55.04\00:11:57.78 Go to God. He can show us. 00:11:57.81\00:12:00.02 He can show us what's in our heart, and if we need to ask 00:12:00.05\00:12:03.39 forgiveness of someone else. 00:12:03.42\00:12:05.35 2. Ask for their forgiveness. 00:12:05.39\00:12:08.12 I think the most important thing would be to do it in person, 00:12:08.16\00:12:11.99 if you can. I think that's best. 00:12:12.03\00:12:13.96 But what if you can't? 00:12:14.00\00:12:15.53 What if they live a long way away? 00:12:15.56\00:12:17.23 What if you're uncomfortable, and a little afraid 00:12:17.27\00:12:20.27 what you're going to say. 00:12:20.30\00:12:21.70 You can always detail it out. 00:12:21.74\00:12:23.30 You can write it in a letter. 00:12:23.34\00:12:25.71 3. Be specific. Don't say, I'm sorry if I offended you. 00:12:25.74\00:12:29.81 I'm sorry if I hurt you. 00:12:29.84\00:12:31.58 That puts it right back on the other person. 00:12:31.61\00:12:33.65 Be specific. Say I know what I said here was damaging, 00:12:33.68\00:12:38.75 or whatever, whatever you did. Be specific. 00:12:38.79\00:12:41.99 4. Make restitution. 00:12:42.02\00:12:45.99 If possible make the wrong right. 00:12:46.03\00:12:48.96 If you stole some money, pay it back. 00:12:49.00\00:12:52.03 I think of Zacchaeus. 00:12:52.07\00:12:53.70 Remember he was climbing up, and he was in the Sycamore 00:12:53.74\00:12:56.81 tree, so that he could see Jesus. 00:12:56.84\00:12:59.44 He was a tax collector. 00:12:59.47\00:13:01.64 When Jesus came what did He do? 00:13:01.68\00:13:04.55 He said, Zacchaeus come down. 00:13:04.58\00:13:06.11 I'm going to your house. 00:13:06.15\00:13:07.48 Zacchaeus came down and he said, Lord who ever I have wronged, 00:13:07.52\00:13:10.82 who ever I have hurt, I'm going to repay fourfold. 00:13:10.85\00:13:16.83 It's a Biblical principle, restitution. 00:13:16.86\00:13:20.73 Maybe you've gossiped about someone. 00:13:20.76\00:13:23.13 You can go back and tell the truth. 00:13:23.16\00:13:25.27 That's eating some humble pie. 00:13:25.30\00:13:27.07 Now I don't mean to the person you gossiped about, 00:13:27.10\00:13:29.60 I mean to the people that you, all the other people you told. 00:13:29.64\00:13:33.01 Go back and say, You know what? 00:13:33.04\00:13:34.38 I talked about so and so. 00:13:34.41\00:13:35.98 I should never have done that. I'm sorry. 00:13:36.01\00:13:37.45 First pray and ask for God to show you who you need 00:13:38.51\00:13:43.28 to ask forgiveness for? 00:13:43.32\00:13:44.69 Second, ask for their forgiveness. 00:13:44.72\00:13:46.79 Either write a letter or in person. 00:13:46.82\00:13:48.92 Third, be specific in how you've hurt them. 00:13:48.96\00:13:51.69 4. Make restitution. 00:13:51.73\00:13:53.40 And 5. Trust God to heal the relationship in His time. 00:13:53.43\00:13:59.33 Healing takes time. 00:13:59.37\00:14:00.94 Once you've asked for forgiveness, 00:14:00.97\00:14:03.61 and done all you can to make it right, simply trust God 00:14:03.64\00:14:07.64 to make it right in His time. 00:14:07.68\00:14:09.31 I remember there was a woman, I'll call her Mary, 00:14:09.34\00:14:13.15 this was years ago. 00:14:13.18\00:14:15.28 I did something and God brought to my mind several years later. 00:14:15.32\00:14:21.49 He brought to my mind what I had done, and He said, 00:14:21.52\00:14:24.46 Jill you need to make it right. 00:14:24.49\00:14:25.83 And I said, God I don't even know where she lives. 00:14:25.86\00:14:28.23 This is over ten years ago when I did that. 00:14:28.26\00:14:30.70 I knew her then, but I haven't kept in touch 00:14:30.73\00:14:34.34 with her in ten years. 00:14:34.37\00:14:35.84 How am I going to find her? 00:14:35.87\00:14:38.01 What if she doesn't live in the same house? 00:14:38.04\00:14:39.87 You know it's too difficult God. 00:14:39.91\00:14:41.44 I'm not going to do that. 00:14:41.48\00:14:42.81 But He didn't let me off the hook that easily. 00:14:42.84\00:14:45.38 Every day as I was having my devotional time with God 00:14:45.41\00:14:48.88 in the morning, He said, Write Mary a letter. 00:14:48.92\00:14:52.39 Write Mary a letter. And I said, Okay. 00:14:52.42\00:14:56.39 And so I sat down and I began to write a letter to Mary. 00:14:56.42\00:15:02.23 I explained, I was specific. 00:15:02.26\00:15:05.13 I said, These are the ways I hurt you, and I am sorry. 00:15:05.17\00:15:08.87 Specific in what I had done. 00:15:08.90\00:15:11.87 I mailed the letter, and I didn't know if she still 00:15:11.91\00:15:15.04 lived at that address. 00:15:15.08\00:15:16.41 I just took a chance. 00:15:16.44\00:15:17.78 And so the amazing thing is a week went by and I thought, 00:15:17.81\00:15:20.92 Oh, she's gotten it by now. 00:15:20.95\00:15:22.95 What's she going to think? 00:15:22.98\00:15:24.32 What's she going to say? 00:15:24.35\00:15:25.69 I didn't hear anything. 00:15:25.72\00:15:27.06 But that barely had time for her to get the letter. 00:15:27.09\00:15:29.16 Two weeks went by, nothing. 00:15:29.19\00:15:31.86 Two months went by, nothing. 00:15:31.89\00:15:35.83 Six months, nothing. 00:15:35.86\00:15:38.77 A year, nothing. Remember step 5. Trust God to heal 00:15:38.80\00:15:46.27 the relationship in His time. 00:15:46.31\00:15:48.54 And so I prayed and I said, God I don't know 00:15:48.58\00:15:52.68 what to do with this. 00:15:52.71\00:15:54.05 I've done all I can. 00:15:54.08\00:15:55.42 And He said, Jill you've done what you can. 00:15:55.45\00:15:56.79 There's nothing else you can do. Trust Me. 00:15:56.82\00:16:00.76 And so I said, Okay, but it sure feels good if the person you've 00:16:00.79\00:16:04.09 asked forgiveness for, if they come back 00:16:04.13\00:16:05.73 and say, I do forgive you. 00:16:05.76\00:16:07.10 I met her at a convention. 00:16:07.13\00:16:10.03 And I just bumped into her. 00:16:10.07\00:16:12.40 And she never comes to this convention. 00:16:12.43\00:16:13.97 But I bumped into her, and she said, 00:16:14.00\00:16:15.64 Oh thanks for that letter Jill. It meant a lot. 00:16:15.67\00:16:18.84 And God said, Now I have brought your relationship full circle. 00:16:18.87\00:16:24.48 Now I have brought the healing that I intended 00:16:24.51\00:16:28.25 to do in the beginning. 00:16:28.28\00:16:29.85 We talked about the sower, how he went forth to sow. 00:16:29.88\00:16:34.02 Remember there was the wayside, the road, the resistant heart. 00:16:34.06\00:16:38.49 Then some of the seed was trampled on. 00:16:38.53\00:16:40.80 Some of the other seed was stolen. 00:16:40.83\00:16:45.20 How was the seed stolen? 00:16:45.23\00:16:47.57 How do you know if the seed, the word of God, is being stolen 00:16:47.60\00:16:51.84 right out from under your nose? right out of your heart? 00:16:51.87\00:16:55.91 I think the seed is stolen sometimes by our busyness. 00:16:55.94\00:17:00.32 I don't know about you, but sometimes I'm so busy it takes 00:17:00.35\00:17:03.99 time even to get into the word of God. 00:17:04.02\00:17:05.69 And I say, I've got five verses. 00:17:05.72\00:17:07.39 Done, done, okay, I'm done! Next thing God! 00:17:07.42\00:17:10.89 I didn't take time. 00:17:10.93\00:17:13.16 I didn't savor His presence. 00:17:13.19\00:17:15.83 I didn't read and study. 00:17:15.86\00:17:17.97 So sometimes the word of God is stolen right 00:17:18.00\00:17:20.47 out because I'm busy. 00:17:20.50\00:17:21.84 I think another way it's stolen is because I become careless, 00:17:21.87\00:17:26.57 or maybe I'm lazy. 00:17:26.61\00:17:28.41 We have a lot of deer in our neighborhood. 00:17:28.44\00:17:32.08 We live in the country. 00:17:32.11\00:17:33.45 I've mentioned that before. 00:17:33.48\00:17:34.82 I think we've counted twenty-five at one time. 00:17:34.85\00:17:37.99 But usually they don't all come through our yard at once. 00:17:38.02\00:17:41.99 We have two or three, and then another two or three, 00:17:42.02\00:17:45.26 and then another two or three. 00:17:45.29\00:17:48.10 They love to come in. 00:17:48.13\00:17:49.96 They go in our garden, and they eat up the stuff. 00:17:50.00\00:17:53.37 That is not very pleasant. 00:17:53.40\00:17:55.74 And I've tried to run out and chase them. 00:17:55.77\00:17:57.71 We have a fence. It has electricity. 00:17:57.74\00:18:00.34 But they can get in our garden. 00:18:00.38\00:18:02.88 They eat my azalea bushes on the north side of the house, 00:18:02.91\00:18:07.62 and that doesn't make me too happy either. 00:18:07.65\00:18:10.05 And they can even come in; they cross the sidewalk 00:18:10.09\00:18:14.66 and they dig my tulip bulbs out right in front of my house. 00:18:14.69\00:18:19.86 Now, they're not very lazy, are they? 00:18:19.89\00:18:23.23 They get in, they get what they want. 00:18:23.26\00:18:26.57 But sometimes I can become lazy. 00:18:26.63\00:18:30.41 I cannot pay attention. 00:18:30.44\00:18:31.81 Maybe there's more things, more steps, something we could do 00:18:31.84\00:18:36.28 to prevent them from coming in as much. 00:18:36.31\00:18:39.71 And I just get careless, or lazy. 00:18:39.75\00:18:42.48 I think the third way the seed is stolen is by misunderstanding 00:18:42.52\00:18:47.42 of the seed's value. 00:18:47.46\00:18:49.42 It was another Monday night, we were having our study in jail. 00:18:49.46\00:18:53.96 And all of a sudden I heard a woman scream. 00:18:54.00\00:18:57.40 And I was startled, but I looked around the circle of women, 00:18:57.43\00:19:02.04 and they didn't seem startled at all. 00:19:02.07\00:19:04.11 They were just focused on the study. 00:19:04.14\00:19:06.11 My friend from church was leading the study, 00:19:06.17\00:19:08.14 and she said, How many of you have heard of the story of 00:19:08.18\00:19:10.55 Daniel and the Lions Den? 00:19:10.61\00:19:12.68 Not a single hand went up. 00:19:12.71\00:19:14.72 Just as she launched into the story of Daniel and the 00:19:14.75\00:19:18.45 Lion's Den, the scream came again. 00:19:18.49\00:19:21.46 And I said, I can't, I can't focus. 00:19:21.49\00:19:24.39 I don't know how they could focus and block it out. 00:19:24.43\00:19:27.16 And so I said, I'm so sorry to interrupt. 00:19:27.20\00:19:30.50 What's wrong? Who's screaming? 00:19:30.53\00:19:33.10 Do they need help? 00:19:33.13\00:19:35.37 They kind of rolled their eyes, and looked at each other, 00:19:35.40\00:19:38.27 and they said, Oh, that's Amber. 00:19:38.31\00:19:41.21 We'll call her that. 00:19:41.24\00:19:42.58 That's not her real name. 00:19:42.61\00:19:43.95 She's been in and out of jail before. She's crazy. 00:19:43.98\00:19:47.22 Amber, Amber? I kept trying to think about it. 00:19:47.25\00:19:51.12 Where had I heard the name Amber before? 00:19:51.15\00:19:53.59 And then it hit me, she'd been in jail before. 00:19:53.62\00:19:57.16 I remembered her. She came to our Bible study. 00:19:57.19\00:20:00.70 But what had happened? 00:20:00.73\00:20:02.26 Why was she coming back to jail again? 00:20:02.30\00:20:05.23 The study continued, and I have to admit my mind was not very 00:20:05.27\00:20:09.00 focused on the study. 00:20:09.04\00:20:10.37 Because all I could think about was Amber, and would they let 00:20:10.41\00:20:13.81 us go pray with her? 00:20:13.84\00:20:15.18 Many times when we come into jail, we walk in, 00:20:15.21\00:20:19.81 we do our study, we walk out. 00:20:19.88\00:20:22.38 They don't let us wander the halls. 00:20:22.42\00:20:24.42 They don't let us go visit people in cells. 00:20:24.45\00:20:27.26 It's very strict, and so I didn't know if they 00:20:27.29\00:20:30.03 would let us do that. 00:20:30.06\00:20:31.39 We said goodbye to the girls. 00:20:31.43\00:20:32.76 I walked up to the guards desk and I said, Hey, I wondered, 00:20:32.79\00:20:37.17 is there any chance you would let me go visit Amber? 00:20:37.20\00:20:40.94 He looked tired. Amber, he said, She's probably been 00:20:40.97\00:20:44.67 in and out fifteen times. 00:20:44.71\00:20:47.54 She no sooner gets out and she gets picked up again. 00:20:47.58\00:20:51.91 He said, She's ruined her mind with bath salts. 00:20:51.95\00:20:56.48 Sure, you can go pray with her. 00:20:56.52\00:20:59.59 And so I started walking, walking down the corridor, 00:20:59.62\00:21:03.86 and he followed behind me, hand on the gun at his belt. 00:21:03.89\00:21:08.06 Before we even got to the window, 00:21:08.10\00:21:10.97 Amber stepped up to the glass and she said, Hey lady, 00:21:11.00\00:21:14.30 come over here. I want to talk to you. 00:21:14.34\00:21:17.11 And so I stepped up and I said, Hi Amber. 00:21:17.14\00:21:19.91 My name is Jill. I came to talk with you, 00:21:19.97\00:21:22.71 if that's okay with you. 00:21:22.74\00:21:24.95 So we made small talk; had a pretty good discussion. 00:21:24.98\00:21:29.32 And then I said, I'd love to pray with you, 00:21:29.35\00:21:32.85 if that's okay with you. 00:21:32.89\00:21:35.12 She began to get agitated. 00:21:35.16\00:21:37.36 I don't need prayer. 00:21:37.43\00:21:39.19 I don't want prayer. 00:21:39.23\00:21:40.93 Then she stepped right up to the glass. 00:21:40.96\00:21:43.80 There's a glass window in the door there in 00:21:43.83\00:21:46.63 solitary confinement. 00:21:46.67\00:21:48.04 She stepped right up to the glass. 00:21:48.07\00:21:50.97 She said, Oh lady, look at your teeth. 00:21:51.01\00:21:53.88 You have pretty teeth. 00:21:53.91\00:21:56.21 And I said, Oh Amber, I'm sorry I can't give you my teeth. 00:21:56.24\00:22:01.22 But I'd love to pray with you. 00:22:01.25\00:22:04.45 No, no, no, she said. 00:22:04.49\00:22:07.19 I don't want prayer. 00:22:07.22\00:22:08.66 Oh, but your teeth! 00:22:08.72\00:22:10.06 Look at your teeth! 00:22:10.09\00:22:11.96 That's what I want; teeth like that. 00:22:11.99\00:22:15.53 Amber, I said, We can talk to the God of the universe. 00:22:15.56\00:22:20.20 Look at those teeth! 00:22:20.24\00:22:22.30 Tears filled my eyes, and I turned away. 00:22:22.34\00:22:27.78 We could have talked to the Creator God, the God of the 00:22:27.81\00:22:32.65 universe, the God who can do anything, 00:22:32.68\00:22:36.32 and all she wanted was my teeth. 00:22:36.35\00:22:40.29 Later that night as I drove home, I thought of the 00:22:40.32\00:22:46.19 tremendous gift she had cast aside. 00:22:46.23\00:22:49.16 It wasn't purposeful. 00:22:49.20\00:22:51.13 She simply had no idea of the power of our King. 00:22:51.17\00:22:57.97 And then in the recesses of my mind, in the quietness of my 00:22:58.04\00:23:03.55 heart God reminded me that I, too, have been like Amber. 00:23:03.58\00:23:09.08 I have prayed for teeth. 00:23:09.12\00:23:14.72 Haven't I desired advice from people, but neglected to seek 00:23:14.76\00:23:21.06 my Father who says, If you lack wisdom, just come to Me. 00:23:21.10\00:23:25.30 Haven't I trembled with fear instead of seeking His face? 00:23:25.33\00:23:30.71 When have I had not because I asked not? 00:23:30.74\00:23:37.75 I don't know about you. 00:23:37.78\00:23:39.71 I don't know in your life, have you been praying for teeth? 00:23:39.75\00:23:44.25 Are you settling for second best when God says, 00:23:44.29\00:23:49.49 I love you. I made you. 00:23:49.52\00:23:52.69 I have a plan for your life. 00:23:52.73\00:23:55.33 I long to bring you deliverance from your bitterness, 00:23:55.36\00:24:01.70 from your unforgiveness, from the pain that just hangs on your 00:24:01.74\00:24:07.11 chest, or constricts your shoulders. 00:24:07.18\00:24:09.41 I want to bring you forgiveness. 00:24:09.44\00:24:12.08 I want to pour My forgiveness into your life so that you can 00:24:12.11\00:24:16.28 extend it to others, so that you can go, and if you have hurt, 00:24:16.35\00:24:20.49 if you have wronged someone else, can go and ask 00:24:20.52\00:24:24.43 for forgiveness from them. 00:24:24.46\00:24:26.26 When have we had not, because we ask not? 00:24:26.29\00:24:30.13 Come to the Lord Jesus. 00:24:30.17\00:24:31.80 Ask, ask for His forgiveness, ask for His cleansing, 00:24:31.83\00:24:36.10 ask that He would pour His forgiveness into your life, 00:24:36.14\00:24:40.34 so that you could extend it to others. 00:24:40.38\00:24:43.08 We're going to take a short break here. 00:24:43.11\00:24:45.71 We want to do a practical application, something that you 00:24:45.78\00:24:49.38 can take with you, something that you can do this week 00:24:49.45\00:24:53.05 that will help you on this journey. 00:24:53.09\00:24:55.02 In our next program we're going to discuss fear. 00:24:55.06\00:24:58.36 All of those aspects of fear, and what God wants 00:24:58.39\00:25:01.66 to do in our lives. 00:25:01.70\00:25:03.23