Paul wrote to the Thessalonians,
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in 1 Thessalonians 5:13 he said,
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"Now may the God of
peace himself Jehovah-Shalom
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sanctify you completely,
and may your whole spirit,
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soul and body be
preserved blameless
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at the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ."
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He who calls you is
faithful and he will also do it.
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Please join us today
on Issues and Answers
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as we discuss "Jehovah-Shalom,
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the God of peace."
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Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn,
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and we are so glad
that you're joining us
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again on Issues and Answers.
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Today we're going to be speaking
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with our special
guest Ernie Pyle,
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who is a speaker
for the ministries
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called Knowing God Ministries
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and they focus
on the names of God.
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Ernie, thank you for
joining us once again.
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We have so enjoyed
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as you've been featuring
different names of God.
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Well, again I say this,
but I sincerely mean it,
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thank you for having me,
and giving me this opportunity.
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Well, it's just been beautiful.
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Let's just kind of...
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somebody may be joining
us for the first time today,
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just kind of give
me a short little recap
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of what your ministry is,
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and why you chose in
the idea of knowing God,
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why you chose to feature
and focus on the names of God.
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I certainly will.
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We have a home church
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for about eight years in
our home on Friday nights,
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we'd have anywhere
from 15 to 35 people and...
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And let me ask you
this, this is a small group,
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but that didn't mean you were
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still going to
church on Sabbath.
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Okay, so you had small group.
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Yeah, exactly, thank
you for catching that.
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Yeah, on Friday night
and we did a lot of topics,
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we went through the
Bible as it's written,
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which is an interesting topic.
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We went through the
books of the Bible asking,
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what does it say by God,
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we went verse by
verse through Revelation.
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And Rob Shepherd brought to me
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a concept of
doing the names of God.
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And that was the one
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that the people
really reacted to the most,
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because it meant
the most to them.
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Yes.
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We ended up forming a ministry
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and we've been over
70 different places,
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we've done large camp meetings,
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we've done churches
that had 20 people in them.
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But we said to God,
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we will go wherever we're asked
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and we would give
everything away free.
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So God you must
give us the place to go,
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and the funds to go with.
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And so our Sabbath school class
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has funded most
of our operation.
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Rob and I obviously take
nothing from the ministry
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whatsoever and
we've just been blessed.
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The reason that we must go
out and share the love of God
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is that if we were to
diagram both Rob and myself
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our spiritual journey.
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We would have some real highs,
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but each one of us sad
to say has hit the bottom.
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And it was God
that brought us back.
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Amen.
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So we have no other choice
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but then to go out and
share what God has done for us,
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He will do for other people.
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As Paul says the love
of Christ constrain you.
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That's right.
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You just got to
tell that message.
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We chose the names of God
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because in our studies
this meant the most to us
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because every time God
introduced Himself to people,
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it would be a name
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that would give a description
of His character and a promise
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of what He would
do in their life.
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And we found
through the names of God
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that some names
appealed to some people,
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other names different people,
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but yet the message
is always resonating.
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God loves you, no
matter what you've done,
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He wants you to come home to Him
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and His greatest desire
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is for you to
spend eternity with Him.
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Amen.
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And that's the
basis of our ministry.
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Amen. And it's a
beautiful ministry.
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And when do you say
that over the last six years,
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God has drawn you closer to
Him as you've been sharing this.
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Quite often, this
is a true statement,
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I share, I always have,
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we do four
seminars in the church
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and I always do the last one.
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And I'll generally end by saying
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when we came to this church,
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Rob and I and
our families prayed
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that we would be
a blessing to you.
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What has happened is that you
have been the blessing to us,
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and for that we're grateful.
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So many times,
Shelley, we walk away,
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we're the ones blessed.
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Because as we preach
what God can do for them,
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it reminds us of what
God has done already for us,
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and we do come away
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with the greater
appreciation of Him.
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Sometimes people ask me, well,
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why do you
travel so much Shelley
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and go places to speak.
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And it's different
just to teach to a camera
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than it is to be out.
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First of all there is,
you're more at liberty to...
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I mean you're not so buttoned up
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when you're not on camera.
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That's right.
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But the idea of
having that exchange
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when I go out to
speak at a church,
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I'm always far more blessed.
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I mean it's just something
that it invigorates you.
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One of the things
it's kind of unique
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about our
ministry, just our style,
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we never preach from the pulpit,
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we preach down on the floor.
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And because we like to
be close to those people.
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Amen.
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You know, and
they're sitting right there,
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and I'm kind of wanderer anyway.
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But we know we're
close to the people,
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when you're up in the pulpit,
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it seems like
there is that divide,
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and so we love to
be among the people
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and the Lord just blessed us,
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but we give Him all
the praise and glory.
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Okay, so in the names of God,
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some of the things that
mean a lot to me, Jehovah-Rapha,
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the lord who heals you,
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Jehovah-Jireh, the
Lord, God your provider.
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What are...
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you mentioned
though and I didn't,
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I wasn't aware of
where it was introduced.
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You mentioned
something unexpected
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in the Book of Judges
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that a name of God comes up
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amidst all of this violence,
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all the problems that
the Israelites were having.
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What was the name of God
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that came up in
the Book of Judges?
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We have to set,
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the setting for
the Book of Judges
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to appreciate this name.
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First of all, I can never
remember in family devotion
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reading from the Book of Judges.
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I don't think so.
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Maybe except for
Barak and Deborah.
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I can't remember the last time
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the quarterlies come
out on the Book of Judges,
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because from just looking
at it and reading through it,
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that was a very bloody book.
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And here's the story of judges,
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it's repeated
seven times the cycle
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that the children
of Israel goes through.
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The children of Israel start out
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and they're worshiping God,
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and because they're
close to him, they are blessed.
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Idolatry comes in to the nation.
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They began to follow
idolatry, they leave God.
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The next thing that happens,
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in comes a foreign
nation makes servants of them,
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that generation
begins to call upon God
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help us, help
us, and God comes in
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and the children
of Israel, cycle two,
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they start
believing in worshiping God.
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Then they turn
around and get into that.
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And this is seven times,
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every cycle they
get lower and lower
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and further and
further away from God.
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Judges 1 starts out
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with the children
of Israel praying,
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Lord which of our tribes
can go into the enemy's land
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and have the honor
of displacing them.
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That's their prayer in Judges 1.
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At the end of Judges,
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they have sunk so low
that their prayer is, Lord,
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which one of our tribes
can go up and kill our brother.
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That's what sin does,
just takes you lower and lower.
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Well, God's not
going to put up with that.
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And so in this bloody book,
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where there is a
story that it get so bad,
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that they take a
woman, cut her into 12 parts,
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mail the different
parts to each tribe.
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God comes in and he says hello,
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my name is Shalom,
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I'm the God of peace.
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Now, when I come across
that concept, it blew my mind.
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I could think of other additives
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that god could used to describe,
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but I'm the God of peace.
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And what it says
in the Book of Judges,
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can you imagine the sadness
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that as God watched that
cycle and that spin downward
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that His children
were going through.
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Again we go to Jeremiah,
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where he says my
eyes well up in tears
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and they run down my cheek.
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Isaiah 49, how can you
let, I can't let you go.
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All of these feelings
He had and yet He says,
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I'm the God of peace.
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And one of the
outstanding stories,
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remember you didn't
grow up an Adventist
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but you grew up in church.
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Did you have
flannelgraph stories?
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No, we didn't.
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You don't remember
flannelgraph stories.
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Well, we grew up
with flannelgraph stories,
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and it was kind of interesting
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because the same
guy that was Moses,
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the next week he was David,
00:11:04.26\00:11:06.09
you know but one of
the flannelgraph stories
00:11:06.13\00:11:08.56
was Gideon and he says
oh, what a man of faith.
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Well, writing a Book of Judges
00:11:13.64\00:11:16.74
is that God of peace
that wants to bring healing
00:11:16.77\00:11:21.34
to his family.
00:11:21.38\00:11:24.41
And we find Gideon,
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he is in a pit
playing with the weed
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and he was in a pit,
because he was hiding.
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His knees were
knocking. That's right.
00:11:35.26\00:11:37.33
You could just
imagine, you know,
00:11:37.36\00:11:39.03
throwing that weed up and
then looking around to see
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if anybody, and all of a sudden,
00:11:41.36\00:11:44.00
He hears a
season, he hears a person
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that says Gideon
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you mighty valiant warrior.
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And here is
Gideon scared to death.
00:11:54.11\00:11:56.81
And yet God says to him
00:11:56.85\00:11:58.45
you're a mighty valiant warrior.
00:11:58.48\00:12:01.72
Shelley, the beauty of God
is He sees in us what we can be,
00:12:01.75\00:12:07.82
not what we are.
00:12:07.86\00:12:09.46
And He calls things
that are not as though
00:12:09.49\00:12:12.16
they are already were.
00:12:12.19\00:12:13.53
That's right.
00:12:13.56\00:12:14.90
So, here He is
talking to this guy
00:12:14.93\00:12:16.83
scared to death hiding,
you mighty valiant warrior.
00:12:16.87\00:12:22.80
Gideon says, me, you
must be talking to me.
00:12:22.84\00:12:25.77
And we know the story.
00:12:25.81\00:12:27.84
Gideon finally, he says, well,
how do I know it's you Lord,
00:12:27.88\00:12:32.95
so I'm going to
run a little test.
00:12:32.98\00:12:35.68
And can you
imagine how patient God is.
00:12:35.72\00:12:39.45
Yeah.
00:12:39.49\00:12:40.82
He says, now let's see
Gideon I just talk to you,
00:12:40.86\00:12:43.96
I've just made
you some promises,
00:12:43.99\00:12:45.89
but yet you
want to check me out,
00:12:45.93\00:12:48.10
but God says okay.
00:12:48.13\00:12:49.86
So He does
exactly what Gideon say.
00:12:49.90\00:12:52.63
He wakes up the next morning,
00:12:52.67\00:12:54.20
remember this is
the man of faith.
00:12:54.24\00:12:55.57
Yeah.
00:12:55.60\00:12:56.94
Wakes up the next
morning and he says,
00:12:56.97\00:12:59.37
man that could
have been a coincidence.
00:12:59.41\00:13:01.51
The fleece and the dew. Yeah.
00:13:01.54\00:13:03.35
So God let's reverse it.
00:13:03.38\00:13:07.22
And again look
how patient God is.
00:13:07.25\00:13:12.95
So Gideon decides he's
gonna go fight for God,
00:13:12.99\00:13:15.99
and he creates a big army.
00:13:16.02\00:13:19.13
God's comes along, God
of peace and says too big,
00:13:19.16\00:13:23.80
I don't need all
these people, Gideon.
00:13:23.83\00:13:27.27
And we all know the
story how he got down to three,
00:13:27.30\00:13:29.80
they didn't need to do anything,
00:13:29.84\00:13:31.17
bunch of lights
and a bunch of pitchers
00:13:31.21\00:13:32.97
and a bunch of hollering
00:13:33.01\00:13:34.71
and that his enemy is destroyed.
00:13:34.74\00:13:37.25
So in the midst of
one of the worst times
00:13:37.28\00:13:40.42
of the children of Israel
00:13:40.45\00:13:42.28
over many
generations spiraling down
00:13:42.32\00:13:45.85
seven different times
with the same reaction,
00:13:45.89\00:13:49.66
trust in God, taking on idols,
00:13:49.69\00:13:53.19
being captured, being
servants, praying for God
00:13:53.23\00:13:57.20
all through the Book of
Judges is the God of peace,
00:13:57.23\00:14:02.74
because all God ever wants to do
00:14:02.77\00:14:05.24
no matter what our
affliction, our trials,
00:14:05.27\00:14:07.91
our situation is to bring peace,
00:14:07.94\00:14:12.18
and peace is knowing God.
00:14:12.21\00:14:16.32
And you know, as I
teased to the program today,
00:14:16.35\00:14:20.49
one of my favorite scriptures
on the God of the peace
00:14:20.52\00:14:25.06
is 1 Thessalonians
5:23 where he says,
00:14:25.09\00:14:29.13
"Now may the
God of peace himself
00:14:29.16\00:14:31.73
sanctify you completely."
00:14:31.77\00:14:34.04
You know God is the
one, as the God of peace,
00:14:34.07\00:14:37.17
it's not just
that He doesn't want us
00:14:37.21\00:14:39.04
warring among each other,
00:14:39.07\00:14:40.71
but He is the one who
sent His Son to die for us
00:14:40.74\00:14:43.24
while we were yet
sinners to reconcile us to Him.
00:14:43.28\00:14:46.58
He wanted the peace between us
00:14:46.61\00:14:49.02
and Him and He is in
the salvation business.
00:14:49.05\00:14:53.19
He is the one
who will sanctify us.
00:14:53.22\00:14:56.19
Paul goes on to say,
00:14:56.22\00:14:57.56
he's gonna sanctify
your spirit, soul, and body,
00:14:57.59\00:14:59.66
keep you blameless at
the coming of our Lord
00:14:59.69\00:15:01.63
and Savior Jesus Christ
00:15:01.66\00:15:03.23
and He who promises is faithful.
00:15:03.26\00:15:06.60
So when I think
of the God of peace,
00:15:06.63\00:15:08.70
this is the
scripture I think of is that
00:15:08.74\00:15:10.97
He is the one who died for me,
00:15:11.01\00:15:15.41
to reconcile me to
Himself and that He is faithful,
00:15:15.44\00:15:19.75
He is gonna complete the
good work He's began in me.
00:15:19.78\00:15:22.85
That's to me is
the most exciting thing
00:15:22.88\00:15:24.95
about the God of peace.
00:15:24.99\00:15:26.32
One of the definitions of sin
00:15:26.35\00:15:29.49
which I really like
00:15:29.52\00:15:30.86
if you look back
in the Hebrew language
00:15:30.89\00:15:33.40
is restlessness.
00:15:33.43\00:15:35.00
Yes.
00:15:35.03\00:15:36.97
Stop and think when
things aren't going good,
00:15:37.00\00:15:40.24
not doing the right things,
00:15:40.27\00:15:42.50
there is no peace,
there is restlessness.
00:15:42.54\00:15:45.21
And that's what happens
when we separate from God,
00:15:45.24\00:15:47.61
we become restless.
00:15:47.64\00:15:49.21
God comes along
and says, my child,
00:15:49.24\00:15:52.05
I don't want that for you,
I want to give you my peace.
00:15:52.08\00:15:58.59
And that's why Jesus came along
in the New Testament and said,
00:15:58.62\00:16:02.22
if you got heavy
burdens, bring them to me.
00:16:02.26\00:16:07.50
Come on to me all ye
00:16:07.53\00:16:09.76
that are heavy-laden
and I'll give you peace.
00:16:09.80\00:16:14.20
So the name of Shalom
00:16:14.24\00:16:16.14
found in the most
unlikely book of the Bible,
00:16:16.17\00:16:20.58
but isn't that just like God,
00:16:20.61\00:16:23.75
He shows up a
different way than we perceiving
00:16:23.78\00:16:28.52
because He cares enough for
us to meet us where we're at.
00:16:28.55\00:16:33.96
And so I'm just amazed
that what a beautiful word,
00:16:33.99\00:16:37.43
a beautiful name found right
there in the Book of Judges,
00:16:37.46\00:16:41.26
the God of peace.
00:16:41.30\00:16:42.66
So here we've
got the God of peace,
00:16:42.70\00:16:47.24
but there is also Jehovah-Nissi,
00:16:47.27\00:16:50.54
not too many people
know about that name.
00:16:50.57\00:16:53.54
Tell us about?
00:16:53.58\00:16:55.24
Jehovah-Nissi is only
found one time in the Bible.
00:16:55.28\00:17:00.02
And it's one of
the topics I like,
00:17:00.05\00:17:03.35
because I get to
quote the great Bob Dylan.
00:17:03.39\00:17:10.33
In fact that's one of
my teasers on Friday night
00:17:10.36\00:17:13.23
is be here Sabbath afternoon
00:17:13.26\00:17:15.70
'cause I'm going to be
able to quote Bob Dylan.
00:17:15.73\00:17:19.83
Jehovah-Nissi is God
00:17:19.87\00:17:23.71
is my banner.
00:17:23.74\00:17:27.98
Here's reality.
00:17:28.01\00:17:31.55
We're either marching
under the adversary's banner,
00:17:31.58\00:17:36.75
or we're marching
under God's banner.
00:17:36.79\00:17:39.39
Amen.
00:17:39.42\00:17:41.49
There is no in between.
00:17:41.52\00:17:45.56
And we're a people
of kind of in between.
00:17:45.59\00:17:50.47
You know Jesus
said in Revelation,
00:17:50.50\00:17:52.00
I wish he was hot and warm,
I can't take this lukewarm,
00:17:52.03\00:17:54.70
you see, or hot
and cold can take this.
00:17:54.74\00:17:57.91
See, lot of people think
00:17:57.94\00:17:59.87
that they're going to ride
the fence right in the middle,
00:17:59.91\00:18:03.01
but God comes along and says
00:18:03.04\00:18:04.95
you're for Me or
you are against Me.
00:18:04.98\00:18:07.62
We even march under
the adversary's banner,
00:18:07.75\00:18:11.15
or we march under God's banner.
00:18:11.19\00:18:13.59
Now even the great
Bob Dylan understood that,
00:18:13.62\00:18:17.89
because one of his songs,
00:18:17.93\00:18:19.46
he wrote during his
religious experience
00:18:19.49\00:18:22.66
was you got to serve somebody,
00:18:22.70\00:18:26.80
it might be the devil,
or it might be the Lord,
00:18:26.84\00:18:29.84
but you got to serve somebody.
00:18:29.87\00:18:32.77
So even he recognized
00:18:32.81\00:18:35.24
that you have to march
under one or the other banner.
00:18:35.28\00:18:38.88
Amen.
00:18:38.91\00:18:40.25
Now Jehovah-Nissi
comes from the book
00:18:40.28\00:18:44.35
where the Israelites
00:18:44.39\00:18:47.19
are fighting the old Amalekites
00:18:47.22\00:18:50.49
and Moses is up over a mountain
00:18:50.53\00:18:52.63
and he has Hur
and Aaron with him.
00:18:52.66\00:18:56.26
And they began
to notice something
00:18:56.30\00:18:58.50
that when Moses'
hands are raised,
00:18:58.53\00:19:00.64
what happened, Shelley?
00:19:00.67\00:19:02.00
They were
winning. They were winning.
00:19:02.04\00:19:03.64
When his hands go
down, what happens?
00:19:03.67\00:19:05.74
They were
losing. They're losing.
00:19:05.77\00:19:07.11
Well, they're pretty smart guys,
00:19:07.14\00:19:08.78
so they figured out,
00:19:08.81\00:19:10.35
just keep Moses' hand up
00:19:10.38\00:19:12.78
and that's
exactly what they done
00:19:12.81\00:19:14.65
and they won a great victory.
00:19:14.68\00:19:17.59
And so Moses was so impressed
00:19:17.62\00:19:20.39
that he called
upon Jehovah-Nissi,
00:19:20.42\00:19:23.73
God is our banner.
00:19:23.76\00:19:26.76
Amen.
00:19:26.80\00:19:28.13
Now, Shelley, can I talk
to you about two other banners
00:19:28.16\00:19:31.30
that were raised up.
00:19:31.33\00:19:32.83
Yes, please. Okay.
00:19:32.87\00:19:34.80
This one just makes me,
just can't understand it.
00:19:34.84\00:19:40.91
Children of Israel in
the desert wandering around.
00:19:40.94\00:19:44.51
We like to make
fun of those people,
00:19:44.55\00:19:46.55
say how stupid can they
be, how dumb could they be,
00:19:46.58\00:19:50.05
but kind of think
every once a while I see
00:19:50.09\00:19:53.66
my name in there, Shelley.
00:19:53.69\00:19:55.79
So here's the
children of Israel,
00:19:55.82\00:19:58.03
they have all
the food they want,
00:19:58.06\00:20:00.43
they have air conditioning
during the day with a cloud,
00:20:00.46\00:20:04.57
they have fire at
night to keep them warm,
00:20:04.60\00:20:06.63
have water and
they're complaining,
00:20:06.67\00:20:10.41
they're saying we
ought have stayed in Egypt,
00:20:10.44\00:20:12.34
while we were
better off in Egypt.
00:20:12.37\00:20:14.64
In the desert there had
always been poisonous snakes,
00:20:14.68\00:20:18.58
but God had
protected His people.
00:20:18.61\00:20:20.98
Their clothes
were never tattered,
00:20:21.02\00:20:23.28
their feet were never bruised.
00:20:23.32\00:20:25.05
Shoes. Yeah.
00:20:25.09\00:20:26.96
That's the way God worked.
00:20:26.99\00:20:28.42
All of a sudden the
serpents come into the camp
00:20:28.46\00:20:32.43
and some of them
begin to die the people.
00:20:32.46\00:20:35.73
And Moses does what
Moses does the best.
00:20:35.76\00:20:39.27
He comes to God and says
I know you're not like this,
00:20:39.30\00:20:43.74
please do
something to save my people.
00:20:43.77\00:20:48.31
And God stays right
in the middle of the camp
00:20:48.34\00:20:51.55
take a pole, put a
brazen serpent on it,
00:20:51.58\00:20:57.52
and whoever looks will live.
00:20:57.55\00:21:04.33
Now, I've read that passage,
I've studied that passage,
00:21:04.36\00:21:06.76
he didn't say
whoever keeps the right day
00:21:06.80\00:21:10.97
and looks will live,
00:21:11.00\00:21:13.50
whoever pays the
right amount of tithe
00:21:13.54\00:21:16.64
and looks will live,
00:21:16.67\00:21:18.87
whoever eats the
right vege burger
00:21:18.91\00:21:21.68
looks and lives,
00:21:21.71\00:21:24.18
he just simply said
look and you will live.
00:21:24.21\00:21:30.09
Now here is what amazes me.
00:21:30.12\00:21:33.42
There were some
people that were so stubborn,
00:21:33.46\00:21:38.46
so sad against God,
00:21:38.49\00:21:41.33
that they refused
to look, and they died.
00:21:41.36\00:21:46.20
You know, Shelley,
00:21:46.23\00:21:47.57
you would think just
as they were collapsing,
00:21:47.60\00:21:50.01
falling to the
ground, had their head down,
00:21:50.04\00:21:53.24
they would just
take a quick glance
00:21:53.27\00:21:56.04
had nothing to lose,
but we cannot explain sin.
00:21:56.08\00:22:00.78
We cannot explain
the separation from God,
00:22:00.82\00:22:03.59
we cannot explain leaving God.
00:22:03.62\00:22:06.55
And there are those people
00:22:06.59\00:22:08.99
who looked and
live but some refused,
00:22:09.02\00:22:14.53
then I go to another banner,
00:22:14.56\00:22:17.33
the greatest
banner of all, on Calvary.
00:22:17.37\00:22:23.30
And in my talk I
won't take the time here,
00:22:23.34\00:22:25.94
we don't have time,
00:22:25.97\00:22:27.48
I talk about four people's lives
00:22:27.51\00:22:29.44
that were changed that Friday.
00:22:29.48\00:22:32.81
One of them was a
foreigner named Simon.
00:22:32.85\00:22:35.58
He just happened to be there.
00:22:35.62\00:22:38.12
He was coming to visit his sons,
00:22:38.15\00:22:40.76
and he sees a procession,
00:22:40.79\00:22:42.89
he doesn't know what's going on,
00:22:42.92\00:22:44.99
he sees Jesus,
he sees two thieves,
00:22:45.03\00:22:48.00
but it's Jesus
that catches his eye.
00:22:48.03\00:22:52.40
And we don't know
exactly what happened,
00:22:52.43\00:22:54.67
but he must have cried out
or he must have felt empathy,
00:22:54.70\00:22:57.71
or he must have
said oh, my anyway,
00:22:57.74\00:23:00.28
the soldier heard Simon.
00:23:00.31\00:23:02.54
And he stopped him and said,
if you have pity for this man,
00:23:02.58\00:23:06.11
then you take up his cross
and you carry up that hill.
00:23:06.15\00:23:11.19
Just think, Shelley,
00:23:11.22\00:23:13.19
a foreigner in Jerusalem
00:23:13.22\00:23:16.22
started out that Friday morning,
00:23:16.26\00:23:18.29
just a day to visit with his son
00:23:18.33\00:23:20.83
and he is carrying the cross
of the creator of the universe.
00:23:20.86\00:23:25.97
Another man
started out that morning,
00:23:26.00\00:23:28.80
and it was his
last day on earth.
00:23:28.84\00:23:31.34
He was a thief,
00:23:31.37\00:23:34.04
must have been a long history
of being a crook or criminal
00:23:34.08\00:23:39.08
because they just
didn't crucify thieves
00:23:39.11\00:23:41.98
right off the bat.
00:23:42.02\00:23:43.35
So he starts out
this Friday morning
00:23:43.39\00:23:45.89
knowing that's
his last day on earth.
00:23:45.92\00:23:48.26
Oh, he's crying,
somebody save me, unfair,
00:23:48.29\00:23:53.03
this isn't right,
00:23:53.06\00:23:54.83
he fights the
soldiers, he does everything,
00:23:54.86\00:23:57.80
but as he's on that cross
00:23:57.83\00:24:00.90
he hears the man
in the middle say,
00:24:00.94\00:24:04.27
John, take care of my mother.
00:24:04.31\00:24:09.61
And then he hears him
say, Father forgive them,
00:24:09.64\00:24:15.48
they don't know
what they're doing.
00:24:15.52\00:24:18.85
Now the thief on the
other side was yelling,
00:24:18.89\00:24:21.09
hey you, king of the Jews,
00:24:21.12\00:24:23.83
get us out of
here, do something.
00:24:23.86\00:24:28.23
And he was mocking Him. Yes.
00:24:28.26\00:24:30.17
And our thief finally
says, paraphrasing, shut up.
00:24:30.20\00:24:37.14
We are getting what we
deserve, but he is not guilty.
00:24:37.17\00:24:43.48
And then,
Shelley, he turns his head
00:24:43.51\00:24:48.72
and just asked to be remembered,
00:24:48.75\00:24:52.25
and Jesus does
what He does best.
00:24:52.29\00:24:56.62
He's saving even
while He's dying.
00:24:56.66\00:25:01.13
Third man that day
00:25:01.16\00:25:03.90
when that
banner was raised high,
00:25:03.93\00:25:07.17
his Friday morning
started out as a work day,
00:25:07.20\00:25:11.51
because he was a centurion,
probably had his lunch,
00:25:11.54\00:25:14.98
told his wife maybe we
can do something this weekend,
00:25:15.01\00:25:18.38
I got a crucifixion
I got to take care of.
00:25:18.41\00:25:21.28
He'd been battle worn soldier,
00:25:21.32\00:25:24.22
he'd seen blood,
people dying, nothing to him.
00:25:24.25\00:25:27.52
But this Friday he's taken away.
00:25:27.56\00:25:30.99
Because he's never seen
anybody like that third man.
00:25:31.03\00:25:35.36
The man in the
middle. That's right.
00:25:35.40\00:25:37.23
And he hears him say,
John, take care of my mother.
00:25:37.27\00:25:42.10
He hears, Father, forgive them,
00:25:42.14\00:25:45.71
he hears to the thief
00:25:45.74\00:25:47.84
you will be with me in paradise.
00:25:47.88\00:25:51.01
And then when Jesus dies,
nature has lost its creator,
00:25:51.05\00:25:55.85
there are earthquakes,
dark clouds, thunder,
00:25:55.88\00:26:01.19
and you know, Shelley,
00:26:01.22\00:26:03.66
as anybody who will
look at the cross of Christ
00:26:03.69\00:26:08.66
with an open heart will
come to the same conclusion
00:26:08.70\00:26:12.80
as that centurion did.
00:26:12.83\00:26:14.84
Surely, this is the Son of God.
00:26:14.87\00:26:18.54
Amen, Amen.
00:26:18.57\00:26:21.21
And then I point out
00:26:21.24\00:26:22.58
that I said that
there were four people
00:26:22.61\00:26:26.01
and I kind of play with
the audience a little bit,
00:26:26.05\00:26:29.75
I kind of act like I
forgot the fourth person.
00:26:29.78\00:26:33.36
And one time I've even
said, Sue, do you have my notes,
00:26:33.39\00:26:36.96
and you can see the
people are just uncomfortable,
00:26:36.99\00:26:39.96
you know they feel sorry for me.
00:26:40.00\00:26:41.76
Then all of a sudden I say
00:26:41.80\00:26:43.37
I know who the fourth person is.
00:26:43.40\00:26:46.60
It's you, it's you,
00:26:46.63\00:26:51.07
it's me and, Shelley, it's you.
00:26:51.11\00:26:53.71
Amen.
00:26:53.74\00:26:55.08
We stand at the
cross of Calvary.
00:26:55.11\00:26:56.75
Amen.
00:26:56.78\00:26:58.11
We see that held high.
00:26:58.15\00:27:02.22
The question is what do we do.
00:27:02.25\00:27:08.12
And so Jehovah-Nissi
such a short paragraph,
00:27:08.16\00:27:13.43
such a short name used one time,
00:27:13.46\00:27:16.97
but yet the symbolic of it
00:27:17.00\00:27:19.70
is we all march
under the banner of Christ
00:27:19.73\00:27:24.57
or we march around the
banner of the adversary.
00:27:24.61\00:27:27.58
You know a scripture
that really sums that up
00:27:27.61\00:27:29.84
which banner you're
serving under is Romans 6:16
00:27:29.88\00:27:34.32
where Paul said, do you not know
00:27:34.35\00:27:37.09
that we have a choice of masters
00:27:37.12\00:27:38.45
this what he's saying,
00:27:38.49\00:27:39.82
"Do you not know that to
whom you present yourselves
00:27:39.85\00:27:41.72
as slaves to obey,
you are that one slaves
00:27:41.76\00:27:43.89
whom you obey whether
it's sin leading to death,
00:27:43.93\00:27:46.73
or of obedience
leading to righteousness?"
00:27:46.76\00:27:49.33
So we have right here those two.
00:27:49.36\00:27:54.17
Thank you so much.
00:27:54.20\00:27:55.54
This has been so special, Ernie.
00:27:55.57\00:27:56.91
Thank you. Thank
you for being here.
00:27:56.94\00:27:58.27
And we want you to...
00:27:58.31\00:28:00.34
You can check out the ministry
go to knowinggodministries.com
00:28:00.38\00:28:05.95
and we just want you to know
00:28:05.98\00:28:07.58
that our hearts
have been filled,
00:28:07.62\00:28:09.12
we pray that the grace of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
00:28:09.15\00:28:13.25
the love of the Father,
00:28:13.29\00:28:14.72
and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit
00:28:14.76\00:28:16.62
would be with you always.
00:28:16.66\00:28:18.66
Serve under
Jehovah-Nissi's banner.
00:28:18.69\00:28:22.40
God bless.
00:28:22.43\00:28:23.77