Praise the Lord, everyone.
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Welcome to
Imperative Life Lessons.
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I'm Pr. Ryan Johnson.
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There is a promise for every
man and woman in the Bible.
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We'll never exhaust them,
and every scenario of life
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there's a promise for that how-
ever, with time and experience
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one often finds that he or she
relies upon a handful of verses
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which have accompanied
that person through the hardest
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of times, you know what
I mean, the darkest night
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and under the heaviest of loads.
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The book of Psalms,
our focus today is full of
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special promises because
the writer is no stranger
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to the need for forgiveness,
the need for strength,
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or the need for deliverance.
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These vulnerabilities make
the Psalms so, so applicable
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you know.
Because we can identify.
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I'd like to tell the story of
how I became intimately familiar
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with the
promises of the 3rd Psalm.
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It was at the end of service
at the Paradise Seventh-day
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Adventist Church in Las Vegas,
Nevada, and I just finished
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the sermon, and it was time
for one of the customs that we
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developed over the years.
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Immediately following
service we would invite people
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to come down and pray with
the Pastoral and Elders staff.
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And sometimes this only
meant a person or two coming to
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shake hands and offer a
prayer request, but many times
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many times, we pray
with people for hours.
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People would come by the
dozens and they'd wait as long
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as necessary to
present their petitions to God.
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Now this particular
Sabbath we prayed and we prayed
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and we prayed along with
the elders, my wife Anissa
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found a corner and
prayed with people.
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There were pockets of people
praying all over the sanctuary
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isn't that a
beautiful thing to imagine?
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And during this time, I
received a text message from a
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good friend of ours who attends
one of the other churches.
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This sister, Dr. Linda
Ammons is a Professor of Law,
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you're not going to
believe this, for whom the
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President of the
United States used to work
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in his days as a senator,
she used to be his boss.
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So indeed Anissa and I are super
blessed to know Dr. Ammons.
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It was not unusual
for me to text her though
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cause I'm always calling
her and seeking her experience
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and her advice on stuff,
but the text that I had received
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on that Sabbath, simply read,
call me as soon as you can.
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And I took that request
to be an acknowledgement
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to the fact that we were going
to be praying for a long time
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and my earliest convenience
would be in a few hours.
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And I tell you, this is
a mistake that I will never
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make again because it
only would have taken a minute
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to help her, it turned out.
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But I remember sitting on
the wooden steps of the pulpit
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my jacket slung over my
knee after dismissing the group
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with a word of
encouragement, you always got to
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say encouraging things.
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I gathered my belongings in
preparation to leave and then
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like we all do, I checked
my phone for any new messages.
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And there were two new messages,
each was from a different
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individual informing me that Dr.
Ammons had been hospitalized.
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I dropped everything, and
I headed out with my wife.
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Upon arriving at the
hospital I found several members
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from the Abundant
Life Church already there.
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And fully entering the
room, I got a good look at the
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professor, and my heart
broke, here was one of the most
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brilliant people I have
ever met sagging in bed.
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One side of her mouth
hanging lower than the other
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and a bunch of other things
which I am sure you can imagine.
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So, I asked if it
had been a stroke?
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And it had not been, it
turns out she'd been taking
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blood thinners for something
else, but she had accidentally
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bumped her head when
getting out of her car.
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And that bump,
combined with the meds caused an
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intracranial bleed, and when
she texted me it was to report
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a severe headache, and to ask
about whether or not she needed
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to go to the
hospital. And as I have stated,
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I would never make
that mistake again.
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Well, now a pastor is in
the room and the people need
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encouragement, you ever
been there? Doesn't have to be
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a pastor, sometimes God calls
on ya to bring the Word of God
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But infinitely more than
that, the sister needs a healing
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Now I've learned from my
mentor Pastor Ezra Mendinghall,
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that in times like these,
one should allow the Word of God
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to do the speaking. So I had
my trusty Bible, this one right
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here first purchased this in
grad school for $8.00, and now
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it's priceless to me, and
opening it I wonder, which
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promise shall I read? Shall
I read James 5 where we are
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instructed to call for the
elders and to anoint with oil?
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Or maybe I ought to
read a classic such as
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The Martyr's Song,
which is number 23.
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Yea though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of
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death, I will fear no
evil, you know that one
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and these are
fine as are the others.
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but I meant it when I
stated earlier, that after a few
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battles one tends to have one's
favorites, tested and tried,
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faith builders, you know.
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And for me, these
scenarios it's Psalms 3
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so I turn there with
haste and approaching the bed
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I placed a hand on the
professor's hand and I looked
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into her unfocused
eyes... My dear sister, I began
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it's Ryan here, I'm
going to read you a text
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which has carried many in your
situation right on to victory.
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it is Psalms chapter three
and then adding my other hand
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I stepped closer and I told her,
now before I read the Psalms
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allow me sister to share with
you how I first came to know it.
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And friends I proceeded to
tell her, shall I tell you?
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Well, okay, lets
travel further back in time.
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Father in Heaven, Be
with us as we examine
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your word, In Thy name, Amen.
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It was a stormy Thursday and
the church power had gone out
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numerous times, I
couldn't know it then,
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but the following day, the
spire, the steeple of the church
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would get hit by lightning
completely messing up the
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circuitry that controlled
the lighting in the church.
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But before all that, my
senior pastor at that time
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came into my office to
show me an emergency text that
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he had received. One of the
young ladies of our congregation
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was suffering from some
strange neurological symptoms
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and she was currently in
the hospital awaiting results.
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We piled into his vehicle
and we made our way in the rain
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and the storm to the ER
and when we entered the room
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the family was quietly
praying with the lights dimmed.
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While the young woman sat in
bed, she looked perfectly fine
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except for a little deviation
of one eye, and when she
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stuck out her tongue,
it involuntary shot to the
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right side and eventually the
imaging results would confirm
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that she had a
serious neurological problem
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that required emergency surgery.
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And unfortunately, there
was no surgeon in Nevada that
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had the skill, only a doctor
in Utah, and his availability
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was in question.
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But we realized that
there was yet another doctor
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who specializes in
all areas of human healing
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a great physician whose
availability never in question
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so without delay. We
gathered around the girl's bed
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her momma, her daddy,
the Senior Pastor and myself.
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And we prayed one by one,
but then to read promises,
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my pastoral companion
went first reading promises
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for strength and healing, and
I was turning in the scriptures
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thinking I was going to go
to Psalm 22, But we are assured
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that when we cry unto God,
He hears, but as I passed over
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Psalms three, a single
word caught my eye, hmm,
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after stopping to investigate,
this became the promise
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that I read that day.
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Psalm three is a lament
of David, when he was fleeing
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from his son Absalom,
the Psalm opens with David
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acknowledging the
number of enemies that he faces
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and their lying claim
that God cannot save them.
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However, David declares
his trust in God's protection
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and his confidence that
God will answer his prayers.
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You know, why don't we
just go ahead and experience
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Psalms 3 for ourselves, verse 1.
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In verses 1 and 2, David
is admitting his affliction
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and how the nay-sayers
think his situation even beyond
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God's ability. While David
had family and political issues
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you gotta agree that the
pattern of problem after problem
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which he endures is a lot
like what some of us go through,
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especially with our health.
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Problem after problem
increased, troubled, a failed
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support system. Verse 4.
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Here we see the assurance
that the doubt of others
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God hears when we cry unto Him.
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And verse 5 speaks for itself.
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I lay down and
the Lord sustained me.
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Have you ever truly wondered
if your eyes would see the
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dawn of another day? I
know some of you certainly have,
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you've been there.
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Verse 6.
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This reminds us of
Psalm 91 where it is stated
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that 10,000 shall fall,
but it would not affect those
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protected by God. And
don't you just love the phrasing
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of verse 7, where
God punches out the enemy
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I love it!
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And verse 8 is a
proclamation of faith,
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a benediction of
sorts and a blessing. Amen.
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But you will notice
that I skipped verse 3.
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Yeah, I want to
focus on verse 3 now
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because it contains the
word that jumped out to me.
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That evening, as we prayed over
the young woman on a stormy day.
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It says...
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It's understandable that
David the soldier often finds
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battlefield analogies
to be the most descriptive
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of his feelings. In the
same manner, he often discusses
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shepherding,
because he was a shepherd.
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He'd been a soldier, and in
this verse, the shield of God
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is steadfast and dependable. In
a battle, a soldier, information
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provided cover for his brother.
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God is the cover for us,
but then it states God is the
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lifter of our head. It was the
word head that caught my eye,
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because it was a head miracle
that we needed that evening.
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Yes, I realize that in
this Psalm David had his head
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(rosch), hung in shame and God
restores it, God lifts it up.
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I mean, of course, that's how
God is, we bear the shame of sin
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yet He restores
us, He lifts us up.
00:14:57.66\00:15:00.66
The lifting of the head here
is metaphorical in this verse
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but I didn't care, metaphorical
or not, we had a young woman
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in need of a miracle, and as
I read that verse, I realized
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something. In order
for God to lift one's head
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He has to put His hands on it.
00:15:24.82\00:15:29.66
So, I grabbed that verse
and I claimed it as a promise,
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Lord, lift this girl's
head, place Your hand's
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on this girl's head, we
need a miracle, and did God heal
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the young woman?
00:15:43.57\00:15:44.91
Well, let's just say, one week
later, she walked in the church
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on her own, and
was her head held high?
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You better believe it.
00:15:51.48\00:15:53.18
And so this is the
story that I told Dr. Ammons
00:15:53.21\00:15:59.62
as she lay there in the
hospital the history of how a
00:15:59.65\00:16:05.59
crazy preacher found
a promise about shame
00:16:05.63\00:16:10.47
and claimed it for
a girl's brain and of
00:16:10.50\00:16:15.34
how God came through.
00:16:15.37\00:16:19.21
Thus, I open the Word
upon the hospital bed, my hand
00:16:19.24\00:16:27.32
in Dr. Ammon's hand and I
reverently turned to Psalms 3,
00:16:27.35\00:16:34.22
I read it in its
entirety, I skipped over verse 3
00:16:34.26\00:16:41.03
just as we did, and
finally I read the third verse
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and I prayed that God would put
His hands on my dear sister's
00:16:45.60\00:16:51.07
head and heal it, lift
it, and nothing happened.
00:16:51.11\00:16:59.55
Well, nothing that week I
perceive, so, the next day,
00:16:59.58\00:17:06.42
Anissa and I returned, and
we claimed the promise again.
00:17:06.45\00:17:10.13
Nothing! I even brought the
young lady from the other story
00:17:10.16\00:17:16.93
over so that the mighty
works of God may be seen.
00:17:16.97\00:17:21.17
Nothing! Or so we thought.
00:17:21.20\00:17:25.64
Don't you know that day by day
as we went to claim the promise
00:17:25.67\00:17:32.98
of Psalms 3? Dr. Ammons was
sitting just a little higher
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in bed than she had
been before, her eyes were
00:17:39.35\00:17:42.96
a little more focused each
time and after a while, she was
00:17:42.99\00:17:47.43
able to say Amen, preacher!
00:17:47.46\00:17:49.96
You know what, just because
you can't see what's going on,
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doesn't mean God's not working.
00:17:53.94\00:17:56.07
I realized that what was
happening is God was lifting
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her head, His
hands were on her. Yes!
00:18:00.74\00:18:05.31
Friends, this woman has
been restored to her complete
00:18:05.35\00:18:11.22
and rather intimidating
mental faculties and a doctor
00:18:11.25\00:18:17.03
might call it a recovery.
00:18:17.06\00:18:18.79
But I know an answer
to prayer when I see one
00:18:18.83\00:18:23.33
and now, for matters of
the head, I reach for Psalm 3.
00:18:23.37\00:18:31.61
a man with a tumor
in his brain, Psalms 3,
00:18:31.64\00:18:35.28
A young lady suffering from
bulimia, a first elder who had
00:18:35.31\00:18:43.28
a stroke, in these cases, I pray
for the lifting of our heads.
00:18:43.32\00:18:52.33
Hey! In what way do you
need God to touch your head?
00:18:52.36\00:18:59.03
Is it physical, are you
suffering from the slippage
00:18:59.07\00:19:05.81
of mind that
Alzheimer's and dementia brings?
00:19:05.84\00:19:10.15
The personality
change that stroke can bring,
00:19:10.18\00:19:14.45
migraines, or has
depression settled upon you like
00:19:14.48\00:19:20.26
a sack with infinite weight?
Are you angry all the time?
00:19:20.29\00:19:24.83
Guilty, shamed, hey, if
you need to talk to someone
00:19:24.86\00:19:29.23
or see a professional
by God's grace, please do.
00:19:29.26\00:19:33.03
God has placed such people
in our lives for that purpose
00:19:33.07\00:19:36.40
but firstly, take time to
consult the Great physician,
00:19:36.44\00:19:41.34
He's still healing, you know.
00:19:41.38\00:19:43.11
The words of King David,
who was also suffering when he
00:19:43.14\00:19:47.85
penned them, ring with power.
Though oh Lord are a shield
00:19:47.88\00:19:53.29
for me, my glory, and
the lifter of my head.
00:19:53.32\00:19:59.26
May God place
His hands upon you?
00:19:59.29\00:20:04.60
I want to tell another story,
this time, it was mid-afternoon
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when a woman brought
her husband to our church
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for anointing, I was sitting
with young Pr. Thomas Clark,
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our Bibles are out,
our best smiles are on,
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and we asked the couple
what it was that brought them in
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for anointing, and the
sister believed that negative
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supernatural forces were
at work in her husband's life.
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Oh, I prayed, and then I
asked the gentleman, what he
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thought about that, and
did he desire anointing?
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And he began to explain the
difficulties that he was having
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including what many might
consider bizarre behaviors
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understandingly they were
stressed and eager for the
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Lord to
intervene on their behalf.
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So, having listened for a while
it was becoming increasingly
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clear that the brother
may suffer from a compulsive
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disorder with high amounts of
anxiety it's a medical problem.
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So I asked him a few
screening questions you know,
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to which he answered in
the very high risk firmative
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so brother, sister, I
said to them, I'm going to pray
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but before I do, I
think you may benefit from
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seeing a
professional, praise God.
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You've come seeking answers
and the Lord is providing
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direction, praise
God, would you be willing?
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And I had some references
you know including the
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Nedley program up at Weimar,
oh, you ought to check that out
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they're doing great
work and they agreed.
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And we prepared to pray
and to follow the Biblical
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instructions for
anointing. As we bowed our heads
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and got ready to pray
the brother's breathing rate
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tripled, you could hear it,
sweat popped out on his brow
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his eyes bulged, and he
began to shake like this,
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he was having a full-on
anxiety attack right there.
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I can't do this he cried. I
got to leave, I got to leave.
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Of course, I said, if you need
to and as he gathered himself
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to leave, I start reading,
Lord, how are they increased
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that trouble me, many are
they that rise up against me,
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many there be which say of my
soul, there is no help for him
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in God. I skipped verse
3, I cried unto the Lord
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with my voice, and He heard
me out of His Holy hills. Selah.
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I lay me down and slept, I
awake for the Lord sustained me,
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I will not be afraid of
10,000s of people that have
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set themselves
against me round about.
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Arise, oh Lord, save me, oh
my God, for thou hast smitten
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all mine enemies on the
cheek- bone thou hast broken the
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teeth of the ungodly.
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Salvation belongeth unto
the Lord, thy blessing is
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upon thy people.
Selah. And then verse 3,
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But Thou, oh Lord, art
a shield for me, my glory,
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and the lifter of mine head.
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Lift his head, I prayed, lift
his head, and he didn't leave,
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he did not run; he calmed.
It's what I believe the gospels
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will call a great calm
right before our very eyes.
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And together we prayed
and we had an anointing
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and I never saw him again.
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But friends, there is
power in the word of God.
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These have been my experiences
with this particular promise
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It's so special to me that
I just had to share because
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in your storm, in your personal
fiery trial in the prison
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of your mind with the
damage you have sustained
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God can, God will place
His hands upon your head
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and lift it.
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Am I promising a
classic miracle? No!
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I can't. But am I
promising power? Oh yes.
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Praise His name.
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I don't know if you've
ever been to an anointing
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or maybe you have been anointed
yourself, but I would like to
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describe the process to you.
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In order to illustrate why I
think God lifting our head is
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so amazing. We are
instructed in the book of James
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that if any of us
are sick or afflicted,
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we can call for the elders
of the church and the elders
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of the church will come
in and we can pray to our God
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and we can anoint
the person with oil.
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Now, there is no power in
the oil, but the oil represents
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the holy spirit, it says
in Acts chapter 10 verse 38,
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that Jesus was
anointed with the holy ghost.
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The oil represents the
holy ghost so see this now,
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a person comes in, they have
called for the elders of the
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church and everyone sits
there together and I will
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typically, ask, what is it
that you are asking of the Lord?
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And in faith we talk, we
confess our sins to the Lord
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we ask that nothing
stand between us and God
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Not now, Lord, not now,
don't let me get in the way
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of this miracle, and
then we pray and put our hands
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on the person and the
Bible says, the Lord would
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save the sick, the
Lord would raise them up.
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This is how we are instructed
to do, put our hands on people
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what this means is
when we read Psalms three,
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Jesus Himself is doing as we
are instructed to do in James.
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When He Himself puts His hands
on us when we call upon Him
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to be anointed by Jesus
Himself, that is powerful,
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powerful stuff.
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Father in heaven, put
your hands on us, we pray.
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In Thy name, Amen! and Amen!
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God be with you
and Be Encouraged.
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