Hi, I'm Wintley Phipps,
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and welcome to our
program Perfecting Me,
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Becoming More Like Jesus.
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I'm so glad you've joined us.
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My guests today on our
program are Ruthie Jacobsen,
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Head of Prime Ministry of
the North American division
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of Seventh-day Adventist.
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Pastor Georges Fleurimond,
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pastor of the West Park
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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And Mrs. Adly
Campos, Speaker and President
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of Family
Well-being International.
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You'll hear from
them a little later.
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Come with me to the
garden of Gethsemane
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and place...
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I have been
privileged to visit myself.
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I want you to see the
night the Christ was betrayed.
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Christ was in the garden
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and He lowered
His head bowed over,
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His spirit in agony,
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His anguish so intense
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that His body was
pushing not sweat from His pores
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but drops of blood.
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All around Him was the horror
of a great spiritual darkness,
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every sin committed
since the dawn of creation
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was by His own choice
weighing upon his shoulders.
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The light of the
Father's presence
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seem to have been
removed from His life
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because of your sin and mine,
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Jesus was experiencing
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the eclipse of His
Father's smile and favor.
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At one point,
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Jesus stretched
Himself out on the earth
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crying out for our salvation,
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never before had He been
in such distress and sorrow.
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He said to his disciples,
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"My soul is
exceedingly sorrowful
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even unto death,
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tarry ye here,
and watch with me."
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Then Jesus went a little further
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from where they were and prayed,
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He prayed a prayer
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that was wrenched from His soul,
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"O my Father, if it be possible,
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let this cup pass from me,
nevertheless not as I will,
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but as thou wilt."
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Then Jesus got
up from His prayer,
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He went to His disciples
only to find them fast asleep.
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"Wake up!" He said.
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And then turning
to Peter, Jesus said,
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"Could you not
watch with me one hour?"
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and then Jesus
spoke a word to Peter
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but not only to Peter
was these words spoken,
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it was spoken to all mankind.
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It is one of the
greatest admonitions
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ever spoken by our Lord.
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A timeless strategy
for all heaven-bound souls
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in search of a life
of victory over sin.
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It is the only
approach to victorious living
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for those seeking
protection from the devil
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and emancipation from sin.
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Jesus said, "Watch and pray."
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In Mathew 26:41, Jesus said,
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"Watch and pray that ye
enter not into temptation,
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the spirit indeed is willing
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but the flesh is weak."
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What Jesus said to His disciples
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that night in Gethsemane
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was about so much more than
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staying awake in
the middle of church
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or in the middle of
a spiritual outpouring.
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That night in Gethsemane,
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Jesus gave to all of us
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a formula He wanted all
His followers to live by
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for the rest of their lives.
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Jesus was saying, "Be
vigilant, and always in prayer,
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or you will fall into
temptation and into sin.
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And remember,
your spirit is willing,
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but your flesh is weak."
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For those who want to avoid
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falling into sin and temptation,
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Jesus says, remember
this for as long as you live,
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the only way to be victorious
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is to learn how to never
tire in watching and praying.
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Watch meaning be
alert and observant
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for the tricks of the enemy,
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watch meaning live
in a conscious state
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or a spiritual surveillance,
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always watching out
for the next temptation
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coming your way,
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the next
temptation in your environment
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even in your
thoughts and in your thinking
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and in your reflexes, and
even what you do naturally.
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Jesus was saying to us,
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if we don't want to
fall into temptation,
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we have to be
constantly watching
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for the next
deception of the devil.
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Brothers and sisters,
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all of us have
terrible temptations
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that are ahead of us.
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And we need strength and
protection to endure them.
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And that day in the
garden, Jesus gave to us
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a vital key to
strengthen character
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and yes, protect the
purity of Christian character,
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He said watch and pray.
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And both activities,
surveillance and communion,
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communion with God,
they need to be constant,
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surveillance and
communion need to be constant
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to be effective.
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Here Jesus says,
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a prerequisite for
all spiritual victories
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is to watch.
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1 Peter 5:8 says,
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"Be sober, be vigilant
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because your adversary the devil
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as a roaring lion
walketh about seeking
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whom he may devour."
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So watch, to tell the truth,
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watching out for and living
in anticipation of temptations
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that are sure to come
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was not something I
was ever taught to do
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in my Christian life
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but with God's help,
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I've learned to
watch and sometimes,
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I've had to learn
to watch the hard way.
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In learning how to watch,
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the first thing I
had to understand was
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there is no end to watching
because the devil never lets up
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with his
bombardment of temptations.
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Watching is an
all day, everyday,
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if you are up all
day, 24/7 activity.
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From the time you open
your eyes in the morning
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to the moment you
close them at night,
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you can be sure of one thing
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that moment by moment,
hour by hour, every day, 24/7
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the devil is on his job
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bringing another
temptation your way.
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He does it on
your job, in your home,
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through your
phone, your computer,
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he even tempts you in church.
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And you have to
recognize that for you,
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there will be no let up,
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no break from the temptations
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the devil will
constantly throw at you.
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That's why Jesus said,
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you better become
excellent at watching
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and know that
until the day you die
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or until Jesus
appears in the clouds
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whichever comes first,
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there will be in your
life a relentless barrage
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and onslaught of urges
and desires and temptations
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and there'll be no let up
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in the offers of
pleasure from the devil.
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So watch, watch and pray.
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I want you to see this video
from my friends at the 700 club
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that will help strengthen
you as you watch and pray,
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watch and pray.
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Traffic was stopped,
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and I actually go right up to
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the remains of
this green Mercedes
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and it was on its side
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with the roof
facing me as I pulled up.
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On August 4, 2013,
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Deputy Richard Adair
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of the Ralls County
sheriff's department
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in Missouri
responded to an accident
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involving two cars
in a head on collision.
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It was obvious as this
was a really bad accident.
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It wouldn't be
surprising if it wasn't fatal.
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The girl is the driver, Katie.
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All you can see
was the top of her head
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and one hand
that was sticking out.
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I actually held her
hand and talked to her
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and tried to calm her.
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But none of his training
or 30 years of experience
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prepared him for what came next.
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She said she
wanted to pray out loud
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and then I became mortified.
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Richard had grown up in church
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but to him prayer
was just an empty ritual
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to a far away uncaring God.
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I didn't know
how to pray out loud.
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I knew Him, God
Father and knew Hail Mary,
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I didn't know
how to pray out loud.
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That for me
personally was mortifying.
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Curtis White the
gentlemen there I asked,
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"Can you pray with her?"
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"Yes, no problem."
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And he took her hand
and I made the excuse
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to go check the other
driver in the other vehicle.
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The other driver
suffered minor injuries
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but had been drinking
and charged with a DUI.
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As for Katie, it
took fire crews two hours
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to safely cut her out
of the tangled wreckage,
00:10:00.43\00:10:02.93
put her on a chopper to
the nearest trauma unit.
00:10:02.96\00:10:07.80
Meanwhile, Richard
couldn't stop thinking
00:10:07.84\00:10:10.11
about the young woman
00:10:10.14\00:10:11.57
who despite being
in an excruciating pain
00:10:11.61\00:10:13.98
and holding on to life,
00:10:14.01\00:10:15.68
continued asking people to pray.
00:10:15.71\00:10:18.91
Katie never screamed,
she never cried out loud,
00:10:18.95\00:10:22.88
she never cursed,
she never was angry,
00:10:22.92\00:10:25.39
what she did was pray out loud.
00:10:25.42\00:10:28.82
And I just couldn't believe
that as a 50-some year old man
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how that young girl
had that much faith in God,
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and I didn't.
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That's because
over the past year,
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Richard had being
trying to come to terms
00:10:41.20\00:10:43.04
with the disappointments
and failures in his own life
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and was searching
for meaning and purpose.
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You know, I
wanted to go to church.
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I guess I was looking
for something I was missing.
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Then later,
Richard and his wife Debbie
00:10:56.22\00:10:58.22
visited Katie and her family
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at Blessing
Hospital in Quincy, Illinois.
00:10:59.92\00:11:04.99
I looked at my wife and I said,
00:11:05.03\00:11:07.23
"I can't believe
how happy everybody is
00:11:07.26\00:11:09.20
like it's almost like we
are at a birthday party."
00:11:09.23\00:11:13.03
And her mother
looked at me, she said,
00:11:13.07\00:11:14.54
"We could be
planning a funeral right now,
00:11:14.57\00:11:16.81
and Katie is alive and
because of God's grace,
00:11:16.84\00:11:20.54
Katie is alive."
00:11:20.58\00:11:22.88
Finally, Richard understood
what he'd been struggling with.
00:11:22.91\00:11:26.78
I was missing a
relationship with God.
00:11:26.82\00:11:28.68
I had no relationship with God.
00:11:28.72\00:11:32.55
Soon afterwards,
Richard and Debbie
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went to a local church service.
00:11:34.56\00:11:36.86
I knew that the
first time I was there,
00:11:36.89\00:11:38.73
when we were talking about God
and Jesus and just it clicked.
00:11:38.76\00:11:45.03
I don't know how to
explain it. It just...
00:11:45.07\00:11:47.00
I knew that moment,
00:11:47.04\00:11:49.10
it was like someone
opening rice for the first time.
00:11:49.14\00:11:54.94
In the coming months,
00:11:54.98\00:11:56.31
Richard started
reading the bible and praying,
00:11:56.34\00:11:58.88
as he did, he came to understand
00:11:58.91\00:12:01.18
and accept God's
love and forgiveness.
00:12:01.22\00:12:03.79
During that time,
00:12:03.82\00:12:05.15
he committed his
life to Jesus Christ.
00:12:05.19\00:12:07.62
I realized that I had
to become right with God
00:12:07.66\00:12:12.49
and correct things.
00:12:12.53\00:12:14.90
I had to click over anger
that I held against others,
00:12:14.93\00:12:18.77
just let it go, it's
not that for me to judge,
00:12:18.80\00:12:22.47
it's over,
release that, let it go.
00:12:22.50\00:12:26.37
As he grew in his
relationship with God,
00:12:26.41\00:12:28.74
the people he felt he
needed to share his new face
00:12:28.78\00:12:31.15
with the most were his children.
00:12:31.18\00:12:34.95
I've never even talked to
my own children about God.
00:12:34.98\00:12:39.25
I mean, they went
to parochial schools,
00:12:39.29\00:12:42.09
they did all the sacraments
that a religion had to do,
00:12:42.12\00:12:46.59
things I failed to
teach them, and that was hard,
00:12:46.63\00:12:51.27
it's not easy
going to your children,
00:12:51.30\00:12:56.50
you're growing children
and saying, "Hey, I messed up.
00:12:56.54\00:12:59.54
I didn't know God and
didn't know how to show you
00:12:59.57\00:13:02.38
who God was."
00:13:02.41\00:13:03.75
As Richard lived out his
faith, Debbie and his children
00:13:06.78\00:13:09.88
also made a
commitment to Jesus Christ.
00:13:09.92\00:13:13.49
I'm a 53-year old man
with 30 years as a cop
00:13:13.52\00:13:16.26
and I'm filling up
00:13:16.29\00:13:17.79
because it's emotional
and it's hard to explain,
00:13:17.83\00:13:24.00
it sometimes is
hard to put into words.
00:13:24.03\00:13:26.84
God used Katie that
day in her suffering.
00:13:26.87\00:13:31.77
And it's all because of
a young woman, a stranger,
00:13:31.81\00:13:34.81
who had the faith to pray.
00:13:34.84\00:13:37.45
It's a simple prayer.
00:13:37.48\00:13:39.31
It's just talking to God
00:13:39.35\00:13:41.52
and having a relationship
that you'll be able to that.
00:13:41.55\00:13:44.05
Joining us again, and my guests
Ruthie Jacobsen, Adly Campos,
00:13:49.12\00:13:53.36
and Pastor George Fleurimond.
00:13:53.40\00:13:56.26
We're talking about
Christ giving us the blessing
00:13:56.30\00:14:02.60
and the gift of His
righteous character.
00:14:02.64\00:14:06.01
When we surrender
our lives to Jesus,
00:14:06.04\00:14:08.28
He gives us the greatest gift
00:14:08.31\00:14:11.58
that any human
being can ever have,
00:14:11.61\00:14:13.88
and that is His character.
00:14:13.92\00:14:16.32
And as He gives
us His character,
00:14:16.35\00:14:18.12
we now then
have a responsibility
00:14:18.15\00:14:21.56
to protect it
from being stained.
00:14:21.59\00:14:26.73
It's, you know, when the Bible
talks about washing our robes
00:14:26.76\00:14:30.93
and making sure
our robes are white,
00:14:30.97\00:14:33.94
it's really saying,
00:14:33.97\00:14:35.30
make sure that the
righteous character
00:14:35.34\00:14:37.57
that God gives
us is not stained.
00:14:37.61\00:14:40.58
And we all know that temptation
00:14:40.61\00:14:43.71
and falling into sin
stains our character.
00:14:43.75\00:14:48.98
And we want to talk
about that a little bit.
00:14:49.02\00:14:51.22
And, Sister
Campos, I want to ask you,
00:14:51.25\00:14:54.32
this how do you
think falling into sin
00:14:54.36\00:14:58.96
stains character?
00:14:58.99\00:15:00.73
Because, you
know, when Jesus said,
00:15:00.76\00:15:02.46
"Watch and pray",
00:15:02.50\00:15:04.03
He didn't just say
watch and pray, He said,
00:15:04.07\00:15:06.07
"Watch and pray
that you don't enter
00:15:06.10\00:15:09.60
or that you don't
fall into temptation."
00:15:09.64\00:15:12.61
He was trying to protect us
from staining that character.
00:15:12.64\00:15:15.61
What are your
thoughts about that?
00:15:15.64\00:15:19.55
My thought is that
00:15:19.58\00:15:20.92
if He's telling us to
watch because it can happen.
00:15:20.95\00:15:25.89
Yes.
00:15:25.92\00:15:27.26
And we must do something
to avoid for it to happen.
00:15:27.29\00:15:32.26
Do something,
take certain measures
00:15:32.29\00:15:35.50
that it will not happen,
00:15:35.53\00:15:37.47
and that's when he
says, "That we need to watch,
00:15:37.50\00:15:40.57
that we might not
fall into temptation."
00:15:40.60\00:15:43.17
Temptation will always come
00:15:43.20\00:15:45.27
but we don't
have to fall into it.
00:15:45.31\00:15:47.14
Yes. And the
only way to avoid it
00:15:47.18\00:15:49.38
is by a constant
communion and watch and pray
00:15:49.41\00:15:55.05
on our behalf, on our part,
00:15:55.08\00:15:57.59
in order to avoid
falling into temptation.
00:15:57.62\00:16:01.32
Pastor Fleurimond,
00:16:01.36\00:16:02.79
what are your
thoughts about that?
00:16:02.82\00:16:05.69
Well, similarly, I believe that
watching is us being vigilant,
00:16:05.73\00:16:10.70
I think that would be
a good word to describe
00:16:10.73\00:16:14.54
watching to be vigilant
00:16:14.57\00:16:16.71
because the enemy is
going to, as you said,
00:16:16.74\00:16:20.84
tempt us but that
to be vigilant means
00:16:20.88\00:16:23.58
that we take the
proper necessary precautions
00:16:23.61\00:16:27.32
so that we are ready for
00:16:27.35\00:16:30.79
when the enemy does show up,
00:16:30.82\00:16:32.69
we have a way of escaping
00:16:32.72\00:16:34.56
or not staining the
character of Jesus Christ.
00:16:34.59\00:16:37.26
Yeah.
00:16:37.29\00:16:38.63
And it's not a question
of will he try to do it,
00:16:38.66\00:16:44.00
it's how soon,
you know, how soon.
00:16:44.03\00:16:46.63
How soon.
00:16:46.67\00:16:48.00
Because it's going to
happen, that is his goal.
00:16:48.04\00:16:51.87
Can you imagine
that since heaven,
00:16:51.91\00:16:56.14
since he was
thrown out of heaven,
00:16:56.18\00:16:58.55
the one thing the
devil has been trying to do
00:16:58.58\00:17:00.95
is searching the earth
00:17:00.98\00:17:02.32
for wherever he can
find the character of God
00:17:02.35\00:17:05.32
being manifest in the life
of a human being or any place,
00:17:05.35\00:17:09.52
and he just
wants to go after that
00:17:09.56\00:17:11.66
to destroy it and to deface it.
00:17:11.69\00:17:16.03
And so, Sister
Ruthie, how do you see
00:17:16.06\00:17:19.43
and what do you
think we can do and must do
00:17:19.47\00:17:22.34
to avoid staining the character
00:17:22.37\00:17:25.67
that is given to us?
00:17:25.71\00:17:29.34
Well, I think this is
something so vitally important
00:17:29.38\00:17:35.12
and I believe that
the enemy is strong
00:17:35.15\00:17:39.32
and he's stronger than we are.
00:17:39.35\00:17:40.69
Yes.
00:17:40.72\00:17:42.06
And someone has said,
00:17:42.09\00:17:43.43
"Until you know
you are in a war,
00:17:43.46\00:17:45.06
you don't know
what prayer is for."
00:17:45.09\00:17:47.80
But prayer makes
the devil tremble.
00:17:47.83\00:17:51.07
And so even though
we're weaker than the enemy,
00:17:51.10\00:17:54.40
our great God is
so much stronger,
00:17:54.44\00:17:57.14
and I think that
being watchful and vigilant
00:17:57.17\00:17:59.81
is keeping our eyes on Jesus
00:17:59.84\00:18:01.41
and realizing that
00:18:01.44\00:18:02.84
we have someone
much stronger than we are
00:18:02.88\00:18:06.01
that we can call on
any time, any movement.
00:18:06.05\00:18:08.92
And this is why I think
it's so vitally important
00:18:08.95\00:18:11.79
that we pray every hour.
00:18:11.82\00:18:14.09
We just stop and say,
"Lord, I need you, I thank you,
00:18:14.12\00:18:19.56
and I thank you for
fighting my battles."
00:18:19.59\00:18:22.10
Yes.
00:18:22.13\00:18:23.70
Sister Campos, how do you
think watching and praying
00:18:23.73\00:18:27.04
helps you to develop character?
00:18:27.07\00:18:31.01
Develop Christ
character. The more I...
00:18:31.04\00:18:33.98
Okay, the more I pray,
00:18:34.01\00:18:36.08
the closer I am in
communion with God,
00:18:36.11\00:18:39.95
and the more He
is able to protect me
00:18:39.98\00:18:43.28
from committing sin,
00:18:43.32\00:18:45.62
staying away from that
that is so awful to Him,
00:18:45.65\00:18:49.59
so awful that made His
son go to the cross and suffer
00:18:49.62\00:18:53.46
what He suffered in
agony in that Golgotha,
00:18:53.50\00:18:57.07
so it is so important
00:18:57.10\00:18:59.63
that we maintain that
constant watchfulness.
00:18:59.67\00:19:05.07
What do I mean?
00:19:05.11\00:19:06.78
Are we going to be on
our knees whole day long
00:19:06.81\00:19:08.98
and not do anything else?
00:19:09.01\00:19:10.61
No, it's the attitude of prayer.
00:19:10.65\00:19:14.25
I can be talking with
my God, with my Lord Jesus,
00:19:14.28\00:19:18.15
with my Holy Spirit all the time
00:19:18.19\00:19:20.49
no matter what I'm doing
00:19:20.52\00:19:21.86
because my thought
can be connected to Him
00:19:21.89\00:19:24.53
constantly if I choose to do so.
00:19:24.56\00:19:27.20
Sister Ruthie,
you had a thought.
00:19:27.23\00:19:29.96
Well, I was just going to say
00:19:30.00\00:19:31.93
the beautiful
thing about our God
00:19:31.97\00:19:34.64
is that even if you
don't feel like praying,
00:19:34.67\00:19:38.97
even if you don't
even realize your need,
00:19:39.01\00:19:41.74
even if you
don't have the desire
00:19:41.78\00:19:44.98
for prayer or Bible study,
00:19:45.01\00:19:47.02
you can go to the Lord and say,
00:19:47.05\00:19:48.58
"Lord, give me that hunger,
give me that thirst for you,
00:19:48.62\00:19:52.39
for your presence,
for your Holy Spirit.
00:19:52.42\00:19:54.89
And teach me how to
pray with the authority
00:19:54.92\00:19:58.33
in the name of Jesus."
00:19:58.36\00:20:00.83
And I just believe he's
waiting to hear those prayers
00:20:00.86\00:20:03.93
and answer them.
00:20:03.97\00:20:05.30
Yes. And, Pastor Fleurimond,
when you watch and pray,
00:20:05.33\00:20:08.77
really it's also
an opportunity for you
00:20:08.80\00:20:13.11
to behold Jesus.
00:20:13.14\00:20:17.08
Amen. It is.
00:20:17.11\00:20:18.61
Really, it's always not
just watching again for...
00:20:18.65\00:20:22.98
I call it sin
detection, you know,
00:20:23.02\00:20:25.49
you're in sin detection
mode, you know, you're vigilant.
00:20:25.52\00:20:29.22
And you really have to be, hey,
in the world we live in today,
00:20:29.26\00:20:32.93
you have to have
all your antenna out,
00:20:32.96\00:20:35.03
you have to be very mindful
00:20:35.06\00:20:38.53
because the
encroachments are so subtle,
00:20:38.57\00:20:41.34
the devil is so slick, so smart,
00:20:41.37\00:20:44.87
sometimes he can do
it with your eyes closed,
00:20:44.91\00:20:48.34
you know, he can get to
you with your eyes closed,
00:20:48.38\00:20:51.28
you don't have to
have your eyes open,
00:20:51.31\00:20:53.01
He'll bring
memories back, you know.
00:20:53.05\00:20:55.25
But when you watch and you pray,
00:20:55.28\00:20:58.42
you are communing
with God and beholding
00:20:58.45\00:21:00.92
and of course, you
know, the word of God says,
00:21:00.96\00:21:03.09
"By beholding, we are changed."
00:21:03.12\00:21:05.06
I don't know if you
have any thoughts on that.
00:21:05.09\00:21:06.43
Yes.
00:21:06.46\00:21:07.80
Oh, that's exactly I
was going to go next.
00:21:07.83\00:21:10.40
Sister Campos I
believe her name is.
00:21:10.43\00:21:12.43
Campos, yes I was saying that...
00:21:12.47\00:21:13.80
Yeah, Campos...
00:21:13.84\00:21:15.17
speaking about prayer
and I think it's so vital
00:21:15.20\00:21:17.44
because when we pray,
we are drawn closer to God,
00:21:17.47\00:21:20.78
we are in proximity of God,
00:21:20.81\00:21:23.41
and that allows us
to behold him, right?
00:21:23.45\00:21:26.45
And so it's kind of like
00:21:26.48\00:21:28.52
the more we spend time with God,
00:21:28.55\00:21:30.32
the more we spend
time in prayer to Jesus,
00:21:30.35\00:21:32.59
the more His
character rubs off on us, right?
00:21:32.62\00:21:36.39
Right.
00:21:36.42\00:21:37.76
So that when
the enemy attacks us
00:21:37.79\00:21:40.16
or when
temptations comes our way,
00:21:40.20\00:21:42.00
we're able to
exhibit some of the things
00:21:42.03\00:21:45.10
that Jesus would do
00:21:45.13\00:21:46.63
because as a result of us
00:21:46.67\00:21:48.64
having spent that time with him.
00:21:48.67\00:21:51.57
Amen. Now I must tell you...
00:21:51.61\00:21:53.38
Go ahead, Ruthie,
you have a thought?
00:21:53.41\00:21:56.44
Well, I was just going to say
00:21:56.48\00:21:57.85
scripture
prepares you for prayer.
00:21:57.88\00:21:59.75
Yes. It's...
00:21:59.78\00:22:01.68
we can't really
read the Word of God
00:22:01.72\00:22:04.55
with an open heart,
without being drawn to prayer
00:22:04.59\00:22:08.22
because God is
there in His Living Word.
00:22:08.26\00:22:10.69
Yes.
00:22:10.73\00:22:12.53
I've got to tell you honestly,
00:22:12.56\00:22:16.13
out of all my 40
years of pastoring
00:22:16.16\00:22:18.87
and preaching and teaching,
00:22:18.90\00:22:21.07
I don't know of any other way
00:22:21.10\00:22:24.67
to break a bad habit.
00:22:24.71\00:22:28.78
I don't know of any
other way to get victory.
00:22:28.81\00:22:33.52
So what Jesus was
giving us there in Gethsemane
00:22:33.55\00:22:38.52
was a formula for victory.
00:22:38.55\00:22:42.62
It was really the only formula,
00:22:42.66\00:22:45.33
I mean, you can go
to the psychiatrist
00:22:45.36\00:22:47.10
if you want to
and try to get victory
00:22:47.13\00:22:49.86
or you can go
to the psychologist
00:22:49.90\00:22:52.90
to get victory,
you might get a pill
00:22:52.93\00:22:54.57
or you might get some
strategies to unlearn,
00:22:54.60\00:22:57.61
learn behavior,
00:22:57.64\00:22:58.97
but the only way
I know to finally
00:22:59.01\00:23:03.31
get the victory over anything
00:23:03.35\00:23:06.41
that the devil uses to chain you
00:23:06.45\00:23:09.22
is watching and praying.
00:23:09.25\00:23:13.36
So watching and praying is key
00:23:13.39\00:23:15.99
to protecting the integrity
of the character God gives us.
00:23:16.02\00:23:21.36
Sister Campos, can you think
of an instance in your own life
00:23:21.40\00:23:26.07
perhaps or another person's life
00:23:26.10\00:23:29.04
where watching and
praying got them the victory?
00:23:29.07\00:23:34.71
Yes.
00:23:34.74\00:23:36.08
I can think of so many couples
00:23:36.11\00:23:38.25
that have being
in deep problems,
00:23:38.28\00:23:42.22
marital problems,
00:23:42.25\00:23:44.32
and when they
finally go to their knees,
00:23:44.35\00:23:47.96
they fall on their knees,
00:23:47.99\00:23:49.89
humble
themselves before the Lord
00:23:49.92\00:23:52.56
and allow the Lord
to work in their lives,
00:23:52.59\00:23:56.00
surprised at the change,
00:23:56.03\00:23:58.73
the transformation that
comes as a result of prayer.
00:23:58.77\00:24:03.64
That is all we need to
do, just surrender ourselves
00:24:03.67\00:24:07.08
and fall on our knees, and say,
"Lord, I can't," but you can,
00:24:07.11\00:24:11.81
"And I am giving myself to
you that you will transform me."
00:24:11.85\00:24:15.72
Many marriages at
the border of divorce
00:24:15.75\00:24:19.42
have had the victory in Jesus
00:24:19.45\00:24:22.89
because they
started to pray together.
00:24:22.92\00:24:25.89
Right.
00:24:25.93\00:24:27.26
Morning, noon, evening
together in prayer, prayer,
00:24:27.30\00:24:32.13
that's the only thing
that can help us to be changed,
00:24:32.17\00:24:35.94
to be transformed.
00:24:35.97\00:24:37.31
Beautiful. Sister Ruthie,
we just have a few seconds,
00:24:37.34\00:24:40.18
do you have a thought on that?
00:24:40.21\00:24:43.04
Well, I do, and that
is from 2 Chronicles 16:9.
00:24:43.08\00:24:47.92
Yes.
00:24:47.95\00:24:49.28
"For the eyes of
the Lord run to and fro
00:24:49.32\00:24:50.85
throughout the whole
earth to show Himself strong
00:24:50.89\00:24:56.19
behalf of those whose
heart is loyal to Him."
00:24:56.22\00:24:59.23
So no matter what the need
is, no matter what the need,
00:24:59.26\00:25:03.06
if we look to him in faith,
00:25:03.10\00:25:05.57
he's going to
show himself strong,
00:25:05.60\00:25:07.97
that's an
exciting impossibility.
00:25:08.00\00:25:10.91
Nothing is impossible. Yes.
00:25:10.94\00:25:12.91
Pastor Fleurimond, last
word, just a quick word.
00:25:12.94\00:25:16.64
Definitely.
00:25:16.68\00:25:18.01
When it comes
out down to prayer,
00:25:18.05\00:25:19.38
I believe wholeheartedly
in a powerful prayer
00:25:19.41\00:25:21.22
and sometimes, you know,
00:25:21.25\00:25:23.25
God would allow the
delay to His response
00:25:23.28\00:25:27.46
to become for us our spiritual
conditioning mechanism right.
00:25:27.49\00:25:31.36
Oh, yeah.
00:25:31.39\00:25:32.73
That forces us to continue
and to strive into prayer.
00:25:32.76\00:25:37.03
And at the end of the
day, the Bible's clear,
00:25:37.07\00:25:39.00
Jesus said to His
disciples, when we pray,
00:25:39.03\00:25:41.07
if you have faith you can even
command mountains to be moved.
00:25:41.10\00:25:44.11
Absolutely, that's right.
And to be cast into the sea...
00:25:44.14\00:25:46.51
So prayer is the efficacious,
00:25:46.54\00:25:49.81
but we have to be
fervent in our prayer life.
00:25:49.84\00:25:53.11
Thank you so much
for being with us today.
00:25:53.15\00:25:55.12
The reason that we must watch
00:26:00.12\00:26:02.19
is because the
enemy is deceitful.
00:26:02.22\00:26:05.59
A man got a job
as a night watchman
00:26:05.63\00:26:07.50
at a factory one day
00:26:07.53\00:26:08.86
and there have been a
lot of thefts by workers
00:26:08.90\00:26:10.73
on the night shift.
00:26:10.77\00:26:12.20
And so every morning
when the night shift workers
00:26:12.23\00:26:14.77
passed through his gate,
00:26:14.80\00:26:16.20
it was his job to
check their bags and pockets
00:26:16.24\00:26:19.24
to make sure that
nothing was being stolen.
00:26:19.27\00:26:21.91
Things were going really
well the first night on the job
00:26:21.94\00:26:25.31
until a man pushing a
wheel barrel of newspaper
00:26:25.35\00:26:28.08
came through his gate.
00:26:28.12\00:26:29.45
"Uh-huh!" he
thought, that man thinks
00:26:29.48\00:26:31.15
he can cover up
what he's stealing
00:26:31.19\00:26:32.62
with that newspaper.
00:26:32.65\00:26:33.99
So he removed the newspaper
00:26:34.02\00:26:35.39
only to find
there was nothing there.
00:26:35.42\00:26:38.29
Still he felt the
man was acting strangely,
00:26:38.33\00:26:40.26
so he questioned him
about the paper, the man said,
00:26:40.30\00:26:43.10
"I get a little extra money
from newspapers, I recycle,
00:26:43.13\00:26:46.33
so I go into the lunch
room, pick up all the ones
00:26:46.37\00:26:48.64
people have thrown away."
00:26:48.67\00:26:50.34
And so the guard said,
"Okay," and he let him pass.
00:26:50.37\00:26:53.07
But he decided to
keep a close eye on him.
00:26:53.11\00:26:55.64
The next night it
was the same thing,
00:26:55.68\00:26:57.45
night after
night, week after week,
00:26:57.48\00:26:59.31
it went on, month after month,
00:26:59.35\00:27:00.68
the same guy would push
the wheel barrel of newspapers,
00:27:00.72\00:27:03.49
pass the guard's checkpoint.
00:27:03.52\00:27:05.25
The guard would
always check the newspapers
00:27:05.29\00:27:07.36
and find nothing.
00:27:07.39\00:27:09.39
Then one night
about a year later,
00:27:09.42\00:27:10.83
the guard reported for
work only to find a message
00:27:10.86\00:27:13.96
that had been left
for him, telling him
00:27:14.00\00:27:15.56
to report to his supervisor.
00:27:15.60\00:27:17.53
He walked into the
supervisor's office
00:27:17.57\00:27:19.27
before he could say a word,
the boss said, "You're fired."
00:27:19.30\00:27:21.90
He said, "Fired?
00:27:21.94\00:27:23.41
Why am I fired?
00:27:23.44\00:27:24.77
What did I do?
00:27:24.81\00:27:26.54
I've checked and
nothing has been stolen."
00:27:26.57\00:27:29.81
And the boss said,
00:27:29.84\00:27:31.28
"But what about
those 365 wheel barrels
00:27:31.31\00:27:35.25
that have gone missing?"
00:27:35.28\00:27:37.92
Our enemy is deceitful,
00:27:37.95\00:27:41.02
and so we have
to watch and pray.
00:27:41.06\00:27:45.89
I'm Wintley Phipps, and
remember to be a Christian
00:27:45.93\00:27:52.10
means to be Christ-like
00:27:52.13\00:27:55.40
all day, every day.
00:27:55.44\00:27:59.14
No excuses.
00:27:59.17\00:28:00.51