Participants:
Series Code: PHTDP
Program Code: PHTDP190010A
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00:12 Hi and welcome to day ten of, Ten Days of Prayer;
00:16 a prayer strategy from the Revival and Reformation 00:18 initiative of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:21 It's my hope that if you have made this 30 minutes 00:24 a regular part of your evening for the past few days, 00:27 that you have felt a nearness to God 00:29 that you'll want to continue throughout January, February, 00:33 and throughout the year. 00:34 But it won't happen without an effort on your and my part 00:38 to meet with God on a daily basis. 00:42 As you may remember, the theme of our time together 00:44 has been, seeking God for a deeper experience with Him. 00:48 That's really important, because some of you 00:50 may have had some really bad relationship experiences 00:54 leaving you scarred for life. 00:56 I can say for sure that as much as you long for a 00:59 closer walk with God, He desires for you to trust Him. 01:03 And He wants you to know that you can depend on Him. 01:07 Listen to this testimony. 01:10 "My older brother and I were abandoned 01:12 by our biological father. 01:14 Because he left our mother when we were very young, 01:16 we never met him. 01:18 All we knew of him was that he was a sailor, 01:20 tall and handsome with fiery red hair and freckles, 01:23 and spoke with a southern accent. 01:26 All attempts to locate him failed, so we gave up. 01:30 I grew up wondering why he didn't want us, 01:33 which left a scar on my young heart." 01:36 The person goes on to talk about circumstances at school 01:41 where they were often picked on, and pretty just crummy, 01:49 bullying situations. 01:52 Then the testimony continues, "Insecurity and low self-esteem 01:56 stayed with me into my teens and adulthood. 01:59 Events in early childhood can affect who we become, 02:03 but we don't have to stay that way. 02:05 I had every right to be bitter and angry; 02:07 after all, I was rejected by my father, friendless, 02:11 and easily taken advantage of because I longed to be accepted. 02:15 The more I dwelt on it, the more it became a reality. 02:19 I gathered a bouquet of thorns. 02:22 But holding onto past experiences, 02:24 as bitter as they may have been, becomes too heavy to bear 02:29 and may eventually affect our health. 02:31 We become slaves to our feelings. 02:36 I read this account by Ellen White recently: 02:40 'Many walking along the path of life dwell upon 02:43 their mistakes and failures and disappointments, 02:45 and their hearts are filled with grief and discouragement. 02:49 While I was in Europe, a sister who had been doing this 02:54 and who was in deep distress wrote to me 02:57 asking for some word of encouragement. 03:00 The night after I had read her letter 03:02 I dreamed that I was in a garden, and one who 03:05 seemed to be the owner of the garden 03:06 was conducting me through its paths. 03:10 I was gathering the flowers and enjoying their fragrance 03:13 when this sister who had been walking by my side 03:15 called my attention to some unsightly briers 03:22 that were impeding her way. 03:25 There she was mourning and grieving. 03:28 She was not walking in the pathway, following the guide, 03:32 but was walking among the briers and the thorns. 03:35 "Oh," she mourned, "is it not a pity that this 03:38 beautiful garden is spoiled with thorns?" 03:42 Then the guide said, "Let the thorns alone, 03:46 for they will only wound you. 03:49 Gather the roses, the lilies, and the pinks." 03:55 Have there not been some bright spots in your experience? 04:00 When you look back into the chapters of your life experience 04:03 do you not find some pleasant pages? 04:06 Are not God's promises, like the fragrant flowers, 04:09 growing beside your path on every hand? 04:13 Will you not let their beauty and sweetness 04:16 fill your heart with joy?'" 04:18 I like this: 04:21 "It is not wise to gather together all the unpleasant 04:24 recollections of a past life, 04:26 its iniquities and disappointments, 04:29 to talk over them and to mourn over them until 04:32 we are overwhelmed with discouragement. 04:35 A discouraged soul is filled with darkness, 04:38 shutting out the light of God from his own soul 04:42 and casting a shadow upon the pathway of others." 04:50 So when Christ comes into our lives, 04:53 we discover who we are in Him. 04:56 We become a child of God, a royal prince or princess 05:00 of the King of kings. 05:02 If you were fatherless before, you aren't anymore. 05:08 God has become your Father. 05:11 No longer are we rejected or friendless. 05:15 Our Father in heaven, He calls us His friend. 05:18 You and I have great value, 05:22 for Jesus Christ gave His life for us. 05:26 We truly have reason to rejoice. 05:44 My Father is rich in houses and land, 05:49 He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands. 05:55 Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold, 06:00 His coffers are full, He has riches untold. 06:06 I'm a child of the King, a child of the King: 06:13 with Jesus my Savior, I'm a child of the King. 06:23 My Father's own Son, the Savior of men, 06:29 once wandered on earth as the poorest of them. 06:34 But now He is pleading our pardon on high, 06:40 that we may be His when He comes by and by. 06:46 I'm a child of the King, a child of the King: 06:53 with Jesus my Savior, I'm a child of the King. 07:03 I once was an outcast, a stranger on earth, 07:09 a sinner by choice, and an alien by birth. 07:15 But I've been adopted, my name's written down; 07:22 an heir to a mansion, a robe, and a crown. 07:29 I'm a child of the King, a child of the King: 07:37 with Jesus my Savior, I'm a child of the King. 07:50 Amen? I hope you can say that. 07:55 As we enter into a time of praise, let us praise Him 08:01 for adopting us into His family. 08:04 Lord, we truly do praise You 08:10 for Your transforming power. 08:16 We praise You, oh Lord, that You have called us Your friend. 08:26 We praise you, God. 08:30 We praise You for choosing us to be Your children. 08:42 What a privilege to be Your child. 08:45 May we bear the name of Christ with honor, 08:53 that we not do any damage, 08:56 that we cause no shame to Your name. 09:07 And Lord, as we confess our sin before You 09:12 and we claim victory over sin in our lives, 09:22 we pray, Holy Spirit, that You will show us 09:26 if there is anything that is separating us from You. 09:36 Anything we may have said or done that we didn't even 09:38 realized we had said or done it. 09:46 God, forgive us. 09:54 Lord, I'm reminded, Your Word says, if Your people will 10:00 humble themselves and pray, 10:05 You will hear from heaven and heal their land. 10:17 Father, forgive us when we choose to dwell on the thorns 10:21 of the past and we allow those experiences to discourage us. 10:26 God, if there's something that we just can't seem to get 10:29 rid of, we can't seem to shake it, we're so offended by it, 10:33 Lord, help us to get rid of that. 10:38 Burn the brambles, the thorns, 10:44 the dead weeds. 10:46 Forget it. 10:48 Help us to move on and to claim the victory 10:52 that You have given us. 10:59 We thank You that Your Word states if we confess 11:02 our sin, You are faithful and just to forgive us... 11:12 ...and give us peace. 11:21 Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight 11:30 rolls a melody sweeter than psalm; 11:40 In celestial-like strains it unceasingly falls 11:49 o'er my soul like an infinite calm. 12:00 Peace, peace, wonderful peace, 12:10 coming down from the Father above; 12:20 sweep over my spirit forever, I pray, 12:30 in fathomless billows of love. 12:48 I am resting tonight in this wonderful peace, 12:57 I'm resting sweetly in Jesus' control; 13:05 For I'm kept from all danger by night and by day, 13:16 and His glory is flooding my soul. 13:30 Peace, peace, wonderful peace, 13:39 coming down from the Father above; 13:48 sweep over my spirit forever, I pray, 13:59 in fathomless billows of love. 14:20 How long has it been since you felt that peace. 14:27 Just reach out and claim that peace as your own. 14:33 Claim Him as the Prince of Peace that He is, 14:35 and that He wants to be in your life. 14:43 As we enter into this time of intercession, 14:45 praying for the needs one more night, 14:54 I'm reminded of the millions of people that we've 14:59 prayed for over the past ten days. 15:07 And we've prayed for volunteers and missionaries 15:13 and workers to be sent to those who need to hear 15:18 that Jesus saves and that He loves them. 15:25 And Lord, we continue, as we lift up our church leaders 15:29 around the world, asking You, God, that You would grant them 15:35 wisdom as they make important decisions 15:40 and lead Your people. 15:46 God, we ask You for Your grace to forgive those 15:52 who have wronged us. 15:55 Lord, please bring healing and restoration 15:59 to our lives and to the lives of our families. 16:07 Lord, may each of us be a friend to the friendless, 16:15 revealing Your love to those in need of affection. 16:20 God... 16:26 ...everyone needs compassion, everyone needs a Savior. 16:38 Love the friendless through us. 16:49 Lord, we pray for our children. 16:53 Please empower them to stand boldly for You 16:56 when they encounter obstacles and pressure. 17:00 Help them to make wise choices and, God, to stand for truth, 17:07 no matter the cost. 17:14 Teach us to follow Christ's selfless example 17:17 by meeting the daily needs of people close to us. 17:24 Lord, we know we come in contact with them. 17:28 Instead of skirting them, instead of trying to avoid them, 17:36 God, may we confront them and show them Your love. 17:42 Oh God, fill us with compassion for the friendless. 17:45 for the homeless, for the hopeless. 17:55 Teach us to follow Your selfless example, 18:01 equipping us to serve as medical missionaries, 18:05 community volunteers, and simply a friend to the needy. 18:20 Lord, may a mighty revival of primitive godliness 18:25 sweep Your church in the final days. 18:29 May we stand for truth though the heavens fall. 18:36 Lord, show us how to share the gospel 18:41 with Muslim people groups. 18:44 We pray that they hear and respond to Your offer of grace. 18:50 God, give us wisdom. 18:58 Lord, we pray for the seeds of truth that were sown in Japan 19:03 during last year's Total Member Involvement outreach. 19:08 Please send laborers to work and pray for Japan. 19:17 God, we know right here in our country in America, 19:23 we're going through a time of political unrest and 19:30 government shutdown, partially. 19:35 Father, we know that we need to hear from You. 19:45 We know that our leaders need wisdom. 19:53 Dear God, for those families who are affected 19:59 by the shutdown, Lord, I pray in Jesus' name that 20:05 You'll simply have Your will and Your way, God. 20:13 God, when tragedy comes close to our home, 20:23 Lord, may we cry out to You to be our Savior, 20:29 to be our Supplier, to be our peace. 20:42 Thank You, God, that You do care for Your people 20:47 all around the world. 20:51 You do care for the homeless, for the refugee, 21:05 Fill us with compassion to do the same. 21:15 So Father, we thank You. 21:19 Thank You for Your promise in Philippians 1:6, 21:24 "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it 21:27 until the day of Jesus Christ." 21:34 Thank you, Lord, that You can fill us with joy and peace. 21:41 Thank You that You are already working in the hearts 21:45 of the people that we've prayed for over these past ten days. 21:55 Father, thank You simply for hearing our prayer. 21:59 And thank You just for setting up 22:05 this opportunity of communing with You, 22:11 of conversing with You. 22:14 We want to just take a moment to hear from You. 22:18 So speak to Your children. 22:20 Speak to those that are watching. 23:31 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine; 23:39 O what a foretaste of glory divine. 23:48 Heir of salvation, purchase of God; 23:56 Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. 24:04 This is my story, this is my song; 24:13 Praising my Savior all the day long. 24:21 This is my story, this is my song; 24:30 Praising my Savior all the day long. 24:40 Perfect submission, all is at rest; 24:48 I, in my Savior, am happy and blessed. 24:56 Watching and waiting, looking above; 25:03 Filled with His goodness, lost in His love. 25:12 This is my story, this is my song; 25:21 Praising my Savior all the day long. 25:30 This is my story, this is my song; 25:39 Praising my Savior all the day long. 25:46 Sing that with me again. 25:48 This is my story, this is my song; 25:57 Praising my Savior all the day long. 26:05 This is my story, this is my song; 26:14 Praising my Savior all the day long. 26:30 I'm praising my Savior 26:37 all the day long. 26:43 And remember, when you are praising your Savior 26:46 all the day long, you don't have time to 26:49 hold on to the... 26:52 ...the regrets of the past, the bitterness that 26:58 you may feel towards someone for something 27:01 they did to you in the past. 27:05 Because when you praise Him, I like to see 27:08 myself as praising Him with open hands, 27:12 with hands lifted up to heaven. 27:14 And I can't hold onto anything that way. 27:18 Because it just slides right off. 27:22 So keep that mindset of praising Him all the day long. 27:32 If you've been wronged by your brother, 27:34 go to him, go to her. 27:37 If you've wronged someone, go to them and make it right... 27:44 ...so that you can get rid of that 27:46 and move on with your walk in Christ. 27:50 Praising the Savior all the day long. 27:53 Psalm 27:10 says, "When my father and my mother 27:56 forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me." 28:02 He wants to be a Father and a mother to the orphan. 28:09 And Romans 8:31 says, "What then shall we say to these things? 28:14 If God be for us, who can be against us?" 28:19 That's a wonderful promise, right? 28:21 "If God be for us, who can be against us?" 28:28 That's going to be on my lips 28:31 throughout the rest of this evening. 28:36 I invite you to tune in tomorrow as we offer up 28:39 praise to God for hearing our prayers 28:42 and for the mighty answers He has given us 28:44 and will continue to give us in His own time. 28:47 So yes, there is a day eleven in the ten days of prayer. 28:53 But in that program, we'll be singing and sharing promises 28:58 from God's Word, and we'd love for you to join us, join me. 29:04 I'll also be sharing a challenge from the ten days of prayer: 29:09 ways that you can share your faith now that these ten days 29:14 are finished. 29:17 I continue to encourage you to pray on, 29:24 to tell someone about Jesus. 29:26 Tell someone that you love them. |
Revised 2019-03-19