Hello and welcome
to, Pillars of Faith.
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Pillars of Faith.
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This is a program that
we rejoice to bring to you
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from Three Angels
Broadcasting Network,
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coming to you
from the Thompsonville
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Seventh-day Adventist Church
and the 3ABN Worship Center.
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We are pleased to
bring you this series
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with one of our
speakers, Pastor C.A. Murray,
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whom you well know is
the General Manager for our
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Proclaim
television channel on 3ABN;
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family of networks
and family of channels.
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Pastor C.A. Murray is
presenting the series,
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Walk This Way.
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And I'm sure you
have been blessed to hear
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each and every sermon thus far.
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We have heard
number one, Stay This way,
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The Wise Way, Pray This Way,
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and Be This Way.
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During this hour you
will hear the message,
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Better Than A Known Way.
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Pastor C.A. Murray is a
person that I appreciate
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and know that he is
a person that prepares,
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studies and prays, and
asks the Lord to use him,
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because he is a
servant of the Lord.
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And as a matter of fact,
he has been serving the Lord
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for many years
as a leader in the
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Seventh-day Adventist
Church in different positions,
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and finally coming here to
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Three Angels
Broadcasting Network
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to reach more
people for Jesus Christ
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through the
medium of television.
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And before we begin, we'd like
to go to the Lord in prayer.
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I ask you to join
me wherever you may be.
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And we want to ask
for the Lord's blessing
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because we want to hear
a message from the Lord.
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And at this moment let
us join in prayer together.
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Our loving heavenly
Father, we thank You so much
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for this opportunity, Lord,
to hear a message from heaven.
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And we thank You for the
servant that You have chosen
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to bring this message to us.
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We pray that You will
use him in a mighty way.
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Bless him with the Holy Spirit.
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Give him the words
from Thy throne of grace
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that will reach the
hearts of Your children
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all over the world.
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And we pray that as we
are together, it will be
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that we know that we have been
in the presence of the Lord.
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We thank You, Lord
for hearing our prayer,
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for we ask it in the
mighty and wonderful name
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of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ.
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Amen, amen.
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Well at this moment,
it is my pleasure to ask
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Pastor C.A.
Murray to come forward
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and present the
message for this hour.
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May God bless each
and every one of you.
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Thank you Pastor Dinzey.
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And I appreciate
those kind words.
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We want to take a
look at the message,
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Safer Than A Known Way.
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I also have it
written down here as,
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Better Than A Known Way.
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But in looking at the poem,
it is, Safer Than A Known Way.
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I want to just go back
and recap just a little bit
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before we move forward.
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And with your kind permission,
we will pray just once again.
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Gracious Father,
speak now to Your servant
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so that the people
may hear Your words.
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And we Thank You,
Father. In Jesus name, Amen.
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Our first message
was, Stay This Way.
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We took a look at
Paul's letter to the Hebrews,
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actually Hebrew Christians,
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who were considering returning
back to the Hebrew faith.
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And that is why Paul
begins his letter with a
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very strong apologetic.
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He says, "God, who at various
times and in various ways,
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spoke to our fathers by
the prophets in times past
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now in these latter days speaks
to us through Jesus Christ."
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And that sets the
stage for a lengthy letter
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of pedigree and apologetic
where Paul is trying to tell
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the Hebrew Christians, to
inform them, to encourage them,
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to stay in the way
that you are going.
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You don't want to return back.
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You don't want to
go back to the old way.
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You want to continue
to walk in this new way.
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And that is why we
called it, Stay This Way.
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Because Paul was telling them,
"The way that you have found,
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the way of the Lord, the
way as outlined by Jesus Christ,
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is the correct way.
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You don't want to
go back to the old way.
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Stay this way."
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Then our second
message was, The Wise Way.
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That was John's
gospel as outlined in,
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The Gospel of Saint John.
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John was doing to
the second generation
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after the death of Christ
pretty much what Paul was doing
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to the Hebrew Christians.
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The audience that
John was addressing
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did not have the
opportunity to know Christ.
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They had not seen
or heard Him directly.
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They were around, or
came into being, or were born
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after Christ had died.
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And so John's audience
was that second generation
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of Christians who were
living towards the close of the
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first century whom he
was trying to convince again
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that the power of
Christ was made manifest.
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And even though you didn't
get a chance to talk to Jesus,
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or have Christ
lay His hands on you,
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or you didn't get a chance
to speak directly to Jesus,
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the word of
Christ is as powerful
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as the presence of Christ.
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And that's why he begins
his gospel the way he does.
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He's having them to know
that even though you didn't have
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the privilege, as did
some, of walking with Him
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those three and a half
years, the word of Christ
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through the power of the
Holy Spirit is as effectual,
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is as powerful, as
being there with Christ.
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And that's why we see
in John, as we mentioned,
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the touchless Jesus.
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We see a series of
miracles in the book of John,
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that are only there in
John, where Christ heals
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without touching.
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Matthew, Mark, Luke; the
vast majority of those miracles
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are miracles where
Christ is in the presence
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of the person
who is being healed
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where He lays His hands on
the person who is being healed.
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He makes some sort
of physical contact
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with the person
who is being healed.
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Not so in the book of John.
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The persons being
healed in the book of John
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are done so at
the word of Jesus.
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They're done so divorced
from the presence of Jesus.
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And as I said, I think
John did that specifically
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to let that second
generation know that even though
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you didn't get to see Him,
you didn't get to touch Him,
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you didn't get to talk with
Him, the word is as powerful.
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Those who were with Him
have no advantage on you
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because the word is as
powerful as the presence.
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And that was John's burden.
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So he and Paul had parallel
objectives in their writing.
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And that was to
stabilize the new church
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and to get people
to understand that God,
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through the
presence of the Holy Spirit,
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through the power of
His word, is just as present
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and as powerful as when
Christ walked this earth.
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And of course, that
message is good for us today
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some 2000 years removed from
the presence of Jesus Christ.
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We can know also that
the power is in the Word,
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the power is in the Spirit.
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And it's just like having
Christ here when you've got the
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Spirit of God and
you've got the Word of God.
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Then we moved on
to, Pray This Way.
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We looked at the model prayer.
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The disciples asked
Jesus, "Teach us to pray,"
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and He outlined the model prayer
which we call the Lord's prayer.
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And we parsed that prayer.
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We looked at each
segment of that prayer
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and what it had to say for us.
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And then we talked
about the prerequisites
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of having your prayer heard.
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"He that cometh unto God
must believe that He is,"
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from the book of Hebrew,
"and that He is a rewarder
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of those who
diligently seek Him."
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There are
prerequisites to prayer.
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Another one of
those prerequisites is,
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"He that turneth away his ear
from hearing the commandments,
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even his prayer
shall be an abomination,"
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from Proverbs 28:9.
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So you have to have a
willingness to do what
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you know is right
before you even ask God
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to bless you or
to hear your prayer.
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So we talked
about the prerequisites.
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And then we spent a
little time telling you that
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after you do all the
talking, you need to be silent
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and listen to Jesus.
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Because Jesus has
much to say to you also.
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So don't just
talk and then leave.
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Talk and then listen.
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And then ask for what you want.
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But listen to
what God has to say.
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Do not make your
prayers just a shopping list,
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but take the time to
praise Him and to thank Him
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for His goodness to you.
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So, Pray This Way.
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Then we talked
about, Be This Way.
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And the focus of that particular
message was gratitude.
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God's people
ought to have gratitude.
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It's part of your
Christian discipline.
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Be gracious, have
gratitude for those things
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that Christ has done for you,
with you, to you, through you.
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And it makes your
Christian life sweeter.
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And ingratitude
actually separates us from God.
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And the reason I believe
that some people don't get
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more blessings is because
they don't show gratitude
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for the blessings
that they have received.
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And if you don't praise
the Lord and are not thankful
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for what you've got,
why would God be in behest
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to give you more?
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So we need to have
gratitude for the blessings
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that God has given us.
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So that's, Stay
This Way, The Wise Way,
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Pray This Way, Be This Way.
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And now, Safer Than A Known Way.
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"And I said to the man who
stood at the gate of the year,
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'Give me a light that I may
tread safely into the unknown.'
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And he replied, 'Go
out into the darkness
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and put your hand
in the hand of God.
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That shall be to
you better than light
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and safer than a known way.'
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So I went forth and,
finding the hand of God,
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trod gladly into the night.
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And He led me toward the hills
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and the breaking of
day in the lone East.
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So, heart, be still.
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What need our little
life, our human life, to know
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if God hath comprehension?
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In all the dizzy strife,
of things both high and low,
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God hideth His intention.
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God knows. His will is best.
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The stretch of
years which wind ahead
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so dim to our imperfect
vision are clear to God.
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Our fears are premature;
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in Him all time
hath full provision.
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Then rest until God
moves to lift the veil
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from our impatient eyes.
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When, as the sweeter features
of Life's stern face we hail
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fair beyond all surmise, God's
thought around His creatures
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our mind shall fill."
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A very powerful
and spiritual poem.
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It was written some years ago.
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And it has become,
and is considered to be,
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one of the most famous poems,
and the most spiritual poems,
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every produced in the
country of Great Britain.
00:13:04.45\00:13:08.65
It has been
called by various names.
00:13:10.49\00:13:13.39
The author, Minnie Haskins,
called it, The Gate of the Year.
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And then she
called it, God Knows.
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But somehow, The
Gate of the Year, stuck.
00:13:27.94\00:13:31.11
Then others have called
it, Safer Than A Known Way.
00:13:32.11\00:13:37.55
But on Christmas day in 1939,
King George VI of Great Britain
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gave a brief but crucially
important radio address.
00:13:48.79\00:13:54.33
This address, and the
drama that surrounded it,
00:13:55.76\00:14:00.14
was the subject of a
movie that was produced in 2011.
00:14:00.54\00:14:05.27
The movie was
called, The King's Speech.
00:14:06.17\00:14:09.34
In it, George VI quoted this
poem by Minnie Louise Haskins.
00:14:10.25\00:14:18.95
It was called, The Gate
of the Year, at that time.
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It was written in 1908 and
secretly published in 1912.
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This poem, as I said before,
was considered one of the most
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spiritual poems ever
produced in Great Britain.
00:14:37.34\00:14:41.04
The poem was widely
acclaimed as inspirational,
00:14:44.38\00:14:48.15
reaching its first mass
audience in the early days
00:14:48.25\00:14:51.69
of the second world war.
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And I said before,
on Christmas day 1939,
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King George VI, who was not a
public speaker by any stretch,
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and a stutterer, read
this poem over the radio
00:15:04.40\00:15:09.10
to the British empire.
00:15:09.60\00:15:11.97
The poem was brought to the
king's attention by his wife,
00:15:13.64\00:15:16.21
Queen Elizabeth,
the queen consort.
00:15:16.24\00:15:18.85
The poem was widely acclaimed,
as I said, as inspirational,
00:15:19.75\00:15:22.98
reaching a mass
audience in the early days
00:15:23.02\00:15:25.25
of the second world war.
00:15:25.29\00:15:26.72
Its words remained a
source of comfort for the Queen
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for the rest of her life,
and she had its words engraved
00:15:30.33\00:15:35.40
on stone plaques
and fixed to the gates
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of the King
George VI Memorial Chapel
00:15:39.30\00:15:42.60
at Windsor Castle
where the King was interred.
00:15:42.64\00:15:47.14
Queen Elizabeth,
that is the Queen Mother,
00:15:47.64\00:15:49.94
was also buried here in 2002,
00:15:49.98\00:15:53.01
and the words of, The
Gate of the Year, were included
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in a reflection in her
funeral order of service.
00:15:58.65\00:16:02.56
The poem has been
included in many movies,
00:16:04.23\00:16:07.26
and remains one of the
most inspirational words
00:16:07.60\00:16:12.87
ever written in the
country of Great Britain.
00:16:12.90\00:16:17.51
It is indeed a powerful,
powerful, powerful message.
00:16:19.74\00:16:24.88
And the strength of
this poem can be seen
00:16:26.72\00:16:29.88
at the very beginning.
00:16:29.92\00:16:31.25
"And I said to the man who
stood at the gate of the year,
00:16:32.12\00:16:34.19
'Give me a light that I may
tread safely into the unknown.'
00:16:34.22\00:16:38.96
And he replied, 'Go
out into the darkness
00:16:38.99\00:16:41.56
and put your hand
into the hand of God.
00:16:42.10\00:16:44.13
For that shall be to
you better than light
00:16:44.73\00:16:48.84
and safer than a known way.'"
00:16:49.57\00:16:54.61
So the traveler
asked for a light
00:16:55.24\00:16:57.18
because he didn't want
to stumble in the darkness.
00:16:57.21\00:17:00.15
He wanted to know
where he was going
00:17:02.05\00:17:03.75
and what he was going
to face in the coming year.
00:17:04.19\00:17:07.96
The traveler was instructed
to take hold of the hand of God,
00:17:09.22\00:17:14.83
to trust Him.
00:17:15.36\00:17:16.87
For the hand of God
will be better than a light
00:17:17.23\00:17:21.00
and safer than a known way.
00:17:21.57\00:17:25.54
And on that December
25th of 1939, when the Nazi's
00:17:26.54\00:17:32.98
were about to
attack Great Britain
00:17:33.48\00:17:36.62
and the foot of Nazi Germany
was about to be put on the
00:17:37.39\00:17:40.86
neck of the British Isles,
and Britain would be plunged
00:17:40.89\00:17:45.09
into a war of unimagined horror,
the king, who by no means
00:17:45.13\00:17:52.80
was a great
speaker, unsure of himself,
00:17:52.83\00:17:55.90
and as I said, a stutterer,
not the strongest and most
00:17:56.30\00:18:00.84
authoritative of
voices, summoned the words
00:18:00.88\00:18:04.68
of wisdom and truth.
00:18:04.71\00:18:06.51
"Take hold," he said to his
people, "of the hand of God.
00:18:07.15\00:18:11.82
And it shall be
better than a light
00:18:12.32\00:18:14.99
and safer than a known way."
00:18:16.32\00:18:20.03
England, over the next
several years, was bloodied,
00:18:20.96\00:18:23.43
bruised, but never bowed.
00:18:23.47\00:18:25.87
And many credited
their resiliency to the words
00:18:26.33\00:18:31.27
of the king that night in 1939.
00:18:31.31\00:18:36.91
When your hand is
locked in God's hand,
00:18:37.78\00:18:41.88
it is better than light
and safer than a known way.
00:18:42.18\00:18:49.16
In the late 1800's, a black
Seventh-day Adventist Preacher
00:18:49.82\00:18:55.40
was returning home late
one night from a Bible study
00:18:56.16\00:19:01.20
in the deep south.
00:19:01.54\00:19:03.14
It was dark and he was alone.
00:19:04.07\00:19:07.38
Not a real smart
move back in the 1800's.
00:19:08.58\00:19:12.71
Particularly in the old south.
00:19:14.12\00:19:16.32
First, he was black.
00:19:17.19\00:19:19.39
Secondly, he was preaching
and teaching a new and strange
00:19:20.16\00:19:24.39
doctrine about
worship on the seventh day.
00:19:24.43\00:19:28.90
Sure enough, a
racist group followed him
00:19:29.70\00:19:33.23
for many blocks.
00:19:33.27\00:19:34.64
But eventually
that group dispersed;
00:19:35.20\00:19:38.24
never touching,
harming, or even speaking
00:19:38.44\00:19:43.48
to the preacher.
00:19:43.75\00:19:45.08
Sometime during the following
days, one of those young men
00:19:46.01\00:19:55.32
approached the
pastor and informed him
00:19:55.36\00:19:59.09
of their intentions.
00:19:59.36\00:20:01.56
He told him that, "We had
intended to do you serious
00:20:03.03\00:20:07.74
bodily harm, or
maybe even kill you."
00:20:07.77\00:20:11.21
He told the pastor that, "We had
pledged to hurt you that night.
00:20:12.21\00:20:15.44
We had pledged to do
whatever was necessary
00:20:15.48\00:20:18.18
to stop you from
preaching this new doctrine.
00:20:18.21\00:20:22.68
But we couldn't get near
you because of the group of
00:20:25.62\00:20:29.59
tall strong white men
that had surrounded you.
00:20:29.62\00:20:35.36
Who were those men," he asked.
00:20:36.53\00:20:39.63
"We have never seen
such big strong men.
00:20:40.24\00:20:44.61
And they were all around you.
00:20:45.04\00:20:47.18
And we followed
you for several blocks.
00:20:47.74\00:20:50.65
We kept after you,
but we could not get close
00:20:51.51\00:20:55.82
because of this cordon of
men that were around you."
00:20:56.02\00:21:00.66
The astonished preacher
said, "There was no one with me
00:21:01.56\00:21:07.60
that night or any night.
00:21:07.63\00:21:10.47
I always walk home alone."
00:21:11.20\00:21:15.14
It was at that
moment that both the pastor
00:21:16.77\00:21:21.18
and his pursuer
realized the power of that text
00:21:21.88\00:21:27.38
in Psalm 34:7.
00:21:28.05\00:21:30.25
"The angel of the LORD
encampeth round about him
00:21:30.49\00:21:34.02
that fears him,
and delivers him."
00:21:34.42\00:21:38.59
For the hand of the
Lord is better than light
00:21:39.59\00:21:43.53
and safer than a known way.
00:21:44.07\00:21:47.20
This poem is trying to
say, among other things, that
00:21:48.04\00:21:51.34
God takes care of His own.
00:21:52.07\00:21:54.54
God protects those who love Him.
00:21:55.58\00:21:58.88
And the hand of the Lord
is better than a flashlight
00:21:59.41\00:22:02.65
or a candle in the darkness
and safer than a known way.
00:22:02.68\00:22:07.46
In Acts 2:28 the Bible
says, "You have taught me
00:22:07.49\00:22:12.13
the way to life; and being with
You fills with joy my heart."
00:22:12.16\00:22:21.24
And that comes
from the Clear Word.
00:22:22.64\00:22:25.24
A pastor, teacher, and friend
of mine, Elder C.E. Moseley,
00:22:26.94\00:22:30.05
tells a similar story.
00:22:30.08\00:22:31.95
Elder Moseley says one night
he was giving a Bible study.
00:22:32.71\00:22:35.38
And the person was somewhat
hesitant about accepting
00:22:36.08\00:22:40.76
the new faith.
00:22:40.79\00:22:42.12
He was just a little reticent
to give up Sunday keeping
00:22:42.59\00:22:48.10
for Sabbath keeping, and
some of the other truths.
00:22:48.13\00:22:50.57
And so Elder Moseley
labored with that man.
00:22:50.60\00:22:52.93
He was a young
student at the time.
00:22:52.97\00:22:54.54
Labored with him and
labored with his family
00:22:55.04\00:22:56.91
till late in the evening.
00:22:56.94\00:22:58.61
And it just so happened
that he was there so late
00:22:59.21\00:23:03.81
that he missed his
trolley to go back to his dorm
00:23:04.35\00:23:08.75
back at school.
00:23:08.78\00:23:10.12
It was cold. It was in Michigan.
00:23:10.92\00:23:13.56
And when he got to the
trolley stop, he saw the trolley
00:23:14.12\00:23:18.29
just heading around the corner.
00:23:18.53\00:23:20.16
And so he ran as fast
as he can to catch up,
00:23:20.20\00:23:22.56
wouldn't make it, and
as he got to that corner,
00:23:22.76\00:23:25.03
he saw it heading
around the other corner.
00:23:25.07\00:23:26.84
And he realized that in
the cold of a January winter
00:23:26.94\00:23:30.57
in Michigan, he would
have to walk all the way
00:23:30.81\00:23:34.81
back home to his dorm.
00:23:34.84\00:23:36.48
The prospect did not thrill him.
00:23:37.55\00:23:39.31
It was very
cold, it was snowing.
00:23:39.35\00:23:41.25
And he was not really
prepared for the cold.
00:23:41.52\00:23:45.35
And C.E. Moseley tells us
that there pulled up next to him
00:23:46.69\00:23:50.59
a large black limousine.
00:23:51.03\00:23:53.36
The window rolled down.
00:23:54.46\00:23:55.96
He said, "I could not see
clearly who was in there."
00:23:56.36\00:23:59.80
But the man said, "Hey
young man, would you like
00:24:00.57\00:24:04.44
a ride back to school?"
00:24:04.47\00:24:06.47
And he said, "Oh yes I would."
00:24:07.08\00:24:09.54
He got in the back of the car,
and it was one of those cars,
00:24:10.05\00:24:12.31
those limousines,
that has a partition
00:24:12.35\00:24:14.58
between the
passenger's part of the car
00:24:14.75\00:24:20.42
and the front of the car.
00:24:20.46\00:24:21.79
So he could not see
through to see who the men were,
00:24:21.82\00:24:25.36
but he heard them talking.
00:24:25.56\00:24:27.13
And he could not
make out the exact words,
00:24:27.50\00:24:29.83
but he heard them discussing.
00:24:29.86\00:24:31.30
And Elder Moseley says they took
him right to the front steps
00:24:32.13\00:24:37.41
of his dorm.
00:24:37.44\00:24:38.77
And C.E. Moseley was so
anxious to get into the dorm
00:24:39.64\00:24:45.01
before curfew that
he got out of the car
00:24:45.05\00:24:49.08
and dashed up the stairs.
00:24:49.12\00:24:51.09
When he got to the top
of the stairs he realized
00:24:52.25\00:24:54.52
he had forgotten
to say, "Thank you."
00:24:54.72\00:24:56.96
When he turned
around, C.E. Mosley tells us
00:24:57.63\00:25:01.30
the car was gone.
00:25:01.63\00:25:03.00
Not only was the car
gone, but there were no tracks
00:25:03.70\00:25:07.57
in the snow.
00:25:07.60\00:25:08.94
Nor did he hear an
engine as the car left.
00:25:09.54\00:25:12.94
And Elder Moseley
told us in class that day
00:25:13.71\00:25:16.21
that he believed that
he had just been visited
00:25:16.41\00:25:19.65
and assisted by an angel.
00:25:19.85\00:25:22.42
Or actually a couple of angels.
00:25:22.78\00:25:25.39
He said there's no way
that car could have gotten
00:25:26.62\00:25:29.16
that far from him just going
up one, two, three, four, five
00:25:29.29\00:25:32.89
stairs and turning around.
00:25:32.93\00:25:34.26
He should have heard
the car, or seen the car,
00:25:34.30\00:25:36.77
or there should have been tracks
in the freshly fallen snow.
00:25:36.80\00:25:40.84
There were none of these.
00:25:40.87\00:25:42.20
And so he had to
admit to himself that,
00:25:42.64\00:25:45.24
"I have just been
assisted by an angel."
00:25:45.27\00:25:48.08
I say to you again, when you put
your hand in the hand of God,
00:25:48.11\00:25:52.38
it's better than a light
and safer than a known way.
00:25:53.01\00:25:59.05
The Bible says
in Jeremiah 32:37,
00:26:01.19\00:26:05.63
"The Lord says, 'I will cause
Jerusalem to dwell in safety.'"
00:26:06.26\00:26:12.87
That's God's
promise to His people.
00:26:13.57\00:26:17.14
Psalms 4:8, "It is the Lord only
that maketh me dwell in safety."
00:26:19.77\00:26:26.18
The Clear Word says,
and I like this rendition,
00:26:26.21\00:26:29.48
"At night I will sleep
in peace because the Lord
00:26:29.98\00:26:35.42
watches over me
and keeps me safe."
00:26:35.46\00:26:39.96
You see, what this
poem is trying to intone is,
00:26:40.76\00:26:43.30
even though you don't know
what's going to happen tomorrow,
00:26:43.33\00:26:46.03
you don't know what's
going to happen next week,
00:26:46.13\00:26:47.90
if you put your
hand in the hand of God,
00:26:48.24\00:26:51.37
your safety is guaranteed,
your security is guaranteed.
00:26:51.74\00:26:58.45
Because God
takes care of His own.
00:26:58.78\00:27:02.08
"It is the Lord," Psalms
says, "and the Lord only,
00:27:02.12\00:27:06.65
that maketh me dwell in safety."
00:27:06.69\00:27:10.53
"And at night I will
sleep in peace because the Lord
00:27:10.99\00:27:15.56
watches over me
and keeps me safe."
00:27:15.60\00:27:20.17
Better than a light,
safer than a known way.
00:27:20.57\00:27:25.01
Let's look at the reverse
of this particular mindset.
00:27:25.61\00:27:29.64
Let's go to the
book of Saint Peter.
00:27:29.81\00:27:31.61
Or rather the book of Peter.
00:27:31.65\00:27:32.98
2 Peter 2, I want
to look at verse 18.
00:27:33.01\00:27:40.96
2 Peter 2, and we will
consider 18 through 22.
00:27:41.62\00:27:48.83
2 Peter 2:18-22
00:27:49.06\00:27:52.77
I'm in the book of 2 Peter 2,
00:27:52.80\00:27:54.47
and I'm picking up
the reading at verse 18.
00:27:54.50\00:27:59.24
The Bible says, "For when
they speak great swelling words
00:28:06.28\00:28:10.79
of emptiness, they allure
through the lusts of the flesh,
00:28:10.82\00:28:17.83
through lewdness, the
ones who have actually escaped
00:28:18.36\00:28:22.56
from those who live in error.
00:28:22.60\00:28:25.60
While they promise them
liberty, they themselves
00:28:26.20\00:28:29.14
are slaves of corruption; for
by whom a person is overcome,
00:28:29.17\00:28:33.48
by him also he is
brought into bondage.
00:28:33.51\00:28:36.38
For if, after they have escaped
the pollutions of the world
00:28:39.95\00:28:44.99
through the knowledge of the
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
00:28:45.29\00:28:50.39
they are again
entangled in them and overcome,
00:28:50.43\00:28:54.36
the latter end is worse
for them than the beginning.
00:28:54.63\00:28:57.93
For it would have been better
for them not to have known
00:28:58.73\00:29:02.10
the way of righteousness
than, having known it,
00:29:02.14\00:29:04.51
to turn from the holy
commandment delivered to them.
00:29:04.54\00:29:07.58
But it has happened to them
according to the true proverb,
00:29:07.91\00:29:13.28
'A dog returns
to his own vomit,'
00:29:13.65\00:29:15.62
and, 'the sow, having washed,
to her wallowing in the mire.'"
00:29:15.92\00:29:20.99
Isn't it interesting to
note how many Bible authors,
00:29:23.12\00:29:29.16
particularly New
Testament authors,
00:29:29.26\00:29:32.43
have touched on this same point?
00:29:33.90\00:29:36.17
In the early days of the church,
each have returned and repaired
00:29:37.44\00:29:41.51
to this same theme.
00:29:41.54\00:29:42.88
We looked at it in Hebrews,
we saw it again in John,
00:29:42.91\00:29:49.38
we saw a bit of it in James,
we see it now again in Peter;
00:29:49.82\00:29:54.96
this idea of staying in the
way that God has placed you.
00:29:55.16\00:30:02.20
Not returning back,
not turning to the side,
00:30:02.73\00:30:06.27
but staying in the way.
00:30:06.43\00:30:08.54
You see, the Christian
way is not a familiar way.
00:30:09.00\00:30:13.58
Was not a familiar way.
00:30:13.94\00:30:15.61
And the old way, the
Hebrew way, the Jewish way,
00:30:16.11\00:30:19.51
for many was the known way.
00:30:19.68\00:30:22.32
That was the way that they
were accustomed to traveling.
00:30:22.85\00:30:29.72
And for many, the
Christian way was a new way,
00:30:30.46\00:30:32.73
an uncertain way, a
way fraught with danger.
00:30:32.76\00:30:35.46
A way that they
were not sure of,
00:30:35.50\00:30:37.57
nor were they comfortable in.
00:30:37.73\00:30:40.00
And yet, they were
called to that way.
00:30:40.04\00:30:43.07
And so Paul says to the
Hebrews, "Stay in that way.
00:30:43.10\00:30:46.54
Keep in that way."
00:30:46.64\00:30:47.98
John says, "Keep in that way."
00:30:48.08\00:30:49.88
And now Peter says, if
you go back from that way,
00:30:49.91\00:30:52.85
it's like a dog going
back to vomit or a sow,
00:30:53.05\00:30:56.48
a pig, going back to the mud.
00:30:56.52\00:30:59.99
This following of the
risen Carpenter from Galilee
00:31:02.52\00:31:06.06
is better than anything
you've ever done before.
00:31:06.33\00:31:10.17
That's the message that
Peter is trying to say here.
00:31:10.37\00:31:13.20
Don't be deceived
by the false teachers.
00:31:13.30\00:31:16.07
Stay in the way.
00:31:16.27\00:31:19.31
Say you're
driving down a highway.
00:31:21.08\00:31:23.04
You're on an unfamiliar highway.
00:31:25.91\00:31:28.12
How is that better
than driving on a road that
00:31:29.45\00:31:32.32
you travel six or
seven days a week?
00:31:32.35\00:31:34.66
The answer is one word.
00:31:35.79\00:31:37.56
And that's Jesus.
00:31:38.09\00:31:39.43
Jesus leading the way
makes every way a safe way.
00:31:40.56\00:31:47.54
And Peter takes his
counsel one giant step further.
00:31:48.17\00:31:53.71
Peter affirms that it
would be better not to have ever
00:31:54.28\00:31:59.48
begun the trip than to
get on the road and turn back.
00:31:59.75\00:32:06.69
Peter is saying, once
you start following Jesus,
00:32:07.09\00:32:10.79
stay with Jesus.
00:32:10.83\00:32:12.89
And to go back, he
says, is like a dog
00:32:15.76\00:32:19.20
returning to its
vomit, or a sow, having washed
00:32:19.23\00:32:23.44
and becoming clean,
just going back to the mud.
00:32:23.64\00:32:27.38
Peter is letting us know and is,
I don't want to say scolding us,
00:32:29.04\00:32:33.05
but certainly encouraging
us, once you find the way
00:32:33.08\00:32:37.49
of
righteousness, walk in that way
00:32:37.52\00:32:41.32
and do not allow yourself
to be tempted or seduced
00:32:41.66\00:32:46.19
into going back to the old way.
00:32:46.59\00:32:49.80
Don't let the false teachers,
don't let the false preachers,
00:32:50.17\00:32:53.23
seduce you into
going back to the old ways.
00:32:53.47\00:32:55.44
Stay with Jesus.
00:32:55.47\00:32:57.34
Which is why, brothers and
sisters, we ought to question
00:32:57.37\00:32:59.41
everything you hear in
this pulpit or any other pulpit.
00:32:59.44\00:33:01.98
The Bible says those in
Berea were more noble than
00:33:02.01\00:33:05.61
those in Thessalonica,
because after they had heard
00:33:05.65\00:33:08.78
the word preached,
they searched for themselves
00:33:08.82\00:33:11.22
to see if these things are true.
00:33:11.25\00:33:13.49
And I commend you, and
any preacher worth his salt
00:33:14.02\00:33:16.42
will say, "Check these
things out for yourself."
00:33:16.93\00:33:20.60
Become a student of the Word.
00:33:22.13\00:33:23.47
Don't just go to any church,
this church or any church,
00:33:23.50\00:33:26.80
and just accept wholeheartedly,
willy-nilly, without research,
00:33:27.04\00:33:31.64
without intelligent inquiry
into the things you hear.
00:33:31.67\00:33:34.91
Check it out for yourself.
00:33:35.14\00:33:37.31
Become a student of
the Bible for yourself.
00:33:37.71\00:33:40.42
Don't just listen and follow.
00:33:40.65\00:33:42.28
Listen and search and follow.
00:33:42.42\00:33:44.85
And if these things be
true, and if they be righteous,
00:33:44.89\00:33:47.52
then follow the
Word of the Lord.
00:33:47.56\00:33:50.86
Peter also says,
"When you go back,
00:33:52.06\00:33:56.06
you'll be worse off in the end
than you were in the beginning."
00:33:56.97\00:34:03.14
It's a powerful sentiment.
00:34:04.71\00:34:06.07
When you step back
from following the Lord,
00:34:06.47\00:34:09.18
you usually end up worse
than you were when you began.
00:34:10.91\00:34:14.98
The Bible talks about
the devil getting kicked out
00:34:15.02\00:34:18.99
and the house
being swept and cleaned,
00:34:19.29\00:34:21.56
and varnished and polished.
00:34:21.59\00:34:23.73
And then the devil comes in
and he sees this empty house,
00:34:24.09\00:34:26.59
and he breaks in and takes
seven other devils with him.
00:34:27.03\00:34:30.67
And the last state of
the man is worse than it was
00:34:30.70\00:34:34.80
when he began.
00:34:34.84\00:34:36.17
I've found, and most
Bible students have found also,
00:34:36.20\00:34:39.47
most of those who are
following the Lord have found
00:34:39.51\00:34:42.01
that when a person gives
up on God, lets go of God,
00:34:42.04\00:34:46.41
separates himself from God, the
pendulum swings far to the left
00:34:46.95\00:34:51.85
and they become far
worse than they ever were
00:34:52.09\00:34:54.32
when they began.
00:34:54.62\00:34:56.49
Isn't it interesting that
Peter follows up this counsel
00:34:56.52\00:35:01.23
with some great encouragement?
00:35:01.86\00:35:03.53
I'm in 2 Peter 3.
00:35:03.93\00:35:08.07
And I want to go to verse 9.
00:35:08.27\00:35:15.14
2 Peter 3:9
00:35:15.34\00:35:18.81
In fact, I think
I'll go back to verse 8.
00:35:20.18\00:35:21.98
"But, beloved, do not
forget this one thing,
00:35:24.49\00:35:28.39
that with the Lord one
day is as a thousand years,
00:35:28.86\00:35:32.26
and a thousand
years as one day."
00:35:32.29\00:35:34.30
So God is saying
through Peter right there,
00:35:34.86\00:35:37.53
"Don't let the
lapse of time throw you.
00:35:37.83\00:35:41.17
Because it's all
relative with the Lord."
00:35:41.74\00:35:45.17
And the reason he says
that is because of the promise
00:35:46.11\00:35:48.01
that's coming right now.
00:35:48.04\00:35:49.58
2 Peter 3:9
00:35:49.98\00:35:51.61
"For the Lord is not
slack concerning His promise,
00:35:52.11\00:35:56.12
as some count slackness,
but is long suffering toward us,
00:35:56.32\00:36:02.19
not willing that any
should perish but that all
00:36:02.82\00:36:06.53
should come to repentance."
00:36:06.56\00:36:08.56
Now you notice that
Peter puts this particular
00:36:08.60\00:36:13.03
word of encouragement just
after he begins to talk about
00:36:13.07\00:36:17.91
heading back to the
old days and the old ways.
00:36:19.84\00:36:22.34
What he's trying to say
here is that those of you
00:36:22.38\00:36:25.68
who have begun a
good walk with Jesus,
00:36:25.71\00:36:27.55
you've begun to walk in the
way, even though it may seem
00:36:27.58\00:36:32.69
that the promises of God
are delayed, stay with Him.
00:36:33.29\00:36:39.09
"For the Lord is not
slack," or the Greek says slow,
00:36:39.53\00:36:44.23
or dilettante,
"concerning His promises."
00:36:45.10\00:36:48.64
In fact, God is diligent.
00:36:48.67\00:36:52.21
And that's why it
is better than a light
00:36:53.27\00:36:57.91
and safer than a known way.
00:36:58.45\00:37:00.05
Trust God even when
you cannot trace God.
00:37:01.22\00:37:06.96
Even though you may not
know the way, Jesus does.
00:37:08.06\00:37:13.19
And He's walked that way before.
00:37:14.10\00:37:16.43
You know, I'm so glad
that there is nothing about us,
00:37:16.46\00:37:20.90
nothing we have gone through,
nothing we are going through,
00:37:21.90\00:37:27.11
nothing we will go
through, that is ever a shock
00:37:27.68\00:37:33.01
or surprise to Jesus.
00:37:33.28\00:37:35.42
I love that.
00:37:36.42\00:37:37.75
He's never
shocked, He's never chagrin,
00:37:37.95\00:37:40.99
He's never surprised.
00:37:41.29\00:37:42.62
You know, sometimes
in our lives we do things
00:37:42.76\00:37:47.06
that surprise us.
00:37:47.10\00:37:48.43
You ever have that?
00:37:49.10\00:37:50.43
You know, you get into a hot
situation and you do something,
00:37:50.47\00:37:54.30
or worse, say something,
something comes out of
00:37:54.34\00:37:58.71
your mouth, and you want to
say to yourself, "Was that me?
00:37:58.74\00:38:01.81
Did that come from me?
00:38:03.14\00:38:04.48
I can't believe I said that."
00:38:05.61\00:38:07.08
Well it was in
there and it came out.
00:38:08.32\00:38:10.12
So when we make mistakes,
00:38:11.82\00:38:13.86
what is interesting is
that Jesus is not surprised
00:38:17.03\00:38:23.26
because He knows you
better than you know yourself.
00:38:23.90\00:38:26.17
The devil is not surprised,
00:38:28.84\00:38:30.94
because he's the one
spurring you on to do that.
00:38:31.67\00:38:35.31
The only person
that is surprised is us.
00:38:36.88\00:38:40.15
God's not shocked,
the devil is not shocked,
00:38:41.45\00:38:43.82
and we are surprised.
00:38:44.39\00:38:45.72
"Did that come out
of me?" Yeah, it did.
00:38:45.75\00:38:47.22
Which is why you cannot
hope to defeat the enemy
00:38:48.42\00:38:52.29
without the power of Jesus.
00:38:52.96\00:38:55.53
Because the devil is stronger
than you, smarter than you,
00:38:56.26\00:39:00.17
wiser than you, been
around a lot longer than you.
00:39:00.20\00:39:03.57
So you're going to need somebody
who is stronger than him,
00:39:04.11\00:39:06.47
wise than him, and been
around a lot longer than him.
00:39:06.51\00:39:09.61
And that is
Jesus Christ, the Lord.
00:39:09.64\00:39:12.18
So even though the promises
seem to be slow in coming,
00:39:13.11\00:39:17.69
God is not slack
concerning His promises,
00:39:18.45\00:39:22.39
as some count slackness.
00:39:25.73\00:39:27.30
But He's long suffering...
00:39:28.20\00:39:29.53
That means He'll put
up with a lot of stuff.
00:39:29.56\00:39:31.17
...towards us because He's not
willing that any should perish.
00:39:31.67\00:39:37.54
And we can praise God for that.
00:39:38.81\00:39:40.14
But I've got to
touch on something before
00:39:40.18\00:39:41.51
my time gets away from me.
00:39:41.54\00:39:42.88
Let's go to Proverbs 16:25.
00:39:44.51\00:39:47.02
And if you want, you can
also go to Proverbs 14:12.
00:39:47.75\00:39:52.35
Because interesting enough,
they say the exact same thing.
00:39:52.39\00:39:56.79
I'm in Psalms... Proverbs 16:25.
00:39:56.83\00:40:05.80
Or you can go to 14:12, because
they say the exact same thing.
00:40:05.83\00:40:11.24
Now isn't it interesting
my Bible opens up to 14:12.
00:40:11.27\00:40:14.51
But I quoted 16:25. They
say the exact same thing.
00:40:16.48\00:40:19.75
Maybe God is trying
to tell us something
00:40:22.38\00:40:24.32
when He puts it
so close together
00:40:24.82\00:40:26.19
in the exact same words.
00:40:26.22\00:40:27.59
Proverbs 14:12,
I'm reading from.
00:40:27.79\00:40:29.89
"There is a way that
seems right to a man,
00:40:30.33\00:40:33.86
but the end is
the way of death."
00:40:34.20\00:40:37.73
Now unless you doubt me,
I'll go over to Proverbs 16:25.
00:40:38.53\00:40:42.60
For the Bible says, "There is
a way that seems right to a man,
00:40:44.74\00:40:49.54
but the end is
the way of death."
00:40:49.64\00:40:52.85
They say the exact same thing.
00:40:52.88\00:40:55.38
Twice Solomon writes
that from your vantage point
00:40:55.58\00:40:59.92
it all seems good,
it all makes sense,
00:41:00.39\00:41:03.83
it all seems right.
00:41:03.93\00:41:05.66
But it leads you away from God.
00:41:05.99\00:41:09.80
And Jesus says in John
that any road and every road
00:41:10.03\00:41:18.01
that takes you away from
Him leads to and ends in death.
00:41:18.21\00:41:24.41
So death, then, is
separation from God.
00:41:24.75\00:41:27.55
So there is a way that we
can walk that to our minds
00:41:27.58\00:41:31.22
seems right, it seems correct.
00:41:31.25\00:41:32.95
It seem intuitively correct.
00:41:32.99\00:41:35.49
But the Bible says it
will take you away from God.
00:41:36.02\00:41:39.36
And when you go away from God,
the ultimate result is death.
00:41:39.66\00:41:43.63
Here's a reading from,
Patriarchs and Prophets,
00:41:44.17\00:41:46.00
page 634.
00:41:46.03\00:41:47.37
Great reading from a
great book by a great author.
00:41:47.40\00:41:49.60
"In deciding upon any course..."
00:41:51.44\00:41:53.98
That is, what way you should go.
00:41:54.01\00:41:55.54
"...any course of action, we
are not to ask whether we can
00:41:56.38\00:42:01.12
see that harm
will result from it..."
00:42:01.15\00:42:04.75
In other words, if
you're deciding on what to do,
00:42:04.85\00:42:08.06
your first
question ought not be,
00:42:08.96\00:42:10.99
"Is this going to help me
or is this going to hurt me?
00:42:11.29\00:42:14.96
Will I profit from this,
will I be better from this,
00:42:15.46\00:42:19.27
or even worse?"
00:42:19.30\00:42:20.64
So then, what is the deciding
power or the deciding thing
00:42:20.67\00:42:24.27
that makes any question
about which way to go relevant?
00:42:24.31\00:42:28.71
Here's the answer.
00:42:29.14\00:42:30.48
"In deciding upon
any course of action,
00:42:30.88\00:42:33.48
we are not to ask
whether we can see that harm
00:42:33.52\00:42:36.79
will result from it,
but whether it is in keeping
00:42:36.82\00:42:42.02
with the will of God."
00:42:42.06\00:42:44.06
That ought to be the
motivation for everything we do.
00:42:45.09\00:42:47.43
"Whether you eat or drink,
do all to the glory of God."
00:42:47.93\00:42:51.80
So if you've got any
question about anything,
00:42:51.83\00:42:56.44
your first question ought to be,
00:42:56.57\00:42:58.64
"Is it in harmony
with the will of God?"
00:42:58.84\00:43:00.64
"Well, Lord, she's
gorgeous, and I love her.
00:43:00.68\00:43:04.55
And she's funny and
she makes me feel good.
00:43:04.58\00:43:08.05
But she's not a Christian.
00:43:08.65\00:43:10.19
And she doesn't
want to go to church.
00:43:10.62\00:43:12.82
Lord, should I marry her?"
00:43:13.42\00:43:16.06
"In deciding upon
any course of action,
00:43:21.76\00:43:24.63
we are not to ask
whether we can see harm
00:43:25.13\00:43:28.00
that will result, but
whether it is in keeping
00:43:29.84\00:43:32.84
with the will of God."
00:43:32.87\00:43:34.21
Is it in the will of God
for a consecrated young man
00:43:34.24\00:43:38.51
to marry a person
who has rejected God?
00:43:38.55\00:43:42.38
Or a consecrated
young woman to marry a man
00:43:42.78\00:43:47.36
who has rejected God?
00:43:47.39\00:43:49.02
That's the question
that you need to ask.
00:43:49.32\00:43:51.99
Not, "Is he
handsome?" Not, "Is he cute?"
00:43:52.03\00:43:53.76
Not, "Is he rich?"
Not, "Is he funny?"
00:43:53.80\00:43:55.60
Does he love the Lord?
00:43:56.26\00:43:57.67
And when you put God
first, a lot of these questions
00:43:58.00\00:44:00.90
which seem so
tough become rather easy.
00:44:00.94\00:44:04.91
"Lord, I want to
buy a new computer.
00:44:05.34\00:44:09.71
But I'm going to have to dip
into my tithe money to do it.
00:44:10.65\00:44:15.55
And Lord, I
want You to bless me.
00:44:17.62\00:44:19.32
Should I do it or not?
00:44:21.22\00:44:23.12
"In deciding upon any course
of action, we are not to ask
00:44:24.46\00:44:29.53
whether we can see that harm
will result from it, but whether
00:44:29.56\00:44:34.60
it is in keeping
with the will of God."
00:44:34.64\00:44:37.91
Is it God's will for you to
spend your tithe on yourself?
00:44:37.94\00:44:42.04
You see how easy questions
become, the answer becomes,
00:44:43.41\00:44:45.71
when you line yourself
up with the Word of God?
00:44:45.75\00:44:48.22
You want to
know which way to go?
00:44:49.55\00:44:52.25
Go God's way.
00:44:52.72\00:44:54.79
Go the way that
Christ is showing you.
00:44:54.89\00:44:57.86
You see, you've
got to trust God,
00:44:58.53\00:45:00.90
and you've got to trust that God
knows better than you may know.
00:45:01.10\00:45:06.07
You've got to trust
that God knows the way
00:45:06.23\00:45:08.70
better than you know the way.
00:45:08.74\00:45:10.27
Particularly when
the way is hazy for you,
00:45:10.37\00:45:13.94
or especially when you
don't know which way to go,
00:45:13.98\00:45:17.58
you've got to
trust that God knows,
00:45:17.61\00:45:20.08
and that God shows and
will show you the right way.
00:45:20.22\00:45:23.92
Now, let's go to
the book of Jeremiah.
00:45:23.95\00:45:25.45
Just take a couple of more
things and then we'll be done.
00:45:25.49\00:45:27.76
Jeremiah 36
00:45:27.79\00:45:30.13
Jeremiah...
00:45:32.59\00:45:33.93
Isaiah, Jeremiah...
00:45:35.20\00:45:37.20
...34, 35, and 36.
00:45:37.97\00:45:42.54
Jeremiah 36, and I
think I want verse 13.
00:45:48.18\00:45:50.41
I will just check. Jeremiah 36.
00:45:50.45\00:45:53.01
Jeremiah 36? Yeah, 13.
00:46:03.63\00:46:06.93
"Then Michaiah declared to
them all the words that he had
00:46:10.37\00:46:14.74
heard when Baruch read the book
in the hearing of the people.
00:46:14.77\00:46:19.71
Therefore all the princes sent
Jehudi the son of Nethaniah,
00:46:20.04\00:46:25.35
the son of Shelemiah, the
son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying,
00:46:25.38\00:46:31.59
'Take in your hand the
scroll from which you have read
00:46:31.62\00:46:36.09
in the hearing of the people.'
00:46:36.49\00:46:37.99
So Baruch the son of
Neriah took the scroll
00:46:38.03\00:46:41.33
in his hand and came to them.
00:46:41.43\00:46:43.33
And they said to him, 'Sit down
and read it in our hearing.'
00:46:43.37\00:46:47.17
So Baruch read
it in their hearing.
00:46:47.20\00:46:48.64
Now it happened, as
they had heard all the words,
00:46:48.67\00:46:51.24
that they looked in
fear from one to another,
00:46:51.34\00:46:54.71
and said to
Baruch, 'We will surely
00:46:54.74\00:46:57.68
tell the king these words.'"
00:46:57.71\00:46:59.21
Now I could read the rest,
but I want to get to the story.
00:46:59.25\00:47:02.65
Because Jeremiah here
is recording an incident
00:47:02.68\00:47:07.22
where the Lord was
beginning to show His people
00:47:07.79\00:47:13.43
that it was time to
come back to the Lord.
00:47:14.10\00:47:19.93
And a little bit further
we see where the Bible says,
00:47:20.27\00:47:23.91
"Amend your ways," I'm reading.
00:47:24.17\00:47:27.18
"Change your ways.
00:47:27.58\00:47:28.91
Change the way
that you are going."
00:47:28.94\00:47:30.85
And if you change
your ways, God will relent
00:47:31.08\00:47:34.78
from any punishment to you.
00:47:34.82\00:47:36.32
God is telling His people here,
safety is in following the Lord.
00:47:36.35\00:47:41.96
I remember there's an old
story about Alexander the Great,
00:47:41.99\00:47:47.76
that great leader who is
spoken of in the book of Daniel
00:47:48.26\00:47:52.23
and again touched on
in the book of Revelation,
00:47:52.27\00:47:55.27
who conquered the world and died
in a drunken stupor at age 33.
00:47:56.24\00:48:00.64
And evidently, there was
in his army, his vast army,
00:48:01.21\00:48:04.88
a soldier who had
distinguished himself
00:48:04.91\00:48:08.08
for being a
goof-off, a goldbrick.
00:48:08.38\00:48:11.15
Someone who was, as young
people say today, a slacker.
00:48:11.19\00:48:14.69
Someone who just
didn't do his job.
00:48:14.72\00:48:17.13
Now that would not necessary
have come to Alexander's notice
00:48:17.93\00:48:21.23
except that this soldier, this
dilettante, goof-off soldier,
00:48:21.26\00:48:26.97
had the same name
as Alexander the Great.
00:48:27.00\00:48:30.01
And so this great general
summoned this young soldier
00:48:30.77\00:48:35.64
into his presence.
00:48:35.68\00:48:37.01
And he said to him,
"Young man, I have heard
00:48:37.45\00:48:42.55
of your legendary slackness.
00:48:43.08\00:48:46.62
Now you've got two choices.
00:48:47.52\00:48:49.22
You're either going to
have to change your ways
00:48:50.33\00:48:53.70
or change your name.
00:48:54.16\00:48:56.06
One or the other,
but you can't do both.
00:48:57.03\00:48:59.90
You've got to either shape
up," or as my dad use to say,
00:49:00.50\00:49:03.81
"or ship out.
00:49:03.84\00:49:05.17
Change your ways
or change your name."
00:49:05.51\00:49:08.44
And as
Christians, that's God's call.
00:49:09.14\00:49:11.95
We've got to amend our ways.
00:49:12.61\00:49:14.88
And that's what the Bible
is saying here to God's people.
00:49:14.92\00:49:17.42
You've got to change
your ways or change your name.
00:49:17.52\00:49:21.32
If you're going to walk
in the way, in God's way,
00:49:21.89\00:49:26.19
then you've got to
walk like God walks.
00:49:26.23\00:49:28.96
Or walk like Jesus walked.
00:49:29.56\00:49:32.07
If you're going to be a
child of God, then you must
00:49:32.57\00:49:35.64
serve as Christ served.
00:49:35.67\00:49:38.37
If you're going
to walk in that way.
00:49:38.87\00:49:40.88
And you can do so
safe in the understanding
00:49:40.91\00:49:45.25
that when you put
your hand in God's hand,
00:49:45.51\00:49:47.22
God will take care of you.
00:49:47.25\00:49:48.58
For putting your hand
in God's hand is better
00:49:48.62\00:49:51.69
than a light and
safer than a known way.
00:49:51.72\00:49:58.73
How wonderful it is to
know that we serve a God
00:49:59.36\00:50:02.43
who takes care of His own.
00:50:03.40\00:50:06.27
Got to tell you a quick story.
00:50:06.30\00:50:07.64
And I think we'll
probably close with this.
00:50:07.67\00:50:09.00
This story goes back to 1982.
00:50:09.60\00:50:12.71
I had a chance to visit with
a lady, member of my church.
00:50:13.98\00:50:21.68
I can tell her name.
00:50:22.12\00:50:23.45
Her name was Ina Leigh Kitchen.
00:50:23.52\00:50:25.15
She was at that time I
think 102, if memory serves me.
00:50:26.52\00:50:34.10
She had lived a
long time with the Lord.
00:50:34.96\00:50:37.00
And her voice was still strong,
her mind was still strong,
00:50:38.20\00:50:41.97
and she told me a great story
about the protection of God.
00:50:42.00\00:50:45.21
She said, "Back in the
1930's," I think she said,
00:50:45.24\00:50:50.28
"my husband and I and our little
baby were there in the house.
00:50:51.15\00:50:57.49
He had lost his job.
00:50:58.69\00:51:00.16
I was home
taking care of our baby.
00:51:00.79\00:51:02.62
And we didn't have much.
00:51:03.12\00:51:05.59
In fact, we had
nothing in the house.
00:51:06.06\00:51:07.66
Nothing.
00:51:08.73\00:51:10.07
And I asked God to bless us.
00:51:10.87\00:51:15.87
I didn't know how.
00:51:16.54\00:51:17.87
I just said, 'Lord,
you see we're starving.
00:51:18.47\00:51:21.48
It's Friday, we'd like to go
to church tomorrow on Saturday,
00:51:22.64\00:51:27.22
but we don't have any food
and I've got this young child
00:51:27.82\00:51:32.05
here in the house.'"
00:51:32.39\00:51:33.72
She said, "For some reason I
was impressed to open the window
00:51:34.92\00:51:38.03
in our apartment,
and I sat in my rocker
00:51:39.09\00:51:42.90
and I just let the
breeze come over me.
00:51:43.73\00:51:46.94
And I sat, Bible open
on my lap, and I prayed."
00:51:46.97\00:51:51.64
She said, "After about
an hour of just sitting
00:51:53.17\00:51:55.08
and praying, there
floated through my window,
00:51:55.84\00:52:00.15
just as nice as you
please, a one dollar bill."
00:52:00.25\00:52:04.29
She said it just floated down.
00:52:04.32\00:52:06.12
"And it landed right
there on the Bible on my lap."
00:52:06.86\00:52:10.13
And she said, "I was shocked,
and I called my husband.
00:52:12.26\00:52:16.03
And I called him
and he came running.
00:52:16.90\00:52:19.07
And I said, 'Look what
just came in through the window.
00:52:19.27\00:52:21.80
I've been praying, and look
what just came in the window.
00:52:22.20\00:52:25.41
A one dollar bill.'
00:52:25.44\00:52:27.48
And he said, 'Well
somebody upstairs must have
00:52:28.48\00:52:30.45
lost that money.
00:52:30.48\00:52:31.81
I need to go up on the roof
and see if someone's up there
00:52:31.85\00:52:35.85
to drop it.'"
00:52:36.35\00:52:37.69
And she says,
Ina Kitchen told me,
00:52:37.95\00:52:41.09
while her husband
was going up on the roof,
00:52:41.19\00:52:43.36
she was heading to the store.
00:52:43.59\00:52:45.23
She felt no one had dropped it.
00:52:46.13\00:52:48.36
God had put that
dollar there for her.
00:52:48.56\00:52:50.90
Now back in the
1930's, a dollar went a lot
00:52:51.00\00:52:53.94
further than it does now.
00:52:53.97\00:52:55.30
She said, "With that one
dollar bill, I got bread,
00:52:55.34\00:52:58.21
and I got milk for the
baby, and I got peanut butter,
00:52:59.14\00:53:03.35
and I got a
couple of vegetables.
00:53:03.78\00:53:05.91
And we ate well that
evening and through Sabbath."
00:53:06.25\00:53:10.65
And as we sat there that
day and laughed and talked about
00:53:11.42\00:53:16.46
that story, she said,
"Pastor, that was proof for me
00:53:16.49\00:53:21.03
that being a
Seventh-day Adventist
00:53:21.36\00:53:23.63
was what God wanted me to do.
00:53:23.73\00:53:25.70
That was proof for me
that being a Sabbath keeper
00:53:26.43\00:53:29.27
was the way that
God wanted me to go.
00:53:29.30\00:53:32.91
We didn't have any money,
we didn't have any employment,
00:53:33.58\00:53:37.55
we didn't have any food,
no job, but we had Jesus."
00:53:38.05\00:53:43.55
And I say again,
when you've got Jesus,
00:53:44.62\00:53:47.62
when you put your hand
in the hand of the Lord,
00:53:47.82\00:53:50.03
it is better than a light
and safer than a known way.
00:53:50.53\00:53:59.20
Some years ago, I was called
to do a funeral for a young man
00:54:00.04\00:54:04.61
that just happened to be in the
wrong place at the wrong time.
00:54:05.54\00:54:10.41
Walking by a skating rink,
it was a drive by shooting,
00:54:11.38\00:54:15.32
and this young 18 year
old was shot and killed
00:54:15.78\00:54:21.12
by an assailant
that he did not know,
00:54:21.62\00:54:23.89
and he was never caught.
00:54:24.13\00:54:25.46
And the mother asked me to
preach his funeral message.
00:54:26.46\00:54:30.33
And I racked my brain and prayed
for something to say to that mom
00:54:31.50\00:54:36.87
who had just lost her son
so untimely and so tragically.
00:54:37.34\00:54:44.05
And I came up with a message,
a eulogy, that I called,
00:54:45.11\00:54:48.32
Bulletproof.
00:54:48.55\00:54:49.88
Basically I said this to her
and to those who were assembled:
00:54:51.05\00:54:56.52
When you give
your heart to Jesus,
00:54:57.73\00:54:59.73
Jesus makes you bulletproof.
00:55:00.80\00:55:03.30
And what do I
mean by bulletproof?
00:55:04.07\00:55:05.73
I mean that when you
give your heart to the Lord,
00:55:06.63\00:55:10.81
when you put your life
in the hand of the Lord,
00:55:11.51\00:55:14.04
the world cannot hurt you.
00:55:14.84\00:55:17.78
And I sight Hebrews 13:5-6
where the question is asked
00:55:18.21\00:55:23.32
almost rhetorically,
"What can man do to me?"
00:55:23.35\00:55:25.85
Because the Lord says, "If
you live in Me and die in Me,
00:55:27.02\00:55:30.56
you will one day live forever."
00:55:30.59\00:55:32.73
And so I told that mother,
"We know who your son was.
00:55:32.76\00:55:36.80
We know the kind of
young man your son was.
00:55:37.27\00:55:40.84
And from all outward appearances
he was a young man who had
00:55:41.20\00:55:44.94
given his life to the Lord.
00:55:44.97\00:55:46.61
Well, he had given
his life to the Lord,
00:55:46.94\00:55:49.41
Lord has already
given His life for him,
00:55:49.44\00:55:51.91
and the Bible says,
he that lives in Christ,
00:55:52.11\00:55:54.42
dies in Christ, will
one day live forever.
00:55:54.45\00:55:56.75
So your son is bulletproof.
00:55:56.79\00:55:58.12
That bullet didn't hurt him.
00:55:58.15\00:56:00.46
He's just going to
rest a little longer
00:56:01.69\00:56:03.66
before he's
called to his reward.
00:56:03.69\00:56:05.63
He's going to
sleep a little more.
00:56:06.09\00:56:07.86
But the Bible says his
name is hid in Christ Jesus."
00:56:07.96\00:56:13.47
I've said this many
times, that when I pastored
00:56:14.30\00:56:17.11
the Ephesus church I
had a membership of 2142.
00:56:17.14\00:56:21.81
And I preached, in the seven
years that I pastored there,
00:56:22.08\00:56:25.41
a total of 117 funerals.
00:56:25.61\00:56:29.45
117 lives; 117 times I had
to recite from Corinthians.
00:56:30.29\00:56:36.79
I had to tell them that the
dead in Christ will rise first,
00:56:37.49\00:56:40.20
from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
00:56:40.23\00:56:43.33
I had to tell them
that we sleep in the grave,
00:56:43.57\00:56:46.70
and Christ will call us one day.
00:56:46.74\00:56:48.90
But at every one of those
funerals, I said something.
00:56:49.34\00:56:52.07
I said, "Death in
Christ is not such a bad thing.
00:56:52.17\00:56:56.51
Better to die in Christ
than to live without Him."
00:56:57.38\00:57:03.05
And really, those are
the sentiments, the words,
00:57:04.09\00:57:08.06
of this wonderful poem
by Minnie Louise Haskins.
00:57:08.52\00:57:13.76
When you put your
hand in the hand of God,
00:57:14.80\00:57:18.83
it is better than a light
and safer than a known way.
00:57:19.63\00:57:27.74