Participants: Lisa Wellington (Host), Abraham Jules
Series Code: POH
Program Code: POH000002S
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00:03 Where can you find hope for the hopeless?
00:07 Opportunity for transformation. 00:11 Peace amid life's storms. 00:15 Only in God's free gift of eternal life. 00:20 From New York, join us on the Pathway of Hope. 00:30 I'm told, people go to church for many different reasons. 00:34 Some go to meet a friend, some may go to find a spouse, 00:39 some just go because they have to. 00:43 But more importantly, we go to worship God. 00:47 I have two true or false questions 00:49 for you today. 00:51 True or false, the only reason for going to church 00:55 is to hear the preaching of the Word? 00:58 If you answer true, sorry, the answer is false. 01:03 In Acts 2:42, 01:06 we learned that the church is a spiritual community 01:10 where there is preaching, teaching, fellowship, 01:14 breaking of bread, and yes, prayer. 01:19 Final question, true or false. 01:23 The chief cornerstone of the church is Jesus Christ? 01:28 If you answer true to this question, 01:31 then you are correct. 01:33 On today's program, Dr. Jules 01:35 will help us understand more about Jesus Christ, 01:39 who is not only the foundation, 01:42 but He is also the chief cornerstone. 01:58 Lord, I hear of 02:09 Showers of blessing 02:20 Showers of blessing 02:29 Full and free 02:42 Showers of blessing 02:53 Showers of blessing 03:04 Let so God bless us 03:12 Full and free 03:25 Showers of blessing 03:36 Showers of blessing 03:47 Let so God bless us 03:55 Full and free 04:08 Even me, Lord 04:18 Even me 04:28 Let some drops 04:33 Now fall on me 04:48 Even me, Lord 04:58 Even me 05:08 Let some drops now 05:16 Fall on 05:26 Me 05:35 Amen! 05:38 Amen. 05:43 Let us pray. 05:47 Loving Lord and our Father, 05:51 our prayer today is that as this word goes forth 05:56 that you will anoint to the hearts 05:57 of those who listen. 06:00 In our journey here in Earth, 06:01 we are reminded often 06:04 that whatever You've started in us, 06:06 You'll bring to its completion. 06:09 May Your blessings rest upon us as we listen this today, 06:14 may our hearts be both changed and challenged, 06:18 and may we leave this house of prayer 06:21 having been lifted up by You 06:23 and drawn ever closer to You, 06:26 in Jesus' name we pray 06:27 with joy abundant and thanksgiving. 06:30 Amen. 06:32 Amen! 06:33 There is a word for us that comes 06:35 out of the Book of Matthew 06:38 16:16-19. 06:45 It reads, "When Jesus came into the coasts 06:51 of Caesarea Philippi, 06:55 He asked the disciples saying, 06:58 'Whom do men say that I, the Son of man, am?' 07:03 And they said, 'Some say that thou art John the Baptist, 07:08 some Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, 07:12 or one of the prophets.' 07:15 He saith unto them, 'But whom say ye that I am?' 07:20 And Simon Peter answered and said, 07:22 'Thou are the Christ, 07:24 the Son of the living God.' 07:27 And Jesus answered and said on to him, 07:30 'Blessed are thou, Simon Bar-Jonah! 07:34 For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, 07:37 but my Father which is in heaven. 07:40 And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, 07:45 and upon this rock I will build my church, 07:49 and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 07:54 And I will give unto thee 07:55 the keys of the kingdom of heaven, 07:58 and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth 08:01 shall be bound in heaven, 08:04 and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth 08:07 shall be loosed in heaven.'" 08:11 Most of us want to really know what the future holds. 08:17 When I went to college, I was interested in knowing. 08:22 When I'm through and graduate, 08:24 and finished my course of study, 08:28 who will hire me? 08:29 Where will I be working? Where will I live? 08:32 We always want to know what the future holds. 08:36 When I was a single man, 08:38 I always wanted to know, who would I marry? 08:41 What would my life be like? 08:44 How would I enjoy marriage? 08:46 Wanted to know the future. Now I do. 08:50 We all want to know what lies ahead. 08:53 When I read my Bible, 08:55 I'm convinced that God in His wisdom 08:59 has given to us enough confidence 09:02 so that we can keep running the race. 09:05 Some of us would give up if we didn't know 09:07 that God would finish what He started in us. 09:10 Today out of this pericope, 09:12 I wanna bring to you a message on the triumph of the church. 09:17 Now friends of mine, let us set at the outset 09:19 that the church might triumph, 09:22 what is important is if you and I, 09:25 if we triumph with the church. 09:28 When I look at this text, it reminds me that 09:31 in the very last some of Jesus' earthly ministry. 09:34 Before He went to Jerusalem to be executed, 09:39 He and His disciples faced a severe crisis. 09:44 Sometimes, ladies and gentlemen, 09:45 when we think about the life and ministry of Jesus, 09:49 we look at the events surrounding it 09:51 and think of Him, 09:53 walking from town to town in Galilee, 09:56 and coming back and forth out of Jerusalem, 09:59 followed constantly by thronging multitudes 10:03 pressing up against Him, 10:05 all of them wanting to hear every word 10:07 that came out of His mouth. 10:09 Actually, ladies and gentlemen, 10:11 if we look carefully 10:12 at the record of the ministry of Jesus, 10:15 we will see that public opinion regarding Jesus 10:19 was similar to the New York's stock exchange. 10:23 It was that volatile. 10:25 It went up and down. 10:28 There were times towards the beginnings 10:30 of His public ministry 10:31 when the people were clamoring with enthusiasm 10:34 as they watched Jesus perform a miracle here in Cana, 10:39 then in Capernaum, and so on. 10:42 But then there came a point in His public ministry, 10:45 where to the best of our ability 10:47 to discern the historical situation, 10:51 people became disenchanted 10:52 and disillusioned with what Jesus was doing. 10:56 This change in attitude towards Jesus 10:59 increased after He had fed over 5,000 people 11:03 from only five loaves and two fish. 11:06 After the people were fed, 11:08 the Bible says that they demanded 11:10 that Jesus become their king. 11:13 And when Jesus refused to be made king 11:17 and explained to them 11:19 that they were following Him for the wrong reason. 11:22 They became angry, the Bible says, and left Him. 11:26 Then Jesus turned to the few that remained and said, 11:30 "Will you also go?" 11:32 It was Peter who asked, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" 11:38 But not only were the common people in Galilee 11:40 changing their attitudes toward Jesus. 11:43 Growing consolidated opposition 11:45 was taking place also in Jerusalem. 11:48 The religious leaders were outraged 11:51 by the teachings of Jesus. 11:54 The Bible says that they conspired 11:56 to set traps for Him. 11:58 Luke 9:9 says, "Herod Antipas, who presided over Judea, 12:03 was becoming very suspicious of what he saw, 12:06 as Jesus' political ambitions 12:08 and he was keeping a watchful eye 12:11 over Jesus' activities." 12:12 You see, ladies and gentleman, 12:14 "The wicked flee when no man is pursuing." 12:17 It's a sad thing 12:19 if you're the president of the company 12:20 and you can't sleep at night. 12:23 CS Lewis calls this, 12:25 "The sweet poison of a false infinite." 12:28 And all of these things came together 12:29 and produced a climate in and around Jerusalem 12:33 and throughout the whole area of Judea 12:35 that made it unsafe for Jesus to remain there. 12:39 The portrait of Jesus into New Testament 12:41 is not that of a coward who flees from confrontations, 12:45 far from it. 12:46 But there were occasions where He said, 12:48 "My hour is not yet come." 12:53 And when this time of crisis came, 12:56 Jesus with the fear of His disciples 12:58 went into retreat and left Jerusalem and Judea 13:00 and travelled up to the northern tip of Galilee. 13:04 They're in relative seclusion from the masses. 13:07 Jesus and His disciples spent a short time 13:10 in a little town called Caesarea Philippi. 13:14 Caesarea Philippi had been built by Philip, 13:16 the Tetrarch of that area, 13:18 in honor of Tiberius Caesar. 13:20 And so Jesus calls His disciples together 13:23 in Caesarea Philippi, and He said to them, 13:26 "Gentlemen, I know that you've been mingling with the masses. 13:30 I know that you've been hearing their conversations. 13:33 I know that you have a pretty good pulse 13:35 on what's on their minds. 13:37 Well, tell me, "Who do they say that I am?" 13:42 Some of them said, "Jesus, well, the pulses are divided. 13:46 Some say that You're Moses. 13:49 And some say that You might be Elijah. 13:52 And some say that You might even be Jeremiah. 13:56 They've been watching You, Jesus. 13:57 They've watched the way You walk. 13:59 They've listened to Your propheticness, 14:02 the way You act. 14:03 And some of them are saying that You sound like Moses. 14:06 And others believed, You preached like Elijah. 14:09 And still, others say, You remind them of Jeremiah, 14:11 the weeping prophet. 14:13 And, Jesus, there are some others 14:14 who don't know what in the world 14:16 to think about You." 14:19 Now, Jesus looked at His disciples, 14:23 recognizing that the collective public opinion 14:27 identified Him by what He did as opposed to who He was. 14:33 And Jesus probe even further. 14:36 He said, "Fellows, tell me whom do you say that I am?" 14:42 No, no, no, it might not be that important 14:44 as so what other people say about Jesus. 14:46 But He's interested 14:47 in about what His children think about Him. 14:50 Jesus says, "Hey, gentlemen, get a little closer. 14:53 Whom do you say that I am?" 14:57 In that moment Peter said, "Jesus, I can tell you now. 15:02 Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." 15:07 And Jesus said, "Peter, you just had a revelation. 15:11 Flesh and blood did not reveal it on to you. 15:14 Yours is not something 15:16 that's hatched in an earthly oven. 15:18 It's not an earthly product. 15:20 Your answer was not hatched in any human habitation. 15:24 It was delivered from My daddy in heaven. 15:29 Fellows, if you don't know who I'm... 15:32 Peter, you'll go back to your fishing. 15:34 Matthew, if you don't know who I'm, 15:37 you're gonna go back to your tax collecting. 15:39 Andrew, if you don't know who I'm, 15:42 you'll start mending your nets again. 15:44 Nathanial, if you don't know who I'm, 15:46 you'll go back to reading beneath the fig tree. 15:50 Now Peter's response was not informed 15:52 by the arrogance of the religious leaders. 15:56 It was not the result of deep intellectual cogitations. 16:00 It did not occur due to the analysis 16:02 of any empirical statistical data. 16:05 But Peter was the recipient of a divine revelation. 16:10 You see, ladies and gentlemen, 16:11 it was in Caesarea Philippi 16:14 that Christ had asked these disciples this question. 16:17 Caesarea Philippi had been an area 16:21 where Kurds have proliferated. 16:23 It was a region 16:25 where many of the Caesars and emperors of the early ages 16:27 had established gods to their polytheistic 16:30 or multi-god community. 16:32 It was in this region, 16:35 where the grass was now growing up to the steps 16:37 to many of these magnificent temples 16:39 that had welcomed worshippers to the idolatrous gods. 16:43 It was in the shadows of the ruins 16:44 of these great temples of marble, 16:47 these great architectural examples 16:49 of excellence from the classical age of man. 16:52 Yet, they are now deserted. 16:54 And cobwebs covered their doors. 16:57 Their altars were empty, 16:58 and their parishioners had deserted, yes, right. 17:01 They had fallen into disrepair. 17:03 And it was in the shadows of these ruined temples, 17:06 that Jesus looks at the columns and pillars falling down, 17:09 deteriorating with the weathering of souls 17:12 of the inclemency of the ages. 17:13 And says to His disciples, 17:15 "Upon this rock, I build My church. 17:22 And the gates of hell shall never prevail." 17:26 Whenever you get to a gate that's holding your back, 17:32 Jesus says, "Let Me give you the keys." 17:36 When you're cut deeply 17:37 and have no one to wipe your tears, 17:40 when you wet your pillow at nights, 17:42 Jesus says "I've got the keys." 17:45 When you find yourself lingering 17:46 in the seductive lane of indecision. 17:49 Whenever you feel like 17:51 you're on an island of abandonment. 17:53 And somehow your song turns sour 17:56 and your symphony becomes unfinished. 17:59 When you've come to the gate that's holding you up, 18:02 and it's marked cancer. 18:04 What do you do when your world falls apart? 18:07 Go to the Word! 18:12 Your marriage is broken and no one seems to care. 18:15 Unkind children, uncaring spouses, 18:18 you feel all alone and miserable. 18:19 Everything in your life seems to be failing. 18:22 What do you do when you get to that gate 18:24 and it's locked, and you can't move forward? 18:26 Go to the Word, Jesus says, "I've got the keys!" 18:33 You're broken and troubled 18:34 and death comes your way, run to Jesus. 18:38 He will unlock that gate for you. 18:40 You see, ladies and gentleman, 18:42 divine participation hinges on human invitation. 18:46 Ask and it shall be given unto you." 18:49 Matthew 6 says that, 18:50 "God knows your needs before you ask Him." 18:54 It is not when you pray, that you're informing God 18:57 about anything He doesn't know. 18:59 When you're praying, 19:00 you're just affirming your faith in His ability 19:02 to meet your needs. 19:04 That's why He says, 19:05 "You have not, because you've asked not." 19:09 So if trouble destroys your dreams, 19:12 detours you from your destiny. 19:15 And despair is your constant companion, 19:18 and if trouble uses your heart 19:21 as a headquarters for crisis, 19:23 go ahead, take the keys. 19:26 In the day of trouble, He'll hide you in His pavilion. 19:32 Little while back, 19:35 my wife and my children and I were on our way to Boston. 19:41 We were going up to Boston. 19:43 We would have been there for about five days. 19:47 I'm on the highway, heading to Boston, 19:50 my daughter is excited about the hotels, 19:55 excited about going to the swimming pool. 19:58 She has in her mind that hotels are nicer than our own house. 20:04 So we're on our way, we're talking, we're excited, 20:07 we're happy about this trip to Boston. 20:11 We'll be together for about five days. 20:14 We left home, filled up the tank. 20:16 I'm driving and my phone rings. 20:20 And my assistant from Virginia calls 20:22 and she says to me, she says, 20:23 "Somebody needs to go to Trinidad 20:25 and bring mommy back, 20:28 'cause she's not doing well." 20:30 Now that's the code word for, "You've got to go." 20:36 Somebody really is always me. 20:41 So I immediately pulled aside, 20:45 got off the first exit. 20:47 Began to think about, what I was about to do. 20:50 How was I going to deal with this? 20:53 Headed to Boston with my family. 20:56 What am I going to do? 20:57 My wife says, "Well, you know, you've got to go." 21:00 We stayed at the side of the highway. 21:01 I called the airlines, tried to get a ticket, 21:03 so I can go down and get a ticket back 21:05 for my mother. 21:07 We took care of it, and I said to my wife, I said, 21:11 "You know what, you all go on, 21:14 leave me at the side of the highway. 21:17 I'm gonna find my way back to my house." 21:20 She said, "We can't do that." 21:22 I said, "Yes, you can, go ahead." 21:25 Well, I didn't think my wife was going to leave me, 21:27 but she did. 21:35 It was a test and she failed. 21:39 She got in the car, she drove off, 21:41 and they left me. 21:45 And I went into the Hess gas station, 21:46 and sat down and begun to ponder, 21:49 how am I going to get home? 21:55 Began calling everybody 21:56 and nobody is picking up your cell phone. 22:00 Well, I said to myself, 22:01 somebody's gonna come and get me. 22:04 I know, somebody's going to get me. 22:08 If I couldn't get somebody to leave 22:09 whatever they were doing, 22:11 and come and get me on the side of the highway, 22:12 I'm not worth living. 22:15 If you can't have somebody who will sacrifice for you, 22:19 something is wrong, so I kept calling. 22:22 I finally got one person. 22:25 I got this young lady, Janette Holmes. 22:26 I said, "Jan, where are you?" 22:28 She said, "I'm just about 15 minutes from your house." 22:31 I said, "Well, you're far from me." 22:33 I said, "You know what? I'm stuck. 22:35 I need you to come and get me." 22:38 She said, "Where are you?" I gave her the address. 22:41 She said, "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." 22:43 She drove, I sat down there, and I'm thinking now, 22:46 my family is on their way. 22:49 We just had these great plans, 22:50 but it's all broken up, we're separated. 22:54 She picks me up, takes me back to my house. 22:58 I began to pack for my journey the next morning. 23:01 Got on to plane, it left, got to Trinidad, 23:05 turned around about six hours later, 23:07 got back on another plane and brought my mother here, 23:09 so she could get medical attention. 23:13 On my way back, I'm saying to myself, 23:15 if when I get to John F Kennedy airport, 23:18 my momma is okay, 23:19 and I can get her to the doctor. 23:22 What am I gonna do now 23:24 from Saturday, Sunday, 23:27 Monday, Tuesday? 23:30 Am I gonna go and sit down in this house by myself? 23:38 I finally got back. 23:40 Sister met us in the airport. 23:43 My mother was okay. She was fine. 23:47 I dropped them off at the house, 23:48 and I now made a decision, 23:51 "I'm gonna go all the way to Boston." 23:54 I'm gonna drive to Boston, it's gonna take me three hours. 23:58 But I'd rather drive the three hours 23:59 as tireless it can be. 24:00 When I get there, I'll see my wife and children, 24:02 the people who left me. 24:10 I get there, 24:11 and they're in the swimming pool, 24:12 and I ran to them. 24:14 And there was a reunion that was broken, 24:17 because momma was sick. 24:21 Friends of mine, when mother earth became ill 24:24 and began to groan, 24:26 there was a great separation 24:27 between God and His people, His bride. 24:31 But when Jesus came and He died, 24:33 He died so that, 24:35 when He got back to JFK, we can have the reunion again. 24:39 We can meet each other again. 24:41 Let me tell you, 24:42 there's a great reunion coming in the sky. 24:46 And I don't know about you, but I wanna be there. 24:50 I don't know about you, but when my Jesus died for me, 24:53 He died that I wouldn't miss out 24:54 in that reunion. 24:56 He's calling His church today to be faithful. 24:59 God doesn't want you to be perfect, 25:01 He just wants you to be willing to listen to Him, 25:04 and be obedient to His voice. 25:06 There's a great call that's going on 25:07 around the entire world. 25:08 God is calling men and women 25:10 out of darkness, out of Babylon, 25:11 calling them to join His church everywhere. 25:15 So that we can be in that great reunion. 25:18 I wanna see Jesus one day. 25:21 Yeah, I wanna see Him. 25:23 I got some questions for Jesus. 25:26 I wanna see Him. 25:27 Because sometimes the kind of pain we go through, 25:30 we wonder why He allows it. 25:33 But I wanna see Him, 25:34 I wanna see Adam, the first man. 25:37 I wanna see Abraham, they named me after Abraham. 25:40 I don't know if anybody would've known. 25:43 I wanna see Moses. I wanna see Isaiah. 25:46 I wanna see the patriarchs. 25:48 I wanna see God's people. 25:49 What a day of rejoicing that's gonna be, 25:52 when God's people from all ages 25:54 and to all ages will be in the same place, 26:00 never to part again! 26:03 What a day of rejoicing that's gonna be. 26:05 Some of you are very straighten, 26:07 very, very, very pristine and... 26:11 Can't say hey amen. 26:14 But I'm gonna tell you this, on that day 26:16 folk gonna be dancing. 26:18 Somebody who never shouted before, 26:20 is gonna shout, 26:22 because you'll be shocked that you got there, 26:23 but you'll say, thank you Jesus. 26:25 This is mercy, this is grace. 26:31 What a day. 26:33 What a day! 26:35 What a day it's gonna be. 26:37 I don't know about you, 26:38 but when I think about my own life, 26:41 I see me somewhere in God's eternal kingdom. 26:44 I didn't give my life to Jesus when I was 11 years old, 26:47 so that I'll miss out in heaven. 26:49 I gave my heart to Jesus at 11, 26:51 so that I'll be with Him forever. 26:56 What can separate us from the love of God? 26:58 Nothing. 26:59 And what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, 27:02 and loses his own soul. 27:04 There's nothing worth losing your soul after. 27:07 Thanks for watching Pathway of Hope. 27:10 If you would like to be prayed for, 27:13 or would like to learn more of God's Word, 27:16 please call 1 (877) 520-Hope 27:22 or 1 (877) 520-4673. 27:29 You may also watch more of our programs online at 27:34 www.pathwayofhope.tv. 27:39 If you would like to make a tax-deductable love gift, 27:43 please send your gifts to Pathway of Hope 27:47 at P.O Box 280704, 27:52 Queens Village, New York 11428. 27:58 Thanks for watching Pathway of Hope, 28:00 and may God's blessings be yours today. |
Revised 2020-01-23