Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM250009S
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00:01 The hour is urgent as darkness is dispelled by the light of
00:07 God's Word, a new day begins. 00:10 Jesus, the light of the world is shining. 00:13 Prepare your hearts to proclaim the final cry. 00:17 This is 3ABN Summer Camp Meeting. 00:23 Praise the Lord, everyone, and welcome again. 00:27 I'm Pastor Ryan Johnson, and it is my privilege to introduce 00:30 our final speaker of the day. 00:33 Our speaker for the hour is Dr. Pavel Goya, and he is one of 00:38 the finest storytellers that there is. 00:42 He is the editor of Ministry Magazine and currently serves 00:46 as Associate Director for Ministerial at the General 00:50 Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 00:52 Amen. 00:54 He served as a pastor, however, in Romania for six years, and 00:59 for 16 years he served as a pastor here in the United 01:03 States. 01:07 reminder of our vital need for prayer, revival, and full 01:12 commitment, then you might want to check out the book, In the 01:15 Spirit and Power, which Dr. Goya co-authored with Kelly 01:20 Maurer. 01:21 God has a blessing for us this evening. 01:24 So, after a message in song by none other than Pastor John 01:29 Lomakang, we will be ministered to by Dr. Pavel Goya. 01:34 Hear ye him. 01:35 God be with you. 02:05 And it slows from deep within. 02:16 There is a fountain And it frees the soul from sin Unto 02:39 this water For there is a vast supply Yes, there is a river 03:01 There was a thirsty woman who was drawing from her well. 03:29 Her life was bruised and broken, and her soul was bound 03:45 for hell. 03:47 Oh, but then she met the master, and he told her of her 04:05 sin. 04:06 He said, Child, if you drink this living water, you'll never 04:21 thirst again. 04:25 Oh, there is a river, and it flows from deep within. 04:44 Oh, there is a living fountain, and he frees our soul from sin. 05:03 Oh, to this water, in him there's a vast supply. 05:22 Yes, there is a river that never shall row. 05:43 There is that river that never shall row. 06:06 Good evening. 06:10 Wonderful music. 06:13 I wish I had that voice. 06:16 It's a privilege to be with you, the wonderful family here. 06:22 I love 3ABN. 06:26 I love my wife more. 06:30 Before we start, let's bow our heads again for a word of 06:34 prayer. 06:36 Father in heaven, what a privilege to come in your 06:41 presence. 06:43 Father, please open the world and work with your spirit, that 06:49 we may be transformed in Jesus' name. 06:52 Amen. 06:54 It is a series with a few parts, about eight sermons, and 07:01 I'm going to try to do all eight tonight, if that's okay. 07:07 Okay, so we know that Jesus is coming soon. 07:11 You believe that? 07:13 You do believe that? 07:15 Because we have been saying that for so many years. 07:18 My grandfather died 103, and he became Adventist when he was 07:24 about 20, and he would tell me Jesus is coming. 07:30 And then my father died, and he was telling me Jesus is coming. 07:33 But right now, I actually believe with my whole heart, in 07:38 a very strong way, that Jesus is actually coming. 07:42 You don't need to know too much. 07:45 You look around, and you know. 07:48 Plus, the prophecies that we have been talking about are 07:52 being fulfilled right now. 07:53 We will see him on the clouds. 07:57 And because Jesus is coming, there are so many things that 08:00 we need to be ready. 08:03 We need to prepare with, you know. 08:05 We need to finish the work, don't we? 08:11 We need to be prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 08:13 Am I right? 08:16 It's not only proclamation of the Gospel, but it's also 08:20 personal preparation too. 08:23 We are responsible for our families too. 08:25 Am I right? 08:29 Not to mention the final crisis, that according to the 08:32 Bible is going to be a crisis like no one before. 08:36 We have seen crises, but none of them can equal the last one. 08:42 It's going to be so great that people will lose their minds. 08:45 How do you prepare for it? 08:49 I'm going to give you a story as we start. 08:52 It's not a very clean story. 08:55 But, so we do know that we don't wrestle against flesh and 09:03 blood. 09:07 Ephesians chapter? 09:08 You have an A. 09:09 Good job. 09:10 Excellent. 09:11 Ephesians chapter 6. 09:12 Thank you. 09:15 blood. 09:17 And so, many years ago, I was in a district somewhere in the 09:24 North. 09:28 And in that specific church, they did not have a lot of 09:32 evangelies for many, many, many years. 09:34 And they told me, it's kind of difficult. 09:37 That's what everybody says. 09:39 There are too many Lutherans. 09:40 And if you go in South, there are too many Baptists. 09:42 And if you go in California, there are too many secularists. 09:45 And if you go in everywhere, there is something. 09:48 You know why evangelism doesn't work? 09:52 Because you don't do it. 09:56 It's never going to work if you don't do it. 09:58 Do it and it works. 10:00 Very simple. 10:01 You know gardening doesn't work. 10:03 Go in the garden and plant it and water it and it works. 10:08 Anyway, going back. 10:09 So, they kindly told me, it doesn't really work. 10:12 I said, well, then we need to do it. 10:16 And so, we prayed and we prepared. 10:18 And I told them that evangelism is not only what people call 10:22 evangelism. 10:23 The 30 days or whatever, 20 days or whatever. 10:26 Evangelism is like gardening. 10:28 You cannot pick up tomatoes. 10:30 And by the way, I love my tomatoes. 10:35 I am a little like this because I talked to my tomatoes. 10:40 Do you ever talk to your plants? 10:42 If you do, you are like me. 10:45 I love gardening. 10:47 In fact, God could have given Adam and Eve a lot of gifts. 10:51 He gave them a garden. 10:53 Going back. 10:55 So, evangelism is like gardening. 10:57 You cannot pick up tomatoes if you didn't prepare the ground, 11:01 if you didn't plant, if you didn't water, if you didn't 11:04 weed. 11:05 It just doesn't happen. 11:07 You need to prepare the ground before you do evangelism. 11:10 Bottom line. 11:14 crop. 11:15 You follow me? 11:16 And so, I told them we need to do good work. 11:19 We need to prepare and so on and so forth. 11:21 So we had everything. 11:22 Preparation and we had prayer and community activities and 11:25 you name it. 11:26 And Bible studies. 11:27 We had everything. 11:27 And then we had evangelism. 11:29 And by God's grace, we baptized a lot of people. 11:33 A lot of Lutherans, by the way. 11:36 But something happened. 11:39 Friday night. 11:41 Not Thursday. 11:42 Not Monday. 11:43 Friday night. 11:44 Half an hour or one hour or somewhere there. 11:47 Before evangelism started, my septic came in the basement. 11:53 And in the basement, it was a finished basement. 11:56 I had my office with all my books and computers and taxes 11:59 and pictures and sermons and everything. 12:03 My office was, the water was like this. 12:07 And there was, I don't want to describe too much. 12:10 That's the reason I said it's not a clean story. 12:12 There was stuff floating. 12:15 If you have rich imagination, you know what I'm talking 12:18 about. 12:19 Oh, I got so frustrated. 12:23 I lost everything. 12:26 I got so angry and so frustrated. 12:29 And what can I do? 12:31 And I'm running to the basement and I'm trying to get in the... 12:34 And I didn't have a boat, you know. 12:37 And so I'm desperate. 12:39 And my wife comes and gives me a hug. 12:42 And she knew if she would argue with me, that was not the 12:45 moment. 12:47 No, no, no, leave me alone. 12:48 I need to solve the problem. 12:49 She says, I'm not going to let you go. 12:51 And she keeps me. 12:52 And she says, are you calm? 12:54 I am calm. 12:56 She says, well, then I keep holding you. 12:59 I say, okay, I'm calm. 13:01 She says, honey, Jesus is coming and the house and the 13:05 office is going to burn. 13:08 Go to evangelism. 13:11 Forget it. 13:13 Go to evangelism. 13:15 Let God deal with it. 13:17 I went to evangelism, came back. 13:19 Saturday, evangelism came back. 13:21 Sunday, I called the Roto -Rooter. 13:23 They came through the pipes and they said, everything is okay. 13:27 We don't know the reason. 13:29 So Monday, I call somebody from a bigger city. 13:33 They came with a camera. 13:34 They put the camera through the pipes. 13:35 They said, hey, there is no problem. 13:37 We don't know the reason. 13:38 So then next day, I call people with a big machines, bulldozer, 13:42 excavator, and they dug a big hole, ruined my front yard, 13:45 grass. 13:46 Everything was gone. 13:48 They dug a hole to see the septic and the pipes. 13:50 They said, hey, there is no problem. 13:51 We don't know. 13:52 After I finished evangelism, 30 days, the stuff went away. 13:58 I didn't really think about it much. 14:00 I was upset. 14:01 But hey, okay, it happens. 14:03 Next year, we did evangelism again. 14:06 Friday night, one hour before we started, guess what 14:08 happened? 14:09 By now, you know what? 14:11 The basement came, the septic came again in the basement. 14:14 Friday night, not Monday or Tuesday, not a week before. 14:21 And my wife says, honey, this is Satan trying to destruct 14:24 you. 14:25 And she says, don't let that happen. 14:28 Third year, we did evangelism and I had a pastor from Canada. 14:31 Good pastor. 14:32 He came Friday night, one hour before we started. 14:35 Third year, the septic came in the basement. 14:38 And the pastor says, did you consider anointing the house? 14:45 I said, are you kidding me? 14:45 We anoint people. 14:47 We don't anoint homes. 14:49 He says, you know what it means to anoint? 14:50 It means to set aside, to invite God's presence, to give 14:54 it to the Lord. 14:58 They dedicated to anoint, to dedicate. 15:01 They dedicated the temple. 15:03 Shouldn't you dedicate all you have to the Lord? 15:06 Your house, your family, your car, yourself, everything. 15:11 He says, why don't we do that right now? 15:13 Friday night, one hour before, we kneel down and we say, Lord, 15:17 we give you the house. 15:18 From now on, it's going to be your house. 15:21 If you don't mind, we are going to sleep in it and eat in it. 15:25 But we are going to use it for you. 15:26 Invite people over for prayer. 15:28 Invite people over for meetings. 15:29 Invite people over for Bible studies. 15:31 We are going to use it as much as we can for you. 15:34 We give it to you. 15:35 Please come and live in the house. 15:37 It's yours. 15:39 We need you in this house because we signed the title to 15:44 you. 15:45 It's yours. 15:47 In the moment we prayed, the stuff from the basement started 15:50 to go speed and never came back. 15:54 We don't fight against flesh and blood. 15:59 This is spiritual war. 16:03 If God opened our eyes... 16:05 By the way, the spirit of prophecy says, over every 16:09 man... 16:09 Women, you can relax. 16:11 Over every man, evil, good, and evil angels continually strive 16:19 for control, for influence. 16:22 If God opened our eyes, this moment, over everyone, there 16:25 will be good angels and evil angels trying to influence 16:28 every decision, every thought, every word, every action, 16:31 everything, trying to influence us. 16:34 Satan wants us to be ignorant of that war so we don't take it 16:38 seriously, so we have no chance to win. 16:42 God wants us to be aware of the spiritual battle. 16:46 This is the great controversy. 16:49 We have no hope in our power. 16:52 And so the spirit of prophecy says that Satan knows that he 16:57 has very little time left over and he uses every single 17:01 method, power, angels, everything he has to get us. 17:08 How do you prepare? 17:10 Moreover, for the crisis that is just ahead of us. 17:14 How do you prepare? 17:16 And if you think about that... 17:20 I don't need to read the Bible verse because you know it. 17:23 We don't rest against flesh and blood, but against 17:25 principalities, powers, who knows, continue. 17:28 Rulers of darkness, against spiritual hosts in the heavenly 17:31 places. 17:32 And now listen carefully. 17:34 How do you fight? 17:36 Therefore, for this reason, that means therefore, take up 17:41 the whole... 17:42 What? 17:46 The armor of God! 17:47 We talk about war when you say armor, and you say the sword, 17:51 and you say the spear, and you say that you remember the 17:54 shield, the helmet. 17:55 You talk about war, don't you? 17:58 Take the whole arm. 18:00 How much of it? 18:02 How much? 18:04 You can miss the helmet. 18:05 You don't need it, do you? 18:07 You don't need the shoes, do you? 18:10 You do? 18:11 You remember the legend of Achilles. 18:13 You remember? 18:15 It's a legend. 18:15 Never happened, but anyway. 18:17 The legend says that if a newborn baby at birth was 18:23 immersed in Styx River, not later, only at birth, an adult 18:29 would do that, they would die. 18:30 But a newborn baby that had no fault whatsoever, if it was 18:34 immersed in Styx River, as much of the body that was immersed 18:37 would be invincible. 18:39 So when Achilles was born, his mom took him from the foot, and 18:44 she immersed him in Styx River and got him out. 18:47 But she immersed the whole body except the foot because she was 18:50 an adult, and she didn't want to get her hand in the river 18:53 because she would die. 18:55 And so he was invincible. 18:57 So the legend says that in every war, nobody could kill 19:00 him, and everybody learned he cannot be killed. 19:03 Arrows would fly left and right, they would never hit 19:06 him. 19:12 and hit him in the foot because his foot was not immersed in 19:18 the river, and he bled to death. 19:20 He died. 19:22 What's the lesson? 19:24 Whatever in your body is not immersed, covered by the armor 19:29 of God, that's where Satan is going to attack you. 19:34 That's where you are vulnerable. 19:35 And Satan knows where you are not covered. 19:40 And so let's go there and talk a little about it. 19:44 It says there in last day events, page 11, something 19:51 great and decisive is about to take place. 19:53 The world is on the verge of a great crisis. 19:57 There will be a trouble like never before in history. 20:02 How do you prepare for it? 20:03 How do you prepare? 20:04 Well, listen carefully to Ephesians chapter 6. 20:09 Brethren, be strong in the Lord. 20:18 Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. 20:23 Listen to this paragraph. 20:25 As Christ in his humanity sought strength from the Lord, 20:29 from the Father, that he may endure the temptations, so 20:33 should we. 20:34 Daily, not when you get baptized, but daily. 20:38 Daily we need help and grace and power from the source of 20:42 all power. 20:44 The difference between the five wise and the five foolish 20:48 virgins is not that some of them didn't get baptized. 20:53 They all did. 20:54 It's not that some of them didn't have oil. 20:56 They all did in the beginning. 20:59 It's that five of them didn't go daily to fill their 21:04 container again. 21:06 So the container started to get lower and lower slowly, almost 21:09 you will not even notice, slowly. 21:11 And they kept going to church and singing Kumbaya and eating 21:15 broccoli and they did everything perfect. 21:17 They did not work on Sabbath. 21:21 They did not eat meat. 21:22 They did eat meat sometime when they would eat one another. 21:25 But, you know, but human meat, not beef or chicken, don't 21:31 worry. 21:32 They did go to church, but they failed to fill the container 21:37 with a fresh measure, fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit 21:43 daily. 21:44 Do you get daily baptized? 21:48 And so this is what she says here. 21:51 Daily we need help and grace and power from above if you 21:54 want to make it. 21:58 The single desire of ages, page 324. 22:01 The single, the single, the only defense against Satan, 22:05 there is no other defense, is the indwelling of Christ in the 22:09 heart. 22:13 with God, we will never resist. 22:18 There is, she says in a different paragraph, in 22:20 continual communion, continually, there is no second 22:25 that you should disconnect. 22:26 You disconnect for a second, Satan would attack you. 22:30 Continually, that's the reason he says pray without ceasing. 22:35 That doesn't mean that you stay home on your knees and never go 22:37 to work and never eat. 22:38 It means that whatever you do, you never separate. 22:41 As Jesus says in John chapter 15, I am the vine, you are the 22:45 branches. 22:49 And by the way, how do you know that you are in me? 22:52 Because you can think and still be away. 22:55 It's very simple, he says you'll know them by day. 22:58 And Jesus says in John 15, that if you abide in me and I in 23:02 you, you will produce much fruit. 23:05 Well, so if there is no fruit, that means that you may think 23:08 that you are in Christ, but you're actually not in Christ. 23:10 You have the theory of Christ, but not the presence of Christ. 23:14 And so, if you remain in him, you are safe. 23:22 Unless we are continually connected, she says in this era 23:25 of ages, we will never resist. 23:27 Now I want to move on because I'm not going to give all eight 23:31 sermons. 23:33 So, number one in, brethren be strong in the Lord. 23:39 Now listen carefully. 23:40 It says there, if you continue to read in verse 18, praying 23:44 all the time. 23:45 How much? 23:47 How much is all the time? 23:49 How many hours a day? 23:51 24? 23:52 How many people pray? 23:53 Don't raise your hands. 23:55 I don't want you to lie. 23:56 It's a sin. 23:58 How many people pray 24 hours a day? 24:02 You see what I'm talking about? 24:05 We make prayer an event. 24:08 Prayer, it's a way of life. 24:11 The spirit of prophecy says that prayer is the breath of 24:14 the soul. 24:18 breathing five minutes in the morning, five minutes in the 24:20 evening and staying alive. 24:24 That means that spiritually we stink. 24:26 We are dead bodies. 24:29 If you want to be alive and strong, you pray without 24:33 ceasing. 24:35 And if you are not used to pray here, do you think that you'll 24:38 enjoy to pray in heaven all the time? 24:42 So you better learn to commune all the time. 24:46 Ellen White says that our minds take the shape of the things 24:51 that we dwell upon. 24:54 And she says the more we talk about heaven, about Jesus, 24:58 about sacrifice, about God, the more we are transforming to his 25:03 image. 25:07 citizens of heaven, are more attracted to heaven and have 25:11 less attraction for this world. 25:13 And she says the more we do that, the more we are connected 25:16 to heaven and we have no more joy in this world. 25:20 Our joy is in his presence. 25:24 Shouldn't our minds be all the time heaven focused? 25:31 The reason we have no peace is because we keep our minds on 25:34 this. 25:35 The Bible says you keep him in perfect peace. 25:38 Him whose mind is fixed on him, on that. 25:45 You understand? 25:47 Heaven focused because heaven is what we hope for. 25:53 Otherwise, why are you here? 25:56 In the Lord. 25:57 Number two, he says pray all the time with petitions in the 26:03 spirit. 26:08 Listen carefully. 26:10 At the sound of fervent prayers. 26:12 Do you remember the paragraph? 26:14 Satan and his whole hosts. 26:17 Tremble. 26:21 Somebody asked me, can I pray loud? 26:23 If I pray loud, Satan is going to hear my prayer and then he 26:26 knows what I want. 26:30 Really? 26:32 When you pray, you go into God's presence. 26:35 Prayer is not just a poetry. 26:37 You enter the most holy place. 26:40 You are next to God. 26:41 Do you think that when God is there, Satan comes too? 26:47 When you pray, Satan flees. 26:50 He runs. 26:52 That's when you are safe, actually. 26:54 That's the reason you should pray all the time. 26:56 You connect with the source of all power. 26:59 Satan, first testimonies, page 295. 27:02 He's enraged at the sound of fervent prayer because he knows 27:05 that he will certainly suffer loss. 27:09 He's enraged when you pray because he knows that he will 27:12 certainly, he says, suffer loss. 27:16 Why don't we pray? 27:18 Prayer should not be a chore, a duty, an event or a routine or 27:22 something in crisis. 27:24 Prayer should be the breath of the soul. 27:28 Prayer should be a privilege. 27:32 Prayer, he says, listen carefully, is the breath of the 27:35 soul, is the secret of spiritual power. 27:37 Prayer brings the heart into immediate contact with the 27:40 spring of life. 27:42 Nelect prayer or pray spasmodically and you lose your 27:46 hold on God. 27:48 Evangelion page 609. 27:50 Prayer is the faith of the Christian and those who pray 27:54 will certainly prevail against Satan. 27:59 Brethren, be strong in the Lord. 28:02 That's your first weapon. 28:04 Always connect it. 28:05 Pray all the time. 28:07 Don't use prayer for your needs. 28:09 You can do that, too. 28:11 But prayer is a spiritual, physical weapon. 28:14 It's a gun. 28:16 It's your gun that you can fight Satan. 28:18 There is no other gun. 28:23 You cannot shoot Satan. 28:26 Prayer is your real weapon. 28:32 Prayer is the great strength of the Christian. 28:35 And then he says, in the world, thy world is a lamp unto my 28:41 feet. 28:43 Listen carefully. 28:45 Preparation, how do you prepare, should be made by 28:48 diligent study of the world. 28:50 By diligent study of the world. 28:52 By diligent study of the world. 28:55 The world. 28:56 How do you, how do you, how much time do you spend in the 28:59 world? 29:03 So closely with the counterfeit resembled the truth that it 29:06 will be impossible to distinguish between them, 29:09 except by the scriptures. 29:11 And then in Selected Messages, volume 3, page 389, go to God 29:15 in the Lord. 29:17 Go to the world and to prayer. 29:19 Do you see them? 29:20 In the Lord, in prayer in the world. 29:22 Go to God, go to the world and to prayer for divine alignment, 29:26 that you may be able to distinguish between God's work 29:30 and Satan's counterfeit work. 29:33 And then in six testimonies, prayer and study should never 29:36 be separated. 29:40 talk to God. 29:41 And through the word, God talks back to us just as he was next 29:44 to us, talking to us face to face. 29:47 The word is God's voice, God's letter for you. 29:52 You should not just study the word as a duty. 29:55 If you read three chapters a day, in one year you can finish 29:57 the Bible and that's the goal. 30:00 Eleanor Knight is very clear. 30:01 She says, don't read a lot. 30:03 Have you read that paragraph? 30:04 She says, take one, two verses at a time. 30:08 And she says, pray over it so the Holy Spirit will inspire 30:11 you to understand. 30:12 And then she says, read it. 30:13 And then she says, reflect on it. 30:15 And then she says, pray again. 30:16 Read it again. 30:17 And then she says, digest it. 30:20 Reflect. 30:20 Meditate. 30:21 Day and night. 30:22 Meditate upon it. 30:23 Make the word food. 30:26 Eat it and live. 30:29 every word that comes from God's mouth. 30:31 God's word has power. 30:32 When he says, it happens. 30:35 God's word has transforming power. 30:37 It's the single book in the history that can actually 30:39 change character. 30:42 Don't just read it. 30:44 Eat it. 30:44 So in you, it will have transforming power. 30:49 Prayer and the word should never be separated. 30:51 They are like a dialogue. 30:53 It's breathing. 30:54 You exhale when you talk and you inhale when you read. 30:58 You talk, God talks. 31:00 You understand? 31:02 It's a dialogue. 31:03 That's breathing. 31:06 Now, if you think about it, lately, and the Bible says that 31:13 there will be false Christ, false prophets, false 31:17 doctrines, false ideas and theories. 31:19 Lately, we have so many false ideas and theories, even among 31:22 us. 31:22 Am I right? 31:24 People who no longer believe in this and people who no longer 31:26 believe in that and people. 31:28 How can you stand if you don't know your Bible? 31:33 You need to be solid on the Bible. 31:38 Amen. 31:40 That's the key. 31:42 And then he says, take the whole armor. 31:45 You need the armor. 31:46 You need the armor. 31:47 Put the whole armor of God so you may stand against the 31:51 schemes of the devil. 31:53 Now think about this. 31:54 The whole armor, the word armor there in Greek is panoplia. 31:59 Panoplia that you have the word panoply from in Hebrew is 32:04 shalat. 32:05 What does it mean? 32:06 It means a complete set of protection or a covering set of 32:13 protection, complete protection. 32:18 But this word shalat in Hebrew panoplia in Greek is what is 32:24 used in the Bible many times. 32:25 For instance, it says the angel of the Lord encamps around 32:29 those who fear him in the word shalat. 32:33 The angel of the Lord in a different place. 32:36 Satan goes before God and God says, have you considered my 32:40 servant Job? 32:42 And Satan says, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 32:44 And then Satan says, you have put a shalat. 32:48 That's the word there. 32:49 You have put a wall of protection around him and his 32:54 household and his family. 32:55 I cannot even touch him. 32:57 That's the armor. 33:00 That's the armor. 33:03 Don't you want that armor around you? 33:06 Shouldn't we pray daily for the armor around Lord? 33:10 Put this armor around me, my spouse, my children, my 33:14 grandchildren, around my house. 33:16 Lord, I need your armor today and I need it every second, not 33:22 for selfish interest. 33:24 So I have no accidents and I never get sick and I am never 33:27 poor. 33:28 But first, so Satan has no access to my mind and to my 33:33 heart. 33:39 invincible. 33:41 By the way, talking about accidents, my wife was 33:44 pregnant. 33:46 With our first kid and we were in Bucharest. 33:50 I was a student and she says, honey, the church is over and 33:55 as usually you talk too much. 33:57 Let's go home. 34:00 Let's just stay five minutes more. 34:01 Let's talk to people. 34:03 She says, let's go home. 34:05 Honey, three minutes. 34:07 Let's go home. 34:08 One minute. 34:09 She says, no, honey, I can hardly walk. 34:12 I am tired. 34:12 Let's go home. 34:16 You go, by the time you cross the street to the bus station, 34:20 I'm going to run and catch up. 34:23 She says, no, then I have to wait at the bus station another 34:25 10 minutes. 34:26 I know how you are. 34:27 I said, honey, please, I promise. 34:30 She says, OK, one minute. 34:31 OK, one minute. 34:33 She walks. 34:34 I'm talking. 34:35 And she gets off the sidewalk into the street. 34:40 And she doesn't look left or right. 34:43 She walks into the street looking back. 34:45 Come on, honey, please. 34:46 And she walks into the street. 34:48 And I see a car coming with extreme speed and hitting her. 34:53 When I see the car hitting her right here, I scream, Donna. 34:57 And she looked back. 34:58 What? 34:59 And then I see her doing acrobatics like circus. 35:04 She was pushed back from the stomach. 35:08 Her legs were still there. 35:08 Her hand still there. 35:11 And the car went by. 35:13 And I said, how did you manage to do that? 35:18 And she says, I didn't. 35:21 There was a hand, physical hand, that I felt in my stomach 35:23 so hard that I could not breathe that physically pushed 35:27 me back a few feet in an instant. 35:33 When we go to heaven, the angel of the Lord is going to say, 35:37 that's the armor. 35:39 I was there protecting you and the baby. 35:45 The angel of the Lord. 35:47 You remember in Second Kings, the story, the prophet is on 35:50 the mountain with his servant. 35:52 And the servant says, whoa, master, the mountain is 35:55 surrounded by the Syrian army. 35:57 And the prophet says, Lord, please open his eyes. 36:03 And he sees the mountain surrounded also by God's army 36:09 of angels. 36:14 Shalat, Panopria, the armor of God. 36:17 And we are not even aware of the war around us. 36:20 And Satan is like a lion, desperately trying to destroy 36:25 you and your family and your life and your faith. 36:29 And Satan attacks your house not because he needs a house. 36:31 Satan doesn't like your house. 36:34 He attacks your car not because he drives. 36:36 He flies. 36:37 He doesn't need a car. 36:38 He attacks your spouse not because he likes your spouse. 36:42 No, but because by attacking everything you have, he can 36:46 distract you from your relationship with God. 36:49 And you worry about this and that instead of realizing that 36:53 your biggest problem is not your job or your house and your 36:56 car, your biggest need, it's your relationship with Christ 36:59 and your faith and your prayer and your study time. 37:02 And Satan does all those things. 37:04 So you focus there instead of focusing there. 37:10 And we desperately, moreover in the times we live, we need 37:15 Panoplia. 37:16 You follow me? 37:18 We need that armor of protection. 37:20 And by the way, if you go a little deeper, if you go a 37:24 little deeper, it's... 37:27 If you think about it, it says, the sword of the spirit that 37:34 is, it says in my Bible, that is the word of God. 37:38 Did you know? 37:40 They sang carefully. 37:41 The sword, what is part of the armor? 37:43 The sword of the spirit, that is what? 37:46 Did you know that the Bible is a sword? 37:49 You take the Bible, bang! 37:51 Did you know that? 37:56 to fight as a weapon, not only to defend yourself, but to 38:01 destroy Satan. 38:03 Did you ever use the Bible as a weapon to fight with it? 38:08 Not to hit people in the head. 38:09 It's not what I'm talking about. 38:11 It's about fighting Satan, not hitting people. 38:14 You understand? 38:15 Okay. 38:18 Well, well, well. 38:24 word, the Greek word for sword, it's a different word that 38:28 doesn't even mean sword. 38:30 It's a word called Makaira that doesn't mean sword. 38:34 If you Google it, Makaira, it's a knife. 38:38 They had a sword and they had a knife here in the back that was 38:44 short. 38:45 It had a canal in the middle and it had two edges, so sharp, 38:53 if you read in the history, so sharp that they used to use 38:57 this knife, Makaira, to shave. 39:01 It says that if you would put a Makaira on a tomato without 39:06 pushing, without moving, without any pressure, only the 39:09 weight of the knife would go through the tomato like 39:11 nothing. 39:12 And they say the steel that was made of could cut anything 39:17 without getting a dent. 39:20 And they said it was the most deadly part of the weapon. 39:24 And they said, now listen carefully, it was used when the 39:27 enemy was way stronger, way bigger. 39:30 You had no chance and the enemy got on you, grabbed you. 39:34 When the enemy grabbed you, body to body fight, and you had 39:39 no hope, you take the knife. 39:41 And if you got in the enemy, it would cut everything, including 39:44 bone, everything, totally destroy, deadly. 39:48 And the Bible says that the word of God is a Makaira. 39:52 It's a knife with two edges that can cut anything. 39:57 And that's what Jesus used. 40:01 He says the sword of the spirit, that is what? 40:05 But the word is not logos in Greek, as usually, always word 40:11 is logos. 40:12 It's rima, the word rima that we have the word rhyme from, 40:18 the word rima. 40:20 What means rima? 40:22 Rima doesn't mean a word, it means a paragraph or a saying, 40:29 a few sentences or a sentence. 40:31 It's a few words that you can take it and use it when you are 40:37 in need. 40:40 And if you go back when Jesus was attacked by Satan in the 40:44 wilderness, it says that Jesus said, it is written, the man is 40:52 not going to live by, but by. 40:56 And when he says word, when Jesus answered to Satan's 41:02 attack, when he says it is written, every time it's not 41:07 logos, it's rima. 41:09 Jesus used a paragraph or a saying from the Bible to fight 41:14 Satan. 41:16 Every time Jesus was attacked three times and three times he 41:20 used the sword of the word rima to fight back. 41:25 And the spiritual prophecy says, and I have the quotation, 41:27 that Satan is afraid of the word because the word has 41:32 power. 41:34 The word of God, when God says, it happens. 41:37 It's not like our words, like politicians' words, you know. 41:41 They say it doesn't happen. 41:44 When God says, it is secure. 41:48 One hundred percent. 41:49 There is no shadow of doubt. 41:50 When God says, it's secure. 41:55 Satan is afraid of the word. 41:57 And that's our weapon. 41:59 Fight with prayer, fight with the word. 42:02 Isn't that amazing? 42:04 And we rarely use them as a weapon. 42:07 We use prayer as a routine. 42:09 We use prayer in crisis instead of using prayer all the time. 42:14 And then you'll be safe. 42:15 Use the word all the time and then you'll be safe. 42:19 Now, very interesting. 42:21 Very interesting. 42:23 If you talk about the word, it says, pray all the time. 42:27 Now listen carefully. 42:29 The sword of the speed that is the word of God. 42:31 What we said is the sword. 42:33 The word is makaira. 42:34 Okay. 42:35 That is the word of God. 42:36 What is the word? 42:37 It's rima. 42:38 Praying with all prayers and supplication. 42:41 Praying in the spirit. 42:43 Did you ever pray in the spirit? 42:45 Do you know how to, it says here in the Bible in Ephesians 42:48 chapter 6, do you know how to pray in the spirit? 42:52 Well, it says in Romans chapter 8 that the Holy Spirit has to 42:56 intercede for us because we don't. 43:00 We don't know how to pray. 43:01 Therefore what? 43:02 You may assume that is good and you can ask. 43:05 The spirit says, no, you actually don't know. 43:08 It's not what you should ask. 43:09 It's really not good for you. 43:10 If you knew the whole picture, if you knew the future, if you 43:13 knew your real problem, you would not pray for this. 43:16 You would pray for that. 43:18 So shouldn't we, instead of assuming that we pray the right 43:21 prayer, shouldn't we ask the Holy Spirit to inspire us what 43:24 to pray for? 43:26 Because the Holy Spirit knows much better what you should 43:29 pray for than what you know. 43:31 Am I right? 43:33 Let me give you an example. 43:34 I was praying. 43:35 I said, Lord, I don't know what to pray for. 43:38 I already finished all I know. 43:39 But if there is somebody in need, you tell me what to pray 43:43 for. 43:44 And the Holy Spirit put in my mind, call so-and-so. 43:46 I said, why would I call that person? 43:49 We never call each other. 43:50 Basically, he lives in Europe. 43:52 I live here. 43:54 We never call each other. 43:57 And we meet once a year at the annual council. 44:01 Hi, hi, hi, hi, bye. 44:02 That's it. 44:03 Next year, October, annual council. 44:04 Hi, hi, bye, bye. 44:05 That's it. 44:06 Why would I call him? 44:08 And the Holy Spirit says in my mind, you asked me what to pray 44:13 for. 44:13 Call and pray with him. 44:15 So I called. 44:16 He says, how did you know? 44:18 I said, what? 44:20 He says, we are in a meeting, executive committee at the 44:23 union, and we need to make a decision that is extremely 44:26 important. 44:27 So I got outside the meeting. 44:29 I took my telephone to call you to pray together. 44:32 And I had my phone ready to dial, and you called me. 44:36 How did you know? 44:37 I said, well, the Holy Spirit told me to pray for you. 44:40 Basically, pray for what to pray before you pray for what 44:43 you pray. 44:46 You understand? 44:48 It would be so much better if we would allow the Holy Spirit 44:52 to impress us how to pray. 44:54 And if we ask, please, Lord, I don't even know what I need, 44:59 but you do. 45:02 You understand? 45:04 God is waiting. 45:05 He's not like, I don't like your eyes. 45:09 He wants to answer your prayer more than you want answers to 45:14 your prayers. 45:16 And he's more than that praying in the spirit. 45:19 Let me give you an example. 45:21 Our youngest son, Ovi, he was about three years and a half. 45:27 We are traveling with a train from Bucharest to the south of 45:30 the country. 45:31 In that time, there was no law that you cannot smoke in public 45:34 places. 45:38 compartment with six seats, three and three. 45:41 It was my wife, myself, two kids, small, one was three and 45:46 a half, one was six and a half. 45:47 Across from us, it was a lady, and she was smoking like an old 45:51 train. 45:53 It was the smoke so dense that you could not see each other. 45:56 And I was like, I told my wife, honey, five hours in this 45:59 compartment, this train, I'm going to die. 46:02 And Ovi, three years and a half, daddy, why don't you 46:06 pray? 46:07 I said, leave me alone. 46:09 But that's what you preached. 46:11 I said, well, that was the sermon, son. 46:14 He said, daddy, you said in the sermon that we need to pray. 46:18 I said, OK, you pray. 46:20 He says, I did already. 46:22 But he says, you need to pray for the Holy Spirit to tell you 46:26 what to talk to the lady. 46:29 I shook my head. 46:30 I said, he's a kid. 46:30 He doesn't understand. 46:31 Well, sometimes they do understand better than we do, 46:36 though we don't like to acknowledge. 46:39 So he, three years and a half, got on his knees in the 46:42 compartment. 46:43 Lord Jesus, give me your Holy Spirit to know what to talk to 46:45 this lady, because I want to do and say what you say, not what 46:49 I would say. 46:50 Amen. 46:51 And then he says, lady, stop smoking. 46:53 You kill us. 46:56 And the lady said, leave me alone. 46:59 He kneels down and says, Lord, this didn't work. 47:02 Give me another line. 47:05 He gets up and says, lady, you don't care, obviously, that you 47:09 kill us. 47:11 She says, leave me alone. 47:13 He kneels down third time. 47:15 He says, Jesus, you need to give me another line. 47:19 He gets up and he says, do you have children? 47:23 And the lady says, why? 47:26 It's just a simple question. 47:27 Do you have children? 47:28 She says, yes. 47:29 Do you love your children? 47:31 Yes. 47:31 He says, no, no, no, no. 47:32 Just be honest. 47:33 Do you really love your children? 47:34 Yes. 47:35 No, no, no. 47:35 Just tell me. 47:36 Do you really love your... 47:37 He says, yes. 47:38 He says, then what's the point to kill yourself and your kids 47:42 go from foster home to foster home? 47:45 If you really love your children, stop smoking, raise 47:47 them up and then smoke and kill yourself. 47:51 And the lady says, did you teach him to say that? 47:54 He says, lady, it will not cross my mind moreover to teach 47:57 him. 47:59 I have no idea where he came from. 48:01 He says, daddy, the Holy Spirit. 48:04 I prayed about it. 48:09 The lady says, can I have your address? 48:11 And she started to cry. 48:13 We gave her our address. 48:14 Three months later, we got a letter. 48:16 There was no cell phone internet in that time. 48:19 That's 100 years ago and we were young. 48:22 We got a letter and she says, God inspired your kid. 48:27 And God talked to me through the kid. 48:29 I want you to know since that day, I never smoked again. 48:31 I found the church and my life is changed. 48:38 Pray in the spirit. 48:40 Do you understand what I'm trying to say? 48:42 But we need to finish because my time is, oh, heaven, I have 48:45 only eight minutes left over. 48:48 Can I speak fast? 48:50 When you pray in the spirit means you are guided by the 48:53 spirit. 48:56 You are enabled, empowered, inspired by the spirit. 48:59 You pray what the spirit wants you to pray, not what you 49:01 assume that you should pray. 49:04 Listen what he says in Romans, the Holy Spirit helps because 49:07 we don't even know how to pray. 49:13 He says in Jude, verse 20, building yourself up in your 49:18 faith, praying all the time in the spirit. 49:23 In Luke chapter 12, the Holy Spirit will give you the words. 49:26 You know those Bible verses. 49:28 In spirit of prophecy, he says there about Joshua in 49:33 Patriarchal Prophets. 49:35 The Joshua said to the son to stand still until they get 49:39 victory over. 49:40 You remember? 49:42 And then the spirit of prophecy says the Holy Spirit inspired 49:46 him to talk to the son. 49:47 It was not his mind. 49:50 And then she says, because he was in the spirit. 49:55 That's what happens when you don't talk from your brain. 49:58 You are connected to the spirit. 50:01 And you say, Lord, please give me your Holy Spirit, because 50:04 without your spirit, I am nothing. 50:06 Take over my mind, over my mouth. 50:09 Over. 50:09 You follow me? 50:12 That's what Illinois says that we should be daily filled, 50:17 freshly baptized with the Holy Spirit. 50:20 That's what the foolish virgins didn't have. 50:23 Oil in the lamp. 50:25 The Holy Spirit. 50:28 And how little we talk about that. 50:30 Now, listen. 50:33 And he says there. 50:36 Listen carefully. 50:38 Very interesting. 50:44 By the way, before we get there, how do you know? 50:49 He says the Holy Spirit would remind you. 50:52 OK, what to say? 50:55 How do you know what to say? 50:58 How can the Holy Spirit remind you? 51:03 You have to learn it in order to remember it. 51:06 It's like, hey, I didn't put any money in the bank, but I go 51:10 to withdraw some money. 51:12 You need to put it in in order to be able to recall it out. 51:18 Am I right? 51:19 If you don't do any prayer and study, don't expect the Holy 51:22 Spirit to remember you the Bible verses that you never 51:24 read. 51:26 Do you understand what I'm saying? 51:28 You need to do diligent study for the Holy Spirit to have 51:31 something to remind you. 51:34 You don't. 51:37 You know what? 51:38 When I was a kid, my father made fun of me. 51:40 He says, son, you like soccer and bicycles more than 51:43 mathematics. 51:45 And he says, you know how can learn easy? 51:47 He says, when you go to sleep, put your book under the pillow. 51:50 If you sleep with your head, maybe somehow it goes through 51:54 the it goes into the head. 51:56 I said, really? 51:57 He says, no, you need to learn it, son. 52:00 I was just joking. 52:05 You understand? 52:07 It's not going to happen if you just sleep with the Bible next 52:09 to your head. 52:13 You need to eat it. 52:17 It should be your joy. 52:19 By the way, when they are going to take it from you and they 52:22 will. 52:27 He says there in Psalm 119, your word, 52:36 your word, I. 52:40 Hidden into my in a different realization, I stored into my 52:43 heart. 52:44 So I may not sin. 52:46 How do you protect yourself from sin? 52:48 Having the word in your mind, in your heart is so clear. 52:53 It's a weapon. 52:56 It's a sword. 52:57 It's a Makaira. 53:01 Your word, I've hidden into my heart that I may not sin 53:04 against it. 53:05 How do you store the word into your heart? 53:09 Well, well, well, Illinois says committee, she says, committed 53:13 to memory. 53:15 She just take one or two verses and she says, read them, pray 53:18 over them, read them again, pray over them, read them 53:20 again, reflect on it, meditate upon it, read them again. 53:23 She says several times until you committed to memory. 53:27 Now, think about that. 53:28 If you take two verses, one verse, OK, let's suppose you 53:32 don't have a good memory. 53:33 One verse a day. 53:34 OK, and you read it 20 times. 53:37 If you read one verse 20 times, you will remember it. 53:44 In one year is three hundred sixty verses. 53:46 Three hundred sixty five in ten years. 53:49 Time goes fast. 53:52 It's like snowball. 53:53 It accumulates. 53:54 And then the Holy Spirit, when you study, remind you, oh, this 53:57 connects to this and that. 53:58 Oh, makes light. 54:00 When you talk to somebody, the Holy Spirit reminds you and you 54:03 know what to tell them. 54:04 When you go through some trials, the Holy Spirit reminds 54:06 you and he gives you strength. 54:10 gives you courage. 54:14 you strength to fight Satan. 54:15 Because the world is there to give you strength. 54:23 Shouldn't we do that daily? 54:25 You better start today. 54:28 Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. 54:31 You remember? 54:32 Today is the day of salvation. 54:34 So how do you do that? 54:36 How do you store the word in your brain? 54:42 Repetition. 54:43 My father used to say repetition is the mother of 54:45 memorization. 54:47 He says in Deuteronomy chapter four, take heed to yourself. 54:51 Otherwise, you will forget these things. 54:53 And then he says, teach them and repeat them to your 54:57 children and grandchildren daily. 54:59 Repeat them. 55:01 Repeat them again and again and again. 55:04 Repeat them. 55:05 Now, there is another way. 55:07 He says there in Colossians chapter three, let the word of 55:11 Christ. 55:11 Now listen carefully. 55:13 Let the word dwell in you by admonishing one another in 55:19 hymns and songs. 55:22 Did you ever think about the word dwelling in you through 55:25 songs? 55:26 He says in the Bible, singing with grace in your hearts. 55:29 Basically, when you sing Bible songs, the word remains. 55:40 The more you sing, the more you memorize the word. 55:43 And Eleonore says songs are prayers. 55:48 And songs are a weapon. 55:50 For instance, when Satan would attack King Saul, David would 55:54 play and the evil spirits would run. 55:58 What it would be if our people would be people singing Bible 56:03 songs? 56:04 Like you remember the Bible songs? 56:08 Give thanks, give thanks to the whole. 56:14 Oh, come on, you have a C. 56:16 You should all sing. 56:18 Give thanks because he's giving. 56:21 Now you've got a B. 56:23 Okay, another one. 56:24 Another one. 56:26 Seek ye first. 56:28 Okay, you have an A. 56:29 This one. 56:30 You know this one. 56:32 When I am afraid, I will trust. 56:35 You know this one too. 56:39 This little light of mine. 56:42 You know this one, don't you? 56:47 What it would be if our people would sing all the time? 56:51 Jesus is coming. 56:54 Coming again. 56:55 He is coming. 56:58 And God through the Holy Spirit talks to you and says make 57:02 prayer. 57:03 Study of the world. 57:05 The presence of the Holy Spirit. 57:07 The connection, a continual connection with God. 57:09 Make it a priority. 57:11 If you don't do it today, why do you think that you are going 57:14 to do it tomorrow? 57:16 If you keep procrastinating. 57:17 Renoir says that by procrastinating we harden our 57:20 hearts until we are insensitive to the voice of the Holy 57:22 Spirit. 57:23 Do not play games with the Holy Spirit. 57:26 If God says start today, start today. 57:32 How many of you want to start today to make prayer? 57:34 Study of the world. 57:36 A continual relationship with God. 57:38 A priority. 57:39 The center of the life. 57:40 The focus of the life. 57:43 Today. 57:44 Amen. 57:48 Do it again. 57:51 Don't give up. 57:53 Because God is waiting for you to do that. 57:55 Because that's your only safety. 57:59 Moreover in the crisis. 58:01 Amen. 58:01 Let's pray together. 58:04 Father in heaven, prayer is the greatest privilege. 58:09 We can talk to you the God of the universe, the most holy. 58:16 Please help us understand our desperate need for prayer. 58:21 For the world. 58:22 For a continual connection with you. 58:26 Our desperate need for the Holy Spirit. 58:28 Our desperate need to be fully covered by the armor of God. 58:32 And help us to make it a reality. 58:35 To be not only listeners, but doers. 58:37 We pray in Jesus name. 58:40 Amen. |
Revised 2025-06-07