Participants: Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: SSH
Program Code: SSH021635A
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00:11 [music] 00:21 [music] 00:35 Doug Batchelor: Welcome to our friends for our 00:36 "Sabbath School Study Hour." 00:38 We're so glad that you could join us here at the Granite Bay 00:41 Seventh Day Adventist Church, where we're going to be delving 00:44 into our Bible study in just a few moments, 00:46 talking about the role of the church in community. 00:49 And today's lesson in particular is talking about "Jesus 00:53 Ministered to Their Needs," it's lesson number nine. 00:55 And we always like to remind our friends that we have a special 00:59 gift book that we'll make available to anybody that calls 01:02 in, we'll send it to you, and it's called 01:05 "12 Steps to Revival." 01:07 And if you like our free offer, it's--you ask for 01:10 offer number 780. 01:12 Just call the number on the screen... 01:18 and we'll send you the book "12 Steps to Revival." 01:20 It's got some great outlines, biblical principles of things 01:24 that you can follow so that you can experience 01:27 a revival in your life. 01:28 And after you get this, read it, share it with your friend. 01:32 You can even go to the Amazing Facts website that is simply 01:35 amazingfacts.org, and I believe you can download this book 01:39 there, and read it as well. 01:42 Well, in just a moment, we're going to get into today's 01:44 Sabbath School Study lesson, but we'd like to invite our singers 01:46 out, and just get our minds clear and our lungs breathing 01:50 before we enter into the study of God's Word. 01:57 female: Good morning, we're going to start 01:59 our song service out today with number 92, 02:02 "This Is My Father's World." 02:04 And we'll sing all three verses. 02:06 [music] 02:08 ♪ This is my Father's world. ♪ 02:12 ♪ And to my listening ears, all nature sings, ♪ 02:19 ♪ and round me rings the music of the spheres. ♪ 02:26 ♪ This is my Father's world. ♪ 02:30 ♪ I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees, ♪ 02:37 ♪ of skies and seas, his hand the wonders wrought. ♪ 02:44 ♪ This is my Father's world. ♪ 02:48 ♪ The birds their carols raise. ♪ 02:53 ♪ The morning light, the lily white declare ♪ 02:59 ♪ their maker's praise. ♪ 03:02 ♪ This is my Father's world. ♪ 03:07 ♪ He shines in all that's fair. ♪ 03:11 ♪ In the rustling grass, I hear him pass. ♪ 03:16 ♪ He speaks to me everywhere. ♪ 03:20 ♪ This is my Father's world. ♪ 03:25 ♪ Oh, let me ne'er forget that though the wrong seems oft ♪ 03:33 ♪ so strong, God is the ruler yet. ♪ 03:38 ♪ This is my Father's world. ♪ 03:43 ♪ Why should my heart be sad? ♪ 03:47 ♪ The Lord is king, let the heavens ring. ♪ 03:52 ♪ God reigns, let the earth be glad. ♪♪ 03:59 female: Our next song will be number 478, 04:02 "Sweet Hour of Prayer." 04:03 And we'll sing all three verses. 04:05 [music] 04:16 ♪ Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer ♪ 04:21 ♪ that calls me from a world of care. ♪ 04:26 ♪ And bids me at my Father's throne make all my wants ♪ 04:34 ♪ and wishes known. ♪ 04:36 ♪ In seasons of distress and grief, ♪ 04:41 ♪ my soul has often found relief. ♪ 04:46 ♪ And oft escaped the tempter's snare by thy return, ♪ 04:54 ♪ sweet hour of prayer. ♪ 04:57 ♪ Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, ♪ 05:03 ♪ thy wings shall my petition bear to him whose truth ♪ 05:10 ♪ and faithfulness engage the waiting soul to bless. ♪ 05:18 ♪ And since he bids me seek his face, ♪ 05:23 ♪ believe his Word, and trust his grace, ♪ 05:28 ♪ I'll cast on him my every care, and wait for thee, ♪ 05:35 ♪ sweet hour of prayer. ♪ 05:39 ♪ Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, ♪ 05:45 ♪ may I thy consolation share. ♪ 05:50 ♪ Till from Mount Pisgah's lofty height, ♪ 05:55 ♪ I view my home and take my flight. ♪ 06:00 ♪ In my immortal flesh I'll rise to seize the everlasting prize ♪ 06:10 ♪ And shout, while passing through the air, ♪ 06:15 ♪ "Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer." ♪♪ 06:28 Doug: Thank you very much to our singers and our musicians. 06:32 And welcome once again to those who are part of our local 06:35 Sabbath School class here at Granite Bay. 06:37 We know that we always have some visitors. 06:40 We're glad that you're with us today. 06:41 I want to welcome the extended class that is watching from all 06:47 different parts of the globe. 06:48 Just yesterday, I was in Phoenix. 06:51 And you know, we record these programs a few weeks early from 06:55 the time when the rest of the world church studies. 06:57 I was in Phoenix for the national ASI meeting. 07:00 And so, that gives us an opportunity to meet people who 07:03 are part of the class from all over the world. 07:05 Quite literally, there were people there from all over the 07:07 world, and so it's so much fun to have people come up and say, 07:11 "We do Sabbath School with you every week." 07:13 And many people do it before they go to church, 07:16 or some are even watching on Thursday. 07:18 And it's just--it's fun to know we have this opportunity to 07:22 study the Word with so many people. 07:24 So, welcome, welcome those of you who are part of the Granite 07:28 Bay church, some of our online members. 07:30 We have a mechanism where people who don't have a local church, 07:33 they can attend, that some are scattered at different parts of 07:37 the world where there's no local congregation. 07:39 And we even heard of some folks that are up in Alaska, 07:42 they watch like a ski resort through the summer, 07:44 they're all by themselves. 07:46 Or they're at a fire-watch station up on a mountain 07:49 in some remote wilderness. 07:50 But they got the internet, and so they say, 07:53 "This is our Sabbath School, this is our church." 07:55 And I want to welcome those online members as well. Huh? 08:03 Yeah, we--matter of fact, Karen and I were in 08:06 Southern California, we won't point them out, 08:09 and we were visiting with some of our online members 08:12 that they can't make it to church every week, 08:14 and it was fun, make a pastoral visit now. 08:18 We're going to go into our lesson. 08:20 Lesson is dealing--it's lesson number nine, 08:23 and we're dealing with the subject of "Jesus Ministered 08:25 to Their Needs." 08:27 And the memory verse is from Matthew 9:35. 08:30 Now, we've read this before, Matthew 9:35. 08:34 And it talks about--it's one verse that sort of encompasses 08:38 the mission of Jesus' ministry. 08:39 If you'd like to say that with me here in your study guide, 08:42 it's in the NIV version. 08:44 Are you ready? 08:46 "Jesus went throughout all the towns and villages, 08:50 teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the 08:54 kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness." 08:58 That's a great verse, it says he went to towns, 09:01 got a country ministry, city ministry, 09:04 village ministry, synagogues, in the church, 09:07 in the streets, preaching the good news, 09:09 preaching, teaching, healing all kinds of sickness and disease. 09:13 I think Mark, when he talks about that, 09:14 also includes "and casting out devils." 09:18 So, the Lord wants us to minister to the needs of the 09:21 communities in the churches, in the towns, 09:24 in the cities. 09:25 And we're going to look at a spectrum of different examples 09:27 from the Bible where Jesus does this. 09:31 Now, the first one is talking about an interruption 09:35 from ministry. 09:36 Have you ever been interrupted in your ministry? 09:39 If you look in Mark chapter 5, this will kind of give you the 09:43 overview of that, Mark chapter 5, 09:46 you go to verse 22. 09:49 After Jesus has this experience with the demoniac of Gadara, 09:53 and he crosses the sea, when he comes to shore, 09:57 scarcely does he get out of the boat before there is a ruler 10:01 from the synagogue, his name is Jairus. 10:05 I've heard people say Jairus. 10:07 It's like the king of Persia, some say Darius, 10:10 and some say Darius. 10:12 Potato, potato, tomato--anyway, but I've heard it 10:17 pronounced both ways. 10:18 So, Jairus, this ruler of the synagogue, 10:21 approaches him, and he's got a real burden. 10:22 He says--he earnestly begged in verse 23, 10:27 "My daughter lies at the point of death." 10:31 It's just at this crucial moment. 10:34 Time is of the greatest importance. 10:36 And he said, "Come, lay your hands on her, 10:39 that she may be healed." 10:41 Jesus already had a reputation for healing. 10:43 They thought it was important that he touched them, 10:45 or touched the daughter to heal her. 10:48 We know later that Jesus healed the Roman centurion's servant 10:51 just by speaking the word. 10:53 But the ruler said, "You'll need to come and do laying on of 10:55 hands, and heal her, and she will live." 10:58 He had faith. 10:59 So, Jesus went with him. 11:02 He's getting ready to make a home visit. 11:05 Sometimes, sick people were brought to Jesus, 11:08 but Jesus was not beyond going to where they were. 11:12 And so, Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed him 11:16 and thronged him. 11:19 He's surrounded by a great crowd. 11:22 There may have been thousands in the crowd, 11:24 and he's got the 12 apostles around him like 11:26 presidential bodyguards. 11:27 You know, they got the glasses and the earpieces, 11:29 and they're trying to protect Jesus as he's being pressed and 11:32 crushed from every side. 11:34 And while this is going on, and he's making his way up the 11:36 street, and Jairus is a little worried because his daughter's 11:40 at the point of death. 11:41 She's breathing those hard, labored final breaths. 11:46 And he's wanting Jesus to hurry, but Jesus along the way, 11:48 you know, he'll stop and say an encouraging word to someone, 11:51 and he'll touch somebody else. 11:52 And he's saying, "Please hurry, Lord." 11:56 And along the way, it says a certain woman that had a flow of 12:00 blood for 12 years, of course it's rendered her unclean 12:04 according to the Bible, and she had seen many physicians, 12:09 and she'd spent all that she had. 12:12 And she wasn't better, but rather grew worse. 12:15 Now, you know, Luke, who was a physician, 12:17 leaves out the part that this woman had wasted her money on 12:20 many physicians and got worse. 12:22 I don't know why Dr. Luke left that out, 12:25 but Mark includes that. 12:27 And I think we know sometimes it can get worse if you get the 12:33 wrong diagnosis. 12:35 And she heard about Jesus. 12:36 She came behind him in the crowd, 12:39 you know, in the wake of the river of people 12:41 he's flowing through. 12:43 She figures it's, you know, "Better if I come in from behind 12:46 maybe." 12:48 And she says, "If I can just touch his garment." 12:50 She reached out and touched his garment, 12:51 for she told herself, "If I can only touch his clothes, 12:55 I might be made well." 12:56 And she does this, and immediately the fountain of her 13:00 blood, the flow was dried up. 13:04 She felt in her body she was healed of the affliction. 13:07 Sometimes, when you're healed, you may not feel 13:09 anything right away. 13:11 Some people have been healed and gone to go get some kind of 13:13 confirmation from an X-ray or a doctor. 13:16 But she knew immediately. 13:18 I think Naaman, when he had leprosy, 13:19 and his fingers and toes popped back into place, 13:21 he felt something. 13:23 And some people who've been healed, 13:25 they felt that they were healed. 13:27 She knew immediately that she was healed. 13:30 You know, one of the most dramatic healings I've ever 13:33 seen, I guess I didn't really see it, 13:35 I heard it, Focus on the Family played it on their program. 13:40 There was a man who had a terrible problem with his voice 13:42 box, and he had surgery, and he couldn't barely talk in anything 13:46 above just a very faint, rough whisper. 13:49 It was like someone who had been yelling for years, 13:52 their voice was all strained. 13:53 And then--and he was--but he used to be a Sunday school 13:57 teacher. 13:58 And they were recording him teaching his class because he 14:02 had been such a good teacher, but his voice had been so 14:04 damaged for years. 14:06 And they'd been praying for healing. 14:08 And while he's teaching the class, 14:10 he says he's reading from the Bible, 14:12 and he's reading one of the Psalms. 14:15 And I vaguely remember it was a psalm that said something about, 14:18 "And he lifts us up from the pit." 14:20 And right when he said the word "pit," 14:22 you heard his voice change. 14:23 And all of a sudden, he started--he kept talking it, 14:26 and then you can hear him get choked up while he's talking, 14:29 he starts to cry. 14:31 He says, "You know, I don't know what happened, 14:33 but my voice is back. 14:34 I'm almost afraid to talk because this is temporary." 14:37 And you can hear this clear, resonating voice, 14:39 it was instantly healed. 14:42 And he interviewed the man on the radio station, 14:45 and they told the story of all that they went through. 14:47 And just God, when he read that verse, 14:48 God just healed his voice, and you hear it. 14:50 You actually hear someone going through a 14:54 dramatic healing like that. 14:55 He felt something when that happened. 14:58 Did any of you ever hear that broadcast? 15:00 I see, yeah, I see some of you, it was a pretty dramatic--you 15:03 can probably find it online. 15:05 So, God does heal. 15:07 Sometimes you feel it, sometimes it takes a while for you to 15:09 realize that you've been healed. 15:12 This lady felt that she'd been healed. 15:14 Now, during this whole thing, Jesus then, 15:17 verse 30--so far, Jesus is just moving along, 15:20 going with Jairus to heal his daughter. 15:23 But when Jesus feels that virtue, 15:25 vitality, vital force has gone out of him to heal this woman, 15:30 there's a touch of faith. 15:32 Many people were touching him, but it wasn't a touch of faith. 15:35 This lady reached out in faith, and he knew 15:38 something had happened. 15:40 He knew somebody had trusted him, 15:42 the Holy Spirit revealed it, and he stopped. 15:44 And everybody kind of stopped, you know, 15:47 because they had been making the slow progress up the street. 15:50 And he turns around, he said, "Who touched my clothes?" 15:54 Now, the disciples were worried that Jesus had spent too much 15:57 time in the sun, it was finally getting to him, 16:00 the long hours, not enough sleep, 16:01 irregular eating times. 16:03 And they said, "Lord, the multitude is thronging you on 16:08 every side, and you're saying, 'Who touched me?'" 16:12 And Jesus looked around to see who had done this thing, 16:16 and the woman knew right away. 16:18 And he said, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. 16:21 Go in peace and be healed." 16:23 You notice, you are healed, be healed, 16:26 stay healed of your affliction. 16:28 So, he confirmed the healing she knew that she had felt. 16:31 Verse 35, "While he's still speaking, 16:34 someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house," someone 16:38 came from Jairus' house, who said, 16:39 "Your daughter is dead." 16:41 It took too long. The delay was fatal. 16:45 The interruption caused her terminal death. 16:49 "Don't trouble the teacher anymore, 16:51 it's hopeless." 16:52 Jesus is hearing this message come to Jairus, 16:54 and he interrupts and he said, 16:57 "Do not be afraid, only believe." 17:00 Hope is not gone yet is what Jesus is saying. 17:04 I've often found if we listen to the Holy Spirit, 17:07 and we accept, embrace these interruptions that come, 17:10 God still works things out. 17:13 And he was going to work things out for Jairus too. 17:16 When we take time to do God's will and we think we're too 17:19 busy, and you give time to people, 17:22 even though you know you're busy and you're on a mission, 17:24 God will sometimes bless your mission better than you expected 17:28 because you put his priorities first. 17:30 That's what I've discovered. 17:33 He said, "Don't be afraid, only believe." 17:35 He permitted no one to follow him 17:36 except Peter, James and John. 17:38 There's a big crowd. 17:39 He says to the crowd, "You've got to stay here. 17:40 Now, we have to make time." 17:43 And they came to the ruler of the synagogue's house. 17:45 And by the time they got there, they had already 17:47 brought in the mourners. 17:49 She was so close to death, they had hired mourners 17:51 waiting for a job. 17:52 And they used to pay mourners, and they'd wail and weep, 17:56 and they play these doleful tones on the flutes and their 18:02 instruments. 18:03 And when he came in, he said, "Why do you make 18:05 this commotion and weep? 18:06 The child is not dead, but sleeping." 18:09 And they ridiculed him. 18:11 Christians don't die, they go to sleep, 18:14 waiting for the resurrection. 18:17 "And they ridiculed him. 18:18 But when he had put them all outside, 18:20 he took the father and the mother of the child, 18:22 and those who were with him, and he entered where 18:24 the child was lying. 18:25 And he took the child by the hand, 18:27 and he said to her, 'Talitha cumi,' which is translated, 18:30 'Little girl, arise.'" 18:32 And the same kind of word in Aramaic 18:35 that a mother and father would say to their little girl if 18:37 she's late for the school bus, "Honey, wake up." 18:40 It's just a very--it was a very tender way of saying it. 18:45 "Immediately, the girl rose, and she walked, 18:48 for she was 12 years of age. 18:51 And they were overcome with amazement. 18:52 He commanded them strictly no one should know about it. 18:55 He said, 'Give her something to eat.'" 18:57 She had been weakened by the fever, 18:59 and she needed something. 19:01 Now, this is a story, and I know I'm going beyond what the lesson 19:04 was wanting to bring up, but I think this is 19:06 such an important story. 19:08 You find this story in the book of--Gospel of Matthew, 19:10 Mark, and Luke. 19:11 Notice Jesus is on his way, all these people in the crowd are 19:16 touching him. 19:18 They're not really getting any better by their touch 19:19 because it's not a touch of faith. 19:21 Jesus is on his way to resurrect a girl, 19:24 how old is she? 19:26 Twelve years of age. 19:27 And on his way, another woman who's been bleeding for how 19:30 long? 19:32 Twelve years, touches him. 19:35 One touches Jesus, Jesus touches the other. 19:39 What does a woman represent in Bible allegories frequently, 19:42 not every time? 19:43 And I hope--maybe I'm being too hyper spiritual with this, 19:47 but I think there might be an allegory in this story. 19:49 It's in all three gospels. 19:51 The stories have a meaning. 19:53 You have one with a continual flow of blood. 19:55 And Jesus is on his way to raise a girl. 19:59 Twelve is a number for the church. 20:02 Is that right? 20:05 Woman with 12 stars, 12 apostles, 12 tribes. 20:08 And so, while he's on his way--the Old Testament church, 20:12 how was sin dealt with? 20:14 Sacrifice of goats, and sheep, and lambs. 20:16 And does that really wash away our sin? 20:21 And the Lord said, "Away with your sacrifices." 20:25 They thought--that was all pointing to Jesus. 20:27 It was pointing to where Jesus was going. 20:32 And she reaches out in faith, she's none the better. 20:35 She's got this problem. 20:36 It was through touching Jesus she's healed. 20:39 That represents the Old Testament sacrificial system, 20:44 continual flow of blood, no better, 20:46 only worse. 20:48 But when she touched Jesus, she's healed. 20:51 Jesus goes from that experience, and he touches a 12-year-old 20:53 girl, who he raises, and he says, 20:56 "Give her something to eat." 20:57 And this is like the New Testament church. 20:59 So, you've almost got two economies that meet in Jesus. 21:03 Jesus is the intersection of the Old Testament sacrificial 21:06 system, church, and the New Testament church, 21:10 where it's a touch of faith. 21:11 One is dead, but it is raised to life, 21:14 and he says, "Give her something to eat." 21:15 This is like the New Testament church. 21:17 So, you see what I'm saying here? 21:18 So, it's just a great story, but it all happens in the context of 21:21 that interruption. 21:23 There are other interruptions. 21:24 Sometimes, sometimes the Lord interrupts us because he's 21:28 trying to save us from disaster. 21:29 And how many of you remember the story--if you go to the book of 21:34 Numbers chapter 22, this is a great story, 21:39 Numbers chapter 22, and I'm going to go to verse 23. 21:43 "Now the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way 21:47 with his drawn sword in his hand. 21:50 And the donkey turned aside out of the way, 21:53 and went into the field. 21:54 So Balaam struck the donkey to turn it back on to the road." 21:57 He says, "This is where I want to go. 22:00 There's money at the end of the road, 22:01 a reward, I want to go." 22:03 "And the angel of the Lord then went further up the road and 22:06 stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, 22:09 with a wall on this side and a wall on that. 22:12 And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, 22:14 she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot 22:17 against the wall, so he struck her again. 22:20 And the angel of the Lord went further and stood 22:24 in the narrow place." 22:25 You see what's happening? 22:27 Balaam is on a mission he's not supposed to be going on. 22:30 And the angel of the Lord's trying to turn him back, 22:33 but he is bent on going where he's not supposed to go. 22:38 "And the angel went further down the road. 22:43 And when she saw the angel," the donkey saw the angel, 22:45 "she laid down under Balaam." 22:47 She's not going right or left now, 22:48 she's just getting down on her knees. 22:51 And Balaam was so angry, he gets off the donkey, 22:53 and he's aroused, and he strikes the donkey with his staff, 22:56 he beats the donkey. 22:58 And the Lord opens the mouth of the donkey, 23:02 and she says to Balaam, "What have I done to you that you 23:06 struck me these three times?" 23:08 And Balaam is so out of his mind, 23:10 he's having a conversation with a donkey, 23:11 and it hasn't occurred to him the donkey's talking. 23:13 And he says, "Because you've abused me. 23:17 I wish there was a sword in my hand, 23:18 I'd kill you." 23:21 I mean, if I heard the donkey talking, 23:22 I'd stop right there and say, "Excuse me?" 23:24 But he's conversating with the donkey. 23:28 And the donkey says to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey, 23:31 on which you have ridden ever since I 23:33 became yours to this day?" 23:34 Presumably years, they live a long time. 23:37 "Was I ever disposed," is it my custom to do this to you? 23:40 Donkey's got a good vocabulary. 23:44 "Was this ever my disposition to do this to you?" 23:47 He said, "No." 23:50 Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, 23:52 and he sees the angel of the Lord, 23:53 this tall, imposing angel of the Lord, 23:55 not looking too happy, standing in the way with a drawn sword, 23:58 you draw a sword when you're going to use it, 24:00 in his hand. 24:02 And now, Balaam falls on his face flat, 24:04 and the angel of the Lord said to him, 24:06 "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? 24:08 Behold, I came out to stand against you 24:10 because your way is perverse before me." 24:12 You're going the wrong way. 24:13 "The donkey saw me and turned aside three times. 24:16 If she had not turned aside from me, 24:17 surely I would have killed you and let her live." 24:20 By the way, there is a story in the Bible where a man was riding 24:23 on a donkey, the lion attacked the man and let the donkey live, 24:28 which is backwards from what a lion would normally do. 24:33 But, so sometimes--Balaam was getting madder and madder 24:36 because he's in a hurry, and this interruption keeps 24:38 happening, and why is he being interrupted? 24:41 Because the Lord's trying to save him. 24:43 Now, I won't ask you to raise your hand, 24:45 but has there been a time in your life when everything seemed 24:48 to go wrong as you were trying to go the wrong way, 24:51 and God was trying to save you from yourself? 24:55 And you were just beating the donkey, 24:59 trying to keep going where you wanted to go. 25:01 And later, your eyes were opened, 25:03 you said, "Oh, that was the Lord trying to interrupt my road to 25:07 destruction." 25:09 You need to thank him for those interruptions. 25:11 There's some other interruptions that come I'll get to. 25:13 Now, someone's going to read for me 1 Kings 19:19. 25:18 And--oh, you'll have that, Jan? 25:21 While that's happening, I'm going to read. 25:22 Sometimes, we're interrupted by the devil. 25:26 Acts 16:16, "Now it happened as we went to prayer that a certain 25:30 slave girl, possessed with a spirit of divination, 25:34 met us, who brought her masters much 25:36 fortunetelling--much by fortunetelling. 25:38 This girl followed Paul and us," that's Luke, 25:42 "cried out, saying, 'These men are servants of the Most High 25:44 God, who proclaim the way of salvation!'" 25:46 She's creating a disruption. 25:48 You notice when the devil brought this interruption? 25:50 On their way to prayer. 25:53 The devil keeps bringing this distraction on their way 25:55 to prayer, "As we went to prayer." 25:56 It goes on to say, "This happened many days." 25:59 Every time they go into prayer, the devil's got an interruption. 26:01 You ever have that problem? 26:04 Something happens, you're going to pray, the phone rings. 26:06 Or you think of something, "Oh, I forgot about this. 26:14 There's something I've got to do." 26:16 The devil always tries to interrupt us 26:17 on our way to prayer. 26:19 "Finally, we cast out the devil," and that caused a lot of 26:21 interesting other experiences. 26:23 Go ahead and read for us 1 Kings 19:19. 26:25 Jan: "So he departed from there and found Elisha the son 26:29 of Shaphat, who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him. 26:35 And he was with the 12. 26:37 Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him." 26:42 Doug: Elisha's busy out farming. 26:44 He's got his hands full of the reins of the oxen, 26:47 and Elijah comes by and says, "Look, 26:49 I've got a work for you to do. 26:50 God wants you to work for him." 26:52 He could have said, "Look, don't bother me now, 26:53 I'm plowing. Talk to me later." 26:55 Do you know how often God called people while they were busy 26:58 doing things? 27:00 You might say he interrupted their work. 27:03 What was Gideon doing when the angel came? 27:07 He was threshing wheat. 27:09 Amos was gathering sycamore fruit. 27:12 What was Peter, James, and John doing? 27:15 They were cleaning their nets, fishing, 27:17 cleaning their nets. 27:19 They were busy. The Lord looks for people busy. 27:21 But sometimes, God will approach you when you're in the middle of 27:23 something. 27:25 And the Lord says, "That's why--" You ever heard the 27:26 expression, "If you want something done, 27:28 get a busy person"? 27:29 You ever heard that, do it for you? 27:32 That's what the Lord does. 27:34 If we're busy doing faithfully whatever's at hand, 27:36 he'll give us more to do. 27:38 So, you have those interruptions. 27:40 All right, next section is under how can I help you? 27:43 And we're going to go to--here, the lesson takes us to Mark 10, 27:46 verse 46. 27:48 If you turn in your Bibles there, 27:50 Mark 10, verse 46. 27:51 And this is when Jesus is going out of Jericho, 28:01 and he's met by blind Bartimaeus. 28:07 There's several great stories in Mark chapter 10. 28:12 "Now, as they came to Jericho, and as he went out of Jericho 28:16 with his disciples, a great multitude," another throng is 28:20 following him, "blind Bartimaeus, 28:22 the son of Timaeus." 28:23 Whenever you see the word "bar" in Hebrew, 28:26 that means son of. 28:28 Barabbas means son of Abba, means father. 28:32 Barabbas means son of the father, 28:33 which is interesting because Jesus was the son of God, 28:36 Barabbas was the counterfeit son of the father that the people 28:39 chose instead of Jesus. 28:41 You've heard of Barnabas, B-A-R, Barnabas means 28:44 son of consolation. 28:45 It even says that in the Bible. 28:47 So, whenever you see bar, that means son of--son of something. 28:50 Jesus once called Simon Simon Bar-Jonah. 28:54 That tells you that Simon Peter's father's name was Jonah. 28:56 "Simon son of Jonah, do you love me?" You remember? 29:00 So, Bartimaeus means the son of Timaeus, is a blind man. 29:05 He's sitting by the roadside, he's begging. 29:06 He's a poor, blind beggar. 29:08 And he hears the commotion, and he says, "What is this?" 29:10 "It's Jesus," someone tells him. 29:13 And he had heard about Jesus. 29:14 At this point, it's at the end of Christ's ministry. 29:17 Jesus has already opened the eyes of the blind people. 29:19 And he thinks, "Oh, I want my eyes opened." 29:23 So, he begins to call out, and he says, 29:25 "Son of David, have mercy on me." 29:28 Now, sometimes when you can't see, 29:30 your other senses are enhanced, and he had a strong voice. 29:34 And many warned him to be quiet, but he cried out all the more, 29:39 "Son of David, have mercy on me." 29:41 Was he asking for justice or mercy? 29:43 Does the Lord want to give mercy? 29:47 Now, you know, the crowd, isn't it interesting the crowd around 29:50 Jesus is telling him to be quiet? 29:53 They're trying to prevent him from receiving 29:56 what God wanted him to do. 29:58 Now, what crowd was around Jesus? 30:01 Apostles, some of his followers. 30:05 And they say, "Look, Jesus is on his way somewhere. 30:08 Don't bother him." 30:09 But that's why Jesus had come, to do that very thing. 30:12 He had come to open the eyes of the blind 30:15 and set the captives free. 30:16 And so, it's interesting that the crowd around Jesus, 30:18 what we would call the church, is really the obstacle to Jesus. 30:21 "Be quiet," they're saying. 30:23 Does he get discouraged? 30:26 Nope. 30:27 He raises his voice, and he calls out even louder, 30:29 "Son of David, have mercy on me." 30:31 And it's making such a commotion that it can't be ignored. 30:34 So, Jesus stood still, and he commanded him to be called. 30:38 Any of you ever seen a press conference, 30:40 where there's been some crisis, national crisis, 30:43 and some police chief or some president or some FBI agent will 30:47 have to tell the press what's going on? 30:49 And they don't want to answer every question because 30:52 sometimes, it's a sensitive issue. 30:54 And you'll hear reporters shouting questions. 30:58 Or maybe there's somebody there on trial for some scandal, 31:01 and they're walking down the street, 31:03 and you got all these press following them up the street 31:05 with microphones, and they're calling out questions. 31:07 Sometimes, the loudest person, they'll turn them and they'll 31:09 answer one question. 31:11 And you ever heard the expression the squeaky wheel, 31:15 what's the rest of that? 31:16 Gets the grease. 31:18 Karen picked me up at the airport yesterday. 31:20 And as we were driving back, she came to a stop, 31:23 and I heard "eee eee eee eee." 31:25 I said, "Oh man, that's my brakes." 31:27 See, you don't want to hear that sound coming out of your brakes. 31:31 And it doesn't take you long to take care of it because every 31:34 time you hit your brakes, you're reminded, 31:35 "Oh, I'm just about metal on metal." 31:40 And it's got that audio reminder whenever you hit on your brakes 31:44 to do something. 31:46 Does it help to pray more than once? 31:48 Did Jesus hear Bartimaeus the first time he prayed? 31:52 Why didn't Jesus stop the first time? 31:56 Why doesn't the Lord always answer your prayer the first 31:58 time? 32:00 Are you praying so that God is informed, 32:03 or does he know what you need before you ask? 32:06 Does he sometimes make you ask for a while before he gives you 32:09 the answer? 32:11 Why? 32:13 Why doesn't he give us what we want the first time we ask? 32:19 Do you appreciate your answer more sometimes when you had to 32:23 ask for a while? 32:25 Are we changed by praying? 32:28 Does prayer change God, or does it change us? 32:30 And so, every time Bartimaeus was praying, 32:34 his faith was getting stronger, he wouldn't let go. 32:36 How many times did Elijah have to pray for rain before it came? 32:42 You remember on Mount Carmel? 32:43 Seven times. 32:45 He just kept praying. 32:46 You remember the parable where Jesus talks about the woman who 32:49 goes to the unrighteous judge, Luke 18? 32:52 And Jesus said that there was an unrighteous judge, 32:54 he neither feared God nor man, and there's this poor widow who 32:56 needed some vindication. 32:58 And the widow came and said, "Please, 32:59 deliver me from my adversary." 33:01 And he thought, "She's poor, she can't bribe me. 33:03 I've got other people that have more money, 33:04 and I'll take care of them." 33:06 And he wouldn't take care of her, 33:07 he ignored her pleas for justice. 33:10 But she was relentless. 33:12 And she kept coming, and she was there when the door opened, 33:14 and she was there when he came out of the courthouse, 33:17 and she was saying, "Deliver me." 33:18 He said, "Look, she's wearing me down." 33:20 And there you've got that squeaky- wheel principle again. 33:25 And Jesus said, "Look what happens, 33:26 the unjust judge says, 'Look, I'm going to help this woman 33:29 because otherwise, by her continual coming, 33:32 she will weary me.'" 33:34 He said, "Look what an unjust judge does. 33:37 How much more will your Father in heaven deliver those who cry 33:39 unto him day and night?" 33:41 And so, the Lord says sometimes he wants us to be persistent 33:45 about our prayers because it changes us. 33:49 We, our faith gets stronger in the process. 33:51 So Bartimaeus, he continues to cry, 33:53 "Son of David, have mercy," even though the crowd is discouraging 33:57 him, and the church. 33:59 "Son of David, have mercy on me." 34:00 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. 34:04 And they called the blind man, saying, 34:06 "Be of good cheer, you lucky fellow. 34:09 Rise, he's calling you." 34:10 And I always thought this as a great verse, 34:12 verse 50. 34:14 I'm in Mark chapter 10, verse 50. 34:17 "Throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus." 34:21 Now, that's something you may want to underline in your Bible. 34:24 What does clothing represent in the Bible? 34:29 I heard you say righteousness. 34:30 Does our clothing represent righteousness? 34:34 Clothing represents character. 34:35 So, our clothing, all of our righteousness is like what? 34:39 Filthy rags. 34:41 So, if you're a blind man--you ever been in a dark room, 34:46 eat in a dark restaurant, and think everything's fine? 34:48 You walk out in the light, realize that you spilled some of 34:50 your salad on your suit when you're in the light? 34:54 What do you think a blind man's clothes look like? 34:57 Does he ever see the spots? 35:00 And what if you're not just blind, you're a blind beggar? 35:02 So, it's not a fancy garment. 35:05 So, when this blind beggar throws aside his garment as he 35:08 comes to Jesus, when Jesus calls us to be saved and we have our 35:13 eyes open, we throw aside our filthy rags, 35:15 and we come to him. 35:17 And so, I always thought this was an interesting symbol of 35:19 that. 35:21 "Throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus." 35:24 Jesus calls us to rise. 35:26 "And he comes, and he says, 'What do you want me to do?'" 35:29 Well, now he's asking one more time. 35:32 The blind man said, "Well, I thought that'd be obvious." 35:35 Does Jesus know what he wants? 35:38 Why is he telling him to state out loud what he wants? 35:42 Why is it sometimes important to make a prayer request public? 35:49 When you come to a prayer meeting and you announce your 35:51 prayer request, when your prayer is answered, 35:55 God gets more glory because others have heard what you're 35:59 praying about. 36:01 And so, before this man's prayer is answered, 36:02 he announces what it is he wants. 36:05 Sometimes, Jesus wants us to pray out loud. 36:07 He says, "Lord, that I might receive my sight." 36:11 And Jesus said, "Go your way, your faith has made you well." 36:15 And immediately, he received his sight." 36:17 First face he saw, first thing he saw was the face of Jesus. 36:20 And notice Jesus says, "Go, you're free." 36:23 He opens his eyes, and he follows Jesus on the road. 36:27 He said, "I am not letting you out of my sight." 36:30 And he began to follow him. 36:34 Now, was he following happy or sad? 36:37 Did he go back for his garment? 36:39 Doesn't sound like it. 36:42 He says, "I don't need anyone to--I don't 36:45 need to beg anymore." 36:46 He didn't go back and guard his begging booth. 36:49 You know, beggars actually stake out territory, 36:51 did you know that? 36:53 And you can get in trouble. 36:54 When I was a panhandler, there were corners. 36:57 And you don't take someone else's corner. 36:59 And they kind of staked out, and there was quite a bit of 37:02 fighting that could go on over good corners and bad corners. 37:04 And he didn't have to worry about his begging corner anymore 37:09 because now, he didn't have to beg because Jesus 37:12 has opened his eyes, so, he followed Jesus. 37:14 Why does Jesus open our eyes? So we can follow him. 37:17 Did he follow Jesus because he was being forced? 37:20 Jesus said, "Go your way." 37:21 He followed Jesus because he loved him. 37:24 He was willing. His eyes had been opened. 37:26 All right, and so Jesus, he says, 37:30 "How can I help?" 37:31 Then there's another story that we're going to look at in John 37:33 chapter 5, verse 5 and 6. 37:37 Turn in your Bibles, John chapter 5, 37:39 verse 5 and 6, and you got the story of the man there by the 37:42 pool of Bethesda. 37:44 There's these porches of water. 37:47 And whenever the water bubbles, these bubbles would come up that 37:52 all these sick people thought it was an angel stirring the water, 37:55 and they'd clamor over each other and try and climb in, 37:58 believing whoever got in first would be healed. 37:59 And evidently, some were healed, or at least appeared to be, 38:03 so this whole legend had grown up around this pool. 38:06 And Jesus saw a man there. 38:08 I'm in John chapter 5, and you can look at verse 5, 38:14 "A certain man was there who had an infirmity 38 years." 38:18 Now, it doesn't mean he's 38 years old. 38:19 He could have been 50 years old, but he's been sick 38 years. 38:26 "And when Jesus saw him lying there, 38:29 and knew that he already had been in that condition a long 38:32 time," does he wait for--does Jesus wait for the man to ask, 38:36 or does Jesus just offer? 38:39 Sometimes, the Lord just comes and he interrupts us. 38:42 And that man was probably gazing off in the water, 38:45 waiting to see it bubble, hoping he could be the first one in. 38:48 And Jesus speaks to him, "Do you want to be made well?" 38:52 And the sick man, he's thinking about the water, 38:55 he says, "Sir, my problem has been I have no one to put me in 38:58 the pool when the water is stirred up. 39:00 But while I'm trying to come," he's dragging himself over 39:03 there, "another steps down before me." 39:06 And Jesus says, "Look, we're going to bypass all of that, 39:09 get rid of all the bureaucracy. 39:11 I'm going to tell you right now, rise, 39:13 take up your bed, and walk." 39:15 And there was something about the presence of Jesus and the 39:17 voice of Jesus that this man recognized. 39:20 Maybe he thought, "Maybe this is the Savior others have been 39:24 talking about. 39:25 This is the healer from Nazareth." 39:27 And he acted on Jesus' word. 39:29 Immediately, the man was made well, 39:31 he took up his bed, and he walked. 39:32 And it goes on to say that was the Sabbath day. 39:35 But this is an interesting story because Jesus did not wait for 39:38 him to come to him, and say, "Would you like to be healed?" 39:44 Jesus asked him. 39:46 And so often, people were brought to Christ. 39:48 They said, "Can you please heal my daughter? 39:50 Can you please heal my son? Can you please heal me?" 39:54 And this time, Jesus went to him. 39:56 He was moved by this man's condition. 39:59 There was another blind man in John chapter 9 Jesus saw. 40:03 Said to his disciples he's going to heal this man. 40:05 The man didn't ask. 40:07 And so, sometimes, instead of us waiting until people come to us 40:13 with needs, we need to anticipate what those needs are 40:16 and go out to them, and offer to help. 40:20 Have you ever seen a person that was obviously struggling, 40:26 they didn't ask for help, but you could see they needed help, 40:29 and you offer? 40:30 This is part of what it means to be a Christian. 40:32 You take the initiative, and you offer, "How can I help you?" 40:36 All right, we're going to move on then, 40:39 deeper needs. 40:41 Sometimes, the Lord will look beyond what people 40:43 saw on the surface. 40:44 Go to Mark chapter 2. 40:46 We were just in Mark chapter 10. 40:48 We're going to go back now to Mark again, 40:49 Mark chapter 2. 40:51 And this is a story where the man is let down through the 40:54 roof, one of the first miracles that Jesus performs. 40:59 He enters Capernaum after some days, 41:00 and it's heard that he's in the house, 41:03 verse 1, Mark 2. 41:05 "Immediately, many gathered together, 41:06 so that there was no longer room to receive them, 41:08 no, not even near the door. 41:10 And he preached the Word to them." 41:12 Jesus had a crowd because he preached the Word. 41:15 "Then they came to him bringing a paralytic 41:17 who was carried by four men. 41:18 And when they could not come near him because of the crowd, 41:23 they got discouraged and they went home." 41:24 That's not what they did. 41:26 They found a way in. 41:28 They couldn't get through the door, 41:29 they couldn't get through the window, 41:31 so they went to the roof. 41:32 "They uncovered the roof where he was, 41:33 and so when they had broken through, 41:35 they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. 41:38 And Jesus said, 'That's very rude for you to interrupt the 41:41 sermon this way.'" 41:42 Talk about interruptions again, 41:44 wasn't this an interruption? 41:46 He's down in the house teaching. 41:48 It said, "When Jesus saw their faith," he's pleased. 41:52 He says to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." 41:56 Now, if you're in that room that day, 41:58 and you see these four friends are bringing their paralyzed, 42:01 crippled friend on a stretcher to Jesus, 42:03 and they pulled the tiles back from the roof, 42:05 and they lower him down, what would be your first thought 42:09 about what that man needed? 42:12 Well, Jesus is known as a healer. 42:15 The man is paralyzed. His friends bring him for healing. 42:19 But is that what Jesus does? 42:21 What's the first thing Jesus deals with? 42:25 His sin, he has a different kind of problem. 42:27 In the book "Desire of Ages," there's an interesting 42:29 quote on this story. 42:31 It's page 267, "Jesus knew the issue here was more than 42:36 physical. 42:37 Yet it was not physical restoration he desired so much 42:40 as relief from the burden of sin. 42:43 If he could see Jesus and receive the assurance of 42:46 forgiveness and peace with heaven, 42:48 he would have been content to live or die according 42:50 to God's will." 42:52 This man was so crushed with his guilt and shame that was 42:57 evidently connected with the sin, 42:58 for him, the important thing was spiritual healing. 43:02 Everyone else only saw the physical problem. 43:04 The Lord looked beyond, and he saw the internal problem. 43:07 Sunday night, you know, we do a live radio program. 43:12 People call in. 43:13 We don't see their faces. We just hear their voices. 43:17 I know Manjit and some of you here help, 43:20 screeners for those calls. 43:21 We pray every program. 43:23 We kneel down in the studio and we pray, 43:25 and we say, "Lord, we want you to have the right 43:27 calls come through." 43:29 And then we pray for the gift of discernment because there are 43:32 times when people are calling, and they're asking a question. 43:37 And you know, they might be asking a question about divorce. 43:41 And I'm always--you know, man, you just always want to give 43:42 them an answer and solve the problem. 43:44 And really I ought to be thinking, 43:47 "Why are you asking? 43:48 Is there a marriage problem?" 43:51 Sometimes, the person says, "Well, 43:52 a suicide, can they be saved?" 43:55 And I say, "Well, let me show you the verses." 43:57 And then the Holy Spirit will say, 43:59 "Are they thinking of suicide?" 44:02 And we have to--you know, you can give a correct answer and 44:06 totally miss what the inner question is. 44:09 And we're not Jesus. Jesus could read hearts. 44:11 We'll talk more about that in a minute, 44:12 but he can give us the Spirit. 44:15 And through the Holy Spirit, you can have discernment into 44:18 people's lives that will help you see, 44:20 what is the real question on their heart? 44:24 And so, we pray for that because you can only do that with God's 44:27 help to really know what is the real need. 44:29 Otherwise, we'll look on the outside and say, 44:31 "Oh, they're paralyzed. They need healing." 44:33 And really they need healing from guilt or shame or sin. 44:36 There's something on the inside. 44:39 And I'll give you some other examples of that. 44:42 In a minute, somebody's going to read for me John 2:24. 44:46 Teri, you'll have that? 44:48 I'm going to read for you right now John 4:8. 44:51 No, John 4:18. 44:53 Remember the story of the woman at the well? 44:55 And she's asking Jesus theological questions. 45:01 And she wants to know, "What mountain do we worship on?" 45:06 And Jesus says to her, "Go call your husband." 45:11 Now, why did Jesus say that? 45:15 There's a reason she's come to the well alone. 45:17 She's an outcast in her community because she's had five 45:20 husbands, and she's living with someone she's not married to. 45:23 She was morally considered inferior to the others in the 45:26 town, and didn't have too many friends going to 45:27 the well with her. 45:29 Usually, the women went early in the morning. 45:31 They came together for safety. 45:32 This woman's going at noon and by herself. 45:35 And Jesus said--he gets right to the heart of it because he knows 45:38 what the inner problem is, "Go call your husband. 45:41 You've had some problems in your relationships. 45:44 And you're struggling with guilt and sin." 45:47 And so, he gets right to the heart of it. 45:50 How can God do that? 45:51 I'll read to you a quote from Psalm 139. 45:55 This applies to all of us, Psalm 139, verse 1. 45:58 "O Lord, you have searched me and known me. 46:01 You know my sitting down and my rising up. 46:04 You understand my thoughts afar off. 46:07 You comprehend my path and my lying down, 46:10 and you're acquainted with all of my ways, 46:12 for there is not a word on my tongue but behold, 46:14 O Lord, you know it altogether. 46:16 You've hedged me behind and before. 46:18 You've laid your hand upon me. 46:20 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me." 46:23 You remember when we studied the book of Job, 46:24 and it talked about God hedging in Job for his protection? 46:28 That's why David also says, "You hedged me behind and before. 46:31 You've laid your hand upon me. 46:33 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. 46:35 How do you know all about me? 46:36 It's high, I can't obtain it. 46:38 Where can I go from your spirit? 46:40 Where can I flee from your presence? 46:41 If I ascend into heaven, you're there. 46:44 If I make my bed in hell, behold, you're there. 46:46 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the 46:49 uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand will lead me." 46:55 I was watching a news interview yesterday about a mother whose 47:00 son was being recruited by ISIS, and how her family was 47:04 devastated by it. 47:06 And the interviewer, through a translator, 47:07 was asking her about it. 47:09 And she said, "I wish I could fly away from all of this 47:13 violence and all that's happened to us." 47:16 But where in the world could you fly? 47:19 You look at what's happening in the politics in our country, 47:21 and I sometimes think, man, I wonder where I can--what other 47:27 country I could go to. 47:31 I just wonder, am I the only one who's thought that? 47:32 And things are such a mess, but where are you going to go? 47:39 And sometimes, we wish we could fly away from ourselves. 47:42 But you can't because God is there. 47:44 You take yourself with you wherever you go. 47:47 I found that I used to run away, thinking that the world was all 47:49 bad, but I was trying to run away from myself. 47:51 "It's as if I'd take the wings of the morning and dwell in the 47:56 uttermost parts of the sea," some remote island. 47:58 "Even there, your hand shall lead me, 48:00 your right hand shall hold me. 48:02 If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall fall on me,' even the 48:05 night is light about me." 48:07 God sees even in the dark. 48:08 "Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from you. 48:10 Behold, the night shines as the day. 48:12 The darkness and the light are both alike to you. 48:14 For you formed my inward parts, you covered me 48:17 in my mother's womb." 48:19 David is saying, "You know everything about me." 48:22 Does God know everything in our hearts? 48:25 Does the devil know what you're thinking? 48:27 No. 48:30 And I'll get to that in just a minute. 48:31 Go ahead, Teri, read John 2:24 and 25, please. 48:35 Teri: "But Jesus did not commit himself to them because 48:38 he knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of 48:42 man, for he knew what was in man." 48:45 Doug: You know, one of the definitions of God, 48:48 God Jehovah, is, of course, God created the heaven 48:53 and the earth. 48:54 Did Jesus create the heaven and the earth? 48:57 All things that were made were made by him. 48:59 The Bible says there is one Savior, Jehovah. 49:03 Is Jesus our Savior? 49:05 I just want you to think about something for a minute. 49:07 The Bible says that God and God only can forgive sin, 49:12 Mark chapter 2. 49:13 Can Jesus forgive sin? 49:16 And one of the other definitions of God, 49:17 it says God Jehovah only knows the thoughts of men's hearts. 49:21 And that, by the way, that's 1 Kings 8:38. 49:23 Solomon in his dedication prayer says, 49:26 "You hear from heaven, your dwelling place. 49:28 Forgive their sin, and act and give to everyone according to 49:32 his ways, whose heart you know, for you, 49:35 you alone know the hearts of all the sons of men." 49:39 Only God knows your heart. 49:41 So, does that mean you should only pray in your heart? 49:44 It's good to pray out loud sometimes because the devil gets 49:46 scared when you pray. 49:48 Did Jesus pray out loud? 49:50 How else would you have John 17 if the disciples didn't hear 49:53 what he was praying? 49:54 So, there's nothing wrong with praying out loud, 49:55 just don't do it for a spectacle. 49:57 But God only knows the hearts of men. 49:59 All right, we're going to talk about Dorcas in Joppa. 50:02 Go to Acts chapter 9. 50:04 And it says, "At Joppa, there was a certain disciple named 50:07 Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. 50:10 This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds. 50:15 But it happened that in those days, 50:16 she became sick and she died. 50:19 And when they had washed her," had washed her body. 50:22 They knew she was dead. 50:23 They washed her, wrapped her up, they put her in an upper room. 50:26 And some of the disciples from Joppa came to Peter, 50:30 and I think he was at Caesarea at the time, 50:32 and they said, "Please come, hurry." 50:34 This woman was such a saint. 50:37 And so, Peter goes. 50:40 They lay her in an upper room. 50:41 It's amazing how often in an upper room God performs these 50:43 miracles. 50:45 And they're basically asking Peter, 50:48 they said, "Do something wonderful for this woman." 50:50 All of them--Peter gets to the house, 50:51 and all the widows are there, and all the women are there, 50:54 and they're saying, "You see this shawl? 50:55 You see this robe? You see this coat? 50:57 Dorcas made it, for she was so wonderful, 51:00 and she's always weaving and cooking and doing things for 51:03 person--this person was full of good works." 51:06 And basically they said, "You know, 51:09 anything you can do to bring her back, 51:10 we really need her." 51:13 Now, if you should die, would the church pray for a 51:17 resurrection? 51:19 Are you such a blessing to the church that they would weep and 51:25 cry and call an apostle to come and see if he could pump new 51:28 life into you, or pray new life into you? 51:32 Or would they say, "Well, too bad they're gone"? 51:34 You know what else that means? 51:38 Now, does Peter pray? 51:41 He prays in the upper room. 51:42 Does Dorcas come back to life? 51:44 She does, she's resurrected. 51:47 You know what else that tells me? 51:48 God did answer the prayers, God does raise her up. 51:51 If you make yourself useful for God in good works--the Bible 51:55 says this woman was full of good works. 51:57 We're not saved by good works, but don't you all like to have 51:59 members that are full of good works 52:02 that are a blessing to others? 52:03 She was always serving and helping others. 52:06 Do you know what this story tells us? 52:08 God is more inclined to keep you around if you make yourself 52:12 useful. 52:14 I remember hearing a pastor years ago at a camp meeting say, 52:21 "If you can stay busy for God, you give God an excuse to keep 52:25 you alive." 52:27 And you know, that stuck with me because I thought, 52:29 "Well, that makes sense. Actually, it's practical." 52:32 But if you say, "I'm retired now, Lord. 52:34 I'm expecting to enjoy 30 years of doing nothing 52:36 and having a good time," 52:39 God might say, "Well, look, if you're not doing anything, 52:40 then I may as well put you to sleep." 52:42 It's more economical. 52:44 So, just the very fact that God raised up Dorcas, 52:47 and she was full of good works, is a lesson for us, amen? 52:53 Go ahead, somebody's going to read for me John 13, 52:57 verse 34 and 35, and we'll talk about that. 53:02 Go ahead. 53:04 male: John 13:34 and 35, "A new commandment I give to you, 53:09 that you love one another as I have loved you, 53:12 that you also love one another. 53:14 By this all will know that you are my disciples, 53:17 if you have love for one another." 53:19 Doug: This is what Dorcas did for the church. 53:21 She loved everybody, and they loved her. 53:24 John 15:12, "This is my commandment, 53:27 that you love one another as I have loved you. 53:29 Greater love has no one than this, 53:31 that you lay down your life for your friends." 53:34 And that also ties into the last section, 53:36 which we don't have time for, which is the church at work. 53:39 "Commit your way to the Lord, 53:40 and your plans will be established." 53:42 We need to be busy working for God. 53:44 Before we sign off, friends, I do want to remind those who 53:46 maybe did not hear earlier the free offer we'd like to make 53:49 available for you today is "12 Steps to Revival" 53:52 by yours truly. 53:54 Went through the Bible and looked at different 53:55 examples of revival. 53:57 And it talks about things like prayer, 53:59 study the Word, sharing your faith, 54:01 things that you can do to experience revival in your life. 54:03 We'll send this to you free. 54:05 Ask for offer number 780, and call the number... 54:12 we'll send it to you for free. 54:13 Please read it, and share it with a friend. 54:15 God bless you, and we'll study his Word together again next 54:18 week. 54:19 [music] 54:30 Doug: Have you ever heard a mouse howl like a 54:32 wolf? 54:34 Well, what would you expect would happen when a creature 54:36 changes its destiny from the hapless prey to mighty predator? 54:41 From the outside, they look very much like just an oversized 54:44 field mouse. 54:46 Cute brown fur, white on the underbelly, 54:48 nice little beady eyes. 54:50 But that's where the similarities stop. 54:52 Grasshopper mice are very unusual, 54:54 making them the objects of great interest for animal researchers. 54:58 These furry little creatures are found in the harsh deserts of 55:02 North America. 55:04 They're very territorial in nature, 55:06 and they will monopolize and fend off 25 acres. 55:09 They don't build their own homes, 55:11 but sort of confiscate the burrows and the homes of other 55:13 creatures. 55:15 They're not called grasshopper mice because they hop around, 55:18 but it's because they eat a lot of grasshoppers. 55:20 In fact, scientists have discovered grasshopper mice are 55:23 the only mice that are purely carnivorous. 55:26 They hunt much like cats or weasels, 55:29 stalking their pray in a predatory fashion. 55:32 And when they pounce, they are ferocious, 55:35 sometimes even taking on snakes and scorpions and centipedes. 55:40 When a grasshopper mouse gets into a fierce battle with a 55:42 snake or a scorpion or centipede, 55:45 they may be bit or stung several times. 55:47 But what is amazing to researchers is they've noticed 55:50 when they are bitten, they somehow shake it off because 55:54 they convert the toxin in the venom to painkiller. 55:59 I think you can understand why this information would be of 56:01 special interest to scientists that are trying to discover new 56:05 ways for people to deal with chronic pain. 56:09 One of the most intriguing characteristics of these little 56:11 creatures is when they're defending their territory or 56:15 celebrating a victory over some adversary, 56:17 they'll throw back their head and let out this earthshaking 56:21 howl. 56:23 That's a mousy howl. Check it out. 56:25 [mouse howling] 56:31 Doug: The grasshopper mouse is not the only member of 56:34 creation that can survive encounters with 56:36 venomous predators. 56:38 In Luke 10:19, it says, "Behold, I will give you authority to 56:42 trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power 56:46 of the enemy. 56:47 Nothing will by any means hurt you." 56:50 We don't have to be the biggest and the strongest to defeat our 56:52 enemy and let out that victory roar. 56:55 When God called David to be king, 56:57 no human would have guessed that he had it in him. 57:00 He was young and insignificant. 57:02 From the outside, he looked like there was no greatness in him. 57:05 But when God looked at his heart, 57:07 he saw courage, humility, compassion, 57:09 and love. 57:10 David wasn't perfect, and he made mistakes. 57:12 But through God's power, he was able to conquer giants. 57:17 Friend, God does not intend that you live out the rest of your 57:20 life cowering and trembling like a little field mouse. 57:23 If God can take the grasshopper mouse and give him courage so 57:26 that he fights snakes and scorpions and centipedes, 57:30 if God can put in the heart of David the courage to fight 57:33 giants like Goliath, then he can give you that same courage. 57:37 The Scriptures say God has not given you the spirit of fear, 57:41 but of power, love, and a sound mind. 57:44 And you can have that peace in your heart when you invite the 57:47 Prince of Peace in your heart. 57:48 Why don't you do that right now? 57:50 [music] 57:59 male announcer: For life-changing Christian 58:01 resources, visit afbookstore.com, 58:04 or call... 58:09 [music] 58:19 [music] |
Revised 2016-08-24