Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY017088A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:08 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:11 It is always such a joy and honor 01:13 to welcome you to our program. 01:16 We are very aware here at 3ABN 01:19 that is our viewers and listeners' 01:21 love and prayers and financial support 01:24 that make us able to accomplish 01:27 what God's called us to accomplish. 01:29 So we thank you that you've joined us 01:32 in evangelizing the whole world 01:34 with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 01:36 Well, today on our Today program 01:39 I've got three guests 01:41 and these are friends and family here at 3ABN. 01:46 And today we're going to do a Bible study 01:49 on the topic of peace. 01:51 Let me introduce you to the gentlemen 01:54 that are here to help me. 01:55 First Pastor John Dinzey. 01:57 Pastor Dinzey, thank you so much for joining us. 02:00 Oh, it's a blessing and a pleasure to be here 02:02 by God's grace. 02:04 Amen. 02:05 We all know that John is the general manager 02:07 of 3ABN Latino. 02:09 Well, next to Pastor John is Pastor Ferguson. 02:12 Pastor Ferguson, it's a joy to have you here. 02:14 You are the pastor 02:15 of the Marion Seventh-day Adventist Church. 02:18 Yes. 02:19 Yes, and it's wonderful to be here today. 02:21 Thank you so much. 02:22 And next to him is Dee Casper. 02:25 And Dee Casper 02:26 is the evangelism director at UnScene Media Group. 02:31 Dee, thank you for joining us today. 02:33 I'm blessed to be here. Thank you. 02:35 Well, it's always a joy 02:36 to have friends and family of 3ABN. 02:40 And today again the subject 02:42 that we're going to look at is peace. 02:45 And we right now just looking into our world, gentlemen, 02:51 there is a lot going on, isn't there? 02:55 When we were thinking about this program, 02:57 I just very quickly wrote down a few of the things 03:02 that are going on right now in our world. 03:05 Started with Harvey, Hurricane Harvey, 03:08 and that was in Texas and Louisiana. 03:11 I think it's where the greatest devastation was. 03:14 Next came Hurricane Irma 03:17 in the Caribbean Islands and Florida. 03:20 Then Jose, then Maria and then Nate, 03:23 it's like it's a never ending hurricane season. 03:29 And they're not just doing a little damage, 03:31 it's horrendous damage. 03:33 In some areas it's more damage 03:35 than has ever been or more damage 03:38 than has been in many, many years. 03:41 So a lot of damage going on. 03:44 Then I thought about just tornados 03:46 that are spin-offs of the hurricanes. 03:49 There are volcanoes that are erupting now, 03:52 earthquakes in Mexico. 03:54 And I looked just this morning and do you know just yesterday 03:58 there were 13 earthquakes in the world, 04:01 not near the size of the one in Mexico. 04:04 But there is just... 04:05 I just wanted to mention some of the things 04:09 that are causing so much unrest in the world. 04:14 And not to mention 04:16 there are right now 55 armed conflicts 04:21 of those 8-15 can be considered wars. 04:26 Now the difference in an armed conflict and a war, 04:30 an armed conflict is determined a war 04:34 when a thousand people have been killed. 04:37 And there are armed conflicts all over the world right now. 04:41 And four 04:43 that have been going on for many, many years 04:46 with over 10,000 people having been killed. 04:49 And I thought I would mention those. 04:50 Three of those are on the continent of Asia, 04:53 one in North America. 04:55 But the war in Afghanistan has been going on since 1978. 05:01 The war in Iraq since 2003, Syrian war since 2011. 05:07 And a conflict that has been 05:11 defined as a war is the Mexican drug war. 05:15 And it's been going on since 2006. 05:17 Again, in these wars over 10,000 have been killed. 05:21 And just one more fact 05:24 I wanted to give you 05:27 of the past 3, 400 years of recorded history. 05:32 Man has been entirely at peace only 268 of those years. 05:39 Do you know that means 05:42 that there is only 8% of recorded history 05:45 where there was peace. 05:47 And I know, Pastor Ferguson, 05:48 I think you had some statistics of your own. 05:51 Yeah, I was just thinking about the shooting 05:53 in Los Vegas too. 05:54 Yes. 05:56 And the hundreds that were injured. 05:57 And 58 or 59 they were actually killed. 06:00 And we live in a world that is in turmoil. 06:04 When you think about 06:05 the hurricanes that you mentioned, 06:07 the two that hit the mainland $290 billion worth of damage. 06:12 And this involves homes, furniture. 06:15 It involves commercial property and infrastructure. 06:20 And then when it comes to Puerto Rico, 06:23 there they lost their entire power grid 06:26 and all the residents on that island 06:28 have been impacted 3.4 million. 06:31 As a matter of fact one town had 80% of their... 06:34 I think it was Cataño I think, isn't it? 06:36 Eight percent of all their properties were destroyed. 06:40 So they're having to rebuild and it's going to be an ongoing 06:43 for months and years I'm sure for some. 06:45 And one of the things 06:47 I think about we're looking at a macro view of all of this. 06:49 But there's also for every one of those people 06:52 there were over a million vehicles 06:53 that were also damaged or destroyed. 06:55 For every one of those people there is a story, 06:59 there's an impact that this has on them. 07:01 One man after Harvey hit, 07:04 he was being interviewed 07:06 and I saw him mentioning 07:07 that he was standing in front of his destroyed home saying 07:09 he had just finished paying for it 07:11 in preparation for retirement. 07:13 And he did not have flood insurance. 07:16 So you look at this 07:18 and this is just one of many, many stories 07:21 that are going on throughout the world right now. 07:23 When it came to the earthquake 07:26 in Mexico 7.1 on the Richter scale. 07:29 There were 37 aftershocks that happened. 07:33 And then I did a little search, 07:34 and I found out there's 14, 000 earthquakes 07:37 around the world each year averaging 40 a day 07:41 that are happening so. 07:42 If it's not coming close to home, 07:44 oftentimes it's out there somewhere 07:46 and we don't even think about it. 07:48 But it's still happening around the world. 07:51 So I think my question and the reason 07:55 for this program today 07:57 is in the midst of all these disasters. 08:00 Some are natural, 08:02 some are manmade and they're all over the world. 08:05 No one people group is being affected. 08:09 It's all over the world, we're all being affected. 08:13 Now we're in the Midwest. 08:15 And so we haven't had a hurricane 08:18 but what we have are tornadoes. 08:21 Everyone has an opportunity for their peace. 08:25 I had a lady tell me once 08:27 she was driving up the road to Lake Tahoe. 08:33 And she said the lady that was the driver of the car 08:37 was going way too fast, and she said 08:39 she would look out her passenger side window, 08:42 and it was just almost straight down, 08:45 and she said, 08:46 "Mollie, my peace just flew right off the window." 08:49 And so there are times 08:51 when we think everything 08:53 is just fine and just like that, 08:55 gentlemen, our peace can flow, just fly right off the window. 08:59 So in the midst of all of this 09:02 what can we do to help people maintain their peace? 09:08 And that's what we'll be discussing, gentlemen. 09:10 But right now we've got Gerri Lynn Mendenhall. 09:13 She's going to sing a beautiful song for us 09:16 "If there ever was". 09:17 Gerri Lynn. 09:32 If there ever was a time 09:36 I needed You before 09:40 Lord, I need You now 09:45 And if there ever was a trial 09:48 I couldn't handle on my own 09:52 That's how this feels somehow 09:57 And if there ever was a child 10:01 Crying out for help 10:05 That's what this song's about 10:11 If there ever was a time 10:13 I needed You before 10:17 Lord, I need You now 10:23 If there ever was a Friend 10:26 Who always kept His Word 10:31 Lord, I know it's You 10:35 For there's never been a time 10:38 That You've left me all alone 10:43 Or been untrue 10:46 And if I know anything 10:52 It's that You will meet my need 10:55 Just like You always do 11:01 So I'm leaning on Your love 11:04 And counting on Your grace 11:07 Just to see me through 11:12 I need You to remind me 11:18 How faithful You have been 11:24 And when I'm at my weakest 11:30 That's where Your strength began 11:38 If there ever was a time 11:42 I needed You before 11:46 Lord, I need You now 11:51 And if there ever was a trial 11:54 I couldn't handle on my own 11:58 That's how this feels somehow 12:03 And if there ever was a child 12:07 Crying out for help 12:11 That's what this song's about All about 12:17 If there ever was a time 12:19 I needed You before 12:24 Lord, I need You 12:29 If there ever was a friend 12:33 Lord, I know it's You 12:37 And I need You now 12:43 I need 12:48 You now 12:59 What a beautiful and appropriate song. 13:01 We need the Lord now. 13:03 Well, gentlemen, 13:05 so many people I believe that are viewing his peace 13:07 has just flown right off the window, 13:09 and they need help. 13:10 How would you help them today? 13:15 Dee, I know you have some thoughts concerning God. 13:18 I think that one of the most probing questions or moments 13:22 like this is where is God? 13:24 Where was God when this happened to me 13:26 or to someone I care about? 13:27 And a study that I've been taking people 13:30 through a lot in recent weeks that's been helpful for me 13:33 is just when you look at the wife of John the Baptist 13:36 Mary, Martha, and Lazarus and even Jesus Himself, 13:39 all three groups wrestled at times 13:41 with feeling that God was distant 13:43 in their greatest times of need. 13:45 And there's this beautiful commentary 13:46 in the Desire of Ages 13:48 regarding Mary, Martha, and Lazarus 13:49 but the same proves true throughout scripture. 13:52 That says this is Desire of Ages 5:28, 13:55 "To all who are reaching out 13:56 to feel the guiding hand of God, 13:58 the moment of greatest discouragement 14:00 is the time when divine help is nearest. 14:03 And that they will look back with thankfulness 14:06 upon the darkest hour of their way." 14:08 And from my own experience I can see that. 14:11 In the midst of hardship, it doesn't feel like that. 14:14 But looking back you can see that God did get glory to this. 14:16 And I'm sure that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus 14:18 could have that reflection, right? 14:20 John the Baptist 14:22 upon the resurrection in the morning 14:23 can have that reflection. 14:25 And Jesus Himself in the Psalms, 14:27 it kind of alludes to the fact 14:28 that He felt that God wasn't hearing His prayers 14:30 and wasn't answering but other people were. 14:32 It says at the close of the Psalms 14:34 of that particular Psalm 14:35 that he did realize his prayers are being heard. 14:39 And it's difficult in the fire, it's difficult in the moment. 14:43 But the promise of scriptures 14:44 that He will never leave us nor forsake us. 14:46 And that even in our greatest times of difficulty 14:49 when we feel that God is silent, 14:50 when we feel that God is absent, 14:52 He's actually closer to us in those moments 14:54 than He has ever been ensuring that we don't fall, 14:57 that we don't faint. 14:58 And to ensure that we have what we need to keep going. 15:01 And though our feelings may fail us, 15:03 though our perception of God may change, 15:06 the Word of God says 15:07 that He Himself does not change and that He's always there. 15:10 You know one of the things that happens 15:12 when difficulties come 15:14 is that we concentrate on the difficulty, the problem. 15:17 And in our humanity we look for a human solution. 15:23 And so the obstacle comes before us and we shrink, 15:29 we sink in despair, discouragement. 15:34 And so what helps me is to remember the promises. 15:38 Remember the promises of the Lord 15:40 and that He is faithful. 15:42 And so I would like to share 15:44 the words of Jesus from John 16:33. 15:48 And He said, "These things I have spoken unto you, 15:52 that in me you might have peace. 15:56 In the world you will have tribulation: 15:59 but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." 16:04 And so our source of peace is to stay close to the Lord, 16:07 to remember, 16:08 I will never leave you nor forsake you. 16:10 And that whatever we are going through He is there with us, 16:14 He's going to help us, and He will supply our needs. 16:18 It's beautiful. 16:19 You know, that made me think of what you were sharing, 16:23 Dee and Johnny. 16:25 If you ever seen the picture of footprints in the sand? 16:29 And what was the point 16:32 that was being made with that picture? 16:34 Was that you're thinking, you're walking all by yourself. 16:39 And while the truth of the matter was, 16:41 Jesus was carrying you, 16:43 and those are His footprints 16:45 that were going through the sand. 16:46 He does never leave us nor forsake us. 16:49 Amen. Amen. 16:51 It reminds me of Romans 8:20. 16:52 How it says that we know that all things work together 16:55 for good to those who love God. 16:57 There's this condition for those who love God, 16:59 and to those who are called according to His purpose 17:01 that Jesus says that this is not unto death 17:03 but for the glory of God 17:05 regarding the situation of Lazarus. 17:07 And Jesus got glory out of the death 17:09 of John the Baptist even. 17:11 That many martyrs throughout salvation history, 17:13 the man is given 17:14 the greatest commendation by Jesus. 17:16 He's the greatest of all prophets. 17:18 Jesus says this about him 17:19 but his story was a great consolation 17:21 to people during the Reformation 17:23 and other times who died unjustly, right. 17:26 Who went through hardship 17:27 that God still got glory to the story 17:29 and that John died a conqueror we're told in Desire of Ages. 17:33 And even Jesus Himself, 17:34 God brings glory out of the furnace of difficulty 17:38 that we don't fully see at the moment 17:40 but afterwards is made abundantly clear 17:41 through Romans that 17:43 this is something that will be for good 17:44 that God will turn the circumstance for something 17:46 to advance His kingdom. 17:47 Amen. Amen. 17:49 In Romans 12:3, 17:50 every one of us has been given a measure of faith. 17:52 And sometimes we go through an experience 17:55 where we're wondering, 17:57 how could the God 17:58 that I perceive the Bible to tell me about in the way 18:01 that I've been walking would allow 18:02 this to happen to me. 18:04 How could it be that a God that is love could allow 18:07 such a tragic experience for me? 18:10 I remember one time 18:12 I was in literature work at the time. 18:13 And I went to visit a man who had sent an interest. 18:16 And he was in a facility, he had been in a car accident, 18:21 and he had become a quadriplegic 18:22 as a result of a car accident. 18:24 He had a wife and children. 18:25 His wife divorced him 18:27 as a result of the car accident, 18:28 and the fact that he was no longer able to be 18:30 who he had been before. 18:32 His whole world had been turned upside down. 18:35 And he could have easily been discouraged and said, 18:37 "God, how could you let this happen to me?" 18:40 But he was wanting to reach his children 18:42 with Bible material 18:43 and that's why he had sent off the interest. 18:45 His faith in God actually grew 18:47 instead of him cursing God, and running away from Him. 18:53 And I think that every one of us 18:55 who has been given this measure of faith 18:56 which is a gift, we have a crisis of faith. 19:00 Every time we go through an experience 19:01 that we never anticipated that is a devastating one. 19:05 And that's where God wants us to run to Him. 19:10 And I think oftentimes when people, 19:12 I've seen people actually 19:13 if they had a loved one that passed they just 19:16 "How could God allow that person 19:17 to be taken from me? 19:19 They leave Him, and don't return for years. 19:23 And I wonder, what do I say to someone like that? 19:25 How do I move that person? 19:27 What is the Holy Spirit wanting them to hear? 19:30 And what I realizes that oftentimes 19:33 we think if we're doing that, 19:34 and we stay away from God for a long time, 19:37 we're actually thinking 19:39 that we know better than He does 19:41 in this world of sin how things should go. 19:45 And we did not manage 19:47 that crisis of faith in a healthy way. 19:50 And one of the things in Psalm 39:5, 6. 19:55 "Trust in the Lord with all your..." 19:57 It's in Proverbs 3:5-6. 19:59 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, 20:00 and lean not unto your own understanding." 20:02 But Psalm 39:4-13. 20:05 It really talks about understanding 20:08 my true condition that I am but a vapor 20:12 that everything in this world is a gift. 20:15 And then He is a loving God. 20:17 As a matter of fact, scripture tells me 20:19 that every knee will bow someday. 20:23 So if I allow a traumatic experience 20:25 to actually drive me away from God now. 20:29 Why not allow myself to be drawn back to Him 20:33 and let Him trust in His Word, 20:35 trust in His heart instead of keeping away from Him, 20:41 and keeping that relationship distant 20:43 as I go forward 20:44 'cause I'm miserable when that happens. 20:47 I think each one of us here has had traumatic experiences. 20:51 And we have a choice, we have a decision to make. 20:54 And there might be someone watching 20:55 this program right now 20:57 that doesn't know about their faith journey 20:59 if they want to continue on because of the experience 21:02 that they're going through right now. 21:04 But I want you to know that you're not alone. 21:06 We've all been there, 21:08 maybe not the exact same experiences. 21:10 But there's only one place that I want to go with that, 21:13 and that is to give it all to Him. 21:15 And to realize as He tells us in His Word 21:19 that He heals the broken hearted. 21:21 Psalm 147:3-5, "He binds their wounds, 21:26 and his understanding is infinite." 21:29 He understands things that I can't figure out, 21:32 and I need to trust that. 21:34 You know I wanted to ask y'all 21:36 to kind of tell me your understanding 21:40 of portion of scripture. 21:43 And it takes place on the Sea of Galilee. 21:47 And the disciples and Jesus are in a boat. 21:51 And what is Jesus doing? 21:53 Sleeping. He is sound asleep. 21:55 And a big storm comes up, 21:59 and the disciples have to wake Him. 22:02 What, and how He responded? 22:04 Johnny, how does that story impact you 22:09 concerning Jesus in the midst of a storm? 22:14 There are so many blessings as I think of that story. 22:18 First of all we see... 22:21 Boy, I sure don't want to take 22:22 all the blessing out of other people sharing. 22:24 But first of all 22:26 we see the disciples in the beginning 22:29 when the storm comes, 22:31 they are doing all that 22:33 is in their power to do 22:34 to keep the boat afloat and water is coming in. 22:38 And mind you, these are people, 22:41 most of them were experienced with water. 22:45 They could swim, they have been in many storms, 22:48 and they were doing 22:49 all they could to keep this boat afloat. 22:52 And, you know, all their struggle 22:54 they were looking at the situation 22:55 in all their struggle. 22:57 And they said this is too much for us, 22:59 we can't handle this. 23:01 And in their desperation 23:03 they think they're going to die. 23:05 How do we know? 23:07 Because when lightning strikes and they see the lightning, 23:13 they can see that Jesus is there, 23:15 they forgot that Jesus is right there. 23:17 And it brings to mind, 23:18 I will never leave you nor forsake you. 23:20 Jesus is very near. 23:22 And that's why when they wake Him, 23:24 "And Master, do You not care that we perish?" 23:27 They were afraid, they were going to die. 23:30 And so I am blessed to consider that Jesus is always near. 23:34 And that whatever storm or situation 23:36 I am going through, 23:37 He's going to go through it with me. 23:39 With you. 23:40 And if need be He would just calm the storm. 23:47 Yeah. What did Jesus say in this? 23:50 Well, let me read this, 23:52 "Then He arose, and rebuked the wind, 23:56 and said to the sea..." 23:57 What did He say? 23:58 Peace be still. Peace be still. 24:02 There's not a promise in the Bible 24:04 that says we will be free from troubles. 24:06 Do you all agree with that? 24:08 War, trials, temptations, 24:10 we've read so much about those earlier, 24:13 just spoken of the things 24:15 that are going on in the world right now. 24:17 Tears and sorrow 24:18 are just something that we face in life. 24:22 But God promises us something better. 24:26 Yes, Dee. 24:27 In Desire of Ages there is this amazing line 24:29 we're told, 24:30 "That the people were looking for a Messiah 24:33 who had not been promised." 24:35 And many of us are wrestling with the very same thing 24:38 that we're expecting a Messiah who will keep... 24:40 Because just imagine if this guy can feed people, 24:42 He can heal the wounds and raise the dead 24:44 like they're never going to lose a battle, 24:46 they're never going to have any difficulties. 24:48 And this is why Mary, Martha, and Lazarus suffered so much 24:51 because they said if you had been here, 24:53 my brother would not have died, 24:54 and I wouldn't be hurting right now, 24:55 if you had been here. 24:57 Because they assume that when Jesus is there 24:58 bad things don't happen. 25:00 But if you look 25:01 through the narrative of scripture the disciples 25:03 did have difficulties even in the presence of Jesus. 25:05 The difference was Jesus was with them, 25:07 didn't mean that 25:08 they were spared of all difficulty. 25:10 We've not been promised a Messiah 25:11 who delivers us from all difficulty, 25:13 grief, and hardship. 25:15 But we have been promised a Messiah 25:16 who is present in all of these times. 25:19 In that moment the first words out of the disciples 25:21 and the gospel of Matthew in that account are literally, 25:24 Lord, save us, we are perishing. 25:25 That's the introduction of the Gospel of Matthew. 25:28 And Jesus literally rebukes the disciples 25:31 before He rebukes the wind and the waves 25:34 because they should have known better 25:36 "I am right here." 25:38 And it was a loving rebuke obviously. 25:41 He didn't discourage them out of their experience. 25:43 But I think that we need those rebukes 25:45 at times in our difficulties. 25:47 And we need those reminders in our difficulties 25:49 that I've always been here, I haven't left. 25:52 And I don't promise you freedom from hardship, 25:54 but I have promised my presence in the midst of hardship. 25:56 Amen. 25:57 And I think about that storm 25:59 I think about Jesus was only one 26:00 that wasn't a trained fisherman. 26:02 This is something it was a family business, 26:04 they trusted Jesus to a point 26:06 but they trusted themselves otherwise. 26:10 So they were doing everything in their own power 26:11 that they possibly could until the storm got bigger 26:14 and larger than life, 26:15 bigger than anything they could handle. 26:17 And then they call upon Him. 26:19 I think sometimes God allows the trials in our life to come 26:23 because He wants us to come to the end of ourselves 26:26 and trust totally in Him. 26:29 Jesus trusted totally in the Father 26:30 before there was a storm. 26:32 So that when the storm came, 26:34 it was evident 26:36 where as a measure of our faith is evident every time 26:39 we go in a storm our walk with God is revealed, 26:43 and it shows our need. 26:45 And I pray more 26:46 when I'm going through a storm 26:48 than when everything is going my way. 26:49 And you know, I think the lesson 26:51 we should all take from that is to trust God 26:55 and not wait till things are really going bad 26:58 to turn to God. 26:59 Turn to God at the... 27:00 Always be have a heart yielded and submitted God. 27:04 Don't wait till the storm is raging, 27:07 awake Jesus up 27:09 when there's the first cloud in the sky, how's that? 27:13 Does that make the point? 27:15 You know, I wanted to finish this in Mark 4:39, 27:19 where Jesus says peace be still. 27:22 It says and this is what happened 27:24 when Jesus speaks over you peace be still. 27:27 "And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm, 27:32 a great calm." 27:33 Well, I want to go now to Isaiah 26:3. 27:38 This is a beautiful scripture on peace. 27:40 And I wanted to ask the gentlemen 27:43 to look at one of the phrases in the scripture 27:47 and just let's talk about what this means. 27:52 Isaiah 26:3 says, "You will keep him..." 27:57 And what's that phrase? Perfect. 27:59 "Perfect peace, 28:01 whose mind is stayed on you: 28:04 because he trust in you." 28:05 Gentlemen, perfect peace. 28:08 God will keep us in perfect peace. 28:10 Does that mean in the midst of the storm 28:13 that we can have perfect peace? 28:15 Amen. Amen. 28:17 I would say yes, you know based on my experience, 28:20 based on the experiences I've heard of many other people 28:24 because of the nearness of God in the time. 28:30 We read the scripture that talks about God's nearness 28:34 even when we're going through the midst of trouble, 28:36 even the very story 28:37 that we were talking about Jesus 28:39 and the disciples in the boat. 28:40 And at this point 28:43 we have to look 28:45 beyond the outward appearances and the situation. 28:50 And remember that be of good cheer, 28:53 I have overcome the world peace, 28:54 I give unto you my peace. 28:56 I give unto you. 28:58 I'm almost done. I'll share this story if I may. 29:01 Please. 29:05 It was a blessing for us Idalia and I 29:08 that when we're traveling for 3ABN 29:10 then my mother-in-law and father-in-law 29:12 were able to be near 29:14 to take care of our children Samuel and Caleb. 29:17 And so while we're gone they were doing especially 29:19 when they were smaller. 29:20 Now they are in Puerto Rico. 29:22 However there came a time 29:25 when we were traveling and part of what we had to do 29:28 was pick up our children at the school 29:30 and then take them home. 29:33 When my mother-in-law went to pick up Caleb, 29:37 and Caleb was small and may be 29:39 some may remember him from Tiny Tots. 29:41 When he was very small, 29:44 it was Caleb's determination 29:48 to every day finish the work in school 29:50 so that he doesn't have any homework. 29:53 To him it was... 29:55 He loved to finish his schoolwork. 29:58 And up until that time that particular day 30:02 he had never come home with schoolwork, 30:06 he was able to complete it at home. 30:08 But this one day 30:09 my mother-in-law comes to pick him up. 30:11 "And Caleb how was your day?" 30:16 And his head was down. 30:18 He says, "Are you okay?" 30:21 And he begins to sob and he's crying and crying. 30:25 "And, Caleb, what happened?" 30:27 And he's crying like this really sobbing, sobbing. 30:32 And my mother-in-law says, "Did you get into a fight?" 30:36 "No." And he is sobbing and sobbing. 30:39 And finally she says, "Caleb, what happened? 30:40 What happened?" 30:42 And he says, 30:43 "I didn't finish my schoolwork." 30:46 And he's crying and crying. 30:48 And she says, "Oh, Caleb." 30:49 And she hugs him and she says, "It's okay. 30:54 It's not a punishment that you have schoolwork, 30:56 many other kids have schoolwork." 30:58 And she comforted him with words 31:02 that came to her mind and hugged him. 31:05 And little by little Caleb stopped crying. 31:09 And he was at peace, he felt comforted. 31:12 And she says, "You can do it at home, 31:14 I'm sure it won't take you long." 31:15 And she says, "It's not punishment..." 31:17 You know and she comforted him. 31:21 And she felt good that she was able to do that. 31:24 Now she's telling me this story 31:25 and I felt "Oh, no, he went through that." 31:28 As she's telling me he went through that 31:30 and we weren't there to help him out. 31:32 And so, but I felt good that she was there, 31:35 part of the family was there. 31:37 She says about three weeks later 31:40 I was facing a horrible situation, 31:43 a difficult time, tears came to my eyes, 31:46 and I started weeping. 31:47 This is my mother-in-law. 31:48 And I started weeping. 31:50 And she remembered what happened to Caleb. 31:52 And she said, "Lord, how I wish that you would comfort me 31:57 and hugged me the way I hugged Caleb." 32:01 And then she said, 32:03 "Johnny, I felt the Lord hugged me. 32:07 I really felt 32:08 and He took my breath away," she said. 32:11 And I felt peace. 32:14 And I say, "Wow, praise the Lord." 32:17 And that's the confirmation for me 32:19 that when we are facing difficulties, 32:23 the Lord is near. 32:27 And He will comfort us in some way. 32:30 So He spoke over mama Idalia, peace be still. 32:34 And what happened? Great calm came over her. 32:38 Yes, Pastor Ferguson? 32:39 I just... 32:41 One of the things I think about is Psalm 48:14, 32:43 "That he will be our guide even unto death." 32:46 And perfect peace he keeps us 32:48 in as our minds are stayed on Him. 32:50 My mind is going to a man that recently passed away. 32:54 And he had a strong walk with the Lord, 32:57 but he also realized 32:58 that it was his kidneys had shut down, 33:01 his systems were shutting down. 33:02 And one of the tragedies 33:04 we go through is the aging process 33:06 and what it does 33:07 and as we go toward the last stage of life. 33:11 And I remember coming into his room a few hours 33:14 before he passed. 33:16 And when I walked in he had his hands folded 33:18 in the prayer position, his eyes were closed, 33:20 and he was too weak, very, very, very weak, 33:22 almost couldn't respond to me. 33:24 But he was ready, he had a peace. 33:28 His mind was that way throughout a whole week 33:30 I kept asking him, "Are you depressed? 33:32 Are you going...?" 33:33 No, he's ready to meet Lord. He's ready to go to sleep. 33:36 And when I think about that 33:38 I realize that God will be with us, 33:41 and He will be our guide. 33:43 And whenever I realize 33:45 that He's in control and my mind is on Him, 33:47 I can have peace. 33:49 No matter what I'm going through. 33:51 And it's the testimony of people 33:52 like John that I just described 33:55 that lets me see that, 33:57 "Yes, He'll be there all the way 33:58 through this life." 34:00 I was thinking of a story of the singer, 34:03 songwriter was telling that he wrote this song called 34:06 "The Silence of God". 34:08 And it was based upon this time he was at a monastery singing, 34:11 he was fasting for three days and three nights. 34:14 Trying to prove to God 34:15 that he was worthy of receiving the answer 34:17 that he wanted to receive. 34:18 He's just wrestling with God. 34:20 He said the third day, 34:21 he was walking on the property and there's a sign 34:22 that said to the statues. 34:24 T-O the statues. 34:25 Okay. 34:27 And he's just walking, 34:28 he sees a statue of John, James, and Peter are sleeping. 34:30 And he said "Oh, I get it this is Gethsemane." 34:33 Jesus is probably at the way somewhere. 34:35 And when he gets up there, 34:37 the picture of Jesus is not a picture he envisioned. 34:39 He thought he would see Jesus standing 34:41 with His hands together in piety, 34:42 looking towards heaven, 34:43 or maybe His hands spread to heaven. 34:45 But the picture he saw was one of, 34:47 the statue was Jesus on His knees 34:49 with His back arched, 34:51 His hands over His eyes 34:53 with His elbows out like He had wings. 34:55 And he said in a moment he said, "He's in agony." 34:58 And he said that he looked the way that my heart felt. 35:03 And immediately he felt that Jesus could relate to him. 35:06 My God, my God why aren't You giving me 35:08 the answer that I want. 35:10 And he said, 35:11 when I left that place I had been strangely comforted. 35:15 He says my pain was not fully gone 35:17 but I have been comforted by the fact 35:21 that the God that I love and worship 35:23 was familiar with my sorrow. 35:25 And it reminds me of Hebrews 2 where it says, 35:27 "Therefore, in all things 35:29 Jesus had to be made like his brethren, 35:31 that he might be a merciful 35:32 and faithful high priest in things 35:35 pertaining to God, 35:36 to make propitiation for the sins of the people," 35:38 this is verse 18, 35:40 "For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, 35:43 he is able to aid those who are tempted." 35:47 Jesus Himself is acquainted with hardship, with difficulty 35:50 and because He trod this road of suffering, 35:53 He has earned the right to receive our trust 35:56 because it says perfect peace of those 35:58 who put their trust in Him. 36:00 Jesus is showing by His own suffering 36:02 that He deserves our trust and that He's safe to trust. 36:06 And the singer, songwriter 36:07 well, you know, realized this and welcomed it. 36:10 And it's brought great peace to my own heart as well. 36:14 You know, I am of the opinion that 36:18 the battle for peace is waged in our mind 36:21 that's why it says 36:22 "He'll keep you in perfect peace," for what? 36:25 For those whose mind is stayed on Him. 36:29 And again perfect peace 36:32 and I wanted to elaborate a little more. 36:34 Pastor Ferguson, 36:35 in your mind what is perfect peace? 36:40 It only comes when I truly see who God is. 36:46 I think this is the course of our lives 36:48 we are pursuing God, 36:50 we're trying to discover who He really is. 36:52 And the more I see who He really is, 36:54 the more peace I receive. 36:57 So perfect peace is a peace that is complete. 37:00 It doesn't matter if things aren't going my way. 37:02 It doesn't matter 37:04 if I'm facing the end of life's journey, 37:05 and maybe have a terminal illness. 37:07 It doesn't matter if my business is collapsing, 37:12 and there's nothing that I can do about it. 37:13 If this is the Lord's will, He will see me through. 37:17 And He has a purpose for this 37:18 where I won't be the same person at the end of this 37:21 that I was before this trial. 37:23 And trusting that His heart is good, 37:27 and trusting that it was... 37:28 Matter of fact 1 Peter 5:7, 37:30 "Cast all your care on him, for he cares for you." 37:34 Believing that more, and more, and more brings more and more 37:38 perfect peace, complete peace in Him. 37:41 You know I'm thinking of this gentleman 37:43 that was in his body, his system was closing down, 37:48 He wasn't physically healthy, but He was spiritually healthy. 37:52 And He need to be spiritually healthy brings 37:54 that that perfect peace. 37:58 I've got a scripture that I want to share 38:00 and this is one that we before, 38:03 we, and I can use that very honestly, 38:06 we that are in the declining years of our life. 38:10 It's Isaiah 46:4, 38:13 and I just put here an amazing promise 38:16 when I wrote the scripture down, 38:17 it says, "Even to your old age I am he, 38:22 and even to grey hairs I will carry you, 38:26 I have made you, and I will bear, 38:29 even I will carry and will deliver you." 38:33 Isn't that encouraging to know that even 38:37 in our old age the Lord is right there?" 38:40 He really never leaves us nor forsakes us. 38:43 Now, I wanted to look at another story 38:48 that we find in... 38:50 It's in 1 Samuel 30. 38:54 And we've talked about people, 38:56 you know, we that are in really difficult situations 39:01 where the storms are raging. 39:05 And I think I want, Dee, I want you to share this story. 39:09 It's of King David. 39:11 And we think we've had difficulties, 39:14 King David was in the midst of a difficulty 39:18 such as I have never been through before. 39:21 Do you want to tell us about that difficulty? 39:23 It's in 1 Samuel 30, 39:26 David had gone over to where the Philistines were 39:29 because Saul's continued pursuit of him, 39:30 he saw it this is futile for me to keep forgiving this guy. 39:33 He's just going to keep coming after me. 39:35 And so he go to the Philistines, 39:37 now the text says that Saul sought him no more. 39:39 And when the Philistines 39:40 are about to go to war with Israel, 39:42 David says, "Hey, I'll go with you." 39:44 But the men, the other men of leadership said, 39:46 "Absolutely no." 39:48 Like what better way for him to ingratiate himself 39:49 to Saul than buy. 39:52 The heads of our own men so he sent back, 39:54 but when he goes back to his camp 39:55 with all of his men, 39:57 everything they have has been stolen and plundered 39:59 and it is gone. 40:00 His wives, his children, 40:03 his men's wives, his men's children, 40:05 all their belongings, 40:06 he's destitute at this stage. 40:08 And that, that's terrible. 40:09 But it literally says the text that the men, 40:11 his own men were wondering 40:13 if they should kill him because of the hardships 40:15 that they were going through... 40:16 And they wanted to stone him. 40:18 They wanted to stone him. 40:20 And so it says in verse 6. 40:22 Now David was greatly distressed, 40:25 for the people spoke of stoning him, 40:27 because the soul of all the people was grieved, 40:30 every man for his sons and daughters, 40:32 but then it says 40:33 but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. 40:37 Amen. 40:39 And I think it was one of those moments 40:41 when the wheels are falling off, 40:43 the disciples eventually got this in Matthew 8. 40:45 And I think there's another moment here 40:47 that when you find that perfect peace 40:49 is generally you recognize that God is with you, 40:52 and that you can go to Him for whatever you need. 40:54 In that moment David realized 40:55 God is all I have what am I to do. 40:58 And so the very next thing he actually does, 40:59 he says bring the ephod here to me, 41:01 I need to hear from God. 41:03 I need to know what He wants me to do 41:04 in the midst of this hardship. 41:05 So notice he didn't run from God. 41:08 He knew in my hardship, 41:09 the safest and most reasonable thing 41:11 for me to do 41:12 is to run to God 41:14 and to hear from Him directly on what my situation is. 41:17 You know I copied this... 41:18 And they recovered everything they had. 41:20 The end was good, had a good ending. 41:23 The translation that I used was the New King James Version. 41:27 And, you know, maybe it was the King James, was, 41:30 it says and David encouraged himself 41:33 in the Lord. 41:34 And so we're looking at now solutions 41:37 when our peace is gone. 41:38 Our peace is flung right off the window. 41:41 We've got to have our peace restored. 41:42 Do you think David's peace, 41:45 he'd lost his peace 41:47 when he came back and had lost everything 41:49 including wives and children. 41:52 He had no peace, but he had a solution. 41:55 He didn't have peace, but he knew how to find peace. 41:59 Pastor Ferguson, 42:00 where he says David encouraged himself in the Lord, 42:04 how do you think he did that? 42:06 His God was bigger than the enemy. 42:10 The only way I can encourage myself 42:12 in the Lord is to know that my God is bigger than 42:14 the circumstances I find myself in. 42:17 And I also have to realize that, 42:19 you know, David was a warrior too. 42:21 And if he tried to do this in his own strength, 42:24 he could still be defeated even more 42:25 or his life could have been taken 42:26 by his own men. 42:28 But instead he trusted in God's guidance. 42:32 And our God has to be bigger than the situations in life. 42:36 And I think that's one of our main struggles 42:39 is that we view Him to be a lot less than He really is. 42:43 And if He reveals Himself in our lives, 42:46 it actually not only has, it gives us peace, 42:49 but it also is a witness to the people around us 42:52 that maybe don't have that faith. 42:54 They realize that this God is real. 42:57 And this God is moving mountains 42:59 of obstacles in their lives. 43:02 Johnny, you have had situations where you needed encouragement. 43:06 How would you encourage yourself in the Lord? 43:09 You know, the way David was able to face 43:14 the giant Goliath 43:16 was because the Lord led him through different experiences. 43:22 He fought a lion, he fought a bear. 43:25 And now when he comes to the camp 43:28 and sees that everyone is scared to death of this 43:33 "Goliath" that says 43:35 "Send out a champion to fight me," you know. 43:38 And so, David had learned to trust in the Lord. 43:43 And one of the things that helps me 43:46 is that looking back at the things 43:49 that God has done, 43:51 how He has delivered in the past, 43:52 how He has answered prayer in the past encourages me. 43:57 And I think everyone can say there comes a time 43:59 when your strength and your courage 44:01 seems to be low. 44:04 And when I feel, 44:06 when I sense that I'm getting discouraged 44:09 I say, "Hey, what's going on here? 44:10 No, the Lord is good." 44:12 You know, God is good. He's been good to me. 44:14 And I remember His promises I remember. 44:16 And you start to remember, 44:18 you start to think about your blessings. 44:21 I remember one man that called 3ABN, 44:25 and he said, 44:26 "What do I have to be thankful for?" 44:29 Now his question caught me by surprise. 44:30 "What do I have to be thankful for?" 44:32 And I didn't know what to tell him, 44:35 but the Lord gives you things to say to people. 44:37 So I say, "Well, are you in prison?" 44:39 He said, "No." 44:41 "You should be thankful." 44:42 "Are you in insane asylum?" 44:45 "No." 44:46 "You should be thankful." 44:47 And he said, "Did you get to eat today?" 44:49 "Ah, yes." 44:51 He says, "You should be thankful 44:52 because the Lord supplied your need." 44:54 And on and on he began to realize 44:55 that he has things to be thankful for. 44:58 And so when we look back at the way 44:59 God has helped us in the past, 45:01 we can say I can be encouraged. 45:03 And I remember going through some difficulties. 45:05 You know, I think Dee Casper shared 45:08 the scripture Romans 8:28, 45:09 and we know 45:11 that all things work together for good to them 45:13 that love God to them 45:14 that are the called according to His purpose. 45:16 And I remember going through some situations 45:17 where I say, 45:19 "Lord, I don't know how 45:20 this is going to work out to my good?" 45:23 And I had to say to myself, "Well, the Lord is good. 45:26 I need to trust Him in this situation." 45:29 Somehow this is going to work out to my good. 45:31 I don't know how 45:32 but somehow it will and I can look back and say, 45:35 "You know, the Lord was good. 45:37 The Lord helped me through that situation." 45:38 You know I'm reminded. 45:40 Johnny, you reminded me of a time 45:42 Hal and I had pastored, we pastored quite a few years. 45:45 And there was a time 45:47 when we got discouraged and we thought 45:49 we were just going to have to quit. 45:52 We had a church of about 300 people. 45:55 And there was a group of people 45:56 that were really causing us difficulty, 45:58 they were talking about us and they were being, 46:01 you know, just causing turmoil in the church. 46:05 And we counted gentlemen, 46:06 we counted the number of people, 46:09 counting their family members. 46:10 Do you know there were nine that were causing us trouble? 46:13 How many people did I say we had? 46:15 About 300. 46:17 So I went home having the analytical mind 46:20 that I have and said, "You know what? 46:22 That's only 3% of the people. 46:24 But they were so loud in our face 46:27 that we had become discouraged." 46:28 Do you know there were 97% 46:30 of sweet little sheep that just loved us? 46:33 And so sometimes 46:35 you encourage yourself in the Lord 46:37 just by looking at the situation, 46:39 and then looking at your mighty God. 46:42 And let's not forget the enemy wants to destroy, 46:46 divide and conquer. 46:48 So in the great controversy that's going to happen. 46:50 And then the Lord 46:52 on the other hand wants to mend 46:53 and make things whole. 46:55 And so the enemy will stir things up 46:57 in our lives, 46:58 nothing happens to me 47:00 that has not gone through God first. 47:02 And on the small things that's not that hard to take 47:05 but on the real big challenges 47:07 we have to understand that first. 47:09 And then in the realm of the great controversy 47:11 between good and evil, 47:13 in the end we will see 47:14 that He has operated righteously, 47:17 He has love, and He has a heart for me. 47:21 And it will work out in the end. 47:23 Yes, Dee. 47:25 I was thinking that in the commentary 47:26 given on the situation when John the Baptist, 47:28 you wonder why is it that he's getting reports 47:30 about Jesus but no visit from Jesus? 47:33 Desire of Ages literally says 47:34 that Jesus knew that he would stand the test. 47:38 Jesus knew more about John than John knew about John 47:40 in that moment. 47:42 And He knew that what John is going to do 47:43 is bring greater glory to the kingdom of heaven 47:45 by walking through this as opposed to avoiding it 47:48 or having no difficulty there. 47:50 And Jesus is on mission could have been imperiled 47:51 had He gone, 47:53 you know, before He needed to die 47:54 could've been imprisoned Himself. 47:56 But this is one of the ways 47:57 that God brings glory out of situations like this. 47:59 It's when people shine in the furnace. 48:02 People realize that if God can sustain a person 48:04 like that and what they went through, 48:06 God can do something for me. 48:08 John mentioned 48:09 how God sustained him in his past. 48:10 And how God sustained David in his past. 48:13 Your own story can be an inspiration 48:14 to how you can strengthen yourself in your God. 48:16 But also hearing how other people 48:18 who went through maybe things even worse than you, 48:20 how they made it through. 48:22 That can also be a way 48:23 in which you strengthen yourself in your God 48:25 because if God can do that for them, 48:27 God can do that for me. 48:28 Amen. Amen. 48:30 You know, I didn't want to neglect to mention 48:33 the way you encourage yourself in the Lord 48:36 is through His Word and through prayer of course. 48:40 But I will say this in the midst of a battle 48:42 is not the time for you 48:44 to hide God's Word in your heart. 48:46 What did King David do? 48:48 He hid God's Word in his heart 48:50 that he might not sin against God. 48:51 Would you do that on a continuous bases, 48:54 you don't wait 48:56 till you're in the middle of a battle, 48:57 then run grab your Bible and try to find you 49:00 a promise to hold on to. 49:02 No, do that in the pleasant time, 49:04 in the pleasant meadow 49:06 that's where you study God's Word. 49:08 But I wanted to share 49:10 this scripture Philippians 4:6-7. 49:12 And I think we've alluded to it maybe shared portions of it, 49:15 but let's read this scripture. 49:17 "Be anxious for nothing, 49:20 but in everything by prayer 49:22 and supplication with thanks giving, 49:25 let your requests be made known to God." 49:28 And it goes on to say then in verse 7. 49:30 "And the peace of God, 49:33 which surpasses all understanding, 49:36 will guard your hearts, 49:37 and your minds through Christ Jesus." 49:40 So, Pastor Ferguson, 49:41 this is through prayer that time along with God 49:46 and supplications and thanksgiving. 49:49 And that peace comes 49:50 because you've given the Holy Spirit an invitation 49:54 to be in your heart, in your suffering, 49:56 and that brings peace. 49:57 The other thing I wanted to mention too 49:59 is that God puts other people in our lives 50:02 sometimes to encourage us and help us to see 50:05 the right way when we're not, 50:06 we're not able to even look in the right way, 50:09 they encourage us. 50:10 So we need to be sensitive to the needs 50:12 of others being willing to witness to 50:15 and to lift them up in their time of need 50:19 because this is what God would have 50:21 the family of Christ do for one another. 50:24 Amen. Amen. 50:25 One of the ways in which God provides peace 50:26 to the storm is people and kind of a call 50:30 that actually we are talking about 50:31 this off camera that one of the ways 50:32 in which God is needing us to be involved 50:35 is to be the means through which He can bring peace 50:37 and remind people the goodness of God 50:39 that we not only need peace in our own experience 50:41 but God may be wanting to use us 50:44 to be the peace in someone else 50:45 to point them to their source of peace. 50:48 And we can't lose sight of that. 50:49 When you see suffering, don't just, 50:51 you know, think that 50:53 "Man, that must be bad or he will pray for you." 50:55 God may be asking you to take action. 50:57 He may be asking you to just be with them 50:59 in the midst of their suffering or to provide for them 51:01 in the midst of their suffering. 51:03 Like mamma Tita did for Caleb. 51:05 She hugged him and he still cry but what did she do? 51:08 She hugged him some more. Amen. 51:11 You know, this is true, we must take action. 51:14 And I've heard that there's a poster 51:17 of a child crying and it says, 51:20 "I was hungry and you prayed for me." 51:22 We have to go beyond the prayer 51:24 and move to action 51:25 to relieve suffering to try to help somebody, 51:27 encourage someone else 51:29 because we have the scripture says, 51:30 "Let your light so shine before men 51:32 that they may see your good works 51:33 and glorify your Father which is in heaven." 51:35 And this is done through deeds of kindness 51:38 and helping others to look on to Jesus. 51:41 Amen. Amen. 51:42 Well, we're going to take a short break now. 51:45 We've got some really good information 51:47 that we want to share with you. 51:48 But we'll be back in just a moment 51:51 with some closing thoughts. |
Revised 2017-12-24