Participants: John and Angela Lomacang (Host), Eric and Marilyn Durant, Ryan St. Hillaire, Mayri Cruz
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW016024A
|
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 00:23 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 01:07 Hello, friends, 01:08 and welcome to Friday Evening Family Worship. 01:11 And as you know, I have my Tonto with me, 01:13 my wife, my wife Angela. 01:15 Oh, fine. 01:18 The Lone Ranger, some of the people, probably, 01:20 are too young to know who that is 01:21 but we're just hoping that somebody just caught that, 01:24 that symbolic reference. 01:26 Good to have you with me, honey. 01:27 Yeah. Good to be here. 01:28 Happy Sabbath. That's right. 01:30 I'm John Lomacang, and my wife is Angela. 01:32 And we have hosted Family Worship before, 01:34 but we are so pleased to come in to your home 01:38 to begin the Sabbath with you. 01:40 And we have a dynamic topic tonight. 01:43 It is leaving the past in the past, 01:45 how to get past those things 01:47 that have been carried in your life, 01:49 maybe for a year or five years, 01:51 or in some cases, for decades, 01:54 in some of your lives. 01:55 We know that there is complete freedom in Jesus 01:57 and we're gonna just talk about that tonight, 01:59 with the Word of God, and with our, 02:01 with our illustrious panel. 02:02 So, honey, there is somebody who just tuned, 02:04 don't know what you do for 3ABN. 02:06 Why don't you let them know? 02:07 Okay, well, I work for 3ABN Radio, 02:09 production assistant. 02:11 And I've been there over 10 years, I believe, yeah. 02:15 And it's a job that never thought I would do, 02:17 but I love my job. 02:19 I have great people I work with, great boss. 02:21 And so I'm truly blessed to be working at 3ABN Radio. 02:25 And I thank God for the opportunity, 02:27 as well as Danny Shelton and the staff here at 3ABN. 02:31 And we have some people. 02:32 Oh, we have couple people to my left. 02:36 Tell us who you are and what you do here at 3ABN? 02:38 My name is Eric and I'm one of the broadcast engineers 02:42 here at 3ABN. 02:44 I come from about 20 years of aerospace background. 02:48 And about three years ago, 02:50 I got a call from the Lord to come work here. 02:53 And me and my wife have been here 02:55 and we have definitely been blessed. 02:57 Amen. 02:58 Marilyn? 03:00 And I'm Marilyn and I work in the call center. 03:03 I'm the assistant manager. 03:04 And we've been here about two years. 03:06 And we're very blessed to be here and we enjoy it. 03:09 Okay. 03:10 Wonderful couple. 03:11 We have the older people to my right. 03:13 Actually no, the younger people to my right. 03:15 Let's start with this gentleman to the far right. 03:18 He has this incredible smile, 03:19 always busy, he's got great talents. 03:21 But tell us who you are and what you do you for 3ABN? 03:23 Actually, not for 3ABN alone, but about your ministry. 03:26 Sure. 03:27 My name is Ryan St. Hillaire 03:29 and I am the director of a ministry 03:32 called Unseen Media Group 03:33 and we work here, together with 3ABN 03:37 and we do training programs for young people 03:40 that are interested in learning media, 03:44 film, TV production skills, 03:46 as well as evangelism side by side. 03:49 Good to have you here, Ryan. You've been with us before. 03:51 Good to have you back. Thank you. 03:52 But we have somebody we have not had before. 03:54 And tell us who you are and what you do? 03:56 My name is Mayri and I work here at 3ABN. 04:00 It's been almost three years since I've been here 04:03 and mainly work in production, camera, makeup, 04:06 and whatever else is needed. 04:08 So, yeah... 04:09 And Mayri is bilingual? Yes. 04:11 Yeah, she has a Santa Biblia two-versioned Bible. 04:14 We're glad to have to here, Mayri. 04:16 Mayri's sometimes either behind the camera 04:18 or in front the camera. 04:19 She's either doing makeup, or so many, many skills, 04:22 and each of these persons at the table, 04:24 nobody at 3ABN does one thing. 04:26 If you only do one thing, 04:28 then you probably shouldn't come here 04:29 because we are people of multiple talents and abilities. 04:33 We got to sing some songs, and accompanying us 04:36 on the piano today is Summer Boyd 04:39 and we're gonna sing some songs from the hymnal 04:42 starting with the first one, 04:43 which we try to shape them around our program, 04:46 we're talking about the needs in each of our lives. 04:48 And the first one is I need Thee every hour, 04:51 the first and the last stanza. 04:59 I need Thee every hour. 05:03 Most gracious Lord, 05:07 No tender voice like Thine 05:11 can peace afford. 05:15 I need Thee, O I need Thee 05:20 Every hour I need Thee! 05:24 O bless me now 05:26 My Savior I come to Thee. 05:31 Last stanza. 05:33 I need Thee every hour. 05:37 Teach me Thy will. 05:41 And Thy rich promises 05:45 In me fulfill. 05:49 I need Thee, O I need Thee 05:54 Every hour I need Thee! 05:58 O bless me now, My Savior 06:02 I come to Thee 06:08 Amen. Amen. 06:09 Do we need Jesus? Yes, we do. 06:11 How frequently? 06:12 Frequently, everyday. 06:14 Every hour. 06:15 Every moment of every day as the song writer 06:18 put so wonderfully, every hour. 06:20 And when we have Him, each hour of our day, 06:23 moments, seconds, events, 06:26 it becomes a blessed assurance 06:28 that we are not in our day by ourselves, 06:31 462, Blessed assurance. 06:33 Many of you know that song very well. 06:34 Some of you probably know it by heart. 06:37 But we're gonna sing the first and last stanza, 06:39 462, Blessed assurance. 06:43 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! 06:49 O, what a foretaste of glory divine! 06:55 Heir of salvation, purchase of God 07:01 Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood 07:07 This is my story, this is my song 07:13 Praising my Savior all the day long 07:19 This is my story, this is my song 07:25 Praising my Savior all the day long 07:29 Perfect submission, all is at rest 07:31 Perfect submission 07:34 All is at rest 07:37 I in my savior am happy and blest 07:44 Watching and waiting, looking above 07:49 Filled with His goodness, lost in His love 07:55 This is my story, this is my song 08:01 Praising my Savior all the day long 08:07 This is my story, this is my song 08:13 Praising my Savior all the day long. 08:20 Amen. 08:22 You know, if you stay on the ground level 08:24 in your Christian experience all the time, 08:26 you really never get to that goal. 08:29 And for those of you who've been Christians 08:31 for any length of time, may be even a year, 08:32 you know that you begin in one place 08:35 and you continue climbing, going higher and higher 08:37 toward the goal that Christ has for you, 08:40 which fits perfectly into this song, 08:41 I'm pressing on the upward way or higher ground, 08:44 as some of you know it, 08:45 625, we're gonna sing the first and last stanza. 08:48 And I like to... 08:49 As the title, I'm pressing on the upward way. 08:51 Amen. Okay. 08:56 I'm the pressing on the upward way 09:01 New heights I'm gaining every day 09:05 Still praying as I onward bound 09:09 Lord, plant my feet on higher ground 09:14 Lord, lift me up, and I shall stand 09:19 by faith, On heaven's tableland 09:23 A higher plane than I have found 09:27 Lord, plant my feet on higher ground 09:32 I want to scale the utmost height 09:37 And catch a gleam of glory bright 09:41 But still I'll pray till heaven I've found 09:46 Lord, lead me on to higher ground 09:51 Lord, lift me up, and I shall stand 09:55 by faith, On heaven's tableland 09:59 A higher plane than I have found 10:04 Lord, plant my feet on higher ground. 10:10 Amen. Wow, higher. 10:13 Are we any further in our walk with the Lord... 10:15 Absolutely. 10:17 Than when we first started? Eric? 10:18 Absolutely. 10:20 It's been a long road, but it's been a blessed road. 10:21 And one of the big praises I have for the Lord is 10:24 when I look back to where I was 20, 30 years ago 10:27 in New York City. 10:28 It's a huge blessing to see how far I've come 10:31 and I look forward to seeing where I go in the future. 10:35 I know as long as I keep my eyes on the Lord, 10:37 He's gonna lead me where I need to go. 10:38 And that's my main focus. Keep my eyes on Him. 10:41 That's right. 10:42 Before we get into our lesson, we're gonna have a prayer. 10:44 Ryan, would you have a prayer for us? 10:45 We're gonna open the Word of God 10:47 and we always believe it's a blessing 10:49 to have the Spirit of God lead us in prayer. 10:51 Let's pray. 10:53 Dear Heavenly Father, our God, 10:54 I just want to thank you for this opportunity 10:57 that You've given us to open your Word 10:59 and to spend some time 11:01 allowing You to speak to our hearts and our minds. 11:03 And I ask that You be present with us, 11:05 that your Holy Spirit would guide 11:07 all that we talk about and that this discussion 11:11 may be able to be blessing to us 11:13 and to many other people as well. 11:15 Thank you, God, for this opportunity again. 11:17 Be with us, in Jesus name we pray. 11:19 Amen. Amen. 11:21 Thank you, Ryan, thank you. 11:23 Now for those of you that are joining us. 11:25 And I know you have a Bible in a house. 11:27 I'd like to invite you to take your Bible 11:29 and we're gonna begin with a story. 11:30 Once again, repeating the title of our devotional is 11:35 "leaving the past in the past." 11:38 In other words, how to get past 11:41 the things that may be, 11:42 as I used the proverbial expression, 11:44 in your trailer truck. 11:46 A lot of us live our lives and when we're born 11:48 we have a little, we have a little red cart 11:52 that we carry with us. 11:53 You know, you ever see the little red wagons, 11:56 little kids love little red wagons. 11:57 But I would say, emotionally, 11:59 some of us go from the red wagon, 12:01 when we're little kids 12:03 to a double long trailer truck with our emotions, 12:06 our experiences, our hurts, our pains, 12:08 our failures, our successes, 12:11 and they intermingle to create within us 12:13 some kind of a storm that 12:14 in some cases we cannot get past our past. 12:17 We're gonna begin with a story today 12:19 that just I believe lays the foundation 12:21 to help us see how the Lord desires 12:23 for every one of us to get past our past. 12:25 And, honey, I'm gonna have you start with the story. 12:28 It's in John 5. 12:30 It's a very familiar story. 12:32 We're gonna look verses 5, 6 and 7. 12:36 And then we're gonna go back 12:38 and kind of analyze these to see 12:40 what the story is telling us. 12:42 It's a very familiar, a very familiar story, 12:44 one that we know very well, okay. 12:47 All right, John 5:5 says, 12:50 "Now a certain man was there, 12:53 who had an infirmity 38 years. 12:56 When Jesus saw him lying there, 12:59 and knew that he already had been 13:01 in that condition a long time, 13:04 He said to him, 13:06 'Do you want to be made well?' 13:09 The sick man answered Him, 13:11 'Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool 13:15 when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, 13:19 another steps down before me.' 13:23 Jesus said to him, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk.' 13:29 " And verse nine. 13:31 And verse nine. 13:32 "And immediately, the man was made well, 13:36 took up his bed, and walked. 13:39 And that day was the Sabbath." 13:41 Wow. 13:43 How fitting a story that... Yes. 13:45 As we talk about Family Worship, 13:46 the Sabbath is beginning. 13:47 Who doesn't want to leave their burdens of the week 13:49 behind them before the Sabbath comes? 13:51 That's right. Amen. 13:52 Because the Sabbath is a day of... 13:54 Rest. Okay. 13:55 And so we're gonna talk about how to do that, 13:57 not just what happened this week, 13:59 but more specifically, we're gonna dig deeply 14:01 into the fiber of your character and understand 14:03 that there are some of you carrying things 14:05 that have been around too long, now let's... 14:07 How many years, Mayri, was this man in that condition? 14:11 Thirty-eight. 14:12 Wow. That's long time. 14:14 Yeah. That's a long time. 14:15 I mean, just... 14:16 Do you know of people... 14:18 Let's not name any names. 14:19 But in some cases, there are people that we know 14:22 that just seems like, is he ever gone change 14:24 or is she ever gonna get past that. 14:26 And they carry these things along. 14:28 And that 38 years is a long time. 14:31 And what was he doing? 14:32 Let's go through that story again. 14:34 What was he doing? 14:35 According to verse 6. 14:38 He was laying there, by the pool. 14:41 He was just laying there, just... 14:44 He wasn't doing anything. 14:46 He wasn't going anywhere. 14:48 What I think is interesting about this story every time 14:52 I read this, right here, this, 14:54 the question that Jesus asks him, 14:56 "wilt thou be made whole?" 14:58 And it seems like a silly question. 15:00 You see a guy that's sick, 15:01 that's laying there at the side of the pool, 15:03 and somebody is gonna come and ask him, 15:05 "Do you want to made better?" 15:07 It seems like, you know, duh, that's a stupid question. 15:10 But as soon as Jesus answers or asks him that question, 15:15 his response is, listen to my problem, 15:18 take a moment and listen to my problem, 15:20 listen to my situation, why I'm here, 15:22 I want to tell you my story. 15:24 And he is trying to get sympathy from Jesus. 15:28 But then Jesus responds, and He tells him, 15:31 hey, rise up, take up your bed and walk. 15:35 He calls him to action. 15:36 And when he follows that, 15:38 then he's made well and he is healed. 15:41 It's funny, because what Ryan said is right. 15:43 He made an excuse, he said, 15:44 I try to get into the pool, but when I go, 15:47 someone always gets in before me. 15:48 So he's making excuses, like Ryan said. 15:51 And it sounds to me like, 15:53 he has just given up, he is pretty much. 15:55 And Jesus said, really, I think knew 15:58 He needed to ask him that question, 15:59 because by, you know, what we read, 16:01 been there for 38 years, and he's just laying there. 16:03 That sounds to me like he just gave up 16:05 and he's like, forget it. 16:06 There's no hope. 16:08 Well, In Desire of Ages, I have the remnant Bible. 16:11 And it says about verse 8. 16:13 "Jesus had given the lame man no assurance of divine help. 16:18 The man might have stopped to doubt 16:22 and lost his one chance of healing, 16:25 but he believed Christ's word. 16:28 And in acting upon it, he received strength." 16:31 Wow. 16:32 Acted upon it. 16:34 So, say that again. 16:35 He acted upon it. He did something. 16:37 That's the cool part is that 16:38 he didn't stay there in that place, 16:40 yes, he started, you know, 16:42 complaining and talking about his problem, 16:43 but he didn't stay there. 16:45 When Jesus gave him the command, he followed it. 16:48 And it's interesting because, you know, 16:50 some of us fall into that place where we just want to get 16:52 other people's compassion and their pity. 16:55 We want attention and we'd rather have a pity party 16:58 and than no party at all. 16:59 Yeah. 17:00 You know. That's a good one. 17:02 And so, we are always trying to play our little violin, 17:06 trying to get sympathy, and some people, 17:08 some of us just stay there. 17:10 But in this story, you know, he didn't stay there. 17:12 He followed Jesus' words. 17:14 He responded to it. 17:15 And as a result, he got the healing that he really wanted. 17:18 Yeah, Marilyn, anything on that one? 17:21 Well, I agree with what Ryan said. 17:23 Sometimes we do want that pity party. 17:26 But can you imagine if we got past that 17:29 feeling sorry for ourselves? 17:31 How great it would be if we just allowed our self 17:35 to move forward and not stay in the same situation? 17:39 It's kind of like flowing water or still water. 17:43 Still water, if it stays there too long, 17:44 it becomes stagnant and polluted. 17:47 You have to keep moving. 17:49 And Christ said, I'm the water, keep moving with me. 17:51 Yeah. That's right. 17:53 And so the great question, I would say, 17:56 the million dollar question, or the life changing question, 17:59 is do you want to be made well. 18:02 That's a question we want to ask you because, 18:04 you know, this man had his... 18:06 I put together what I call symptoms. 18:09 He had symptoms of a 38-year burden. 18:13 And there are some people that might think, 18:15 I've heard people as, you know, I'm a pastor, 18:17 I've heard people say, you know, 18:18 sometimes testimonies we have either at communion service 18:22 or they're people that will come to church and say, 18:24 they would repeat what happened when they were a kid. 18:26 And I will look at them and I'm thinking, 18:28 you've got to at least be 40, maybe 50, maybe 60, 18:32 you've got to be well up in years 18:34 and you're still telling me what happened when you were, 18:37 you know, when was that. 18:41 Listen to this. I'll put this down. 18:43 They blame others for their inability to get better. 18:46 There's a guy that always gets in front of me 18:47 every time I try to get to the pool. 18:50 It's always somebody else's fault. 18:52 And then they repeat the same sob story. 18:54 I think you talked about that, over and over and over again. 18:57 Always telling me that 'poor me' stories. 18:59 I like the way that Ryan illustrated, the violin. 19:01 Could you come to my pity party? 19:04 Make excuses for lack of progress. 19:05 I just can't do it. 19:07 Mayri brought that out. 19:08 He just, okay, Lord, here's my story, 19:11 this is really what's happening in my life, 19:12 and if you understand this, 19:14 you'll know exactly why I'm still sitting here, 19:16 stuck in the emotional pool, lying on the bed of failure. 19:19 But then Jesus comes and says you can do something about it. 19:23 What else? 19:25 Let's look at another one because 19:26 verse 8 and 9 is a key verse in that... 19:29 What happened? 19:30 When did he get past his infirmities? 19:34 When he listened to Jesus 19:35 and he took up his bed and walked. 19:38 Yeah, it says immediately. 19:40 Immediately, as he responded to that, 19:42 immediately, the man was made whole 19:45 and took up his bed and he walked. 19:47 There is a quote that says, before His biddings, 19:49 God biddings, are enablings. 19:51 With His command comes the power to do that. 19:54 And it's just awesome, you know, 19:56 'cause like I was saying, he had given up. 19:57 He was just laying there. 19:58 He was just making all these excuses about 20:00 how he can't overcome the past and just, 20:02 you know, all these reasons why he can't. 20:04 And then Jesus just said, get up, 20:06 take up your bed and walk. 20:08 And then, you know, obviously, you know, 20:09 he's been sick, he can't do that, 20:11 but God, you know, he took that step, 20:14 he started getting up. And he believed God. 20:16 And then he got the power to get up 20:19 and he was made well. 20:21 One of the things that I noticed 20:22 about people that haven't given it to the Lord is that 20:25 the end result it's always bitterness. 20:27 Yeah. 20:28 They're really, really bitter. 20:30 And some of them are loving people and kind people, 20:32 but there is a bitterness in there 20:33 that kind of eats away at them. 20:35 And just by that example, 20:37 we should all know, give it to the Lord. 20:39 He'll take it. 20:40 Have you met somebody 20:42 that was bitter and loving at the same time? 20:43 Wow. 20:45 Usually goes back and forth, 20:46 but the bitterness is there, yeah. 20:48 But on the front. Yeah. 20:50 And then sometimes it goes... Say that again. 20:52 Sometimes they have a lot of pain, 20:54 but they don't know how to get rid of that pain it seems. 20:57 Well, what do people with a lot of pain usually do? 20:59 Hurt other people. Right. 21:01 Or they're always talking about their pain. 21:04 That's the thing. 21:05 And I think an interesting point 21:07 in what we're talking about is 21:09 the man responded to Jesus' command. 21:12 You know, he was struggling on his own 21:13 for so many years to overcome this problem, 21:16 the only way that he knew how to. 21:18 And I think a lot of times in life when, you know, 21:20 I've experiences, I've had things 21:22 that I've wrestled with for years, 21:24 trying to find my own way to overcome them, 21:26 trying to be strong enough, trying to be, you know, 21:30 powerful enough to not go back 21:31 and doing the things that I keep falling in. 21:34 And Jesus is saying to us 21:37 through this and through, you know, His word. 21:40 If you give me your whole heart and you follow the direction 21:43 that I'm leading you in 21:45 and stop trying to fight this thing on your own, 21:47 He'll give us the healing that we want. 21:49 Amen. 21:50 You know, and I think it's important to remember that 21:52 as we move in collaboration with the command of Christ, 21:56 that's when healing is found. 21:58 It's not just about moving, 22:00 but it's about moving in the direction 22:01 that He leads us in. 22:04 And I've been on the opposite end of gossip. 22:07 I think a lot of us have been there. 22:09 And it's some kind of like 22:10 a character assassination sort of gossip. 22:14 And I found that the individual who actually called me, 22:17 five years later, he apologized because he became a Christian. 22:20 And to this day, I don't know 22:21 how he found my phone number or anything. 22:23 But I guess it was in him so much 22:24 that he had to find my phone number and he apologized. 22:27 He left the voice message on my phone. 22:29 And the thing that's interesting about it is, 22:32 he was gossiping, he told me, 22:33 because he was so upset with himself inside, 22:38 he had to bring some else down that he respected 22:41 so that could feel better about himself. 22:44 And he held on to this for a long period of time. 22:46 And he finally became a Christian, 22:48 not our denomination with another denomination, 22:50 gave his heart to the Lord. 22:51 And he obviously repented about it. 22:53 Praise the Lord. Yeah. 22:55 That's cool. 22:56 So there is a way to get past the past. 22:57 Yes. Yeah. 22:59 And usually, when you get past the past, 23:00 you realize, I have to go over the road 23:01 and try to ask for reconciliation from those 23:04 that I've hurt along the way. 23:06 Now we know it's impossible to cover all the ground, 23:08 but the Lord sometimes bring conviction to us 23:11 as to who we need to go to and fix that. 23:14 You know the Lord says, 23:16 leave your sacrifice at the altar, 23:17 go fix it, and then come back. 23:19 Before you come back and worship. 23:21 Exactly, because some of would rather just say, 23:23 Lord, you deal with it. 23:24 He says, no, no, leave your sacrifice here, 23:27 go fix it, and then come back. 23:29 Amen, Amen. 23:30 Look at I Corinthians 13:11, let's look at this, 23:34 because this is another text that talks about 23:38 what happens when you become an adult. 23:41 Sometimes people are ageing chronologically, 23:44 but they are still infants mentally. 23:47 This is a very powerful text here. 23:51 Let me see, maybe I'll have Marilyn. 23:53 I want you to read that. I Corinthians 13:11. 23:56 This is a very interesting observation that Paul makes. 23:59 "When I was a child, I spake as a child, 24:02 I understood as a child, I thought as a child, 24:05 but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 24:08 Well, look at the all the patterns, 24:10 look at what happens. 24:12 What are some of the things, 24:13 when I was child, how did I speak? 24:15 As a child. 24:16 And then what else, understood, and then what else, thought. 24:20 So look at the three patterns. 24:23 Some people are adults but speak as children, 24:26 you see what's the connection here? 24:27 They have to put away their childish things. 24:30 What else do they... 24:31 What else still stays with them, 24:33 not only the way they speak, but what else? 24:35 The way they understand and think. 24:37 The way they understand 24:38 and then also the way they think. 24:42 And I'm, kind of, being the point guy here, 24:47 the way they think, the way they understand. 24:49 So if I say something to you 24:52 and you hear it through the window 24:53 of your childhood experiences, you might misunderstand me. 24:56 Oh, easily. Okay. 24:58 Yeah, I could say, why did he say that to me? 25:02 And it's something innocent. 25:04 That has happened to us in ministry, hasn't it? 25:07 Total misunderstanding, and we're like, 25:09 where did they get that from? 25:11 You know, so we could relate, can't we? 25:14 Oh, have you ever had that happen to you, 25:17 somebody's upset with you, why, what did I say. 25:21 And they say you walked right past me and I know you saw me. 25:24 Something like that. Yeah. 25:26 I know you saw me, but you always do that 25:28 and you're just like, it goes from, 25:30 first, it goes from, first of all, I didn't see you, 25:32 to you always you do that, and you feel defenseless. 25:36 I wasn't even thinking about that? 25:38 But many years ago, 25:39 that happened to me in New York, 25:41 well, New York, yeah, 25:42 and because I have tunnel vision, 25:45 sometimes I'm just like, 25:46 I don't see people, when I'm focused. 25:50 And I was on the bus and when I'm on a bus 25:53 I'm just focusing what I need to do. 25:56 I didn't see my friend sitting there. 25:59 And she says to me, 26:01 the next couple of weeks later, so what was going on, 26:04 she said, Angie, you never said hi to me on the bus. 26:07 I said, I didn't even see you. And I honestly didn't. 26:11 So I told her I'm so sorry. 26:13 I really was, because sometimes 26:15 I could get so focused in something. 26:18 And that's what happens, you know, so go ahead... 26:22 I kind of look at this verse 11 26:25 as a challenge too, because it says, 26:28 when I became a man, I put away childish things. 26:30 In other words, if you don't put away childish things, 26:33 you're not gonna be a man. 26:35 So it's kind of a challenge to men and women 26:37 that you have to put it away to grow up. 26:39 Yeah. 26:41 That's a very good point. 26:42 You got to grow up somewhere along the way. 26:44 Right, Right. 26:45 And, but the other thing that... 26:47 I mean, there's so much in this one verse, 26:48 I have to put my preachers mind to rest, 26:51 because it just becomes, it's an extrajudicial text. 26:56 You have to stop thinking the way you did 26:59 when you were little. 27:01 That's why some parents... 27:04 We were raised with... 27:06 Maybe some of you had. 27:08 What do parents say to their children, 27:09 children are to be seen and what? 27:12 Not heard. 27:14 Have you ever had that, in some homes, 27:17 it's more of a point of don't say anything. 27:21 There's adult speaking, shut up, go to your room. 27:23 What happens is sometimes children grow up 27:25 with this inability to communicate. 27:27 Yeah. 27:28 And they're in a big crowd and they're like, 27:29 they want to say something and they just can't, you know. 27:34 And they are still living there understanding as a child, 27:38 they're thinking as a child, and then they speak as a child, 27:42 and then they got this, can I, can I say something. 27:46 You know, they're like afraid to break into the moment, 27:49 whereas the other kids on the other side say, 27:51 they break, you know, they need training, 27:53 they break right into adults' conversation. 27:54 So you're saying that parents play a part too 27:56 in how the child develops when it comes to this. 28:00 Well, what do you guys think? 28:01 I believe so. 28:04 I believe so. 28:05 Wow, so in order to be able to be effective... 28:08 Now this is not a whole counseling program, 28:10 but in order to be effective, 28:12 there are some things we have to do. 28:13 Let's look at Philippians. 28:15 There are some things we have to do because, 28:16 you know, if your past, 28:18 if you take ownership of what you are, 28:21 then you don't have to be stay there. 28:22 You have to realize that there's a better place to be, 28:26 than when you were six years old 28:29 or eight years old, or a teenager. 28:31 And if you're an adult, 20, 30, 40, 50, 28:34 there's something that 28:35 the Lord sees that you may not see. 28:37 And let's see. 28:38 Would like to read Philippians 3: 13-14? 28:40 I can read. Okay, Mayri. 28:41 "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, 28:45 but this one thing I do, forgetting those things 28:47 which are behind and reaching forth 28:50 on to those things which are before. 28:52 I press toward the mark 28:54 for the prize of the high calling of God 28:56 in Christ Jesus." 28:57 Okay, so interpretation. 29:00 Stop looking to the past and press forward, 29:05 looking to God, He's ahead of us 29:07 and He wants us to look to Him and not keep looking back. 29:10 Okay. 29:12 Just to kind of qualify this a little bit, 29:17 for me, in my experience, 29:18 I realized there are two things that we really 29:21 tend to drag with us from the past into the present. 29:24 And those are, number one, 29:28 things that we've done that have either hurt ourselves 29:30 or other people, you know, 29:32 we carry the guilt with us, the shame with us, 29:34 whatever else may be associated with that. 29:37 Or things that other people have done to hurt us. 29:40 And we tend to drag those things along with us 29:44 our entire lives sometimes 29:46 and we continue to think about them, 29:49 allow them to control us, allow them to effect us 29:52 in different ways 29:53 and forgetting about those things. 29:58 You know, when we're reading here in Philippians, 30:00 it says we're forgetting about the past and moving forward. 30:03 That doesn't mean ignoring what has happened in the past. 30:06 Right. 30:08 That means taking those things, making them right, 30:11 allowing God to heal us, 30:13 and then moving forward 30:14 and not continuing to drag those things 30:16 behind us in the dirt. 30:18 You know... That's right, 30:19 'cause you can't change what you've done in the past, 30:21 you can't change that. Yeah... 30:23 But you could ask for forgiveness, 30:25 you can ask the person for forgiveness. 30:27 You can ask, of course, the Lord. 30:30 And you can't tell somebody 30:31 who's been struggling with the hurt. 30:33 You know, if something has happened 30:35 to them in the past that has hurt them, 30:36 you can't tell them just forget about that, 30:39 you'll get over it. 30:40 You know, just move on, that's old, it's, 30:42 you know, past or whatever 30:44 because, 30:46 you know, it may be in the past but it still hurts. 30:49 It's like, you know, if I decide 30:51 I'm gonna go and punch somebody and knock him out, 30:54 and they get a bruise from it, 30:56 and they're willing to forgive me, 30:58 they still have the evidence, 30:59 they still have the bruise that they're carrying with them 31:02 and they have to deal with that. 31:04 You know, they may have forgiven, 31:06 they may have left that behind, 31:08 but they still have to deal with the consequences 31:10 of what the past has done to them. 31:12 Okay. 31:13 And we have to press forward with the right goals. 31:15 Okay. 31:16 Because I know a lot of people, 31:18 they use other goals like their career achievements 31:21 and things like that as a supplement. 31:23 And this says in verse 14, 31:25 I press forward the goal for the prize 31:29 of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 31:33 So it's saying press forward with a goal towards Christ. 31:35 That's how the healing comes... Amen. 31:37 The advancements in your career and the making money 31:40 and things like that, those don't heal that wound. 31:42 They don't take away the bitterness. 31:44 It's only Christ 31:45 that can take away the bitterness. 31:46 Something what helped me 31:49 the way thinking about a certain way 31:50 I would think about, 31:52 you know, like, we talk about bitterness, 31:54 resentment, hurts from the past, 31:55 or things like that, 31:57 I think of it, literally, 31:58 like you're carrying around, a garbage bag. 32:00 Yeah. 32:02 It weighs you down and it stinks, 32:03 everybody else can smell it. 32:04 And... 32:07 Yeah, and you don't want to live like that, 32:08 nobody wants to live like that. 32:10 And I know none of us are guiltless, 32:11 we've experienced that at some point, 32:13 but you know, with God helping us 32:15 to press forward and leave our burdens, 32:18 you know, at the cross and just be healed from that, 32:20 and you know, when you think about that way, 32:22 it's like, "Ooh...yeah, that's really..." 32:23 Wow! 32:25 That opens a whole picture in my head, 32:26 your attitude stands. 32:28 Because you're carrying on your past. 32:29 Why do you... Well, Pastor, do you think 32:31 that taking ownership 32:34 can help you to move forward as well? 32:36 Of course. 32:37 That's a very good thing, 32:38 you know, unless you recognize where you are, 32:42 you cannot recognize 32:43 that you need to be someplace else. 32:46 Forgetting those... 32:47 That's a very good point because... 32:49 Taking ownership. 32:50 The story with a man at the pool, 32:53 he recognized where he was. 32:56 It had been 38 years with this infirmity, 32:58 he recognized, "Here I am." 33:00 I always, in the story, 33:02 the thing that always gets me is, 33:03 the Lord said take up your bed, 33:06 fold up that mat of excuses, 33:08 or may be his bed was such so identified with him 33:11 that people when they saw him walking there, 33:13 I recognize that bed but I don't recognize that guy. 33:17 And so, but yes, 33:18 taking ownership... 33:20 Yes. 33:21 I think Ryan talked about that, taking ownership. 33:24 But something I want to amplify is that, 33:27 okay, you may hit somebody 33:29 and they'll have that, the evidence of it, 33:32 but that sometimes that scar will heal, 33:35 but the emotional pain could go a lot deeper, 33:38 or like it, 33:39 like you've seen those terrible doggie commercials. 33:42 You know where they... 33:43 you know, dogs have been abused. 33:45 Oh, yes. Yes. 33:46 Oh, yes. 33:47 It's the hardest thing to look. 33:49 And they have two little puppy, two little dogs, 33:51 so of course you feel bad. 33:52 I'll be thanking... 33:54 Can I add something-- Sure. 33:55 to what Mayri said? 33:57 The perfume of life, 33:58 sometimes, we use the perfume of life 34:00 to cover up that garbage bag, to hide it away, 34:03 but the garbage bag is still there. 34:04 Yes. 34:06 And then, like you said a lot of people, 34:08 they carry that 34:09 and they're the little shaking dog on the inside 34:12 and I found, to my life also, 34:14 that it's only through Jesus Christ 34:16 that can heal that wound in there, yeah. 34:19 What direction does this text tell us we can go, 34:21 when we... Up. 34:23 Forward. Forward. 34:24 Go forward. 34:26 Go upward, go... Pressing on the upward way... 34:27 Exactly, for reaching forward, pressing upward. 34:31 You see, isn't that wonderful? 34:32 Rather than reaching backward, pressing downward. 34:35 You see, some people... Oh, yes. 34:37 Years ago, my wife knows this, 34:38 I always talked about the rearview mirror, 34:41 it's smaller than the windshield. 34:43 And so the reason for that, as the Lord says, 34:46 look at the road, drive, go forward. 34:49 He said it to the Israelites in Exodus 14, 34:51 "Go forward." 34:52 And so what we're saying to many of you 34:54 that are watching the program or if you are in this category, 34:58 we're saying the Lord's future is better than your past. 35:02 Amen. 35:04 Trade your downward spiral for the upward call. 35:07 That's right. 35:08 Trade your reverse gear for a forward gear. 35:11 Don't stand on your failures. 35:13 Failures press toward the goals the Lord has for you. 35:16 It's like a big weight lifted when you let go. 35:20 Have you ever had people say that? 35:22 It's like a weight lifted. 35:23 I said that. 35:25 It's, if you take a deep breath and you go... 35:27 Yes. Finally. 35:29 When you finally give it to him, 35:31 when you finally give it to him. 35:32 Yes. 35:33 What usually prevents a person from dealing with an issue? 35:36 They are not honest with themselves. 35:37 Yeah. Okay, that's one... 35:39 They deny it 35:40 and until you're honest with yourself, 35:41 you don't reach out for that healing 35:43 and you know, God, 35:45 Christ reaches out with his hand 35:46 and you say "Well, I'm just fine. 35:47 I don't need to take your hand. 35:49 I'm doing just well, everything, I'm making money, 35:51 everything's going great, my career is just fine, 35:53 I don't need to reach out." 35:54 And inside you need to reach out 35:56 and you have to acknowledge 35:58 that there problem exists, to do that. 36:00 What else prevents us from going forward sometime? 36:02 I was gonna say fear. 36:04 I know, for me, with struggles that I've had, 36:06 sometimes, 36:08 yeah, you don't just either don't want to face it 36:09 or may be you're just so used to living that way 36:13 that the thought of not living like that, 36:14 it's like what am I gonna do with myself, 36:16 I don't have anything to think about, 36:18 you know whatever but, you know sometimes, 36:20 fear is definitely a huge factor. 36:21 They are... 36:23 And I think we also get in our comfort zone, 36:26 you know, its hard to get out of, 36:28 step out beyond what's around you. 36:32 And once you do that, you realize it's not as fearful 36:35 but you have to be willing to accept God's help. 36:39 Okay, what else? 36:41 Anything you could think of, hon? 36:43 Well, look at the familiar places, 36:45 I think, that I'm gonna combine what Mayri said 36:47 and what Marylin said, fear. 36:49 Fear says to you, you can't, you can't get past us. 36:52 What you're gonna do 36:53 when you stop thinking in that way? 36:55 What you're gonna say to people 36:57 when they say you how you're doing? 36:59 In the past, you used to say you, 37:00 you could tell them all your war stories, 37:02 but now you got to lay them down. 37:04 And what you're gonna say now? 37:05 And the fear of getting away from those, 37:09 the familiar place, the place that surrounds you... 37:11 Which is not true, 37:13 those are lies that Satan tells us... 37:15 Of course. Yeah. 37:16 Because we're so familiar with those things, 37:18 so comfortable 37:19 telling our war stories and our, 37:21 you know, starting our different 37:23 pity parties here and there 37:24 and we're wondering who am I gonna be, 37:27 if I'm not telling these stories anymore, 37:28 we don't realize that 37:30 God has a better story to write for us. 37:31 Amen. 37:33 He has more incredible things that he can give us 37:34 that can be our stories for the future. 37:36 Amen. 37:37 And you know sometimes, 37:39 the devil is so creative at keeping us in those places 37:42 and makes us feel like, what we've got right now 37:44 is the most valuable thing that we can have 37:46 and we're afraid to let go off it, 37:49 but God has something so much better for us. 37:51 So our thoughts are all road blocked, 37:52 look at Jeremiah. 37:54 Let me see, who hasn't read yet? 37:57 Eric, look at Jeremiah 29: 11, this is something else, 38:00 because you know, when you think about thoughts, 38:01 I think what Marylin and Mayri said 38:03 and what we're talking about here 38:05 and sometimes your thoughts is the greatest roadblock, 38:07 so what we're gonna suggest in this text 38:09 is get rid of your thoughts and accept the thoughts 38:11 that Jesus has for you. 38:13 So try to replace the way you think. 38:16 Jeremiah 29:11, you have that, Eric? 38:19 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, 38:21 says the Lord, 38:22 thoughts of peace and not of evil, 38:25 to give you a future and a hope." 38:27 Wow. Amen. 38:29 I know the thoughts. 38:30 And see, 38:31 in some occasions 38:33 Jesus would say to those who were in the crowd, 38:35 mostly religious leaders, he says, 38:38 "Why think ye so," 38:39 I mean why are you thinking like that, 38:41 and sometimes, 38:42 can you ever look at people sometimes, 38:43 in a close communication 38:46 and you're saying something 38:48 and they're going like, 38:51 they say don't think that. 38:53 Right. 38:54 Do you ever feel like saying that sometimes? 38:56 Exactly. 38:57 Can you help me? 38:59 Why are you thinking like that, 39:00 just come in and give me a hand, 39:02 they don't say a single word 39:03 because you could see their facial encounter... 39:05 Right. 39:06 Starts developing, I know, what they are thinking. 39:09 Yeah. 39:10 Can you lend some money? 39:13 Go ahead. 39:14 I had a verse that goes along with what 39:16 this last verse we've read Isaiah 55, 39:19 and I guess start with verse 7, 39:21 "Let the wicked forsake his way, 39:23 and the unrighteous man his thoughts. 39:25 Let him return to the Lord, 39:27 and He will have mercy on him. 39:29 And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. 39:30 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, 39:33 neither are your ways My ways," says the Lord. 39:35 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 39:37 so are My ways higher than your ways, 39:39 and My thoughts than your thoughts." 39:41 Wow. 39:42 I'm so glad 39:43 God doesn't think the way that we do. 39:45 Because if he did, I'd be in a lot... 39:47 All of us, to all of us. You know, John, 39:49 they have a thing called some... 39:50 Also I was in the military in the past 39:53 and they have this thing called PTSD, 39:56 Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 39:58 It's when you have an experience with the past 40:00 that you can't get rid of, it's a disorder. 40:03 And Christ Jesus is the great physician, 40:06 He can heal that. 40:08 And we need to keep that in mind. 40:10 You know, it's amazing 40:11 that they often refer to that... 40:12 I've heard that a lot in the military terms, 40:15 but is it something everybody has? 40:16 I mean... It's something... 40:18 Who face traumatic experiences 40:20 and they can't get that traumatic experience 40:22 out of their heart, out of their mind, 40:24 and it's a burden, 40:26 it's a weight on them through their entire lives. 40:27 Wow. 40:28 And there is coping mechanisms for that, 40:30 but I submit that the greatest coping mechanism 40:33 is the Lord Jesus Christ. 40:35 Yes. Yeah. 40:36 It's worth, it works, He works. 40:37 God is the main healer. 40:39 And He also gives us other, 40:41 you know, doctors and counselors 40:43 and even, thinking of that, 40:45 I think of, like, therapy animals. 40:47 You know, that's really cool, 40:49 just how that's used by God 40:50 is the one that we need to go to 40:52 and he will show us the way to find healing. 40:54 Amplify the therapy animals. 40:55 Somebody might not know what you mean by that. 40:56 Oh, just like having either like a dog, 40:59 like a service dog 41:01 or, you know, a cat or they use different animal, 41:03 horses sometimes just to, 41:05 you know, it helps clam the person down a lot of times 41:08 and just having like a companion there with you, 41:11 just to help with, 41:13 you know, keeping you stable and emotionally. 41:16 Now when we think about 41:19 where we are and where God wants us to be. 41:20 Do you think that when you were born, honey, 41:22 the Lord, He knew what you had... 41:24 Of course, He knew all of us. 41:26 He has a plan for each life. I always say that to people. 41:30 The Lord has a plan for you. 41:31 Jeremiah. Let's go to Jeremiah. 41:33 I want you to read this one. Jeremiah 1:5. 41:35 It's in our syllabus, 41:36 but we could go ahead and look at this together 41:39 because a lot of times people don't realize that 41:42 before you are born, 41:45 the circumstances of your birth, 41:46 and I think I'm a classic example of that 41:48 having been abandoned by my mom and dad 41:50 at three months old. 41:52 Somebody once told me, they said, John, 41:54 according to your past experiences 41:56 you should be a train wreck 41:58 or you should be mentally, you know, confused. 42:01 And I literally hadn't gone to the place in my youth years, 42:06 when they were turbulent experiences, like, 42:08 the one who was giving me, 42:10 the lady that was raising me died 42:12 when I was only 12 years old. 42:14 And the man that was raising me 42:15 kind of just loss his perspective, 42:16 he just... 42:18 My wife has died, 42:19 people marry at 30 something years. 42:21 I don't have any more future, I'm done. 42:23 And I just kind a got to the place where it says, 42:24 either I'm gonna fail, I'm gonna sink, 42:26 or I'm gonna make it. 42:27 And but this text, 42:29 I didn't know this text at that time, 42:30 but Jeremiah 1:5. Look at that. 42:31 I think you should read it. 42:33 Okay. Because of your situation. 42:35 All right, let me read it. Yeah. 42:37 "Before I formed you in the womb, 42:41 I knew you." 42:42 Ain't that powerful? Powerful. 42:45 "Before you were born, I sanctified you, 42:49 I ordained you a prophet to the nations." 42:52 Another word for prophet is preacher. 42:55 You know, just speaking... 42:56 That's why I said you should read this. 42:58 Wow, that's a powerful text. 43:00 I mean, that's a powerful text. It is. 43:02 "Before I formed you in your mother." 43:04 And, you know, honey, you know the story very well. 43:06 When I finally met my mom, 43:08 you know she said to me, she said, "If I raised you, 43:11 you wouldn't be what you are today." 43:14 So the Lord saw in some of our instances, 43:16 and so there is a point to have at the story, 43:18 because some people may say, I was abandoned by my mom. 43:20 Yeah. 43:22 My dad left me, 43:23 I don't know who my parents are. 43:25 And they put that trailer truck behind them 43:26 and they dragged and they... 43:28 And some people they never meet who their folks are. 43:31 And so I'm saying, 43:33 who your folks are should not hinder 43:38 who your God is. 43:39 Amen. 43:41 See. Amen. 43:42 So does this apply to everyone? 43:44 Oh, it sure it does. 43:46 The Lord has a... Well, Jeremiah 29:11, right? 43:49 Does he have a future and hope for you? 43:50 It's right. 43:52 All of us. Yeah. 43:53 So, he says before I formed you. 43:55 So if you're thinking about that thought, 43:56 very importantly, today, 43:58 if you're thinking about that thought, 43:59 the Lord had a plan for my wife, 44:01 for me, for Mayri, for Ryan, 44:03 for Eric, for Marylin, before we were born. 44:05 So we're not here at 3ABN. 44:08 Are we here coincidentally? No. 44:10 Does the Lord know you're gonna be here, 44:11 aerospace man. 44:13 He knew, I didn't know it, but He knew. 44:15 Yeah. 44:17 And Ryan, this was... 44:18 His media name is amazing. 44:20 This was unseen by you. 44:22 Yeah. 44:24 Yes, it was. 44:25 Unseen Media, Unseen Media executive. 44:27 Yeah, but God knew. But God knew. 44:29 Mayri, what about you ending up here? 44:32 Oh, yeah, that's quiet a story. 44:34 I definitely don't have a doubt that it was God's doing, yeah. 44:37 I wouldn't have chosen to be here, yeah. 44:40 Honey, what about you? 44:41 I would never pick the Mid-West to live. 44:44 I actually wouldn't. 44:45 We always say that 44:47 because we lived in California for so many years 44:49 and then we move to the Mid-West. 44:52 We moved to Missouri, 44:54 and I'm like, 44:56 I want to go back to California. 44:58 But I know the Lord put us here. 45:01 I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt. 45:02 Don't you? 45:04 And what you're doing now, 45:05 would you have ever thought of doing 45:06 what you're doing now? No, never. 45:08 What are you doing now again? 45:09 Edit, right, audio editor, I edit. 45:13 I never thought I would be an audio editor 45:15 in a million years. 45:16 So I know that's God. 45:18 I never liked that. 45:19 I had no desire to do that. 45:22 Should I tell them the story? Go ahead. 45:23 I used to try to... 45:25 I used to try to tell her about audio editing 45:26 when we lived in California. 45:28 Honey, look at my computer. 45:30 A WAV file. 45:31 You know what a WAV file was for my wife? 45:34 A wave file. Bye. 45:37 But now she's like, she could look at a WAV file, 45:40 God has not only... 45:41 But here's what He does, He doesn't only call us. 45:44 What else does He do? 45:46 He doesn't just call us. 45:47 What else does He... Qualifies. 45:48 He qualifies us. 45:50 Marylin, 45:52 did you know you're gonna be here? 45:54 No. Assistant manager. 45:55 No, not at all. And I agree with you. 45:58 This is not coming form the East Coast 46:01 and the Northwest. 46:03 This is a different environment. 46:05 And I think, I tell everyone this. 46:08 I don't think it was for Eric. 46:10 I think the Lord brought us here for me. 46:12 Wow. 46:14 So, using Eric. 46:18 Now we want to know more about that story. 46:19 Yeah. 46:21 Well, I've just received so many blessings 46:23 from being here and growing in my spiritual walk. 46:26 And... 46:29 just the growth that I've received coming here, 46:33 I think it was more so for me than. 46:35 She is a different person. 46:37 She is definitely a different person. 46:39 She has absolutely grown her spiritual walk. 46:42 And I want to say I'm proud of Marylin, 46:44 but it was Jesus working through Marylin that did it. 46:47 Yes. So, yes. 46:49 It's awesome. 46:51 You know, the text I want you to read, Marylin, 46:53 is Ephesians 5:10 'cause this fits you. 46:55 I mean, after you just told me that. 46:57 Ephesians 5:10 46:58 it's under our point number seven. 47:03 You know, 47:04 but Ephesians 5:10 is the text there 47:06 and of our syllabus, point number seven. 47:08 Okay, 47:09 "For we are his workmanship, 47:12 created in Christ Jesus for good works, 47:14 which God prepared before hand that we should walk in them." 47:18 Okay. 47:19 So did you know you were gonna be walking in 47:21 before you got here? 47:22 I didn't, but now I do. 47:24 He knew. But the Lord knew. 47:26 Yes He did. He knew. That's right. 47:27 Oh, I have a question I want to throw in here. 47:31 Okay. 47:32 Change the direction a little bit 47:34 but we're talking about how God is always with us. 47:36 And we're giving stories 47:38 that how God has led us in the past, 47:39 bring us to the point where we are right now. 47:43 And we don't realize that until we look back 47:46 and we can see God's hand. 47:48 But I think one of the reasons 47:50 why a lot of people drag their past 47:54 with them many times 47:55 is because we ask the question, 47:58 well, where was God when... 48:01 And then fill in the blank. 48:03 You know because we all go through experiences 48:05 where it's like why would God have allowed me 48:08 to go through this or that or whatever that may be. 48:13 And, you know, 48:15 if God really is with us every step of the way... 48:19 Can I speak on that? Sure. 48:21 Because one of my favorite stories. 48:23 And I mean it's in the top three stories 48:26 in the Bible is the story of Joseph 48:28 where God allowed him. 48:30 He didn't make him go to prison. 48:32 He allowed him to go to prison, suffer what he went through, 48:36 slavery in prison 48:37 so that he could save Israel in the end. 48:39 And at the time, 48:41 Joseph didn't know that was his purpose 48:43 but God took a bad circumstance 48:46 and allowed it to play its course 48:47 so that He could do the greater good. 48:49 So sometimes we end up in a situation, 48:52 we're like, I didn't bring this upon myself, 48:54 why Lord, why are you doing this? 48:56 Like you said, 48:57 and it is because God has a greater role for us. 48:59 We just have to be faithful 49:01 so that we can fulfill that role. 49:03 Some of us fall away during that. 49:05 If we stand with it, stand faithful, 49:06 and keep our eyes on the Lord, it reveals itself in the end. 49:09 You know, Joseph became... 49:12 Yeah, I love Joseph. 49:13 And you have a sermon from pits to palaces. 49:15 Wow. And that's about Joseph. 49:17 And he's my favorite character, 49:19 one of my favorite in the Bible. 49:20 What happened when we read the end of the story... 49:22 Oh! We cried. 49:24 Oh, we when... 49:25 we were reading in Genesis when he died. 49:28 Oh, I said Joseph. 49:29 We were driving to Paradise, California in the car 49:31 and Angie was reading Genesis and she said... 49:34 And I said, you okay, honey? 49:35 She said, oh, I just look forward 49:36 to meeting Joseph, 49:38 what a life, what a story. 49:39 And she was shedding tears. 49:41 And so, 49:43 like, there is another man in my life, Joseph. 49:47 Coming from Paradise or going to Paradise? 49:48 Going to paradise. 49:50 To Paradise, California to be specific. 49:53 But that's true and thank you for that example, 49:55 because, as Ryan pointed out, and that's a very good question 49:58 because there's somebody watching the program 50:00 that might say, well, where was God? 50:01 Yeah. 50:03 Where was God in my, 50:04 where was God in my betrayal, my family betrayal. 50:06 That's how it started out. 50:08 Where is God in my sibling jealousy. 50:10 Yeah. Look at all the components. 50:12 What else can you see in the story of Joseph? 50:13 Sibling jealousy, sibling rivalry, 50:16 family betrayal... 50:18 Attempted murder. 50:20 Attempted murder, falsely accused, 50:21 what else attempted... 50:22 Attempted murder. 50:24 What else? 50:26 That's it. 50:27 No, there is more. Feelings of abandonment. 50:30 Abandonment. That's right. 50:32 Why's this happening to me, 50:33 what have I done to bring this on myself. 50:36 All right. Yeah. 50:38 When you do all the right things 50:39 and all the wrong things happened to you. 50:41 Why do bad things happen to good people, 50:44 what else? 50:46 Such an honest man, remember... 50:49 Was that Potiphar's wife? That's right. 50:51 He was in a situation 50:52 where the devil wanted to take him even further down. 50:54 Yes. Tried to break him. 50:55 Tried to break him, 50:57 tried to get him to compromise his moral stand 50:58 with Potiphar's wife. 51:00 And he said... What did he say? 51:02 How can I do this great wickedness 51:03 and sin against God. 51:04 Right. 51:06 So he recognized at that point God was with him. 51:09 Yeah, just one more thing, 51:11 just to drive this a little bit deeper 51:12 because we talk about God uses these experiences 51:15 to bring about his purposes, right? 51:19 And somebody may be thinking, well, 51:20 does that mean that each of us are slaves to God's purpose? 51:24 Does that mean that we can only do 51:26 what God wants us to do? 51:28 We can't do what we want to do. 51:30 And it's a different way of thinking 51:32 but I have had people ask that question before. 51:34 And-- 51:35 I kind of have an answer but I want to... 51:38 We can do what we will, it's our choice. 51:42 But the difference is the great majority of times 51:45 if not always if we don't do God's will, 51:48 we fall away to some degree, 51:50 especially when we're faced with this great trial, 51:52 if we don't keep our eyes on the Lord 51:54 and have him lead us through that trail 51:56 to the greater success 51:57 and to the greater glory of God, 51:59 we fall away in the bad direction. 52:01 So we have a choice 52:03 whether to go in God's direction 52:04 or the bad direction. 52:05 That's what it sums up to in the end. 52:07 Sometimes we don't realize that that is what the choice is. 52:09 Right. 52:10 I think a lot of times we look at God's purpose 52:12 and we look at surrender to God as something that's scary, 52:15 like, what's gonna happen if I give up everything 52:18 and I surrender myself to God's purpose. 52:19 I don't want to give up this and that 52:21 and all these things that I love right now. 52:24 And we don't realize 52:25 that God wants to give us is actually something 52:28 that is gonna give us some more of fulfillment, 52:30 more peace, more happiness. 52:32 And that's an experience that because a lot of us, 52:37 we don't have that experience 52:38 and we don't share that experience 52:39 with other people, 52:41 we stay back in the pity party zone, 52:44 we're not passing these things on. 52:45 And so when we talk about surrender to God, 52:47 it becomes a scary thing 52:48 when really it's the most incredible experience 52:51 that you could ever have in your life because... 52:53 Amen. 52:54 You get taken to a place 52:56 where you get to see God working on your behalf 52:57 on a day to day basis, working miracles, doing things, 53:00 accomplishing things for you and for the people 53:03 that you never could have done by yourself. 53:06 And there is nothing more incredible. 53:08 Now there is a text I want to read 53:09 because a lot of times people think that 53:11 I'm ashamed about what happened to me. 53:12 Honey, I want you to read this since you gave me the last one, 53:14 2 Timothy 1:12. 53:16 This text is powerful 53:17 because a lot of times people said, I'm so ashamed, 53:21 they take on such burden of what they went through, 53:24 they forget the blessing of God. 53:26 And so get rid of the shame because the text shows you... 53:30 2 Timothy 1: 12. 53:32 This is a beautiful passage. 53:34 "For this reason, 53:35 I also suffer these things, nevertheless, 53:38 I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed 53:43 and I am persuaded that he is able to keep 53:46 what I have committed to him until that day." 53:49 Wow, isn't that powerful? Powerful. 53:51 Shame, people go through shame, 53:54 they said, oh, 53:55 I feel so ashamed to talk about this. 53:58 The Lord may have allowed you, Job, Joseph, 54:02 how many other characters in the Bible do we find 54:04 that have gone through difficulties? 54:05 Job. Job. 54:06 Pastor C.D. Brooks said if the devil only knew 54:09 how many people would be encouraged 54:11 by the story of Job, 54:12 he we would have left Job alone. 54:13 Yes. 54:16 It thought that to be true. 54:18 I want to get another one in there. 54:19 Mayri, Isaiah 61:1-3. 54:24 Isaiah 61: 1-3. 54:26 Because we're talking about 54:27 not only just getting past the past, 54:29 but what does Lord have in store for you. 54:31 If you're committed to him, he'll keep it. 54:33 Don't be ashamed about what you've been through, 54:34 but if you commit your present and your future to him, 54:37 He will be able to keep it. 54:38 Isaiah 61: 1-3, 54:40 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, 54:43 because the Lord has anointed me 54:45 to preach good tidings unto the meek, 54:47 He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, 54:50 to proclaim liberty to the captives, 54:52 and the opening of the prison to them that are bound 54:55 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, 54:57 and the day of vengeance of our God 54:59 to comfort all that mourn 55:01 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, 55:03 to give unto them beauty for ashes, 55:05 the oil of joy for mourning, 55:07 the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness 55:10 that they might be called trees of righteousness, 55:13 the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." 55:16 There is so much in that passage. 55:17 One of the things that I want to bring out, 55:19 not only does God take away the past 55:20 and give you beauty, 55:21 but he says let me deal, 55:23 let me be the one 55:24 to take care of those who did wrong to you. 55:26 Amen. 55:27 The vengeance, 55:28 the day of vengeance of our God. 55:30 He says, let Me fight that battle. 55:33 I'll take away your ashes and give you beauty, 55:36 I'll give oil. 55:37 Ain't that wonderful? Let's trade. 55:38 Let's trade. Excellent trade. 55:40 And He doesn't minimize our pain. 55:41 And we definitely don't want anyone just think that, 55:43 you know, whatever you've gone through is like, 55:44 oh, that's not a big deal, just get over it. 55:46 Exactly. 55:47 God knows our pain and He knows how deep it can be, 55:50 but he wants us... 55:51 He doesn't want us to live in that 55:52 for the rest of our lives. 55:54 Anything else, Eric? 55:55 I've never met anyone that regretted coming to Jesus. 55:58 Never. Wow. 56:00 Never, of all the people... 56:01 And I like to talk to people a lot. 56:03 And I've never heard anyone saying I regret it. 56:06 That's what I have to say about that. 56:08 Anything, honey? 56:09 No, God is faithful. That's all I know. 56:11 He's faithful. 56:13 So whatever you are going through, 56:14 or me or you, any of us here, 56:16 He's faithful to take us through it. 56:18 Remember what you always say? 56:20 You're going through... That's right. 56:22 If you're going through it, keep going through it, 56:25 and come out the other end 56:26 into the plan that God has for you. 56:28 I want to kind of bring our time together, 56:30 wind it up on this text Romans 8:38-39. 56:34 This is a commitment text that says to you 56:36 it's not where you are but where God can keep you. 56:39 You have to persuaded though, 56:40 he says, "For I am persuaded, 56:42 that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 56:46 nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, 56:49 nor depth, nor any other created thing, 56:52 shall be able to separate us from the love of God, 56:56 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 56:57 Amen. 56:59 Wow, did this program go too quickly? 57:00 Yes. Very fast. Very quickly. 57:02 So can we get past our past? Yes. 57:05 Through whom? Through Christ Jesus. 57:07 Friends, I tell you. 57:09 There's goal out there that God has for every one of us. 57:11 We've seen it, 57:13 it's continuing to unfold in all of our lives. 57:16 We want to say to you that God has a goal for you. 57:18 Amen. 57:19 An upward call, a forward motion. 57:22 He wants to take you off of your bed 57:23 and give you the ability to walk in his freedom. 57:26 So trust the Lord with your life 57:27 and the day is going to come 57:29 when you'll see the God that delivered you 57:31 and you'll glorify Him. 57:32 God be with you till we see you again. 57:35 Happy Sabbath. Amen. |
Revised 2016-08-04