Participants: C.A. & Irma Murray (Host), Eric Durant, Luis Capote, Mollie Steenson
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW017017A
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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 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:39 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:06 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Family Worship. 01:10 And wherever you are in the world, 01:12 we wish you a happy and blessed Sabbath, 01:14 as God has called us from labor to rest, 01:17 a time of reflection drawing closer to the Lord. 01:20 So thank you for joining us for 3ABN Family Worship. 01:22 This is part of our experience that we just love 01:25 as we bring family together and friends together, 01:27 talk about the things of God, 01:29 to discuss the things of the Lord, 01:30 and to encourage ourselves in the Lord. 01:33 I'm in the company of my wife Irma. 01:35 Irma, good to have you here for Family Worship. 01:37 It's wonderful time to be together, 01:40 not only with you, but with our friends. 01:42 Amen, amen. And brothers and sisters. 01:44 Amen, amen. 01:47 God is good and we have family worship at our home. 01:50 And usually we're curled up on the couch 01:53 or sometimes we do it from bed 01:56 depending on how we feel, what our mood is, 01:58 but we're here today for family worship 02:00 and we're glad that you're with us. 02:01 Let me introduce the family members 02:03 that are here, Luis Capote. 02:04 Luis, good to have you here, man. 02:05 It's good to be here. 02:07 Finally, the Sabbath is here. Amen and amen. 02:09 You work so hard and you finally get the time 02:11 to be able to sit down 02:13 and just spend a little bit of moment with Jesus. 02:15 Amen. 02:16 I, having been in the Adventist church 02:18 so very long joined at age 10, 02:20 I cannot envision a Friday into a Saturday 02:23 without the stoppage of work time 02:26 and moving into rest time in the presence of the Lord. 02:28 I don't know what people do who works seven days a week. 02:30 I just, I don't see how they can do it. 02:32 So we are happy for that. 02:34 Miss Mollie Steenson, Mollie, good to have you here. 02:36 Thank you. 02:37 Always a joy to get to share with our family 02:40 on Family Worship. 02:41 It is a joy. Amen. 02:43 And Mr. Eric Durant, good to have you here, man. 02:45 I am very happy to be here. 02:46 When I grew up, I didn't have family worship. 02:48 I grew up outside the church. 02:50 And this here is an absolute blessing. 02:52 So I love it. Amen. 02:54 Very happy to be here. 02:55 I used to having been 02:56 the only Adventist in my family. 02:58 I envied people who had family worship. 03:01 I would go to church. 03:03 My family was not Adventist till later on. 03:06 But they'd have family dinner together 03:08 and they had family worship together, 03:10 they'd come to church together. 03:11 And I was just kind of by myself. 03:13 I envied to see those families, you know, 03:15 sometimes I was lucky enough to get invited to get dinner 03:18 so I could eat vegetarian meat 03:21 'cause I thought that was the coolest thing. 03:24 What is this stuff you guys are eating? 03:25 This is vegetarian 03:26 and I though that's pretty nice. 03:28 We didn't have that in our house. 03:29 So it's the real thing. 03:30 And later on, I was able 03:32 to baptize my parents, both of them. 03:33 Amen. And that was a blessing. 03:35 But as I think back family worship, 03:37 as I envied it back then now I get to participate therein. 03:42 On today's program, we're gonna talk about the things 03:45 that are pertained to Christian growth 03:47 and Christian maturity. 03:49 Those things that we can put into place in our lives 03:52 that help us to grow stronger in the Lord 03:54 and help us do the will of God 03:56 so that we are made better within and without. 04:00 And we can share the love of Christ in the community 04:02 and with those that we come in contact with. 04:04 Before we get started, Mollie, 04:05 would you have a prayer for us please? 04:07 Yes. 04:08 Holy Father, we come before you in the name of Jesus. 04:11 And, Father, we are so grateful 04:13 that you give us this opportunity 04:15 to set aside time just to spend with you, 04:18 Thank you, oh, God, for Your divine grace and mercy 04:21 and wisdom in how You have just set things in line for us 04:27 to be able to draw closer to You. 04:29 We praise You for that. 04:30 We commend our lives into Your hands. 04:32 We commend this time into Your hands. 04:34 And pray, oh, God, that You will use us 04:37 to draw others closer to You, in Jesus' name. 04:40 Amen. Amen. 04:42 One of the things that I find so fascinating 04:44 and so exciting is the... 04:47 Can I say use those 25 cent word at the universality 04:51 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 04:52 that wherever you go all over the world, 04:54 we are studying the same Sabbath school lesson, 04:57 you're hearing the same doctrinal passage 04:59 preached from the pastors all over the world 05:03 during this time or shortly before, 05:05 or shortly hereafter. 05:07 The church is coming together for opening of the Sabbath. 05:10 There is this feeling that you're a part 05:12 of a very, very big move of God 05:14 that encompasses the whole world. 05:16 And to me, that's very exciting 05:17 to learn part of something bigger 05:18 than CA Murray or even 3ABN. 05:20 It's world wide and we're just a little part, 05:23 another brick in the wall, 05:24 part of this worldwide move of God in the end time, 05:27 and that's very, very exciting. 05:28 Yes, it is. 05:30 And for those that don't have not experience yet 05:33 that joy of coming together on the Sabbath, 05:37 opening Sabbath is an experience 05:41 that no one should be without. 05:43 Right. 05:45 Because it is, 05:46 there are many things that you don't understand 05:49 until you experience them. 05:51 And the Sabbath and coming with the family and friends 05:56 and having the same mind and the same joy 06:01 is something that is, everybody should have. 06:05 That's why Jesus wants us to know about Sabbath. 06:08 CA, let me take this opportunity 06:10 if you don't mind. 06:12 Here it is the opening of Sabbath, 06:14 the opening of the Sabbath hours. 06:16 That means that when we get up tomorrow morning 06:21 we will go to church, we worship on the Sabbath. 06:24 So let me invite all of you who aren't Sabbath keepers, 06:29 aren't Seventh-day Adventist, 06:31 maybe you've never worshipped on a Sabbath. 06:34 Let me invite all of you 06:35 to find your local Seventh-day Adventist Church. 06:38 You can go online and find it. 06:40 You can look in the phonebook. 06:42 And let me invite you to come to church 06:45 with us tomorrow morning. 06:46 Amen. 06:48 You know, you reminded me when we first got to Canada. 06:51 We had no idea how to speak English. 06:53 The only thing that I knew was sit down, 06:55 was the only thing that my father would use. 06:57 I was 11 years old, 06:59 and that's the only word or the only phrase 07:01 that we knew in English, 07:03 but it really encourage us to really see 07:06 that same pattern, the same thing. 07:09 We would do the Sabbath school the same time, 07:11 Sabbath school lesson at the same time, 07:12 the kids would study the same stories. 07:16 And it was really a joy to a heart 07:17 even though we didn't understand 07:19 a thing that day, 07:20 we still felt part of the family, 07:22 part of one, that oneness was still with us. 07:26 And it's not just us, it's families around the world 07:29 that are all doing it at the same time. 07:31 We're all keeping the Sabbath and that's wonderful 07:35 that something that a lot of people haven't experienced. 07:37 And once you get a taste of it, you're hooked. 07:40 You are, indeed you are. 07:42 You know, it's interesting 'cause most of us 07:44 have done some traveling 07:45 and you know that on Saturday morning 07:48 when you get up and put on your clothes, 07:49 and you go to church, 07:51 you know where you're gonna find. 07:52 You know, the doctrinal package you're gonna find, 07:54 you know the joy you're gonna find. 07:56 You may not know the words of the hymn 07:58 but you know the tune, 08:00 and if you got a hymnal you can fake it, you know, 08:01 because you know, it's universal 08:04 when we go home to Panama, and I go to church. 08:08 I don't know everything that's being said 08:09 but I know the culture. 08:11 I know this is the Sabbath school lesson, 08:13 I know this is the sermon, this is the personal ministry, 08:15 these are testimonies. 08:17 And I don't know all the words but I know the tune 08:18 so I can hum and hum and hum 08:22 and do the best I can in singing it. 08:23 He's better than that. 08:25 Speaking of tune, we have Jill Morikone 08:27 with us at the piano. 08:29 Yes. Hi, Jill. 08:30 Good to have you here. 08:31 And we're gonna do 251 from the Adventist hymnal. 08:34 That's "He lives! 08:36 I serve a rise Savior, He's in the world today." 08:38 We're gonna sing all three stanzas 08:40 and we invite you to join us at home as we sing He Lives. 08:49 All right, here we go. 08:50 I serve a risen Savior 08:54 He's in the world today I know that He is living 08:59 Whatever men may say I see His hands of mercy 09:04 I hear His voice of cheer 09:07 And just the time I need Him He's always near 09:12 He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! 09:18 He walks with me and talks with me 09:21 Along life's narrow way 09:24 He lives, He lives 09:27 Salvation to impart! 09:31 You ask me how I know He lives? 09:36 He lives within my heart 09:42 In all the world around me 09:44 In all the world around me I see His loving care 09:50 And tho' my heart grows weary I never will despair 09:55 I know that He is leading thru all the stormy blast 10:01 The day of His appearing will come at last 10:06 He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! 10:12 He walks with me and talks with me 10:15 Along life's narrow way 10:18 He lives, He lives 10:21 Salvation to impart! 10:25 You ask me how I know He lives? 10:31 He lives within my heart 10:39 Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian Lift up your voice and sing 10:45 Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King! 10:51 The Hope of all who seek Him The help of all who find 10:56 None other is so loving, so good and kind 11:02 He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! 11:08 He walks with me and talks with me 11:11 Along life's narrow way 11:14 He lives, He lives 11:17 Salvation to impart! 11:21 You ask me how I know He lives? 11:27 He lives within 11:32 My heart 11:38 Amen. 11:39 Amen, thank you so very much, Jill. 11:41 He lives in our hearts and that is so very, very true. 11:46 Today, we want to take a look at some of those things 11:49 that we have gotten from the Spirit of Prophecy 11:52 that pertain to practical living. 11:55 One of the things we find about Ellen White 11:58 is that her council, much of her council 12:01 is very practical to everyday Christianity. 12:04 Amen. 12:05 Very practical things that we can do 12:06 to be better citizens of this world 12:09 as we prepare for the higher citizenship 12:11 in the world which is to come. 12:13 So she's got some very bedrock principles like, 12:16 I remember once she said, "Buy the best cloth coat 12:20 that you can as opposed to trying buying the best, 12:23 the cheapest fur coat that you can. 12:25 For practical, get the best thing 12:27 that you can afford. 12:28 You may wanna get a real, real cheap mink. 12:31 Why not buy the best wool coat that you can 12:34 as opposed to the cheapest mink coat? 12:36 And her family used to say that she would pull the threads 12:40 when she went to the store to buy clothes. 12:43 She would pull the threads to make sure 12:44 that she got a tight weave. 12:46 You know, very practical woman. 12:47 Don't waste God's money. Don't waste God's time. 12:49 Don't waste the blessings that God has given to you. 12:51 And so some of the things we're gonna be looking at today 12:54 are things that she had said 12:55 that make you better citizens of this world, 12:58 that also make you a better neighbor, 13:00 a better friend, a co-worker 13:02 which helps you navigate your way through the world 13:05 because the truth is, 13:07 ladies and gentlemen, that in life today, 13:11 all of us get a little dust thrown on us sometimes, 13:14 you know. 13:16 The road to heaven is not a smooth one. 13:19 And sometimes, it's not the straightest of roads either 13:21 but it can be negotiated 13:22 if we put some of these things into practice. 13:25 And so we've got some readings 13:26 that we're going to sort of ruminate on here 13:28 a little bit, think, talk about, and read, 13:30 and explain a little bit, some of these things 13:34 that Ellen White has given to us. 13:36 And I think I want to start with... 13:38 Let me start with Mollie, and then I'll come to Irma, 13:41 and then I'll go to Luis, and then I go to Eric. 13:44 So, Mollie, if you'll begin. 13:45 With cheerful and joyful spirit? 13:47 Cheerful and joyful spirit. All right. 13:49 Cheerful and joyful spirit. 13:52 When we have an assurance, which is bright and clear, 13:56 of our own salvation, 13:59 we shall exhibit cheerfulness and joyfulness, 14:02 which becomes every follower of Jesus Christ. 14:06 The softening, subduing influence 14:08 of the love of God brought into practical lives 14:12 will make impressions upon minds 14:15 that will be a savor of life unto life. 14:19 But a harsh denunciatory spirit, 14:23 if manifested, will turn many souls away 14:26 from the truth into the ranks of the enemy. 14:29 Solemn thought! 14:30 To deal patiently with the tempted requires us 14:35 to battle with self. 14:39 To deal patiently and thinking on this, 14:44 the cheerful and a joyful spirit. 14:46 Now, I'm gonna first of all go, 14:50 bounce back to my upbringing 14:53 which was a man's just about as happy as his mind to be, 14:57 any of you ever heard that that saying? 14:59 My mother used to say that so often. 15:02 And she had every opportunity to be unhappy quite often. 15:06 We had some difficult situations. 15:09 Have you ever had difficult situations? 15:11 I've had some difficult situations 15:13 that I've had to address in my life. 15:16 But I will always remember Mother saying 15:19 is how you choose to deal with that situation. 15:21 Amen. 15:22 You're about as happy as you were mind to be. 15:25 So if you set your mind to look on the positive, you know, 15:30 there's a song, "Accentuate the positive, 15:33 eliminate the negative." 15:35 Well, that's kind of like mind over matter. 15:37 And I'm not really saying, do that. 15:40 But what I would say is ask God by the power of His Spirit 15:45 to show you the good that can come out of a situation. 15:49 What does God do in a negative situation? 15:52 What if we, what do we say so often? 15:54 God can bring good out of a bad situation, 15:57 something that the enemy has set up to be negative 16:02 or to bring harm to you, God can turn it around 16:06 and it be the greatest blessing that has happened to you. 16:08 And I think about that in my personal life. 16:11 I went through this really difficult situation. 16:14 It's been about 22 or 23 years ago now, 16:17 I thank the Lord, I'm on the other side of it, 16:21 but if I hadn't gone through that difficult situation, 16:23 who knows where I would be today. 16:25 And I truly believe that by the hand of God, 16:28 I'm right where He wants me today. 16:30 Amen. 16:31 And so that being the case, sometimes you have to walk 16:34 through difficulties to get where God wants you to be. 16:37 So cheerful and a joyful spirit, 16:40 ask God by the power of His Spirit, 16:42 just to show you the goodness in situations 16:49 and I don't know that you said for me too, 16:52 kind of elaborate on this? 16:55 And those which are some of the thoughts 16:56 that came to my mind. 16:58 You know, I'm thinking, and I've heard Danny said 16:59 this any number of times that to be offended is a choice. 17:03 You know, someone says something to you. 17:06 At the moment that, that assault hits your ears, 17:09 you got a choice 17:10 to either respond or not respond. 17:16 And usually, we kind of just go with the flow. 17:18 You know, okay, you give me, I'm gonna give you mine now. 17:22 And we go back, and you go back and forth. 17:23 But it is a choice. 17:25 And then also sometimes you just got to hold your fire 17:28 and wait to see what the Lord is gonna do. 17:30 I made a decision that I'm in the vortex 17:33 of that decision right now. 17:35 And the other day, I've said to the Lord, 17:37 "Lord, okay. 17:38 I'm waiting for you to kind of deal with this 'cause I can't." 17:41 And every time I think about it, 17:43 it aggravates me. 17:45 I'm giving it to you because I made a decision. 17:49 And it wasn't, it seemed good at the time, 17:51 but it wasn't the best. 17:53 "So now, Lord, I can't undo it and I can't fix it, 17:59 and I can't hurry it up and I can't slow it down, 18:02 and I can't take it from here and put it over here. 18:05 So we're here, Lord, so now You got it 18:08 and I'm gonna trust you 18:10 that all things work together for good." 18:11 Amen. 18:12 You know, I wrote down a scripture, 18:14 candid to go along with this and it goes along 18:15 with what you're saying. 18:17 It's Psalms 119:165. 18:20 "Great peace, have those who love Thy law." 18:24 And the New King James Version says, 18:28 let me read that. 18:29 "Great peace, have they that love Thy law 18:31 and nothing causes them to stumble." 18:33 Well, now the King James says, 18:35 "Great peace, have they that love Thy law 18:36 and nothing shall offend thee." 18:38 And I believe the Amplified says, 18:41 "And nothing shall, by any means, offend thee." 18:44 So if a great peace have they that love Thy law. 18:47 If you find yourself offended, 18:49 do you know there is some portion of God's law 18:52 that you don't love? 18:53 Because if you love, great peace have they 18:55 that love Thy law. 18:57 If you love God's law, 18:58 then nothing's going to offend you. 19:00 So that's just something, 19:02 that's a little one of those food for thought, 19:04 "Oops, I'm offended," 19:05 then the problems between me and my love for God's law. 19:09 Amen, amen. 19:10 You know, that's the one thing that individuals in the world 19:14 do not understand about Christians. 19:16 How many times have life happened to you 19:20 and every thing is crumbling around you 19:22 and you still have a smile in your face? 19:25 And individuals come and say, "Okay, what is wrong with you?" 19:28 You know, no matter what, 19:30 I know that under that situation 19:32 I would have done this, I would have done that. 19:35 And that peace that comes in your life 19:38 when you have that relationship with God 19:40 that you know that even though you're going through a storm, 19:44 there would be a light at the end. 19:46 And on the other side, 19:47 like Miss Mollie was talking about, 19:49 there's gonna be such peace and such understanding 19:52 and the lesson that you will learn, 19:54 you will be able to carry that for all eternity. 19:57 And that's the thing that people, 19:59 individuals don't understand that as a Christian 20:02 that doesn't stop you 20:04 from going through the turmoils of life. 20:06 Amen. 20:08 But it gives you the peace that only comes 20:11 through that relationship that you have with the Father. 20:16 Exactly. 20:17 You know, I was thinking that it often is said 20:21 that I am this way because my father was this way 20:25 or my mother was this way, 20:27 or this is the way they brought me up. 20:30 But we as the Christians, 20:34 the moment that we are able 20:37 by the power of the Holy Spirit to give this to the Lord, 20:41 the Lord is able to work in you. 20:43 That's right. 20:44 The ability to give up that trait 20:48 because it is sinful, God doesn't want us to, 20:52 to carry on with sinful traits and I've in my life, 20:57 I experienced several things that I had 21:02 when I finally realize that, you know, I cannot change it. 21:08 Because every time I try to change it, 21:10 the enemy will come with his ability 21:13 to put me down and, 21:16 but, you just continue giving it to the Lord 21:19 and finally the Lord will answer you. 21:23 And that is so important. 21:27 You know, the pride in our lives, 21:29 many times we don't believe we have. 21:32 We don't think we are prideful because you, 21:35 you're humble for this, 21:36 you feel you're humble for that, 21:38 and that, but when that comes in our life it is pride. 21:45 And God will deal with it. Oh, yes. 21:47 Amen. 21:48 But as long as we understand it and believe it 21:51 and don't make excuses then God is saying, 21:54 "I want to work with you on that." 21:56 Amen, amen. Yes. 21:58 You almost wished you could get a scholarship on life 22:01 but you can't. 22:02 You got to pay tuition, you know, 22:03 you got to pay your dues. 22:05 There's no way, you're not gonna get it pass 22:06 even when you come to the Lord you don't get it pass, 22:08 you still got to pay your tuition. 22:10 And it means that certain things 22:11 are gonna pop into your lives that are going to test you, 22:15 but the truth is and I ask this many times in my sermons, 22:18 which is the better teacher, success or failure? 22:21 Failure. Failure. 22:22 Failure. Yeah, the truth is failure. 22:24 You remember the times when you burned yourself, 22:26 you know, or, you know, 22:28 you do something you shouldn't do. 22:30 Failure is the better teacher. 22:32 And those lessons learned and we are told this 22:35 in the Spirit of Prophecy, I know it says 22:36 there are some lessons we are never to forget. 22:39 There're certain things that Lord lets you go through 22:41 and when you come out on the other side, 22:43 that is a lesson that ought to stay with you 22:45 till the day you die. 22:47 You ought not forget that one. 22:48 She says that in conjunction with Belshazzar 22:51 should have learned the lessons 22:52 of his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar, 22:54 all that he went through. 22:55 He said, he should learn that and never forgotten that stuff. 22:57 Right. 22:58 So sometimes God takes you through some things 23:00 that are designed to shape you for the rest of your life. 23:02 That's right. 23:03 He wants you to remember that, 23:05 that ought to shape everything you look at. 23:06 So now whereas you may be quick to jump at something, 23:09 you remember when you had that problem, you know, 23:12 so now you're not so quick to judge 23:13 because you realize that, that person is struggling 23:15 just like you were once struggling. 23:17 Right. That's very important. 23:18 Also, I think that failure makes you stronger. 23:21 If you were to succeed at everything you did, 23:23 the first time you did it, 23:24 how would you build that character, 23:25 how would you build that faith, 23:27 how would you build that love in Christ, 23:29 if you got everything as soon as you try to do it. 23:32 Right. 23:33 So when we fail is when we reach out, 23:35 we reach out to our friends, we reach out to our family, 23:37 we reach out to our God. 23:39 Would we do this if we got it, you know, 23:40 right from the beginning? 23:42 Perhaps not. Yeah. 23:43 So failure is, I actually told someone a long time ago 23:46 that failure is actually a good thing. 23:48 Yeah. 23:49 It develops, it develops your character. 23:51 It does, it does. And we all want character. 23:52 Right. 23:54 We have this little saying Irma and I, "If it's cheap and easy, 23:56 you can get it at Wal-Mart." 23:57 Yeah. You know, is it not? 23:59 Some things you got to work out, 24:00 you just can't pull it off the shelf. 24:01 Well, but it reminds me about the story of Job. 24:04 You know, while he was going through 24:07 all the issues in his life, he was just wondering, 24:09 "Okay, what's going on?" 24:11 But how many countless individuals have been saved 24:14 by reading his story, 24:15 by reading what he was able to do. 24:18 So a lot of times in life things happen to you 24:22 not for you to learn lesson 24:23 but for those around you to learn lessons. 24:25 And we need to still give God the glory 24:28 and that's sometimes is difficult. 24:29 When it's a lesson for ourselves, Miss Mollie, 24:31 that's not hard but when we're trying, 24:34 God uses our situations to teach others. 24:38 Sometimes it's hard to understand 24:39 when you're going through it 24:41 but when you see somebody may be baptized 24:44 because of that 24:45 or somebody that gave their hearts to the Lord, 24:47 you can do nothing but just rejoice and be glad 24:50 in what power God has. 24:52 Yes. 24:54 It make me think of Proverbs, it's some, 24:56 don't remember the quotation exactly 24:59 but it says that, 25:01 "Fortunate is the person or the man that learn 25:05 from their own experiences. 25:07 But blessed is the one that learns 25:09 from the experiences of others." 25:11 So when you were saying that is important for us 25:15 to think also that our influence 25:18 in what others see in us and hear from our testimony, 25:24 it should be a blessing for those that listen. 25:28 Yeah. 25:29 And I think we could, we could ruminate on this all day 25:33 but before we go to, Irma, 25:35 I remember, I think it was Danny, 25:37 someone told a story of a person 25:39 who is studying the Bible 25:41 and I've heard this story fairly recently 25:43 with a person who is very resistant. 25:45 And while they were studying something happened, 25:48 a pen broke and ink spilled on them or something happened. 25:52 And the person watched the teacher 25:55 navigate through that, calm, didn't get all upset. 25:59 And more than the doctrinal package 26:01 it was the way that they dealt with this ink 26:04 all over them or whatever, that's what got through them. 26:06 They saw calmness in the face of a mess, you know, and this, 26:11 okay, that's what I want in my life, that kind of thing. 26:13 So yeah, people are watching. 26:15 Yeah, thank you very much, Mollie. 26:17 You're very welcome. That's very good. 26:19 I am next. 26:21 And this speaks to my heart, if not to anybody else. 26:27 It said, "Feelings not easily wounded. 26:30 We should not allow our feelings 26:32 to be easily wounded. 26:34 We are to live not to guard our feelings or our reputation 26:38 but to save souls. 26:39 As we become interested in the salvation of souls, 26:43 we cease to mind the little differences 26:47 that so often arise 26:48 in our association with one another. 26:52 Whatever others may think of us, 26:54 it need not to disturb our oneness with Christ, 26:58 the fellowship of the Spirit." 27:01 I think that's really powerful 27:04 because I have had to deal with that 27:07 and the Lord had sat to teach me some lessons in this. 27:11 And what I was saying before, sometimes you know, 27:15 the character of our parents will kind of follow you 27:19 as you are developing your own character. 27:23 But this is telling us that we have no excuse for them, 27:27 that when we finally understand 27:31 that you know what Christ went through 27:35 we will never go through that pain that He went through. 27:39 And I remembered always thinking 27:43 and I would hear a lot of sermons 27:45 on the Apostle Paul talk about be joyful in the trials 27:51 and I could never understand that. 27:53 I used to say how could you be joyful in this trial? 27:56 You know, people are being not too nice to you, 27:59 they are doing this to you 28:01 and how can you be happy in that? 28:04 But it's until you come through Christ 28:08 and you started thinking and it's such a liberation 28:12 when the Lord finally, you know, 28:15 gets through to you and shows you that, you know, 28:22 like CA was saying, 28:23 "If you let him bother you, he will bother you." 28:27 And the enemy will come and will make it even bigger 28:30 and more difficult for yourself. 28:32 But if we give it to the Lord and we think of, 28:37 "What is the Lord doing in this for me 28:41 that what I need to learn?" 28:43 Then, you know, we are better off 28:46 because we have finally learned our lesson 28:48 and peace will come to us. 28:51 Sometimes we don't like it, still and, you know, 28:54 but we are quickly being able to turn again 28:58 at the right path, 29:00 and not let the enemy keep you to the point 29:04 that you get depressed. 29:07 It just overpowers everything else. 29:10 Yeah. 29:11 You know, I remember when Hal and I were in Florida, 29:13 we were in, he was in college and I was working. 29:16 And we were going through really difficult time, 29:19 particularly financially. 29:21 I remember one time we got bound to something 29:23 like a dollar and 93 cents. 29:26 So I went and bought what little food I could buy 29:28 and here was what my thinking was 29:30 we're gonna eat this last meal and die, you know. 29:34 And so Hal was in the living room 29:37 and he was praying. 29:40 And there came this on the radio 29:44 or whatever, anyway, that, you know, 29:46 that buzz, buzz, buzz. 29:49 This is a test, this is only a test." 29:52 And so he was vehemently praying and he said 29:57 that he heard that sound and then he said, 30:00 "Test, it's only a test." 30:02 And the Lord was showing him 30:03 we were just going through a test now. 30:05 The end of that story is that day 30:08 which was a day that he wasn't in school, 30:12 Hal was an automobile mechanic, 30:13 he had like all eight ASE certifications 30:16 when the Lord called him to, you know, into the ministry. 30:20 And so he, we were able, he was able to fix peoples' 30:25 automobiles in our yard, you know, 30:27 they would bring them over to the house 30:29 and he would do what it was needed. 30:31 Anyway, a man came over with his car right after that 30:35 and ask Hal, it was like a $90 job. 30:38 Well, way back then $90 was a huge amount of money. 30:42 So it was only a test. 30:45 So what Irma was talking about we go through difficult times 30:49 and we think, "Lord, where are you 30:51 and what is this perfecting in my character?" 30:53 It was showing us that God is there, 30:55 He is always faithful 30:57 even though we have to go through testing and trail. 31:00 Exactly. Yeah, it... 31:02 You know, this reminds me of the experience 31:04 that I'm going through the prison ministry. 31:07 You go Sunday after Sunday, we get two hours every Sunday 31:10 to go minister to them. 31:12 And you're giving them the truth 31:14 and you're giving them the message 31:15 and they're rebellion towards you. 31:18 Every time you bring a new message 31:20 that they have learned another way, 31:21 they're constantly trying 31:24 to let you know their feelings not in a nicest way. 31:30 And you have to remember this, you can't take it personal. 31:33 You cannot really, you are there to make sure 31:38 that you instill in them the same love 31:42 that God has towards you for them 31:44 because you may be the only person 31:46 that looks them in the eye and says, 31:47 "You know, there is a God that loves you. 31:50 There is, you are valuable enough 31:53 that the creator of the world died for you." 31:57 And those are the things that you need to go, 32:00 the enemy is very good at making you feel 32:04 and trying to push your buttons. 32:06 But you need to realize as a Christian, 32:08 as a representative, as an ambassador of God 32:12 you do not have that luxury to rebel. 32:15 You must reflect Christ character 32:20 as much as possible. 32:22 Amen. That's true. 32:24 You know, this feeling's not easily wounded. 32:27 I'm thinking we are to take up our cross how often? 32:31 Daily. 32:33 What's taking up the cross mean? 32:35 The cross is a symbol of... The church. 32:37 It's a symbol of our liberation, 32:39 it's also a symbol of death... 32:41 Yes, yes. And what does Paul say? 32:43 How often does Paul say he dies? 32:44 I die daily. I die daily. 32:46 So a dead man's feelings can't get hurt. 32:49 That's right. 32:50 And so if you're dying daily then you're not going... 32:53 You're not going. 32:54 If you are hurt then you have to say to the Lord, 32:57 oh, I mean, he never gets hurt, man. 32:58 We haven't arrived here. 33:00 But we look at the situations that, you know, 33:05 there is an area of me that's still alive and kicking 33:08 and I'm supposed to be dying to self. 33:10 Yeah, yeah. That's right. 33:12 You know, someone said to me, this is quite some time ago. 33:14 Well, you know, he just pushes my buttons, you know, 33:17 well, you're admitting 33:19 you still got buttons, you know. 33:20 So may be you need to pray, "Lord, take away my buttons." 33:23 That's right. 33:24 You look at the old radios, the old TVs, 33:25 a mass of buttons but the new TVs may have one. 33:28 You know, everything is touch screen, 33:30 there're no buttons. 33:31 So you can live without buttons, 33:32 you know, you can, 33:34 in fact, you can thrive without buttons. 33:35 So may be our prayer should be, 33:37 "Lord, help me to be less sensitive," 33:38 because everybody is gonna get some dirt thrown on. 33:40 That's right. You're gonna. 33:42 That's it. That's true. 33:43 You know, you're gonna carry that dirt 33:44 or you're gonna shake it off 33:46 and pack it down like my old story, you know, 33:47 you got to get rid of that dirt. 33:49 And ask the Lord, "Lord, take it, 33:50 help me not to be so sensitive." 33:52 That's why I'm not a good colporteur to this day, 33:54 I can't do literature evangelism. 33:56 I'm hyper sensitive for doors being slammed 33:58 in my face that I'm... 34:01 I've tried it, I'm not that good at it. 34:03 So, I probably need a little growth in that area 34:06 but if we ask the Lord take away those buttons, 34:08 I think He will do that. 34:10 One of the jobs that... Amen. 34:11 One of the jobs that I had in the past, 34:13 as soon as they found out that I was a Sabbath keeper, 34:16 they came at me with a storm 34:20 and I always had to remember who I was representing, 34:24 what I was standing for, 34:26 it wasn't about me they were attacking God. 34:29 So why am I taking it personal if they're attacking God. 34:33 So my feelings were never hurt. 34:36 I was always standing for Jesus, 34:38 Jesus' feelings were hurt, but mine aren't. 34:42 So it all depends on who your focus is on. 34:44 Are you focusing on yourself? Are you focusing on Jesus? 34:48 If you focus on Him, He will give you the victory. 34:50 Yeah, you didn't write the fourth commandment. 34:59 Very well said. 35:00 I think this may be one of the toughest 35:03 of the spiritual growth laws to put into practice. 35:07 Because it's easy to take things personally, 35:10 particularly when they are meant personally, you know. 35:13 Sometimes people wound you and they don't mean to, 35:16 and I've told this so many times, 35:17 well, like my roommate who used to chew with his mouth open. 35:19 You know, when you're in a dorm room, 35:21 you and your roommate are gonna be very close 35:23 because you're in this little confined space. 35:25 And I had a roommate who used to chew with his mouth open. 35:28 And back when granola was the big thing 35:31 and it wasn't even granola, you know, 35:32 you got to chew and chew and chew. 35:33 I said there's no way in the world 35:35 he's not doing that to get on my nerves 35:36 and he is succeeding. 35:38 And he wasn't, that was just a practice he had. 35:42 And it wasn't until later, way, way later I realize 35:45 that he wasn't doing that to aggravate me, 35:47 but I was taking it personally building up 35:49 all these animosity in my heart, 35:50 you know, unnecessarily. 35:53 So sometimes you have to say, 35:55 "Lord, just don't let me take everything so personally," 35:58 because sometimes people do, 35:59 do things to aggravate you on you purpose, 36:02 other times they wound you and they are not aware. 36:04 They don't, they really don't know. 36:06 So, Lord, help me to be a little less sensitive 36:08 to some of these things. 36:09 And how many times have we prayed, 36:11 "Lord, change, change Eric." 36:12 Yeah. You know... 36:14 Yes, yes. 36:16 Marylyn, Marylyn says that everyday. 36:17 And sometimes what we hear... 36:18 I got to have that one to ask myself. 36:20 Yeah, saying to them. 36:21 What we hear back from the Lord is, "Why don't I change you? 36:25 Let me change you." 36:26 Amen. Yeah. 36:28 The magistrate, I have to pray that many, many times. 36:31 And we forget that we think 36:34 that everybody is supposed to be like you, you know, 36:37 as you think that you are so good. 36:40 And but, no, you know, even with the good ones, 36:44 their different personalities and they'd react 36:47 and they'd respond 36:48 and they do things in different ways. 36:50 And he so needed a Holy Spirit to be able to understand that 36:55 and to live by that too 36:58 because the enemy knows us better than we know ourselves. 37:03 So he knows like CA say where to push the buttons. 37:06 He knows what areas he's weak in you 37:10 that I can catch you there 37:11 and I can put you down, that's his job. 37:15 So we have to constantly 37:17 let the Lord lead, let the Lord, 37:21 instead of reacting, take a little time, 37:24 take a breath and think about, you know, 37:27 what should I do on this situation, Lord? 37:30 Help me to... Not react but respond. 37:31 Yeah, help me to respond in a way that is building 37:36 not only for you but for others. 37:38 Amen. 37:39 And, Luis, coming to you, but, you know, 37:41 one thing that's popped out of me, I'm just reading. 37:42 "We should not allow our feelings 37:43 to be easily wounded. 37:45 We are not to live to guard our feelings 37:48 or our reputation." 37:50 That's right. 37:51 Now I can, I can kind of hold onto my emotions 37:54 but I don't like being lied on 37:56 and I don't like having, you know, 37:59 my reputation, kind of, you want to, kind of, 38:01 keep it as pristine as possible. 38:03 You know, you do some things, 38:05 may be you should get stripes of that, 38:06 but don't invent stuff on me. 38:09 And there is this tendency to kind of, 38:11 wanna push back when you feel 38:12 someone is maligning your character. 38:14 And that's a tough one I think for many of us, 38:17 the idea that we got to let the Lord 38:19 take care some of these things because you can't, 38:21 you can't clean up behind every little spill that happens 38:25 and everything somebody invents, 38:26 you can't always solve some of that stuff, you know. 38:28 Yeah. 38:30 You know, the poster that was on HMS Richards' wall, 38:33 we have it here at 3ABN, it's in the call centre 38:35 and it's keep at your work. 38:37 And it talks about all the things 38:39 that can come against you 38:40 and how you want to respond to guard reputation 38:44 and if you just, if you try to stop every barking dog, 38:49 then you're not going to accomplish the thing. 38:51 You're just gonna always be doing that. 38:53 So I just, I love reading that periodically. 38:56 It means stop all this defending 38:59 and get back to work. 39:00 Get back to work. 39:02 If you would like a copy of that, 39:03 just call 3ABN's call center, 39:04 we'll make them available to you. 39:06 Very, very good. 39:08 We may need to hear too, just see it more often. 39:11 That's right. Luis, you're reading. 39:13 You know, this one is interesting, 39:15 God's work, not ours. 39:17 It says, "Now, here is the very thing 39:20 that we want to understand, 39:22 that it is not our work but God's work, 39:26 and we are only entrusted in the hands to accomplish it. 39:32 We want to seek the Lord with all our hearts, 39:36 and the Lord will work for us." 39:39 I have a saying at the prison ministry, 39:43 I say, "If I insulted you today, 39:45 come back next week I'll insult you again 39:47 until I stop insulting you 39:49 because the Holy Spirit will change you." 39:52 And that's where it all bows down to. 39:55 I tell them, "Do not look at me. 39:58 There is nothing in me that you want. 40:00 It is the Christ in me that I'm trying to give you. 40:05 And that's where it assures you 40:09 that whenever the enemy tries to find those 40:14 buttons in your life you can easily say, 40:18 "My Christ has, has been successful 40:21 or has accomplished a victory through all of these buttons." 40:26 So therefore it's Him who is in me 40:29 and I have not worried, I need not worry anymore. 40:32 The moment that you take that approach, 40:36 it comes with great responsibility 40:38 because you can play lip service 40:42 and tell individuals around you like Gandhi said one time, 40:48 "I would be a Christian 40:50 if it wasn't for the Christians." 40:52 And that what is so difficult about individuals out there 40:55 they call themselves Christian and they forgotten this 40:59 that if it is God's work, the one that is in your life, 41:05 then his character needs to be reflected in it. 41:09 You know, and when we understand that concept 41:15 then as a Christian we can do like Pilate did 41:17 just wash our hands and say, 41:19 "Okay, I don't need to worry about this, God's got it. 41:22 My dad can take care of it." 41:24 Amen. 41:26 And that's the peace that comes 41:28 that surpasses all understanding. 41:30 You know, there are two ways to look at that, 41:33 one is I don't need to do anything, 41:35 just God's gonna take care of it, 41:36 I can full my mouth and get extra 40 wings. 41:39 The other one is if I don't do it, 41:41 it's not gonna get done it's all on me or if I leave 41:45 it's all gonna fall apart. 41:46 You know, and neither is true. That's correct. 41:49 But it works sometimes for a little while, 41:52 but that is not until God doesn't, that is, 41:57 then you find that it's, wow it's working in me. 42:01 Yeah, as important as it is for each of us 42:04 to fulfill our post of duty, if we are not there, 42:08 God will see that the work is done. 42:09 That's right. 42:11 You know, they used to say one monkey don't stop no show, 42:13 you know, like you just, just it doesn't, 42:16 you work, you know, 42:17 I remember Ellen White telling Joseph Bates, she said, 42:21 "The Lord has released you, now." 42:23 Because Bates had gotten to the point in his life 42:25 where he felt unless I do it, it's not gonna ever get done 42:28 and she said, "You're working too hard, 42:30 you're working yourself to death. 42:32 It's time Lord has released you, 42:33 there are others who will take up this burden 42:35 and she had to tell same thing to her husband James, 42:38 five strokes, five strokes 42:40 because he was just driven to work and she said, 42:43 "No time to step back now, others will come in and fill." 42:47 The cause of God will always have soldiers, 42:51 there will always be soldiers. 42:52 You work until God says, time to rest 42:55 I'll bring another soldier on, 42:56 but there are always be soldiers in the army 42:59 because God has seen to it that will happen. 43:01 Amen. 43:02 All right, Eric, I guess you're up. 43:04 Okay, "Meek and lowly in heart, the value of our work 43:10 does not consist in making a loud noise 43:13 in the world and being zealous, eager, 43:16 and active in our own strength. 43:18 The value of our work is in proportion 43:21 to the impartation of the Holy Spirit, 43:24 the value of our work comes through trusting God 43:27 which brings holier qualities of mind 43:30 so that in patience we may possess our souls. 43:33 We should continually pray to God 43:36 to increase our strength to make us strong 43:39 in His strength to kindle our hearts, 43:42 to kindle in our hearts, the flame of divine love, 43:46 the cause of God is best advanced 43:49 by those who are meek and lowly in heart." 43:54 This reminds me one of the first verses 43:57 that I read in the Bible, 44:00 was it the meek would inherit the earth 44:04 and I was 12, 13 years old and I wondered to myself 44:10 how in the world are the meek going to inherit the earth? 44:14 That makes no sense whatsoever. 44:18 And at the time I was, I was like the third son of thunder, 44:22 you know, it was, don't cross my path 44:25 I'm going that way and if you get in my way, 44:27 you know, it didn't make sense to me. 44:31 Later on I learned, you know, 44:34 that God works through small things. 44:39 He doesn't work through big things. 44:42 And in my life when I ran into situations 44:45 where I was a son of thunder things didn't work out. 44:49 In one way or another things would go wrong 44:52 and I saw, when I was meek and when I was patient, 44:56 and when I practice love, and when I practice generosity, 45:00 and when I practice those things 45:01 that made no sense to me in the Bible at first, 45:04 things would work out. 45:06 And eventually I had to come to the conclusion 45:08 that God knew what He was talking about. 45:11 So when I read this one of the things 45:12 that I wrote down was that, 45:15 "While the world is teaching you 45:16 that bigger is better, 45:18 God teaches that you travel further 45:21 on a steady breeze than you do in a hurricane." 45:26 And I wrote that down this morning 45:29 and I'm gonna take that with me because it's true, 45:31 you'll travel further on a steady breeze 45:33 than the hurricane, 45:35 and I used to be a hurricane, and I didn't travel far, 45:39 and now then I'm a steady breeze 45:42 God's got me, 45:43 and He's taking me where I need to go. 45:44 Amen, amen. 45:46 You know, some can mistake the word meek for passes, 45:50 or docile, or retiring. 45:52 Meek means that you are just totally dependent on God. 45:55 Amen. 45:56 You're not dependent on yourself, 45:58 you are dependent, 45:59 the same is true with lowly in heart, 46:01 it doesn't mean that you aren't strong hearted. 46:05 It's just that your heart is committed to God. 46:07 Committed. Yes. 46:09 I've always and I think everybody has to wrestle 46:12 with their own definition of meek, 46:15 what satisfied it for me was the, 46:18 the ability to not retaliate. 46:22 You know, because retaliation is, 46:26 is almost natural to unless you are 46:29 incredibly docile and pliable. 46:32 Most people have a retaliatory gene 46:35 in them somewhere and if you dig... 46:37 No, I don't. 46:42 If you dig deep enough you can find it, you know, 46:45 if you keep pushing, 46:47 you can find that retaliatory gene but, 46:49 but, but Meek says, 46:51 "You've got to go pretty far to get, 46:54 to get to that gene in me." 46:55 You know, and it works that God can give you a thicker skin, 47:01 you know, He can give you a little tougher heart 47:04 so that everything doesn't get through it 47:05 and I think your point, Mollie, is very good, 47:07 if you try to silence every dog, 47:10 you'll be silencing dogs all the time. 47:12 And that's all you would be doing. 47:13 That's all you'd be doing, 47:14 you would never get anything done 47:16 by trying to silence dogs. 47:17 One of the things that I noticed in the Bible 47:19 when I was reading was that 47:21 God was always looking to the meek people, 47:25 the bold people He'd always work at making them meek 47:29 like I think it was, it was Naaman, 47:31 was it Naaman that was the great general, 47:34 he had leprosy and God told him or told his, 47:40 his prophet to tell him to go in the water and bathe. 47:44 In the muddy water. 47:45 Yeah, seven times was it? Yeah, seven times, yeah. 47:47 Not even in the clear, beautiful water. 47:49 And he got so upset about that his pride, I'm a mighty, 47:53 I'm a mighty General, what is this go, 47:56 bathe in the dirty Jordan water and someone told him 48:02 you would go and conquer half the world for your king 48:04 but you won't go and bathe in the water seven times. 48:08 And he was humbled by that. 48:11 And that's how we all should be, 48:12 we should all be willing to go 48:14 and bathe in the water seven times if God calls. 48:15 When our pride gets in the way, our meekness goes away. 48:19 That's right. 48:20 Yeah and it's interesting how we, we say, 48:22 okay, Lord, bless me. 48:24 Now here's how I want you to do it. 48:26 Yeah, I am telling you what to do, 48:28 I'm telling you how to do it, He says we got two, 48:30 we got a modern fire power, they're better than the Jordon, 48:33 they're cleaner than the Jordan, 48:34 and they were, he's telling truth. 48:36 I want to die, I want to, 48:37 I want to bathe in those rivers, 48:38 those are my rivers, those are our rivers, 48:40 I like those rivers. 48:42 Water's warm, I like that river. 48:44 You know, and had God said give me every dime you have, 48:48 every dime, he did not, to get rid of leprosy, dip, 48:53 no, I don't want to do. 48:56 That hadn't, that doesn't fit my mindset so we want to say, 48:58 Lord, bless me and I'm gonna tell you how I want to bless. 49:01 But be meek and let the Lord, you know, 49:04 God's been doing this God thing a long time and you know what? 49:07 He is good at it. He is really good at it. 49:10 And if we will follow and not lead, 49:12 we will find that He will lead us into peaceful waters 49:15 and it starts with the meek and lowly, a lowly heart. 49:19 And kind of the opposite of that might be 49:21 pride and arrogance. 49:23 And pride goes before... A fall. 49:26 Destruction and a hearty spirit before a fall 49:29 and so that pride and hardiness, 49:31 God does deal with and it's to make us, 49:34 make it lowly. 49:35 Amen. 49:37 You know when I... 49:38 When I went to Panama to my family. 49:41 I had all this burdens 49:43 and all that I was gonna help in this way and helping that in 49:47 and I had put myself in the Lord's hands 49:49 and all that, 49:51 but soon I do realize 49:53 that all of my sisters and my brother 49:58 had different characters. 50:00 And I started, you know, at first I was doing that 50:03 I said but why this, then the Lord said, 50:05 you know, just watch, 50:08 and I started to having to watch my sister say, 50:12 my sisters are so different one from another. 50:16 My brother is so different and I'm so different, 50:19 and I said we all grew up together 50:21 and it was an eye opening for me 50:25 because I had to, I had to love them, 50:31 I have to take care of them, my brother with a cancer, 50:34 my mother also needing so much help, 50:37 I had to really let the Lord worry, 50:42 but when I did that, you know, and I said, 50:43 okay, Lord everybody is so different from me, 50:46 they all do this and that and I said, 50:48 "So here I am if I'm gonna be able to help, 50:52 you need to help me because I need to have the countenance 50:58 and the ability to take everybody, 51:02 the way they are and just praise the Lord 51:05 and be able to help and the Lord taught me lessons. 51:11 It's funny because she went down to Panama 51:13 this last trip the way I came out of college, 51:16 you come out with your ministerial degree, 51:18 I'm going to fix the world, you know, 51:20 the world will be fixed by me and she called one night, 51:23 we were talking on the phone, she was crying, she said, 51:25 nobody's listening, nobody's paying attention. 51:29 I said, yeah, 'cause they're all grown people. 51:33 But I went with all the good intentions 51:35 because the reason I went 51:37 because I had all these burden that they need me, 51:41 I need to go and help, you know, 51:43 I had and turn out that I need their help too. 51:46 Don't they know how bad they need me? 51:48 They're not acknowledging the need of me kind of thing, 51:51 but once she stepped back from that, 51:53 she actually did a very good work 51:54 particularly in her mothers' case 51:56 but it's not that I can go fix the world 51:59 is that the Lord can use me to help a situation. 52:03 And if you lead with God, 52:04 then you're guaranteed good result, 52:05 but if you lead with self, 52:07 you're not guaranteed a good result. 52:08 It's not your work, it's God's work. 52:10 Yeah, it's not your work, it's God's work. 52:12 Yeah. Yes, you just do your best. 52:15 All right, 52:17 "I'm reading sacrifice at every step, 52:19 we're nearing the end of this earth history 52:21 and the different departments of God's work 52:24 are to be carried forward with much more self sacrifice 52:28 that has yet been practice. 52:30 The work for these last days is a missionary work. 52:33 Present truth from the first to the last letter of, 52:37 of its alphabet means missionary effort. 52:40 The work is to be, the work to be done calls 52:44 for sacrifice at every step of advance." 52:47 I think in these last days someone was saying 52:50 some time ago, it seems like every time 52:52 we turn around the Church of God's 52:53 with hands out for money. 52:55 But the truth is in His last days, 52:57 the church is gonna need more of our time, 53:00 more of our effort, and more of our labor. 53:02 We say here in 3ABN, thank you for your love, your prayers, 53:04 and support of this ministry 53:05 because we realize that it would not succeed 53:09 without love, prayers, and support. 53:11 As we get closer to the end of this earth's history, 53:14 our love, our prayers, and our support 53:16 are not going to decrease. 53:18 They're going to, they're going to increase. 53:19 We need to love more, pray more, and support more. 53:21 It happened sometimes that 53:23 my office has always been juxtaposed to Mollie's office. 53:26 I was directly across, now I'm a little further down, 53:29 but I've seen the line of people lined up 53:32 outside of her office. 53:34 I've been in that lines sometimes so if you... 53:35 Oh, that's right. 53:37 You all have been in that line, you know, 53:38 just waiting for the turn. 53:39 When are they going to come out so I can get my shot, you know. 53:41 And there had been some days when I never get in there 53:43 because the line is just too long. 53:46 That sacrifice, you know, and that line 53:48 is not gonna get any shorter. 53:50 That line is gonna get longer as we come 53:51 because people have problems, 53:53 and it is that way I think with the Church of God. 53:55 We have to sacrifice for the cause of Christ 53:57 and Christ sacrificed all for us. 54:00 So we have to now give all to Him. 54:03 That's right. 54:05 You know, the calls will become more 54:06 so when you go to church and hear 54:08 the tithe envelop being tithed, 54:10 plate being passing and another plate 54:12 with other kinds of offering them, 54:13 maybe something for the kids at school 54:14 and something for the AY 54:16 and something for the pathfinders. 54:18 Yeah, the calls are gonna come more 54:19 because God's work is gonna need more, more support, 54:22 but you're building an investment in heaven, 54:25 and nothing... 54:27 What's a soul worth, you know, how much money is a soul worth? 54:30 So there're gonna be more calls for sacrifice, 54:32 but oh, what a great sacrifice it is. 54:33 Amen. Yeah. 54:35 You know it reminds me when I first got here, 54:38 back home we had, you know, pretty much 54:40 it's like four or five apartments 54:43 that my dad bought for one day for us 54:45 to all live there. 54:47 And it's spacious. There's a lot of room. 54:49 When I got here I ended up at the manor 54:51 which is a kind of like a, like a hotel type, you know, 54:54 it's like 12 by 12 area and I was sitting there 54:58 and I said, Lord, I have always been blessed with, you know, 55:02 large homes with cars, with all of these, 55:05 my wife always had, every three years 55:07 she had a brand new car. 55:09 You know, and when I got here and I was put in that situation 55:15 and I said, Lord, I have never been happier. 55:17 I have never been happier, there hasn't been, 55:21 and I know that Eric and I we talk the same thing. 55:23 He's gone through the same issue. 55:25 We've had to step down everything that we've had, 55:28 we've had to minimize to the bare bones, 55:32 but there is something that when you are doing God's work 55:37 that gives you such internal peace 55:40 that it's really not a sacrifice for you 55:44 when you're first are going through what you're saying, 55:46 "Well, how am I going to do without." 55:47 But when you are, when you are on the other side 55:52 and you see that you really 55:53 did not need all of those things 55:55 that you were using in the past, 55:58 then that sacrifice becomes a great blessing. 56:01 That sacrifice becomes the peace that is unbelievable 56:08 that you can't even, 56:09 you can't wait to tell others around you. 56:11 Yes. 56:12 I have to, I have to add to that 56:13 because we have had quite a few talks about that. 56:17 We gave up quite a bit when we came to 3ABN, 56:20 a lot and it just seems amazing to me the blessings 56:24 that God has shown us since then. 56:27 It's been fantastic. 56:28 We are so much happier now than we used to be 56:31 and it's because of the Lord Jesus. 56:33 Yeah, you know, I think everybody here, 56:34 all of us can say we all had to make 56:38 a financial sacrifice to be here, 56:40 but that may be the only sacrifice 56:42 that we had to make. 56:44 You may be making a little less dollars 56:46 but you can't buy peace, 56:48 you can't buy going to your bed and sleeping all night. 56:51 You can't buy coming to work with people you love 56:53 and who you respect and you cannot buy the fact 56:56 that you're part of something big 56:57 that is taking the gospel message to the world. 56:59 Amen. 57:01 And, okay, you're making a few less bucks 57:02 but you're banking in heaven, 57:03 and one day you'll have a mansion 57:05 and you'll be able to fly 57:07 and you will see Jesus face to face 57:08 and it is worth it all. 57:10 Amen. 57:11 Our time has got in the river. 57:13 These are sort of beatitudes that are part 57:17 of the Christian growth experience, 57:18 and hopefully we've touched on something 57:20 that has given you some strength 57:22 and encouragement 57:23 as together we walk this road that leads to glory. 57:25 "Hold on in little while, he that shall come will come 57:28 and will not tarry," 57:30 and we'll see you there on the sea of glass in heaven. 57:33 God bless. Amen. |
Revised 2017-06-08