Participants: CA and Irma Murray
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW017022A
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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 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:08 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Family Worship 01:12 and wherever you are in the world, 01:14 whether the Sabbath is coming in for you, 01:17 whether the Sabbath has been in just a little while for you, 01:20 whether the Sabbath is yet to come in, 01:22 we welcome you to our opening of the Sabbath, 01:25 and to share our opening of the Sabbath with you. 01:30 It's always a good thing 01:31 to recognize the Lord of the seventh day, 01:33 and the seventh day as a temple and time 01:35 given to us by God 01:37 to step back from the things of the world, 01:39 and to spend little time formally 01:41 in the presence of the Lord. 01:43 So we welcome you to 3ABN Family Worship. 01:46 I'm here with my wife Irma. 01:48 Good to have you here, Boo. 01:49 Good to be here with you, honey. 01:51 Praise the Lord. 01:52 She of 3ABN Latino, she is a marketing specialist, 01:56 a producer for 3ABN Latino. 01:58 But her most important job in the world 02:01 is being my wife. 02:03 Amen. 02:05 Praise the Lord. I'm glad you said amen. 02:08 You won't leave me hanging out there. 02:10 Praise the Lord. The other is not. 02:11 I think most important job is being a child of God. 02:14 I'll take number two. Amen. 02:15 Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:16 That's true. Very good, honey. 02:18 Amen. Thank you. 02:20 To my left another wonderful couple. 02:22 This is Eric and Marilyn Durant. 02:25 Eric is in our engineering department 02:27 and this is a smart, smart, smart, smart guy, 02:30 and a good guy too. 02:32 Eric, good to have you here. 02:33 It's a pleasure to be here. 02:35 Amen. 02:36 And his wife Marilyn works in our call center. 02:38 You are the assistant manager, is that correct? 02:40 That's correct. 02:41 And you do a fine job too. Thank you. 02:43 I happen to know. 02:45 I am glad. That sounds good. 02:47 So if your husband doesn't praise you, 02:48 allow me to do so. 02:49 Thank you. Because I can do... 02:51 Actually I tend to work with you more. 02:52 Yes. 02:54 Than he does doing working out as he gets to take her home. 02:56 Praise the Lord. Amen. 02:58 Amen. I'm glad you said amen. 03:01 We're little giddy here tonight. 03:02 It's a good day be in the Lord. 03:03 And to my far right, Jason Bradley. 03:06 Who I knew before he was born. 03:09 Mm-hmm. Yeah, literally. 03:11 When I baptized his mom, he was in the oven as it were. 03:15 So he got baptized twice. 03:16 Yeah. 03:19 Three times. Three times. 03:22 We praise the Lord for that. 03:24 I knew him a little later, but I did remember Jason... 03:27 Yeah, he was in the world when you met him 03:28 but I met him before. 03:30 Yeah. Yes, yes. 03:31 And on the piano is Jill Morikone, 03:33 who we thank from taking part out of her busy day 03:36 as assistant to the president, 03:38 the administrative assistant 03:39 to our president Mr. Danny Shelton. 03:42 But also an excellent pianist in her own right, 03:44 she of her own CD, and just a beautiful pianist, 03:48 and a beautiful person, we all like Jill. 03:50 Can we say amen? Yes. 03:51 Amen. We really, really do. 03:53 So we're gonna do a couple of things, 03:54 we're gonna have prayer, 03:55 and then we're gonna go right into our song 03:57 and to give you a chance to find it in your own hymnal. 04:00 Irma and I, we sing our songs from the... 04:03 iPad. 04:04 From the iPad when we have worship together 04:06 because all the music is there and the words are there. 04:08 And it's like you're singing with this orchestra, 04:10 you know, when we're on ourselves. 04:11 So it covers the multitude of mistakes, 04:13 but that's not gonna happen, it's just us and the piano. 04:16 Praise the Lord. 04:17 Two eighty six, Wonderful words of life. 04:19 Jason, would you pray for us, please? 04:21 And then we'll go right to Jill, 04:22 and we'll have our song. 04:24 Absolutely. 04:25 Dear Heavenly Father, 04:26 we thank You so much for bringing us all together 04:28 for another family worship. 04:31 We invite the presence of Your Holy Spirit 04:33 to be here with us 04:35 to lead and guide us into all truth. 04:37 We ask that You'd fill our viewer's homes 04:40 and listeners as well 04:42 with the presence of Your Holy Spirit, 04:43 and guide them into all truth as well, 04:47 in Jesus' name we pray. 04:48 Amen. Amen. 04:50 It's 286, there are just three stanzas 04:52 and we will sing them all, 04:54 "Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life." 05:02 Sing them over again to me 05:06 Wonderful words of life 05:10 Let me more of their beauty see 05:14 Wonderful words of life 05:17 Words of life and beauty 05:21 Teach me faith and duty 05:25 Beautiful words, wonderful words 05:29 Wonderful words of life 05:33 Beautiful words, wonderful words 05:37 Wonderful words of life 05:41 Christ, the blessed One gives to all 05:45 Wonderful words of life 05:49 Sinner, list to the loving call 05:53 Wonderful words of life 05:56 All so freely given 06:00 Wooing us to heaven 06:04 Beautiful words, wonderful words 06:08 Wonderful words of life 06:12 Beautiful words, wonderful words 06:16 Wonderful words of life 06:18 And that last stanza. 06:20 Sweetly echo the gospel call 06:24 Wonderful words of life 06:28 Offer pardon and peace to all 06:32 Wonderful words of life 06:36 Jesus, only Savior 06:40 Sanctify forever 06:44 Beautiful words, wonderful words 06:48 Wonderful words of life 06:52 Beautiful words, wonderful words 06:56 Wonderful words of life 07:01 You know, when you're the loudest one in the choir, 07:04 you make a mistake, everybody knows. 07:05 Yes. 07:09 But we praise the Lord. 07:10 Amen. 07:12 God is good. 07:13 And again we welcome you to the Sabbath hours 07:17 and the blessings of the Sabbath. 07:20 It is truly when you do your nine to five, 07:22 you look forward to the Sabbath. 07:24 And you look forward to the time when you can... 07:26 And really for ministers and church workers 07:29 there may not be the day of rest that it is for some. 07:32 But it is a stepping back from the things of the world. 07:35 And I should tell my churches, 07:37 "Leave your problems and cares at the door of the church." 07:41 When you come back to the door, they'll still be there, 07:44 nobody will steal them, 07:45 they will be right there where you left them. 07:46 You leave them outside the church, 07:48 come in, and worship a while. 07:49 Leave them there, 07:51 they'll be there waiting for you when you get back. 07:52 So don't worry about that. Nobody will take them. 07:53 Nobody will take them. Nobody wants yours. 07:56 No, they don't want their own, let it yours. 07:58 So nobody's going to steal them, 07:59 they'll be right there, 08:01 but come in and just concentrate on Jesus. 08:03 And what we're gonna talk about today, 08:04 and I'm gonna read this through 08:05 before we kind of read and react to this. 08:08 Is the idea that we need 08:10 to keep on guard for Jesus Christ? 08:12 Because just... 08:14 Because you come to the Lord, 08:17 it doesn't mean your problems end. 08:19 There are some people... 08:20 And even I've heard this preach 08:22 that when you come to Jesus everything is over, 08:23 it's kind of home free, 08:25 put it all in a pile and just sail on into the kingdom. 08:27 But anybody who's come to the Lord knows 08:30 that your problems just begin when you come to Lord. 08:33 You exchange trouble, 08:35 you give up some of that worldly stuff 08:37 would you pick up an adversary called the devil, 08:40 who is going to be on your case from now to the day you die. 08:43 He doesn't give upon you 08:44 because he claims you as his own. 08:46 So when you say, "I've decided to follow Jesus." 08:49 The devil says, "I've decided you're not gonna follow Jesus." 08:52 You know, so the battle begins. Yes. 08:54 So you don't get to put it on autopilot, 08:56 you've got to think about it, 08:57 and work at it, 08:59 and surrender to Christ every single day. 09:00 And that's what this reading is about, we're gonna... 09:02 And many times this is worse 09:04 than the troubles you had before. 09:06 Yeah, yeah, very true. 09:07 They're much bigger and more stronger 09:11 that really pushes your buttons. 09:12 Yeah. You know, that's a good point. 09:15 One because the devil has studied you. 09:18 There are three people who know you. 09:20 Christ knows you better than you know yourself, 09:23 and really Satan knows you better than you know yourself, 09:26 then there is you. 09:28 You think you know you, 09:29 but sometimes you do stuff and you say, "Was that me? 09:32 Did I do that?" Right. Right. 09:34 You know what I'm talking about? 09:36 "Did I do that?" 09:37 But the reason you think, you don't think 09:39 because you don't know you 09:40 as well as Jesus really knows you. 09:43 And Satan studied mankind for 6,000 plus years. 09:48 And you will find this guy is, 09:50 that he hadn't really changed 09:51 his ammo that much in 6,000 years, 09:54 because the stuff that was working then 09:57 is working now. 09:58 Yeah, it's working now. 10:00 Pride of life, pride of the eye, 10:02 pride of flesh, pride of life, 10:04 same old stuff he hadn't done anything new. 10:06 We're still falling for the same old stuff 10:07 so he didn't have to change if it's working. 10:10 If it ain't broke, you're not gonna fix it. 10:12 Yeah. Mr. Engineer, yes. 10:15 I always think about Peter, Peter thought he knew himself. 10:19 Yes. 10:20 And he was honest. He was. 10:22 He said, "Lord, though everyone else betray you, 10:25 I won't betray you and I'm..." 10:27 I think he was sincere when he said that. 10:29 But he did not know who he was, Jesus knew. 10:32 Yeah, yeah. 10:33 Which is why what we're gonna talk about this so very... 10:36 Because you can be sincere when you say, I'll just say, 10:39 "You know, you ever go to church, 10:41 you hear a good sermon, the song is just for you, 10:44 the text is just for you." 10:47 And Ellen White calls that spiritual heat. 10:50 You know, in the context 10:52 that your spiritual barometer begins to rise 10:54 and you come out of church saying, 10:56 "Lord, I will never ever sin again." 11:01 And when you say it, 11:03 it's coming from the heart, you know. 11:05 But there're two people who know 11:06 that's not gonna happen. 11:08 One, the Lord knows, that's not gonna happen 11:10 which is why you've got 1 John 21, 11:13 "If we sin, we've got to advocate with the Father." 11:15 Because though you're sincere 11:17 you're probably gonna sin again. 11:18 And two, Satan knows, you're probably gonna slip up, 11:21 which is why the Lord put it in that little, 11:23 that little plan there 11:25 to have an advocate with the father. 11:26 When you say it, you mean it. 11:29 But sometime you don't get out of church good, 11:31 somebody is backing up in the parking lot, 11:33 you know, 'cause you're waiting to get out of car 11:35 back that behind you. 11:37 You know, and you're sitting there 11:38 twiddling your thumbs and sinning, you know... 11:42 And, you know... Yeah. 11:43 Sometimes you feel so full of the Holy Spirit, 11:48 that you really honestly believe that as a... 11:50 I find myself many times 11:52 when I feel really touched, I said, 11:54 "Oh, Lord, I say when I get out of the church, 11:56 help me not to lose that." 11:59 And to forget what I've heard and the counsel you give me 12:02 because it is true that is so easy to... 12:06 All of a sudden something you come out of the church 12:08 and something happens 12:10 and you get immediately distracted and forget. 12:14 And then you're like, "Oh, Lord, what happened?" 12:18 You don't feel the same as you felt 12:21 while you're sitting. 12:22 I always said to myself that I'm a Christian at home, 12:25 and I'm a Christian at work, 12:27 but that commute was an entirely different story. 12:32 You know, that's interesting in New York City when we were, 12:35 yeah, you have the long time to sin, right. 12:37 You've got a lot of temptations, 12:38 you know, red lights in front of you, 12:40 people beeping out and whatnot. 12:41 And you can lose your way just that fast. 12:44 Quickly. Yeah. 12:45 So it's very, very true. 12:47 So this reading sort of addresses that. 12:48 Let's look at this 12:50 and I'll try to run through this fast 12:51 and then give you guys a chance to sort of weigh in on this. 12:57 The scripture lesson comes to us from 1 Corinthians 9:16 13:01 "Though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of," 13:05 Paul says even as a preacher, 13:07 "I can't take glory in that it's all about Jesus." 13:10 We are told that "Genuine conversion 13:13 brings us daily into communion with God." 13:15 So daily we have to commune with God, 13:17 if we're generally converted. 13:19 And conversion, lords and ladies, 13:23 is simply a change in direction. 13:25 It doesn't mean you're perfect, 13:26 it doesn't mean you're sinless, 13:28 it doesn't mean you simply change your direction. 13:30 You are going this way against Christ, 13:33 now you're walking with Christ. 13:34 So if you fall, 13:35 He's right by your side to pick you up. 13:37 Sometimes we try to equate conversion 13:40 with sinlessness or perfection. 13:42 It's not. 13:43 It's simply a change of direction. 13:45 You change your direction. 13:46 It doesn't mean you're perfect, 13:47 it doesn't mean you won't make mistakes, 13:49 doesn't guarantee that you'll never have a bad day. 13:52 Because Christians have bad days, 13:54 just like non-Christians have bad days. 13:56 Some days you wake up, by the time you open your eyes, 13:59 it's gonna be a bad day. 14:00 You know, you just maybe 14:01 eat pizza late last night or something, 14:03 some days you're gonna have to struggle 14:04 a little bit more. 14:05 Well, Christians have bad days. 14:07 They do. 14:08 They have days when you kind of don't wanna be bothered. 14:11 The thing that separates you from a non-Christian 14:13 who has a bad day is that you surrendered to Christ 14:18 and people think you're having a good day. 14:22 Because you've given it to Jesus, 14:24 but you're having a bad day. 14:25 But Christ can cover up that stuff. 14:27 So conversion is, 14:28 is every day you got to kind of check your compass 14:31 to make sure you're going in the right direction, you know. 14:33 Okay. 14:34 Let me try to read this without so much commentary. 14:37 "There will be temptations to meet, 14:39 and a strong undercurrent drawing us from God 14:42 to our former state of indifference 14:44 and sinful forgetfulness of God." 14:46 So there's always that pull go back. 14:48 You know, you're swimming upstream. 14:50 "No human heart can remain strong 14:53 without divine grace, amen. 14:55 No man can remain converted 14:57 unless he takes care of himself." 14:58 I like that, take care of yourself spiritually. 15:02 "And the master has a care for him. 15:05 Unless the heart holds fast to God, 15:08 and God holds fast to him, 15:10 he will become self-confident and exalted 15:13 and will surely stumble and fall." 15:16 Bible says, "Let him who stand take heed lest he fall." 15:20 "The power of God through faith 15:23 was Paul's dependence. 15:26 'I live, yet not I,' he exclaims in his humility, 15:29 but Christ liveth where?"' 15:31 In me. "In me." 15:32 Galatians 2:20. 15:33 "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly. 15:37 So fight I, not as one that beateth the air..." 15:40 I always like this text. 15:43 "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, 15:46 lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, 15:49 I myself should be a castaway." 15:52 1 Corinthians 9:26, 27. 15:54 "Paul was in such constant dread, 15:56 lest his evil propensities should get the better of him, 16:00 that he was constantly battling, 16:03 with firm resistance, 16:07 unruly appetites and passions. 16:10 If the great apostle 16:11 felt like trembling in view of his weakness, 16:14 who has a right to feel self-confident and boastful? 16:18 The moment we begin to feel self-sufficient and confident, 16:24 then we are in danger of a disgraceful failure. 16:30 Our only sure defense against besetting sins is..." 16:33 What? Prayer. 16:34 " Prayer, daily and hourly prayer. 16:37 Not one day zealous and the next careless." 16:40 You know, sometimes you're hot and you're cold, up and down. 16:42 Ellen White says, our life are not be around 16:45 of sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting, 16:46 you know, one day on fire, the next day fire goes out, 16:49 next day you're on fire... 16:50 There ought to be some consistent growth in our lives. 16:53 "So not one day zealous the next day careless, 16:55 but through watchfulness and earnestness 16:58 becoming vitalized by intercourse with God. 17:01 Prayer is necessary, 17:03 and we should not wait for feeling, 17:05 but pray, earnestly pray, 17:07 whether we feel like it or not." 17:09 And I think that's very important 17:10 and maybe one of you can comment on that 17:12 because sometimes you just don't feel like praying. 17:15 That's true. 17:17 Yeah, sometimes you don't, but pray anyway, you know. 17:19 Sometimes you don't feel like going to church. 17:21 Get up, put on your clothes, go to church anyway. 17:24 Don't always be subject to feeling, 17:25 you know, sometimes you feel like 17:27 popping somebody in the face, 17:29 but you won't do that? 17:30 Because you can't always go with your feeling, 17:32 you know, you can't go with your feelings, you got to... 17:33 That sometimes happen to us Christians. 17:35 No, you're okay. 17:40 Yeah, you definitely can't go off feelings 17:42 because sin feels good, 17:43 if it didn't people wouldn't do it. 17:45 Precisely, wouldn't have to preach so hard against it 17:47 because if it didn't feel good. 17:49 "But pray, earnestly pray, whether we feel like it or not. 17:52 Heaven is open to our prayers. 17:54 Prayer is the channel that conducts our gratitude 17:57 and yearnings of the soul 17:58 for the divine blessing to the throne of God." 18:01 So prayer is the conduit that gets those blessings 18:05 and your things you want 18:07 and your gratitude up to God. 18:10 "To be returned to us 18:11 in refreshing showers of divine grace." 18:14 I like that. 18:15 Almost done. 18:17 "With very many, this channel is allowed to freeze up." 18:21 Like the Arctic in the winter. 18:23 "And then the connection with heaven is interrupted. 18:27 Oh, that we would spend more time upon our knees 18:31 and less time in planning for ourselves 18:34 and in thinking we may do some great thing." 18:38 So we need to spend our time in surrender and in prayer. 18:41 Is there anything here 18:42 that sort of jumps out of anybody? 18:44 Anybody want to grab some of this? 18:45 Yeah, I like in that first paragraph we have, 18:47 "No man can remain converted unless he takes care of himself 18:51 and the Master has a care for him." 18:53 You know, the Bible says by beholding we become changed. 18:56 So whatever we're putting in, and if we're taking garbage in, 18:58 garbage is just gonna come out. 19:00 But when we focus our attention on Christ and spiritual things, 19:04 then that's what's gonna come out. 19:05 We're gonna reflect Christ character to the world. 19:08 I like that. 19:10 I always think about Peter again 19:12 when he was walking on the waves 19:14 and he took his eyes off of Christ 19:17 and he began to sink. 19:19 And that's always been the example for me 19:22 because when you take your eyes off of the Lord, 19:24 you stop praying, you stop witnessing, 19:26 you stop doing those things, 19:28 you start to sink. 19:29 And the good thing about that whole story was that 19:32 he says, "Lord, save me." 19:34 So he turned back to prayer. 19:36 He prayed to Lord to save him 19:37 and the Lord lifted him back up. 19:40 You know, two things come to my mind from that. 19:41 One, he lost sight of Jesus, 19:44 obviously Jesus had not lost sight of him. 19:47 So when he said, "Lord, save me." 19:48 Christ is right there to grab him 19:49 and pull him up, you know. 19:51 So we lose sight of the Lord, 19:53 but thank God, 19:54 He didn't lose sight of us, you know. 19:56 And going back to something that Jason said, 20:00 you are what you eat spiritually 20:01 and every other way. 20:02 I remember there was a Christian comedian 20:04 many years ago that said, "If you eat fat greasy food, 20:06 you'll become a fat greasy dude." 20:13 Unless you're very young 20:14 that your body controls the fat. 20:17 Does it like Jason. 20:19 Well, you don't eat fat greasy food, 20:20 but he eats well, but it's true. 20:23 Last thing and I'll be quiet for a little while. 20:27 Most people when their spiritual tires go flat, 20:30 there's a slow leak not a blowout. 20:32 You know, you just, you get down, 20:34 you see one day it's down a little bit 20:36 but I can get through the day. 20:37 And then it's down a little bit the next day and next day, 20:39 it's on the ground, 20:41 but you had warning. 20:42 Now some people do get blow out, 20:43 you get this traumatic thing that happens 20:45 and you just leave the Lord, 20:46 but for most people 20:48 they're kind of just slow leaked their way from Lord. 20:49 And one day look around and where is God? 20:51 I thought I left Him, but I can't find Him. 20:54 And you've been sort of getting warnings, 20:55 but you've been kind of walking away. 20:57 So every day you got to reassess your compass 21:00 to make sure that you're headed in the right direction. 21:02 And one thing I think about that too is that 21:05 in that process you become 21:08 more and more relying upon yourself. 21:10 And I think as you're declining spiritually, 21:15 that's what you're doing. 21:16 You're depending more upon yourself 21:18 like you're gaining some false sense of confidence 21:22 like God's not carrying the weight, 21:24 when really He's doing the heavy lifting. 21:27 You're absolutely right 21:28 because I realize that we have a lot of abilities, 21:34 you know, some have more abilities than other. 21:38 Some are very quick to understand 21:40 and see where you're going and back up. 21:44 But it happens 21:46 because if you are able to do it, 21:49 you don't feel the need, 21:52 unless you are very aware 21:54 that the ability it comes from the Lord. 21:57 So you put it in the Lord hands again 22:01 but otherwise... 22:03 No, no, like my husband, he's so easy to... 22:08 They ask him though, 22:09 can you speak or can you fill in for somebody 22:12 and he is so easy to go 22:14 and find and have a sermon basically. 22:18 I could never do that. 22:19 I don't have that ability, 22:21 but sometimes that ability I think 22:25 and then I feel 22:26 because in other things that I do, 22:29 sometimes I have to realize that, 22:32 you know, it's not me, 22:33 it's got to be the Lord so that it can be done well. 22:37 But I feel what the Bible says 22:41 that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle 22:46 than it is for a rich man to go through. 22:49 It's the same thing for us. 22:52 It's easier, you know, to let the Lord guide you 22:58 because otherwise the natural, you know, of the man 23:05 is to follow your understanding, 23:07 follow your feelings, follow your what do you know, 23:10 but it makes a difference 23:12 when it's finally is in the heart, 23:14 then you can see the difference actually. 23:17 You know a humbling experience 23:19 and I think you can agree with this, Pastor Murray, 23:22 is when you are down and out health wise, 23:26 when you're sick, 23:27 and you've had surgery and stuff like that, 23:29 like I've had a couple of surgeries, 23:32 appendix ruptured inside of me 23:34 and you feel helpless. 23:36 You know, you have no choice but to... 23:40 I mean, you have a choice, but if you're wise, 23:47 you'll surrender to the Lord. 23:48 I mean, that He's the only one that can fix that, 23:51 I mean, laying there helpless is very humbling experience. 23:56 Oh, yes. And it's vulnerable. 23:58 Yes. Right. 23:59 Yeah. 24:01 It's very easy not to pray. 24:04 In engineering there's something that we call 24:06 recalibrating your equipment. 24:08 Every once in a while you have to recalibrate your equipment 24:11 or else it starts to drift. 24:12 And if you say, "Well, I don't feel like 24:14 recalibrating my equipment today," 24:16 you're recalibrated anyway. 24:18 Because if you're millimeter off here, 24:22 five miles down the road 24:24 you're gonna be a quarter mile off. 24:25 So you always recalibrate your equipment. 24:28 And when I pray, I keep it in mind 24:30 that I'm recalibrating my relationship with Jesus. 24:34 I like that. 24:36 You know, one thing I appreciate 24:37 and this is, it says, "Prayer is necessary, 24:40 and we should not wait for feeling, 24:43 but pray, earnestly pray, whether we feel like it or not. 24:47 Heaven is open to our prayers." 24:49 And one thing I have to do, 24:52 one of the responsibilities of being an assistant manager 24:55 is taking difficult calls. 24:59 And you never get used to it, 25:01 you know, it doesn't... 25:03 "Oh, yeah," you know, you don't raise your hand to say, 25:05 "I'll take it." 25:06 But we get them. 25:07 And before I get on the phone 25:09 I have to say, "Lord, please help me 25:12 to say the right things, and to calm this person down." 25:17 And nine times out of ten, 25:18 when I get on the phone they're very nice. 25:20 It's odd how they treat one person 25:23 and they know that 25:25 they're talking to someone else, 25:26 it's a different story, but I like this. 25:28 And some other things 25:30 when Eric and I first started dating, 25:34 I did not grow up an Adventist, 25:36 I was Baptist, 25:37 and I started going to church with him. 25:39 And he will tell you, we came under attack big time 25:44 when I started studying the word 25:46 and learning the truth. 25:48 And that's when you have to have faith in God, 25:50 and you have to pray, 25:52 and you have to stay on your knees to keep me focused 25:55 because Satan is there like you said, 25:58 "He knows you better than you know yourself." 26:01 Marilyn always teases that we got married quickly. 26:04 And one of the reasons why we got married quickly 26:07 is when I realized the devil for some reason 26:09 didn't want us to get married. 26:10 Because of the attack that we came under, 26:13 I said, "He really does not want us to get married, 26:15 so I'm gonna marry her right now." 26:23 And I called her up, 26:24 I said, "Marilyn, we're getting married." 26:26 Yeah, he did. There was no proposal? 26:28 Well, no, he did proposed, 26:30 but it was no long one year engagement plan, 26:34 this elaborate wedding, 26:35 it was like you have six months, 26:37 four or five months I think. 26:39 Yeah. And we were married quick. 26:40 Yeah, and that was... But it saved us money. 26:46 Jason, take note. Take note, Jason. 26:49 When I meet the Mrs. Right. 26:50 That's right. 26:52 Yes. That's right. 26:53 You know, the Bible says, "There is a way 26:54 that seems right to a man, 26:56 but in end there are other ways of death." 26:57 Proverbs 14:12. 26:59 The truth is you can't run on your own gasoline, you know. 27:05 If you try to do it all yourself, 27:07 you're gonna run out of answers. 27:09 No one can totally direct their life, 27:12 which is why you need spiritual brothers and sisters. 27:14 You need people to balance stuff off of, you know. 27:16 And I would encourage every person 27:19 to find someone that you can balance stuff off of. 27:25 And it doesn't have to be the person agrees with you 27:28 as long as the person tells you the truth in Jesus Christ. 27:30 Yes. Irma and I went... 27:32 We had a devotion the other day 27:33 that went into about hour and a half 27:35 because we got on the subject and we did, we did disagree, 27:38 and we're working at it, 27:39 you know, we're working at it. 27:40 And at the end she gave me little kiss on the head 27:42 and said, "I see your point. 27:43 Didn't mean you agreed with me, that's what I thought. 27:47 I understand what you're saying, 27:48 I still don't agree with you, 27:49 but I understand what you're saying. 27:51 So the person doesn't have to always agree with you, 27:52 but you need good spiritual counsel, 27:54 you need somebody, hopefully it's your wife, 27:57 or your husband. 27:58 But if not, find a good spiritual friend or a buddy 28:01 or someone that you can balance stuff off of 28:03 because nobody has all the answers. 28:05 You know, you got to go to Jesus 28:06 but sometimes it's good to hear 28:08 that Jesus filtered through flesh, 28:10 you know, that you could talk to 28:11 and somebody that's kind of in the trenches with you. 28:13 I think it's very important. 28:15 And I'm kind of my husband's sermons, 28:19 you know, I'm a fan of his. 28:22 And it is true because I can hear 28:25 a sermon like four or five times. 28:29 And it always lifts me up and it always is good, honey. 28:33 Amen. Amen. 28:36 It never feels that it's an old sermon. 28:39 And one of his sermons, 28:41 he talks about asking the people 28:45 if they are converted. 28:47 And because that's really 28:49 an important thing for us to know, 28:52 many people that are in the church, 28:55 and I was one of those 28:57 that always worried if I was really converted, 29:01 you know, I knew this, I knew that, 29:02 I knew, I thought I knew enough to know that I am converted. 29:07 And I'm not going to go anywhere, 29:08 I am with the Lord. 29:10 But I never understood the real that the conversation part. 29:14 And in his sermon, he talks about the conversion 29:19 is just a change of direction. 29:21 And then I was reading in the concordance 29:25 and it is a change of direction. 29:30 You are doing something wrong 29:32 and realize and understand that is wrong. 29:35 You go to God and you ask forgiveness 29:38 and God forgive you 29:39 and then you turn on to do the right thing. 29:43 And another thing was that conversion I used to think 29:47 like once you come to the Lord, once you come to the church, 29:50 and you're baptized you earn it, 29:53 but it's not. 29:54 It's like basically and most of the time 29:57 it's minute by minute, 29:59 not even day by day because you can be so relax 30:04 and thinking that you're fine and the enemy comes with, 30:09 you know, a push. 30:11 And that you are immediately, 30:13 so you have to immediately think 30:17 what is that God wants me to do here 30:18 and take the direction of God. 30:21 And that's your conversion every time, I believe that. 30:25 When we first got married, 30:26 I would tell Marilyn about who I used to be, 30:28 the things I used to do, 30:30 the music I used to listen to, and one of the favorite things 30:32 that Marilyn used to say was, "I can't believe that was you. 30:36 That's not the man that I know." 30:39 That made me feel so good because like you said, 30:43 God Jesus turns you 180 degrees around. 30:46 And that person that you used to be is gone. 30:49 So when she said that, I was, praise the Lord, 30:52 praise the Lord. 30:53 And that's so wonderful 30:54 when you know that you are in the wrong 30:56 and you come to God to ask for forgiveness 30:59 and to change you. 31:01 And then when you see 31:03 that the Lord had put you in that other direction. 31:07 It's such an encouragement 31:09 because you don't have to worry, you know. 31:12 Yeah, you worry a little bit when it comes 31:14 but quickly you are able to see and understand that, 31:20 you know, your Christianity and your conversion 31:24 is also in the hands of God. 31:26 So it's day by day, day by day you go changing. 31:30 Sometimes it takes a long time for you to change one thing, 31:34 but it will change 31:35 because God promised to change you. 31:38 One of the things that I like that goes along 31:40 with what you're saying is here in this last paragraph, 31:43 "Our only sure defense against besetting sins is prayer, 31:47 daily and hourly prayer." 31:48 Like you have to constantly stay connected, 31:50 when you look at Jesus as our example, I mean, 31:53 this is Jesus we're talking about, 31:55 and He was constantly in communion with the Father, 32:00 I mean, for hours and just constantly. 32:04 And prayer doesn't have to be 32:05 where you get down on your knees, 32:07 you can be driving to work and say, 32:09 "God, I need to talk to you about X, Y, and Z, 32:12 I'm struggling with such and such, 32:14 I need your help please because I'm weak." 32:16 And God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. 32:19 Amen. Right. 32:20 And there's something I'm really excited 32:22 about this topic by the way, 32:23 so I might talk a little bit more in this one. 32:26 But there's something 32:27 that I definitely want to share with you guys. 32:29 It's from a Call to Stand Apart and it says, 32:34 this is on page 20, paragraph 10. 32:38 "The hot summer sun, 32:39 that strengthens and ripens the hardy grain, 32:41 destroys that which has no depth of root. 32:44 So he who 'hath not root in himself,' 32:47 'dureth for a while.' 32:48 But 'when tribulation or persecution ariseth 32:51 because of the word, by and by he is offended.'" 32:56 "Many receive the gospel..." 32:58 And this is deep. 32:59 "Many receive the gospel 33:01 as a way of escape from suffering, 33:03 rather than as a deliverance from sin. 33:07 They rejoice for a season, for they think 33:10 that religion will free them from difficulty and trial. 33:14 While life moves smoothly with them, 33:16 they may appear to be consistent Christians. 33:19 But they faint beneath the fiery test of temptation. 33:22 They cannot bear reproach for Christ's sake. 33:25 When the Word of God points out some cherished sin, 33:29 or requires self-denial or sacrifice, 33:31 they are offended. 33:32 It would cost them too much effort 33:35 to make a radical change in their life. 33:37 They look at the present inconvenience and trial, 33:40 and forget the eternal realities." 33:44 That's deep because you ever see 33:47 sometimes people and I've tried to do this myself 33:50 in the past as, you know, I try and justify the sin. 33:54 You know, try and say, 33:56 "Well, it's not that bad and..." 33:57 You know, but I had good intentions 34:00 or some, you know, and try and justify it. 34:04 This speaks to being rooted in Christ. 34:07 If you're not rooted, you're gonna fall. 34:11 Like that old cliche saying, 34:13 if you don't stand for anything, 34:15 or if you stand for nothing, or something like that, 34:17 you'll fall for anything, you know. 34:20 And that's the same 34:21 if you don't stand for Christ... 34:23 You'll fall for anything. Absolutely. 34:26 A couple of things come to my mind. 34:27 I wanna go back to something, Eric, 34:28 that you said before this idea of recalibrating every day. 34:32 You really need to check 34:33 your spiritual pulse every single day 34:35 because if you let it slip and go for a while, 34:39 you know, by the time you get your bearings back, 34:41 you're way off and that's very, very true. 34:44 How do I get over just a little variance here, 34:46 five miles down the road, you can't even see 34:49 where you started anymore. 34:50 So every day you need to... 34:52 Because, you know, Peter says, "Think it not strange 34:56 concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, 34:59 as though some strange thing has happened unto you." 35:02 But rejoice because you are partakers 35:03 of Christ's suffering 35:05 which is something we tend not to want to hear. 35:06 I don't want to be hearing about nobody's suffering, 35:08 you know, I just want to put on autopilot, 35:11 I came to the Lord. 35:13 I love Jesus and everything is supposed to be fine. 35:15 Well, that's not life. No. 35:17 That's not the way to the kingdom. 35:18 Don't think it's strange when something... 35:20 And the truth is, in our hearts we do think it's strange. 35:24 Why am I going through this? 35:25 You know, why me? 35:27 Well, why not you? 35:29 Jesus suffered. 35:30 So you get a scholarship, 35:31 you know, you got to pay just like everybody else. 35:36 Suffering is part of the cleansing process 35:38 and we all know this to be true. 35:40 In times of ease, you tend to put off stuff, 35:44 you know, and then when stuff gets rough 35:48 then you want to get, you know, you want to pray and kind of... 35:50 So the Lord has to sometimes... 35:52 And Ellen Whites says this in preaching's, she says, 35:53 "Sometimes you got to hold the saints over the fire." 35:56 She says, "You can preach the love of Christ, 35:59 but every now and again 36:01 you need to hold them over the fire 36:02 and let them feel the heat, 36:04 because that's part of the gospel message too." 36:06 Christ came to save everybody, 36:08 but the truth is in that day some is, 36:12 and forgive my pejorative of English, some ain't 36:14 and those who ain't won't be with the Lord. 36:16 So they have to know both sides of the coin. 36:18 As he's ready and really, he won't turn anybody away, 36:21 no one will get cast out. 36:22 But if you don't come, 36:24 well, then you kind of made your decision. 36:25 And sometimes there's a lesson in the blessing 36:28 at the end of that struggle 36:29 because you didn't go through it in vain. 36:31 You know, there's something to be learned from it. 36:33 I heard someone say a long time ago, 36:35 they said the fertile ground is always in the valleys. 36:39 At the mountaintop the ground's not fertile 36:42 but everyone wants to be on the mountaintop 36:44 because the view is fantastic and everyone can see them. 36:46 But that's not where the rivers flow, 36:48 that's now where the grass is green, 36:49 you grow in the valleys. 36:51 And I always took that thought. 36:54 I think it's a Wayne Muller wrote a book 36:55 about you grow in the valley. 36:57 He said, "In the mountaintop you get a nice view, 37:00 but if you want to grow, you've got to get down..." 37:01 Get down into valley. 37:03 Yeah, get down into valley, that's where you grow. 37:04 It is a very, very important part. 37:05 I don't think at there is a time 37:07 that we can just relax 37:09 and say, "Well, you know, I got it now." 37:13 And because we have the enemy that is constantly on our back. 37:18 And the more we want to walk right 37:21 and be really consecrated 37:23 and really have that powerful relationship with God, 37:29 you know, you long for it. 37:31 And then the enemy just comes so easy, 37:34 so smooth like he does and try to bump us off it. 37:40 So we have to constantly be on the guard in prayer 37:44 and in fasting says in one of the verses saying. 37:49 I think it is one of the, in Matthew, 37:52 it's just another place where Lord said that 37:54 this one will not go away 37:58 but with prayer and fasting he enters, 38:01 Matthew 17: 21. 38:03 I had found that, that is so powerful 38:08 because it's sometimes, you know, the Apostle Paul, 38:14 he talks about rejoicing in the trials. 38:18 Now how can you rejoice in the trial? 38:20 I used to say, "Lord, how can you rejoice in the trial." 38:25 But the Lord will teach you, 38:27 He'll bring you to that point too 38:29 because sometimes there are some big ones and... 38:33 You know, last night I had a very difficult time 38:36 because I have this burden and I could not go to sleep. 38:41 I had a hard time and I was singing in my, 38:45 you know, in my mind and I was singing 38:47 and remembering all these promises from the Lord. 38:52 But finally I went to sleep and then this morning 38:54 I thought, "Well, praise the Lord." 38:57 Because if you don't have the Lord, 39:01 you know, I could have gone all night, 39:03 I could have just gone 39:04 in all consideration with the pain, 39:07 and don't have any hope at the moment. 39:11 But God, sometimes it takes a little bit, 39:16 but the Lord will come through. 39:18 Amen. 39:19 Sometimes you've got to kind of question 39:20 if bad things aren't happening or you kind of need to look, 39:25 look into Bible, look at the mirror, 39:27 and ask like, "What am I doing? 39:30 Why isn't Satan bothering me, right? 39:32 You know, because if he's not bothering you, 39:35 then he's probably not too worried about you 39:38 making it to the kingdom. 39:41 I think struggle is an opportunity 39:43 to exercise your spiritual muscles. 39:45 Yes. 39:46 So when it comes, 39:48 just start lifting those weights. 39:49 Yeah. 39:50 And that's what it's therefore, 39:52 it makes you a strong Christian, 39:53 it enhances your faith, 39:55 and that's one of the reasons why we're here. 39:57 So it's kind of tough to look at it that way, 40:00 but when you exercise sometimes it hurts, 40:04 but the end result is you're stronger 40:06 and you're stronger spiritually. 40:08 Yes, if you have to exercise for a while, it's gonna hurt. 40:11 You know, but then you're tearing 40:12 the muscles down to build them back up. 40:14 So when you first begin to exercise, 40:16 particularly when you're using new muscles 40:18 that you haven't used before or using it in a different way, 40:22 you're gonna get some pain 40:23 but that pain is emblematic of the changes 40:26 that are taking place in your body. 40:27 And then here's the thing, 40:29 self-evaluation is a difficult thing. 40:31 It's hard to be honest with yourself, you know. 40:35 I can spot the sins in other people, 40:38 but it's real difficult, well, to admit 40:41 because I can spot them. 40:43 But it's to admit my own failures, 40:45 they're there just like that 40:47 you see them in other people they are there. 40:49 And once you see them, then it's tough to admit 40:52 that you got to do something about it. 40:54 You know, I'll put that off 40:55 and I'll take care of that tomorrow 40:56 and tomorrow becomes tomorrow, 40:58 becomes tomorrow, becomes tomorrow. 41:00 And then you find yourself way out in left field someplace 41:03 where you shouldn't be because you need to... 41:05 And, you know, here it says, 41:08 "Paul was in such constant dread, 41:11 lest his evil propensities." 41:13 You know, you figure Paul got it altogether. 41:14 You know, all these letters of him. 41:17 The guy wrote half the New Testament, 41:18 you know, he's giving everybody advise. 41:21 Surely, Paul's got it together, you know, 41:24 and if Paul doesn't have it together 41:25 then what do I think I'm doing. 41:27 You know, I'm so undone. 41:30 Yeah, I know I touched my microphone, 41:32 you can't do that. 41:33 Paul was in such constant dread, 41:36 lest his evil propensities should get the better of him, 41:39 that he was constantly battling with firm resistance, 41:43 unruly appetites, and passions. 41:45 And how many of us, you know, 41:47 it's hard fighting against yourself. 41:49 It's fatiguing fighting against yourself. 41:51 And yet the strongest and most consistent battle 41:54 we have to wage is against ourselves. 41:56 And sometimes you just want to wave the white flag, 41:59 "I can't take this anymore." 42:00 But those are the days 42:02 when you don't feel like fighting, 42:03 you've got to fight on or rely on Jesus 42:05 to fight the battle through you. 42:07 Because it's important that 42:08 that battle be waged every single day. 42:10 You know... All right. Go head. 42:11 Was it Paul that got bit by the snakes? 42:14 Yes, shook it off in the fire. 42:16 He shook it off in the fire. 42:17 So there is serpents biting you all the time 42:19 when you're a Christian. 42:21 And you just got to hold it over the fire and shake it off. 42:24 Yeah. That's right. 42:25 It's a good analogy 42:27 and it's a good chapter to read. 42:31 Yeah. 42:32 One thing that's comforting 42:33 is this verse found in 1 Corinthians 10:13, 42:37 "No temptation has overtaken you 42:39 except such as is common to man. 42:42 But God is faithful, who will not allow you 42:44 to be tempted beyond what you are able, 42:46 but with the temptation 42:48 will also make the way of escape, 42:50 that you may be able to bear it." 42:51 So He's not gonna place anything on us 42:53 that's more than what we can bear, 42:55 and He provides a way of escape. 42:58 One of the easiest ways to avoid temptation 43:01 is to not put yourself in those situations 43:04 in the first place. 43:06 You know, people will reach in the fire 43:10 and ask for deliverance not to get burned. 43:13 You know, why would you stick, 43:15 don't stick your hand in the fire, 43:16 don't go around the flame. 43:18 You know, you have to avoid that. 43:20 You're not gonna jump off a cliff 43:21 and ask God to help you to fly. 43:25 So you've got to consider these things 43:27 and think about that, 43:29 don't put yourself on Satan's ground. 43:32 Amen. Amen. 43:34 That reminds me, when I was a teenager 43:38 and when my sisters and friends 43:41 that are always in the tropic, 43:43 you know, they're always times where there are festivities. 43:46 And I was always so attracted by the music 43:50 and I wanted to go dancing. 43:52 But, of course, you know you can't do dancing. 43:55 So we will get together 43:56 and we'll go in to watch the people that were dancing. 44:00 And it just seems that, it'll get you going even more. 44:05 So I said, my mother says, "Where were you?" 44:09 You know, and then so we didn't tell them, 44:11 she says, "Well, so don't complain 44:14 when your temptation is strong." 44:16 Becomes very strong 44:18 because if you go on to the fire, 44:21 you're going to be burn. 44:22 So if you want to ask the Lord and put away all those feelings 44:28 and those desires that are not godly, 44:31 you have to stay away from that. 44:33 And it's so true. I learned that. 44:39 A lot of the times when you're young, 44:42 I remember when I was a baby and we had a blackout 44:45 and my mother put a candle on the table. 44:47 And she said, "Eric, don't touch that candle." 44:52 And I touched the candle and I got burned. 44:55 And I always to this day wonder if my mother said, 44:58 "Eric, don't touch the candle," 45:00 whether I have touched the candle. 45:02 And I don't really have any answer for that 45:03 but God warns us, don't touch that candle 45:06 or else you're going to get burned. 45:08 And a lot of us don't listen to that. 45:10 Yeah. 45:11 Well, that's what the Bible says also, 45:14 when you are a baby, 45:16 you drink milk, things, you know, 45:19 but when you are older, an adult, 45:21 now you know what you're not supposed to do 45:24 and you should be able to, also fight the faith, 45:28 a good faith, right? 45:29 Good fight of fight. Like good fight of fight. 45:31 Like Adam and Eve with the fruit, 45:35 don't eat this fruit. 45:38 Right. Right. 45:40 I had to try it. Right. 45:42 You know, I was looking up this text, 45:45 it was a companion to what you're saying. 45:47 It's Ecclesiastes 1:9. 45:49 I know it was 1:9, or 9:1, or 5:1, 45:52 or just couldn't get the numbers 45:54 straight in my mind. 45:55 But Solomon says, 45:57 "That which has been is what will be, 46:00 that which is done is what will be done, 46:03 there is nothing new under the sun." 46:05 You know, there is no, it's not new stuff, 46:07 you know, everything that can happen to us 46:12 has happened to somebody else. 46:15 Someone else has had to fight that battle, 46:17 and better than that someone has won that battle 46:20 in Jesus Christ. 46:22 So if you are beset with something, 46:25 you may think nobody knows the trouble I've seen. 46:28 Nobody in the history of humanity 46:30 has ever had to deal with this. 46:33 And we're here to tell you that if you have it, 46:37 somebody else has had it before you, one. 46:40 Somebody else has fought against it before you, two. 46:44 And three, Christ has brought them through. 46:46 So, don't think even when you slip and fall, 46:49 don't think no one's ever been in this position. 46:53 No, there's nothing new, there's no new stuff. 46:55 You know, there are new ways to express stuff. 46:58 You know, in this matter 47:00 I would not want to be a teenager, 47:03 I wouldn't mind having teenage energy, 47:05 but I don't want to be a teenager. 47:08 It is too rough out there. 47:09 There are too many ways to get hurt, 47:11 too many ways to get sick, and too many ways to die. 47:14 There's a lot of stuff out there now 47:16 that can kill you. 47:17 There are things you can take, you can smoke it, drink it, 47:19 take it one time, and your life is gone. 47:23 You can have relations with the wrong person one time 47:27 and forever your life is change. 47:29 You know, it wasn't like that when we were kids. 47:31 You know, there was some room for error, 47:33 there's very little margin for error in life right now. 47:36 This stuff is tough. 47:37 'Cause everything is on your face now. 47:39 Very much so and access... 47:41 Now on, you'd reach very many things. 47:43 Very much so. 47:45 So there's nothing new, but praise God... 47:47 Anything you have, you can come up with, 47:50 Christ has seen it before and He's helped somebody, 47:53 you know, overcome that. 47:55 It's just prayer, and surrender, 47:56 and fighting hard. 47:58 It's not easy. 48:00 There's no place in the Bible that says heaven is easy, 48:02 but every place it says heaven is possible. 48:05 Heaven says, "I will give you all the help you need 48:08 to overcome." 48:10 So you can overcome, 48:11 so don't drop your head in shame, 48:13 even when you fall. 48:14 The righteous fall seven times and gets back up. 48:18 So don't lay there and wallow, get up because as you get up, 48:22 Christ is out to help you get up, 48:24 and to brush you off, and walk with you. 48:25 And the good thing is, ladies and gentlemen, 48:28 He doesn't wash your face with your past. 48:31 You don't serve I told you so God. 48:33 He's there to help you and encourage you, 48:35 not to say, "See, I told you. 48:37 I knew it." You know... 48:38 Right. Right. 48:40 That's like what devil does, he tempts you. 48:43 Then you fall in and then he's like, 48:45 now look at this stuff. 48:46 Right, right. 48:48 And then he comes to you and tells you, 48:51 you're not good enough. 48:52 You can't go to until you're perfect, 48:54 but that's not the case. 48:56 Right, right. 48:57 What's just refreshing for me to know that 48:59 whatever I'm going through 49:01 that there's nothing God hasn't seen or experienced, 49:05 but He got through it. 49:06 And through His strength I can get through it. 49:10 And He's not judging me, you know. 49:13 Jason, I think your point is so well taken. 49:16 One, the devil will entice you to sin, 49:19 then he will lead you into sin, 49:21 then he will expose you for being sinful, 49:25 then he will accuse you. 49:26 You know, so it's... 49:30 That's why you cannot trust yourself or... 49:33 Because spiritual things are spiritually discerned, 49:34 but more than that, you've got to keep surrendering to God 49:37 because you may think it's right 49:39 or that you can dabble in one time 49:41 and get away from it. 49:43 But the devil will take you further 49:44 than you wanted to go, 49:45 and keep you longer than you wanted to stay, 49:47 and then embarrass you in front of everybody, 49:49 and then sit back and laugh. 49:51 That's true. 49:52 And one of the things that's interesting 49:54 is how we hold on to certain things 49:56 or hold on to certain sins. 49:58 I want to share another thing 50:00 that came from a Call to Stand Apart. 50:03 I'm going to have to read this whole book like... 50:05 I started looking stuff up and I was just like, 50:08 "Wow, I want this, I want that, I want..." 50:10 All right, so I'll read, I'll jump into it. 50:13 This comes from page 21, paragraph 2. 50:17 "And love will be revealed in sacrifice. 50:20 The plan of redemption was laid in sacrifice, 50:23 a sacrifice so broad and deep and high 50:26 that it is immeasurable. 50:28 Christ gave all for us, and those who receive Christ 50:31 will be ready to sacrifice all for the sake of their Redeemer. 50:35 The thought of His honor and glory 50:38 will come before anything else." 50:41 Powerful, powerful. 50:43 I mean, 50:44 you know, when you think about the sacrifice 50:46 that Christ made for each and every one of us. 50:52 Why would we want to hold on to this music, or this TV show, 50:58 or this addiction, or whatever the case may be, 51:02 you know, it's... 51:04 Chocolate. 51:13 Everybody got something. Yeah, right. 51:14 Everybody's got some kind of vice. 51:16 Ellen White says, somewhere that, 51:18 you know, when we get to heaven 51:19 and we'll say it was cheap enough, you know. 51:23 There is something else that I don't remember 51:25 but I had read it. 51:27 And Sister White says that when the enemy comes, 51:33 will attack, this is you think 51:36 that there is a mountain coming at you. 51:39 And he says, "No." 51:41 He says, "It's just a simple little thing." 51:44 But we are so weak 51:45 that we immediately are ready to cave in. 51:49 And that to me was powerful because it's true 51:52 when all this stuff... 51:54 In our humanity that the trials come in a mighty way sometimes. 52:01 When we came to 3ABN, Marilyn and myself, we said, 52:05 "Nobody here has had the problems we've had. 52:09 Nobody could possibly..." 52:11 And we came here and saw that there was a lot of people 52:14 who come to the Lord, who have trials, 52:17 and we were stunned 52:18 because we weren't the only ones. 52:21 So we take that to heart 52:22 that sometimes God's children have trials and struggles 52:25 and it's not because He hates us, 52:27 in fact, it's because He loves us. 52:29 Amen. Amen. 52:30 And sometimes we haven't experienced the trials 52:36 so bad until we come here too. 52:38 Right. Yeah. 52:40 You know, that is so true. 52:42 You know, you have a lot of smiling faces around 3ABN, 52:46 but that is a learned response that comes with loving Jesus, 52:52 because those smiling faces 52:54 are not indicative of trial free lives. 52:57 In fact, I think of all the places I've worked 52:59 and I worked in denomination all my life 53:01 since I left college. 53:03 I've not worked a place 53:04 where the devil is more on the assault than here. 53:09 There is very few people getting through scot-free. 53:12 If I got anybody that is totally scot-free, 53:15 it's just how long is your wrap sheet. 53:17 You know, how much do you have that you're standing on 53:22 because nobody gets away. 53:24 We can think of people right now 53:25 who are home sick in bed. 53:26 A lot of people who are having problems. 53:28 I was thinking about the health, 53:29 it's one big item that enemy has 53:35 on people here in 3ABN. 53:37 And that's not even that they're unhealthy people. 53:39 Right. Exactly. 53:41 He's creating situations... Right. 53:43 Right. That's causing them suffer. 53:45 And I think, you know, pain. 53:47 Can I say mess with? 53:49 Pain can mess with your head. 53:51 You know, when you're in pain for a long period of time. 53:53 You know about pain, I certainly know about pain. 53:55 Yeah. 53:57 And the other thing, 53:58 pain can have you doubting stuff. 54:00 You know, do I love the Lord? 54:02 Does the Lord love me? 54:04 Do I have some secret thing I need to... 54:06 You know, it can kind of drive you a little crazy. 54:09 And yet John rather says in... 54:14 I got to get it right. 54:15 1 John 5:13, we got to know that we have salvation. 54:20 And sometime you just got to read... 54:21 Ellen White says you got to just, 54:23 you know, go on what you know, not what you feel. 54:26 Because when you're in pain for a long period of time, 54:28 you don't feel saved, you feel kind of a mess, 54:32 but then you got to go on the word. 54:34 And just, "I know Jesus, Jesus knows me, 54:37 and though I don't feel really Jesusy..." 54:40 Can I use that word, I got a new word, "Jesusy". 54:42 I don't feel Jesusy today, I know He loves me. 54:46 So you just got to lockdown 54:47 and know it mentally even though in your heart 54:50 you don't necessarily feel it at that moment 54:52 because the promise is in Him 54:54 and the power is in Him, not in you. 54:56 Is that White says, 54:58 now it's the time to feed on the word, 55:00 so that when that time of trial comes, 55:02 you have some reserve to fall back on. 55:05 So when times are good, 55:06 if you're not feeding on the word, 55:07 then you're not gonna have strength 55:09 when that trial comes and it's coming. 55:11 Well said. Absolutely. 55:12 And look at how the devil operates 55:13 because when you look at how Christ was tempted, 55:16 he gave Him scripture, 55:17 but he twisted like one small little part. 55:21 And he does that consistently, 55:22 he will give you 99.9 percent truth 55:26 and that point 0.1... 55:28 It's deadly. It's false. 55:31 Yeah. 55:32 Well, question what you know to be true. 55:34 Have the Lord not said, if you eat of this, 55:36 you will surely die. 55:38 Is that what He said? 55:39 Did He really mean that? 55:41 Because you got that, maybe the translation, 55:42 you know, you don't speak that language so good, 55:44 maybe we got the translation got it wrong. 55:46 You speak Spanish, you know, that kind of thing. 55:51 And just that little doubt, a little, 55:53 which is what he did in heaven. 55:54 And your mind begins, "Well, maybe he didn't. 55:56 Maybe I got it wrong. 55:57 Maybe the translation was a little faulty." 55:59 And then you begin to go on that faulty premise 56:01 and before you know it, 56:02 you're in a place where you don't need to be. 56:05 Can I read a text that I know all of you know, 56:08 but it really brings comfort to my heart. 56:11 It's Jeremiah 29:11-13. 56:14 And it says, "For I know the thoughts 56:16 that I think toward you, says the Lord, 56:19 thoughts of peace, and not of evil, 56:21 to give you future and a hope. 56:24 Then you will call upon me, 56:26 and go and pray to me, and I will listen to you, 56:29 and you will seek me, and find me, 56:31 when you search for me with all your heart." 56:33 Amen, amen. 56:35 I think those last words are the most important. 56:37 When you search for a God, you will find Him. 56:43 You know, we always say, "I found the Lord," 56:46 like He was lost. 56:49 We were lost, you know, 56:51 so He's there waiting for you to return to Him 56:53 because like I said with Peter, 56:54 even though your eyes may not see Him, He sees you. 56:58 He knows where you are, He's waiting for you to call. 57:00 And He will activate that GPS system 57:03 that you have in your soul, 57:04 and you will track towards Him, if you love Him. 57:07 And if you want to find Him, He's right there to be found, 57:11 He is only a prayer away. Amen. 57:14 And He will call upon you. 57:16 And if you call upon Him, He will hear you, 57:19 and He will answer you. 57:20 Marilyn and Eric, thank you so very much. 57:22 Jason, thank you so very much. 57:24 Boo, thank you, my love. 57:25 You're welcome. Praise the Lord. 57:26 God bless. We'll see you again soon. |
Revised 2017-07-24