Participants: John and Angela Lomacang (Host), Gary Will, Jason Bradley, Marlena Gentry
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW017031A
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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 01:07 Hello, and welcome to Friday night Family Worship. 01:11 Honey... Yeah. 01:12 Happy Sabbath, I hope you're having a great evening. 01:15 That's right. Hope you had a great week also. 01:18 And we thank you for taking the time to tune in 01:19 and join us in a very... 01:21 You know, we're smiling, but the topic is about trials. 01:27 I don't think there's anybody watching this program 01:29 unless you are born today 01:31 that did not or do not have trials. 01:35 And so we want to invite you to spend the next hour with us, 01:38 we have a wonderful panel with us, 01:40 our church family, our 3ABN family. 01:43 And we're going to talk about something that everyone doesn't 01:45 want to have, but everyone does have. 01:49 And, honey, I tell you when we started putting this, 01:51 matter of fact, you suggested the topic. 01:53 Yeah, because I said to you, everyone go through trials, 01:57 everyone, those of you, who watching, listening, 02:00 you've gone through your trials 02:02 or you are going through a trial right now, 02:05 a major trial in your life. 02:07 And so I think this topic 02:09 is going to be right on target for you, 02:12 so we're ready and so is all of our team here. 02:16 And we are not necessarily ready for trials 02:19 but because of the Jesus, 02:21 we're going to talk about that too 02:22 because we have a great panel with us 02:26 just before our prayer 02:27 because we're not going to sing today, 02:28 we want this time. 02:30 Yeah, we need the time. 02:31 To talk about the difficulties that people are facing today. 02:33 And I'm just going to quickly introduce everybody. 02:35 Sure. 02:36 Jason Bradley to my far right Associate Director of... 02:39 Dare to Dream Network. Dare to Dream Network. 02:41 Wonderful. And Will, Gary Will. 02:45 Gary does so many things, but your major function is? 02:48 Video editing here in 3ABN. 02:50 And he does a very good job. 02:51 For those of you are computer geeks, 02:53 he has a hackintosh, 02:55 which is a Mac that's been hacked. 02:58 And my lovely wife Angela, right next to me, 03:02 we have gone through trials together, 03:04 some of our own making, some of my own making. 03:06 But Lord, thank you... 03:07 But God is good. But God is good. 03:08 Yes. 03:10 And, Marlena, good to have you here today. 03:12 Good to be here. 03:13 And, Marlena, do you know anything about trials? 03:15 Oh, do I? Yes, I do. 03:16 Okay. 03:17 She's a member of the church in Thompsonville. 03:21 Yes. Yeah. 03:22 And you've been with us for a number of years. 03:24 She came out of the Sunday movement 03:26 and now her and her girls are part of our fellowship 03:29 and we're so happy 03:31 and blessed to have them here with us. 03:32 That's right. 03:33 And every one of them... 03:35 Everyone on this table knows about a trial, 03:37 knows about several trials. 03:39 And we're not going to talk about our trials 03:41 but what our trials have done for us. 03:43 And what God promises to do for us 03:45 because of the trials that come our way. 03:47 But, honey, would you have a prayer for us. 03:49 Sure. Let's bow heads. 03:51 Our loving, Heavenly Father, 03:52 we bow before you tonight and first and foremost, 03:56 we give you the praise, the honor, 03:57 and the glory which you alone deserve. 04:00 Lord, you have mighty to save. 04:02 And, Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus, 04:05 and we thank you for this opportunity 04:07 to share with those 04:09 that are watching and listening around the world. 04:13 Many of us are going through deep dark trials, 04:16 but, Lord, you are the one that can lift us out of it, 04:19 help us to look to you 04:21 for there is no other to look to. 04:24 So, Lord, we thank you 04:25 and we bless your holy name in Jesus' name. 04:29 Amen. Amen. 04:31 Now what we do for those of you 04:32 who don't know what we have in front of us, 04:33 I often put together an outline. 04:37 The outline is just 04:38 for the purpose of stimulating thought 04:40 but in the construction of the outline, 04:44 the Lord has given me the scriptures 04:46 to put in there that particularly... 04:49 So when we talk about trials, bit of a tribulation, trials, 04:53 suffering, hardship, difficulty, 04:55 and there are so many stories in the Bible, 04:57 Gary was sharing one with me and a couple of them 04:59 before the program began 05:01 and we'll all be able to share from the Bible 05:03 and spread the prophecy in God's Word 05:06 hopefully today this program, 05:08 something that will help you through, 05:10 what you're going through, or give you encouragement 05:12 as you're coming out of what you're going through, 05:15 or encourage you as you're all in your way in 05:18 to a trial, you never know what they are. 05:20 But let's just begin with one I think that... 05:22 Go ahead, honey. What about this through? 05:23 You always say going through. Wow. 05:25 Give that illustration. 05:27 You know, a pastor had a lady come to his office, 05:29 and she said, "Pastor, 05:30 we are going through difficulty in our family." 05:32 He said, "Amen, sister." 05:34 She said, "We are going through hardship." 05:36 He said, "Amen." 05:37 "We are going through trials." He said, "Amen." 05:39 And she said, "Why are you rejoicing?" 05:41 And he said, "Sister, just keep going through it. 05:43 Don't stop. 05:45 Just keep going through it." 05:47 And that's what we want to encourage you to do, 05:49 going through trials. 05:51 As Pastor CA said, "If you haven't had one, 05:53 wait, it's on the way." 05:54 Everyone has it on the way. But everyone has had a trial. 05:57 The one light side of the trials, 05:59 you know, people... 06:00 Somebody I read a poem once, it's actually a little saying, 06:03 and somebody said, "Well, trials are not bad 06:05 because there's always a light at the end of the tunnel." 06:07 And somebody responded, 06:09 "Make sure that the light at the end of the tunnel 06:11 is not a train." 06:15 That's correct. 06:17 That's when you're really in the trial, 06:19 you just can't see anything positive about it. 06:20 Yeah, yeah. You only wish it's not a train. 06:23 Don't be so pessimistic. 06:26 Exactly. 06:27 But I want us all to begin with this first scripture 06:29 because this question that I have catapulted us into 06:31 is in John 16:33, 06:34 and it's on each one of our syllabus, 06:36 and I want to just begin with this question, 06:38 what is the reality about trial? 06:42 So let's read this first scripture together 06:44 and then we could catapult right into our topic. 06:46 What is the reality about trials? 06:48 John 16:33, the Bible says together, 06:51 "These things I have spoken to you, 06:55 that in me you may have peace in the world, 06:59 you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, 07:03 I have overcome the world." 07:05 The highlight of this is, 07:07 "In the world you will have tribulation," you will. 07:11 Who would like to start out? You will have tribulation. 07:14 Jason, since you're the young guy in our group, 07:16 let's talk about your trial. 07:17 He's single. I received that. 07:19 Okay. 07:21 So I mean, trials are going to come, 07:23 you know, sometimes trials 07:26 are meant to refine our character. 07:28 They're meant to... 07:30 How we react in a trial says a lot about us, 07:33 you know, do we lean on God 07:35 or do we try and lean on our own understanding, 07:38 who do we turn to in those trials, 07:40 how do we respond to those trials. 07:44 Like you were saying earlier, 07:45 there's a blessing at the end of the tunnel, 07:48 you know, we go through certain things 07:52 and we should learn from them, 07:54 there should be a lesson that is learnt. 07:57 We wouldn't have a testimony without the test. 07:59 And I've experienced several trials in my life, 08:03 but when we look at the life of Christ, 08:06 He was perfect, and He went through trials. 08:09 Yeah. 08:11 So I mean, just when you become a Christian, 08:14 you know, sometimes people think, 08:15 "Oh, if I just become a Christian, 08:18 everything is going to be perfect, 08:20 I'm not going to have to deal with anything." 08:22 That's not true. 08:24 The devil is coming after you that much more, you know. 08:27 When we look at the life of Christ, 08:29 he came after Christ that much more 08:31 because he knew what was at stake 08:32 and that his time is short. 08:34 That's right. 08:35 So in my hearing, you say that trials come sometimes 08:37 because you're with Christ? 08:39 Oh, yeah. Okay, all right. 08:42 Anyone else? 08:44 I believe the trials come specifically 08:46 because we are with Christ, 08:49 you know, Satan doesn't seem to go 08:52 after those he already has, 08:54 he goes after those 08:56 who are seeking to escape his grasp. 08:59 And I was think about the illustration of Satan 09:02 going about as a roaring lion, 09:04 if you see any nature films with how vicious lions are, 09:07 sometimes we want to kind of keep ourselves 09:09 from that scene of the viciousness of the lion 09:11 but when you watch the lion go after its pray, 09:14 it's vicious. 09:15 I mean, he hangs on, the lion hangs on 09:17 until he brings his prey down and after, 09:19 the others will join in, you know. 09:20 And that's how Satan is with us, 09:23 he comes after us as a roaring lion. 09:26 Well said. 09:27 Well, now always in that nature scene in my mind 09:29 because sometimes lions attack you in packs. 09:31 Oh, yeah. 09:32 And it could be a buffalo, it could be some large beast, 09:35 and the grab on the back 09:37 and the claw in and just hold on, 09:40 that beast is writhing and shaking 09:43 and they're just holding on 09:45 because they want to bring it down. 09:46 Exactly. 09:48 And if they could bring you down 09:49 then you are the pray, 09:50 you're the meal for the evening. 09:52 But then the Lord, wow. 09:55 He would love that... 09:56 The Satan, he being Satan would love to destroy us 09:59 in our sins, you know, 10:01 he wants to take us out while we're in our sins. 10:04 Yes. 10:05 And I have experienced some of that myself 10:09 when my appendix ruptured inside of me 10:11 and I was misdiagnosed. 10:13 And at that point of time, I wasn't in church, 10:16 you know, I did whatever I wanted to do, 10:18 and I was outside of... 10:23 I was outside of church basically. 10:25 I was outside of that protection. 10:28 But God still had his hand over me 10:30 because he didn't allow the devil 10:32 to take me out at that time and now I'm back in church, 10:36 I'm actually a deacon at the church. 10:38 That's right. 10:39 Wow, wow. That's quite a lot of journey. 10:41 But God is good. 10:43 So did your trial bring you closer to Christ? 10:46 At that particular time, it was one of those things 10:49 where it was a moment where I was like, 10:51 "Well, God, if you get me out of this, 10:53 I'll change, I'll do something different." 10:55 You know, as often times, when people go through trials, 11:01 they end up making, sometimes, false promises or saying that, 11:05 you know, "God, if you deliver me 11:06 from this I'll do X, Y, and Z." 11:09 Well, God delivered me from that 11:11 and then about I'd say about six weeks, 11:14 five to six weeks later, 11:17 I ended up getting arrested for a drug charge. 11:21 And so it was, you know, that got my attention. 11:25 And I mean, even through that trial 11:28 like the Lord delivered me from that. 11:30 I ended up spending one night in jail. 11:32 I got bailed out the next day. 11:34 And that was the last I ever touched drugs. 11:37 And I still didn't give my heart to the Lord 11:39 at that very moment. 11:41 But I ended up making like a behavioral modification, 11:46 you know, I kind of switch my drug of choice 11:48 to alcohol to after my probation and stuff 11:51 and I was managing a sports bar. 11:54 But I knew being raised in the church 11:57 that I needed a genuine transformation. 12:01 And I knew that only Christ could provide that. 12:03 You see, I had a hole in my heart, 12:05 there was an emptiness, 12:06 a void that only Christ could fill. 12:08 And so as I was walking, 12:10 I was working like 60, 70 hours a week. 12:15 And I remember being invited to 3ABN out here 12:18 to the Day of Prayer 12:20 where, you know, we all come together 12:21 and talk about what's going on in the ministry, 12:24 what's to come, and what happened already. 12:27 And I remember Danny Shelton saying that 12:31 if you leave this place 12:33 and you can't get it out of your mind 12:34 and then this is where God would have you to be. 12:36 And I went home to Atlanta, Georgia 12:39 and I was working my 70-hour a week job, busy, you know, 12:43 and I was thinking, I don't know that's like... 12:46 I'm from the city New York, Dallas, Atlanta 12:49 like these are cities 12:51 and then we're not in the city right now. 12:53 No. 12:55 So I went back there 12:56 and I was just thinking 3ABN, 3ABN, 3ABN 12:59 and instead of fighting God, I surrendered my life to Him 13:03 and moved out here and it was the best decision 13:05 I've ever made, I'm going on four years. 13:07 Amen. Amen. 13:08 So that's a tremendous blessing. 13:10 Praise God. 13:11 So in this, well, you will have tribulation. 13:13 Yeah. 13:14 And just to piggyback on that, 13:16 you know, I think we were sharing earlier 13:18 before we got started was that some of our trials 13:21 are self-inflicted. 13:23 You know, I was reading a scripture 13:25 and it's found in James 1:12 and says, 13:30 "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation 13:33 for when he is tried, 13:34 he shall receive the crown of life, 13:36 which the Lord has promised to them 13:38 that love him. 13:39 Let no man say when he is tempted, 13:42 I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil, 13:46 neither tempteth he any man. 13:48 But every man is tempted, 13:50 when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 13:53 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, 13:58 when it is finished, bringeth forth death." 14:01 So sometimes, when we are going through life 14:04 and Christ is trying to guide us, 14:06 you know, the way to go, 14:07 you know, we reject that, we don't listen to Him, 14:10 you know, and it leads us down a path 14:12 that is very devastating. 14:14 And but we can't say that, 14:15 "Okay, God, this is your fault." 14:18 No, you were tempted 14:20 and you gave in to that temptation. 14:22 You know, and that's I think a lot of my experience 14:25 was not heeding God's call, God's instruction in my life. 14:30 And so that led me down a bad road of bad choices 14:33 which brought about trials. 14:36 But through God's grace He saw me through. 14:38 Okay. Well said. 14:40 Go ahead. Where is that verse? 14:42 I'm looking for it and I think it's in 1 Corinthians. 14:45 Well, it talks about where there is temptation 14:47 God provides a way of escape. 14:49 1 Corinthians 10:13. 14:51 10:13, yes. 14:53 Where there is temptation, there is always a way of escape 14:56 and He never places, he being God, 14:59 never places anything on us that is more than we can bear. 15:04 There's always a way of escape. Absolutely. 15:07 And the easiest way is to not put yourself 15:09 in the position to be tempted in the first place. 15:11 That's right. 15:13 You know, if you don't... 15:14 You're not going to have a flame and they say, 15:18 "Oh, I wonder if I cannot get burned." 15:21 And you just stick your hand 15:24 in the flame like you're flirting, 15:25 you're playing with danger. 15:26 That's right. 15:28 You know, you don't put yourself on the Devil's ground. 15:29 That's right. And it leads to death. 15:31 Absolutely because in John, I think it's John 10:10 says, 15:34 "The thief cometh not, 15:36 but to steal, kill, and destroy." 15:38 So if you put yourself in his path, 15:40 if you are on his playground, he's going try to take you out. 15:45 And if it's not for God's grace, 15:47 he will succeed. 15:48 Yeah. 15:50 So, you know, we have to remember 15:51 that we do have an enemy, 15:53 we have an enemy that wants to take us out 15:55 before we have a chance to see the kingdom. 15:57 As a roaring lion as Gary pointed out. 16:00 There's a quote, it says, 16:02 "Never is one received into the family of God 16:04 without exciting the determined resistance of the enemy 16:07 but he who was the hope of Israel, 16:10 then their defense, their justification, 16:13 and redemption is the hope of the church today." 16:17 So there is always a struggle, 16:18 you know, Satan is not going to let you go without a fight, 16:21 I mean, he's excited to up to the challenge, 16:24 we're no match for that challenge. 16:26 That's why we need the Savior 16:28 to go through the trial with us. 16:30 That's right. 16:32 Let's pull together and some of the things 16:34 we talked about here. 16:36 First thing we pointed out 16:37 and I think some of the examples 16:39 you brought out was sometimes, 16:40 trials are not just what come to us 16:42 but sometimes trials is what we create. 16:43 Absolutely. 16:44 You know, and in our lives, I know of my life, 16:47 I know in all of our lives, sometimes... 16:49 A good friend of mine, 16:51 he's now the President of the Pacific Union, 16:53 Pastor Ricardo Graham, he said, 16:56 "The devil's going to throw stones at you 16:58 but don't give him any." 16:59 And sometimes those lessons are learned in a hard way. 17:03 Sometimes, you say, "I remember that cliché." 17:05 But then it's a different story 17:07 when you're on the train tracks, 17:09 and you recognize, 17:11 "I can't get off these tracks quickly 17:12 enough to dodge the train that's coming at me." 17:15 And but you see, that in it all, 17:18 and I like what you pointed out, 17:20 that the Lord doesn't allow... 17:22 And I think we talked about this, 17:23 I'll just go ahead and introduce this here. 17:26 The trial comes and Satan has an aim for the trial. 17:33 Yes. 17:34 But in the Lord's mercy, 17:35 he doesn't allow the enemy to accomplish 17:39 what he intends to accomplish. 17:41 That's right. 17:42 So like the roaring lion, this grabbing and pulling down, 17:45 he doesn't allow the enemy to accomplish to bringing down. 17:49 We might get a scar, we might get a bite, 17:52 but he does not allow the enemy to devour. 17:54 Well, like the three Hebrew worthies, 17:56 God did not start the fire 17:58 but he went into the fire with them. 17:59 That's right. 18:01 Satan started the fire. 18:04 Very good point. He started the fire. 18:06 So when these fires come, there's a quotation, 18:08 I think you were about to share with us 18:10 so you open this up in front of you here. 18:11 Yeah, this is from Acts of the Apostles 18:13 page 524, Paragraph 2, it's about trials, 18:17 "Trial is part of the education given in the school of Christ." 18:22 It's like wow, it is a part of our education, isn't it? 18:25 "To purify God's children from the dross of earthliness, 18:30 it is because God is leading His children 18:33 that try and experiences come to them, 18:37 trials an obstacle are His chosen method of discipline 18:42 and His appointed conditions of success. 18:46 He who reads the hearts of men knows their weaknesses 18:50 better than they themselves can know them. 18:54 He sees that some have qualifications 18:57 which if rightly directed could be used 19:01 in the advancement of His work." 19:04 And this is where it ends "In his providence, 19:07 he brings these souls into different positions 19:11 and varied circumstances 19:13 that they may discover the defects 19:16 that are concealed from their own knowledge. 19:21 He gives them opportunity to overcome these defects 19:25 and to fit themselves for service, 19:29 often he permits the fires of affliction to burn 19:33 that they may be purified." 19:35 Wow. 19:36 That's a lot... 19:38 Gold. 19:39 Gold, yeah, tried in the fire, right? 19:40 Gold, tried in the fire. 19:42 When you go back to the example of the Hebrews, 19:44 the only thing that burnt was the ropes that bound them, 19:48 ain't that good news? 19:50 So when the double binds us, 19:51 the only thing the Lord allows to burn 19:52 because of us being His servants are the ropes. 19:55 And the ropes were his design to bind, 19:58 the Lord burnt the ropes, 20:00 but it did not burn the Hebrews. 20:03 Look at 2 Peter... 20:05 Sorry, 1 Peter 4:12-13, 20:08 how does the Bible reveal the truth? 20:11 How does the Bible reveal the trials are not unique? 20:16 Do you have that one, Jason, you want to read that for us? 20:17 Sure. 20:19 "Beloved, do not think it's strange 20:21 concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though 20:24 some strange thing happened to you, 20:26 but rejoice to the extent 20:27 that you partake of Christ's sufferings 20:30 that when His glory is revealed 20:31 you may also be glad with exceeding joy." 20:35 I think one of the reasons why we're going to be glad is 20:37 because trails are finally over. 20:38 Yes. 20:39 Now, I'll be honest with you. 20:41 I have not gotten to the place 20:42 where I rejoice when trials come. 20:45 No. 20:46 When do we rejoice? When it's over. 20:50 It's done and over. 20:51 We'll be like, "Yes! 20:53 Thank you, Jesus. 20:55 Thank you, Jesus, for seeing me through it." 20:57 But not in it. You don't rejoice in it. 20:59 I don't think that Lord is being cynical here. 21:01 No. No. 21:02 But we rejoice after it's gone 21:06 because then we see that yields... 21:08 Oh, I'm going to find the text in a moment. 21:10 But yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness. 21:13 You know, the discouraging for the moment is not joyful, 21:18 but it develops in us 21:20 the peaceable fruit of righteousness. 21:22 And if we want our gold, 21:24 we wouldn't be tried in the fire. 21:26 But notice, it didn't just say trials, 21:28 what kind of trials? 21:30 What kind of trials? The fiery trial. 21:33 Okay, now think about that. 21:36 What do we need... 21:38 I'm kind of giving the answer here, 21:40 the armor of God, the whole armor of God, 21:42 what quenches the fiery darts of the wicked? 21:45 The shield. The shield, that's your faith. 21:47 Your faith. Okay. 21:49 Okay. 21:51 So why do we need the shield of faith? 21:55 Well, without faith, it's impossible to please God. 21:57 Okay. 21:58 And so we need the shield of faith to do what? 22:00 Protect us. 22:02 To protect us. So why faith though? 22:05 What is faith? 22:07 Substance... 22:09 Evidence of things not seen. Evidence of things not seen. 22:11 Okay, so what do we not see when we are in trials? 22:14 The end. 22:17 We don't see the way through at the moment in time. 22:20 But if we have faith that the one who is with us 22:23 will lead us through. 22:24 Okay. And what else? 22:26 What else don't we see? 22:28 I say we don't see the end sometimes you don't see Jesus 22:32 when you're in it. 22:34 Some people don't see the Lord 22:35 when you're going through the trial, 22:37 it's like, you feel like you're going through it alone 22:39 but you're really not, He's with you. 22:42 Sometimes you can't see... 22:43 Sometimes it's hard to see expression 22:46 depending on how your trial comes at you, 22:48 who's bringing that trial. 22:51 Well, at times, we look at people 22:54 or we look at things or circumstances 22:56 but we have to remember that it's our enemy Satan 23:00 who is coming at us. 23:01 With that on mind, against flesh and blood 23:03 but principalities and... 23:07 Finish that up for me. 23:09 "Against power, against the rulers 23:10 of the darkness of this world 23:12 and spiritual wickedness in high places." 23:15 Even the disciples who knew Jesus, 23:16 when they were in trials when they were on the lake 23:19 and the waters begin to get rough, 23:21 and Jesus came out to them on the water, 23:23 they thought they you saw a ghost. 23:25 Yeah. 23:26 The very one that they were with just a few hours earlier, 23:28 they couldn't recognize him in the middle of the trials. 23:31 And so but what it says here 23:33 and this is the thing that kind of comes to me, 23:35 "We don't rejoice about the trials 23:37 but about what it develop in us." 23:39 So now let me throw a question out. 23:41 Have you found yourself stronger or weaker 23:44 because of trials? 23:46 Let's just kind of put that out. 23:47 Stronger. Stronger, always stronger. 23:49 Okay, like how? 23:50 Well, in my, you know, in my own life, 23:54 you know, a lot of times when you go through things, 23:56 you're going to do one of two things, 23:58 you're going to either draw closer to God 23:59 or you got to go further away from that. 24:02 And what I've learned or trying to learn to do 24:05 is to spend a lot of time in prayer 24:07 and talking to God, you know, 24:09 and that gets those scriptures in your hearts says 24:12 "Thy word if I hid in my heart 24:14 that I might not sin against thee." 24:16 So it's hiding those scriptures in your heart 24:17 and just remembering even in this God is with me 24:20 and knowing that God is faithful, 24:22 but you don't know that 24:23 if you are spending that time with him 24:25 and allowing him to comfort you and strengthen you. 24:28 So just really taking... 24:30 It's helped me develop 24:32 my prayer life, my relationship, 24:35 you know, my communion time with Him. 24:37 You said it the prayer life, 24:38 that when I'm going through my trials, 24:41 pray, pray and pray. 24:43 You cannot pray enough. 24:45 it's like, "Oh, I had prayed enough." 24:46 No. 24:47 Keep talking to God, and listen to him, 24:49 he'll answer you. 24:50 Now he'll talk to you. 24:52 He'll give you answers. 24:53 He's our burden bearer, you know, cast your... 24:56 If you care on Him, 24:57 He's saying that, His yoke is easy, 25:00 His burden is light and sometimes, 25:02 we're taking on that yoke, 25:04 that burden on us instead of giving it to Him. 25:07 And so prayer is huge 25:10 when you're going through a trial. 25:11 Trail makes God more real to us. 25:14 Yes. 25:16 How would you know that He exists unless you 25:18 had to depend on Him? 25:20 And if we don't have the experience 25:22 to depend on Him, 25:23 then our faith will never grow. 25:26 That's right. Okay. 25:28 When everything is perfect, 25:30 sometimes you can almost think 25:31 that you're doing something right. 25:33 Oh, yeah. 25:34 You know, it's almost like a self-reliance thing 25:36 which is a very dangerous area to be in. 25:39 And, you know, those trials, it's like exercising, you know. 25:42 When you're working out, you're building your muscles, 25:46 your muscles are actually being... 25:47 they're tearing down to rebuild stronger. 25:50 So by the dependence on God 25:53 during those trials like with faith, 25:55 I like to think of it as being able to tolerate 25:57 uncertainty while trusting in God. 25:59 You know, trusting 26:00 that He has your best interest at heart and trusting 26:02 that He is going to deliver you from that trial and see you 26:07 through and has something way better for you. 26:10 When you look at the story of Joseph, 26:12 you know, Joseph was sold into captivity 26:14 to slavery by his brothers, 26:16 you know, ended up in jail and everything else, 26:20 and then he ended up second in command. 26:22 That's right. 26:24 You know. From pits to palaces. 26:26 Yes. And you look at Job. 26:28 I mean, here's a man 26:29 who was great in God's eyes, you know. 26:33 And he went through trial 26:35 after trial after trial after trial after trial, 26:38 God would only allow the devil to go but so far. 26:40 That's right. 26:42 You can't have his life, you know. 26:43 He would only let him go but so far. 26:45 And at the end of that, God blessed him with like, 26:49 what was it? 26:50 Double of everything, more than what he had before. 26:54 I mean, so the trial, in the midst of it, 26:59 it might break you down a little bit. 27:00 Yeah. 27:02 But if you place your trust in the Lord, 27:04 if you continue to seek Him in the midst of the trial, 27:08 you will come out so much stronger. 27:10 And after my trials, I've come out so much stronger, 27:14 you know, because I can reflect and retrospect. 27:16 I'm looking at how God's hand was on my life 27:18 the whole way through even when I was doing wrong. 27:21 I see the things that He protected me from. 27:23 That's right. 27:25 And that just makes me love Him 27:26 and appreciate Him that much more. 27:28 To him that much is forgiven... 27:33 Much is required. Yeah. 27:35 And He also loves... 27:37 Almost specifically to Him, 27:38 "Who's forgiven much, loveth much." 27:40 Loveth much, yes, there we go. 27:42 Yes. 27:43 I mean, that's why I'm so passionate 27:44 about sharing Christ with so many other people 27:47 because I don't deserve any of the stuff 27:49 that He has blessed me with, period. 27:51 Yeah, we don't, none of us do. 27:52 What I'm hearing when you say I want go... 27:54 because what you just mentioned here, 27:56 we could all understand this. 27:57 Trails sometimes break you down 27:59 but if you're using the muscle building example, 28:01 you've got to break the muscle down 28:02 to build it up. 28:04 That's right. 28:05 So sometimes the Lord says to us, 28:06 "You're not studying your Bible as you should." 28:08 Yeah. "You need the trail." 28:10 And the Devil has a conversation with Him, 28:12 he says, "And think about this. 28:13 Does he serve you for nothing?" 28:16 Didn't he say that about Job? Yeah. 28:18 "I bet you if you let me touch him, 28:19 he will curse you to your face and die" God says, 28:24 "All right, do everything but take his life." 28:28 And that's a scary prospect. It is. 28:30 Because, you know, that means, 28:32 take him within the inch of his life 28:36 but you can't take his life. 28:37 Yes. Mercy. 28:38 And trials sometimes can take you 28:40 within the inch of your life. 28:41 Oh, yes. Emotionally, spiritually. 28:43 But then... 28:45 Physically. Physically. 28:46 Your health. Your health. 28:47 It could break you down 28:49 but then when you come through it, 28:51 the next verse kind of... 28:53 the next verse, James 1:2-4, 28:55 I ask my wife to read out what's here, 28:57 it's in our syllabus. 28:58 The next verse in James, when you come through it, 29:01 this verse kind of makes a difference here. 29:03 "My brethren, count it all joy 29:06 when you fall into various trials, 29:09 knowing that the testing of your faith 29:11 produces patience. 29:13 But let patience have its perfect work, 29:18 that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing." 29:22 So, is it possible then that the Lord could say to us, 29:25 "You're lacking something, you need... 29:28 Okay, okay, go ahead and put him in the furnace. 29:32 Go ahead and put him in the lions den. 29:34 Go ahead and get on the lake, 29:36 I'm not going with you 29:37 'cause you're gonna need me in a little bit." 29:39 It could be that sometimes in our walk with God, 29:40 we're lacking something... 29:42 Absolutely. 29:43 But when you go through the trials, 29:45 I love that it says, 29:46 "And the testing of your faith produces patience." 29:48 When patience work, what happens? 29:52 You come out perfect and complete lacking what? 29:54 Nothing. Wow. 29:57 So basically, trails are there to show us 30:00 sometimes what's in us, you know. 30:03 Say it again. 30:04 Trials come about 30:05 so that we can see what's in us. 30:08 Be it impatience, be it selfishness, be it, 30:11 you know, animosity, bitterness, 30:15 it tends to bring up all that stuff 30:19 that's down in us that we thought we'd... 30:22 that we thought we had gotten rid of. 30:24 Because it's easy to be right when things are right. 30:26 Yeah. Absolutely. 30:28 So like when you take a look at... 30:30 here's a practical example for you. 30:32 When you take a look at a business, 30:35 everybody's friendly, smiling, everything's going well, 30:38 you know, you really see customer service 30:42 when things are going wrong. 30:45 How well a company performs when things are going wrong. 30:47 When they've wronged an individual, 30:49 how do they make that right? 30:50 What types of things come out in that situation 30:54 or when you're driving? 30:55 I think Pastor Bradshaw said... 30:57 Or in the restaurant. 30:58 Oh, yeah, restaurant, people and food 30:59 Yeah. 31:01 But when I think Pastor Bradshaw said 31:03 this at camp meeting. 31:04 He was talking about when you're driving 31:05 and somebody cut you off, how do you respond to that? 31:08 Absolutely. Yeah. 31:09 I need some prayer... 31:12 because I get frustrate. 31:15 But, I mean, you know, 31:17 those are the times where you see, 31:19 I mean, your need for Christ. 31:21 Yeah. 31:23 I like what you're saying, Marlena. 31:24 Trials, and I want to say this, trials, 31:27 while they to some degree develop in us, 31:31 they reveal who we are. 31:33 Yes. Yeah. 31:34 That's the first thing, before they develop anything, 31:37 they reveal who we are. 31:38 Absolutely. 31:39 And then when we find out who we are, 31:42 then we see our need and then the Lord... 31:45 Go to God. Say it again, honey. 31:47 Oh, wretched man that I am, 31:48 who shall deliver me, oh, woman. 31:50 Yeah. 31:51 And then you can go to God in prayer 31:52 and then study of your scriptures and say, 31:54 "Okay, Lord, you show me this, this is in me. 31:57 And I need you to help me with this. 31:59 I need you to help me to get rid of this. 32:01 I need you to take this and I need you to make me 32:03 that new creature that you desire me to be." 32:05 Yes. 32:06 Because a lot of times people could just get upset with God 32:07 and say, "You know, 32:09 you didn't have to show me that about me." 32:11 And some people turn their backs on God. 32:12 Yes. Yeah. Yeah. 32:14 Because they don't want to see who they are. 32:16 The sad reality of it is the Lord allows these trials 32:19 so that the dross, all the dirt, 32:21 all the junk that's in the gold could be melted out. 32:23 Yes. 32:25 And so He wouldn't put us in a fire, 32:26 He wouldn't even let us go through fiery trial 32:28 if He didn't see us as gold. 32:30 That's right. 32:31 But He puts us in, 32:33 He allows us to go through these 32:34 so that His glory might be revealed. 32:36 You want to say something, Gary, 32:37 before we go to the next 32:38 because I see you percolating right here. 32:40 Well, I was... 32:42 The Lord gave me preparation for this study, 32:44 the illustration of Joshua and the high priest 32:50 being accused by Satan. 32:52 And I think, you know, 32:53 if people watching this could go find the book 32:56 'Prophets and Kings' 32:57 and look at the chapter Joshua and the angel. 33:00 It's... 33:02 I feel like it goes hand in hand 33:04 because Satan is accusing us of the wrongs to discourage us 33:09 and then condemn us before God. 33:11 And that has to do with the trials 33:12 we're experiencing on this earth. 33:14 As we're going through these trials, 33:16 Satan is accusing us 33:17 as we may fall during the trials. 33:20 But what's interesting is that Satan knows 33:22 that those who ask God 33:23 for pardon and grace will obtain it. 33:25 Therefore, he presents their sins 33:27 before them to discourage them 33:29 against those who are trying to obey God, 33:31 he constantly seeking occasions for complaint 33:34 even their best and most acceptable service 33:36 he seeks to make a pure corrupt by countless devices, 33:39 the most subtle and the most cruel 33:41 he endeavors to secure their condemnation. 33:43 So Satan is constantly accusing, 33:44 he's accuser of brethren. 33:46 So these trials 33:47 that we're experiencing are like, 33:48 we've been talking about, 33:50 they reveal the character that God is building in us. 33:53 And Satan wants to make us fall in those moments of trial 33:57 because then he can accuse. 33:58 But the beautiful thing is God has promised that pardon 34:04 when we fall in the temptation and trials and restoration. 34:09 Amen. Amen. 34:11 And the point you brought out here 34:12 is Satan doesn't like the restoration. 34:14 No. No. 34:15 He does not want the character of Christ to reveal in us. 34:18 He hates Christ and he hates that character. 34:21 And he wants to obliterate that from us, 34:23 that's why the world is so messed up today. 34:25 Wow. Accuser of all brethren. 34:28 I had you read the last one, I want to have... 34:31 Marlena, read... 34:32 it's in our text number four. 34:35 What are some 34:36 of the good results of tribulations? 34:37 Romans 5:3-4. 34:39 It says that, "And not only that, 34:40 but we also glory in tribulations, 34:43 knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, 34:47 and perseverance, character, and character, hope." 34:50 Wow. See the end result of it? 34:52 Tribulation produces patience, 34:54 tribulation produces perseverance. 34:56 What's perseverance? 34:58 Stick to it. Stick to it. 35:00 Don't give up, Don't give up. 35:02 I know what the devil's saying, I know you hear, 35:04 curse God and die, just... 35:07 He throws your sins at you. 35:08 Walk away from it, 35:10 Ain't worthy of me being around, people are... 35:12 You know, persevere, you've got to go through that, 35:14 there's that the guy 35:15 that's hanging on the edge of the cliff 35:17 by just a few fingers and he looks below and said... 35:20 and the devil says, 35:22 "How simple it is, do not struggle, 35:23 just let go." 35:25 But Galatians 6:9 says this, 35:27 "And let us not be weary in well doing 35:29 but in due season, we shall reap if we faint not." 35:33 That's right, if you don't give in. 35:34 Yeah. 35:36 And then at the end of it, perseverance, 35:37 character and character, hope. 35:39 So when you see that through this, 35:41 your character gets developed. 35:43 You start feeling, 35:44 "Wow, if it had not been for that trail." 35:47 Right. Yeah, yeah. 35:48 Yeah. That's made you stronger. 35:50 Yeah. It burns away all the dust. 35:53 Absolutely. It burns away all the dust. 35:55 Wow, this is a topic that needs two hours. 35:57 And it's because He loves us, 35:59 it's because He wants to take us home 36:01 that He allows these things, 36:03 you know, to refine us because He wants us ready. 36:06 He wants... 36:07 when He comes, He wants to see Him in us. 36:10 That's right. 36:12 And so it's because He loves us that we go through... 36:15 He allows us to go through these things. 36:17 Through much tribulation, we will enter the kingdom. 36:20 And didn't Jesus go through trial for us? 36:22 He says, "I've written you on the palms of my hands." 36:25 He went through the ultimate trial for us. 36:26 He did. Absolutely. 36:28 And that's how much He loves us. 36:29 Wow. 36:30 The green tree as the Bible says. 36:32 Talk about that. Oh, you talk about it. 36:34 The green tree, He's the green tree, right? 36:36 He's ripe. 36:37 And Jesus said, 36:39 if they do these things to a green tree... 36:40 Absolutely. 36:42 That's a tree that's producing fruit. 36:43 What would they do to a tree that's not producing fruit? 36:45 Have mercy. 36:47 If they do this to me, 36:48 and I haven't done anything wrong, 36:50 don't complain when they do something to you 36:52 because you are nothing but a sinner. 36:55 So we see that those things... 36:57 and you just said this under your breath there 36:59 but Acts 14:22, what does that say? 37:04 "We must through much tribulation 37:07 enter the Kingdom of God." 37:10 Much. Much, many tribulations. 37:11 The apostles... 37:13 look at that, look at David, we're reading now, aren't we? 37:17 Yeah, we were in David now. 37:18 David and Saul, that's like a saga, 37:21 Saul's hatred of David. 37:23 Yeah. 37:24 David is there playing his harp and flute for Saul 37:28 and Saul ups and throws the javelin at him. 37:31 And we read in Patriarchs and Prophets, 37:34 Ellen White says, 37:35 had it not been for the angel of the Lord, 37:36 who redirected the javelin 37:38 so it would not pierce through David. 37:40 Yeah. 37:41 The angel redirected the javelin 37:43 so it would not pin David to the wall. 37:45 And then David goes after Saul 37:48 because he prays, "Lord, deliver him into my hand." 37:51 And he climbs to tip of his garment 37:53 and he sees Saul and he says, "Why are you trying to kill me. 37:57 Do you not know..." 37:59 David said, "Do you not know the Lord delivered you 38:01 into my hand? 38:02 Here's a piece of your garments. 38:04 I could have killed you. 38:05 And you still... 38:07 have I done anything wrong to you?" 38:09 And there's some people in trials 38:10 that just won't leave you alone. 38:13 Yes. 38:14 Because the devil is in their hearts 38:15 because we all know eventually Saul rejected Christ, 38:19 I mean, God rejected him 38:21 but he had his hatred toward David. 38:25 And I think the text that we were just talking, 38:27 "All that live godly in Christ Jesus shall," what? 38:29 Suffer persecution. 38:31 It was the God in David that he hated. 38:34 It was not David but the God in David that... 38:36 People that are living in darkness 38:37 feel uncomfortable in light, 38:39 you know, you go around people... 38:42 you go around that use profanity 38:44 and stuff like that 38:46 and they see a difference in you, 38:47 they feel bad for using profanity around you. 38:50 Yeah. 38:51 And they somehow try to make you feel bad, 38:54 you know, it's like, they twist it on you, 38:56 "Oh, you're too good to hang with us." 38:58 Or, you know. Yeah. 39:00 You know, so "No, well, you're not the one for me 39:03 because I need somebody that does this, this and this, 39:06 you know, and you don't do that kind of stuff, 39:08 so you know." 39:11 They make you feel bad 39:12 because you want to follow Christ 39:13 and you want to do things right. 39:15 That's okay, we're in good company... 39:18 But I want to flip the scripture on, 39:20 you know, because here's the text that Romans 8:35, 39:23 it's under section number six here 39:25 because this is a big challenge to many of us. 39:30 Romans 8:35, Jason, read that for us. 39:32 Sure. 39:34 "Who shall separate us from the..." 39:35 Do a little slower. 39:37 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ, 39:40 shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine 39:44 or nakedness or peril or sword?" 39:47 So the questions, 39:49 what are you going to let separate you? 39:52 Nothing. That's huge. 39:54 We shouldn't let nothing. Say that again. 39:56 We shouldn't let nothing separate us. 39:58 We will go through trails, 40:00 everyone goes through trails 40:02 but it is who you're looking to, 40:04 who you're holding onto. 40:05 As you said that cliff thing, hold on. 40:09 Sometimes it seems like you're in the last grasp, 40:12 you just about to fall 40:14 but you're not going to fall if you hold onto Jesus. 40:16 He's carrying you. 40:17 Do you ever heard of footsteps, footprints in the sand? 40:20 You think you were walking alone? 40:22 He was holding you. 40:23 He's the one that was carrying you. 40:25 And it reminds me of that 40:26 when you're going through trials, 40:28 Jesus is carrying you. 40:29 We feel like we're hanging over the cliff. 40:31 It's not us hanging on, He's hanging onto us. 40:33 He's the one that has his hand over us. 40:35 Yes. Thank you, Lord. 40:37 You know, you think you're holding onto a rock 40:39 when in fact, the rock is holding you. 40:41 Absolutely. Oh, yes. 40:42 You know, you don't see that unseen hand 40:45 is there cradling you 40:47 because we met people through the years, 40:48 my wife and I know this. 40:49 We've traveled to from places, 40:51 we met people that have walked away 40:52 from the church. 40:53 And we said, 40:55 "Now, why did you leave, tell me why you left?" 40:56 "Well, you know, 40:58 the pastor offended me one Sabbath morning." 40:59 And I'm waiting for the rest of story 41:00 and, "What happened?" 41:02 "Well, he kind of didn't like the hymn I played, 41:03 so he just said, play another hymn 41:04 and I was preparing all Sabbath 41:06 for that hymn and he changed it on me." 41:07 "And how many years ago was it? 41:09 How many years ago was this? 41:11 You left the church 41:12 because the pastor didn't like the hymn 41:13 and he asked you to change it and you left because of that?" 41:16 And they're looking around like, 41:17 "Is there any more to my story. 41:20 I actually left for that?" 41:22 But the good news is we met these people in South Dakota, 41:25 I think it was. 41:26 And we went there not knowing we would meet them 41:29 but we now knew 41:30 why the Lord allowed us to go there. 41:32 We met these three people, 41:33 they gave us their stories as to why they left the church 41:35 and we looked at them like, "And?" 41:37 Yeah. 41:38 And the good news is though, 41:40 we've got some letters from them 41:41 later on that said they're all back in church. 41:42 That's right. 41:44 And so, that's why this question is huge. 41:46 Who shall separate you from the... 41:48 separate us from the love of Christ? 41:50 And who is a person instead of what. 41:54 Now, there's a reason this text says, "Who?" 41:57 Okay. The 'Who' is us. 42:00 We are the only ones 42:02 that can separate ourselves from Christ 42:04 because the Word of God says, 42:05 "He will never leave us or forsake us." 42:07 That's right. 42:08 So it's only with us walking away from Him 42:10 that we separate from that protection 42:14 and from that person that will get us through it. 42:17 And sometimes that 42:19 "Who" could be somebody in your life, you know. 42:21 Some people go through marriages and divorces 42:25 or children walk away 42:26 from their parents and they're separated, 42:30 but you can't stop praying for them, you can't stop. 42:33 If you have a child that's not with the Lord anymore, 42:36 we can't stop praying for them. 42:38 But we can't let them take us away from Christ. 42:41 We can't let those situations separate us. 42:42 No, but some people do. Yeah. 42:44 And sometimes, it's a big choice, 42:48 you know, sometimes 42:49 because you're forced to choose. 42:52 But I'd rather choose someone who knows my future 42:55 and has a great plan for my life. 42:57 Somebody told me, "I'm mad at God. 42:59 I'm mad at God," 43:00 because of the person 43:02 they wanted and the Lord said, "No." 43:05 So they're mad at God. 43:07 How could you be mad at God? 43:08 What do you say when they're mad at God? 43:10 If you mad at God, who are you talking to? 43:16 You only got two choices, God or the devil. 43:19 So you and Devil having cocktails at night, 43:21 "Man, God is really upset with you. 43:22 He's upset with me too." 43:24 No, not really. And so, Gary? 43:26 Well, I don't think we can stress enough 43:28 the love of God in the face of trials. 43:32 My experience has been that I would feel 43:35 the condemnation of my wrong actions 43:38 and Satan would really pile on that 43:40 and so I just felt like, 43:42 I was forsaken of God 43:43 because it was so filthy, you know, my clothing, 43:47 my righteousness is so filthy. 43:49 And it wasn't until I realized just how much God 43:51 actually does love us, individually. 43:56 I saw a program on our Kids Network channel 43:58 where the camera pulls back from space to show, 44:00 you know, how massive the universe is. 44:03 And yet, when you pull back 44:05 and you see the edge of the universe 44:06 and you see all the things God created, 44:09 it does make us ask like David, 44:10 you know, "What is man that God is mindful us?" 44:13 And yet the answer is He Loves us. 44:16 He is intimately, you know, 44:18 acquainted with each of us in our lives and stuff. 44:20 And in those trials that we go through, 44:22 He really does care, He really is there for us. 44:25 He really wants to see us succeed 44:27 in those trials and then to bless others 44:29 when we do come through those trials. 44:31 It's like a parent, 44:32 they want the best for their children, right? 44:33 Absolutely. 44:35 You want the best for your children as a parent. 44:36 You want them to do well. 44:38 So sometimes when you're trying to hold on to those things 44:41 that Christ, you know, is telling us to let go off, 44:44 we get hurt, we get damaged. 44:45 We go through all those trials and persecution, 44:48 everything that comes with it 44:50 because we're trying to hold on and God is saying, 44:52 "Hey, don't worry about it. 44:53 I got this. 44:54 But I need you to let go, 44:56 I need you to just let me do it 44:57 but you got to let go and just let me take it." 45:00 Exactly. You know. 45:01 Yeah. Yeah. 45:02 I like what you're saying, Gary, 45:04 because like, 45:05 basically when you go through a trial, 45:06 your trial could be a blessing to somebody else. 45:09 You know, we all have a ministry, 45:11 you know, everybody has a ministry. 45:13 Those that are at home watching and partaking in this worship, 45:18 they have a ministry as well. 45:20 And we can all reach different people, 45:24 you know, you might be able to reach people that I can't 45:27 or I might be able to reach people 45:29 that you can't like if there's somebody 45:30 who was struggling with drugs or selling drugs 45:33 or whatever, 45:34 I might be able to speak to that person 45:36 because I have a frame of reference, 45:39 you know, and vice versa. 45:44 So sometimes our trials can be somebody else's blessings. 45:47 Amen. 45:49 Maybe a little quick testimony if I could. 45:50 Sure. 45:52 When Lord was bringing me back to His, 45:55 you know, church and everything, 45:57 I was really excited 45:59 and I wanted to evangelize my community. 46:01 So I went and bought a series, evangelic series, 46:04 and our community had a movie theater. 46:06 And so I went to the print shop with my own money 46:08 and I printed up flyers and my kids 46:10 and I went to every door in the neighborhood 46:12 and we were going to evangelize our neighborhood. 46:15 Well, the first night, we were excited. 46:16 We just knew people are going to show up 46:18 and nobody showed up. 46:20 And so the next week we're like, 46:21 "Well, you know, we'll go pass out 46:22 some more flyers and stuff." 46:24 So we did. 46:25 We went to another area, nobody showed up. 46:27 Week after week after week, 46:29 nobody showed up to our meetings and I'm like, 46:31 "Lord, why are you allowing this to happen?" 46:34 But you know what? 46:35 Looking back to 2:20, 46:37 that was the start of my family's Christian journey. 46:40 Our family wasn't ready. 46:42 Do you know who showed up to those meetings? 46:44 I did. My wife and my kids. 46:47 And we watched those by ourselves 46:50 and the Lord used that experience to change us 46:53 and to draw us closer to Him in together as a family. 46:55 And that's when our Christian life 46:57 as a family took off. 46:59 So that trial of, I thought, 47:00 you know, we were going to evangelize the community 47:02 but God had evangelized us first. 47:04 Wow. Amen. 47:06 You look back and you think, "Ain't nobody here?" 47:08 "Because I don't need anybody, I need you." 47:11 That's exactly what happened. Amen. 47:13 We're trying to lead other people, 47:14 He said, "No, wait, wait, wait. 47:16 No, you got to find the path 47:17 before you're leading somebody." 47:19 Exactly. 47:20 And this is true 47:21 because I look at one of these passages here, 47:23 you know, what assurance have we've been given, 47:25 on the point number eight, 47:27 concerning trials in tribulation. 47:29 It says, "Blessed be the God," this is 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. 47:34 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 47:36 the Father of mercies and God of all comfort." 47:41 I don't want to run past that. 47:42 "The Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 47:45 who comforts us in all our tribulation, 47:49 that we may be able to comfort 47:50 those who are in any trouble with the comfort 47:54 with which we ourselves are comforted by God." 47:58 So Lord brings you comfort, and you say, "Gary, I know. 48:04 I know." 48:06 Right because if you've not been through anything, 48:09 if you've not gone through the fire, 48:12 I mean, how can you affectively, 48:13 really help somebody else in that same, 48:15 that's going through that. 48:17 I mean, you can say, you know, "I'm praying for you, 48:19 I'm here for you, you know, if you need something." 48:21 But to truly have compassion and understand 48:25 what that person is feeling, 48:27 sometimes you have to walk through it. 48:29 You know, the God allows you to walk 48:30 through it so you can, 48:32 "Hey, I know God could bring you through it 48:34 because He did it for me." 48:36 You know. 48:37 And, but sometimes too, 48:39 and there's another part to that 48:41 because sometimes we feel like, 48:43 "I don't have a testimony or I can't really help anybody 48:46 or how is my testimony 48:47 going to help that person or this person?" 48:50 Short experience. 48:52 We've been traveling with Christmas 48:54 Behind Bars and going to the different prisons 48:57 in different states. 48:58 And so I was like, man, you know, Brother Vega said, 49:01 "Marlena, I like for you to share your testimony." 49:03 I'm like, "My testimony? 49:04 How in the world is my testimony 49:06 going to help these men that are incarcerated?" 49:08 So I was like, "Okay." 49:09 So I'm like, "Well, I'll just share it, 49:11 you know, if He says He wants me to tell it, 49:13 I'll be willing," you know. 49:15 And, you know, each time I share, 49:18 there is not a moment or a time that I don't get feedback. 49:22 "Wow, your testimony really blessed me," 49:25 or "Man, I've been through the same thing," 49:28 you know, or even for them to see the flip side of women 49:33 who have suffered from things that they have done. 49:37 And it was like, "Lord, I didn't know 49:38 how my testimony was going to help them. 49:41 How it was gonna affect them in a positive way." 49:43 But God said, "You just tell it, 49:45 you do it, you be obedient, and I would do the rest." 49:49 By the word of their testimony. Say it again. 49:51 By word of their testimony, Scripture says. 49:54 Overcame by the word of their testimony. 49:57 And I want to also, 49:59 in the interest of pulling all these pieces together 50:03 because there's so much here, when you think about child, 50:05 every one of us is a history book. 50:08 We look at the times in our lives 50:10 and we could do the same thing in our own life, 50:12 in our own marriage, in our own ministry, 50:14 we could trace intersections of our lives, 50:16 we could have either gone left and left the church, 50:20 or right and get things right with God, 50:23 or right and indoor. 50:24 And the Bible, in Romans 8... 50:29 Two roads, life and blessings. 50:31 Yeah, life and blessings, death and cursing. 50:33 I want you to read that Romans 8:39, 50:35 because here's the question I going to leave. 50:36 What kind of determination 50:38 are we to have in trials and tribulations? 50:40 And this is important to read now 50:42 because somebody might be going through it right now 50:44 and we want to let you know that this is important. 50:46 Romans... 50:48 Read that for us, honey. Okay. 50:49 "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, 50:54 nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, 51:00 nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, 51:05 nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us 51:10 from the love of God 51:12 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 51:16 So Paul has an exhaustive list here 51:17 because how many apostles as persecuted as he was. 51:21 Oh, I know. 51:22 So this is actually an answer to who shall separate us. 51:25 This is an answer, 51:27 shall tribulation or the persecution 51:28 and nakedness of parallel sword. 51:30 And when we do this in church, I may once say, 51:31 "Tribulation, " "No." 51:33 "Persecution," "No." 51:34 It's easy to be a cheerleader on Sabbath morning. 51:36 Absolutely. It's true. 51:39 I'm not going anywhere. 51:40 Monday morning, "I'm quitting. 51:42 I'm done. This is ridiculous. You had no right." 51:45 And, you know, in our self-aggrandizement, 51:47 in our own self-righteousness, do you ever feel like, come on, 51:51 do you ever feel like telling folk off? 51:52 Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. 51:54 And we get by say it's righteous indignation. 51:59 It is my righteous indignation. 52:01 When in fact, you know that things 52:03 that you're thinking are not righteous. 52:06 If my brother feed me, 52:07 I should be tell him where the God... 52:08 You want to pluck his eye out, right? 52:10 Right. 52:11 If your brother's eye offend you, pull his eye out. 52:12 What all of us gonna do 52:14 is escalate the situation anyway. 52:15 You know, a soft answer turns away riot. 52:17 That's right. Absolutely. 52:18 And it's hard to think that when you're there... 52:19 Absolutely. 52:21 So now you see that reason... 52:23 now you see Jesus who didn't do anything 52:26 for when the Bible says, "He did not open His mouth." 52:29 Yes. Come on, now. 52:31 That takes more strength, you know, people trying... 52:32 He's God. 52:34 You have people in the world that try and say, 52:35 "Oh, he was weak, why didn't he fight?" 52:38 You know how much strength that takes? 52:39 Yes. But wait a minute. 52:41 Let's go to the next level. 52:42 The king of the universe, what, he could... 52:44 What could He have done? 52:47 What could He have done? 52:48 He said to Peter, "I could have called..." 52:52 How many legions. 52:54 A legion, but I, added up, 52:56 I could have called 80, 000 angels. 52:59 You didn't have to pull out your sword 53:00 to cut off the ear of the centurion. 53:02 I could have called 80,000 angels. 53:06 What did one Angel do in the Old Testament? 53:08 Killed 180,000. One angel. 53:11 Jesus said to Peter, "I don't need that help." 53:13 I could have said, I need help, 53:18 I could call 80,000 angels. 53:21 So he who could thinketh, when they arrested Him, 53:24 was spitting on Him and slapping Him 53:26 and cursing at Him, putting thorns and just saying, 53:29 "Who are you?" 53:30 He could have just said, 53:32 "I've had enough of this. I'm done." 53:36 And just looked, consumed, 53:39 left nothing but burn marks on the ground. 53:41 Yet, He didn't open His mouth. So how do we do that? 53:44 How do we do that? 53:45 Gary, let me, how would you do that, Gary? 53:47 Well, I was thinking of Moses. 53:49 Moses is said to be one of the meekest man 53:52 and yet in his life, 53:54 he lost that one time, you know. 53:57 Yet Jesus throughout His whole, 54:01 He didn't open His mouth until the truth was challenged. 54:04 That's right. 54:05 You know, 54:07 He didn't say anything in his own defense. 54:08 That's right. 54:10 And I think that's probably the secret 54:11 is we have to be emptied of self 54:13 so that we can meet the trial in the strength of Christ 54:17 because if we try on our own strength, 54:19 we're going to fail, we're going to be overcome. 54:21 That's right. That's right. 54:22 Lessons learned. 54:24 The Lord looks at your life, remember in Steps of Christ, 54:27 He looks at your whole life. 54:29 If you make... 54:31 it's not a mistake, you make a bad choice. 54:34 He always say, a mistake is when you... 54:36 When you type the wrong thing is a mistake 54:38 but when you fall into sin, it's a choice. 54:41 It's a choice, it's not a mistake. 54:42 But He looks at your whole life not by that... 54:45 Momentary deed and momentary misdeed. 54:47 He doesn't look, 54:48 He looks at the trend of your life, 54:50 where has your life been trending, 54:51 where your life has been trending. 54:52 And, but I want to go verse 11 54:55 in here very quickly. 54:57 "And this is why we should look at troubles with eternal eyes." 55:01 Yes. 55:02 We got to look at troubles with eternal eyes. 55:04 I haven't had you read any, Gary. 55:06 Why don't you read that one for us, Romans 8:18. 55:09 "For I consider that the sufferings 55:12 of this present time are not worthy 55:14 to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." 55:18 Wow. 55:20 Have we had suffering? Yes. 55:23 You know what's sad about it? 55:25 This is show that's kind of want 55:27 to encourage you. 55:28 We have had and we will have, through many tribulations, 55:32 we will enter the kingdom of heaven. 55:34 So, honey, what should we do 55:35 when we go through these trials and tribulations? 55:38 To whom should we turn? 55:39 Turn to the Lord, we can't let go off that arm. 55:42 That righteous right arm of Jesus. 55:45 He's there for us. 55:46 Satan is there to, what, steal, 55:48 kill and destroy as Marlena said and the scripture says, 55:51 but we can't let go off the Lord. 55:53 The Word of God says, 55:54 "I look to the hills from which comes my help, 55:56 my help cometh from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." 55:59 Yes. That's right. 56:01 Jason, who do we turn to? To Christ. 56:04 You know, He overcame this world. 56:07 He overcame all the trials and the temptations 56:10 and He was tempted the most out of any of us. 56:13 And so when we're going through our struggles, 56:15 we have to look at what Christ endured. 56:17 Yes. 56:18 And that makes our struggles look like this 56:20 compared to what He went through. 56:21 Honey, who do we turn to? 56:23 "Look on to Me and be saved." 56:25 Look on to Jesus and be saved. 56:27 We can look at ourselves 56:28 while we're going through the trials. 56:30 That's right. Gary? 56:32 Well, we have trials ahead of us 56:34 and we're told that before He comes, 56:36 Jesus comes back, 56:37 we're gonna have trials in this world 56:39 but He also promised that He will never leave us 56:41 nor forsake us. 56:42 Amen. 56:43 "Be of good cheer I have overcome the world." 56:48 So we're praying right now for you 56:50 that as we talk about here in our own lives, 56:53 you know, when we get to heaven, 56:54 one of the things that we're going to be able 56:56 to rejoice for and I said this earlier, 56:57 we're going to be able to rejoicing 56:58 that the trials are over, amen? 57:00 But while you're there, maybe you're going in it, 57:02 maybe you're in it, maybe you're coming out of it, 57:04 look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith 57:07 who for the joy 57:08 that was set before Him endured the cross. 57:11 He despised the shame 57:13 but now He sat down at the right hand 57:14 of the Father. 57:16 And I'll pray for you 57:17 as well as from the 3ABN family, 57:19 on behalf of my wife 57:20 and I and our panel Jason, Gary, and Marlena, 57:23 we pray that you'll keep holding on 57:25 to the hand of the Lord because one day, 57:27 all the trials of this life will be over. 57:30 Until that day, 57:32 keep trusting in the Almighty hand of God. 57:35 God bless you. God bless you. |
Revised 2017-11-02