Participants: J. D. Quinn (Host), Eric Durant, Jason Bradley, Kenny Shelton, Luis Capote, Tim Parton
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW017036A
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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 01:10 Happy Sabbath. 01:11 This is our favorite time of the week, 01:13 a time whenever we can just take that deep breath 01:17 because yesterday is dead and gone. 01:19 Today we are dedicating our lives to the Lord. 01:23 Got a wonderful group of guys, I say guys 01:27 because the girls are not with us this evening, 01:30 so we welcome you to family worship. 01:33 I'd like to go around 01:34 and introduce everybody real quickly. 01:36 We got our Pastor Kenny Shelton over here. 01:38 Kenny is a warrior. 01:41 You know we love warriors. 01:43 We got Eric Durant, tender heart, smart man. 01:47 I'm very happy to be here. Amen. 01:49 We got Luis Capote, our gentle giant 01:53 that is also a warrior. 01:54 Thank you. God bless you. 01:56 We got Jason Bradley, he is a work in progress. 01:59 We're all just sitting here. 02:00 It's absolutely amazing to see this young man 02:03 growing in the Lord. 02:04 We have my precious friend Tim Parton over here 02:07 that God's blessed in many ways, and I'm JD Quinn. 02:10 Anyway, special, special time. 02:12 We got a topic tonight that I think, 02:15 that there's not a person alive that hasn't experienced 02:17 some type of fear. 02:20 So what do we do when we have that fear? 02:22 Is that our, is it a guest that we welcome 02:26 or is it something that we run from. 02:29 And so, as we go through this, I just think that 02:33 you are going to be enlightened. 02:35 I do truly believe 02:37 that if you go get a pencil and paper, 02:40 that in write these scriptures down, 02:42 they will assist you in becoming more like Jesus. 02:47 But more imp... 02:48 Just as important is that is that 02:50 whenever you've been beat up, 02:53 you know what name to call upon. 02:55 Amen Amen, amen. 02:58 So at this particular time 02:59 I'd like to start with a prayer. 03:01 Pastor Kenny, why don't you have 03:03 our opening prayer to bless this meeting, 03:06 and then we're going to have special music, okay? 03:09 Amen. 03:10 All right, and those who are at home, 03:11 pray with us please. 03:13 Our loving Father in heaven, we thank You 03:14 for the beginning hours of the Sabbath. 03:16 We thank You for a special time that You set aside for us 03:19 to spend with one another, but most of all to spend 03:21 with all of heaven. 03:23 We ask now the guidance of thy Holy Spirit 03:26 upon each and every one here around this table, 03:28 those who listen, those who view. 03:30 May the spirit of the Living God 03:31 touch the hearts and lives of each and everyone. 03:33 May we be turned towards Calvary, 03:35 may we see Jesus, may we see that sacrifice. 03:38 Help us to understand that. 03:40 Tonight we pray in a special way 03:41 that You would help us on this subject 03:44 as the subject matter of fear which has affected 03:46 every person on this planet. 03:48 So Lord, we thank for Your Word that we can look in, 03:51 and we can read, and we can understand 03:52 that there is help, and there is encouragement, 03:55 and there is hope for those who are living in fear. 03:58 So bless us now, we pray this and may the Holy Spirit now 04:00 take possession of each of our hearts and our lives 04:03 as we dedicate our time and our energy 04:05 to You right now. 04:07 And we thank you in Jesus' name, amen. 04:08 Amen 04:10 And everyone is invited to sing along with us 04:13 because you'll notice at the bottom of your screen, 04:16 you will see the words. 04:18 I know that whenever we first started 04:20 watching Family Worship from home, 04:22 I'd sit there and hum along 04:25 and I wasn't being, I wasn't satisfied. 04:29 And then, so Shelley and I decided, "Let's verbalize, 04:32 let's sing out loud." 04:33 And now it's one of my favorite times 04:35 because the words will be there. 04:37 And then we got an all time favorite, 04:41 Shall We Gather at the River. 04:43 Now you wonder how that has to do with fear. 04:46 Man, if we're gathering at the river, 04:48 we are conquerors. 04:49 Amen. Amen, amen. 04:51 So if you got a hymnal, you're going to look 04:52 at your hymnal, it's page 432. 04:55 But it's Shall We Gather at the River. 04:57 Our precious friend Tim is at the piano. 04:59 And so we're going to sing verses one, two, and three. 05:04 Amen. 05:10 Shall we gather at the river 05:14 Where bright angel feet have trod 05:18 With its crystal tide forever 05:22 Flowing by the throne of God? 05:27 Yes, we'll gather at the river 05:31 The beautiful, the beautiful river 05:35 Gather with the saints at the river 05:39 That flows by the throne of God 05:43 Ere we reach the shining river 05:48 Lay we every burden down 05:52 Grace our spirits will deliver 05:56 And provide a robe and crown 06:00 Yes, we'll gather at the river 06:04 The beautiful, the beautiful river 06:09 Gather with the saints at the river 06:12 That flows by the throne of God 06:17 Soon we'll reach the shining river 06:21 Soon our pilgrimage will cease 06:26 Soon our happy hearts will quiver 06:30 With the melody of peace 06:34 Yes, we'll gather at the river 06:38 The beautiful, the beautiful river 06:43 Gather with the saints at the river 06:47 That flows by the throne of God 06:54 Amen. 06:55 Wow, wow, wow, I love to sing. 06:58 Amen. 06:59 No, just to make the noise, you know, 07:01 and I think it's important because it shows, you know, 07:04 that we have joy in our hearts. 07:06 Yeah, amen. Thank you Tim. 07:08 Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, amen, yes. 07:09 I want to read an affirmation dealing with fear. 07:13 And then we're going to jump in with our gentle giant over here 07:18 and he's going to start off with Isaiah 41:10. 07:20 But we're going to read, we're going to read 07:23 this affirmation first, and then as we go through this, 07:27 you'll be able to connect the dots, okay? 07:31 I do not fear for He is with me. 07:34 I am not discouraged for He is my God. 07:38 He strengthens me. He helps me. 07:40 He upholds me in His everlasting arms. 07:44 And He calls me by my name. 07:48 I am His, He is mine. 07:50 The Lord is my strength and my shield. 07:53 He protects me, and He is mighty to save. 07:58 Holy and righteous, Lord, thank You. 08:02 Thank You for quietening my fears 08:04 with Your love Lord. 08:06 And when I sought You, You answered 08:09 and delivered me from all my fears. 08:11 Amen. Amen. 08:14 Fear not, God quietens our fears. 08:17 Yes. 08:19 Why don't we go from here, Luis? 08:21 Yes, you know when you spoke about 08:24 coming this Friday evening and talking about fear, 08:30 I was reminded of my life 08:31 and coming out of a communist country 08:33 and all the aspect of that's been going 08:36 and coming into a place 08:38 where you didn't know the language, 08:39 coming into weather that you weren't used to. 08:42 All of these things are going through your mind, 08:46 and then you look at a verse like this one 08:48 which is Isaiah 41:10. 08:51 And if you're going through issues in your life, 08:54 if you're going through troubles in your life, 08:56 the Bible never promises that we're going to be 08:58 in a life with beds and roses. 09:01 You know, that's going to be wonderful. 09:03 They promise you that you are going 09:05 to go in through struggles but look at 09:06 what it's trying to tell here. 09:10 Isaiah 41:10, it says, "Fear not, for I am with you." 09:16 It's so amazing to know that 09:18 while you're going through those... 09:21 There, the heavenly Father, the Creator of the universe 09:25 is going to constantly be with you. 09:27 Not only that, it also, "Be not dismayed." 09:31 You know fear gets you to the place 09:34 where you are dismayed, 09:35 where you don't feel you're confident. 09:37 I was just talking to the guys before we started, 09:40 have you ever been bullied? 09:42 You know you are going through school 09:43 and you got somebody that's bullying you. 09:46 And all of a sudden a friend or somebody bigger comes 09:50 and helps you. 09:51 You know how did that make you feel? 09:53 You felt you were on top of the world. 09:55 You were walking high 09:56 'cause you had your buddy besides you. 09:58 This is what this is telling you. 10:00 The Creator of the universe is your bodyguard. 10:04 It's the one that's going to take care of you. 10:06 And it says, "For I am your God. 10:10 I will strengthen you. 10:12 Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you 10:16 with My righteous right hand." 10:19 Praise God. Amen. 10:20 What an amazing verse it is. 10:23 We've been going through, back and forth, 10:26 ever since I started my prison ministry. 10:29 You know, the enemy is not happy with that so... 10:33 I've had to rely on verses like this, 10:38 like verses that we're going to be talking about 10:40 because it's the only way that we're going to be able 10:42 to handle our day-to-day struggles. 10:47 I notice that the one thing that caught me right here 10:50 and I might have mentioned this before 10:51 but it's just the way that my mind works 10:53 in everything, "I will uphold you 10:55 with My righteous right hand." 10:56 Now this God telling us, this is His promise to us, 10:59 says, "JD, I'm there for you." 11:02 And I can just visualize 11:04 His reaching His righteous right hand, 11:06 His healing right hand, you know, 11:09 His redeeming right hand, 11:10 His saving right hand down to me. 11:12 Whatever the issue is, fear is fear, okay? 11:16 But He is extending down to me and I can just say 11:19 because, "Oh, Lord, I need you so much." 11:21 That I'm on my tip-toes, 11:23 and I'm stretching my righteous, 11:25 my sinful right hand up to Him. 11:29 And, of course, His can reach so much further than mine. 11:31 That's right. 11:33 And I can just see that. And so, boy! 11:34 May be you know you gotten one finger up, oh, like this, 11:37 touch His finger, you know. 11:39 And so that just jumped out at me right there. 11:43 "I will indeed strengthen you." 11:45 Whenever we talk about fear, what I found out was that 11:48 there was two kinds of fear. 11:50 There was, what they call causative fear 11:53 and what causative fear means is that, that's indicating that 11:57 the subject, the subject here being God, 12:00 that He will step forth, and He will perform 12:04 or He will bring a condition into the being. 12:06 So He's saying, "Hey, fear not." 12:09 So I've got you, I've got you covered in the front. 12:12 Yeah. 12:14 And then we're going to also hear in a little bit talk 12:16 about the other kind of fear is may be 12:18 whenever we went some place we shouldn't have been 12:21 and all of a sudden there's something there. 12:23 That's, and now where is God then? 12:26 Okay? 12:28 Wow, go ahead, anybody else have another thought 12:31 on Isaiah 41:10. 12:34 Well, the interesting thing about fear is that 12:36 it can grip you for your entire life. 12:39 From day one, to your last day can grip you 12:42 if you don't gain the victory over it, 12:45 and so many people, they don't give it to the Lord. 12:48 You have to give the Lord permission 12:49 to take control of your life 12:51 and to cure you of those fears that you have. 12:54 When I come up, I have a fear that gripped me my entire life 12:56 and I'm looking forward to sharing that with you guys. 12:59 But you have to give it to the Lord 13:01 because He is the great fear eliminator. 13:04 Amen. 13:05 How many things have you stopped doing 13:08 for the Lord because of fear? 13:10 How many times has God wanted you 13:12 to use you in mighty ways and you have not gone forward? 13:17 You know, this past couple of years, 13:19 since I have been here, I've been asked to preach, 13:23 I've been asked to go to prison ministries, 13:25 I've been asked to do things 13:27 that never would have crossed my mind. 13:30 And each one of those elements has been a revelation to me, 13:35 "Whoa, I have a talent I wasn't aware of." 13:38 And, B, this wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. 13:41 You know, so when you trust God and this is what is... 13:46 The moment that you allow God to take away your fear, 13:51 and then the word peace come into your heart. 13:54 That's the only way that comes into your heart. 13:56 And it's such an amazing ride 14:00 that some individuals don't understand it. 14:02 You know, like, when I go to my prison ministries, 14:04 those guys sometimes are so into their depth 14:08 of this depression and things that they don't understand 14:12 what I'm trying to let them know. 14:14 That if they use their Bible correctly, 14:16 if they understand how God is saying, 14:18 like He is saying, God is reaching out for us. 14:21 We don't even have to lift up our hands. 14:23 He'll lift it up for us. That's what's so interesting. 14:26 That when you are in your deepest part of your life, 14:31 when fear has got you so trembling, 14:33 God is the one that comes and grabs hold of your hand 14:37 and then lifts it up for you. 14:38 Amen. Amen. 14:39 You don't worry, sometimes, first of all, 14:41 have to admit that we have a fear. 14:44 To me, it's like everything else, first of all, 14:46 you have to recognize this is an issue. 14:49 But I kind of feel like it's not an easy thing 14:52 sometimes for a man to say, "I'm fearful of anything." 14:57 'Cause most times he'll say, "I'm not afraid of anything." 14:59 You know, and right that point in time we're really afraid. 15:03 So I think we have to first come to grips 15:05 that there are things in this world 15:08 that causes us fear. 15:09 And of course, it's stress and then it's denial, 15:12 then it's not taking part as you mentioned, 15:14 it's backing away from something 15:16 that God wants us to do rather than knowing that 15:18 God can give us what we need in our hour of need. 15:22 And also think, you know, that also gives 15:24 the enemy permission to say that you have a weakness. 15:28 Come on guys, hey, we got him at a weak moment. 15:30 Let's attack him. 15:32 And so, versus stepping out in faith, Lord, 15:36 I'm out of my comfort zone but if this is the plan 15:39 that You have for me, Lord, I know that You'll equip me. 15:42 You take that step of action, and then all of a sudden 15:45 there's that enablement that comes to you 15:47 that surprises each one of us at this table. 15:51 And Christ strength is made perfect in our weakness. 15:54 But we have to, like he said, we have to acknowledge first 15:57 that we are weak. 15:58 And we're so strong then we don't recognize 16:01 our need for Christ. 16:03 But I mean, Christ strength is made perfect in our weakness. 16:05 Most certainly. Most certainly. 16:07 You know, the interesting part is that 16:09 as you are walking with God, and you start battling 16:12 every fear that you have in your life. 16:14 And you conquer one and you conquer the other, 16:17 and you get to the point where you said, 16:18 "Okay, I finally got it." 16:20 Then the enemy gets you with the last fear 16:24 and that's that fear of salvation. 16:26 You know, I don't know 16:27 how many of you here are struggling with that 16:29 but I'm struggling with that everyday, 16:31 that the enemy keeps on pointing out 16:33 all of the aspects in your life, 16:35 why God would not want to be with eternity with you. 16:39 To the point where I have to sometimes tell him, 16:41 "It doesn't matter what I want, God wants me." 16:45 So you have to depart from me because it's He who is the one 16:49 that is doing this work. 16:50 And I have noticed that 16:52 because there are so many things 16:53 that I've been able to accomplish through my life 16:56 based on fear that now the enemy says, 17:00 "Well, I can't touch him with anything like that. 17:02 Let me tell him that God doesn't love him." 17:05 You know, and let's put that fear in his heart. 17:08 And I bet you, there's countless individuals 17:09 that are going through the same struggle, 17:11 that are going through the same issue, 17:13 that are saying, "Well, you know, 17:15 I do still have this gossip problem, 17:17 I still have this little..." 17:18 We all are going to have issues in our life. 17:21 The thing that we need to realize 17:23 that fear need not be part of that 17:26 because salvation is what? 17:27 Assured to you. 17:29 Because it's God's word that's going to do in our life. 17:31 Isn't it interesting the way the world tells you 17:34 never surrender, never give up, 17:36 and God tells you the total opposite. 17:38 It says surrender. Amen. 17:41 I'm an old military guy and that was engrained is us, 17:45 you never surrender, you never back up, 17:47 you never back down. 17:48 God says, "Surrender, give it to me." 17:50 Amen. And that's very humbling. 17:52 I know, I had problems with that word. 17:55 You know, I keep asking Shelley, 17:56 I'd like to grow and she says, "Well honey, surrender." 17:58 And boy! 17:59 There was just that roadblock there 18:02 and then somebody mentioned consent. 18:05 Wow! I love that word. 18:07 In other words, what you're saying, 18:09 "Lord, I give You, I consent to doing 18:12 what You've called me to do rather than surrendering 18:14 what You've called me to do." 18:16 Same thing, it's just, you know, 18:18 we just all interpret, we have interpretative 18:21 differences in everything. 18:24 So, Jason, is God our refuge? 18:28 I mean, where do we go, what do we do? 18:30 I mean, how do we get past this? 18:32 He's telling us to fear not but yet sometimes 18:35 we catch ourselves in a situation 18:37 so where's the safe house? 18:40 Well, let's look in Deuteronomy and see what we got here. 18:42 Deuteronomy 33:27, it says, 18:47 "The eternal God is your refuge, 18:50 and underneath are the everlasting arms. 18:54 He will drive out your enemy before you saying, 18:56 'Destroy him.'" 18:59 The eternal God, not temporary but there was, there is, 19:05 and there is to come. 19:07 Amen. 19:08 You know, He's the eternal God. 19:10 He knows the beginning from the end. 19:12 You know, so when we have issues, 19:14 when we're struggling with something, 19:16 when we're facing something that is scary 19:18 because you do come across things that are scary. 19:21 When you're going through these difficult situations, 19:24 we know that we have a God, that we serve a God 19:29 that knows the end from the beginning, 19:30 that knows the big plan, you know, 19:34 and the ultimate goal is for our salvation, 19:37 you know, for us to spend eternity with Him. 19:39 So whatever we're going through, 19:42 whatever may be plaguing us, 19:44 we have to be confident in the fact 19:46 that we do serve the eternal God 19:48 and know that in the end, it's gonna workout for our good 19:53 because we love the Lord. 19:54 Amen. Amen. 19:56 You know, I was thinking about 19:57 what you were talking about there in fear. 19:59 I heard someone say that the fear came as reality 20:04 when they went to the doctor and found out 20:06 their spouse had cancer 20:08 and just had a few months in which to live. 20:10 And how they did, and they love the Lord 20:13 and they had confidence in the Word 20:15 but in our humanness they said they simply went home, 20:18 husband and wife, and they just held each other. 20:21 And they just, the man said, he said, "I cried all night." 20:25 He cried all night but then he also he cried unto the Lord 20:29 and the Lord heard. 20:30 See, there was a fear of the unknown, 20:32 the fear that she had just a few months to live 20:34 and of course, husband didn't want that, 20:37 she didn't want that, 20:38 but 16 years later, she's still alive. 20:40 Amen. Amen. 20:41 So you know, they cast their fears upon God, and He heard, 20:45 He answered, the eternal God. 20:47 Amen. They heard that. 20:48 Creator God. You know, I think of that... 20:50 Go ahead, dear, Jason, I'm sorry. 20:51 Yeah, I was just gonna say, I remember 20:53 lying in the hospital bed, 20:56 now this is prior to my conversion, 20:58 prior to coming back to the Lord. 20:59 And I remember the devil wanted to take me out 21:02 while I was in my sins. 21:04 And you know, my appendix has ruptured inside of me, 21:06 I had been misdiagnosed, and I had been sent home twice. 21:09 Went to the doctor a third time, 21:11 and I have shared this before but I went to the doctor, 21:13 at the third time and he told my dad 21:15 to take me to the ER right away. 21:17 When I got to the ER, and they ran another test, 21:22 stuck a tube up my nose and down my throat, an NG tube, 21:26 and did surgery that same night. 21:29 See what happened was my appendix ruptured 21:31 and sealed off my intestine. 21:32 And I would have died from that. 21:36 And so while the devil tried to take me out in my sins, 21:41 God saw fit to deliver me from that and, you know, 21:44 I still didn't come back right then 21:47 but later on down the line when I did give my heart 21:50 to the Lord, even being in ministry, 21:53 I remember having to go to the doctor 21:57 and have surgery again, as you came to visit, 22:02 I had surgery again. 22:04 You know, so here we have the devil 22:06 trying to take me out in my sins, 22:08 then here we have the devil mad because I'm trying 22:11 to lead people to Christ, you know, 22:13 and so I'm going through it on this side 22:17 with a peace and assurance because I know, you know, 22:20 I love the Lord and I'm serving the Lord. 22:22 So now it's like, over here whatever your will is Lord. 22:26 Amen. Amen. 22:27 And what's so interesting, what did you just come back 22:30 from Virginia doing? 22:31 Uh, going to an evangelism seminar, 22:35 learning how to prepare sermons. 22:37 This is from the guy that the first time around 22:40 wasn't in the Lord. 22:42 And so He does have a plan for your life. 22:46 And I mean it's no telling where any of us 22:48 are going to end up. 22:49 I mean, we can all sit here and tell stories 22:51 yesterday, today. 22:54 Let me read this to you, for you that are taking notes, 22:57 okay, especially taking down the scripture, 23:00 2 Chronicles 20:17. 23:04 Because now what Jason just read, 23:07 "The eternal God is our refuge, 23:08 and underneath His everlasting arms. 23:10 He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, 'Destroy.'" 23:15 Now read in 2 Chronicles 20:17, 23:20 "You will not need to fight in this battle." 23:25 Eric? Amen. 23:27 Okay, "You will not need to fight in this battle. 23:30 Position yourselves." Wow! 23:33 "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, 23:37 who is with you." 23:39 Praise God. Amen, now that is fantastic. 23:41 So let me get this straight God, 23:44 You're telling me that if I give my heart to You, 23:48 stand still, and that You'll handle this. 23:52 I don't have to go put all that armor on, 23:54 so heavy that I can't even walk, 23:57 that you'll put a hedge protection around me. 24:00 JD, it's almost interesting when you think about Jericho. 24:03 Who won the war at Jericho? 24:04 Who fought the war? Amen. 24:06 Who knocked down the walls? Amen. 24:09 It was Jesus, so He won the battle. 24:12 He just needed the army to do His will in the end, 24:16 and He created the path towards victory. 24:18 Isn't that beautiful? 24:19 And there's people that need to hear this 24:21 because they said... 24:23 A lot of people call in and says, "Well, 24:25 I'm just not big enough to fight this battle." 24:27 Or whatever it mean, position yourself 24:30 and let the salvation of the Lord work for you. 24:33 You know what too, that makes me think about 24:36 what you were talking about earlier, 24:37 how you had to step out of your comfort zone 24:39 and all that stuff. 24:40 Well it reminds me of Moses, how when the Lord 24:43 called on Moses to deliver His people, 24:46 he made every excuse in the book, 24:49 Lord, I'm not the most eloquent speaker, 24:51 I don't, you know I stumble, you know, whatever. 24:55 He made all kinds of excuses 24:57 but where the Lord leads, He provides. 25:01 So if God is calling you to do something, 25:05 you just need to be willing 25:07 and He will work on you, in you, and through you. 25:12 And I think it says, I'm willing to me made willing. 25:15 Doesn't get any better than that. 25:16 That's right. Yeah. 25:18 I mean, if you've done the very best that you can do, 25:19 you've done the very best you can do. 25:22 You know and a good thought, at least in my mind comes from 25:24 where we are talking about all this here 25:25 is with every conflict that we have with fear, 25:30 faith is established and faith grows. 25:33 So you know, it's kind of hard to, 25:35 but by faith we have to say thank you Lord for this thing 25:39 because it's causing me some fear but through You, 25:42 through Your grace and strength if I go forward. 25:45 It's kind of like the, there was a famous battle 25:47 that was fought and the boy with the horn, you know, 25:51 there's this sound retreat or charge or whatever, 25:54 and they were just getting, I mean, that was a bad deal 25:57 and the commander just starts screaming out, 26:00 "Boy, sound retreat, sound retreat." 26:03 And the boy grabs a horn, he looks up and goes, 26:06 "Sir, I never learned retreat, all I know is charge." 26:10 He said, "Then hit it son." 26:11 And I mean he hit it, it rallied the soldiers 26:15 and they went on to defeat the enemy. 26:17 May be that's what we should be thinking about. 26:18 Wow, great story. 26:20 Yeah, there's things that we shouldn't be learning 26:21 and things that we should be so I'm sure you played 26:24 both of those things you know. 26:25 I'm going to just practice on the charge. 26:27 I'm gonna... Charge, it works. 26:29 You know this, when I found out 26:32 that this message was going to be on fear, 26:34 I was determined to sit back and listen to a bunch of guys, 26:38 who I thought would show me how to, you know, burl men, 26:41 you know, of no fear. 26:43 And so I've been taking this all in and just enjoying it, 26:47 hopefully like the viewers at home. 26:49 But I'm reminded there is a Chinese word for crisis, 26:52 you know fear comes we have this crisis. 26:55 And the Chinese have two, 27:00 whatever those symbols are for crisis, danger 27:04 and opportunity are the two components 27:06 of the word referred for crisis which indicates that 27:10 in crisis there is danger but there is also opportunity. 27:14 And so it's nice to hear that, you know, if you know that 27:20 there is a fight to be fought but if we practice charged, 27:25 that's our opportunity. 27:26 The danger is the fear knowing that 27:28 we have these verses to rely on is God saying, 27:32 "Here's your opportunity to let Me be big." 27:35 Wow! Amen. Be God. 27:37 Goes back to that position yourself, 27:39 position yourself. 27:41 Kenny? 27:42 We love Isaiah 43. 27:44 Yes. 27:47 In the New King James Version you have down here, 27:50 and I have the King James here. 27:52 And rather closely, the thought is good, I like it. 27:56 So whatever be it says, "Fear not, 27:57 for I have redeemed you." 27:59 Isaiah 43:1-3, 28:01 "I have called you by your name. 28:02 You are mine. 28:04 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. 28:06 Through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. 28:08 When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, 28:11 nor shall the flames scorch you, 28:13 for I am the Lord your God. 28:15 The Holy One of Israel, your Savior." 28:18 Probably with just a little bit of quick background, 28:21 if you look at Isaiah, you know, 28:22 Isaiah starts out what chapters 1-66 28:27 and as you look in Isaiah, the first 35 chapters 28:30 or so is dealing with God dealing with His people 28:33 in transgression and judgment. 28:36 And then if you look through Isaiah about 35-39, 28:40 you simply see that God is dealing with the invasions, 28:44 how they were defeated. 28:46 And who was it, Hezekiah, and the illness of Hezekiah, 28:49 then the recovery of Hezekiah. 28:51 And then if you go through 39-66 28:54 which we are reading here in Isaiah 43 now, 28:56 the God is telling how He has come about to heal them. 29:00 This is all encouragement and strength 29:02 that He is giving the people 29:04 when He says, "I'll be with you." 29:05 I thought that was interesting 29:07 because when you look at Isaiah, 29:10 it talks about the Messiah to come. 29:13 It talks about the Messiah-ship or the Messianic kingdom 29:17 that's going to be set up in through here. 29:20 Then it deals with hope and encouragement. 29:23 And this is what I read from these verses here 29:25 is what everyone's been telling me, 29:27 "The hope and the encouragement from the Word of God." 29:29 But notice how He starts out in the King James, 29:32 it says, "But now." 29:34 Previously, we talked prior to this about judgments 29:37 and God saying this is it 29:38 because you are rebellious people, 29:40 this is what's going to happen. 29:41 They were defeated but I like it now 29:42 'cause it says, "But now." 29:44 God says now it's going to change. 29:46 Now its start is going to be different now. 29:48 Judgment, I found out in scriptures, 29:50 is always followed by mercy. 29:53 And always I'd like to say mercy, 29:54 "He's had mercy before that." 29:56 You're talking about you lying at the hospital, 29:57 may be still not quite with Him, 29:59 He was showing you mercy, He was showing me mercy 30:01 when I was still at odds with Him. 30:03 But then, it talks about here, 30:05 then judgment came to try and get their attention, 30:07 and then after the judgment hit him, 30:09 they didn't know which way to turn. 30:11 And they were throwing up their hands 30:12 because the northern tribe of Israel 30:15 had been completely devastated. 30:17 Judah was just on the verge of being devastated. 30:19 They had nothing to hope and to say, "Oh, 30:22 this is going to be wonderful." 30:23 Nothing to look through the mind and through the eyes 30:26 and say this is all going to be wonderful. 30:28 But God says now, "Just wait a little bit right here. 30:31 Number one, I still love you." Ain't that beautiful? 30:34 When I go haywire sometime I know, in my mind, He says, 30:37 "Kenny I still love you." 30:38 And I say to Him sometimes... 30:40 The fear, Brother JD, is "How could you love me." 30:44 So the fear comes in if you are not careful 30:45 but you know why I go back and say 30:47 because the Bible says so. 30:49 That's right. Why did you die? 30:50 You died for a mess like me. 30:51 Thank you that I can get fear, get it out of the way 30:54 knowing that You've done Your part, 30:55 You'll continue to do it, "Oh, God, 30:56 help me to do my part." 30:58 So He reminded Israel right quick. 31:01 You're still My people, You're still called by My name. 31:04 I still called you to witness for Me. 31:06 I still called you to be My voice. 31:09 And I'm not going to leave you in this position. 31:12 I'm going to bring you out of this position. 31:14 You are called by My name, you're My representative, 31:16 you are My witnesses. 31:18 I thought how wonderful that is that we read these things 31:21 and it talks about by fire and water. 31:25 As we look at it, and I always try to hurry quickly here, 31:27 that we've been talking about fire and water 31:30 used in scriptures is always about purification. 31:33 And it wasn't just the physical, 31:34 even though you can read in Isaiah, 31:36 I got it here somewhere Isaiah 66, I jotted it down. 31:38 Isaiah 66:12, it says, 31:40 "We went through fire and through water, 31:43 but then brought us out into a wealthy place." 31:47 So physically, they went through it 31:49 and He brought them out. 31:51 But this is, I think 31:52 more spiritual when we look at it. 31:53 He says, "You are going to go through these messes in life, 31:55 there're going to be fire, you think 31:57 you're going to be burnt and there's not going to be 31:58 anything left of you, you know. 32:00 But, this is my way of purifying 32:03 and perfecting of people to meet Jesus. 32:04 How wonderful that is. 32:07 Numbers 8 talks about, in scriptures, 32:09 using water and fire. 32:10 I think we have Job 23, 2 Peter 3:5-7, 32:15 it's purification, water and fire. 32:17 So God is saying, I'm going to perfect these, My people. 32:20 You've been rebellious, yes you've failed. 32:21 Yes, you have but I'm going to bring you out of that. 32:25 And I'm thankful because He's bringing us out 32:27 to where we should be. 32:29 My brother says a lot of times, you know, 32:31 the tail's not where we're supposed to be. 32:34 God called His people to be the head. 32:37 That's why He's calling because we are to represent 32:39 not ourselves but we are to represent Him. 32:42 I'll read one more passage and then I'll be quiet. 32:43 I like it, the Psalms 34:19, it said 32:46 "Many are the afflictions of the righteous 32:49 but the Lord delivered him out of them." 32:52 Wow. See I like it, "Many." 32:54 It's been talked about here, "Many are the afflictions." 32:57 Many are the trials and the tribulations 32:59 of the righteous. 33:00 But I have this assurance and I'm not saying... 33:03 We've talked sometime like this just easy. 33:05 You know you read the passage, some people will call 33:07 and write, and say, "Well you said like it's easy. 33:08 You know, it's not." 33:09 No, it's not, there is an effort. 33:11 We have to put forward by the grace of God. 33:13 We know it's all Him in results but we have to struggle. 33:16 I have to struggle with what it says 33:19 when I'm faced with reality 33:21 of may be death, or disease, or sickness, 33:24 and things that are going on, or your house payment, 33:28 car payment. 33:29 You're threatened with it. 33:31 It's easy to say, "Well, 33:32 Lord's going to take care of it." 33:34 But do you really believe He is going to take care of it. 33:35 That means, Lord, I need You to get rid of this fear 33:38 that I have that somehow 33:39 You're just going to leave me out. 33:40 I'm out there on a limb and You're going to leave me. 33:42 And I can honestly say, over all my life, 33:44 never one time has He left me out on that limb. 33:47 But I can tell you this, I put myself 33:50 out there on that limb many times 33:52 and it should have been chopped off 33:54 but it wasn't by God's grace, right? 33:56 Out there, just like who cares anymore. 33:59 But God says, "I'm there, I love you, 34:01 I've called you by name." 34:02 And He calls us back and He's going to make sure 34:04 that fear dissipates and it's gone. 34:08 And somehow through those nights 34:11 that you are suffering with different things 34:13 and I've thought about these things over the years, 34:16 you know, sometimes being left alone 34:18 or you feel like you're alone fighting. 34:20 You're the only one fighting the battle 34:22 or whatever it might be you're going through that 34:24 the God says, "I'll never leave you, 34:25 I'll never forsake you. 34:27 I love you with an everlasting life." 34:29 I'll never leave you, that's been a comfort to me 34:31 that I've said it and at the same time 34:32 feeling like, Lord please don't do it. 34:35 But it kind of seems like You have. 34:37 But He has never has. That's when He was the closest. 34:39 That's when I could feel Him and I could reach out 34:41 and just touch Him and draw Him close to my chest 34:44 where I needed Him, you know. 34:46 And then the fear subsided. 34:49 And I think that somebody needs to hear this 34:51 because whenever somebody first gets sick, 34:54 it seems like the troops rally around that person. 34:56 Come on now. 34:57 And then but boy, whenever then the weeks 34:59 turn into months, the months turn into years 35:02 and you're still in that bed 35:04 and nobody comes to see you anymore. 35:07 And you really, your heart's breaking 35:08 and now you question who you are, right? 35:11 But He sits and says, "Hey, I'll never leave you." 35:15 I'll love... 35:16 Or just what you're talking about here, 35:17 what jumps of the page, yes, 35:19 He is going to be with us through the waters. 35:20 Yes, He is going to be with us through the storms. 35:23 But boy, what jumps off, I will be with you. 35:28 And so you don't... Go ahead. 35:30 And so then, I know in my own life 35:34 with the real enemy out there 35:37 that's trying to beat you up all the time. 35:39 You've got to choose some day who you're going to serve. 35:43 And so, consequently I think you got to be determined. 35:47 That's right. Amen. 35:48 And so, you know I try to be determined, who am I? 35:53 Who do I belong to? 35:55 And boy, sometimes He decides that JD, 35:57 you've got to be determined. 35:59 I choose God. I choose God. 36:01 Now here comes that little note chinking 36:03 away again, you know, I choose God. 36:06 Lord increase my faith. Amen. 36:08 Isn't that beautiful? 36:10 Yes, I want to go back to this Isaiah 43:1-3 here, 36:15 "Fear not, for I have redeemed you. 36:17 I have called you by your name. You are mine. 36:19 You pass through the waters, I'll be with you 36:21 and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. 36:24 When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burnt 36:27 nor shall the flame scorch you, for I am the Lord your God, 36:30 the Holy one of Israel, you savior." 36:33 And so when I heard the part, 36:36 "When you walk through the fire, 36:38 you shall not be burned 36:40 nor shall the flames scorch you." 36:42 I was like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 36:46 Now I want to take it to Daniel. 36:49 It's chapter 3 36:53 and I'm looking here, I will start with verse 21. 36:58 "Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, 37:01 their turbans, and their other garments, 37:04 and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 37:08 Therefore, because the king's command was urgent, 37:11 and the furnace exceedingly hot, 37:13 the flame of the fire killed those men 37:15 who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 37:18 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 37:22 fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." 37:27 This is verse 24 now, 37:29 "Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished 37:31 and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, 37:35 'Did we not cast three men 37:37 bound into the midst of the fire?' 37:40 They answered and said to the king, 'True, O king.' 37:43 'Look', he answered, 'I see four men loose, 37:47 walking in the midst of the fire 37:49 and they are not hurt, 37:51 and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.'" 37:55 Amen. Big. 37:57 Now when you look at Isaiah 43:1-3 38:02 and you see this part where it says, 38:03 "When you walk through the fire, 38:05 you shall not be burned 38:07 nor shall the flame scorch you." 38:10 And Jesus was there standing with them. 38:14 So you're indicating that He was then, 38:16 and He still was there and now He is here today. 38:20 Yes, everlasting. 38:21 And you look at it, what he's just saying there 38:23 and someone brought it out a while ago. 38:25 It was really good but we need to be reminded, 38:27 at least for me right now. 38:28 It says, "When you go through the fire, 38:31 when you go through the water." 38:33 He never promised that we're gonna have freedom 38:37 from trouble and problems. 38:38 When some people say, well, you know, 38:40 soon as all these troubles and trials hit, 38:42 you know, I'll be careful, be raptured away. 38:44 I won't be here to go through all this. 38:46 Don't fool yourself. Bible is very, very clear. 38:49 Where did all those folks back here in the Word of God. 38:52 How did they get? 38:53 They had to go though it 38:55 because this is our faith builders. 38:56 These are fear conquerors. 38:57 You know, you come forth more than a conqueror 38:59 through Jesus Christ. 39:01 And we need to remember those time, sometime say, 39:04 "Hey, He led me then, He'll lead me now. 39:07 He was alive then, He was on the throne then, 39:10 He is on the throne today. 39:11 Thank you. 39:13 You know I'm reminded about Job. 39:15 You know the moment he started with all his sickness, 39:19 he was strong. 39:21 I have done nothing. 39:22 I'm going to go through this, not a problem. 39:25 What does the enemy do? 39:26 He brings his friends to bring him down. 39:28 And they beat him up so badly that he got to the point 39:32 where he started doubting God. 39:33 You know, he started wondering and God had to slap him 39:35 on the head and said, "Who made this earth? 39:37 You know, who is the... 39:39 I've been here from the beginning. 39:40 I've been here to the end. 39:42 You had it right the first time. 39:44 Don't let those surround you 39:46 because that's what it's all about. 39:48 When you are at your highest, 39:49 that's when the enemy is going to be coming 39:52 and it's going to be sending you 39:54 into the fire of life. 39:56 But once you're in the fire of life, come on, 39:59 how many can testify when you're in the fire of God, 40:01 that's when you can feel the hand of Jesus, 40:03 squeezing your hands. 40:05 Not only grabbing your hands, He squeezes your hand 40:06 to let you know, "Don't worry about it, 40:09 I'm here and I'm going to go through it with you." 40:12 You know, I have asked God, 40:13 "God, please make me a robot for you." 40:15 I know you exist, I know you're God 40:17 and He tells me, "Son, I can't 40:19 because you need to reflect my character." 40:21 In order for you to reflect my character, 40:22 you got to go through the trials. 40:24 You got to go through the tribulations. 40:26 That's right. Amen. 40:27 Wow! Yeah, it's clear. 40:29 Let's go to Zephaniah. Okay, Zephaniah 3. 40:33 The last chapter of Zephaniah verses 16-17. 40:36 "Do not fear. Let not your hands be weak. 40:40 The Lord your God in your midst, 40:42 the Mighty one will save. 40:44 He will rejoice over you with gladness. 40:47 He will quiet you in His love. 40:49 He will rejoice over you with singing." 40:52 The Book of Zephaniah, 40:54 it's a quick read but it's so heavy. 40:57 It's full of the people of Jerusalem and Israel 41:02 committing idolatry and the Lord God 41:07 is just basically saying, "I'm gonna just wipe you out." 41:10 I've had it, I'm through and just like you had mentioned 41:13 in Isaiah, much of the... 41:15 You know it's the transgression that they commit 41:17 but it's always followed by mercy. 41:19 And so chapter 3 at the end of this 41:21 is when God comes in and says, "But wait, I love you." 41:26 You know, I think all of us as kids 41:28 probably remember a time when we did something 41:30 we knew was wrong and... 41:34 Many times. 41:36 Yeah, many times... Sorry J. 41:38 My goodness, you don't have to be so transparent. 41:40 Well, that's true. 41:42 But seriously, because we knew we had done wrong. 41:46 I think fear is based on experience, a lot of fear. 41:51 How do you know what to fear 41:53 but what we've gone through before 41:54 and we knew that something went haywire 41:57 or we did something wrong with it. 41:59 And so whenever I heard Timothy Wayne, Oh, Jesus, 42:04 I can hardly say it myself now 42:05 without chills running down my spine 42:07 because that is what mom said when I was in trouble. 42:10 So, but to know, don't, no, no, no... 42:13 You didn't hear that. 42:17 But to know that there is a merciful side 42:22 that you know even... 42:24 You know, I have a handful of fears. 42:28 I fear flying, 42:31 I don't fear flying because I love flying 42:33 but I fear those air pockets that you hit. 42:37 Just recently I was on a flight where we hit a couple of those. 42:40 And so I will say, we were headed to Bermuda. 42:46 And, you know I had heard about this Bermuda Triangle. 42:49 And we weren't even over the States still, 42:53 we've just left Atlanta and I thought oh, boy, 42:56 the triangle has widened, you know, what all. 42:58 They've spread the boundaries for this Bermuda Triangle. 43:02 And I could see the people in front of me on the plane, 43:04 we were titling. 43:06 I mean, and my hands started sweating, 43:08 my feet started sweating, and I start repenting for sins 43:12 I have never even committed. 43:14 And that fear, it's just so real 43:20 and I've heard of a man 43:22 who was experiencing going down in a plane, 43:27 literally it started going down 43:29 before the pilot was able to bring it back up. 43:31 And so I know that those things are real 43:35 and but we have to conquer. 43:39 I think there is... 43:41 You have to trust God because you know... 43:46 And the frustrating thing is that you hear of people who, 43:50 you hear of missionaries, martyrs, who you think, 43:54 "Well they trusted you God, they feared you. 43:56 What went wrong?" 43:58 So there is a reality in that, you know, 44:02 even when we go through the things that we go through, 44:05 the fire, the water, we will not be burnt. 44:08 As a realist I want to say, you know, 44:12 there are people who that are watching 44:15 that feared death and it... 44:19 Feared the death of their spouse, 44:21 It overtook, it won. 44:24 And I don't think that there's any cause for us to say, 44:28 "Well, it wasn't because your faith 44:29 wasn't strong enough. 44:31 You know... 44:34 Life happens, you know, and it's a point 44:36 where a man wants to die. 44:38 All those scriptures that you can say 44:40 in favor of God being with you for fear, 44:44 there are other situations that, you know, life is life. 44:48 I think what we have to realize is that God does love us, 44:53 and He does care, He will sing over us. 44:55 In the end, ultimately the Lord God is in your midst, 45:00 He is the mighty one, He will save 45:03 whether it is here in this temporal body 45:07 or in eternity. 45:09 He will save. 45:10 He will rejoice over us with gladness. 45:12 He will quiet us in His love. 45:14 He will rejoice over us with singing. 45:16 And these are words that I think are inspirational, 45:19 encouraging, for us to go on 45:22 in spite of the fear that we're facing. 45:23 No matter anything. 45:25 Well, and I think we also have to look that 45:26 He looks through us with 45:28 a totally different set of eyes than we do. 45:30 I mean He may, I know that one time 45:32 I was on the verge of death 45:34 and I didn't realize how close I was. 45:37 Shelley knew more because she was corresponding 45:39 with the physicians but... 45:41 In my heart it was just probably 45:43 the closest I've ever been to the Lord. 45:45 Now perhaps at that particular time 45:47 being that God had seen my ups and downs, 45:49 my failures, my junk, He might have been saying, 45:55 "I'm rejoicing right now with gladness 45:58 because his heart's where it needs to be." 46:00 And I also see around the corner 46:02 which he cannot see 46:04 and since I have His eternal benefit 46:07 in mind at all times, 46:09 I want Him more than anything in this world 46:11 to spend eternity with me. 46:14 I might just take advantage of this situation here 46:19 and put this young man to sleep 46:21 because he's going to be able to travel across the worlds 46:24 and see things that otherwise he may never see. 46:27 So you know, He will rejoice. Yes. 46:30 He will quieten us. 46:32 So you know we can turn some, you know, I mean... 46:35 He's so much. 46:37 He's so much any way. Amen. 46:38 I like Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts 46:41 that I think towards you, says the Lord. 46:43 Thoughts of peace and not of evil 46:45 to give you a future and hope." 46:47 So with that eternity in mind you know He is not God 46:52 that's creating these bad things 46:55 you know that happens to us. 46:56 So people, you know, a lot of times 46:59 people get into these trials, or these different situations 47:02 and they're like where is God in all of this. 47:05 You know, it's not God that is inflicting pain on you, 47:08 that's the devil. 47:09 That's the results of sin. 47:10 That's a product or a byproduct of sin. 47:14 You know, but thank God that we serve the victorious one. 47:18 Jesus gained the victory over death 47:20 so that we can spend an eternity with Him. 47:24 Praise God. Amen. 47:25 I think also the fact that if we do go through, 47:28 we have fear, we do go through trials 47:30 that we don't shrink back. 47:31 Most certainly. 47:33 Because as like Hebrews 10:38-39, 47:36 "The just shall live by faith 47:38 and if he draws back and shrinks in fear, 47:41 my soul has no delight or pleasure in him. 47:44 But our way is not that of those 47:46 who draw back to eternal misery. 47:48 We are of those of who believe and rely on Jesus Christ." 47:52 Amen. Very well. 47:54 Something that we can really, I mean, 47:56 establish our will that there is, 47:58 well I said for every truth, right? 48:00 There is a counterfeit. 48:01 So you have the fear of the enemy 48:03 and then we need the fear of God. 48:06 So we have to balance that out 48:07 and I think we've to be very, very careful 48:09 that we do not lose the fear of God. 48:12 That's like Godly fear that we need in our hearts 48:15 and our lives dealing with heaven 48:16 and heavenly issues. 48:17 So you know just as you all fear, fear, 48:19 it all means the same thing not in the Word of God. 48:21 You can look about with reverence and respect 48:23 and awe when it comes to God. 48:25 And that is that and then that's whenever 48:27 the causative one he shows up and says, 48:29 "Okay listen Kenny, fear not my brother." 48:32 Yes. 48:33 'Cause I mean, I do have this plan for your life. 48:36 I'm going to be on time. I'm going to strengthen you. 48:39 I'm going to put that air underneath your wings. 48:42 You're going to be able to float over this, you know. 48:44 We're going to get past that Triangle. 48:46 Yes. Amen. 48:47 Yeah, that's right. That's good. 48:49 Let's go to Eric. 48:51 Okay, I'm reading Psalms 57:1, 48:56 "Be merciful and gracious to me O God. 49:00 Be merciful and gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge 49:04 and finds shelter in confidence in You. 49:07 Yes in the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge 49:13 and be confident until calamities 49:15 and destructive storms are passed." 49:22 This verse right here moves me a lot 49:26 because one of the fears that gripped me 49:29 from a little boy was, I don't know how old I was, 49:32 probably four, five, really, really young. 49:35 Seeing my mother, 49:36 she was very sickly through her whole life. 49:39 Seeing her with tubes and wires and machines 49:42 and all that wired into her gave me a fear of loss. 49:46 Losing the people that I love. 49:49 And that stayed with me through my whole life. 49:52 And you know I've been to the Middle East, 49:53 I have been to war, lot of things, 49:56 jumping out of helicopters, never have I ever 49:58 had to face the fear that I faced the day 50:01 that my mother passed away. 50:04 The events were very, very unusual the way it occurred. 50:09 First my mother-in-law passed away unexpectedly. 50:13 And a month and half later my mother passed away. 50:17 And then a week after that my father passed away. 50:21 And we had a lot of other events 50:22 that I can go through that was happening 50:24 at the same time. 50:25 And an interesting thing happened. 50:28 We were living in Issaquah, Washington. 50:31 And we went to get the mail and Marilyn started talking, 50:35 Marilyn is my wife, 50:37 she started talking to the landlady 50:39 telling her what we were going through, 50:41 we were getting ready to move to Texas. 50:43 I was going to leave my job and retire early 50:48 and she was telling the landlady. 50:49 And the landlady said you guys are getting ready 50:51 to do something for the Lord. 50:54 And I went from the mail working the mail, 50:57 looking at the landlady like what does she mean by that. 51:00 And she said, "I've seen this before." 51:04 She said, "Right before people go to work 51:07 for the Lord, when the enemy sees this, 51:11 he throws events at them to deter them." 51:15 And that made total sense to me. 51:20 We had a lot of really strange events happen, 51:23 windows breaking, really strange things. 51:25 Before we moved into our house we always pray 51:28 that God's angels come over and watch over this household. 51:31 Outside the house, strange things happened, 51:34 we had a picture window, huge picture window, 51:37 was probably seven feet wide by four feet. 51:40 It just shattered all by itself one day 51:43 and the window guy came over and said that 51:45 someone hit this glass 51:46 and no one hit this glass, it shattered in place. 51:49 So we had really strange events. 51:51 So this moves me because 51:54 while these events were happening, 51:56 I came to realize that God was still there 52:00 because not long after may be a week 52:02 after these events started happening 52:05 I prayed to Lord, I said, "Lord what do you want?" 52:07 Something's going on. 52:09 This is odd, all highly unusual. 52:10 Losing loved one after loved one 52:12 after loved one, playing upon the fears 52:14 that I had as a child. 52:16 What's going on? 52:18 The next day 3ABN called and said 52:23 we'd like for you to come in and work with us, work for us. 52:28 And I said, "Okay, that's interesting." 52:32 We came out and we visited 52:34 and we were still headed for Texas at that point. 52:38 And I said, "Lord, if you really want us 52:40 to go to 3ABN, let me know and we will go." 52:45 And about an hour later, 3ABN called again. 52:50 And we were still resisting, we still didn't want to go. 52:53 And may be a week and a half, two weeks passed by 52:55 and we're packing up, we're headed for Texas. 52:57 We already had it all planned out 52:58 and I said you know what? 53:00 I said, "Lord, we're fighting this 53:03 but if you really want us to go, let us know." 53:07 And within the hour 3ABN called again. 53:11 So what it turned out being, through all the calamities, 53:15 through all the trials, God was still there. 53:19 And even though the enemy was playing 53:20 upon my fears, God was still there. 53:24 And it reached a point where, like you said earlier, JD, 53:26 you have to decide who you are going to serve. 53:30 And I fear what would have happened 53:31 if I had gone to Texas 53:33 and not answer the call that God made. 53:35 He asked that young ruler, he said, the ruler said, 53:38 "What do I need to do? 53:41 And Jesus said, "Give up all your things, 53:44 give it to the poor and come follow me." 53:47 And from a young child I read that verse 53:49 and I knew, I said to myself, 53:50 "How did he walked away from that? 53:52 Why would he walk away from that?" 53:54 So when I was presented with that same situation 53:56 I said, "I have to follow the Lord." 53:58 Amen. Praise God. 54:02 Wasn't that one that, was Job had said that 54:04 because you're talking about the fears that followed you. 54:07 And when Job, he said, 54:08 "The thing that I fear the most has happened." 54:12 After all the disasters. 54:15 See the enemy knows what we fear 54:17 and we need to get rid of that fear 54:19 and we can only do it through Christ Jesus our Lord. 54:21 Because those things can come upon us, 54:24 the enemy knows it, God allows it to happen 54:26 so best thing to do is cast our cares on Him 54:29 because He care our fears because He cares for us. 54:32 That's right. 54:34 What I take out of this particular scripture 54:35 right here, "Until the calamities 54:39 and the destructive storms are passed." 54:43 I mean they will pass. 54:45 Here we go back to being determined. 54:48 Our Lord, I choose to serve You. 54:51 You're the one that's going to have to enable me. 54:53 And I'm going to close with Psalms 34:4, 54:57 "I sought the Lord and He answered me 55:01 and delivered me from all my fears." 55:03 Oh, boy, it doesn't get any better 55:07 than when it says that He answered me 55:10 because that means He heard me. 55:13 So whenever we're in our times of weakness, 55:15 in our times of despair, "Lord, help." 55:20 Doesn't have to get anymore elaborate than that. 55:22 No, that's beautiful 55:23 Yeah, He hears you and then I choose to believe 55:29 the Calvary comes. 55:31 And at that particular time, Lord, because 55:34 I'm determined of who I am and who I choose to serve. 55:37 Lord increase my faith, my courage, 55:39 my wisdom, my humility. 55:43 Little book Steps to Christ quickly says, page 100, 55:45 says keep your fears before God always. 55:49 Keep your fears before God always and if we do that, 55:52 it's just what everyone's been talking about here. 55:54 God will take that and will give you 55:56 victory in that area. 55:57 Amen. Yes, you know JD... 55:59 We got a minute and 35. 56:01 I love the first part, "I sought the Lord." 56:04 And that's where it's all about. 56:06 And that's where individuals don't understand 56:08 when we come to study with them 56:09 and when we do things with them. 56:11 You first have to seek God, you have to look for Him 56:15 and then is when all the blessings 56:16 and then it's when all the fears dwindle. 56:18 And then when it's everything and the peace then comes 56:22 but if you do not seek Him first, 56:25 then the kingdom was not going to come. 56:28 There you go. Amen. 56:30 This is a cooperative effort. 56:33 You know He's sitting on the throne, 56:35 we're sitting in the little chair, 56:37 we're looking to daddy. 56:39 He says, "Say please." 56:43 Anyway, I just want to thank each one of you 56:46 for joining us this evening. 56:49 We love the Sabbath. 56:51 Sabbath's precious, and we know what I'd like to see is that 56:55 the Friday Night Worship becomes part of your culture 57:00 in your home. 57:02 You know, and of course watching 3ABN is a good way 57:05 to bring the Sabbath in, joining us in song 57:08 and praise is a good way to bring the Sabbath in. 57:10 And, of course, it's always wonderful 57:12 to be able to read and see what the Word of God says 57:17 and to make sure that you give all glory to Him. 57:20 Amen. Let's close in prayer. 57:22 Father as we come together in the name of Jesus, 57:24 I just want to thank You Lord for being who You are. 57:27 Father, the promises that You gave us 57:29 that we take to heart and Father we allow You 57:32 to work in our lives. 57:33 We ask this in the name of Jesus, amen. 57:35 Amen. Amen. 57:37 Praise the Lord. Thank you. |
Revised 2017-12-07