Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW018033A
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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 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:11 Hello and welcome to 3ABN's Family Worship. 01:14 I'm Chris Shelton 01:15 along with my husband Pastor Kenny Shelton. 01:18 Happy Sabbath. 01:19 We're so thankful that you have chosen to join us 01:22 to welcoming the Sabbath. 01:24 And around our table tonight, 01:25 we have some wonderful guests, Pastor Kenny. 01:27 Yes, we do. 01:28 Over to your right is a lovely couple, 01:32 and it's Don and Janelle. 01:34 Owen, I almost said some, I think I'm going to anyway. 01:37 Before we started the camera, 01:38 he said he wished he had grey hair already 01:41 and I was like, "What? 01:42 Wait a minute." 01:43 And JD chimed in and said, 01:45 "It's going to happen soon enough." 01:46 Yes. 01:48 But, you know, at least we can say, 01:49 with all of us here, 01:50 you're the young couple here and we're so happy to have you. 01:53 Glad to be here. Babies. Uh-oh. 01:55 Tell us what you do here at 3ABN, Don? 01:57 I work in the pastoral department 01:59 upstairs part-time 02:01 and also do Bible work for our church 02:03 and also do addiction recovery in prison 02:05 and outside in a community so we're busy, 02:08 and we're also mentoring young couples 02:10 and married couples so... 02:11 That is a blessing. It's very important. 02:14 Yeah, especially right now. Yeah. 02:16 And, Janelle, I know you have a special work here at 3ABN. 02:19 Tell us what you do? 02:20 I help in the publishing department 02:22 and that runs a gamut of a lot of different projects. 02:27 We work on the World Magazine, all the social media, 02:30 the websites, anything printed, we do it all of that. 02:34 I'd love to have you at BTLM. 02:38 She does an excellent job with graphics. 02:40 It's awesome. 02:41 She... 02:43 Now you have to explain what BTLM is. 02:44 Oh, Behold the Lamb Ministries. 02:46 Hopefully, people remember and they might see it up there 02:50 on the screen, Behold the Lamb Ministries. 02:52 And to my left is some wonderful, 02:55 some of my favorite people Sister Shelley and JD Quinn. 02:59 Sister Shelley, what do you do at 3ABN? 03:02 I know that's going to be tough 03:03 to come up with something, right? 03:05 My official title is program development manager 03:08 and I just do what I'm asked. 03:10 That's it, lot of hats, I understand that. 03:13 And, Brother JD. 03:15 Yes, I'm fortunate to be working 03:16 at pastoral department. 03:18 That's beautiful. 03:19 That is a fantastic opportunity 03:21 to share Jesus in the market place. 03:23 Yes. 03:25 And we talk to... 03:26 Don and I are peers together 03:29 and it is an absolute honor to represent God. 03:34 People all over this world are calling in 03:36 because they have breaking hearts... 03:38 Yes. 03:39 And we have the opportunity to talk with them, 03:41 to pray with them, and to share Scripture. 03:46 I mean, it's wow. It's awesome. 03:49 In a way that's like being on the frontline 03:51 because that's where people call 03:54 and they connect with your offices, 03:56 beautiful. 03:57 That's heavy. That's heavy. 03:59 I can say that's a heavy job 04:00 because, you know, the people call, 04:02 they have problems and they need someone 04:04 to help them and point them 04:06 to Scripture, point them to Jesus. 04:07 And if you're like I am, 04:09 after some time in two or three hours 04:11 or so, used to four, five hours, 04:13 I guess it'd be pretty heavy, 04:14 you have to remember who's holding you up, 04:16 you know, you have to remember the ones in charge. 04:18 I know this, it's quite hard work. 04:20 I remember Hal Steenson, 04:21 he was in the pastoral department 04:23 when he was here and he called it trauma center. 04:26 Wow. Yeah. 04:27 That's a perfect description right there 04:30 because there is trauma that's going on at all times. 04:33 Yes. 04:34 And today, we're fighting so much spiritual warfare. 04:38 Yeah. 04:39 Oh, my, increasing, it's increasing. 04:41 So this is time. 04:42 Well, this evening we're going to talk a little bit 04:44 about that spiritual warfare. 04:46 Our study is entitled, 04:47 "When heaven calls, don't hesitate." 04:50 And this is part two. 04:52 We did part one, 04:53 there were just four of us at that time. 04:55 Don and Janelle had joined us. 04:57 And we have been so blessed to receive your letters 05:00 and text messages and I don't know 05:03 if we've had any phone calls. 05:04 I think maybe we did have 05:06 a few phone calls as well over that. 05:07 So we're praying 05:08 and we've got to pray again tonight 05:10 with you at home 05:11 that the Lord will continue to bless us with His Spirit 05:14 as we get into part two of this study. 05:16 Pastor Kenny, would you have a prayer for us? 05:18 I think we should pray, right. 05:19 I'm going to invite you at home 05:21 to be sure and pray along with us. 05:22 It's an opportunity to go 05:23 to the throne room of God, right? 05:25 By faith, knowing that He will hear 05:26 and that He will answer 05:27 and good time to write fellowship together 05:29 and also fellowship with one another 05:31 and with all of heaven. 05:32 Let's pray, shall we? 05:34 Our kind and gracious Heavenly Father, 05:35 we do thank You for another Sabbath. 05:38 We thank You for Your sweet Spirit, 05:40 we just thank You that we have a God in heaven 05:42 who cares for each and every one of us 05:45 like there's no other on this planet 05:47 know that's a special love. 05:49 Thank You for the love letter 05:50 that You've left to us in the form 05:51 we call the Bible. 05:53 Tonight as we open these lovely beautiful pages, 05:56 these inspiring pages of Your Word, 05:57 we pray for the Holy Spirit power. 06:00 Lord, we just feel so unworthy that we just cannot understand 06:04 these on our own at all, we need your help. 06:06 Please send that special Holy Spirit right now 06:10 to illuminate these beautiful things 06:12 as we discuss them. 06:13 You already know what's going to be said, 06:15 You already know the decision going to be made, 06:17 and You already know all of these things, 06:19 but, Lord, we're coming to You in faith believing 06:21 that Your Word would not return void... 06:23 Amen. 06:25 That as this message goes out and to study tonight, 06:28 our hearts will be turned towards You. 06:29 Those who have, oh, they've been hesitating, 06:32 they've just hesitated and hesitated, 06:34 they have not fully accepted You 06:35 as Lord and Savior. 06:37 May the thought be brought out tonight, 06:38 probation is soon to close, Jesus is soon to come. 06:41 Amen. Decision is now. 06:44 Help us to make that decision. 06:45 Again open minds and hearts of the precious, 06:47 precious people who listen, who watch, who view, 06:50 wherever it might be that they may hear 06:52 the Word of God 06:53 that they may see Jesus not individuals. 06:56 My prayer tonight is that Jesus will be lifted high. 06:59 Lord, we give You praise, give You honor, 07:01 and give You glory that we have this opportunity, 07:03 this blessed privilege to be able to work 07:06 in Your vineyard. 07:07 I thank You. 07:09 Thank You again for the viewers, 07:10 those who watched tonight, 07:11 those who will make their decision in Jesus' name. 07:13 Amen. Amen. 07:15 Amen. 07:16 Well, before we begin, I mentioned to Sister Shelley 07:18 I'm going to do a strange ad. 07:20 I'm going... 07:22 to do a strange ad 07:24 because it's very difficult for me 07:27 to read something like this and not stop and comment on it. 07:30 But I want to just kind of give you 07:32 a short synopsis 07:34 of what we covered in part one without going into detail. 07:38 So I'm just going to read a little bit here, okay? 07:41 And then we're going to get into question number two. 07:44 All right. 07:45 This first verse comes from Revelation 2:4, 5. 07:50 It reads, "Nevertheless I have this against you, 07:54 that you have left your first love. 07:57 Remember therefore from where you have fallen, 08:00 repent and do the first works, 08:03 or else I will come to you quickly 08:05 and remove your lampstand 08:07 from its place unless you repent." 08:11 The Redeemer of the world declares 08:13 that there is... 08:14 That there are greater sins than that for which Sodom 08:19 and Gomorrah were destroyed. 08:20 Those who hear 08:22 the gospel invitation calling sinners 08:24 to repentance and heed it not are more guilty before God. 08:30 The more the dwellers in the Vale of Siddem 08:32 and still greater sin is theirs who profess to know God 08:38 and they keep His commandments, 08:39 yet who deny Christ in their character 08:43 and their lifestyle. 08:45 In the light of the Savior's warning, 08:47 the fate of Sodom is a solemn admonition 08:51 not merely to those 08:53 who are guilty about breaking sin 08:55 but to all who are trifling 08:57 with heaven sent light and privileges. 09:01 Wow. 09:02 If you want to know more about what I just read, call 3ABN, 09:05 ask for part number one 09:07 or maybe on the YouTube, correct? 09:09 You can look for when heaven calls 09:11 don't hesitate, part one. 09:13 It was a beautiful study. Amen. 09:15 We want to start tonight by this question. 09:19 Give examples of heaven sent light 09:21 and our privileges and explain how many trifle with them. 09:26 First of all, let me define trifle. 09:29 Trifle means it's a thing of little value 09:32 or no importance. 09:34 So many times as Christians, sad to say, 09:37 we are trifling with the light that God has given us, 09:41 with the privileges of being a Christian 09:43 that He has laid before us. 09:45 And I think of the Adventist church 09:47 in particular, the Spirit of Prophecy 09:50 that He has given to us and yet we trifle. 09:54 We look at it as of little importance. 09:58 So what is your thought? 09:59 How do you guys... 10:01 How would you answer this question? 10:02 I would go to what you just said 10:05 in a similar vein. 10:06 Psalm 119:105 says that "God's word is a lamp 10:10 to our feet and a light to our path." 10:12 And in Matthew 4:4 Jesus said, 10:15 "Man does not live by bread alone 10:17 but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." 10:22 And we know the Bible... 10:24 And if you've been in church or if you watch television, 10:28 we know the Bible is God's Word to us, 10:32 but there are so many who... 10:39 Particularly in western worlds where we have Bibles 10:42 that are so available to us, 10:45 there's many people who spend a whole lot more time 10:47 in secular activities 10:48 than they will in the Word of God 10:51 and we're all guilty sometimes of not spending the time... 10:56 I don't want to make it sound like we have to do it 10:58 for salvation, but I think the reason 11:00 we trifle with all heaven sent light is 11:03 'cause we're not convinced enough. 11:05 If you're in the Bible, 11:06 you're going to understand the various areas of light, 11:13 the points of light. 11:14 And it's funny when you see people 11:16 like in countries 11:18 where the Bible has not been available to them, 11:22 they get a Bible and they're just devouring it. 11:25 Oh, yes. 11:26 You know, I mean, they don't want to let it go. 11:28 It's their most prized possession. 11:29 Right. 11:30 And yet when you think, you know, people will admit 11:33 that they don't have a close enough 11:35 relationship with God 11:36 or what's wrong and you ask them 11:39 how much time they spend in Bible study. 11:42 It's really pretty little. 11:44 Yes. Amen. 11:46 When I was re-reading this for today, yesterday, 11:50 I began to think a lot of times people are studying, 11:54 they are hearing the Word, 11:55 but they don't think it applies to them. 11:57 "Oh, that's for the Jews. 11:59 That was for the Jews." 12:01 And sometimes, 12:02 they misinterpret scripture like in Romans 14, 12:05 where it talks about esteeming one day 12:07 above another 12:08 or don't judge somebody if they eat just vegetables 12:12 because they don't understand, 12:14 they're not putting it together with the Bible. 12:16 So they take those verses and they throw out the verses 12:20 that are very, very clear if it talks about food. 12:23 You know Leviticus, Deuteronomy 12:24 which is talking about the clean and... 12:26 "Well, that was for the Jews because now we can..." 12:28 But they don't read to understand. 12:31 We always need to pray 12:32 for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 12:34 But I think of so many churches today 12:38 where people believe they say, they're talking Jesus, 12:40 they're preaching Jesus and yet they're not. 12:43 They don't have the character 12:45 of Christ as we read in the Scripture. 12:47 They're not keeping things, 12:49 they're not obeying the Scripture as Christ did. 12:52 So I think there's a disconnect, 12:55 they're not connected into the true source, 12:57 which is what you were referring 12:58 to with those scriptures. 13:00 We've got to connect and we have to believe 13:01 that they're for us. 13:03 I think the word trifle you can... 13:04 I know JD wrote, you know, the idea of flirting. 13:07 We're really flirting with something, 13:08 we're kind of hesitant. 13:10 And I was thinking about the fact... 13:11 I had a lady I worked with years ago. 13:13 I just started coming to Lord and she said this, 13:15 she was like, 13:16 "Well, He's not coming in my time, 13:18 so what's the point? 13:19 What's the big deal? 13:20 You know, He's not coming in my time, 13:22 why should I make any effort, you know, to get ready?" 13:23 And I think a lot of people are in that boat. 13:25 Personally, I think they're saying, 13:26 "Well, He's not coming in my time, 13:28 so what's the point of getting, you know, prepared?" 13:30 They don't see the need, 13:31 necessary need for getting together so. 13:35 I was thinking... 13:36 You know, you mentioned food and it made me think of... 13:38 In the Seventh-day Adventist church, 13:40 we have this beautiful health message 13:42 and, you know, like, 13:44 you know, I'm guilty of this too, 13:45 but, you know, 13:47 like sometimes we ask God to bless food 13:48 that we know is not healthy, you know, and it's like 13:51 what's the point of praying if the food's not healthy? 13:54 I don't know, I just kind of fell conflicted 13:56 on that sometimes. 13:58 But how sometimes, 13:59 you know, we have all of this information, 14:02 but are we really, like you said, 14:03 putting into practice in our daily life? 14:06 And, you know, I think that's definitely an area 14:09 I could improve on, 14:11 so convicted of that one lately. 14:14 Well, and the enemy has had his hand 14:16 in so much of our food. 14:18 It can be confusing at times. Yeah. 14:21 And I was just... 14:22 I took a call... 14:24 I think it was Monday this week or it may have been last week, 14:27 I'm not sure. 14:28 But anyway, it was a gentleman 14:30 from California and he made this statement. 14:32 He said, "How many times does God have 14:34 to tell us the truth? 14:37 How many times?" Once. Once. 14:41 If He said it, He changes not. 14:42 He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. 14:45 And so a lot of times, 14:47 it's us retraining our appetite. 14:50 You think about this. 14:51 I can't tell you how many times he has referred to, 14:53 this whole world was lost over appetite. 14:57 Yeah, it's true. Wow. Appetite. 14:58 I mean, there were other extenuating things 15:01 that were implied there, but it came down to appetite. 15:04 And the enemy uses our appetite 15:07 because if he can weaken these vessels, 15:10 clog the mind, make us sick, disrupt our hormones, 15:15 which we see that now through science is starting 15:17 to point that out, 15:20 he realizes he can work on us much better. 15:22 It's interesting 15:24 because I was sitting here the thing 15:25 just jumped into my mind 15:27 through the aid of the Holy Spirit, 15:28 this is really hunger and thirst. 15:31 Now, how am I going to bring hunger 15:32 and thirst into this conversation? 15:35 And albeit. 15:36 I mean we started within here, 15:38 we're here, and I can certainly speak 15:41 from experience. 15:44 Listen. 15:46 God has ears to hear... 15:47 Yes. 15:49 He is our Savior, He wants us, we're His mouthpiece, 15:54 we're His legs, we're His hands on this earth 15:56 so it's important to Him 15:58 that we fulfill our destiny in order to get the Word out. 16:02 Now how does that happen? 16:04 Because we all have mouths, we all have legs, 16:07 we have our hands and everything, you know. 16:09 We are missing that hunger and thirst. 16:12 Now how do you get the hunger and the thirst? 16:15 Now does He have ears to hear? 16:17 Amen. Yes, He does. 16:19 Is He the Creator? He spoke and it was done. 16:22 And so it just seems like if you're connecting 16:24 the dots here and you're sitting here 16:27 and you're making excuses 16:28 or you feel like you're coming up short, 16:31 maybe you need to change your prayer life, 16:34 maybe instead of just standing up 16:36 and praying, 16:38 it might not hurt to get to your knees. 16:39 Yes. 16:40 It does... 16:42 I mean, He hears you either way, 16:43 but maybe it means more to you. 16:45 Lord, I need some... 16:48 I need to make some changes in my life. 16:50 We're talking about hunger and thirst thereabout, 16:53 talking about appetite and how we do this or that. 16:56 I give you permission, Lord, to impress upon my mind 16:59 through the aid of the Holy Spirit... 17:01 Yes. Some changes. 17:03 Amen. Yeah. 17:04 Now it's my belief that if you asked that, 17:09 that God is not going to say, "Well, JD, I certainly hear. 17:12 Hey, guys, this is lunchtime. 17:15 Let's go have a good lunch and everything. 17:17 We'll get back to him later." 17:18 The minute that you're hungering 17:20 and thirsting for the Lord, something's going to happen. 17:22 Amen. Immediately. 17:24 That's part of thinking 17:26 what everybody's putting together here 17:28 is that we need to abide. 17:30 Jesus, you know, in John 8, He is the light of the world, 17:33 but we talk a lot about Jesus, 17:35 but are we abiding in Him and in His love? 17:38 Yup. 17:39 Because the question here is that it can trifle... 17:41 It comes back to trifling and that is... 17:43 Another word is joking. 17:45 You have a lot of people 17:47 when you want to talk to him about salvation, 17:50 you want to talk him to about their soul, 17:52 you want to talk about going to heaven, 17:54 you know, a lot of times they joke about it. 17:56 Have you ever talked to somebody... 17:58 In a joking manner, "Oh, was another time, 18:00 we're not worried about right now." 18:03 You know, we're talking about not putting it off, 18:06 abiding in Him. 18:08 But then what part do I play? 18:10 What part do I play in this question 18:12 you hear heaven sent light and privileges? 18:15 There's something here 18:16 I found in Manuscript of 17, 1899, 18:19 and it's again not abiding in His love 18:21 and doing what we're talking about here, 18:22 it's more than just talking. 18:25 We've got to be living, we've got to be abiding, 18:27 and if we are living and we are abiding in Him, 18:30 the changes are going to take place. 18:32 My rough character or my rough edges are going 18:36 to be buffed and sanded a little bit. 18:38 This article brings out... 18:39 I like it because again, I'm looking for... 18:41 We talk about heaven born love. 18:43 I'm not looking for love of the world in the way 18:45 they talk about love down here, but a love that's heaven born 18:49 that when I really accept that into my life, 18:51 something's going to happen. 18:53 That is a light, 18:54 that is privilege that God gives us 18:57 and we're going to be, in my opinion, accountable 19:00 for that in the judgment. 19:02 We're going to be weighed as we're in the balance 19:04 of the sanctuary by the light 19:06 or the privileges an opportunity 19:08 and responsibility that God has given us as people. 19:11 And many times, we spurn that. 19:13 Let me just read that real quick. 19:14 The article says here, it says, again Manuscript 17, 1899, 19:18 "Christ's love," notice this, "is deep and earnest." 19:21 I like that. 19:22 His love is... 19:24 It's not this, you know, 19:25 this fake love and I love you now 19:27 if you have, you know, this and that... 19:29 Deep and earnest. 19:30 "There is no selfishness in His love." 19:33 No selfishness. 19:34 See, sometimes love 19:36 we have is a little bit selfish, 19:37 you know, we're going to love and we're going to like, 19:38 we're going to do... 19:40 You know, yeah. 19:42 "If this, here again, 19:43 heaven-born love is an abiding principle 19:46 in the heart, if it is, it will make itself known..." 19:50 I like that. 19:52 You know, I try to convince them, 19:53 I'm a Christian. 19:54 "Hey, wait, you don't have to say you're a Christian, 19:56 you just..." 19:57 It's going to come out if it's there. 19:59 "To all who we come in contact with. 20:02 It will lead us to bestow little acts of attention. 20:07 If I have heaven-born love from God in my... 20:10 There's going to be a little acts, little things, 20:13 deeds of attention or things that are said, 20:16 things that are done. 20:17 Notice. "To all who come in contact. 20:19 Little acts of attention, to make concessions..." 20:22 Now, Lord, have mercy. 20:23 We're talking about of making concessions 20:25 sometime, you know, I want... 20:26 Ever since I heard that word concessions 20:28 or, you know, we got... 20:29 Compromise. 20:30 Compromise a bit in a way on what are we going 20:32 to compromise on, 20:33 so there's, you know, live in up. 20:35 But it says, "To perform deeds of kindness..." 20:38 If there's a heaven-born love, we're abiding in Christ, 20:41 there's going to be little deeds of kindness, 20:43 we're going to speak... 20:44 Lord, have mercy on us. 20:46 "To speak tender, true, and encouraging words. 20:49 So as a Christian, 20:50 we never should discourage, right, anyone. 20:53 We should be an encourager. Amen. 20:55 You know, no matter how deep they sought, 20:56 no matter what's going on, 20:57 they need words of encouragement 20:59 and we cannot really give that unless we have an abiding love 21:02 of Christ in our hearts and in our mind. 21:04 Jesus is the light of the world. 21:06 Amen. 21:08 And He's going to, remember, weigh us in those balances 21:10 because He's giving this opportunity 21:13 that every one of you were talking about 21:15 that Christ catch a view of it, 21:17 people know it, the Bibles, you know, reading, 21:19 all the privileges we have should know 21:21 Jesus is our Lord and Savior and then accept Him in 21:24 and then here comes those fruits. 21:26 Amen. 21:28 Let me mention this because then I like 21:29 because we're going to deal 21:31 with some first love in a little bit but... 21:34 And following what you just said 21:37 and I totally, totally, totally agree 21:40 that if you have a love for Christ 21:43 or for whatever you have a love for, 21:46 but I choose to believe the way 21:48 that the Lord has set this up that that there's no accidents 21:53 and so let's just say that you're sharing your fruit, 21:56 you're sharing this or you're sharing that. 21:58 I choose to believe that here 21:59 that right person is going to come up at the right time. 22:02 Oh, yes. 22:03 And they call those divine appointments. 22:04 Amen. 22:06 And those divine appointments then... 22:07 Because you're sharing your love, 22:10 the love of Christ, 22:11 then that's going to fill that void that they were... 22:15 They had been over here praying, 22:17 "Oh, Lord, I'd like to be able to understand this better." 22:20 And all of a sudden this happened where I'll be. 22:24 Yes. And now is that an accident? 22:26 Is that a coincidence? 22:28 Or was that a divine appointment. 22:29 Amen. 22:31 It's a divine appointment and it's also not trifling. 22:34 That's exactly right. 22:35 So you've given examples of people who do not trifle. 22:39 And I think a lot of people trifle 22:40 with the Word of God ignorantly. 22:43 You know, Revelation tells us how the enemy is using sorcery 22:47 and we have that sorcery, 22:49 we invited in many times on our electronic devices, 22:52 on TV, for those of you who do not have 3ABN 22:55 on all the time, and, you know, radio. 22:59 The enemy knows how to get our attention, 23:03 how to work on our emotions. 23:04 Think about the music, how it grabs your emotions, 23:07 how it makes you change the way you're thinking. 23:10 And so therefore, a lot of times 23:11 when you meet somebody who has that connection, 23:14 you trifle with, "Well, it's fine for them, 23:16 but, you know, it's for somebody else 23:19 or it's for later or I don't really need that. 23:21 I can be good." 23:23 How many times have we heard, 23:24 "I can be a good boy or a good girl 23:26 and go to heaven?" 23:27 You know, I don't have to sit and read, He takes our time, 23:30 He takes our attention. 23:32 Sister Shelley said it so eloquently 23:35 in the beginning. 23:36 We have light. 23:38 In this day and age, we have the old... 23:39 We have both witnesses. 23:41 We have the Old and the New Testament, 23:44 we've been given prophecy, 23:46 we can look back and pinpoint prophecy in history, 23:50 and through the Word of God, 23:52 we've been given the Spirit of Prophecy 23:54 that helped guide this church. 23:55 What a blessing. 23:57 God knew how confused this time would be for us 24:00 if we had not been given the mouth of a prophet. 24:04 But it's not diving into that word, 24:08 it's not diving into this book, it's not, as you mentioned, 24:12 praying and saying, 24:13 "Lord, give me the mind of Christ. 24:15 Give me Your understanding." 24:17 So there's just so much here. 24:19 And I think of my children, 24:21 I think of my loved ones who say, 24:23 "I don't want to hear it anymore, mom." 24:24 Because they're drunk 24:26 with the wine of the wrath of her fornication 24:28 with the false doctrine. 24:30 Here's a word that we're kind of like bouncing around here, 24:32 it's underlying, it's called surrender. 24:35 Surrender is like key, that's so big, you know. 24:37 Just to share a quick story, I like testimonies... 24:39 Oh, yes. 24:41 Last week, I went to prison, you know, all by myself 24:42 and like it's a little unnerving 24:44 when you're in there and hear the doors clanging. 24:46 But it took a while to get in there 24:49 and I was really getting kind of like, 24:50 "Come on, let me in. 24:51 Let me in. Let me in. Let me in. 24:53 I really want to get to these guys." 24:54 And one of the guys came in late and he said, 24:56 "You had shared your testimony the week prior." 24:58 And he said, "It spoke to me so heavily. 25:00 I went in my cellar, I fell on my knees, 25:02 and I asked the Lord in my heart." 25:03 And he said, 25:05 "I used to have 99% trouble in my life 25:07 and I had 1% this week, 1% trouble." 25:09 And it was like... 25:11 It's when you surrender there, when you allow Him to use you, 25:14 those privileges... 25:15 You go into prison, you know, we would stay home 25:17 instead of going to church on a Sabbath, 25:19 we stay home, you know, we just read our Bibles. 25:21 Like we don't need to go to church, 25:22 we could just stay here and follow through ourselves 25:24 and they're like, 25:25 "Something just started knocking on my heart saying, 25:26 "You need to go to church." 25:28 Two months later after I felt that conviction, 25:30 she's looked at me, she was, "Can we go to church now?" 25:31 I'm like, "Really you want to go? 25:33 Really? Seriously? Like, okay, what do we do?" 25:35 Wow. 25:36 So it's like... 25:38 Yeah, those privileges... 25:39 And it's such a privilege 25:40 to share the gospel with people. 25:42 It is. It's huge. 25:43 I like what JD said about the divine appointments. 25:44 It was making me think of the other day 25:46 we went to pick some apples, 25:48 and there was a young man in the orchard 25:49 that was helping us 25:51 and when we were getting on the trailer to leave, 25:55 Don gives him the Glow track and he... 25:58 I mean, this is the most excited 25:59 I've ever seen anybody get over a Glow track. 26:01 He said, "Thank you. I collect these." 26:05 And he's like, "I collect Bibles too." 26:07 And we're just looking at each other like wow, 26:09 we weren't expecting that. 26:11 But it was just like, you know, when you... 26:13 When the Holy Spirit prompts you and you obey, 26:16 and not only the blessing that they get 26:18 but the blessing that you get from that. 26:20 So it's exciting. 26:21 You don't know what their reach is, 26:23 you know, the people that were with us, 26:24 I think it spoke to them because they're still learning 26:26 in their Christian walk and I'm like, 26:28 "Wow, this God thing really does work, you know." 26:31 I had a little bit of an example of that. 26:33 I was at a family function this past Sunday 26:37 and I was talking to my niece and my brother and she said, 26:40 "Oh, don't listen to him. 26:42 He's been all worried about dying." 26:44 He said, "Yes, I just need to get 26:45 some of this out of my mind." 26:47 But I've been praying for my brother for years 26:49 and years and years, and it kind of struck me 26:53 because this is the second family member 26:56 that I pray for that says they've been really nervous, 26:59 really anxious, really upset over dying. 27:03 So in my mind, I'm immediately thinking 27:05 the Holy Spirit is working on his heart. 27:07 Yeah. And I kind of left it there. 27:10 And then the next morning, 27:11 I was looking over this and I kept hearing a voice say, 27:15 "You need to give your brother a copy of this." 27:19 And after about the third time, I said, "Okay, Lord." 27:22 But he's one of those that doesn't want this from me. 27:26 I said, "You'll have to open the door." 27:29 And so I called him 27:31 the next morning on my way to work 27:33 and I said... 27:34 Almost said his name. 27:36 I might as well say his name, Ted. 27:37 I said, "Ted, as I was reading..." 27:39 We love Ted. We love Ted. 27:42 And I said, "As I was reading this one, 27:44 I kept hearing a voice say you need to give this to Ted. 27:48 This is something that we're preparing to share 27:50 in the Family Worship. 27:52 Would you like to have it?" He said, "Yes, I'll take it." 27:56 Praise the Lord. It is. 27:59 And this is part of that first... 28:00 Go ahead. 28:02 This is all so much because this addresses... 28:05 It's almost like the next time 28:06 I looked at this the scales on my eyes, 28:09 I begin to see wow, 28:12 this is exactly what he needs and what you referred to. 28:15 I'm praying that God just works on his heart that he drops 28:18 to his knees as that man in prison did 28:22 and cries out to God to be his Lord and Savior 28:25 that he will stop trifling around the Word of God. 28:29 And this is what we're working around here is that first love. 28:33 Amen. 28:34 Someplace you've got to give it back 28:35 or if you never received it, you need to ask for it... 28:39 Amen. 28:40 Because there's nothing better than first love. 28:42 Amen. Yes. 28:44 The thought that keeps... 28:45 You know, I didn't come out here with anything 28:47 predetermined. 28:49 I said, "Lord, whatever..." 28:50 'Cause this topic is... 28:51 When you're talking about trifling 28:53 with heaven sent light, it's so broad. 28:56 But the thought that just keeps coming 28:57 to my mind, I think, Kenny, 28:59 when you were talking about the love of God, 29:02 what clicked for me 29:05 was how people trifle with forgiveness. 29:10 And what I would think... 29:13 Two things actually. 29:15 One, there are those who take 1 John 1:9, 29:20 "If you confess your sins, 29:21 He is faithful and just to forgive your sins," 29:24 who take that almost like, 29:26 "Well, this is a vending machine. 29:29 I'll go do what I want to do. 29:32 Now I'll come and put 29:33 in that coin of confession, you know. 29:36 I've got forgiveness." 29:37 So there are people who repeatedly 29:41 do the same thing again and again, 29:44 same sin thinking that, 29:48 "You know, well, I can just confess." 29:51 And I don't think... 29:52 I think God is wanting us to be a little more... 29:57 I mean, we're supposed to repent means 29:59 that we turn away from that sin and we need to pray 30:05 that He will grant us repentance. 30:07 But the second way, 30:09 I think we trifle with forgiveness. 30:11 I don't know about you all, I have been forgiven much. 30:14 In Luke 7:47, "She who's been forgiven much, loves much." 30:18 That's right. 30:20 But I think that many people, I mean, anybody that... 30:24 Any of our brothers and sisters who are watching tonight, 30:27 you can say, "Yeah, 30:29 God has really forgiven me a lot." 30:32 But we trifle 30:34 with the principle of forgiveness 30:36 when we don't turn around and extend mercy 30:40 and grace to somebody else... 30:42 That's right. 30:44 You know, and we're not being forgiving toward them. 30:48 And isn't the mind of Christ. Yeah. 30:51 What if He did that to us? What hope would we have? 30:54 And how many times in ministry have we heard rumors 31:00 that so and so has fallen, so and so has done this 31:02 and instead of going to that person 31:05 and trying to help that person... 31:08 Yeah. 31:10 We begin to talk about them, we join the gossip column, 31:13 and we pull away. 31:14 If we were who we profess to be, 31:17 we would be going and trying 31:18 to help in the way to that person. 31:21 You know, you mentioned about the first love 31:23 and losing and then I think of James 1:8 says, 31:25 "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." 31:29 And that really brought me back 31:31 to the very beginning in Genesis 31:32 where the enemy Satan said to Eve, he said, 31:36 "Did God really say?" 31:37 And he caused that confusion, hesitation, doubt, 31:41 and I just see that in a sense 31:43 that's what causes us to trifle, 31:45 we have that doubt, 31:46 you know, we're unstable in all our ways. 31:47 Just a little bit 31:49 and we're unstable in all of our ways. 31:50 So that really spoke to me, you know, the idea of flirting, 31:53 hesitating, doubt. 31:55 We're talking about and losing your first love 31:56 and that caused 31:58 how many to lose their first love 32:00 and walked away from God. 32:01 You know, it's taking about given the responsibility 32:04 I believe that we have when you give a track away 32:07 or you say you've been impressed 32:09 to give this to somebody, they become accountable. 32:12 See, I'm talking about accountability to God 32:14 because we're talking about the light that's shining. 32:17 So when you knock on the door, you pass out, 32:20 you give an invitation to church, 32:21 you give an invitation for a Bible study, 32:23 that person is given the opportunity 32:26 to learn more about Jesus. 32:28 Where I'll say, we'll learn about truth. 32:29 Learn about Jesus. 32:31 And then they either have to accept that 32:33 or they reject it, trifle with it, 32:35 jokingly let it go, whatever it might be, 32:37 but when we do this as Christians... 32:41 And I've thought about so many different times, 32:43 people you love, people you meet, 32:45 you grow to love 32:46 and you want to give them Jesus. 32:48 Here's Jesus, lift up Jesus. 32:50 And then they don't want Him and you're thinking, 32:52 "Oh, Jesus has been offered to them 32:55 and they have rejected. 32:57 Not me but they've rejected Christ." 33:00 So, you know, again, it's not a joking matter at all 33:03 because it deals, here's the thing, 33:05 with like probation. 33:08 I'm a believer of that probation 33:10 is soon to close. 33:12 I'm a believer in that, 33:13 you know, God has a certain amount of time 33:16 that He gives to nations as we know 33:19 and individuals 33:20 that when your probation closes, 33:22 you don't know when it's going to close, 33:24 I don't know when it's going to close. 33:26 You've been offered maybe salvation, 33:28 you've been even offered Jesus many, many, many, 33:29 many times and you refuse it. 33:31 How do you know that that's not going to be 33:33 the last time that it's going to happen? 33:36 So this is the heavy duty thing because God only... 33:40 You know, we know what we talked about 33:41 before through Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, 33:43 there's a certain amount of time 33:45 came to set up, they're taken down, 33:47 and that same way with me and you. 33:49 So when we give this gospel to someone 33:52 by the grace of God and the Holy Spirit, 33:54 realize it may be the very last time 33:58 that it will ever be offered to you. 33:59 That's right. You don't spurn it. 34:01 This is what... 34:02 Heaven calls, what? Don't hesitate. 34:04 Don't hesitate, accept it 'cause it could be the very... 34:08 If I'm thinking about death 34:09 and I'm thinking about dying, right? 34:12 Could it not be the Holy Spirit of God telling us, 34:15 "Life is short, there's more important things in life." 34:18 I have a difficult time with anything in life 34:20 other than the gospel and doing God's work anymore. 34:23 I don't know if... 34:25 It didn't make you good or bad, but I... 34:27 It's hard to focus on other things 34:29 because they're just so in the world and this... 34:32 They're trifling. Trifling. 34:35 You go out to mow the grass and spend four hours 34:37 mowing the grass and two, 34:39 three days later, you mow it again... 34:41 You know, and really... 34:43 We need to do those things, 34:44 but I'm saying does that draw me closer to Christ? 34:47 I'm just looking at the spiritual side, 34:49 the aspect of it and I'm saying, 34:50 "Oh, Lord, have mercy." 34:52 When heaven calls, don't hesitate. 34:55 That's right. That's what this is about. 34:56 And see, that's what happens with doubt. 34:58 That was such a pinnacle point that you made because so often, 35:03 when these things are presented, 35:04 the Holy Spirit is working on someone's heart 35:07 and yet there is that little seed of doubt 35:10 and because of the love of the world, 35:12 they want to hold on and that seed begins to grow. 35:15 And I think the best point right here 35:17 is to encourage all of us, 35:20 encourage you at home to put that doubt aside 35:24 and take God's word as it reads. 35:26 And then close it 35:28 with what you said, 2 Corinthians 6:2, 35:30 it reads, "Behold now is the acceptable time. 35:34 Behold now is the day of salvation." 35:38 Even for somebody 35:39 that may be watching here tonight. 35:42 This may be what they needed to hear. 35:44 They may have left the church many years ago 35:47 and they have been putting it off 35:49 because of doubt or some other excuse, 35:52 but as they hear Jesus calling, don't doubt Him, accept Him in, 35:57 pray that He will come in and make that heart change. 36:00 Brother JD? It's on my heart right now. 36:04 And we talked to quite a few people 36:06 that deal with this. 36:08 They need to have a new set of friends. 36:10 Oh, yes. That's on my heart right now. 36:15 And then here again, you just played right into it. 36:18 And if you're sick and tired of being sick and tired 36:22 and you know it, you feel it, 36:24 but yet you don't know what to do, 36:26 sometimes you have to walk away 36:28 from the environment that you're in. 36:30 Bad company corrupts good one. Yeah. 36:33 And so through the aid of the Holy Spirit, 36:35 you'll have the strength to be able to walk away 36:39 because He will prepare that way. 36:42 But you got to take that first step. 36:44 You do. Amen. 36:46 I just wanted to touch on something, Kenny, 36:47 you were talking about 'cause sometimes, 36:49 I think people take it wrong 36:50 when we talk about closing probation. 36:52 Oh, yeah. 36:53 And JD and I were ministering with a couple 36:57 when we were down south that the father asked us, 37:00 his son was getting ready to leave the church, 37:02 he and his wife. 37:03 And so we ministered with them and praise God, 37:08 they had a total turn around 37:09 and this was a young couple with a five year old... 37:12 four year old, five year old little girl. 37:14 Young couple, but they got on fire, 37:16 they were out giving Bible studies. 37:19 But what happened was they had accepted... 37:24 I mean, they really felt like this was the first time 37:29 they'd been born again, but probation closed for them 37:35 because they were in a car accident, 37:37 they were going to give a Bible study 37:40 and their car negotiated, 37:44 I guess it was detour and he didn't make the turn 37:48 and both of them were killed. 37:50 Young. Young couple. 37:52 So when we're talking about probation closing, 37:55 'cause there are people who feel like, 37:57 "Oh, I don't know any probation like..." 38:00 Well, some people feel like... 38:02 Maybe they think probation is already closed for them 38:04 and they've missed it. 38:06 We're talking about, you know... 38:10 When probation closes for everybody 38:12 and we see the signs 38:13 of when Jesus comes again because in Revelation 22:11, 38:17 He says, "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still. 38:22 He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. 38:25 He who is righteous, let him be righteous still. 38:28 He who is holy, let him be holy still. 38:30 And behold, I come quickly." 38:32 So there comes that point and we're seeing 38:36 all of the prophetic signs are lining up. 38:40 I actually was talking with a man the other day 38:42 that I don't even consider to be Christian 38:45 and he said, "You know, 38:47 I don't know if I should even bother with such and shuts 38:50 because we're at the end of the world." 38:53 And I'm like, "This is interesting." 38:54 There's a lot of people who are feeling like that. 38:57 But none of us know, and if you're waiting tonight 39:03 and you feel the tug, 39:06 if the Holy Spirit's tugging at your heart, 39:08 if you feel the Lord wooing you with His love, 39:11 none of us are promised tomorrow. 39:13 Today is the day of salvation. Amen. 39:16 So we just encourage you, 39:17 when we say surrender, we just... 39:20 It just means you're yielding to Him, 39:22 you're giving Him consent to work in your heart. 39:24 I was thinking earlier when Kenny was talking. 39:28 You know, we just finished the last quarter 39:31 in the Book of Acts and there's a story in there 39:35 when Paul is talking about... 39:37 It's somewhere in Acts, 39:38 I don't remember exactly the passage, 39:40 but he talks about how he is free 39:41 from the innocent from the blood of all men 39:44 and you were talking about the responsibility 39:46 that that person now 39:47 has when they have that information 39:51 but also that responsibility 39:52 that we have when we're given, 39:54 you know, those opportunities and how... 39:57 You know, that really spoke to me. 39:58 I said, "Well, can I really say that, you know, for myself 40:03 that I'm innocent of the blood of all men to where, 40:07 you know, did I speak the word 40:10 that I needed to at the right moment 40:11 when He wanted me to?" 40:13 And how that's a responsibility for us as Christians. 40:16 The assurance of that, 40:17 that's the passage I was looking up 40:18 when I came in was in John 12:48 and 49 40:23 because it says, 40:25 and this is what we've been talking about, 40:26 giving the word to someone. 40:27 They got to be open, they got to... 40:29 you know, things happening, 40:30 same things are happening in your life right now 40:32 that makes you think about heaven 40:34 or maybe think about hell or where's my life headed. 40:37 Just because I believe the Holy Spirit 40:39 is working on them right then. 40:40 And so then we have to make a choice. 40:42 The Bible says here in John 12:48, 40:45 "He that rejected Me..." 40:47 Talking about, it must be Jesus, 40:48 isn't that right? 40:50 "And receiveth not my words hath one that judgeth him. 40:54 The word that I have spoken, 40:55 the same shall judge him in the last day." 40:58 Now verse 49 may hit a little more 41:00 of what you were talking about. 41:01 Notice this, "For I have not spoken of Myself, 41:04 but the Father which sent Me." 41:06 Notice, "He gave Me the commandment 41:08 that what I should say and what I should speak." 41:13 Isn't that wonderful? 41:14 So we should be in that relationship with God, 41:17 you know, as a Christian. 41:19 You know, no longer I but Christ. 41:21 I don't have to worry about... 41:22 I speak that which Jesus gives us, 41:24 as you pray about the Holy Spirit, 41:26 you dedicate your life of the morning. 41:28 You meet people, 41:30 say what the Holy Spirit's impressing you to say. 41:32 Don't worry about the look of man, 41:33 what he might look like or what he might be, 41:35 just say it because you've been impressed 41:37 by the Holy Spirit of living God. 41:38 And that's the key. 41:40 You need to be impressed so that He will open that door. 41:43 We don't want to push something on someone 41:45 that they don't want, 41:46 but let the Holy Spirit open that door. 41:48 Let me read this next paragraph. 41:50 I just love part of this. 41:52 "The Savior watches for response 41:54 to His offers of love." 41:56 That's what we've been talking about, 41:58 sharing the love of God, 41:59 "and forgiveness with a more tender compassion 42:03 than that which moves 42:04 the heart of an earthly parent." 42:07 Think how much you love your children 42:08 or your nieces or your family. 42:11 And He's looking for that response 42:13 with a more earnestness than even that. 42:16 "To forgive a wavered suffering son or daughter." 42:20 Listen to this next statement. 42:22 "He cries, he cries after the wander." 42:27 We just mentioned a while ago someone is in sin, 42:30 you know, it may or may not be true, 42:32 but we just throw them out with the dishwater. 42:35 You know, and here it says, 42:37 "Our Savior cries after the wander, 42:40 'Return unto Me and I will return unto you.'" 42:43 Malachi 3:7. 42:45 "But if the erring one persistently 42:50 refuses to heed the voice that calls him or her 42:54 with pitying tender love, 42:57 he or she will at last be left in darkness." 43:02 I'd like to share on that. 43:04 Actually, this is what's been coming to my mind. 43:05 Yesterday, I found an article 43:07 which I really wasn't going to read it, 43:08 but I send it onto some folks 43:10 and they're creating this new thing 43:11 called Digital Eternity. 43:13 Digital Eternity, it takes all these different social media, 43:16 all your stuff that you ever went to, 43:18 like if you went to Facebook, 43:19 you know, YouTube, 43:20 and it conglomerates into an algorithm, 43:22 and what it does is it makes an actual 43:24 like if you were actually speaking. 43:26 Oh, yes. I've seen it. 43:27 Yeah, it was like called Digital Eternity. 43:29 And this is what I'm thinking about, 43:30 when man turned so completely away from God, 43:32 you're trying to escape death now 43:34 and create to where you have a digital eternity, 43:36 which I think is really interesting. 43:38 That reminds me of Romans 1:25, 43:40 it says, "Exchange the truth of God 43:41 for a lie 43:42 and worship and serve the creature 43:44 rather than the Creator." 43:45 Their own reasoning now is so twisted and mangled like, 43:48 "I'm going to escape death by becoming a digital person." 43:51 That's incredible to me. 43:53 That tells me that they lost their first love. 43:56 They didn't heed the voice that calls them. 43:58 They're plugging their ears. 44:00 Let's look at... Go ahead. 44:02 A lot of people may be asking, 44:06 "Can I have a do over?" 44:09 I know that, 44:12 you know, say if you're playing some golf 44:14 and you're five foot from the hole 44:15 and you putt and it goes a little bit off, 44:19 "Can I have a do over?" 44:20 Well, you know, that goes into life too. 44:23 And yes, you can have a makeover, 44:27 you know, by making better decisions. 44:30 That's right. 44:32 And we go back 44:33 because we're following the straight line 44:37 to our first love Who is love Himself. 44:40 But then, you know, it's easy to sit over here 44:42 and go askew. 44:46 And that's where we fall off from a slippery slope. 44:48 Yes. Okay. 44:49 But yes, if you will... 44:51 I'll go back to this. 44:52 If you will ask the Lord to come into your heart, 44:56 He knows your circumstances 44:57 as we just got through a saying here, 44:59 he even goes to the point of crying. 45:02 In my particular life, 45:04 I knew I was going back a little bit differed. 45:08 Draw nearer to me, JD, 45:10 and then I'll draw nearer to you. 45:12 See, I kind of had that backwards. 45:14 "Lord, You prove Yourself to me, 45:17 if You meet my qualifications, my expectations, 45:21 well, then I'll jump on this train." 45:24 And that was just thinking, thinking. 45:26 But it's not something 45:28 that's a lot of people feel that way. 45:29 A lot of people... 45:31 That's how they choose churches. 45:32 You bet, I mean, it's kind of like... 45:33 And then, boy, then just one day, 45:35 it just kind of like, 45:36 "Wow, there's a major difference." 45:38 You know, through it all, it says, it was John 15:16, 45:42 "Through it all..." It wasn't... 45:43 Jesus has said, "You have not chosen Me, 45:47 I have chosen you." 45:49 Think of the awesomeness of that, 45:51 that the King of the universe, 45:53 the God that sits on the throne, 45:55 "But you haven't chosen Me, I chose you." 45:58 You know, what's really cool too 45:59 is that He spoke that sun. 46:01 When I think about it, the power of the sun, 46:03 he spoke that sun, He's the same when it shows... 46:05 That blows my mind. 46:07 I mean, isn't that beautiful? 46:08 What blows my mind more than anything 46:10 is that before He created us, 46:13 before He came to earth, 46:16 He knew 46:18 He was going to have to become a human being. 46:23 That blows my mind, 46:25 and that He would die for us. 46:27 But what you said, 46:29 I just wanted to kind of add a caveat. 46:34 Yes, the scripture says "Draw nearer to Me 46:37 and I will draw nearer to you," 46:38 but we've just got to understand 46:40 God is always drawn to us. 46:43 He is always moving us. 46:45 He says, "You know, I beloved you 46:47 with an everlasting love," 46:49 so God is constantly... 46:52 So what it is is just to respond to His love. 46:58 You know, one time the Lord really impressed upon me 47:01 because I was running in the right direction, 47:04 kind of looking back over my shoulder, 47:06 and it was turned to me full face. 47:11 Full faced. 47:13 Sometimes we try to be part in the world, 47:17 part in the church, part in this and part in that. 47:19 And we're not responding to the love of God. 47:23 And the good thing is as we do He's just like He sweeps us up. 47:30 He's got those everlasting arms beneath us. 47:33 He is so anxious to have that intimate relationship. 47:39 Amen. Yeah. 47:40 And so as you're talking, I was thinking about how 47:42 you know, sometimes there's the mindset 47:44 that we want to have it together 47:46 before we come to Him, 47:48 and so sometimes we can fall into that, 47:50 it's like, "Well, no, I'm not... 47:52 You know, I need to do this and this and this first 47:54 and then I'll be ready." 47:55 And so that's an easy trap to fall into that, 47:57 you know, we think we have to have things together 48:00 before we... 48:01 A lie of the devil. 48:03 What does He say? "Come as you..."? 48:04 "Come as you are." 48:06 I'm so thankful for that, really. 48:09 Can you come as you are. 48:10 Because we can't change ourselves. 48:11 He looks at you says, "You're distasteful, 48:14 you know, you're a mess, you're the dust of the earth. 48:16 There's none good, no, not one. 48:17 You know, you're the pits, but I still love you." 48:19 Yeah. 48:21 I mean, that's the love 48:22 that's just hard to fathom and to... 48:23 He accepts those cries 48:25 even though like, JD, you were saying like, 48:26 you know, that's not the right approach, 48:27 but He knew your heart, He knew what you wanted, 48:30 so even though now 48:31 you can look back and say I wouldn't say that now 48:33 but He knows where we're at and He takes us where we're at. 48:36 And He won't leave us there. Right. 48:38 I'll always say that you can come as you are, 48:39 you'll say, but he doesn't leave us in that position. 48:41 Can I give a scripture for that? 48:42 Sure. 48:44 That would be Jeremiah 3:22, 48:45 "Return you, backsliding children, 48:47 and I will heal your backs." 48:50 Amen. 48:51 That's good news. 48:52 Let's look just in the last few minutes here 48:55 at question number three 48:56 because you guys are touching on the love, 48:58 you're touching on how He's crying out 49:00 for each and every one of us. 49:02 So the question is, 49:05 why then will we be left in darkness 49:07 if we persistently refused to heed His voice. 49:11 Yeah. Why? 49:13 Well, to me, the simplest is 49:14 because your heart is hardened, 49:17 so that's who you become. 49:18 Yes. 49:20 And it's just like putting a frog in the frying pan, 49:23 you know, it's turning up real slow, 49:25 so this is a nice little nest. 49:28 And some people feel like, "Well, it doesn't matter, 49:31 I believe in Him, so I'll be saved." 49:33 You know, they don't go any deeper. 49:36 I'm covered in grace, that's all I am. 49:37 Yes. 49:38 Yeah. 49:40 I think personally, for me, 49:41 I think it's like what Jesus said to Peter, 49:43 He says, "Satan is desired to sift you as wheat, 49:46 and I'm praying for you, Peter, that when you are converted," 49:49 that's the key, conversion. 49:50 And I think that's where, for me, personally, 49:53 you know, the Lord has spoken to me recently, 49:55 this took me like 40 years 49:56 to realize the love God has for me, 49:59 and I just can't help 50:01 but want to give it to other people 50:02 and that's why I go into prisons, 50:04 that's why we go out and give Glow tracks. 50:05 Yes. Praise the God. 50:06 I was also just thinking about that question 50:08 on why will we left... 50:09 Well, why would we be left in darkness 50:11 if we persistently refuse? 50:13 It's, you know, daily choices, 50:15 you know, and He honors our choices. 50:18 Yes. Amen. 50:20 Encourage to what you're asking. 50:22 And remember, He's given this light, 50:23 this passage in John... 50:25 I think it's 12:35. 50:27 Jesus is telling us... 50:29 We think we have, 50:30 they say "all day, we have next year, 50:31 we've got 10 years, I'm only 25, 50:33 I'm only 30, I'm only 40. 50:35 I've got a lot of time yet to make a decision." 50:37 You know, but Jesus brings this so clear there in John 12:35. 50:41 He says, "Then Jesus said unto them, 50:44 'Yet a little while is the light with you. 50:47 Walk while ye have the light, lest...'" What? 50:50 "Darkness come upon you for he that walketh in darkness 50:54 knoweth not whither he goeth." 50:56 So while the light shine, while you are being impressed, 51:00 while you're thinking maybe about death or life 51:03 or maybe your life is not what you think, 51:06 maybe it's supposed to be 51:07 so you have a lot of questions about life, 51:10 the Holy Spirit is working wanting to shine more light 51:12 on your pathway, 51:13 you know, to help you along the way. 51:15 But here it says, "Well, it's shining, 51:17 you better react quickly on it 51:19 because it's not going to always be there." 51:21 I think the beautiful thing is that God will never force us. 51:26 He will never force us to love Him. 51:29 He will never force us to serve Him. 51:32 He'll never force you, we're not puppets, 51:35 He's not a tyrant, 51:36 He's a loving God and He is calling... 51:39 He emptied all of heaven. 51:43 That's how much he's calling us 51:46 to repent and to accept His Word 51:48 as the absolute truth in our heart 51:51 and in our lives 51:52 and to put on the character of Christ. 51:54 But he's not going to make you do it. 51:56 We're in a great controversy between good and evil. 51:59 You may choose which side you want to end up on. 52:04 It's our choice. 52:06 That's why we'll be left in darkness 52:08 because God is giving us what we asked for ultimately. 52:12 I think Shelley mentioned a key word, 52:13 she mentioned the word healing in Jeremiah. 52:16 And that's what you're really running away from 52:18 is God healing you, you're running away from that. 52:20 Don't you want to be restored and recovered? 52:22 I asked those guys in prison, I said, 52:23 "Do you want to know what it means to be a godly man?" 52:25 They're like, "Yeah, I do. 52:26 You know, I want to know what it means." 52:28 And so people want that, 52:30 most people you would think in their heart 52:31 would want the healing, aren't you? 52:33 Like you said, JD, you know, 52:34 aren't you sick and tired of being sick and tired? 52:36 Yeah, you would want that healing. 52:38 You're running away from the thing 52:39 that can heal you. 52:40 Amen. 52:42 Sometimes, we put off God to the last little bit 52:45 when He should be the first. 52:46 Amen. 52:47 But what you just said, 52:49 I just want to kind of hone in 52:51 on that for a second, shine the spotlight 52:53 because to me, 52:54 that's one of the greatest gifts we have 52:56 was the gift of an independent will 52:59 in the way Satan operates is the love of power. 53:05 Satan does control us, we... 53:08 You know, people don't realize that, 53:11 you know, I've heard so many people say, 53:14 "I just thought I'd try meth once," 53:17 And then it was gone, you know. 53:18 So Satan loves the... 53:21 You know, it's the love of power. 53:23 "Let me see if I can control." 53:25 And God's government operates by the power of love... 53:30 Amen. 53:31 There's no coerciveness, we choose to respond to Him. 53:36 So I think it's important for us to remember that, 53:41 you know... 53:42 The Bible says that God is light. 53:45 In Him, there is no darkness at all, 53:47 but then it also says that some men love the darkness 53:51 and they reject it. 53:54 Yeah. 53:56 That's heavy. Oh, mercy. 53:58 I like what JD said earlier about finding new friends. 54:01 That was key for us 54:02 in our beginning of our journeys 54:04 was finding new friends. 54:05 Sometimes that's hard, 54:07 but God will show you the genuine friends 54:10 and, you know, that lot of them don't understand the new walk, 54:14 but, you know, if you want to follow God 54:16 and they don't understand it, then maybe someday they will, 54:19 but those influences are really strong. 54:22 We went through that and it's really important, 54:25 that's major in a Christian walk. 54:27 Yes, it is. Amen. 54:29 You made me think of the story of Abraham, 54:30 that makes it come to light, 54:31 you know, when Abraham was told to get you out of a country 54:33 and go to place I'm calling. 54:34 If he would have stayed with those family, 54:36 what would he have been? 54:38 You know, it's kind of like with us. 54:39 We left our families and we go back, 54:40 and not that we're, 54:42 you know, saying anything negative, 54:43 but you can just tell that all the influences 54:44 come right back on you. 54:46 I better stay away from now, 54:47 you know, I need to be separated. 54:48 Loving from a distance. 54:50 Yes 'cause you don't want to say that you're better, 54:52 that's not the key thing. 54:53 It's just, you know, the influences are still there 54:55 and it can pull you right back to world. 54:57 Oh, yes. You know, I read this. 54:58 This was in letter eight, 1891, by Miss White. 55:02 "Sin affects the entire being, 55:06 so does grace." 55:09 Amen. That's a good one. 55:11 "Grace affects the entire being." 55:14 And to me, the best gift there 55:16 is the gift of the Holy Spirit it's there, 55:18 that that if you do have a tendency to waive off, 55:21 the red lights would go off. 55:23 "JD, JD, JD, 55:26 come back over in the center line, you know." 55:29 Boy, that's powerful. 55:31 That's the gift that you have. 55:33 That's a gift and you can trifle with it 55:36 if you want to. 55:37 It's when you don't hear, "JD, JD, JD," anymore 55:40 'caused you push the Holy Spirit too far. 55:43 Yes. 55:44 You know, so if you at home, 55:46 if you're hearing the Holy Spirit say, 55:48 "You know, I need a closer connection 55:51 with Jesus Christ," you don't put it off. 55:54 If heaven is calling you right now, don't hesitate. 55:58 They need to pray with us as we close this evening. 56:00 Absolutely. 56:01 You know, one lady came up to me quickly and said, 56:04 "I believe I've committed the unpardonable sin." 56:07 And I said, "What makes you think that you have?" 56:09 She said, "There's no hope for me. 56:10 Heaven will never be my home. 56:12 I was kind of raised in Christian family 56:13 and I know... But I just can't." 56:16 I said, "What makes you think that you have?" 56:18 She says, "Well..." 56:19 There's just a lot of things she said, 56:21 but, you know, just lately more and more and more, 56:22 the thoughts keep coming in my mind 56:24 that I need to get my life right, 56:26 and I need to get back in church and everything, 56:28 but I know it's too late." 56:29 I said, "No. 56:30 That's the spirit of the Living God. 56:32 You've not committed the unpardonable sin." 56:33 As long as it's working on you 56:35 trying to get you to do the right thing, 56:37 that changed the whole life. 56:38 Amen. Whole thought process. 56:41 And that's what we need to do today for sure. 56:42 Well, pray with our audience, would you? 56:45 And pray for them and pray for these decisions. 56:47 Amen. 56:49 Most gracious Heavenly Father, again, as we come before Thee, 56:52 we honor Thee as God, Creator of heaven and earth, 56:56 the God of coming into our hearts and lives 56:58 and changing them and molding them. 57:00 Lord, today as we recognize, 57:02 we've read these passages of Scripture 57:04 and we discussed, 57:05 you know, the subject about heaven calls, 57:07 oh, don't hesitate. 57:09 I pray that no one's going to hesitate right now. 57:11 God is calling, He's calling everyone, 57:13 He's chosen us before the foundations of the world. 57:16 He wants everyone to be there. 57:18 And, Lord, we have to make that decision. 57:20 Bless us now we pray. 57:21 I see those who are making that choice, 57:23 that decision right now, just simply say right now, 57:25 "I want to be with Jesus," 57:27 Fully turn to Him and watch how God works 57:29 in and through you. 57:30 In Jesus' name we pray and for His sake. 57:32 Amen. Amen. |
Revised 2018-11-19